That Doesn't Seem Right...

Tekken Hybrid

US release date: November 22, 2011
JP release date: December 1, 2011

US MSRP: $39.99
JP MSRP: ￥7140



I'm as big of a Yamashita Shunya fan as the next guy - not to mention a Xiaoyu user - but I'm not sure if the slipcover warrants that type of a price disparity.

Survivor Series 2011

About a week late, but I tracked this puppy down after hearing positive things about it. Of course, this year's Survivor Series is notable because it features the Rock in his first in-ring action in roughly 7 years. This show also apparently marks the 10th anniversary of John Laurinaitis' tenure with the company. Michael Cole: "ALLRIIIIGHT!" I guess he's a fan of John Laurinaitis? We kick things off with Zig-Zag Man (as Booker T likes to call him) and the soon to be released John Morrison.

United States Title: Dolph Ziggler vs John Morrison

A pretty massive "We want Ryder!" chant from the fans to start. The crowd boos everything that Morrisson does - because he isn't Zack Ryder, I guess - but he gets some cheers after whipping out a corkscrew plancha. Vickie Guerrero drops by to scream incomprehensibly at Morrison. John: "Hey, stay away from me!" Not sure if he was breaking character there or not. Ziggler eventually takes over and begins toying around with Morrison. Vickie: "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Morrison makes the comeback with the Moonlight Drive, which is apparently just a "neckbreaker" now. Vickie gets sent to the back for getting a little too involved, and she is not happy. To say the least. The boys go into a slick pinfall reversal sequence that ends with Ziggler getting a sweet Fame-Asser for a close 2. Yes, Ziggler is so awesome that he can even make Billy Gunn's moves look good. Dolph eventually gets the 3 after blocking Starship Pain and hitting the Zig-Zag. Hot opener. It's pretty crazy how good Dolph Ziggler is getting. He would go on to tear the house down with CM Punk the next night on RAW, and have another good outing with Randy Orton a week later.

Crowd still wants Ryder, and indeed, he shows up to a pretty massive pop. He hits the Rough Ryder, which Dolph sells by flipping completely over and flying out of the ring.

Divas Championship: Beth Phoenix vs Eve

ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzTOPROPEGLAMSLAM!

Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler, Hunico, & Cody Rhodes vs Sheamus, Sin Cara, Kofi Kingston, Mason Ryan, & Randy Orton

Hunico is now dressed exactly like Homicide. If you're a wrestler of Mexican origin, I guess you have to be either lucha or gangster. Cody Rhodes gets a pretty big pop despite being a heel, probably because he rules. Sweet retro IC title, too. You know, I'm pretty sure I once watched a porn that featured Sin Cara's music. Just saying. This Mason Ryan guy can't be real. He has more muscles than a Ninja Turtle. Or a Rob Liefeld illustration. I kid you not, this is the look on Jack Swagger's face as Mason Ryan makes his entrance:



Ziggler takes an RKO and is eliminated first, which is understandable since he's pulling double duty tonight. Match breaks down and Sin Cara and Kofi Kingston do stereo dives to the floor. Well, they do in theory, except that Sin Cara somehow injures himself mid-air and manages to eliminate himself from the match. As advertised before his debut, Sin Cara is indeed amazing, albeit for all the wrong reasons. No idea what happened there. Note: there was much speculation following the show in regards to how Cara could have possibly injured himself so severely on that dive, but most have come to an agreement that this official WWE Sin Cara t-shirt best explains what went awry.



Yes, Sin Cara's MASSIVE ERECTION got caught in the ropes, which is why he's now out of action for 9 months. Get well soon, Sin Cara. And yes, that is an actual t-shirt that was apparently very close to being sold at WWE events worldwide. I guess someone with eyeballs managed to spot the GIANT PENIS on the design before it went into mass production.

Things come to a halt momentarily, as everyone regroups and tries to figure out what to do since Sin Cara has legitimately injured himself. Mason Ryan tosses Hunico around for a bit, but Cody eliminates him with the Beautiful Disaster and the Cross Rhodes. Crowd chants for Cody after that. Smart people. Speaking of Cody, he has kneepads now. Odd. Did he sell his mask and purchase those? Kofi goes next after getting hit with Barrett's Wasteland. I like Barrett, but his finisher is still pretty lame. Now Sheamus comes in, and he's incredibly angry. Perhaps because Sin Cara has more size than he does, but more likely because his Survivor Series team sucks. He starts killing cats and ends up getting disqualified for kicking too much ass. Well, I suppose that's one way to eliminate the guy without having him eat a pin. Sheamus takes out Swagger with the pump kick on his way out, which allows Orton to make it 3 vs 1. So we have Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, and Hunico. One of these things is not like the other. Hunico apparently senses this, so he busts out a Springboard-Diving-Face-Into-Your-RKO on Orton. Glad he can take a hint. Hey, now that standard Sin Cara is on the shelf for a while, would it hurt to put the mask on Hunico and bring back Sin Cara Negro? He was actually pretty badass. Anyway, Orton holds his own for a while, but Barrett catches him with a Wasteland to give his team the win. Is it me, or has Orton been laying down for everyone after Mark Henry took his title?

World Title: Mark Henry vs Big Show

Crowd chants "Sexual Chocolate" at Mizark. Show is now calling his punch the WMD. Ever wonder why he never just punches guys in the face right at the start of the match? I mean, everyone else does it. The crowd is now chanting "D'Lo Brown". This Madison Square Garden crowd is pretty awesome. The match isn't Angle/Benoit or anything, but both guys work hard. Show kicks out of a World's Strongest Slam, so Mark spears him through the barricade on the outside. Always a cool looking spot, but not enough to get the 10 count for Henry. Not sure if it was that spear through the barricade, but Show thinks he's Macho Man when he gets back to the ring and starts climbing the turnbuckle. He manages to make it to the top and takes half the ppv to get his balance, but eventually comes off with a BIG elbow drop. For two. Mizark gets desperate and unleashes the World's Strongest Kick right to Show's Weapon of Mass Destruction. That's a disqualification, so Show wins while Henry retains the title. Mark Henry ends up getting his leg destroyed by Show after the match, I guess because Big Show isn't a fan of getting his nuts crushed.

WWE Title: Alberto Del Rio vs CM Punk

Punk brings out Howard Finkel as his guest ring announcer to counter Ricardo Rodriguez. Funny bit as Punk is all "Dude, WTF?" after Fink takes an eternity to introduce him. IT'S CLOBBERING TIME! When did Punk start using Mongolian chops? That's going to take a bit to get used to. Great match, as you'd expect from these two. Del Rio keeps working the arm, and Punk keeps going for the GTS, but to no avail. Punk eventually gets caught in the rolling armbreaker, but the crowd chants his name and pops big when he finally makes the ropes. See, that tells you two things: 1) as simple as it is, the crowd really buys Del Rio's cross armbreaker as a dangerous submission hold, and 2) CM Punk is so over (at least with the New York crowd) that the people will chant for him to break said submission hold. Aside from the kids chanting for Cena, you really don't see enough of that nowadays. Not to be outdone, Punk comes back with the Anaconda Vice. Del Rio does an awesome sell of the hold, ripping at Punks face in his attempt to escape, but taps clean to give Punk the title. Good stuff.

John Cena & The Rock vs The Awesome Truth

Rocky is absolutely ripped. He takes the Miz and R-Truth down with armdrags, then breaks out a gorgeous la magistral cradle. The crowd goes crazy for that. Crowd: "You still got it!" Indeed. Truth wants in, and he ends up taking a nice fisherman suplex, perfect bridge and all. Not to knock HHH, because I like him as a wrestler, but HHH takes half a year off, and all he brings to his match with CM Punk are punches and a half dozen Pedigrees. The Rock takes 7 years off, and he comes back with new moves in his arsenal. Rocky "tags" Cena in, and Cena finishes a snapmare sequence with a monkeyflip and a dropkick. MSG: "You still suck!" Tough crowd. Miz and Truth eventually take over on Cena, while Rock paces around on the apron. R-Truth, probably feeling the need to add unnecessary theatrics to simple moves with the Rock and John Cena around, does the splits, spins, dances around, then drops a leg on Cena. Booker: "Ah, ah, lookatdatboy, lookatboy get wicked, ahhhhhhhhhhh, haha, R-Truth, R-Truth get wicked baby!" Clearly, Booker needs to be calling more R-Truth matches. Little kid in the crowd: "Truth, I love you!" Truth: "TAKE THAT LITTLE JIMMY!" It's too bad Truth got suspended following the show, because he was really on the roll of his career here. Anyway, Cena gets the crap beat out of him for a while, until Truth tries another one of his dancing legdrops. Booker: "Ohhhhh, this boy gon do it again, there he go, a little rockin', ohohohohoho!" It unfortunately misses, allowing Rocky to get the hot tag and clean house. He gets the least electrifying Sharpshooter in sports entertainment on Miz, probably to let everyone know that nobody's perfect. Truth saves, which allows Miz to act like a dick for a while, before a spinebuster and a People's Elbow finishes things. John Cena spent virtually the entire match getting beat up, but this was more of a showcase for the Rock, who certainly didn't disappoint.

Cena tries to slink off after the match and give Rock the spotlight, but Rocky calls him back to the ring. He has Cena play to the crowd in the corner, then he climbs the opposite corner to show Cena who the crowd likes better. They do this TWICE, and Cena looks like a doofus for playing along.



Cena tries to leave again, but the Rock gives him the Rock Bottom to really punk him out. Geez. Even Sin Cara came out of this show looking better than John Cena. They're going to need Cena to snap and beat the hell out of the Rock at least once before Mania, because his character just has zero edge at this point. I mean, we get it, Cena is a good guy, but that last segment was pretty much a commercial for the WWE's anti-bullying campaign with Cena as the victim.

Black Cement III

No words. Just emotions.

SC Air Penny 2

Night Of Champions 2011

...joined in progress, as I had Monday off and caught this thing sorta live (JP time) when I woke up. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase are beating on each other, which I guess would make this the Intercontinental Title match. I apparently missed Air Boom vs Awesome Truth while I was sleeping. I wonder what creative savant is coming up with these fantastic team names? I'd like his guidance when naming my future offspring. Whoa, the crowd is dead for this one. Maybe everyone else is just waking up as well. DiBiase pulls off Rhodes' mask, briefly popping the crowd, but he then immediately gets rolled up for the pin. Way to go, Ted. Nothing bad here, but the crowd just isn't behind DiBiase as a babyface at this point.

Hey, it's Christian. This show just got a lot better. Naturally, he wants yet another title shot. The crowd actually chants "one more match" with him until Sheamus interrupts. Sheamus is here to talk about his uncle's green testicles and to kick Christian in the head. That is all.

US Title: Dolph Ziggler vs John Morrison vs Alex Riley vs Jack Swagger

The story here is that Ziggler and Swagger are competing for Vickie Guerrero's managerial services. She should just team them up as ZigSwag. They'd make a hell of a team, too. I caught Ziggler's match against Orton a few weeks back, and this dude can really work. No joke. Anyway, pretty good match here, as all four of these guys can go. After a contrived spot in the corner that sees everyone tossing each other off the top with various suplexes, Riley gets a hot 2 off of the implant DDT. Thought that was it. Swag eventually hits his powerbomb to put Morrison out, but Ziggler steals the pin to retain. Vickie is THRILLED. Seriously, she is really, really happy right now.

Smackdown World Title: Randy Orton vs Mark Henry

Orton is nicknamed the "Apex Predator" (I guess by the same guy who came up with "Cerebral Assassin"), but I'm not sure about his chances against Henry, an actual Predator. The alien species, not the commonly used noun. They've done a really fantastic job with this Henry push, having him destroy every big man on the roster not named the Undertaker. Now let's see if they go all the way with it. Henry immediately wins me over by bending Orton around the ringpost like he's Gumby, then standing on him with both of his fists raised in the air. This is hilarious stuff. Booker T on commentary says that even in his prime he wouldn't want to face Mark Henry. See, the good thing about having Booker at the announce table is that he's willing to put over the current talent at his own expense. Henry proceeds to dominate most of the match, although Orton does manage to get his elevated DDT in a rather impressive looking spot. I leave to cook up some hot dogs, and I guess Orton injures his leg while I'm away because he's limping around the ring when I return. Orton goes for the RKO, but Henry is like, "Bitch, please," swats Orton down to the mat, kills him dead with the World's Strongest Slam, and we've got a new champ. Okay, that was DECISIVE, as Henry absolutely punked Orton out at the end there. Crowd pops pretty big for Henry winning, too. Never thought I'd say this, but hopefully they'll let Henry run with the title for a bit. Henry gets on the mic and welcomes us all to the HALL OF PAIN. Thanks, Mizark! I celebrate with my hot dog while dancing to Mark Henry's music, which is not how I envisioned spending my Monday off.

Divas Title: Kelly Kelly (...Kelly) vs Beth Phoenix

We're apparently in Beth Phoenix's hometown, and indeed, she gets a pretty massive reaction. The crowd chants "Kelly sucks." Usually they'd be right, but Kelly promptly responds by flipping out of a hiptoss and going all Eddie Guerrero with a springboard hurricanrana. Hey now. This match has like 10 times the heat of the Rhodes/DiBiase match, which is pretty funny. Beth is feeling frisky so she breaks out a top rope superplex. Pretty impressive, as even the boys usually do it from the middle rope. Finish comes when Kelly rolls through a powerbomb attempt and gets the 3 to retain. The crowd absolutely hates it, and I can't say that I blame them too much. I mean, it's just the Divas Championship. Why not have Beth win in front of her hometown fans? Kelly can always take the belt back on RAW if they really want the title around her waist.

RAW World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs John Cena

Alberto hoofs it to the ring because Cena stole his Ferrari. So John Cena stopped rapping because it was unbecoming of him as a role model for millions of impressionable children, but grand theft auto is cool? Del Rio brings in Ricardo to introduce him the right way: in Spanish. Not to be outdone, Cena does his own intro, pointing out his Team Jordans, his jorts, and the fact that he dresses like a Fruity Pebble. That's 3 strikes right there. The match itself is pretty good stuff. Alberto's run-up enzuigiri is a thing of beauty. Cole mentions that Del Rio main evented Wrestlemania, which I guess is what they call it now when you curtain jerk. Alberto gets the armbar, but Cena goes to the Rampage Jackson powerbomb counter to escape. He manages the slam, although we'll call it...somewhat less than emphatic. The STF is eventually applied, and Del Rio taps clean to make John Cena a 12 time world champ. Nothing against Cena, but I fail to see the logic in taking the strap off of Del Rio so soon.

HHH vs CM Punk

Michael Cole has lost his voice, so things are looking up. Punk: *checks imaginary wristwatch* "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" Indeed. Punk attacks HHH while he's spitting water, which is unheard of. Seriously, they let punk shoot on the McMahons AND attack HHH while he's doing the water spit? That Shawn Michaels endorsement must really go a long way. Pretty good brawl ensues, as they beat each other into the crowd and back. Punk gets a pretty sick flying elbow to put HHH through the Spanish announce table, but then things get difficult to follow. Miz and R-Truth show up. They attack both CM Punk and HHH. They put Punk on top, presumably because they want HHH to lose and step down as COO. Punk kicks out. Truth makes funny faces. Miz tries to punch the referee, but the referee BLOCKS it and punches Miz. Miz and Truth beat down said referee. HHH and Punk recover and beat down Miz and Truth. HHH with the Pedigree on Punk. Referee is dead. Go 2 Sleep on HHH. Truth stops the count and saves HHH even though they want HHH to lose. Truth clearly has no idea what is going on. Neither do I. Go 2 Sleep on Truth. Pedigree on Punk. Punk kicks out (!). Kevin Nash is here. He is Booker's big homie. Nash beats on HHH and Punk. Nash tries to powerbomb HHH. Punk saves HHH. Nash powerbombs Punk. HHH hits Nash in the face with a sledgehammer. HHH Pedigrees Punk. HHH wins. Say what now??

Impressions: The main even was an overbooked mess, but I understand that they wanted to keep HHH as COO (what does that stand for again?) for storyline purposes, while keeping CM Punk strong in the process. At the very least, the Miz & Truth stuff is interesting, and I like the idea of them aligning with Kevin Nash to form a new Outsiders group of some sort. Overall, it was just an okay show, but they really hit it out of the park with the Mark Henry push.

Games I'm Waiting On (Part 2)

5) One Piece Kaizoku Musou



When KOEI released a Gundam game with the good old Dynasty Warriors engine, I managed to avoid it in spite of myself. When they released a Fist of the North Star game, again molded in Dynasty Warriors fashion, I marveled a bit at the trailers before forgetting about the title completely. But a One Piece beat-'em-up done by the DW team? Yeah, I'm there.

4) Twisted Metal



I wasn't sure what to think when recent trailers revealed transforming cars, but Twisted Metal has been looking so good that it'll take more than that goofy Sweet Bot to douse my enthusiasm for this title.

3) Tekken Tag Tournament 2



With Ultimate MVC3, SFxT, and SC5 all on the calendar, the fighter that I'm still most looking forward to is Tekken Tag 2. It's been about 12 years since the original Tekken Tag (!), and I can't wait to see how the reintroduction of the tag feature shakes things up.

2) Mass Effect 3



My current obsession with ME2 may have something to do with how high up this one is on the list. Or maybe it's the fact that PS3 owners won't have to wait an additional year longer than their Xbox counterparts this time around.

1) Final Fantasy XIII-2



In spite of the many faults that we never fail to bring up with FFXIII, here's FFXIII-2 at the top of my list. I mean hey, the game looks absolutely gorgeous, and I guess we're suckers for pretty things. Some decent closure after the less than stellar ending to XIII would be nice, and I'm all for a roster overhaul if we're only keeping Lightning and Serah around (uh, what happened to Snow and getting married and all that?). December 15th, just in time for Christmas.

Games I'm Waiting On (Part 1)

It's occurring to me that I've been neglecting my blog for the better part of 2 months now. What can I say, I had a pretty busy summer. For no particular reason, here are the Top 10 games that I'm looking forward to sticking into my Playstation 3 over the next year or so.

10) NBA 2K12



94-95 Orlando Magic? All day.

9) Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena



I'm not even sure if that's what the game is really called. Varying interpretations of the title aside, the announcement of this Persona-based fighter totally caught me off guard. Under normal circumstances I'd be wary of a 2D fighter pitting characters from an RPG game against one another, but with Arc System Works' BlazBlue team reportedly at the helm, there's no reason why this shouldn't be awesome.

8) BioShock Infinite



Although I ended up skipping BioShock 2, footage from BioShock Infinite has caught my attention with its rather breathtaking visuals and the game's entire steampunk environment. Everything about Infinite looks fantastic, and it's an interesting change of pace to have the game set in the almost radiant city of Columbia after hours of squinting your way through Rapture in the original BioShock.

7) Street Fighter X Tekken



Not really sure what to think of all this "Pandora's Box" silliness, but I was far too excited about the prospect of a Zangief + Marduk team to bump the game from my top 5. Then pictures surfaced of Kuma taking a gratuitous dump all over Rolento, prompting it to fall to number 7. I just don't care to have that degree of doodoo in my games.

6) Arkham City



I'm not a big enough Batman fan to have this thing at the top of my list like a lot of other people, but Arkham Asylum was indeed awesome and there's no reason to expect otherwise from the sequel. It would have been cool to be able to drive the Batmobile this time around (not so), but a handful of playable missions as Catwoman is a decent enough consolation prize.

Grail Status: Achieved

My girl got me these a couple of months back: 1996 OG Atlantic Blue Penny 2, size 10, deadstock, w/ original box & the N1996 on the heel. This would be the exact same pair that I was rocking in the 7th grade.











1996. My holy grails. Still deep in the shoe game, but if the world ended tomorrow I would die a happy man.

Stay Classy, LeBron

LeBron James, upon losing to the Mavs in the NBA Finals:

"All the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that. They can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy about not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal. But they have to get back to the real world at some point.

Translation:

It's LBJ everyone, look how Bron is livinn'!! So bummed right now that I have to throw on this Armani suit and talk to you broke-ass reporters. The worst part is that after this I have to hop in my Ferrari and reflect upon what just happened all the way back to my multi-million dollar mansion. I'm probably going to ponder what tomorrow will bring while I wait for the elevator that takes me from my kitchen to my custom memorabilia room. Then I might ask my private chef to saute me some lean chicken breast while I go and watch film from Game 6 in my personal theater. Either that, or Kung Fu Panda 2, I haven't decided yet. I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning to freshly squeezed Spanish orange juice and a Tyrannosaurus Rex omelette, while all you NBA fans will wake up to the stale leftover pizza and the flat Pepsi that you and your friends ordered last night when you got together to watch King James on your modest little 32 inch television. Good luck with those overdue phone bills and car payments, I don't really know how all that works since Ma bought me that Range Rover in high school. Anyway, enjoy that Miami Heat loss, because I certainly enjoy stepping over you to get into the club and watching you buy my sneakers in 20 different colors. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going scuba diving with Chris Tucker and Aquaman. All hail the King.

NBA Heat Check (2010-11)

A lot of players, a lot of games, a lot of basketball sneakers, but these 5 gentlemen brought the style, sense, and swag to put to shame the shoe game of every other player on the NBA hardwood, at least for one night during the 2010-11 season. I present to you, the NBA Heat Check.

5) Courtney Lee - Houston Rockets

Weapon of Choice: Nike "Cough Drop" Foamposite One
The thing about Courtney Lee that I really like is that he always mixes things up with his shoe game, from the Penny III, to the Air Hoop Structure, to the LeBron VIII. He was spotted this season wearing the "Cough Drop" Foamposite Ones, in what may be his greatest footwear moment to date.

The thing about Foams is that they definitely don't go with everything, so I can appreciate when a player has the presence of mind to make sure that the sneakers match the colors up top before throwing them on. While not one of my personal favorite incarnations of the Foamposite One, the "Cough Drops" looked pretty amazing with that Rockets uni.



4) George Hill - San Antonio Spurs

Weapon of Choice: Nike Air Penny III Metallic Silver
Speaking of matching the sneaks to the jersey, George Hill rocking the House of Hoops Metallic Silver Penny III was a no-brainer. Keith Bogans would lace up the silver 1/2 Cents all the time last season, and as soon as the silver Penny IIIs were announced, I knew that they'd look good on some San Antonio Spur.

It pains me a little to see someone on the Spurs rocking a Penny so well, but you gotta give credit where it's due. George Hill was killing it in these.



3) J.J. Hickson - Cleveland Cavaliers

Weapon of Choice: Nike 1/2 Cent "Cranberry"
Continuing the Air Penny theme (surprise!) is J.J. Hickson in the "Cranberry" 1/2 Cent. He was actually doing work in these, and came up with one of the more memorable plays of the season in them, emphatically blocking a Blake Griffin dunk and earning a certain degree of revenge on behalf of the rest of the league. My dude Hakim Warrick was also a semi-regular user of the Eggplant version of the 1/2 Cent, although he unfortunately wasn't blocking any shots or playing any manner of defense whatsoever.

If there's one 1/2 Cent colorway that I still contemplate picking up from time to time, it's the Cranberries. Damn, those things are loud.



2) Gilbert Arenas - Orlando Magic

Weapon of Choice: FILA Grant Hill (95)
Gilbert brought the heat every night and even wore a handful of my personal favorite pairs - Air Penny II, Royal Foamposite One, Cool Grey XI - but I like the FILA shout-out that he gave to Grant Hill.

Bold, nostalgic, unique, clean.



1) Derrick Rose - Chicago Bulls

Weapon of Choice: Adidas Crazy 8 Chicago
While Derrick Rose's adiZero Rose signature isn't bad, it wasn't until he pulled out a Bulls colorway of Kobe Bryant's old Crazy 8 that he caught my attention.

Yes, they were pretty amazing, and yes, I'm still hoping to get my hands on a pair.

The Ongoing PlayStation Network Saga

With the PlayStation Network supposedly up and running again, I figured that I'd go ahead and log in so I could do the required password reset. Imagine my surprise when I attempted to do so and was immediately prompted with the same old "PlayStation Network is currently undergoing maintenance" message that we've been seeing every day for the past month or so. Turns out that while North America (and just about every other country) has access to the network, Japan will have to wait a while longer until Japanese authorities have deemed the upgraded network safe enough. Figures. Still, I suppose the prolonged wait doesn't bother me so much. I rarely play games online and it's not like we're paying for the service, so whatever.

If there's one positive to come out of this, it's the "Welcome Back" package that will be made available to all returning PSN users. We already knew about the free month of PlayStation Plus, but Sony has also revealed that users will be able to download 2 free PS3 and PSP games. Here's the PS3 list:

• DeadNation
• inFAMOUS
• LittleBigPlanet
• Super Stardust HD
• Wipeout HD + Fury

Ok, I was expecting stuff like Crash Bandicoot and Angry Birds, so all things considered, that's a pretty awesome list. And a calculated one as well, considering that inFAMOUS 2 needs the promotion and that Little Big Planet 2 could see a sales boost if people enjoy the first one (which they will). Well played.

Throwback Clips: Penny Hardaway

No real reason, just had that urge to watch some old school Penny clips that I get from time to time. He's absolutely beasting on the Pacers in the 95 ECF here.

Air Jordan "Wolf Grey" V

I knew the Wolf Grey Vs were going to be special the first time that I saw pictures of them, but wow, in person? They are absolutely gorgeous. The Cool Grey XIs were amazing, but I'm going to go ahead and say that these are even better. An instant classic.

Catherine Impressions

Playing:
Catherine
(PS3)

The idea of tackling an intricate action/puzzle game normally wouldn't resonate with me, but as a huge fan of Persona 3 and 4, the prospect of playing Atlus' first offering on the PS3 was just too good to pass up. Atlus has dubbed Catherine an "adult horror" title, which isn't quite as risque as the naming might imply, but a fitting moniker nonetheless. The game does indeed have a mature vibe to it, but you won't come across anything here that you wouldn't find in a fairly tame PG-13 film (well, aside from the exploding bodies). Much like how Persona 3 and 4 combined elements of traditional RPGs with those of simulation games, Atlus blends us a rather interesting puzzle/action/sim combo with Catherine.

Without spoiling too much, the story revolves around our hero Vincent Brooks, a somewhat unkempt gentleman who has been having some rather peculiar nightmares as of late. Vincent manages to get himself caught up in a bizarre love triangle involving longtime girlfriend Katherine, and a younger, bubblier woman, also named (yowza!) Catherine. The aforementioned nightmares are a concern because other men around town have been mysteriously dying in their sleep. We take control of Vincent and try to get to the bottom of the mysterious dreams, while attempting to figure out whether they have anything to do with the town's recent deaths.



While the simulation aspect of the game isn't nearly as extensive as those of the Persona titles, it does have a subtle depth that you'll come to appreciate as the game goes on. Vincent spends virtually all of his waking hours at the bar getting drunk out of his mind and fielding text messages from his two lady friends, but it's through the various encounters with the other bar customers that you'll gradually solve the mystery behind the nightmares. You'll also learn a whole lot about alcohol in the process. Don't ask.



Now, rumors that you may have heard regarding Catherine's difficulty are probably true. The game is HARD. I'm talking one of the most frustratingly difficult "easy" modes of all time here. The premise of the game's puzzle portion is simple enough. Once Vincent enters "Nightmare" mode, he must attempt to scale a sprawling tower of blocks in an effort to reach a podium at the very top. Players do this by pushing or pulling the blocks to create pathways or ascending steps while dodging the occasional trap. Other dreamers appear in the form of sheep, but they're more of a nuisance than an actual threat. At first the puzzles are fairly simple, and even the massive bosses - though they help introduce an element of panic - aren't terribly difficult to evade.



However, once the player begins to reach the game's later stages, the puzzles leave precious little margin for error, which can result in an incredibly frustrating experience. Expect to pull out some hair and toss a few controllers. In fact, the game was so difficult that Atlus released a patch which would in effect turn the game's "easy" mode into a "very easy" mode. Unfortunately, the puzzles remain unchanged even when you toggle the patched easy mode, though the stages are now littered with special energy drinks that allow Vincent to bound up blocks 3 squares at a time (as opposed to just one). What's funny is that this makes the game too easy, as previously frustrated players will likely be scratching their heads as the once stagnant Vincent flies through each level without breaking a sweat.

This isn't to say that the puzzle portion of the game can't be fun. It can be immensely rewarding and I personally quite enjoyed it, but the game certainly isn't for everyone. Catherine will inevitably attract the Persona crowd, but while RPG fans are used to being able to grind out experience points to get out of a tough spot, Catherine will just bludgeon players with the same unforgiving puzzle over and over again.



Yet in spite of the constant bouts of frustration, the dark, intriguing murder mystery plot drives you to keep playing. Overall, it's a unique, fantastic little package, but simply one that's hampered by some overwhelming difficulty issues. Despite that one flaw, you won't find anything out there quite like Catherine. Recommended.