Shinmaru

[i]Shin hops out of his ship, winces slightly, and pays his fee.[/i] Shin: You'd better take good care of my ship. Valet: Or what? [i]Shin rolls his eyes and takes out his gun. He shoots the valet in the head and turns to face another valet.[/i] Shin: [i]You'd[/i] better take care of my ship. Valet: Y...yes...yes, sir! Shin: That's better. [i]Shin walks off.[/i] Shin: This place is huge...don't know how I'll ever find anyone here, but I bet I will. [i]Shin shakes his leg a little.[/i] Shin: It seems almost healed, but I shouldn't take any chances. An injury like this could be the difference between life and death, and I don't intend on giving Inblade any advantages like this. [i]Shin walks into a hotel.[/i] Shin: Any rooms available? Clerk: We have a room on floor 54 if you're interested in a view. Shin: A view, huh? Sounds nice. I'll take it. [i]Shin pays the clerk, takes the key, and hops into the elevator.[/i] Shin: Getting another good rest should be nice. Yeah, I'll rest and then I'll catch Inblade...the perfect day...

I just barely got this thing yesterday. The F-Zero and Rebel Strike videos impressed me very much; I'm looking forward to both those games very much. I had a great time fighting in Soul Calibur 2. It's looking to be quite an amazing fighting game. Viewtiful Joe is looking absolutely amazing. It's defintely the highlight of the disc. It take the Matrix effect to a whole new level and it's just enjoyable to play through. Sonic DX...I wasn't impressed. Frankly, I don't like the 3-D Sonic games. Sega just can't get the camera right in both of the games. And the choppiness in this game is very noticable. I didn't really get into Splinter Cell very much. I spent like five minutes with it and came away unimpressed. I still haven't played Billy Hatcher but my brother really seems to like it a lot. I'll give it a play and edit in my thoughts later. Wario Ware is fun and basically reaffirms the fact that I need to buy this game, because I had a blast with it. I've still yet to play Dr. Mario, though.

I haven't really noticed the button mashing. To be honest, I never really liked Tekken, but I've loved Soul Calibur 2. Don't know why, it's probably just some subliminal preference. And I'd take you up on that match-up, but you sound like a serious Tekken player. I'm no slouch at fighters, but I'd probably get messed up like nobodies business.

[i]Shin is closing in on Sintila.[/i] Shin: Well, my leg's starting to feel a lot better. [i]Shin looks at his navigation computer.[/i] Shin: I'm almost there...I'd better get ready... [i]Shin puts his ship on autopilot and goes to the back. He's gets some more smoke bombs and reloads his guns.[/i] Shin: If Inblade is there, then that girl should be there... [i]Shin flashes back to when Kitty shot him.[/i] Shin: She'll pay for that...but later. I have Inblade to worry about. Once I take him down, the rest will follow. [i]Shin goes back to his seat and lies back.[/i] Shin: This'll be like taking candy from a baby...

I played SC2 on the GameCube demo disc and I really enjoyed it. I came in not knowing what to expect, since I only played Soul Calibur about a couple of times. I was very impressed with the fighting and the way that the 3-D plane was used (sidestepping, dodging, etc.). The fighting was very solid and you couldn't get away with simple button mashing like in other fighters (*cough*Tekken*cough). Personally, it just made me look forward to Soul Calibur 2 even more than I already was.

Well, I finally got myself a Game Boy Player and I'm very impressed with it. The picture quality is fantastic. The games look perfect on the TV screen and show no signs of stretching or bluriness whatsoever (from what I can see). It's very well built and it goes onto the GameCube very easily. Just screw it on and you're all set to go. The games go in quite easily and the eject button works very well. I've yet to have any problems at all with it. As Semjaza said, the borders are...not very good. I liked the old Super Game Boy borders much better than these ones, but it's not much of a problem with me. The only thing that disappoints me is that you still have to link up to play multiplayer. I was hoping that you'd be able to use the controller ports to play multiplayer but no such luck. I was really looking forward to playing Four Swords finally. Overall, I think that the GBP is a very worthy addition to the GameCube and a solid buy. It's very well made and it works perfectly. I say go for it if you really want to play GBA and/or GB games on your TV.

Family Guy is supremely hilarious and nutty. I practically danced around my room when I learned that Cartoon Network was going to show it on Adult Swim (it was such a mistake when Fox axed Family Guy). To be honest, there are way too many funny Family Guy moments to choose the funniest one.

[i]Shin walks into his house and lays down on his bed.[/i] Shin: My leg still hurts... [i]Shin looks down at the bandage. It's a little bloody and it's starting to come off a little bit.[/i] Shin: Damn girl...I can't believe she got me... [i]Shin closes his eyes and replays the scene in his mind. He can still feel the heat of the shotgun shell as it grazes his left calf.[/i] Shin: Well...now's not the time to worry about that... [i]Shin falls asleep. A few hours later, he wakes up.[/i] Shin: How long was I out for...? [i]Shin's phone is ringing.[/i] Shin: Who's calling me? I barely give anyone my number. [i]Shin walks over to the phone and picks up the reciever.[/i] Shin: Hello? Voice (disguised): Shin, I have some news for you. Shin: Who is this? Voice: Don't worry about that. I have some information on Inblade. [i]Shin snorts.[/i] Shin: I'm taking a break from Inblade right now. I think I've earned it. Voice: Then you'll never catch him. [i]Shin sighs.[/i] Shin: Fine, what is it? Voice: Inblade is currently heading to a planet known as Sintila. Shin: Sintila?! Do you know how far that is from here?! Voice: Look, I'm not the one going there, Inblade is. Shin: And why should I believe you? Voice: If you trust me, you'll find Jericho. Shin: Fine. I'm going to Sintila. Voice: Good...good... [i]Shin hangs up the phone.[/i] Shin: I just hope my legs heals up before I get there.

I used to be the biggest RPG fan in the world, until I realized that almost all of them were the same thing (Final Fantasy, ahem). I'm more of an adventure guy myself. With games like Zelda and Metroid Prime (I consider Metroid Prime more of an adventure than an FPS) out there, the Adventure genre has really been given a big boost over the past few years. EDIT - Forgot to mention shooters. I have a soft spot in my heart for shooters. Just flying around and blasting stuff, while trying to retain enough reflexes to avoid tons of enemy fire can get very intense very quickly. Stuff like R-Type, Einhander, etc. will always remain some of my favorite games.

Personally, Futurama is definetely one of my favorite shows (I'm actually enjoying it and Family Guy a lot more than I'm enjoying The Simpsons right now). [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Semjaza Azazel [/i] [B]Anyway, Futurama is one of my favorite shows. I think you can trace a decline in quality on the Simpsons to when Futurama actually started. Groening's influence moved on to a totally different show. [/B][/QUOTE] Yeah, I think that the decline is fairly noticable. When Futurama was made, a lot of The Simpsons most talented writers went along with it to make Futurama a good show from the beginning. With Futurama cancelled, The Simpsons will (hopefully) start to get back some of that quality, but I'll still miss Futurama. God, it was a great show and I'll enjoy every new episode that comes on.

This might be old news to a few people, because these dates were announced on Wednesday by AllRPG.com (and they might've been released before that by other websites), but I'll post them here anyway. GameCube: Mario Kart: Double Dash, Release: November 17, 2003 Mario Party 5, Release: November 11, 2003 1080 Avalanche, Release: December 1, 2003 Pokemon Channel, Release: December 1, 2003 Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Release: February 9, 2004 Gameboy Advance: Top Gear Rally, Release: October 6, 2003 Super Mario Advance 4, Release: October 21, 2003 Fire Emblem, Release: November 3, 2003 Mario & Luigi, Release: November 17, 2003 Sword of Mana, Release: December 1, 2003 It's good to finally have some (hopefully) definite release dates attatched to some of the games that I'm looking forward to. Unfortunately, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles has indeed been delayed until February 2004 at the earliest. I'm really looking forward to Mario & Luigi and Fire Emblem and it's good to see that they'll be released fairly soon (3-4 months is "fairly soon" for Nintendo lol).

[i]Shin's ship is floating through space and he is bandaging up his leg.[/i] Shin: That stupid girl got a lucky shot on me, but it hurts like hell...lucky I had some spare medicine in the back... [i]Shin finishes wrapping up the bandage and seals it down.[/i] Shin: That should heal in a few hours. Now where to go next...? [i]Shin checks his navigation computer.[/i] Shin: I'm awfully close to Mars...maybe it's time I went home and rested for a while. Yeah, that should help...I haven't been home in a while. It's just been non-stop bounties left and right...I could use the rest. [i]Shin turns his ship around and heads for Mars.[/i] Shin: Just rest and relaxation...and after that, it should be no trouble catching Jericho. As difficult as it's been, I'm enjoying the challenge.

As Charles said, this really does send a powerful message to the rest of the world that everything in Iraq wasn't for nothing. Some might question the motives, but there's no arguing the results: Saddam Hussein no longer has control of Iraq and his two heirs, both considered more dangerous and sadistic than Saddam himself, are now both dead.

After high school I want to go to college and graduate with a degree in Journalism. My biggest dream is to become a writer for a video-game magazine. Why not? It combines my two biggest loves: writing and video games. In fact, I wouldn't even care which magazine I ended up at, just so long as I got into the business.

Well, it's very ironic, but Fiction Press has been down the last few days and Fan Fiction has been working perfectly. Great...just great. Figures that it happens after I say Fiction Press is better run than Fan Fiction.

[i]Shin stares into the barrel of the shotgun.[/i] Shin(thinking): This is a fix... Kitty: Well?! Answer me! [i]She shoves the shotgun against his forehead.[/i] Shin: I'm not going to lie to you; I was going after Inblade. [i]Kitty squeezes the trigger slightly.[/i] Shin: ...but I know when I'm defeated. I don't have too much pride to admit that. You've got me. I'll be on my way. Kitty: How about I make sure you go on your way to Hell? Shin: Do you think that you can kill me that easily? Kitty: I don't see a reason why I couldn't. Shin: Let me give you one! [i]Shin moves slightly, which throws Kitty out of her concentration. She shoots and the shell grazes Shin's arm; it was burned a little bit, but it would heal. Shin takes out a smoke bomb and tosses it on the floor.[/i] Shin: I'm a little out of your league, missy! You should've stayed with Jericho; maybe he could've killed me! [i]Shin runs off, leaving Kitty coughing in the smoke.[/i] Shin: Now to find Jericho! Kitty: Oh no...*cough*...you don't! [i]Kitty fires a blind blast, which, by pure luck, grazes Shin's left calf.[/i] Shin: Ah...damn it! [i]Shin starts hobbling away from the scene. He lobs another smoke bomb, so that he can make a clean escape.[/i] Shin: That stupid *****! I was on my way to getting Jericho! Damn it! [i]Shin hobbles all the way to his ship and takes off.[/i]

Just a little note to add, Miyamoto and Aonuma said in an EGM interview, that if they went with older Link in the next Zelda game, that they would definetely have to change the graphical style, because it wouldn't fit with older Link.

I'd like to see the Tombstone a little more often as well. I mean, if it's that easy to protect someone with a Tombstone, then it should be used more often because it's a cool looking move. I'm gonna get into some Vengance predictions because I feel like writing a nice, long post. Sable vs. Stephanie McMahon - Argh, this is the last thing I need. Neither of these women are particulary impressive wrestlers and this just serves as eye candy for horny guys. With that said, even though Sable is a better wrestler, I see Vince getting screwed over pretty badly tonight, so I'll give Stephanie the win here. Winner: Stephanie McMahon Zach Gowen vs. Vince McMahon - Why does Vince keep putting himself in matches?! Nobody wants to see this! Even on one leg, Zach is faster and more mobile than Vince and he's a better athlete. Zach is just a better wrestler than McMahon. Winner: Zach Gowen APA Bar room brawl (too many wrestlers for me to name) - This is probably just something to tide over the fans who're just looking for an all-out brawl. I have to admit, though, that I enjoy these every once in a while. The APA comes out because I just don't see them losing something that they put together. Winner: APA Billy Gunn vs. Jamie Noble - This is just an embarrasing attempt to get two mid-carders onto the PPV. The "Indecent Proposal" angle has been done before. With that said, though, it should be a decent match because Noble and Gunn are no slouches. I think it'll go back and forth, but Billy will come out on top. Winner: Billy Gunn Rey Mysterio and Billy Kidman vs. The World's Greatest Tag Team - This should be an interesting match. Both teams have conflicting wrestling styles and I have high hopes for how this one will turn out. The WWE really needs to work on bolstering the Cruiserweight division and Kidman and Mysterio won't have as much time to do that if they're the tag champions. I see Benjamin and Haas coming out on top. I bet there'll be a communication breakdown between Kidman and Mysterio, leading to a match at Summerslam. Maybe the WWE could even sneak Ultimo Dragon in there. Now [b]that[/b] would be a triple threat match! Winner: The World's Greatest Tag Team U.S. Title Tournament Finals - Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero - This should be an incredible match. And the WWE is finally putting Chris Benoit in a high level match in a PPV! In my opinion, this could end up being the highlight of the night. Both are fantastic wrestlers and deserve to win the title. Eddie has been on a roll lately, and will undoubtedly try to cheat, but I have a gut feeling that Benoit will emerge with the title. Winner: Chris Benoit The Undertaker vs. John Cena - The Undertaker has been really lagging it lately. I think that this match is just going to serve to bolster Cena's credentials. The WWE has really been working to build up Cena and this match is just another step into making Cena a star. With that said, this should still be an exciting match. The Undertaker can still turn it up when he wants to, but I still see Cena getting the win. Winner: John Cena Triple Threat Match - Big Show vs. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar - First off, I hope the WWE doesn't do what I think they're going to do and give Big Show the title. That would just ruin everything. Brock and Kurt will make this a good match and Big Show will just screw everything up. In the end, I see Lesnar holding onto the title until Summerslam at the earliest, with him in a possible rematch with Kurt Angle. Winner: Brock Lesnar I'm just adding this because I want to talk about Confidential. I've really been loving the flashback matches that they've been showing (especially the last few weeks - it's not everyday, you get to see Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart; it's still one of the greatest matches ever). Last night, was the famous upset of Scott Hall (then known as Razor Ramon) by Sean Waltman (then known as The Lightning Kid). For those who can still remember Sean in his prime as the 1-2-3 Kid, you know that he was the truth. All the stuff that Cruiserweights do today, he did it before it was even popular in the WWE and he did it better. When guys go over the top rope today, many (with the notable exception of Rey Mysterio) get hurt along with the guy they were trying to beat up on. However, Sean did it with brains. He would go over the top rope and emerge without a scratch and be ready to pounce on his opponent again. Seeing that match brought me fond memories of him and makes me wish that he were back in the WWE as X-Pac. I'm sure he'd bring some fire to the Cruiserweight division. Jeez, a ton of my predictions were off. Why did John Cena lose?! He needs a good push! The Billy Gunn/Jamie Noble match was horrible and the APA bar room brawl was worse. I can't believe Matt Hardy was involved with that. I should've expected Eddy to win, though. And Rhyno is finally a heel! I was getting tired of him as a face. Both McMahon matches were nothing special, but I was impressed with Zach Gowen. He sells really well and he's pretty athletic. The tag team match was incredible and the title match was just as good (Kurt Angle is the champ! Woo-hoo!).

"It's just amazing," mirai said. "What's amazing?" Ruby asked. "It's like I'm a different person around you," mirai said. "I'm not quite as shy and I'm more open with my feelings." Mirai kissed Ruby gently and sighed happily. "I haven't been this happy in a while," mirai said. "Neither have I," Ruby said, smiling. "I'm just glad," mirai said. "That we can be happy together." He kissed Ruby again, looked into her beautiful eyes, and was lost in her enchanting gaze once again.

[i]Shin hears a large blast out of nowhere.[/i] Shin: What the hell was that?! [i]Shin runs outside. There are people running from the ceremony.[/i] Shin: What the?! Something must be going down with Mercury! Golden Sun(running by): We need backup! Jericho Inblade has infiltrated the complex! Repeat, Jericho Inblade has infiltrated the complex! He is armed and extremely dangerous! Shin: Inblade?! [i]Shin smiles.[/i] Shin: This is the perfect opportunity. I don't think that Inblade knows I'm here; I can take him and Mercury by surprise. Those bastards won't know what hit 'em. [i]Shin loads his guns.[/i] Shin: They sure as hell won't be embarassing me any more.

I like all your banners but my favorite is still the [Adult Swim] banner...I still read it every time I see it. Do you know how much time I've wasted staring at that thing lol?

[i]Wow,[/i] mirai thought. [i]I actually got the nerve to kiss her! And she kissed me back![/i] Mirai was nearly as giddy as a schoolgirl, only he wasn't because he's not a girl. Or is he? No, he isn't. I was just teasing. But he was happy that he got a kiss from Ruby, I can assure you of that. "These lights are making me kind of dizzy," mirai said. Ruby laughed a little and smiled at mirai. "Yeah, they're all over the room," Ruby replied. "It's a pretty romantic setting," mirai said as he pulled Ruby closer. "It sure is," Ruby said as she leaned closer to mirai.

[i]Shin lands near the area where Mercury is supposed to be. He looks at his watch.[/i] Shin: Would you look at that? I have time to spare. [i]Shin sees an ice cream parlor.[/i] Shin: Heh, I haven't been to one of these in so long...I rarely get to enjoy ice cream... [i]Shin walks in and sits down. He orders a vanilla ice cream cone with fudge on it and stares out the window while eating it.[/i] Shin: This is delicious...and it will be all the sweeter once I get Mercury, that bastard. How dare he try to stick it to bounty hunters! [i]Shin slams his fist onto the counter and everyone in the room stares at him.[/i] Shin: Er...sorry about that. [i]Everyone goes back to eating.[/i]

Yeah, you shouldn't be surprised that you're having a hard time with the NES Mega Man games. They're notorious for being extremely difficult. But that doesn't mean that they're not good games. Those old Mega Man games are still some of my favorite games on the NES. And, remember, this was when Capcom still had some originality when they were making up names for the Mega Man bosses.

All mirai could think about was how extremely lucky he was at the moment. Here he was sitting with a girl that he really liked and she really liked him too! Whew, it's almost too much to think about. "It's such a perfect night," mirai said. "Yeah, it is," Ruby replied. Mirai looked at Ruby. "Thanks for spending the night with me," mirai said. "I really appreciate it." Then, he leaned over and kissed Ruby on the cheek.