Considering how hyped I once was for Nintendo's all-star Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl, my enthusiasm cooled once I'd experienced all that the game had to offer and explored all that I cared to see.  I'm not quite sure what happened considering that the previous Melee title continued to see heavy use during the entire GameCube era.  One Brawl aspect that was good for an impressed musing was the stage editor, although I also relaxed on that once I discovered that my creations were limited by the less than expansive scope of the editor.  I may have to revisit that part of the game now that there's a Brawl stage editor for the PC that simplifies the creation process while adding the ability to tweak variables that the built-in Brawl editor does not allow to be touched.  Kombo has the details and a YouTube video of the program in action.

One of the aspects added to the game design of Super Smash Bros. Brawl to help grant it greater longevity was a stage creator, so that with the help of its players, there would always be a new place to hold matches. But unfortunately, the interface may not be for some people.

Thankfully, someone has come up with a PC-friendly solution which allows aspiring stage designers to implement all their ideas on their computer, save it to an SD card, and transfer it to the game itself. Even better, it has some extras that the original program native to Brawl doesn't have, such as setting spawn points, creating custom thumbnails, and of course, typing.

I haven't tried this editor yet, but if it's easy to use as it seems and delivers on what it promises, then I think it's a great idea.  The beta version of Xane's Brawl Stage Studio is available for download over at Smashboards.  Nintendo historically locks down this kind of game modification away from the end-user level, so hurry and try it out before the company updates the Wii's system software to somehow block the SD card slot from accessing these unauthorized custom stages.

Throwing a little credit where credit is due, here's a pat on the back for Amazon.com for offering release date delivery for the not-released-soon-enough-as-it-is Ghostbusters: The Video Game.  Once I found out the true size of the limited edition Slimer statuette/figurine, I decided to jump into the river of slime and order the special Slimer Edition of the game and "settled" for next-day delivery.  Resolved to my fate of having to one extra day to play the game, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an e-mail from Amazon explaining that... well, read it for yourself:

So, thanks for that, Amazon.  Consider me pleased.

Have you ever bought a video game through eBay only to be shipped pirated junk instead of the promised new shiny authentic game you believed you were buying?  This sort of thing happens so much that it's nearly impossible to buy legitimate games through the service and its ilk anymore.  Remember that no real game ever ships "directly from the factory in Hong Kong" or via other similar lies designed to put you at ease.  What other sort of lies?  Hardcore Gaming 101 found a treasure trove of crap after trying to buy a real game via eBay and instead wound up with - what else? - counterfeit goods.  Arr, matey!

Well, Callahan's Crosstime Saloon is apparently there, along with nine other older games, and a "bonus" of Tyrian 2000. My favorite is the picture that's fan artwork of Valkyrie Profile which in turn is actually some kind of old valkyrie-themed Amiga game.

I try actually installing Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, and it doesn't work. Turns out it's the same ripped version found on abandonware sites that removes all of the speech files. Yeah, I'm totally 100% sure that whoever holds the rights to Legend Entertainment's stuff surely approved this!

I gave up on buying used games online years ago.  It was barely worth the hassle of negotiating the service and going through the auction process while paying shipping costs for something that I could get for slightly less money at the GameStop a mile or two up the road.  The only good gaming-related fortune I've ever had with eBay was when I bought my Virtual Boy and built a library of games.  There's really no incentive for large-scale production of counterfeit Virtual Boy titles destined for the gray and black markets.  I can't imagine why.

Eager to put a positive spin on last week's negative press regarding Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS failing to meet sales projections in its first few weeks on the market, MTV Multiplayer has word that Nintendo of America and retailer GameStop believe that the game has a bright future and that it's not selling as terribly as some people think.  It's all a matter of who-said-what-and-when at this point, so the truth is somewhere in between total failure and bombastic success.  For what it's worth, I like the game and hope to see it do well in the market so that other publishers may follow the M-for-Mature example set down by developer Rockstar.  It's time for the DS library to be rescued from the world of cutesy pet simulators and kiddie cartoon tie-in games!

Speaking of Chinatown Wars, how about I announce the winner of the contest?  A brand new shrinkwrapped copy of the game goes to the following lucky PTB reader who provided the successful answer to the trivia question ("In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, what is the name of the family heirloom sword stolen from protagonist Huang Lee at the start of the game?"  The answer?  Yu-Jian):

Congratulations!  Check your e-mail, Chris, to find out how to receive your prize.  For the rest of you, check back later in the week when I'll announce another contest to win another new video game.  Next time I'll be giving away a certain Sony PlayStation 3 game that has had everybody fighting in the streets ever since it hit stores earlier this year. 

I'm going to be brutally honest with you here.  Lux-Pain from Ignition Entertainment is the most baffling Nintendo DS title that I've ever played.  Perhaps "played" is the wrong verb; this is not a game we're talking about, but a visual novel adventure.  There is little playing to be done.  That's not a put-down, as I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to take on the game visual novel, but even for a visual novel I have to admit that I have absolutely no idea what is going on in the world of Lux-Pain.  I'm going to let the game's fact sheet explain the plot because, honestly, I was completely lost as the story unfolded.

There's a lot going on in Lux-Pain, but I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that I am just not the right audience for it.  The harshest criticism I can offer is that I do not understand a bit of the story, and I'm sure you can agree that understanding the story should be the most important aspect of a visual novel.  The production values are hit and miss; there's some gorgeous artwork and haunting effects on display here (and my edition came packed with an art book to show off more of the anime artwork seen in the visual novel), but I did note some odd misspellings and what I assumed to be translation gaffes from the Japanese source material.  Voice acting pairs off with the on-screen text, although they do not always match.  There is a limited amount of what some might consider gameplay in that the stylus is used to tap at specific (yet confusingly semi-unmarked and unprompted) areas of the touchscreen to learn more information about the current story element.

I could go on, but why waste more of our time with Lux-Pain?  My recommendation is to pass on this one.  I'd imagine that there must be an audience out there for this one, but it certainly isn't me.

I never grow tired of reading about all of the ways that Sega tried to graft new technology on to their aging Genesis / Mega Drive platform in the mid-1990s.  We all know the story by now — Sega CD, the SVP chip, Sega 32X, the Neptune project, and so on — but I can read accounts of the same period of history and come away amused every time.  It's not a schadenfreude issue (well, OK, maybe in a small way it is; I was a major Nintendo booster during that hardware generation), but more of an issue of historical interest.  Sega was poised to deal what, at one time, many perceived as a killing blow at Nintendo in the mindshare department and instead blundered consumer goodwill into... well, read about it for yourself over at the 1UP Retro Gaming Blog with Ray Barnholt's brief overview of the 32X fiasco.

[Sega] had something that might keep the Genesis hanging on for a little while longer, because after all, the Sega CD was going nowhere, and the Genesis was out in front, about to lose mindshare to the SNES.  That something was the "Mars" project, which officially became the Genesis 32X, a hardware "booster" that would turn the Genesis into a full-fledged 32-bit console. It was a new concept for the industry; usually, add-ons incrementally increased the power of the system, or offered backwards compatibility (like the Super Game Boy or Sega's own Power Base Converter). However, like the Sega CD before it, the 32X was able to borrow the core technology of the Genesis and used it in conjunction with its own added power. In simple terms, two 32-bit RISC processors did the hard work in the 32X (mostly the 3D polygon rendering), while the less important 2D stuff (HUDs, backgrounds) was done by the Genesis hardware.

The entire M.O. was to give Genesis owners a decent alternative to the Saturn, perhaps until that system dropped in price after a year or two -- in the meantime, they could "preview" the 32-bit generation for not too much more money ($159.99 at launch). This was especially so in America, where there were millions more players than in Japan, and therefore much more varied types of people and income levels. And surely it would energize development! Genesis games with enhanced 2D graphics and 3D power that could outdo the Super FX? Sounds great!

I've played a few 32X games over the years and they aren't all as bad as the online collective memory would have you believe (insert your own variant of the "some of them are worse!" punchline here).  However, I didn't pay anywhere near 1994-era prices to play them, and if I had done so, I'd imagine I (and my 1994-era counterpart) would have been seriously 32x'ed off, if you know what I mean.

This is one of the closer Weekly Poll results, it seems, as there's a close race between those who are and those who are not interested in Nintendo's vaporous video service.  I'm at a point where I'm not that interested in the service as an end-user, but as someone who covers, analyzes, and occasionally obsesses about the gaming industry, I want to hear more.  As an end-user, the Sony PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable handle my video media needs these days.  I didn't set out to make that happen.  It just sort of occured at some point. 

Speaking of video content, we all have to have televisions and monitors and other screens in order to watch and play this stuff.  How do you have your television on display?  Is it on a shelf?  In a cabinet?  Rigged up with TV mounts or stands?  Is it so large that it rests on the floor with ease?  Let's hear about your home entertainment configuration.

So there we were, recording this week's episode of Kombo Breaker, when Vin Diesel himself had the audacity to interrupt the show and whisk away guest Ian Stevens of Tigon Studios for some important task of some sort.  We still managed to fill two hours even with his limited participation as he talks about The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and Wheelman, I talk about going back to The Godfather: The Don's Edition, my confusion with Lux-Pain for the Nintendo DS, playing the Flock demo, Brad's ongoing ordeal with Tales of Vesperia, Dan's obsession with games played in a web browser, Joey's flight plans for getting to E3, and our new Twitter page that we're doing for some reason or another.  You know what to do by now: download the show directly from Kombo and/or subscribe via iTunes.

Burnout Paradise has plenty of different premium downloadable add-ons available, but which ones are actually worth your time and money? So far Paradise City has welcomed the Legendary Cars, Toy Cars, Boost Special Cars, and the local multiplayer Party Pack.  Each offers its own unique flavor of additional material, so I set out to evaluate the merits and pitfalls of all four downloadable content sets and my review has just landed over at Kombo.  Two of the sets are worth your money while the other two are debatable.  You'll have to find out which is which by reading the review.  I'm such a tease sometimes.  Next time: Cops and Robbers.

When Capcom released Street Fighter IV for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 the running gag of the time was about when the company would repeat the Street Fighter II history and get around to releasing Street Fighter IV: Champion Edition.  Now wouldn't you know that the answer to "when" is April 24?  Capcom sent out a press release announcing the free update. 

Championship Mode offers you the chance to compete in 5 different grades of tournaments, creating the right challenge for players of every skill level.  You’'ll score Grade Points (GP) for tournament wins, and as your GP total grows, you’ ll become eligible to enter into more exclusive tournaments.   Winning tournaments will also net you Championship Points (CP).  CP are like “ prize money” up for grabs in the tournament.  The higher the GP skill of the players in a particular tournament, the bigger the CP prize!

Replay Mode allows you to select and watch the best Championship Mode tournament matches. 

• On the PlayStation Network, you can rate matches while you watch according to characteristics such as “awesome” or “funny.” Replays are then ranked based on these vote ratings. 
• On Xbox Live, instead of rating the matches, you can choose to download and save your favorite replays to study the players’ techniques. You’ ll also be able to turn on the input commands from both players to be able to review their button and joystick motions in precise detail.

Free upgrades are always welcome, but I don't see myself doing much with Championship Mode.  I enjoy Street Fighter and I consider myself to be a decent player, but I'm nowhere near skilled enough to survive in a serious tournament.  Still, points to Capcom for supporting their product with additional free features after release.  So, how long until we see Street Fighter IV Turbo and Super Street Fighter IV: The New Challengers?