Nowadays, online petitions seem to be a fad. Any time someone doesn't get their way, a new one springs up. This is no exception for the new content intended for the Gears PC version.

Earlier, we reported that it is indeed intended for the marketplace. There was unfortunately no announcement at E3 regarding this, or cross-platform play. I stand by what I wrote, and believe in time, the announcments will come.

Some people however, are not as optimistic. So one fumed gamer set up the obligatory online petition to bring that content to the 360 as well. It seems to be off to a good start, but in the end it will most likely lack the raw numbers needed to make a statement. If the public speaks, companies will listen. The people have already saved Family Guy and Jericho.

Perhaps with enough signatures, the right people may take a look. But in my opinion it is irrelevant because I am confident this content will come to the 360 regardless.

http://www.petitiononline.com/58798/petition.html

I know, I know. You've seen it everywhere. E3. What used to be the grandest of stages in the video game world, now reduced to a crappy, worthless show.

I know it wasn't just me that was feeling bored, and a bit betrayed. Betrayed by the ESA.

What was good about E3? Well for one, the games. All 3 showed off some amazing product, but we'd seen MOST of it before. Nothing really to wow you about a game you've been seeing and hearing about for the last 2-3 years. In fact, to be fair, I'll list my opinions on the strongest and weakest of each of the big three.

Nintendo:
Strong - Mario Kart, Weak - Wii fit

Microsoft:
Strong - the strongest fall line-up in over a decade, Weak - gears content not yet announced for 360

Sony:
Strong - redesigned PSP looks great, Weak - no "wow factor", price drop not enough

If I could pick a winner, I'd have to give it to MS this year. The "Sony Defense Force" will most likely not agree, but it is my opinion that the 360 game line-up far overshadows that of both other consoles. Sure, Killzone 2 looks alright. But it doesn't look as good and clean as Halo 3, PGR4, Mass Effect, Bioshock, or even Too Human. And to me, Killzone 2 didn't deliver on the "killer app" thrills it needed to.

I think the loser this year is Nintendo. They had by far the weakest show. They showed Mario Kart, which was good, but we already knew it was coming. Nintendo needed to come out and do more than just throw their numbers in our face. "Nintendo has been sold out 33 weeks" they happily proclaim, and to be honest I don't understand why. I love the Wii, don't get me wrong, but even the PS3 is starting to have a busier release schedule than the Wii. I'm sick of ports I played a year ago.

To Sony's credit, they showed off a fine selection of games, but all of their key titles got pushed to 2008, obviously because they'd rather let the Halo hype die down...if that's even popular.

The NCsoft deal is a bad move for Sony, but perhaps behind the scenes it is Sony trying to aquire NCSoft's portfolio into their SOE brand. If SOE outright aquires NCSoft, perhaps some good may come of it. Having NCSoft games on the Station Pass for example would be really big. But NCSoft isn't doing so well lately. Revenues from Guild Wars sales are slipping, subs for COH/COV have dropped significantly in the last 6 months, Auto Assault had to be shut down, and more people play Lineage 2 on illegal private servers than play on the legal ones.

The BEST thing Sony has at their disposal is a great console. Yeah, I said it. But Capcom and the other devs are right. $100 isn't enoough. Sony needs to come down at least $100 more. At $400, the PS3 could realistically compete in the video game market, and may serve to give Blu-Ray an even bigger boost.

Nintendo needs to keep wowing us before we all get bored. Wii fit looks innovative and all that, and I laughed that it called Reggie fat. But I wan't games, not gadgets. We really needed to be shown something big, something to make us keep talking about them.

As for Microsoft, they are seeming to peak right now. I am worried that after this strong year, they may fall short on heavy hitters to keep up wowed. There are a few notable exclusives in the future to speak of, Fable 2 for example. But Microsoft is gonna have to keep up the pace to even think of coming ahead in the console war.

If Sony drops another $100 off the system price, then we finally have a console war. It up to you now Sony. The ball is in your court.

So why do I think E3 sucked, if I had so much to say about it? Well this year we were shown too much stuff we have already seen the last year or two, and not enough stuff we've never seen. The highlight of the show in this regard is Silent Hill 5. But even still, no real surprises.

Having been lucky enough to attend E3 twice, I can tell you that this new E3 just has none of the flair, excitement, mystery, showmanship, and quality. You can tell it in the developers. Hell, some of them refused to even show. Some of them made comments on stage about how they wanted the REAL E3 back. And alas, G4 is scrambling to fill in gaps with what would have before been beautiful floor footage.

I hope the real E3 comes back. And I hope Sony gets their shit together soon. They can show off all the games in the world, but they need a cheaper console to play them on. That alone is the key to Sony turning this around.

We found this video floating around of the Vista version of Gears of War. However, this content shown is the very content the 360 owners will be getting via DLC!

Furthermore, we hear that Gears will indeed support cross platform play via Live.

UPDATE: After YouTube yanked the video, the guys over at http://www.xboxic.com found an alternate link from one of their users. I have used the clip there, so I want to extend my thanks to Xboxic for covering the story, and staying up on it after YouTube intervened.

UPDATE: YouTube has pulled down the videos. I had no back-ups, nor any warnings from YouTube. The videos will no longer be available.

So GameTrailers.com went ahead and did a side-by-side cap of The Darkness on both PS3 and XB360. Their video shows the PS3 version having normal looking colors and darkness settings, while there is definately something wrong about the 360 side of the screen. It looks purposely brightened, and very washed out.

The the game launches on both systems, and to 360 owner's delight, the game featured a graphical adjustment setting in the menu. Right away, it became obvious what GameTrailers had done. They used a horrible setting, and misrepresented the game and the 360 console itself.

So we here at Rated-M.com thought we'd go ahead and show you the setting differences ourselves. You can see the washed out over-bright setting that GameTrailers used, as well as some of the more appropriate settings vith vibrant colors.

NOTE: this was not an HD capture, but a Standard Definition capture. So at 720p and higher, it further improves vibrancy of colors (obviously).

We all hate those stupid banner ads that try to fool you into clicking on them. Then there are the annoying ones with the looped video clips of people dancing horribly. But this has got the be by far the most tasteless and exploitative banner ad yet. Click on the below photo to see the animated image.



As you can see, this sad excuse for a banner ad is already trying to fool you into a click by asking a question you never get to answer. And while the question is valid, the giant syringe pointing at Chris Benoit's head, which then turns into a skull, is just in bad taste, and downright rude.

The link took us to yourgiftpro.com, one of those scam sites that trick you into signing up for offers with the promise of items you never receive. We have contacted yourgiftpro.com for comment, but they never got back to us.

Despicable.

I am not a fan of TMZ.com most of the time. I consider them to be tabloid for the most part, despite the fact that they don't make up stories. Amid the britney, Lindsey and Paris stories, there was this following article about WWE wrestlers who have died. The odd thing is that most died from the same thing...massive heart attack.

Please take the time to check it out. I hate to send TMZ a hit like this, but the article is well done, with pictures etc. Even if the article name is exploitative.

http://www.tmz.com/2007/06/26/world-wrestling-deaderation/

The following information was released by TVWeek.com:

"WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will apologize for the three-hour USA Network tribute to pro wrestler Chris Benoit that aired Monday night, sources said.

The WWE and USA Network have received complaints about the tribute, which was hastily produced after Mr. Benoit, his wife and their son were found dead in their Georgia home Monday afternoon.

Authorities said Tuesday that Mr. Benoit strangled his wife and suffocated his son, then took his own life. But WWE and network officials were unaware of the circumstances of Mr. Benoit’s death when the tribute was assembled, sources said.

The WWE canceled its regularly scheduled “Monday Night RAW” event on USA Network Monday night and aired the tribute in its place.

Mr. McMahon will address wrestling fans tonight on Sci Fi Channel’s live Extreme Championship Wrestling event. He also plans to address speculation that Mr. Benoit’s actions were the result of steroid use.

The WWE plans to resume its regular wrestling telecasts, which air on USA Network, Sci Fi Channel and the CW"

This is in addition to all of Benoit's merchandise, tributes, etc getting yanked from the WWE.com website.

Sources close to Johnny Nitro are reporting that Nitro does not want the belt he won in Benoit's place. He considers it tainted and "bad luck". Expect WWE to place the ECW belt on someone else, and have it come back to Nitro later, when he feels more comfortable about taking it.

WWE is also rumored to be forcing councelling for wrestlers and their families, not just in bereavement of a lost friend, but also to help prevent this from happening again. WWE may install this forced councelling into their wellness program.

WWE has also restructured much of their website, removing tributes, merchandise and other Benoit stuff completely without a trace. There are rumors that even DVD covers will be changed to edit the murderer out.

Earlier today, WWE began pulling down all references of Chris Benoit from their website, including merchandise, and even the tribute information on his superstar page.

It was replaced with old stories temporarily, including the McMahon is dead stuff, and all Benoit items were listed as "discontinued".

Fans an press both pummelled WWE representatives to find out what was going on. Of course, WWE denied knowing what was going on, and now the site is back to normal.

However, now WWE.com is also listing this case as a double murder/suicide.

And now the details of how he killed his family and himself reach news media, and it is most certainly disturbing...

From TMZ.com:

"Several Atlanta-based law enforcement sources have told TMZ Benoit may have strangled his wife on Saturday, then smothered his son in his bed a day later. Investigators refuse to officially comment, pending final confirmation by the coroner on the cause and time of the deaths.

One source told TMZ that Benoit was texting friends during Sunday's WWE "Vengeance" Pay-Per-View program -- possibly watching the show with his son, who may have been alive at the time.

According to sources, Benoit then hanged himself Monday in a weight room inside the family home."

Police confirmed this morning to ABC that this is in fact a double homicide/suicide investigation.

Also revealed were the following gruesome facts:

All 3 were found in separate rooms. Time of death places Benoit murdering Nancy first Saturday night. He then murdered his son sometime Sunday morning. Then almost 24 hours later, he commits suicide. Benoit's body was found in his personal weight room.

It is speculated that Benoit killed Nancy in the heat of an argument, possibly about her leaving him with their son. Then, as his son wakes the next morning, Chris decides to kill him as well.

What happened in the hours in between the deaths and his suicide is not known, but it is known that Benoit never left the house during this time. He stayed in there with their corpses for almost 24 hours before finally making the decision to kill himself rather than face prosecution.

Sources inside WWE told ABC that Saturday night, Benoit sounded calm on the phone, and really only described his situation as a "family emergency". Benoit, who was supposed to win the ECW belt that Sunday at the PPV, turned the belt down and said something along the lines of "I don't want it, give it to someone else". And WWE did just that. Johnny Nitro, who took Benoit's place in the ring, got the belt Benoit was supposed to get.

Several major news media outlets outright refused to even look at this story at first, believing it was indeed another hoax like McMahon's death. However, with TMZ.com, ABC, and CNN covering it now, this story has broke wide open. There are plans this week for coverage of this case on CNN's Nancy Grace.

Autopsy results are due later today.

More as this breaks.

Earlier today, the Benoit family were found dead in their Georgia home. Chris Benoit, Nancy Benoit (former Pro Wrestling manager "Woman"), and their seven year old son Daniel were discovered dead around 2:30pm local time. The Sheriff's department has announced that these deaths are being investigated as a homicide.

Just last night, Chris Benoit didn't show for the WWE Pay-Per-View "Vengeance" due to what commentator Tazz called "personal reasons". Benoit reportedly flew home immediately to handle a "family emergency".

There were no doubt some fans who heard this thinking it was part of the show, like Vince McMahon's elaborate death on RAW. However, this is not part of a storyline. In fact, McMahon today broke kayfabe and reappeared on RAW to announce that tonight's show had been cancelled and is now a Benoit family tribute.

To further detach the McMahon fake death from the real Benoit death, WWE.com has removed all references to the McMahon death on it's main page...and for obvious reasons. This is a very odd and shocking death, much like the untimely death of Ms. Elizabeth. I applaud McMahon for abandoning his fake death storyline while this tragedy unfolds.

Something about this doesn't sit right with me, and when the autopsy results on the family come back tomorrow, I pray that it isn't determined that this was a murder-suicide.

I recently got ahold of some interesting info regarding the Microsoft/FASA game Shadowrun. Thre appears to be a comic book under way as we speak for the series. I was not told who is penning it, or if Marvel will publish for them again. I was told that the series would be based on the game directly, and give players a great story to follow.

I was also told that this is not the only Microsoft venture that will be made into a comic book. No names were specifically mentioned for any of these, but possibilities could be another Perfect Dark series, or perhaps even a Kameo series.

The final tidbit that was mentioned was that Blinx is making his return, both in a game and a possible 3D animation feature film.

Take this as you will. I trust my source, but as always until it is officially announced, it is strictly a RUMOR.

After spending many hours with the PC version of Two Worlds, I am here now to set the record straight. this game is nothing at all like Oblivion. Seriously, it barely even has a handful of similarities.

However, this game shares similarities with other great RPG's. Combat plays out like Fable. Button mashing melee with an alternate spell button. The spell can be changed with another button. On the PC version, the game also has a World of Warcraft like toolbar, from which a simple number press can activate a spell instead.

Combat is really nothing special though. In fact, sometimes it can be a bit frustrating. Oblivion has FPS perfect controls, so your level of maneuverability was outstanding. However in Two Worlds, you'll often accidentally run into a bandit camp filled with 30 bandits, and have a hard time turning around to get out. Maneuverability is in the toilet, so you really have to be careful in tight places. You do get a backwards jump, and yes you can turn around. But even still, you'll notice the sluggish maneuverability.

Combat can be a bit more fun once you start learning new techniques, like kicking sand in the enemy's face. However, techniques like this happen at random, with a % chance to trigger based on your spec.

That brings me to the next part, skills. Skills aren't in trees like EQ2 or WoW. Instead, the bubbles can be upgraded with points at any time. Some of them require special training, some of them come from the start. Like WoW though, which skills you upgrade determine what kind of fighter (or mage) you'll be.

Spells fall into many different schools, including fire, air, water, necromancy, etc. Spells are upgraded two ways. You can find new spell cards on monsters and enemies, and upgrade the potency of each school of spells in your spec tree by using skill points. Your defensive and melee skills will suffer if you put all your skill points into spells, so be careful!

When you level up or complete certain quests, you will receive skill points and/or attribute points. Attribute points work just like any standard PC RPG of the last decade and a half. In fact, this game plays out more like Titan Quest than anything. Sure, the combat and the POV aspect match games like Fable. But the core of it, from the quests to the exploration of the world, is very much like Titan Quest, or any of the games that used the Snowblind engine.

Another huge similarity to those games is the inventory and loot system. You get a hell of a lot more space in Two Worlds than in those other games though. You'll also recognize the portal system, which was standard for the aforementioned games.

Conversation in this game is drab. The voice acting is horrible. Monotone, stale, and downright boring. Thank god for subtitles. Unless you have a high tolerance for pain, you'll probably end up reading this game more than listening to it.

The minimap resembles fable's a lot. The main map is more like Titan Quest. Of course, you get the standard "fog of war" covering everything until it is discovered. While I enjoy "fog of war" sometimes, I don't think it worked for this game. You wander off and die somewhere, you ressurect at a shrine surrounded in black. Now you have to explore and navigate your way back. Easy enough, right? Not so much. taking the road isn't even safe in this game. You are constantly running into mobs of wolves, bandits, orcs and more. These enemies aren't always easy to kill, so you can see how getting lost can be a bad thing.

Remember the mobs in Dungeon Lords? Yeah, that's about what they are like in this game. Not easy to take down, and fights can be to the wire...all the time.

Character models are the worst thing about this game. They got the bodies right, but the faces. DEAR GOD THE FACES! The developers tried to do something like Bethesda did with Oblivion, where certain sections of the face can be adjusted with a slider. Unfortunately for Two Worlds, this makes most of the NPC's look like retarded aliens. I'm not kidding. You'll also be dissapointed in the lack of character customization. You can only be one set guy, much like in The Bard's Tale, and only key features of your guy can be adjusted.

The rest of the graphics are decent. They aren't the best of the generation, but they are not bad either. Without HDR, the game would feel bland, and sometimes the shadows seem excessive. The day to night change is nice, but it happens way too fast.

The sound effects and music are ok. I wasn't blown away by them, and you probably won't be either. It wasn't horrible, just nothing special.

I won't get into the story other than you are some mysterious bounty hunter, who for some odd reason, everyone already has heard of. The story isn't bad, in fact it's better when read. The voice acting kills it. I know I already mentioned it, but it really is bad.

Internet play is just like the Snowblind games and Titan Quest. Actually throw Diablo II in that mix, as I forgot to mention it earlier.

Overall, I liked the game. It isn't as good as I had hoped, but I had fun playing it. The false association with Oblivion is really gonna burn people, which I think will burn this game. People expecting Oblivion are going to be downright dissapointed, and will probably return this game right away.

For that reason alone, I say rent this one or wait for a demo. Decide whether you like it or not. There will be people who like this game. It is not a horrible game. It just isn't what you expect it to be...at all.

My Verdict: RENT before you BUY

Afterthought:

There is a huge misconception that this game has no loading screens. While that is true for most cities and a few dungeons, there definately ARE load screens, particularly for most dungeons. I don't know where this stupid rumor got started, but add that to the list of wrong expectations of this game.

I meant to start on my Spider-Man 3 PC review this evening. I had it installed and ready to go. Except it wouldn't play on my card. Don't laugh yet. I have an ATI Radeon x850xt PE PCI-e 256MB card. It is by no means ancient.

However, it does not support Pixel Shader 3.0. Spider-Man 3 for PC requires 3.0.

So there you have it. I already have to upgrade my card...

Let this be a warning to all who consider the PC version of this game.

Jet and Jackie will finally appear together in a martial arts film, a remake of "Journey to the West". This project has been rumored for years and it is now finally a reality. Jet Li will take on the role of the legendary "Monkey King", and Jackie will play "Sha Monk", which fans of the story will know better as "Tripitaka" the Shaolin Monk.

But that isn't even the half of it. Martial arts fans, prepare to wet yourselves...Also signed on is legendary choreographer YUEN WOO PING!

So you thought Jet was done with martial arts for good? Not true. He only ever said he was done with "period wushu films" like Iron Monkey, Fearless, Hero, etc. This movie is a done deal, it is definately gonna happen. Check out additional information at the bottom of the article!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0865556/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ib191236ae685199e59a8d04694bcdbd2

Stay tuned as more developes in this story!

Yeah, you read that right. The Wachowskis are indeed back at it, this time writing and directing the upcoming Speed Racer live action film. Speed Racer though? WTF is that all about? Have the Wachowskis both gone fruity now? I'm sorry, but Speed racer is one of those things you never think of remaking in live action simply because the premise would be too stupid.

Will Larry be listed as Linda? Is the sex change complete? How will this affect marketing the film?

So far, Christina Ricci, Susan Surandon and John Goodman have joined the cast. I will reserve judgement until I see a trailer.

For the past story on Larry becoming Linda, see below:

http://rated-m.blogspot.com/2006/07/wachowski-brothers-are-no-more.html

The following trailer was the winner of a contest with SXSW, and attached to theatrical releases of Grindhouse both in Canada and at the Alamo.



Word is, this is one of two films to be made into a full feature from a Grindhouse fake trailer. The other is "Machete"! Thank goodness tarantino and Rodriguez took some risks with Grindhouse. It totally paid off, in more than one way!

The rumors are true! Feast your eyes on the following video, which is set in a remake of the classic map Zanzibar!