Category: Columns

You know it surprised me the other day when the excellent Joseph Stanley mentioned Jason Masters tried an “Ask 411 games” column that failed. I mean, I get enough emails and questions from you guys to do a weekly mailbag issue for you. Maybe the time just wasn’t right, but I think it’s a kick…

411 Games Rumor Down-Lo 01.21.03 …a Microsoft spokesperson revealed that they will be releasing a patch for Blinx: The Time Sweeper. The patch is said to make major improvements to the game, such as adding “good gameplay” and “fun”. No date has been set for the Blinx patch. — Joseph Stanley (The Weekend Wipe Up…

Okay, It’s my letter column. I’d like to start it off by saying it’s my one-month anniversary here at 411, but it feels like years, huh? I’d also like to say I know finally have a copy of HELL NIGHT to call my own and it only cost me 9.99£! Damn that’s sweet. If you…

Ladies and Gentlemen (that just might be sarcasm on that first noun), after a whopping weeks absence, I’ve come back from the academic abyss I call “school” to answer the transmissions laid down by you fine people, the 411 Games reader! After opening the floodgates to your rants and opinions, I’ve waded and navigated through…

“I actually found myself talking about your column during last Saturday’s Eagles game.” – 411’s own Bebito Jackson. The PS2 version of NFL 2K3 correctly predicted all four matchups with greater accuracy than I ever could have envisioned. The flow of the games and the margins of victory all seemed to be very close to…

La mayyitan ma qadirun yatabaqqa sarmadi Fa idha yaji’ al-shudhdhadh fa-l-maut qad yantahi. ‘That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.’ Abdul Alhazred, the Necronomicon Right, and if quasi-Sumerian and strange prophetic phrases about Great Old Ones rising to destroy mankind in both the flesh and soul…

411 Games Rumor Down-Lo 01.14.03 Part II 411 FIGURES LO-DOWN! AWARD Ladies and Gentlemen, your host… Bebito Jackson! Bebito: We all grew up playing with action figures. It appears some of us never grew up. Or at the very least, some of never stopped playing with those cool figures. The guys in the 411 Figures…

411 Games Rumor Down-Lo 01.14.03 Part I LIVE! From Atlantic City, New Jersey. It’s the first ever annual, 2002 Lo-Down! Awards! With Special Guest Stars: Claire Flynn Boyle Scott Keith Triple H Ashish Mario Jason Masters The Scotsman Sifl & Olly Jeff Modzelewski Widro Avril Lavigne and many more! And now, your hosts for the…

Conflicted. Now there’s a word you won’t read or hear frequently, especially in the gaming world. When it comes to judgment on a particular game, it’s usually pretty damned clear-cut: it either rocks your world harder than Bad Religion’s The Process of Belief (as of time of writing, an unattainable feat), or it sucks ass,…

Thanks to Yip, Lucard, and Chambers for lessening my insecurities in regard to the concept of this column. I thought it was a dumb idea at first; everyone else thought it was gold. So thanks for the reassurance and, of course, keep ’em coming. That said, a little more about the purpose of all of…

Hey guys. This is really late. It’s about 10 days old. It’s been done for a while, but just not sent off. Still, it is just letters, so I guess being up to date on the mailbag is no big deal, right? But you’re here to read my letters, so let’s show ’em Most of…

Teaser: Can NFL 2K3 accurately predict the NFL playoff games this weekend? Santana Moss came into his rookie season with the New York Jets a feared player. He’d had quite a history at the University of Miami, but that’s not how he built his reputation as an NFL player. It wasn’t by playing in the…

Okay, first up: what do you guys want to see reviewed more: Metroid Fusion, Defender of the Crown, or Lunar Legends? Let me know! Otherwise it’s Rocky and Pocky with Becky! If I reviewed the Hamtaro game, would you guys actually read it? I’m so tempted to get the game just to see how everyone…

Sweet Buddha. You know, there are only certain events during a gamer’s tenure that he can look back on and with a serious feeling of elation and awe. I can remember playing Super Mario Bros. for the first time and being blown away at how damned fun it was to jump on turtles and angry…

Okay. Bottom line, this is about bootlegging, using emulators, and the like. It make sense Retrograding should be the column to cover this aspect of gaming because 99% of the time, emulators are used for old games. I’m going to be fair to both sides however, and allow you the reader to come to your…

“Quality Control.” A few things may come to mind when you read this particular phrase. Among some of my hip-hop clientèle, it may refer to the Jurassic 5 album of the same name, marking the final exodus of Charlie Tuna from his other act, Ozomatli (over which this author sheds no tears). It also may…