Blog Posts from "Get Your Tournament" - Gameriot.com

A farewell to GameRiot

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:37:16 -0400

The one thing I'm horrible at is goodbyes. When do you say them? How do you say them?

I'll be leaving GameRiot.

It was a fun time writing and sharing my thoughts with you the reader here. One of the joys for me was getting people to openly get interested in the "Super Smash Bros." tournament scene. Rather than just eating what was on the table, people were wondering how they could enter tournaments, and I enjoyed that.

One of my bosses from about 10 years ago told me on his final days with the company, "Just remember that a successful person is one who has options." It sounds like something that would only apply to having a job, but it makes sense in most other walks of life.

As of this weekend, I'll be returning to Get Your Tournament. I'll be running the show over there by myself once again. So my hope is that if you liked my writings here, that you join the bandwagon there come this weekend.

I don't like naming people when giving thanks because I always forget someone. However, I do want to give a shoutout to Stu because he brought me in to GameRiot.

It was a fun couple of months. Hope to see you at Get Your Tournament!

Finally, my Mario Kart Wii code is 3737-9926-8631

Burger ends Fuentes' win streak at eight

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:41:04 -0400

Ryan "Futile" Burger won "Smash In the Bank 4" earlier this evening in Burbank, Calif., beating Alex "DieSuperFly" Fuentes in the championship match.

Burger's win ended Fuentes' eight-tournament win streak, the longest since last August, when Fuentes won eight in a row. The difference in the streaks was the games (the current streak was Brawl, the past one was Melee).

The tournament weekend ended on a positive note for Burger. A day earlier at a 31-person tournament in Rancho Cucamonga, he decided to split the winnings with the two players still alive in the tournament: Danny Mejia and David Chavez. At that tournament, Burger was 4-0 needing just one more win to take home the title.

Seven days earlier at a competition at Family Fun Arcade in Granada Hills, he almost wasn't allowed to compete because of the 64-player cap set by the tournament organizers. But someone backed out at the last moment, and Burger filled in, eventually taking fourth.

Meanwhile, Fuentes has now reportedly lost three matches in his past four tournaments (the statistic isn't confirmed because one of tournaments does not have match totals available). In the five events before that, he went untouched playing with his secondary character Marth.

Mario Kart Wii's online play -- a perspective

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:29:59 -0400

My friends asked me all yesterday, "I'll play you online, Glenn, when I get Mario Kart Wii."

I told them I was going to wait a week while I practiced the courses. I didn't want to play online immediately and have about 25 "noob losses."

Well, after three days with the game, and hours of frustration unlocking the remainder of the courses, karts and characters (seriously, we're entering "Battletoads" toughness), I tried online play.

After about 30 minutes, I was disconnected. But I

enjoyed most of the 30 minutes I played (aside from the nine second-place finishes, or else I'd be jumping for a 70-0 record).

Nintendo did its online play right with M.K. Wii. Yes, I've only played 30 minutes, but I've had no problems other than being disconnected by the game. Other observations:

* -- Maybe its because the game is out today that there are a lot of people, but I had no problem finding a match. Initially, you'll see who you're pitted against, and then you have to wait for their match to end before you can join in (think of it like a pick-up basketball game).

* -- The process to select the track is really nice, much better than M.K.D.S. Even if 11 people pick Coconut Mall and you pick Mario Circuit, the roulette can still bounce to Mario Circuit.

* -- The streaming is really well. I still wish the races were on 150cc, but oh well.

* -- Items are still named B.I. Itch. However, in a four-player match, it's not as hectic as it is in a 1 vs 11 cpus match. Seems as though the game treats fourth place in a four-player race as though you're in fourth (red shells, 1 mushroom) instead of last (mega mushroom, star, lightning).

* -- I can't understand the versus rating, and I won't begin to try. You start out with 5,000 points, and as long as you finish in the top half of a race, you'll be OK.

The only things left for me to explore are the Mario Kart Channel, and battle mode. Those should be fun as well.

Blue shell dodging in Mario Kart Wii - It is possible

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:30:09 -0400

I have figured out how to dodge a blue shell.

You must have a mushroom to do it. Powersliding turbos will not work.

I jumped out of my seat when I did it; I couldn't believe it. This just happened about 30 seconds ago, so I'm going to try to get the replay up as soon as possible to share.

Update: Here's the video. Also, I just saw a different video that showed someone using a red mini turbo to dodge a blue shell. However, the video quality was crappy, so I'm still not sold.

Updated 12:29 p.m.

If Mario Kart Wii's 100cc is rough, then...

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:47:47 -0400

After some sleep, "Mario Kart Wii" is still awesome.

I'm about halfway through the modes, so my hope is to get it done by late this afternoon. Sadly, I have to stop playing for a couple hours to upload "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" tournament videos.

= = =

I believe it was IGN that said that some of the regular modes can be brutal. I got a chance to play several 100cc Grand Prix cups, and they were correct.

This is 100cc! This isn't even the main course (150cc). How brutal can it be?

As I mentioned last night, you can't make a mistake. If you fall off the track or hit the skids, you go from first to fourth at best.

But let's say that you don't fall off or ride onto the grass or snow cavities. You're not safe. Oh man, you're far from safe.

Ever get hit by an item, then recover and get hit again? Sure, I'm betting that it's happened to nearly every person that has played any form of Mario Kart.

However, M.K. Wii turned up the insanity about 10 notches.

At times, I was hit by four consecutive items in a span of six seconds. In one race, it happened twice. Twice! It went: red shell, red shell, blue shell, lightning. The first time a quartet happened, I almost threw my controller. The second time, I laughed. I still won that particular race.

Remember, this was on 100cc. I can't imagine what is in store come 150cc.

Back to playing. This game is too fun.

Mario Kart Wii first impressions

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:48:30 -0400

Yeah, I did say on my Instant Messaging prompter earlier tonight that I wasn't going to check my computer, but I'm taking a quick break from playing Mario Kart Wii.

That's right. I was able to get the game today, and I've been playing it for a few hours now.

I'm taking a break just to share some quick thoughts. I'll go into a deeper thought Friday and throughout the next few weeks.

* -- No snaking? That's fine. Nintendo might have taken out the one thing that separated the elite from the average, but that doesn't mean the game will suffer. You'll have to learn how to take advantage of the aerial trick boosting in order to do well. It might seem like all ghosts will be the same, but with the aerial trick boosting, that will hardly be the case.

* -- Make sure you get as big a lead as possible. ONE MISTAKE can cost you a race.

* -- I don't know how anyone is going to be able to dodge a blue shell. It seems possible, but I'm not certain yet.

* -- The courses are absolutely stunning. Nintendo really did well in the art department.

I'm sure I'll have plenty more to talk about in the coming days and weeks, so stay tuned. I'm having TOO MUCH fun with the game, and I'm barely just finishing up the 50cc division.

Madden cover player to be revealed Friday

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:03:30 -0400

Electronic Arts is set to reveal on Friday the person that will grace the cover of "Madden 09."

This should be one of the biggest announcements in the history of the franchise, given that this is the 20th anniversary of the game.

But who will be the person?

I don't think I've ever been correct in guessing the player that has been on the cover. Last year, it was Vince Young; I thought it was going to be either Peyton Manning or Joseph Addai, both of the Indianapolis Colts.

And would that person WANT to be on the cover? Many sports and video game analysts have made note of the famed "Madden Curse," where the cover player either gets injured or excels below his average.

But given the opportunity to be on the cover, wouldn't you want to be on it? We're talking about only a handful of players ever to be selected. A curse is a curse is a curse, if you believe in those types of things.

Young was on the main Madden version and San Diego's Luis Castillo was on the Spanish version. Both were injured during the season, Castillo worst than Young.

Anyway, let's turn our attention away from curses to the possible candidates for the cover. Here are my candidates:

* -- Eli Manning, New York Giants: Not only did he reach the playoffs for the third year in a row, he won the Super Bowl, beating previously undefeated New England. Also, he just got married. It could be E.A.'s way of giving the newlyweds a wedding gift.

* -- Tom Brady, New England: Broke the regular season touchdown record and helped the Patriots win 18 straight. Just because he's the runner-up doesn't mean he's not a candidate. Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb lost in Super Bowl XXXIX and was then selected the cover person for Madden 06.

* -- Devin Hester, Chicago: The most exciting player in the NFL, he had six punt or kickoff returns for touchdowns. However, his main job is just that, a returner. As a Madden note, he became the first player to have a 100 rating.

* -- Adrian Peterson, Minnesota: Set the single-game rushing record. By the way, he did it as a rookie.

* -- Randy Moss, New England: Broke the touchdown receptions mark (the same moment that Brady broke the touchdown throwing mark). Considering his past, he might be a long shot. Also, I can't remember a wide receiver ever being the cover player. I doubt he'd be the first.

MY PICK: Although he was hurt by playing on a team that received little attention after about Week 5, my nod goes to Devin Hester. This guy is too amazing to pass up. Plus, nobody knows how long he can continue his torrid run of kickoff and punt returns. Strike while the iron is hot.

The other four players (eh, three if you don't count Moss) have shown they'll be able to sustain their success for a long time, or that they already have. They can go in any other year. I believe this is Hester's year.

Then again, I've been wrong.

I'm not the only one doing predictions. ESPN has their candidates lined up.

A look at all of the M.K. Wii staff ghosts

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:03:38 -0400

With only a few days to go before the U.S. release of "Mario Kart Wii," my anticipation has increased for the game. I can't wait to buy the game, throw the wheel to the side (because it's tough to use) and start playing.

I want to thank the Smash community, sort of.

I have said in the past that part of me believes that the features for MK Wii has made the game a possible "Brawl vs. Melee, Part Deux."

But with all of the insane debates and heated discussion on various Smash sites about what game is better, I told myself that I better not do that with MK Wii. I have to stop talking about it being "Brawl v Melee II."

When I get the game (hopefully before Sunday), I'm going to enjoy the game as much as possible. Yes, it will be different than Double Dash and M.K.D.S., but it should be fun.

Funny how, this morning, I said to myself, "I probably need to get a good look at the courses before playing because I want to start off on a good note."

Most of the videos I've seen involving MK Wii have either not had the full course, or the quality has been less than stellar.

Earlier this afternoon, I found a YouTube portal that has videos of just the staff ghosts. If you're looking at how all of the courses play, without all of the items and 11 other karts in the way, then make sure to look at this.

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Crazyreyn&p=r

The best thing about these videos as well is that you can look at when to activate the mini turbos at the very least. The ghosts hardly hug the lines, so you can obviously do better.

This is the staff ghost for Desert Hills. While you might be inclined to just driving and hugging the lines, this video shows that you better take advantage of any jumps, because those can lead to aerial tricks and extra boosts.

Enjoy the videos.

Wolf releases ebook for Madden players

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:00:56 -0400

Billy "Da Secret" Wolf, one of the top Madden players of all time, has released his first e-book, which highlights the offensive schemes that helped him succeed in tournament play.

The e-book, called "Book of Secrets" is available on TheMaddenGOATs, the Web site that features Wolf and Eric "Problem" Velarde. It is available for $24.99.

"Book of Secrets" features 15 plays on offense used by Wolf that are tailored to the Atlanta Falcons. Velarde also gives some tips at the end of the book.

Wolf and Velarde, who have provided several exciting matches against each other in the past 18 months, said they plan to release several e-books in the future.

UCLA Monthly VI set to be ... we don't know

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:45:06 -0400

Just moments before I went to sleep last night, I checked the various Super Smash Bros. forums and found out that there will be a U.C.L.A. Monthly VI, set for May 18 on the Westwood campus.

After five successful Melee events (as well as two other students-only tourneys), this tourney was going to be Brawl.

This was great, I said to myself. U.C.L.A. events in the past have averaged at least 70 competitors and that was for Melee.

Think about how many people would attend if it was Brawl? The tournament organizers might have to rent out Pauley Pavilion. OK, that's a stretch, but it could be the highest-attended tournament on the campus.

I wake up this morning, went on Smashboards, and I thought I was still in a fog. This was part of the headline: "UCLA BRAWL DEBUT? OR MELEE?"

Whether the Melee supporters pulled a power play in the last few hours to convince the tournament organizers to reconsider, I don't know.

I said just a couple days ago that Melee supporters need to stop making the tournament organizers switch their minds so a few people can be happy; if a tournament is set to be Brawl, then let it be.

If the tournament organizers originally said that U.C.L.A. VI was going to be Melee, I'd be all for that.

But now, we're going to see how ruthless people can be.

In the coming days, or today, there's going to be a poll on Smashboards asking people what they want for the tournament: Melee or Brawl. One or the other, not both.

If you think the debate and tension leading up to today's Democratic vote in Pennsylvania have been vicious, the U.C.L.A. VI vote could rival that.

U.C.L.A. is, for the most part, one of the gold standards. It has great past attendance, good rep and tradition. Although one person has reached the finals the four times he's made an appearance, people still flock there to compete.

But instead of getting hyped up, we're going to have to go through a week (or two) of people virtually smacking each other silly trying to get Smash players to vote for either Melee or Brawl. I don't like that and I find that disappointing.

I guess I have to say that if you really want Melee or Brawl, go vote when the time comes.

Updated 9:15 a.m.

Suggestions for video highlights

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:51:40 -0400

About two feet from me is 10 hours of "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" tournament footage from the past month. And the moment I stop typing this, I'm going to start hacking away.

However, I wanted to take time out to ask for advice.

After about 1,300 videos produced, I think it's time to up the ante.

I would like to enhance the videos. No, I'm not talking about H.G.H. or steroids. Rather, I want to provide statistics, past history, player profiles as people are watching the action.

Eventually, when I receive the equipment necessary to produce P.I.P. and special effects, I'll try something like the video you see below:

When I watch one of the "Super Smash Bros." videos on my portal, it's just "there." I don't learn much about what's at stake, unless the title says "Finals or semifinals." I don't know the history of the players, what their tournament records are, etc.

The reason I tagged this for the WoW and Counter-Strike communities is that I'm hoping you all can give suggestions as well.

I'm looking to put in statistics such as:

* -- In-game ramifications (Winner goes to the finals)

* -- History: (Player A 4-0 in last 4 matches vs. Player B)

* -- Stage stats: (Player A has won 12 straight times on F.D.)

I should say that I don't plan to do this with all of the videos I'm working on. Maybe it'll be just the final four matches of a tournament.

I'm going to try this with some of the videos I'm working on this week.

If you know of a V.O.D. that is ideal in my venture, let me know.

Live from Family Fun Arcade, Granada Hills

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:41:53 -0400

GRANADA HILLS, Calif. -- It should be a happening time here at Family Fun Arcade, site of the latest "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" tournament. But it's a 50/50 feeling, at least for me.

The tournament was capped off at 64 entrants (name any way around this issue and there was a "No" attached to it), and "Futile" was one of the people on the outside looking in. However, Rob West in an 11th hour move, relinquished his spot to Futile.

So, if Futile reaches the finals, the whole Smash community owes Rob West dinner.

Anyway, Futile, who is one of the three best players in Southern California, is in the tournament, but there are still worthy players not in, and I'm disappointed in that.

I'll try to get over my personal disappointment as I try to provide live updates. So stay tuned throughout the afternoon.

= = =

10:29 p.m.

DSF defeats Edge, 3-0 to win the tournament.

Its his seventh tournament win in a row. A very entertaining match by both guys, even though the screaming from the Melee players kinda drew attention away from a championship match. I found that to be very disappointing on the part of the Melee group. That's just me and my Old School way of thinking.

Anyway, this is my last entry for tonight. I was thinking earlier in the day that this was going to be a disaster, but for the most part, everything turned out alright.

I have nearly 11 hours of matches to encode from the weekend, so videos might not be up for a while.

Thanks for reading.

10:07 p.m.

I wasn't going to share this, but why not?

All 15 players in the Melee tournament are going absolutely crazy. They're living it up. MrPBody decided to enter last minute and he, of course, mentions how Melee is too good and Brawl sucks.

I told him, "I'm sure you've had more than one girlfriend in your lifetime. Your first girlfriend, I bet it took you a while to get over her."

MrPBody: "But Melee is like the girl with the nice ass and big tits. Brawl is the ugly chic."

My response: "Yeah, but a lot of guys go through that thing where, they've been with the nice ass and big tits for four years. Then they get tired of seeing the same ass and tits everyday and they say it's time for a new chic. And once they get that new chic, they realize, 'Damn, I'm an idiot. I broke up with the girl with the nice ass and big tits. I need to go back.'"

Why I shared this conversation with you, I have no idea. Anyway, the finals is starting.

10:06 p.m.

Edge finishes off D.C., 3-2 in the losers final. He will now try to end the six-tournament winning streak that DSF currently holds.

9:59 p.m.

I didn't think a Game and Watch (D.C.) could hang with a Metaknight (Edge). I thought Game and Watch was a mid-tier prospect. We're tied 2-2 in the losers final.

9:46 p.m.

Edge defeated Futile, but not without controversy. And sure, you might be thinking at this point "Futile should accept anything because he's lucky just to get in the tournament." I think the grace period for that has ended.

He was up 1-0 on Edge. Round 2, and both of them were down to their last stock. Edge had 80 percent and Futile was at 0 percent.

However, the power went out on all four stations. The round was reset, and Edge won. He then won Round 3.

Someone was saying that Futile was beyond upset, but I didn't get to see the look on his face after he lost, so I don't know.

What was I doing at the time? Arranging the THIRTEEN-person Melee bracket, which could dwindle down to 11. Unbelievable.

9:24 p.m.

The Melee competition is about to begin shortly.

Meanwhile, Futile takes out MikeHAZE.

9:17 p.m.

DSF is in the finals after beating D.C., 3-0.

D.C. picked Final Destination twice, which is an absolutely no-no against DSF's Snake.

Meanwhile, Eazynjay had this comforting line for MikeHAZE in his upcoming match against Futile: "Man, you're ****in' gonna get raped."

9:06 p.m.

Correction: There are 18 committed to the Melee tournament.

Gimpyfish has been eliminated by Futile. We're down to about 8 players remaining (2 in winners, 6 in losers).

8:52 p.m.

Just to take a moment away from the tournament happenings ...

For those who don't know, this year's MELEE-FC has been put on hiatus and possibly canceled. "KishPrime," one of the tournament organizers, has said his schoolwork will become too much to bear possibly, and in order for him to get his Masters, he needs to spend as much time as possible on the task at hand.

However, he offered this piece of advice to everyone in the Smash community:

This is happening in California, and it needs to end. People should stop forcing the tournament organizers to have Melee.

It happened with today's tournament here in Granada Hills. It was going to be Brawl singles and Brawl teams. But then people forced the tournament organizers to switch out Brawl teams and do Melee singles. And just last night, people wanted Brawl teams back.

Nineteen people have committed to the Melee tournament. And I say committed because not everyone has paid yet. So, the number could be way less. As a tournament organizer that is gathering $3 per entry, would you want 19 Melee players, or possibly 19 Brawl teams? Today's event easily could have drawn 25 Brawl teams. But instead of that, we're saddled with a Melee competition.

I almost wrote "Melee 1.6." in the previous paragraph.

8:45 p.m.

D.C. will join DSF in the winners finals.

There's still a long way to go in the losers bracket. Among those still in it: Ajax, Plan9, Gimpyfish and Futile.

8:37 p.m.

DSF is in the winners finals after a nailbiter against Romeo, 2-1.

One of the televisions is on the fritz. Dae told me that the screen is too bright, and a lot of the players are complaining about it. I haven't seen it, so I can't make an assessment. But anyway, we're down to 3 stations.

8:24 p.m.

Something I just realized at this moment (yes, five hours after the tournament started). The station that is being recorded does not have random stage select. DSF and Romeo jokingly had to come to an agreement on a first stage -- Battlefield.

After yesterday's tournament in Lake Forest, I hope DSF realizes that nobody's going to pick an open-field stage like Smashville and Final Destination against him if he's playing as Snake. He better get those open-field stages by random.

8:21 p.m.

Your final four in the winners bracket:

DSF vs. Romeo

MikeHAZE vs. D.C.

On the horizon is a possible elimination match featuring MrPBody and Gimpyfish.

8:15 p.m.

It appeared that Gimpyfish was on his way to a Round 1 loss against Bigfoot. Down to his final stock, Gimpyfish (Bowser) took out Bigfoot's second stock (DK). He then chipped away at Bigfoot's third stock and knocked him off the platform (Battlefield).

Gimpyfish then started the Bowser flame, and Bigfoot, trying to avoid it, went too far below the platform and lost. Gimpyfish survived the first round in a battle of heavyweights.

7:52 p.m.

A lot of people cheering for Futile, but he comes up oh so very very very very very short against DSF. A very entertaining match.

7:46 p.m.

It's 1-1, DSF vs. Futile.

Meanwhile, there are 17 signups for Melee. There were 13, so I'm guessing four people either forgot or were pressured into participating.

7:36 p.m.

A very entertaining match featuring Gimpyfish and Recipherus. Gimpyfish takes the match, 2-0.

7:30 p.m.

We will indeed have DSF vs. Futile in a winners bracket matchup.

7:27 p.m.

How many Melee players are planning to enter tonight's tournament? Can you use the start time as an excuse?

Yesterday's Melee competition had just 13 players. I'm predicting 20 for tonight.

But if they don't get 20, is the Melee Hype Train through?

7:15 p.m.

Matches on the horizon: D.C. vs. Lovage in the winners bracket, and Recipherus vs. Gimpyfish in the losers bracket. I don't think we'll be seeing any camping in those encounters.

7:12 p.m.

THANK GOODNESS GIMPYFISH ENDED THAT MISERY!

7:07 p.m.

The reason why some people hate Brawl.

Gimpyfish is playing a person named Dennis.

What's Dennis' strategy? Use Sonic and run to a corner. Wait, then respond to whatever Gimpyfish does.

When Dennis gets hit, he rolls away, and goes to a corner.

Dennis' new nickname will be "The Camper." I don't even know who he is, but that's his nickname.

7:01 p.m.

DSF vs. Leon. Round 1 went to DSF. In Round 2, Leon was a step ahead of DSF for the first few minutes. He then goes too deep under the stage (Halberd), and his Sheik couldn't recover. That's all it took for DSF to get back in the round and win it. Amazing. One mistake.

6:50 p.m.

Who has the better 'fro, Lucky or Brown? I don't think it's a contest, but I'll let the public decide.

6:29 p.m.

There's still about 45 players remaining in the tournament. The prospects of the Melee competition happening? Well, if people don't mind a 10 p.m. start time ...

6:21 p.m.

Danimals held his own against Futile, but he couldn't close the deal. Futile remains in the winners bracket, while Danimals "tips" his way over to the losers bracket.

6:17 p.m.

Danimals stole a round in his match against Futile. Can he do it again?

6:08 p.m.

Romeo has sent Gimpyfish to the losers bracket with an entertaining 2-1 battle of heavyweights (King Dedede vs. Bowser).

After losing the first round, Romeo exposed the chain grab ability, and it worked in holding off Gimpyfish.

5:46 p.m.

I guess DSF is saving his Snake and Marth for later. He's using Samus (with shoulder pads) against Sgt. Fluffles.

Meanwhile, Dae has just DQed six people from the tournament. Wow. They are not f'ing around today.

5:37 p.m.

Participants not present in the tournament are now getting DQed. Dae is getting restless, and who could blame him? The tournament is nowhere near getting done, and the dead weight is keeping that from happening.

Sorry people, stay at the venue if you want your tournament life to be decided "on the field."

5:29 p.m.

We're barely getting to people's second matches of the day. Right now, Recipherus is taking on Flyleef in an elimination match. Recipherus is going with Lucas (and as I type this, he's already done P.K. Fire about 30 times), which is a change from his loss against Kouryuu, when he went with Toon Link.

5:25 p.m.

A lot of people just risked getting DQed because they left to go get something to eat without telling Dae the tournament organizer. Uh oh.

4:46 p.m.

Kouryuu is making the most of his tournament entry so far, having beaten Recipherus in the first round. Once again at an F.F.A. tournament, Recipherus will have to run the gauntlet in the losers bracket.

4:17 p.m.

I just found out that one of the stations is Japanese. Tournaments can no longer have the Japanese version. There's enough of a difference that will affect the competitors (Just serving a notice to future tournament organizers).

By the way, Kouryuu's first opponent: Recipherus.

4:06 p.m.

I believe the remaining people that were denied entry into the tournament were people whose main game is not Brawl. But I can't say that as a fact, just a belief. What if those people are first-time competitors? What if they're trying to enter the tournament scene?

I'm reminded of Monterey Bay Thunder 7 (2005), where I ran a Melee tournament. I was restricted to just four televisions in the venue. And because our event was a hybrid tournament (3 games), I had to cap off the field. I made the number 48, which meant that 16 players were going to receive byes.

The difference was that I made my announcement with a week to go, when there were just 5 spots remaining. However, I said there were going to be "entry tickets" given in order, so if someone did not show, they were going to get replaced by someone who had an entry ticket.

On tournament day, there were about 12 players that received "entry tickets." One of them was Clod Zero.

Clod Zero had, I believe, the No. 9 ticket. He paid $20 to switch with the person who had the No. 1 ticket.

Turns out, both Clod Zero, and the person he paid off, both got into the tournament. No, Clod Zero did not get his money back.

But I'm reminded of the things people will do to enter a tournament.

4:01 p.m.

Futile defeated DEHF, 2-0. Something tells me this is going to be a rough road for all 64 players.

3:55 p.m.

Strange how things align themselves.

Futile replaced Rob West in the bracket. If Futile wins out, he could possibly face DSF in the final 8 of the winners bracket. That, for the most part, is not so bad.

However, his first match is against DEHF.

Lucky, just a couple minutes ago, decided to forfeit his spot to someone. The beneficiary: Kouryuu, who couldn't believe what happened.

3:49 p.m.

I have that feeling in me of, "If a person is DQed for not showing up to his or her match, I'm going to hunt that person down."

The tournament so far is going at a rapid pace, much like how F.F.A. always does their events. There's no lag time, and I like that.

Players Bowl 2 champ talks about winning it all

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:35:23 -0400

In an interview on The Madden Lab, Players Bowl 2 winner Josh Kotas said he'll be making his presence known at more Madden events.

Kotas, from Syracuse, N.Y., said he's only been to two major Madden tournaments; last year's Madden Challenge circuit event in Foxborough, Mass., and last weekend's Players Bowl 2 in Philadelphia.

Kotas defeated Michigan baller Dan "The Truth" Brown in the finals of the Players Bowl 2. Kotas had a message for Brown.

"Someone told me that Truth said on The Madden Lab that he will beat me 8-9 times out of 10," Kotas told The Madden Lab. "I just want to say LOL to that."

Kotas, known as "TheKidJosh" made his name known on the money-match Web site Gamersaloon and figured it was time to make the move to live events.

"I realized that (my) skills were up there with the top ballers because I played a few big names on (Gamer)saloon and won," Kotas told The Madden Lab. "I just said to myself, "I gotta get into some of these tourneys because I'm just as good as these guys!"

Live from the AznForce 4.0 Brawl Tournament

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:30:47 -0400

LAKE FOREST, Calif. -- Today's AznForce 4.0 Brawl Tournament, located here at the Best Western Inn deep in Orange County, has a twist; there's "Super Smash Bros. Melee" and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" competitions. This is one of the first hybrid tournaments to take place since Brawl was released several weeks ago.

So now you have two groups of players; the Melee competition in which there are players hoping for a Melee resurgence ala C.S. 1.6. Then you have the main event, aka the Brawl tournament.

I'm here for the Brawl competition, which is set to take place within the hour. I'm curious as to how the Melee players will fare in the Brawl competition.

Hopefully the Internet connection holds up throughout the day so I can provide continuing updates. I'll begin the updates at about 2 p.m.

= = =

10:37 p.m.

DSF won the championship, winning the second final with a 3-0 decision. That's 6-0 if you're keeping score at home.

There was some talk on my YouTube portal that DSF's Marth was his best character. When you see these Snake videos in the coming days, I think that Marth talk will disappear.

This is my final entry for tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to provide updates at tomorrow's Brawl tournament in Granada Hills. If so, I hope to see you then. If not, then stay tuned on Tuesday for video highlights.

10:30 p.m.

DSF prevailed, 3-0 in his first encounter with BarDull. They're now going to a second championship match.

10:11 p.m.

Is Final Destination built for DSF's Snake? He was unstoppable in his last two rounds played there.

He's now in the finals, going for a sixth tournament win in a row. He'll have to beat BarDull in two best-of-5 encounters.

9:54 p.m.

DSF completely destroyed Mr. X in Round 1. Then Mr. X came back with a fury in Round 2. With that, DSF had to pick the stage for Round 3.

He almost didn't pick Frigid Orpheon. But he went with it anyway.

It paid off.

DSF is now facing Futile for the right to go to the finals.

9:45 p.m.

We're down to four: BarDull (Finalist), Futile, DSF and Mr. X.

DSF and Mr. X are going at it in the rematch, and DSF is going with Snake this time.

By the way, there's got to be some love for Chaz. He finished fifth, a week after stunning the field and getting third at Shuffle and Cut.

9:31 p.m.

DSF was watching Psycho Midget take on Mr. X in an elimination match. And DSF then realized what stage he should have counterpicked in his match against Mr. X.

Frigid Orpheon.

When the stage turns over, a weak-recovery character like Olimar is nearly toast.

9:20 p.m.

DSF defeated Edge in the most tense and entertaining singles match of the tournament so far.

Unfortunately, nobody will be able to view it. It was announced secretly and away from the recording station. So it was not recorded by anyone.

Edge took the first round and had a lead in the second before DSF rallied to tie it up 1-1. Then on Rainbow Cruise (Edge's counterpick), DSF took a commanding lead before Edge rallied back. One mistake led to an up-smash for DSF, and the win.

It should be noted that DSF went with Snake in the second round and then switched to Marth for the third round.

... and just now, BarDull has defeated Futile. Wow.

9:08 p.m.

I'm being told that we have a 10 p.m. mandate to end the tournament. However, Kevin (Tournament organizer) has said there are only a couple matches remaining to be played.

8:44 p.m.

I was stunned a little bit to find out that Edge was in the losers bracket. I thought he still hadn't lost. But he lost to BarDull.

8:07 p.m.

Remember how I said that if Mr. X didn't have pikmin handy, that he was going to be exposed? In the second round of that match with Futile, he lost a couple stock because he didn't have enough Pikmin to recover with. If he had more Pikmin available, he recovers. Then again, by saving the Pikmin, he can't create the havoc that he does so well in his matches. What's the risk and what's the reward? Those are the types of things all Olimar/Pikmin players must deal with.

8:03 p.m.

How many recoveries does Futile have with that Wario? He avoided a spike on his final stock and came back to beat Mr. X in the first round of their matchup.

7:58 p.m.

Mr. X worked his way to a matchup with Futile. Can he make it 2-for-2 against the two best players in Southern California?

7:49 p.m.

There are a couple people, including JakeTheBizzle, using the Classic Controller. JTB is using the left nub instead of the D-pad. So you have the right thumb elevated over the left. Strange, because usually the left thumb is elevated over the right.

7:26 p.m.

The enormity of the DSF loss:

* -- We're talking about nearly 40 consecutive tournament matches that he has won over a span of four weeks.

* -- He was the last person under the ratings system that was undefeated.

When the video of the match is posted in the coming days, I'll be curious as to whether people break it down NFL style. If DSF goes on to win the tournament, it will be the only piece of footage in the past five weeks where he's lost a Brawl match on the U.S. version.

Also, will this mean that people will go Olimar/Pikmin against him in future matches? Those players that are versatile might do so.

Meanwhile, on the horizon for Mr. X is a possible match with Futile. If Mr. X gets through that challenge, the road to the finals looks clear.

7:15 p.m.

Mr. X has defeated DSF, 2-0. Again, I might be redundant, but that was VERY entertaining. Mr. X knew how to work the Pikmin and he took out DSF's Marth.

The only glaring weakness was that, when Mr. X had no Pikmin, he had no offense and he was seriously scrambling just to find some spacing to pull some Pikmin from the ground. If someone catches onto that weakness, Mr. X could be joining DSF in the losers bracket.

7:04 p.m.

Easily, that was the most-watched match of the day. DSF prevailed, 2-0 but everyone wanted to see how Connor would do battle. Very entertaining, especially Connor's recovery from a spike attempt.

6:58 p.m.

I'm back after a load of Mario Kart DS games. And just as I return, DSF and Connor are going at it in a pivotal singles match. Both players are using Marth.

5:57 p.m.

Edge and Ajax are your team winners for the second consecutive week, coming out of the losers bracket again. Very exciting. And now, we can all fully turn our attention to the singles tournament. I'll be back at 7 p.m. with the next update.

5:53 p.m.

Double Snake for DSF and Nezumi. But they're on the brink of a finals loss.

5:43 p.m.

Thanks to a surprise bomb by a KO'd Snake (played by Ajax), Edge was able to take out Nezumi and help his team win.

We're going to a second championship.

5:39 p.m.

The match is tied, 2-2. Edge and Ajax are making DSF work double time. Thus, DSF takes more damage and is easier to KO. If the strategy holds up one more round, we could be going to a second championship match.

5:34 p.m.

DSF and Nezumi lead, 2-1. It was all about DSF staying alive long enough in his final stock so he and Nezumi could eliminate Edge and Ajax. Had DSF been eliminated, Nezumi again would have faced a 2-on-1 with all of them at 0 percent.

Nezumi made a great escape. She barely recovered and was about to come back onto the platform (Battlefield) when Edge spiked her ... or so we all thought. Nezumi summoned the wings at the final moment and flew back onto the platform safely.

5:28 p.m.

The team match is tied 1-1. No epic comebacks like there were last weekend by either team.

By the way, I've received this question a lot in the past week: Do team results count toward the Southern California Brawl Player Ratings.

No.

It is based on performances only in singles tournaments.

5:22 p.m.

The team finals is set. It will be DSF and Nezumi, needing to win just one 3-out-of-5 matchup against Edge and Ajax. We said the same thing last week, but Edge and Ajax prevailed, as they came out of the losers bracket. Will the tide turn seven days later?

5:12 p.m.

Psycho Midget has drawn the attention of nearly everyone in the room as he played a singles match (and won).

He drew my attention for sure, after I saw the shirt he was wearing. It wasn't his normal green, but some sort of ... something. It looked like a shirt out a 1980s flick.

Meanwhile, we're on the brink of the team finals taking place. DSF and Nezumi await either Plan9 and Lovage, or Edge and Ajax.

4:41 p.m.

The singles tournament is in full effect ... even though the team tournament is still in its final stages. I think the tournament organizers forgot to finish the team competition, which is fine. Nobody's going anywhere, but it is ideal to start the singles competition just as the team tournament is ending.

The remaining four teams, with the exception of Lovage and Plan9, all have been together in a previous Brawl tournaments. It does look like cohesion will carry the day.

4:06 p.m.

DieSuperFly and Nezumi are into the finals after they defeated Lovage and Plan9 just moments ago. It was Plan9 that was part of the duo that beat DSF and Nezumi just six days ago in Yorba Linda.

3:40 p.m.

We're nearly two hours into the Brawl competition, and I haven't heard anyone make excuses about the transition from Melee to Brawl.

2:58 p.m.

In watching the third round of a very exciting match between Edrees/Champ and Edge/Ajax, something caught my eye.

They played on Luigi's Mansion. And the four players at times were bouncing around more than pinballs. We're talking about possible KO's being averted because of the initial stage layout. Now I do understand that the stage is breakable, so there will be times when it's Final Destination-like. But when the mansion is 100 percent, will players be kicking themselves because a probable KO was taken away by the layout?

2:40 p.m.

Something related to the tournament; I'm starting to notice now that a lot of teams are sticking together. This wasn't the case in past Brawl competitions, and I'm guessing that was because players were trying to find the ideal teammate.

Edge and Ajax are taking on Edrees and Champ. These two teams were the same this past weekend. The same can be said for DieSuperFly and Nezumi (although, their situation is a little different) as well as Psycho Midget and Doppleganger.

There is a player who doesn't fit into this category: Plan9. From as much as I know, he's rolling with someone else for today's tournament. Last week in Yorba Linda, he teamed with BarDull, who's nowhere to be found here today in Lake Forest.

2:36 p.m.

I've never seen so much McDonalds food at a tournament before. The venue is about 35 feet from a McDonalds.

2:23 p.m.

There's still a lot of fresh blood at this tournament. I'd say it's 70/30 in terms of veterans vs. newcomers. I'm curious as to how the newcomers will play against people who now have had the game for a long time and have established some sort of metagame.

2:01 p.m.

The Brawl team tournament is underway. Meanwhile, there are just a few players remaining in the Melee singles competition.

I'm sitting nearby one of the Melee competitors, and it's very interesting how he's playing. He's using a modified version of the claw grip to control his Ganondorf. I have no idea who he is, but he's doing well so far in his match.

This guy's claw grip isn't like the one the famous David "Walshy" Walsh does in Halo tournaments, but it's close. With the way this guy does his claw grip, you can't L-cancel.

Ideas for the national DDR tournament

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:56:04 -0400

Yesterday, for the first time in a long while, I really felt like I was playing DDR with a purpose.

The talk of a national tournament has gotten me excited to the point I'm contemplating returning to the tournament scene just to compete.

But I'm not going to come back if the rules are pitiful. And that's what this entry is all about -- finding the ideal ruleset for this national tournament.

There's a lot to cover, and I'm planning to do it all in this entry.

(Note: This is all predicated on the beliefs that this tournament will take place on SuperNOVA 2, and that there will be several machines available for use)

And now, we come to the hardest part in the tournament. How should individual matches take place? From what I know about SuperNOVA 2, you can't hear songs when you select Random, so throw that idea out.

The Mercenary Ruleset (two random songs on nonstop mode) is no longer needed because marvelouses are in regular play.

I'm not in favor of players choosing songs because ... how many times have you seen someone win the song he or she has picked? It's almost a guarantee the match will go to a third song.

However, that might be the way to go. It just has to be done with a little twist. So here you go, my idea for the head to head matchups:

The higher seed chooses the first song and difficulty (maniac or challenge). The lower seed chooses the second song (maniac or challenge). The third song goes back to the higher seed, and the fourth to the lower seed ... and so on. The first person to win by two songs wins the match.

Here's the twist: Once a song is selected, it can't be used by anyone else in the tournament, in any mode. If someone chooses Brilliant 2U on challenge, then you can't pick Brilliant 2U on maniac. Even if the song ends in a tie, it can't be used anymore.

As far as playing 10-footers, I don't know. I wouldn't mind seeing them allowed in all of the rounds. Then again, someone could 10-footer their way to the finals.

I would allow them because even if someone tried to 10-footer their way in the tournament, it's just one of a possible three songs. Also, under this rule, someone would have to "break serve" to win. If a player has the Leo Syndrome (great on 10 footers but sucks at everything else), then they'll be exposed.

This forces the remaining 16 players to have a wealth of knowledge about the DDR song list. Now, I don't think there will be something along the lines of Rockies vs. Padres where there's a long stalemate, but there could be some lengthy matches. Having a few machines will help speed up the tournament.

= = =

Yes, I only covered the technical aspect of DDR. I'm sure there are people that want to dance. But if Konami wants to reach the most amount of players, it's best to do a technical tournament.

I know that I've also sung the praises of Battle Mode. I'm not certain a lot of people will go for it, especially since the step sequences aren't the same for both competitors. It has to be an even playing field.

Report: Konami possibly in works of national DDR tournament

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:34:51 -0400

On the DDR Community forums, several people who have claimed to be Konami representatives have said the company is in the works of planning out a national DDR tournament.

People are encouraged to share their ideas and thoughts on the DDR Community forums, located right here.

There hasn't been a truly legitimate national tournament run by Konami in recent memory. If it does happen, this could be the one thing needed to revive the nearly dead tournament scene.

However, there is one slight problem. The tournament will more than likely take place on the SuperNOVA 2 version (because there's no way Konami would promote something else when the newest version is out there).

Not every arcade has SuperNOVA 2, and there are plenty of arcades still stuck on Extreme. If they do run a national tournament, how are they going to accommodate all of the aspiring hopefuls?

I just wanted to throw the news here right now, and I'll give my ideas in the coming days.

The latest SoCal Brawl Player Ratings

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:46:29 -0400

My predictions for the latest Southern California Brawl Player Ratings were close. But I wasn't on the money.

In this preface, I want to make mention as well that the stagnant numbers will soon disappear. The rankings take into account the past five weeks of tournament play. However, I started with the March 22 tournament in San Diego. That will soon be eliminated, and the rotation of tournaments will begin, to keep things fresh.

Before you see the top 30, let's put out some other statistics as well.

Top 5 Win Percentages:
1. DieSuperFly, 1.000
2. Futile, 0.792
3. Aero, 0.750
4. Romeo, 0.750
5. D.C., 0.727

Top 5 Strength of Schedules:
1. ASP, 0.750
1. Nightsight, 0.750
3. Aero, 0.741
4. Soap, 0.733
5. David, 0.727

Now, I remember saying that I don't know what the ceiling is for Strength of Schedule, but I haven't seen anyone go above 0.750. I think it's because everyone has to take in so many losses.

It appears that the ideal Strength of Schedule is somewhere between 0.600 and 0.640. If you have a higher percentage, that means you're facing some really good players at tournaments.

I'm kind of glad that I added this column, because it really reveals the caliber of play that each competitor faces.

Futile remained stuck at third, just 0.014 points behind Aero. You can contribute it to his strength of schedule. At 0.586, he has the second-weakest S.O.S. among the top 10. There's a catch-22, however. If he didn't face players that go 2-and-out, his S.O.S. can easily jump higher. Then again, giving him tougher first-round opponents wouldn't be fair to those said opponents. This will be something I'm going to pay close attention to in the coming weeks. Will we see the top players in the ratings have their S.O.S. drop because they're facing weaker first- and second-round opponents?

I was correct about Psycho Midget and Connor aka Number Four. Psycho Midget was going to drop out of the top 10. I didn't expect him to fall all the way to 22nd! Connor took a dive all the way to 12th (I predicted 13th).

I thought Blitz would move up from his previous spot, 14th. However, he dropped to 18th. Wow. He faced five competitors at his last tournament that amounted to only a 12-10 record.

And here you go, the top 30 players in the Player Ratings (out of 149 players).

1. DieSuperFly, 2.670
2. Aero, 2.291
3. Futile, 2.277
4. Romeo, 2.156
5. Edge, 2.114
6. Lucky, 2.011
7. D.C. 1.985
8. Sniper, 1.879
9. Forward 1.869
10. St. Patrick, 1.854
11. Lovage, 1.814
12. Connor, 1.811
13. Chaz, 1.802
14. Ajax, 1.724
15. Sonic 1.688
16. Insomniak, 1.667
17. Dunzo 1.633
18. Fly Amanita, 1.576
18. Blitz, 1.576
20. Kouryuu, 1.569
21. Edrees, 1.567
22. Psycho Midget, 1.519
23. Recipherus, 1.496
24. Zarelid, 1.465
25. Epic, 1.447
26. Simply Gold, 1.445
27. LMNZ, 1.395
28. Rorex, 1.393
29. Nezumi 1.382
30. Doppleganger, 1.342

For more breakdown of the player ratings, you can read it right here.

A preview of the SoCal Brawl Player Ratings

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:13:59 -0400

As I finish up my taxes (it's good to know math), I wanted to quickly share my thoughts on the latest Southern California Brawl Player Ratings, which will be available tomorrow morning.

Only one tournament from the weekend will count toward the ratings -- the 34-player tournament at Shuffle and Cut in Rancho Cucamonga.

I'm not done organizing all of the numbers, but on the surface, here's some things I'll be taking a close look at as I enter the data:

* -- DieSuperFly will still be in first, since he won with an undefeated record. But I'm wondering when his rating will start to drop. It's not the fault of him, but at some point, he'll start to face very weak players in the first two rounds of the tournaments he plays.

* -- Can Futile jump to second? So far, from what I've compiled, he had the strongest Strength of Schedule at Shuffle and Cut (0.660). Add that with his second-place finish, and he should move ahead of Aero.

* -- 17th Place won't help Psycho Midget at all. He'll be dropping out of the top 10, but how far?

* -- Speaking of drops, our good friend Connor AKA Number Four will likely be out of the top 10 as well. Now, I was thinking that he might suffer the worst drop of anyone. However, he had a good strength of schedule, which means it shouldn't be that bad. My prediction: Connor goes from sixth to 13th.

* -- Blitz should move up the rankings for one small reason: the guy had to play one extra match than everyone else. How important is that? The difference between going 2-2 (without that extra match) and 3-2 is 0.100 raw points. Blitz is 14th in the ratings, but that one extra match could throw him up all the way to 11th, maybe 10th if things fall his way in other areas.

It should be fun to see when all of the numbers are crunched tonight. Meanwhile, you can view the current list right here.

A more emotional attachment in Brawl tournaments?

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:31:07 -0400

I've already shared my thoughts with one person, but I still wanted to make this known, just to get some discussion going.

The past three weeks at "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" tournaments, I've seen more people throw their controllers in frustration over losses.

This won't be some big psychological analysis over the throwing of controllers, but I'm curious as to why it's happening now.

Up until the conversation I had with someone about this, I had one belief. Then I was given another, so I'll share them both.

First of all, has Brawl become more of a thinking-person's game? That's tough to say.

In Melee, I rarely saw players get emotional during or after matches. If you're playing in a Melee match, and you're shined off the stage four times by a Fox, what can you do? For the most part, you have to accept it as your opponent just being a beast.

In Brawl, players work and work ... and work to get knockouts. And with spacing and timing being so much more important, you'd hate to see any chance to win wasted.

That's why I believe more people are becoming frustrated when they lose. It's like most things in life; you work so hard to get something, and when it doesn't come, then you get upset.

I know the debate of showing emotion is there as well. Many people I know outside of the tournament realm do not like it when people show emotion during games. They would rather that people just shake hands and be done with it. Then, there are people on my side, who do not mind when people get hyped over big hits, combos and close calls.

I remember playing in a regional DDR tournament, and in the semifinals, I took a 1-0 lead over the No. 2 player in the region. I was so fired up after the first round that people thought I was crazy. I ended up getting blown out in the next two songs and finished in third place.

= = =

When you have a new game in front of you, and your goal is to be the best, what happens when you're not the best? What happens when you continue to fall short of your goals?

This was the other point that someone brought to me. A lot of people want to be the best in Brawl, to shed the moniker of sucking bad in Melee. However, a lot of dreams are going up in smoke now, and that's tough.

There's no stats on this, just my thoughts on the situation. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

A justified switch toward the No Wireless Controller rule

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:38:50 -0400

It's tough to say that I support the No Wireless Controller rule at future "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" tournaments.

After watching a tournament almost end prematurely Saturday afternoon because of a wireless controller, I'm struggling to find any sort of way to still support those weapons.

But I don't think I can find any more reasons.

It has nothing to do with interference with other wireless controllers, or batteries dying out (those are the reasons by other wireless dissenters).

The tournament I attended this past Saturday had four wireless users. All four players were using the Combo (just for the record). Three of them were competing in their first tournament.

During a preliminary match in the team competition, one of the Wiis turned off unexpectedly. It was the station that had my videocassette recorder -- I was taping matches. At first, I thought I ran out of tape in the V.C.R. But that was impossible because I had recorded less than 50 minutes of matches.

I dismissed it as the Wii accidentally resetting itself.

But during the opening moments of round five of the team finals -- yeah, the round that decides the champion -- the Wii turned off. Now I know it wasn't a fluke. Someone was turning off the Wii.

It turns out that some of the wireless users were synched to the questionable Wii, and they left the batteries in their controllers once their matches ended. The wireless users didn't believe they were at fault during the most important moment of the team competition, but they were.

Funny how, someone else said something along the lines of, "Could you imagine if that happened somewhere else? Someone's fake playing, and in the back, someone is with a wireless controller owning the other guy?" That's hilarious, but that's not why I'm now teetering toward the "Do Not Allow" side.

The event I attended was a small regional competition. Could you imagine the same thing happening in a much bigger event, where the Wii is turned off during round 5 of the second championship? How do you enforce it? Many tournament organizers reset the round in question, no matter when the incident happened.

It's too risky to even allow it to happen. The tournament organizers could disqualify the person that turned off the Wii, because it is easy to figure out who did it. Then again, if that person is already been eliminated, what do you do to him or her?

I'll probably be thinking of different ways that wireless users can still use their weapons. In the meantime, tournament organizers will probably have to side with the "No Wireless Rule."

Marquez first in Melee at Cal Poly, while Fuentes extends Brawl winning streak

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:50:46 -0400

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. -- The much-hyped "Super Smash Bros. Melee" tournament set to take place Saturday at California Polytechnic State University in Pomona received a reported 25 entrants.

But that still wasn't enough to claim the title of the biggest Smash event of the weekend in Southern California.

The weekly Brawl tournament at Shuffle and Cut Games in Rancho Cucamonga drew 34 entrants, many which were Melee players that have transferred over to the newer game.

Norwalk's Joseph Marquez took home first place at the Cal Poly Melee tournament, defeating Joey Aldama in the finals. Jeremy Westfahl claimed third place.

At the Shuffle and Cut Brawl tournament, Alex Fuentes claimed first place with a 6-0 record. He's undefeated in his past four tournaments, all Brawl events, and he becomes the first California player to win four consecutive Brawl tournaments.

Many players (including yours truly) had deemed Saturday's Melee tournament at Cal Poly a make-or-break situation for those who have confessed their love for Melee and disdain for Brawl. Other Brawl events were pushed aside or moved up to accommodate the Melee tournament.

With many tournaments out of the way, it appeared that the Melee competition would be a shoo-in to draw the most entrants.

But by midday Saturday, the Melee tournament reportedly had just nine entrants in the team competition, which was won by the duo of Marquez and Aldama. Eventually, they drew 25 players for the singles tournament.

Meanwhile at Shuffle and Cut, it was easily the most emotional tournament the venue has played host to, with several players throwing down controllers in frustration over losses.

Only two of the four No. 1 seeds reached the final four in the winners bracket, with Fuentes defeating David Chavez in that round.

Also, the payout was extended to four players, a change from last week when only the top two players earned winnings.

West Coast's best Smash clan shows their skills

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:41:25 -0400

Part of me is starting to believe that combo videos are like high school sports**.

If you make note of one, then you better start making note of all of them or else the complaints will be coming.

The Northern California Smash clan known as D.B.R. (Death By Rape), has come out with a quick, 88-second video showing their skills in Brawl.

Mix in some fast-paced Techno music that almost sounds IIDX-like, and you have something worth noting.

Within 30 seconds of me returning to my computer, I've already had a couple people telling me to check it out. I have, and I enjoyed it.

And now, you can enjoy the video too, which has been posted on Major League Gaming's site.

** -- I worked as a high school sports reporter on and off for 10 years, so I can say that.

Updated 3:46 p.m.

Oh, here we go again about snaking in Mario Kart

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:51:52 -0400

Forgive me, I do not follow The Retronauts on 1up. I have no idea if they are a serious bunch, or a group that makes puns on games.

So therefore, I just took what they wrote as is, trying to find any scent of Onion-like sarcasm.

The Retronauts wrote an article detailing what they thought was the good and bad about the Mario Kart series. It starts off well because their "good" section is good.

It's the "bad" section that makes me shake my head.

Two points have drawn my ire.

* -- Rubberband A.I.: In this case, no matter how good you were, the other karts were right with you, according to the Retronauts. This was hardly the case in Double Dash and MKDS, where snaking helped you win.

Although it is annoying that the computer is always nearby in races, I don't see it as a totally bad thing. It teaches you to learn how to win close races.

The one issue I have with the A.I. is that, in Double Dash, the seven other karts attack you no matter where you are in the race. That gets annoying sometimes; you're mired in fourth and the kart in third gets a red shell. The shell is fired BACKWARDS. What human would seriously do that in an everyone-for-themselves race?

* -- Snaking: I figured I would see this in the "bad" category.

Great players don't complain about snaking.

Their reasoning was that the people who snake in MKDS are about 1 percent of the players that play online.

I've tried to defend Snaking for a couple of years, and I don't feel like writing another 5,000-word rebuttal. I'll just say these two points.

I decided to play MKDS online one day (a few months ago) and not snake unless my opponents did it repeatedly. Heck, I wouldn't even power slide. I was going to win with drafting and items. I won a set of races, but throughout, I told myself, "Man, that's boring." The race was close, but it was boring, I thought.

I realized that with snaking, I would have won the match in a much quicker time. But then again, would the opponents have stayed through the four races? It's a tough call.

I did another match with no snaking or powersliding. I won the first two races, and the person disconnected. That frustrated me because, I could have just snaked in the first 10 seconds and have the person leave the match.

I tried a couple more times to do no snaking or power sliding and I gave up, because that's not how I play. I'm cheating myself because I'm not giving it my all. So I said to myself that I'm going to snake in every race, and if everyone disconnects, then whatever.

The Retronauts should complain more about the hackers rather than the snakers.

OK, so that's the first point about snaking, here's the other:

Snaking didn't come to the forefront until MKDS was released, in part because MKDS had an online system available to all users.

Look at Double Dash, which came out before MKDS. Actually, I'll just show you a video of two of the top 15 players in the nation at that time (this was 2005 at a tournament I hosted in California)

Hmm ... that looks like snaking to me. Could you snake? Absolutely. Did anyone care? I don't remember anyone going on any forums or Web sites declaring their hatred toward the move. Then again, you couldn't play Double Dash online.

It was only when the game became available online that people started to complain about how they couldn't keep up with the great and just-above-normal players.

SoCal's Brawl debate could have heated up this weekend

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:16:21 -0400

For the "Super Smash Bros." community in Southern California, this weekend would have been probably one of the most important since Brawl was released just a little more than a month ago.

Why this weekend is important would have had nothing to do with items or stages or rulesets. However, it would have been about its staying power.

There's been a lot of talk about "Melee is better," and "Get with the times." Many players have taken sides in terms of why they will play in Brawl tournaments, and some saying why they will wait for the Melee phoenix to rise once again.

There's a Melee tournament set to take place Saturday at California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, (aka The Cal Poly That's Not On ESPNU). It's been known for about a couple weeks that the school was going to be the site of a Melee tournament.

And in just reading that, you probably have guessed why this weekend would have been so important to the Smash community. If it became the highest-drawing event for the weekend, then it fuels the fire for the supporters who believe that Brawl will only be here for a few months.

The reason I use all of this would've, could've, should've is because there are no Brawl tournaments that, on the surface, could compete with the Cal Poly event in terms of attendance. Sure, there's a Brawl tournament set to take place at Shuffle and Cut in Rancho Cucamonga. However, Shuffle and Cut has events almost weekly, so players can picks and choose when they want to go there.

There was a tournament set to take place in Lake Forest. That would have been the one event to challenge the Cal Poly Melee competition. However, it was pushed back a weekend.

So for the most part, the Melee tournament at Cal Poly is the big event of the weekend. It should attract the most competitors.

If it doesn't ...

Wow, how do you answer that?

A lot of player have gone on Smashboards or All is Brawl declaring their love for Melee and how they long for a tournament to take place. They've taken the heat from the Brawl lovers who have told them to move on.

If the Melee supporters go to Cal Poly and see the attendance to be sub par, then they'll know that they're on an island with nobody coming to save them.

I'll be at Shuffle and Cut covering the Brawl tournament, because I like going to Shuffle and Cut for their events (absolutely nothing against Melee).

The Cal Poly Melee tournament should have great attendance numbers this weekend. But if it doesn't ... wow.

Mario Kart Wii item analysis

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:55:09 -0400

Having played "Mario Kart Wii" and seen most of the damage that the items create, I figured I break down of all of the items and share some thoughts.

Items in Mario Kart will matter now more than ever, and most of the videos I've seen (including the epic 2-hour one) doesn't do them all justice. So grab your favorite soft drink (pop, carbonated bev, soda) and get comfortable.

Mushroom: It gives you a brief turbo boost. In past M.K. games, I wondered how great it was, since everyone could snake and get boosts that way. Now, a mushroom might be the difference between 10th and third place.

Three mushrooms: Obviously when you have three of something good, you have a chance to do big things. However, if you're attacked, you go down to just one mushroom. Since item farming will be key in this game, it'll be up to you to determine how you play the mushrooms. Do you use them in the upcoming three deep turns, or do you spread them out over a long period of time? In past M.K. games, it would have been key to using them over a long period of time. In a place like Yoshi's Circuit, there were turns specifically designed for mushrooms. It's probably best in M.K. Wii to use them at the next three turns you come up to, because you're going to want a fresh item every chance you can get.

Golden mushroom: If I was doing a tier list, I would put this behind the triple mushroom. Yes, you can boost multiple times. However, you can't strategize with it, because the moment you activate it, you have to keep using it. With the triple mushroom, you can plan out your route (although for M.K. Wii, I'd advise against doing that).

Big mushroom: As you grow up to a bigger version of yourself, you can smash (ha ha) your opponents as you drive over them. I'm not a really big fan of this because, in my experiences, being big doesn't make you invulnerable to attacks. If that changes in the version the United States receives in three weeks, then it might be the best item in the game.

Fake box: I'm not a fan of this item only because of its color.

The real item box is blue and green, the fake one is red. The best fake box was in Mario Kart DS, because it was the actual color of a real box. With that, you could item trap. It won't be as easy to item trap with the red fake box, so maybe it's just best to use it as a draft-preventer.

Banana: This might be a better alternative for an item trap instead of the fake box, because it's small. The only problem is, a person hit by a bananadoes not lose all of his or her speed, while someone hit by a fake box takes a tumble. I see a lot of people who grab a banana and immediately get rid of it, with no thought of using it as an item trap or a defensive item. Bananas, aside from a source of natural energy (potassium), are great if you use them right.

Three bananas: If you're in first place, this is a great weapon because it sticks to the back of your kart and allows you to get another item. If you item trap with it, your timing might be off, so make sure to delay your drops.

Green shell: If you threw a green shell at another moving kart 10 times in M.K. Double Dash, how many times would you nail that kart (which is moving, by the way)? The best I could do is 2 times. It's a tough weapon to use, but it's great if your aim is superb. Unlike other items, you don't know if a green shell is coming; if you can shoot straight, you'll be leaving other people behind. On the defensive side, it will help against red shells, and it can clear the way if stray bananas are on the road.

Red shell: It's most famous for honing on a kart and taking them out. If you had a banana or shell, it could be countered. In Double Dash, you could also slight minturbo out of the way and dodge it. It's tough to tell if you can do the same in M.K. Wii; I tried several times with no success. Then I see a sub-par player run into a wall and the red shell missed. Also in Double Dash, if you attempted to dodge it, you would see the shell slowly creep onto the screen, and you could time the dodge. Not so in M.K. Wii; that shell comes in a blur and attacks. The game is set up to where you better have a counter for it.

Triple green shell: The difference between this and the 3 bananas is that the shells rotate around you. While it's primarily for defensive purposes, you can run into other karts and take them out.

Triple red shell: This could be one of the best weapons in the game, especially if you have someone in first place that is so far ahead of the pack. Time the shots right, and the person won't move for several seconds (bam! ... bam! .... bam!). It's also a great defensive tactic like the triple green shell.

Blue shell: Some people say this is the reason why Mario Kart will never be taken seriously. It's an insta-kill for whoever is in first place ... or is it? In Double Dash and MKDS, the blue shell was dodgeable with a timed mini turbo. I haven't see any video where the blue shell can be dodged in M.K. Wii. If the blue shell can't be dodged in M.K. Wii, then the meta-game changes entirely. Most first-place people won't item farm long enough to where they'll have a star as a counter.

Star: You're invulnerable to all attacks. However, in M.K. Wii, players will now know that you've activated the star, because there's an alert on the bottom of the screen. No more sneak attacks.

Lightning: Another reason for M.K. dissenters as to why the game will never be taken seriously. All players shrink except for the person that activated it. The activator gets to move up the course because the other players' speed has dropped significantly. I hate this item because you don't know it's coming. In MKDS, at least you could prepare somewhat, such as not jumping over pits.

Dark cloud: This is almost like the Power-Down in Bomberman. If you unfortunately receive this item, rain starts to fall on you. That's not a problem. What IS a problem is that, the cloud eventually strikes you with lightning, and you shrink. The only way to avoid this problem is to bump into another kart, which should not be a problem since races are going to be much closer. But can you imagine being in second place, far from first and third and getting this? You almost have to slow down, and hit the third-place kart (and that's no guarantee). Meanwhile, the kart in first keeps on coasting toward a win. What would have made this item 5,000 times better is if you threw it at another kart. Once it's activated on another kart, THEN, let the hot-potato battle begin. It'll be interesting to see how people use this item? Do you item farm and wait until you're in second just behind the leader, or do you use it immediately? I'd prefer using it right away and immediately bumping someone.

Bomb: There's nothing much to say about this one, other than it blows up. Yea.

Blooper: Straight from MKDS, the octopus sprays ink on the screen. The ink in M.K. Wii is much more effective than the ink in MKDS. Now, I don't remember a mushroom getting rid of the ink in M.K. Wii, which was the case in MKDS. If you go on a track booster, the ink disappears. I don't think the Blooper will have much effect in M.K. Wii because there's no snaking. Players will be driving straight for the most part, so they can concentrate on a target on the screen and just keep on driving.

Bullet Bill: It seems as though this item is being handed out more often, so it should have a bigger impact on races. Then again, you have to be deep in the race to even receive it, so you'll only go from 12th to probably sixth. Players will also be able to dodge it easily because there's a warning on the screen. Just make sure to stay away from the center of the track, which is the "line" of a Bullet Bill.

POW Block: Out of all the items added to the Mario Kart series, this is probably one of the worst (still debating between that and the Dark Cloud). A POW block shows up on everyone's screen and gives a 3-second countdown. When the POW disappears, everyone is struck by an earthquake. If you're high in the air, you can "dodge" the POW attack. But other than that, just brace yourself. This is where going on the half-pipes and quarter-pipes becomes key. Again, this weapon would have been more acceptable if you could throw it at someone, then that person has to scramble to get to a half-pipe or quarter-pipe.

Edited 1:57 p.m.

Mejia creates another combo video

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:26:11 -0400

Norwalk, Calif., "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" player Danny Mejia decided to put his video editing program to work, as he's created another combo video.

The first few moments were kind of dull, but it picks up after the spike on Smashville.

Also, he shows us the "poke-check" infinite. Because of that, it will likely be up for debate as to whether it will be allowed in future tournaments, because all infinites seem to be subject to discussion (the Wobbles Technique, the DeDeDe chain grab, etc.).

Enjoy the video, and turn your head away at the easily misspelled word toward the end:

An attempt at snaking in Mario Kart Wii

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:42:33 -0400

The person in the video below said he or she was trying to snake in a "Mario Kart Wii" race. I watched the video and I've come to the conclusion that snaking is actually a detriment.

Yes, the person beat his or her time trial ghost by a couple seconds. However, I think that was more a product of the course rather than the person's ability.

I've watched a few M.K. Wii matches online, and the trick boosting, where you perform an aerial off a quarterpipe to get a turbo boost, is almost laughable.

There was one person who was in the lead by at least one second (considering how close matches are going to be, one second is huge). This person intentionally went on a quarterpipe, did not do an aerial, and came down in FIFTH place. It was hilarious.

Time trials should be interesting because it will be about timing the boosts and hugging the lines. In the past, if you missed a mini-turbo attempt, you restarted your attempt. I doubt there's going to be a lot of that happening.

Less than 3 weeks to go. I'm pumped for the game even though it won't be the next progression in the Mario Kart line.

By the way, I haven't seen the video posted by Slapnuts. I'm very interested to see what's inside (yes, I will watch all 2 hours).

Analyzing the latest SoCal Brawl Player Ratings

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:45:41 -0400

When I was compiling the latest Southern California Brawl Power Ratings, I was wondering if I was doing too much work.

There's nearly 140 Southern California players that have played in one of three tournaments that count toward the ratings system. I bet that 50 of them will never participate in another tournament ever again, or maybe for another couple of months.

I could have just focused on the 30 or so players that really matter; the 30 players that have decent performances and will compete on a constant basis.

The reason why I decided to add every player is to find a medium. Although there isn't a ceiling, it appears that 2.750 is probably as far as any player will be able to go. And for the weakest players on the list? It's likely a 0.333 average.

Just taking those two numbers, it would appear that 1.500 is the player average. I wouldn't say so, because only 18 players have at least a score of 1.500.

Looking at the full list and the players' stats, I'd have to say that the player "standard" is 1.200 points. That means you'd win at least two matches per tournament, or have a strong opponent player percentage.

But for those who have bigger dreams, shoot for 1.750. That seems to be the mark for the tournament winners and finalists.

Again, a quick reminder of how the system works:

Statistical data: Select tournaments from the past five weeks, starting with the San Diego Tri-Weekly on March 22, are counted. This is so players don't go to a scrub tourney and win it easily just to boost stats (that was happening in the Melee ratings that I did).
Win percentage: It's the player's own performance in a tournament based on matches won and lost.
Tournament results: Players earn points based on their finish in a tournament. The winner receives 1.000 points. A player must finish at least 25th or better to receive any points.
Opponent Performance: Every person a player faces is accounted toward this column. So if you face two players that go 5-2, then your opponent performance for that tournament is 10-4 (0.714 points).

= = =

These ratings do not include the Capital Smash tournament, which took place this past weekend in Carson City, Nev. The moment I receive the statistics from the tournament, these ratings will be updated.

Here are your top 25 players based on the ratings:

1. DieSuperFly, 2.687
2. Aero, 2.291
3. Futile, 2.217
4. D.C., 2.074
5. Lucky, 2.011
6. Number Four, 1.958
7. Sniper, 1.879
8. Forward, 1.869
9. St. Patrick, 1.854
10. Psycho Midget, 1.817
11. Lovage, 1.814
12. Sonic, 1.688
13. Insomniak, 1.667
14. Blitz, 1.662
15. Epic, 1.660
16. Dunzo, 1.633
17. Fly Amanita, 1.576
18. Romeo, 1.526
19. Kouryu, 1.498
20. Recipherus, 1.496
21. Sazbi, 1.483
22. Zarelid, 1.465
23. Doppleganger, 1.453
24. Simply Gold, 1.445
25. Chaz, 1.436

I'll try to have the excel chart with the three major stats available for download within the next couple of days.

Mario Kart Wii available for download? Also, a look at Rainbow Road

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:51:41 -0400

According to several players in the mariokart64 community, "Mario Kart Wii" is available for download on the Internet.

You need a modded Wii to play the game, which is the P.A.L. version.

The players found out about the report through two videos posted on YouTube. A person named "DimmuJed," with a Lucha Libre mask (apparently scared someone's going to come after him Jack Bauer style), shows us the game in all its glory.

The mariokart64 community confirmed that the game is available on several download channels.

While I don't want to go on and on about downloading and hacking, there was something I noticed in the second video "DimmuJed" posted.

This guy shows us Rainbow Road and how it plays.

Rainbow Road is a staple of Mario Kart. However, each version has a different Rainbow Road.

I looked at the course and I said, "How can you concentrate with TWO holes in the road?" The video was choppy, but I think the holes were lined with a turbo boost. You could run toward the side and use the quarter-pipe boost to do some aerial tricks.

Nintendo seriously must want people to do aerial tricks. So far, I've seen nothing that's shown that it is a benefit to a driver. In the videos I've seen, a person has lost several positions in a race after even a small aerial trick. Again, with no snaking or consistent mini-turboing, races are going to be a lot closer.

Other than the two holes in the course, Rainbow Road looks fun. It has always been the one course in past Mario Kart games where it was mostly about your handling skills. I see no difference with the M.K. Wii version.

But if I could play any Rainbow Road like the person below, I'd be a happy person:

Trying to find M.K. opinions from the (real) players

no.spam@gameriot.com (The Game II) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:51:12 -0400

While testing out "Mario Kart Wii" yesterday in San Diego, I totally forgot about the one region of the world where M.K. really matters -- Europe.

Most European outlets sold the game Sunday and even had a regional tournament series for the new game, much like how Gamestop held its farce of a competition series for "Super Smash Bros. Brawl."

Since they take Mario Kart a little bit more serious in Europe, I started searching for some opinions about the game.

So far, there isn't anything blatantly positive.

A few good players have written on message boards that they are having trouble doing straight-side mini turbos, which are key to snaking.

Some people tried to implement the turbo system in trying to do snaking. However, when you turn to turbo, you veer in an extreme direction (I'm thinking of a degree ... if Double Dash is 35 degrees, then M.K. Wii is about 65).

If they can't do it, I don't know how anyone in the U.S. is going to be able to do it. There's still hope, I guess, because the game has been out for just 24 hours over in Europe.

While searching for opinions, one European player had linked a story on Kotaku regarding the controller abilities. They had reported that the ability to perform aerial tricks on the GameCube controller is impossible, although IGN said it is possible; press the d-pad.

If European players, the best M.K. players in the world, have trouble with M.K. Wii, I don't know how much of a shelf life it will have.