Metal Gear Solid: Rising is now apparently called Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

A few years ago at E3 2009, Hideo Kojima revealed to the world the next 2 Metal Gear projects: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, starring Big Boss and taking place after Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and before Metal Gear, and Metal Gear Solid: Rising, starring Raiden and taking place between Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The MGS:R trailer didn't detail very much, but it was generally viewed that the trailer would explore how it was exactly that Raiden became a cyborg ninja and his exploits between games, including contacting Big Mama to locate the body of Big Boss.


Since then, information about MGS:R has been limited to a few small trailers here and there, including one showcasing the game's cutting mechanics that are an obvious rip-off of No More Heroes and Afro Samurai. Many jokes spread through the internet that MGS:R was "The Real Watermelon Cutting Simulator," lampooning Gran Turismo's slogan and a questionably lengthy segment in one trailer showing Raiden cutting apart watermelons.


Japanese parent groups were also concerned with the game's emphasis on dismemberment, having successfully managed to get extremely violent images off of Japanese television and tone down the violence of games released in Japan. Japanese trailers for MGS:R had scenes of Raiden dismembering soldiers censored out of the videos. After no news of MGS:R appeared at E3 2011, there were concerns that the game had entered development hell, especially since Hideo Kojima had earlier announced that he would only be serving as a producer, not director.


At the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards, there was a surprising trailer for the now-named Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Featuring a LOT more blood, cyborg human enemies, one enemy in particular who looks a lot like Vamp, Raiden reverting to his Jack the Ripper persona, and Raiden throwing a Metal Gear RAY with his bare hands, the game was also revealed to be now developed by Platinum Games, the makers of Bayonetta, headed by the creator of Devil May Cry.


At this point, the trailer is getting mixed reviews. Although the game looks successfully as ridiculous as Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, it is simply too bizarre even for a Metal Gear game. The game also no longer takes place between MGS2 and 4, now being a direct sequel to MGS4. The reason for the change in time placement is to allow Platinum more creative freedom, probably out of fear of Platinum creating time paradoxes.


Look for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance on PS3 and Xbox 360 (no PC release) most likely in late 2012 or early 2013.


Fake Update made to look like an Update: Hideo Kojima is reporting that Metal Gear Solid: Rising was actually cancelled when the dev team ran out of ideas beyond Raiden cutting up people in the time between MGS2 and 4. Platinum Games expressed interest in the game, so Konami gave the reigns to them to see what they could do. Hearing that Kojima was so down on the game that it was cancelled doesn't bode well for MGS fans who treat Kojima's opinion as fact.

Chris Paul to the Lakers for 5 Players and a Draft Pick is Not Allowed, but Lamar Odom to the Mavericks for 2 Draft Picks Is. WAIT WHAT?

Yes, you read that correctly, the Lakers have sent Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the Mavericks' 2012 1st and 2nd Round Draft Picks. Oh, and for a trade exception too which allowed Tyson Chandler to go to the Knicks. Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher are totally flabbergasted by the trade, although Kobe says he has faith in Mitch Kupchak's decisions.


I, however, do not have faith in Mitch Kupchak anymore, because it seems that Jim Buss wants to run the team his way and does not care about winning like his father or sister, enough to the point of seemingly overpowering Kupchak's decisions to save money and turn the team into the Clippers.

More NBA Drama from the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard; My Thoughts as an NBA Fan on the 2010-11 Season and how Basketball is Becoming Less Interesting

According to the Orlando Magic, either Dwight Howard, New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokorov, or Nets GM Billy King are guilty of tampering an violating league rules in their efforts to make a trade that would send Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu to the Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and 2 1st round draft picks. The Magic are also claiming that the Houston Rockets were involved in tampering, but the Rockets are denying ever having contacted Howard. Howard and Prokorov deny meeting in Miami last night.


This shit is just ridiculous, but I honestly saw all of this coming years ago. The draft class of Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, etc. saw almost nothing but small-market teams get high-level talent after having suffered for eons. Brandon Roy went to the Blazers, Kevin Durant to the Sonics, Dwight Howard to the Magic, Chris Paul to the Hornets... Every small-market team being absolutely horrible was a recipe for disaster. Once Lebron got his way and was allowed to be an unrestricted free agent, a giant can of worms opened up as all the other stars learned that they could just wait out for their contracts to expire and sign with whatever team they wanted to, rather than being loyal to the team that drafted them, while also being able to pocket a hefty check.


Last year, the end seemed to be beginning with the Carmelo Anthony fiasco. Anthony made his intentions clear (unlike Lebron) that he was not planning to stay in Denver and jump to New York once his contract expired. Because of this, it gave the Nuggets the brilliant idea of attempting to trade Anthony to the Knicks in exchange for at least some residual players; something the Cleveland Cavaliers could not once Lebron left. The Nuggets rejected a few trades early in the season, eventually having to cave at the last second and accept a very bad trade to simply get a few players out of Carmelo Anthony's eventual departure.


Before this season was even locked out, many predicted that Chris Paul and Dwight Howard would be traded before the season began to both prevent a Lebron situation and to secure a good trade as early as possible. Just one day after the new CBA was made official, the Lakers' GM Mitch Kupchak seemingly was going to work his magic again, working around various loopholes and dealing with incompetent GMs to try and secure trades to get both Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. While most predicted that getting both would be impossible because there is only 1 Andrew Bynum, the Lakers-Rockets-Hornets trade showed that it was very possible for the Lakers to get both players, even at the cost of losing their entire team chemistry just to get younger.


I honestly can't believe any of this shit is happening. There is a real danger to having the stupid amount of small-market teams the NBA has, and it's become quite clear that the owners fought a 4-month long lockout over nothing. It's really mind-boggling to me why the NBA does not have the Franchise Tag like the NFL, but I supposed even that wouldn't be enough to stop Lebron James from getting the hell off the Cavaliers or Shaq going to the Lakers all those years ago.


It's not like any of this is new. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks (as Lew Alcindor), but jumped ship to the Lakers because of his conversion to Islam, citing that Wisconsin did not have any mosques at the time. Derek Fisher did the exact same thing, although it was much lower profile, desiring a trade from the Jazz to the Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, or Nets to be closer to his daughter's doctors in either L.A. or New York.


At this point though, if the NBA allows Chris Paul to be traded to New York, Boston, Dallas, or Chicago, but not to the Lakers, or even Clippers, then it will become obviously clear that David Stern caves to pressure from small-market owners who have an incredible bias against the Lakers. Major League Baseball has done nothing to stop the Yankees from signing stupidly expensive contracts and attracting various big name free agents over the years, so why should the NBA do it? Because they happen to "temporarily" own the team? You have to be shitting me.


I will always be a Lakers fan, but consider me no longer a fan of the NBA as long as David Stern is the commissioner and poorly performing small-market teams are allowed to dictate where the best players go.

Chris Paul-Lakers Mega Trade Nixed by David Stern

The lockout may be over, but apparently someone hasn't told David Stern that now is not a good time to start acting like a tyrant again. The mega trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers has been nixed by NBA commissioner David Stern a midst pressure from "several" small-market team owners saying the deal was unfair, citing a conflict of interest due to the Hornets currently being owned by the NBA. Apparently, until the NBA can find a new owner for the Hornets, the 29 owners of the NBA can approve or disapprove all trades or free-agent signings the Hornets make from now on.


The trade, if it had gone through, would have involved the following:

• Lakers Get:
• G Chris Paul
• Rockets Get:
• F/C Pau Gasol
• Hornets Get:
• F Lamar Odom
• F Luis Scola
• G Kevin Martin
• G Goran Dragic
• Rockets' 2012 1st Round Pick

I honestly don't understand what part of that trade is not fair. The Lakers get Chris Paul, probably the best point guard in the NBA, but they have to give away their starting power forward Pau Gasol as well as the reigning Sixth Man, Lamar Odom. The Hornets receive a shitload of talent as well as the Rockets' 1st round pick, and the Rockets get the replacement for Yao that they have been clamoring for. The trade was really a win for all 3 teams, but owners like Dan Gilbert (Cleveland Cavaliers) are so butthurt that their teams are undesirable that they will kill a trade that makes the overall league stronger.

Because of the trade falling through, Chris Paul is considering suing the NBA for preventing him him from being traded to the team of his choice. The Hornets management is also unhappy, since this refusal of trade only makes it more likely Chris Paul will leave the Hornets as an unrestricted free agent next year and join the Lakers anyway.

The trade rejection also makes it far easier for the Lakers to land Dwight Howard without having to give up as much as some would have originally thought, although word (from Chris Broussard) is that Howard has requested a trade to the New Jersey Nets, in a deal that would be centered around Brook Lopez.

Man, is it great to have the NBA back or what? Oh also, an NBA executive who will remain anonymous has said that this nixed trade is an insult to all 3 teams involved and all the players involved.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Famitsu Review

Final Fantasy XIII-2 comes out December 15 in Japan, so the most notorious Japanese gaming magazine has of course, reviewed it. For many years, Famitsu was infamous for hardly ever giving out perfect scores, reserving the perfect 40/40 for the absolute cream of the crop. The Famitsu scoring system is to take the total weighted score of 4 judges each giving the game a score of 1-10, for a total score out of 40, meaning the lowest possible score is a 4/40.


Today, Final Fantasy XIII-2 has joined the list of Famitsu perfect scores. But what exactly does a perfect score actually mean? Or even a near-perfect score? Here is the list of games Famitsu has given a perfect score, in chronological order:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, Nintendo, for Nintendo 64)
2. Soulcalibur (1999, Namco, for Dreamcast)
3. Vagrant Story (2000, Square Co., for PlayStation)
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003, Nintendo, for Nintendo GameCube)
5. Nintendogs (2005, Nintendo, for Nintendo DS)
6. Final Fantasy XII (2006, Square Enix, for PlayStation 2)
7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Nintendo, for Wii)
8. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008, Konami, for PlayStation 3)
9. 428: Fūsa Sareta Shibuya de (2008, Sega, for Wii)
10. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (2009, Square Enix, for Nintendo DS)
11. Monster Hunter Tri (2009, Capcom, for Wii)
12. Bayonetta (2009, Sega, for Xbox 360)
13. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009, Nintendo, for Wii)
14. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010, Konami, for PlayStation Portable)
15. Pokémon Black and White (2010, Nintendo, for Nintendo DS)
16. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011, Nintendo, for Wii)
17. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011, Bethesda Softworks, for Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3) - the first non-Japanese game to receive a perfect score.
18. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (2011, Square Enix, for Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3)

As you can see, Famitsu has an incredible bias towards Japanese games, Skyrim being the only non-Japanese game to get a perfect score, and it's also an RPG, a category favorite of Famitsu. Here are all the 39/40 scores given by Famitsu:

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, Nintendo, for Super Famicom)
2. Virtua Fighter 2 (1995, Sega, for Sega Saturn)
3. Ridge Racer Revolution (1995, Namco, for PlayStation)
4. Super Mario 64 (1996, Nintendo, for Nintendo 64)
5. Tekken 3 (1998, Namco, for PlayStation)
6. Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram (1999, Sega, for Dreamcast)
7. Final Fantasy X (2001, Square Co., for PlayStation 2)
8. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001, Sony Computer Entertainment, for PlayStation 2)
9. Resident Evil (2002, Capcom, for Nintendo GameCube)
10. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (2004, Square Enix, for PlayStation 2)
11. Gran Turismo 4 (2004, Sony Computer Entertainment, for PlayStation 2)
12. Kingdom Hearts II (2005, Square Enix, for PlayStation 2)
13. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (2005, Konami, for PlayStation 2)
14. Dead or Alive 4 (2005, Tecmo, for Xbox 360)
15. Ōkami (2006, Capcom, for PlayStation 2)
16. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007, Nintendo, for Nintendo DS)
17. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008, Rockstar Games, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)
18. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009, Activision, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)
19. Final Fantasy XIII (2009, Square Enix, for PlayStation 3)
20. Red Dead Redemption (2010, Rockstar Games, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)
21. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 (2010, Namco Bandai Games, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)
22. Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010, Activision, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)
23. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd (2010, Capcom, for PlayStation Portable)
24. L.A. Noire (2011, Rockstar Games, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)
25. Tales of Xillia (2011, Namco Bandai, for PlayStation 3)
26. Gears of War 3 (2011, Epic Games, for Xbox 360)
27. FIFA 12 (2011, EA Canada, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)
28. Final Fantasy Type-0 (2011, Square Enix, for PSP)
29. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD Collection (2011, Kojima Productions, for PS3)
30. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011, Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3)

As you can see from the list of near-perfect games, Famitsu hasn't shown any clear bias, especially in this console generation, giving foreign developers a good chance and even awarding near-perfects to first person shooters, a category that Japan is historically not interested in. Famitsu's reviews have apparently changed things, because Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has sold like crazy in Japan.

FFXIII-2 was also given an "S" rating by Dengeki, the 2nd leading gaming magazine in Japan; the "S" rating is the highest rating that Dengeki offers, grading games on a scale of S, A, B, C, D, and F.

NHL Conference Realignment

The NHL Board of Governors approved a plan Monday night to re-align the entire NHL. When one thinks conference re-alignment, one usually thinks how the MLB has decided to move the Houston Astros from the NL Central to the AL West, or the NFL taking the Atlanta Falcons out of the NFC West, or perhaps the NBA maybe doing something about the stupidity of the Oklahoma City Thunder playing out of the Northwest Division. But no, the NHL is doing something much grander for next season. Come next season, the NHL will split their 30 teams into 4 conferences with 2 conferences with 8 teams and 2 with 7 teams. Generally, the new conferences will be geographic, although the Southeast is in the same conference as the Northeast, while the mid-east coast will be mostly its own conference.

The 4 new conferences

The former Western Conference, now with 16 teams, makes up what the NHL has for now deemed "Conference A" and "Conference B," but with the inclusion of the Winnipeg Jets, formerly the Atlanta Thrashers. The former Eastern Conference now has 14 teams, which opens the possibility of expanding the NHL to 32 teams in Conference C or D. Based on the nature of the new conferences, it's possible for the Deep South to get another hockey team (for whatever stupid reason) or the northeast, or the general east coast to get another one.

It's a pretty ambitious move, one that may change the NHL's playoff structure because of the new traveling requirements for certain teams. The Florida Panthers now have the most brutal travel schedule, having to make frequent trips up to Canada for conference games as well as making road trips to every other team.

More news as it develops...

Chris Benoit Movie Announced

It seems that the success of The Wrestler has led to the production of another wrestling movie, this time one based on the tragically true story of Chris Benoit. The movie, titled Crossface (referencing Benoit's signature move, the Crippler Crossface submission technique), will be based on Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry, originally written by Sarah Coulter.


There has been some mixed reactions to the production of Crossface, most saying that the film would be better suited as a documentary, rather than a biopic. Personally, I think the story of Benoit's life and death is so important that it needs to get out to the public in any way possible. The NFL is doing a much better job to treat head injuries these days, causing a great rift among old and young players and the public regarding the level of violence in football being toned down to better protect the players from suffering severe head trauma (I happen to believe that only good can from protecting the players).


Chris Benoit was a semi-famous wrestler in the WCW, being treated as a bit player while Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Randy Savage, Sting, and the NwO were able to dominate the stable. Knowing him and 3 other wrestlers to be extremely talented and having their talents wasted in WCW, WWF chairman Vince McMahon lured Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn to his stable, provoking more fuel to the flames of the Monday Night Wars. Although Malenko and Saturn never received much pop/heat, or approval/disapproval from the audience, Benoit and Guerrero achieved true super stardom, becoming the faces of the WWF (and later WWE), possessing actual talent in the ring, great mic skills, unbelievable charisma, and undying support from the fans.


Sadly, Benoit and Guerrero both passed away and have left behind very different legacies in pro wrestling. After Guerrero passed away from heart failure due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease caused by his past abuse of painkillers and severe alcoholism, he was revered for being a great wrestler who sadly could not escape from his past drug and alcohol abuse even though he had been drug free and sober for years. When Benoit died, his legacy was immediately tarnished and to this day, the WWE will go out of its way to make as little mention as possible to the existence of Chris Benoit.


The reasons for Benoit being blackballed are not totally unfounded. Over the weekend of June 27, 2007, Chris Benoit missed a taping for an ECW event due to a "family emergency." In reality, Benoit killed his wife and 7-year-old son before eventually killing himself during a 3 day period. Police visited the Benoit home on a "welfare check" after several missed appointments on the 27th, discovering the bodies. Toxicology reports showed that Nancy Benoit had Xanax, hydrocodone (Vicodin), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid) in her system, but at the therapeutic level, rather than a toxic level, suggesting that they were not forced into her system. Daniel Benoit had enough Xanax in his system to cause him to pass out. Chris Benoit had Xanax, Hydrocodone, and an elevated level of testosterone caused by a synthetic form of the hormone in his system. The chief medical examiner ruled that Benoit's testosterone was due to being treated for testicular insufficiency and/or prior steroid abuse and ruled that "roid rage" was not at fault for the incident.


After the toxicology reports came in, ex-wrestler Christopher Nowinski contacted Benoit's father and suggested that repeated head trauma may have been the reason for his son's erratic behavior. Tests were then conducted on Benoit's brain at West Virginia University, finding that his brain was in such terrible shape, it could be easily compared to an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient. Prior to his death, Benoit was reported to have had an advanced form of dementia, something that was not surprising to head of neurosurgery at WVU, Julian Bailes. Bailes had done research on 4 retired NFL players and had ruled at this point that repeated concussions leads to dementia.


It's a sad story that ended in the deaths of 3 people, but it desperately needs to be told because of the multiple concussions Benoit suffered that lead to his dementia. After his death, many in the media, as well as some former members of the wrestling industry, immediately started pointing fingers at "roid rage," or the abuse of anabolic steroids causing increased aggression. After Benoit's brain was scanned, however, the media coverage of repeated concussions leading to dementia was not covered, because the American media generally doesn't like reporting on things that make legitimate sports look bad.


Last season, NHL star Sidney Crosby suffered 2 severe hits to the head in games within the same week, causing him to miss the rest of the season while he dealt with recovering from a concussion. Even now in the NFL, players are generally expected to return to the field within a week or two, so many sports writers unfamiliar with hockey were shocked and disappointed to see Crosby out of action for months, only just this past week seeing him return to action. The amount of time Crosby was out to recover from his concussion was appropriate and the Pittsburgh Penguins did the right thing by keeping Crosby out of action until he was clear to play many months later.


UFC has an extremely similar policy, banning fighters from competing for months on end if they suffer concussions. UFC commissioner Dana White has appeared many times on ESPN's Outside the Lines to discuss concussions in sports, usually criticizing the NFL for not taking the issue seriously and has mentioned the Benoit case before.


Crossface is currently being shopped around for directors and actors, with hopes of the movie beginning production in late 2012, probably in time for a mid-to-late 2013 release.