Skeptical Gaming

Well friends, it's with a somewhat heavy heart that I must announce my plans to close down Skeptical Gaming. 

When I started this site just over a year ago, I did so with the intention of giving myself an outlet for writing, and to take myself to bigger and better places.   Six months after opening the site, I had the good fortune of working with the people at UncleGamer.  Shortly thereafter, they offered me the Editor in Chief position at their site.

And since then, my responsibilities at UncleGamer have grown significantly.  In addition to being their Editor in Chief, I'm also one of their key writers and a co-host on their weekly podcast.  My work there has grown so much (in a good way) that I no longer have time to work on Skeptical Gaming.  So, as a result, I'm announcing the closure of Skeptical Gaming so that I can start focusing on my work at UG.

If you enjoy my writing, or like the kind of news that helped get this place up and running, I really hope you'll come over to UncleGamer and take a look around.  We've got great news coverage over there, some significantly active forums, game reviews and previews, well written editorials, a wonderful podcast, and lots of contests and prizes.  It's a great site, and hopefully I'll see you guys over there.

Skeptical Gaming will stay up, so feel free to browse through the archives and look through the old stories.  However, I won't be updating it from this point forward, so that I can start focusing on UncleGamer.  It was a difficult decision to make, and I wavered on it quite a bit.  But at the same time, I know people come here for news and updates, and dividing my focus between two sites just wasn't working.  So it's time for me to focus on a single site. 

I want to thank each and every person that has read through this site, helped me with the content, and offered their kind words of support.  Without you, I would not be where I am today, and without you, I may never have started this.  Skeptical Gaming has led me to some wonderful and exciting avenues that might never have been open to me otherwise, and I'm approaching the future with a smile on my face and a spring in my step.  This is an exciting time for gamers, and I look forward to doing what I love… working with video games, in any capacity.

Thanks for all the fish.  This has been a wonderful year.

It's another glorious Double Header week for XBLA releases, as we're treated to two new titles for the Xbox Live Arcade.

Coming this Wednesday, you'll find the newest Tempest offshoot from Jeff Minter, titled Space Giraffe.  Priced at 400 Microsoft Points ($5), the game includes 100 levels of gameplay powered by the Neon engine, a hidden gameplay mode unlockable once you finish all 100 levels, and the standard assortment of leaderboards and achievements. 

Also releasing this week is Street Trace: NYC,  a street racing / arena combat blend title that puts you in control of a hoverboard racer.  The game, priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10) gives you both single player and multiplayer modes (four player split-screen, eight player Xbox Live support), tournament and exhibition matches that can be joined mid-game, three arena maps, three street maps, and 18 time trials.

Friends and loved ones… today is a most sacred day, for after months of (im)patient waiting, our Virtual Console savior has arrived.  Here's what we've got coming to the Wii Shop later today:

• Super Metroid from the Super NES (1 player, 800 Wii Points)
• Shinobi III from the Sega Genesis (1 player, 800 Wii Points)
• Neutopia from the TurboGrafx-16 (1 player, 600 Wii Points)

Shinobi III is definitely a fun game, and a worthy addition to Virtual Console.  But let's be honest here.. the real star here is Super Metroid.   The best of the Samus Aran games has returned from the dead!  Put your hands in the air and testify!  Can I get an Amen??

Another glorious double header week awaits us on the Xbox Live Arcade, as both Hexic 2 and Ecco the Dolphin hit XBLA on Wednesday. 

Hexic 2, the sequel to the Xbox 360’s hard drive pack in, is being priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and will include some minor gameplay enhancements (a new column, and the elimination of two dead zones in the original board), leaderboards, as well as some limited multiplayer functionality.  Ecco the Dolphin, part of Sega’s Vintage Collection, will be priced at 400 Microsoft Points ($5) and offer some minor graphics enhancements, leaderboards for best times in the boards, and….  er, undersea adventures and stuff.  So take that, Nintendo Wii and your $8 port of the original!

It’s a banner day for Virtual Console, as one of the highlight NES titles will grace the Wii Shop Channel later this morning (along with two other titles).  Here’s what we’re looking at:

• Metroid from the NES (1 player, 500 Wii Points) 
• Shining in the Darkness from the Sega Genesis (1 player, 800 Wii Points)
• Cratermaze from the TurboGrafx-16 (1 player, 600 Wii Points)

The release of Metroid from the NES is going to bring in a lot of players.  But could this be a harbinger for the release of Super Metroid next week, which would conveniently release both Metroid and Super Metroid in the successive weeks before the release of Metroid Prime Corruption?  We can only hope.

The Xbox 360 price cut news is now official, at the exact details we offered last week.

The Xbox 360 Elite drops $30 to an MSRP of $449, the Premium drops $50 to an MSRP of $349, and the Core unit will drop $20 to sit on store shelves at $279.  

These price cuts go live tomorrow morning (Wednesday, August 8th).  Stores can start selling at the new prices first thing in the morning, but won't be able to advertise the price cuts in their print ads until Sunday.  

…. get it?  Hurdles?  Teehee.

Konami's arcade classic "Track & Field" is this week’s Xbox Live Arcade title.  The revamp of this title features upgraded graphics (though nothing substantial), leaderboards, the standard 200 achievement points, and support for up to four players, either locally or online. 

Track & Field launches this Wednesday, and will cost 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

It's a glorious week for Virtual Console releases.  Here's what's coming up later this morning on the Wii Shop Channel.

• Wave Race 64 from the Nintendo 64 (1 - 2 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
• The Adventures of Lolo from the NES (1 player, 500 Wii Points)
• Galaga ‘90 from the TurboGrafx-16 (1 player, 600 Wii Points)

Any re-release of Wave Race 64 is a reason to celebrate, even if the racing does get frustrating after a while.   And Lolo, while no superstar in the NES lineup, is enough of a guilty pleasure that many will celebrate its launch on VC.

Or at least, all signs point to that.

Our retail source (the same one who broke the PS3 and Wii pre-order information) has coughed up a spot of news.  EB Games and GameStop locations are receiving manager notes alerting them of a forthcoming marketing kit from Microsoft, in advance of a large Xbox 360 announcement.  The note sternly warns managers that under no circumstances may they display this information early.

He confirms that this is being done in advance of the Xbox 360 price cuts.

Tentatively, it appears that Microsoft will release an official announcement on the price drops on Wednesday, August 8th.  Retailers will be able to start selling at the reduced price at that time, but won't be able to advertise it in advance (hence all the scans of store ads for the week of August 12th showing off the lowered prices). 

With the price cuts, the Core unit will have its MSRP set at $279 (a $20 cut), the Premium set at $349 MSRP (a $50 cut), and the Elite at $449 (a $30 price cut). 

With this, Microsoft continues their trend of not being able to keep anything a secret.  But a price cut right before their massive wave of software releases can only be seen as a good thing, as it will increase system sales while driving software sales as well. 

Hit me baby, two more times.  The Xbox Live Arcade is getting another double header this week, with the dual release of Marathon 2: Durandal and Spyglass Board Games.

Durandal is a re-release of the original Mac game (later ported to the PC) and will cost 800 Microsoft Points ($10).  The XBLA release of the game includes your standard graphics update, an increase in framerate from 30fps to 60fps, support for 8 player co-op via Xbox Live (possibly a typo, they probably mean versus instead of co-op), and a new game mode called 'Survival', where each player starts with a large amount of weapons/ammo, and must survive for as long as possible against continuous waves of enemies.

Spyglass Board Games is a compiliation of board games, and will cost 400 Microsoft Points ($5).  The game includes Chess, Checkers, Reversi, and Mancala.  In addition to Xbox Live multiplayer support, the game also supports the Xbox Live Vision camera.  Pretty sweet for a $5 game.

The XBLA release of both games has been overseen by Freeverse Software, and the two games will be launched tomorrow morning.

It's another lackluster release week on Virtual Console, as Nintendo's Wii Shop gets three new titles in just a few hours.  Don't worry, you probably won't even have to power up your system.  Here's what you're looking at:

• Star Soldier from the NES (1 player, 500 Wii Points)
• Dynamite Headdy from the Sega Genesis (1 player, 800 Wii Points)
• Drop Off from the TurboGrafx-16 (1 player, 600 Wii Points)

This sort of begs the question:  What have we done to deserve this?  Virtual Console releases are like a new degree of hell, only occasionally offering something worth booting up the system for.  C'mon Nintendo… with a month to go until Metroid Prime Corruption, wouldn't this be the perfect time to get us excited for the franchise again by releasing a certain side-scrolling adventure/RPG hybrid from the Super Nintendo days?

Yes, I'm talking about Soul Blazer.  But barring that, we'll take Super Metroid, too.

After the wild success of the first season of Sam & Max, the Dog and Rabbit-thing duo are returning this fall for another full season of episodes.  Available directly from both the TellTaleGames.com website as well as through the Gametap service, the second season will continue the episodic content releases which proved so popular during the first season run.

In addition to updates to the gameplay and some tweaks to the engine, Telltale Games has announced that as part of the Season 2 rollout, they'll be decreasing the time between the GameTap releases and the TellTaleGames.com release, shortening the gap from two weeks down to just a single day.

The violent crime fighting pair hits your PC again this fall, and the season will run all the way into Spring of 2008.

Don't say I didn't warn you…  Wing Commander Arena is coming this Wednesday on the Xbox Live Arcade.  Priced at 800 Microsoft Points, the game includes support for up to 16 players via Xbox Live, with a total of 18 craft you can unlock from the single player game (9 Human, 9 Kilrathi). 

In addition, you'll also find Super Contra on the XBLA this week.  Priced at only 400 Microsoft Points, the game is an upgraded version of the original coin-op title, and includes support for 2 player co-op via Xbox Live.

You've gotta love a double header week!

It's Monday, and that means we're being treated to three new games for the Virtual Console.  In just a few hours, you'll find these gems on the Wii Shop Channel:

• Kirby's Dream Course from the Super NES (1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
• Devil's Crush, the pinball sequel to Alien Crush, from the TurboGrafx16 (1-2 players, 600 Wii Points)
• Shining Force, a top-down strategy title from the Sega Genesis (1 player, 800 Wii Points)

And sure, it feels weird not to see an NES title on the list, but change is good… particularly when you have three strong releases like these.  Shining Force was a proud moment in the Genesis library, and with any luck, we'll see its sequels on Virtual Console soon.

Now that E3 has come and gone, and all the post-E3 information slows to a trickle, it's time to take a minute and recap the good, bad, and ugly moments from this year's E3 festivities. 

Hit the link below for this year's Skeptical Gaming E3 awards, brought to you commercial free!

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