Some random news from the television and video game worlds...
- BOOM Shaka Laka! A new version of NBA Jam is going to be released for the Nintendo Wii! This is awesome news, because I loved the original Arcade version of the game, and I actually own a Wii. While this doesn't quite make up for me missing out on the initial release of Final Fantasy XIII (Damn my poverty!), at least I'll be able to play the update of the classic.
For screen shots and a video trailer of the new edition, check out Blast's coverage here, which is where I originally learned of this news. I'm hoping they keep all of the zany extras, like being able to play as Bill Clinton, in the game. And as the above YouTube video implies, on the early arcade versions, you could even play as Mortal Kombat characters! Sweet, eh?
- In television news, Marcel from Top Chef is getting his own reality show! As my friend Kristi said, I'm guessing that there won't be too much foam cooking on the show, but we can always hope, can't we?For unknown reasons, the show is rumored to be landing on the SyFy Network. This makes almost no sense, but then again, they were also highly interested in the WWE's ECW and still do broadcast some WWE stuff. I guess when people aren't watching your crap like Mansquito, you feel the need to program differently, even if I agree with this Entertainment Weekly writer's take that the network's potential is completely unrealized.
But anyway, focusing back on Marcel. I could see this show being momentarily entertaining, but it won't have staying power if they're just some catering company doing wacky meals. Marcel isn't really that likable, but on the flipside, he is not a monster like Gordon Ramsey. I don't think he will be a good anchor for the show week-in and week-out, unless it becomes a bizarre sort of Top Chef affiliate, featuring a bunch of the ex-chefs from the show.
The picture of Marcel is from this story about his DWI arrest.
AHHH MARCEL. WHY.
ReplyDelete-Brenna
Is that in reference to his DWI arrest, or his show? I think both are kind of bad times...
ReplyDeleteSo do we get classic NBA Jam gameplay with current rosters? I always preferred Hangtime slightly, but really, they're the same thing.
ReplyDeleteMatt, from the gameplay trailer, it looks like a mix. No fadeaway shots, but it looks like alleyoops and spin drives are still in play, which I did like from the Hangtime series. However, overall I found them just a bit more complex than that old Jam goodness.
ReplyDeleteKristin's reaction when I read out loud that Marcel was getting his own show: "Eww."
ReplyDeleteI never knew that you could play as Mortal Kombat characters in NBA Jam. I watched that video, but was surprised by the lack of unintentional goaltending. I probably gave up a third of points to people I was playing that way.
Bob, yeah! It's actually only on early versions of some of the arcade games, some of which never made it to arcades but which are playable on the Internet. Some versions also have Shaq in them, and some of the teams have different players that were edited out by trades or free agent signings.
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