Grub Street Interview: Matt Steinberg

Here's a recent interview I did. It's looooooong, like, wully mammoth long, so I'll just provide you with the link. Dig in.

http://grubstreet.ca/articles/interviews/ms/msbaa.htm

The Top Ten Best Video Game Mascots That You Probably Didn’t Even Know Were Meant To Be Mascots

If you want to see the article with all kinds of spiffy pictures, then go to the link here: http://cinemablend.com/games/The-Top-Ten-Best-Video-Game-Mascots-That-You-Probably-Didn-t-Even-Know-Were-Meant-To-Be-Mascots-18450.html

Mario? I think I’ve heard of him. Sonic? Yeah, he sounds familiar. Master Chief? Vaguely, I guess, yeah. All bad jokes aside though, there are certain mascots who you just KNOW are supposed to be a company’s pride and glory; whether you see them on commercials, cereal boxes, or in their own movies, certain characters just stand out. And then, certain other characters don’t. Here’s a list of the top ten mascots you probably didn’t even know were intended to be mascots at all.


10. Chuck the Plant—Mascot for LucasArts

Okay, I’m already cheating a bit here, but Chuck the Plant IS a mascot (of sorts) for LucasArts. First making his appearance in Maniac Mansion (Hey, the cursor says his name is Chuck!), he’s appeared in other LucasArts titles such as some Indiana Jones games, and also in some non-LucasArts titles as well, such as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Look for a plant named “Charley” in Mia Fey’s office). Ah, Chuck the Plant. Besides you, all I think about when I think of LucasArts is Star Wars. But you kids probably never even HEARD of that movie before. It was a popular film in the 70s. You might be able to find it on Bing somewhere. Maybe.

9. Bubsy—Mascot for Accolade

Bubsy is annoying. Before every stage, he says something stupid like, “Whatever blows your hair back!” and crap like that. And he collects yarn balls instead of monetary things like rings or coins. Lame. Still, and I’m aware that this is a TOTAL contradiction to everything I just said, but I think Bubsy is awesome and I hope he lives on forever. Running, jumping, floating, and doing pretty much everything else you would expect a bobcat with an attitude to do, Bubsy was Accolade’s mascot for about a month before they moved on to other cool things, like Barkley Shut Up and Jam!. But that Bubsy sure was one hepcat while he lasted. Until you put him in 3-D. Oh, Lord, what were they THINKING?

8. Captain Commando—Mascot for Capcom

Wait, Ryu is Capcom’s mascot, right? No, wait, Mega Man is, right? Well, yes, they’re BOTH Capcom’s mascots, but for a very brief time in the early 80s, the captain, probably most known nowadays for being in the Marvel vs. Capcom series was Capcom’s favorite blue boy, appearing on the back of boxes and in other game’s instruction manuals. And this was all before he even had his own GAME, mind you! Talk about presumptuous. Captain Commando is about three shades of badass in a visor, so it’s no wonder why he was their public sponsor for a little while. It’s just a shame that the other blue bomber (Mega Man) pretty much took his place as the character who represented the company. I mean seriously, how many other characters besides Captain Commando have a ninja, a baby, and a mummy as companions? None, that’s how many!

7. Karnov—Mascot for Data East

Wherever GTA IV’s Niko Bellic came from, he has nothing on Karnov, the Slavic badass from Karnov’s Revenge and Bad Dudes vs. NinjaDragon. How badass is Karnov? So badass that he’s even a final boss at the end of the Street Fighter rip-off, Fighter’s History. I know, I know, that game sucked, but still! Karnov can blow fire out of his mouth. How many other mascots can do that? Besides Spiro, of course.

6. Bonk—Mascot for NEC

I wanted a TurboGrafx-16, even though the system sucked, just for Bonk. Bonk, if you can recall, is a caveman that slams his head into things and climbs up walls with his teeth. Fascinating. An interesting story about Bonk though is that he wasn’t even originally supposed to be a video game character at all. Instead, he was originally just a comic character named “PC Genjin,” that became so popular that a game was built around him. Also fascinating. In a nutshell, Bonk was a pretty cool replacement for the hedgehogs and plumbers of the world, and we loved him for it. He was a caveman with a giant head, what else could you possibly want?

5. Bomberman—Mascot for Hudson Soft

Bomberman is the cutest little terrorist you ever did see (And yes, I’m aware that I’m now probably on over 1000 government watchlists now). Bomberman was an interesting choice for a mascot for Hudson Soft, especially since they also had the amazingly awesome penguins from Binary Land as a choice to represent their company (Sarcasm? You bet!). What made Bomberman so viable as a mascot though was the fact that he truly represented the cartoony side that Hudson Soft was trying to display for their games. Plus, with his little blue torso and big white helmet, he’s pretty recognizable, so that’s always a plus.

4. Liu Kang—Mascot for Midway Games

I’m always pretty surprised by this one, even though he seems like the obvious choice. When Mortal Kombat originally came out, it was HUGE! I mean, just check out these people going nuts on “Mortal Monday” if you don’t believe me.



Anyway, even though Liu Kang was gnarly and all, I always thought that Sub-Zero would be a much better mascot for Mortal Kombat, being as how (Wait for it) COOL he was. But no, Liu Kang, which I guess was supposed to be the "Ryu” of Mortal Kombat was made the mascot of Midway, and I guess the world still rejoiced all the same. Still, any mascot that can grab a person by the throat and rip out their spinal cord would be a much more preferable mascot for me.

3. Samus Aran—Mascot for Nintendo


I don’t know if you knew this or not, but Samus Aran is actually the third heavy-weight mascot for Nintendo. She’s like Frankie, the bonus Jonas, of the Jonas Brothers, if you will; a third wheel in an already pretty cool rotation of Mario and Link. What I love most about this mascot though is what a contrast she is with the other two big ones for Nintendo, as her locales are dark and gritty, and she’s a bounty hunter, for crying out loud. That’s a far cry from elves and plumbers. Plus, she looks good in a bathing suit. Not many mascots (Besides the DOA girls) have that going for them.

2. Kratos—Mascot for Sony


We’ve come a LOOOONG way from the box bouncing bandicoot that was Sony’s original mascot, namely in the pasty white ghost of Sparta who enjoys three-somes with nymphos and ripping soldiers in half with his bare hands. What makes Kratos SUCH a good mascot though is that he makes all other mascots look like punks in comparison (Besides this next one, who I’m pretty sure could KILL Kratos with one judo chop to the face). Kratos has probably the most compelling story in gaming right now and is EXCLUSIVELY a Sony character. So if you want to scale Mount Olympus to tear Zeus a new one, you can only do it if you have a Sony system. Now THAT’S what I call a mascot—a character that makes you believe you NEED the system that they’re on. And Kratos certainly does that. I’m pretty hosed that I’m going to have to pick up a PS3 just to play his final outing, but I will do so since I have to. I just love Kratos that much.

1. Segata Sanshiro—Mascot for Sega Saturn

Let me just start off by singing Segata Sanshiro’s theme song (And yes, that’s how awesome Segata Sanshiro is, he has his own theme song). Ahem, “Segata, Sanshiro, Segata Sanshirooooo! Sega Sataaaaarn, shirooooooo!” And that’s it. The song (If you don’t know Nihongo) is basically just his name over and over again and the words Sega Saturn mixed in , but what else does it have to be? Segata Sanshiro was amazing. So amazing, in fact, that I kind of think he was TOO cool for the mediocre system he was on, as the Sega Saturn didn’t deserve a mascot who could literally pick up a human being, throw them, and then have them explode into a ball of flames. I kid you not, he actually did that. Just check out the clip below to see that I’m not joking. What I love MOST about this character though is that his commercials seriously don’t make any sense. I mean, they definitely connect to the game he’s advertising, but the first thing I think of when I think of winter sports isn’t a martial artist out racing a speed skater with his bare feet. I mean, honestly, that’s too spectacular to ever advertise anything other than thongs worn by Tom Brady’s super hot model wife. No wonder this mascot never made it over to these parts. Watch Segata Sanshiro in all his glory below.

Chester Resident Works To Eradicate Alzheimer’s

Five point three million people nationwide are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. And 350,000 of those people are from New Jersey.

Senior Vice President, Market Expansion, for Eisai Corporation, and Board member of the Greater New Jersey, Alzheimer’s Association, Frank Ciriello, doesn’t like those figures.

“I find it to be a very strange disease,” Ciriello says, who has been a board member for the Alzheimer’s Association for the past four years now, “When you look at somebody who has it, they may look fine. But then you look at them and they don’t remember who you are. It’s a very destructive disease.”

So destructive, that Ciriello and many others get together every year for the annual Alzheimer’s Association Polo Classic, which was cancelled this year and pushed to next year due to excessive rain that interfered with both dates on June 20th and the 27th.

“The rain affected the fields,” says Judith Julian, Director of Communications and Marketing for the Alzheimer’s Association of the Greater New Jersey Chapter, “When you have polo players and horses, you have to watch the fields.”

The Polo Classic, when it occurs, is a way for residents to combat Alzheimer’s Disease by featuring world-class polo players competing before thousands of corporate sponsors and attendees. There are also other activities there that garner funds, such as face painting and an antique and classic car display for all to see.

“As a board member, one of the things I [think is], how can we find additional ways to get money to people in the New Jersey area [with Alzheimer’s Disease],” Ciriello says.

And while the money is definitely helpful, Ciriello doesn’t believe that money is everything when it comes to the Polo Classic.

“It’s not only about the money,” Ciriello says, “but also about how we get the word out there about Alzheimer’s. When you look at the 1-800 number [that the Alzheimer’s Association provides people with], it’s helped people tremendously.”

Ciriello is no stranger to receiving help. When he moved to this country from Italy, he feels he received a great deal of help, making the transition for him a smooth one.

“I feel strongly about [helping others] because when I came here at 18, I was welcomed,” Ciriello says.

This is just one of the many reasons that he finds time outside of his job at Eisai to at one point in time, coach the West Morris Soccer Club for four years, be a volunteer official for youth swim meets at the Somerset Hills YMCA, and be a board member for the Alzheimer’s Association.

“I think as a citizen, you need to give back,” says Ciriello, “and it’s not just about the money, it’s about the time and giving back; like helping somebody put groceries in their car.”

If you or someone you know might be showing the symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease, you can reach the Alzheimer’s Association’s at 1-800-883-1180.

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Class Raises Money For Children With Cancer

Is it possible for a whole class to be a hero in the community? At the Flocktown Road School in Washington Township, it is, as every student in the fifth grade class contributed to a fundraiser called Math-A-Thon to raise over $3000 dollars for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

“One young lady brought it [the idea for the fundraiser] up to us,” says Julie Martire, a teacher at the school, “She had a family member who had gone to another hospital.”

That young lady in question is fifth grader, Rebecca Montross, who suggested the idea for the fundraiser after the school set up a pilot program this year called, Fifth Grade Friends, which is a student council committee organized around helping the community.

“We had this big idea [for the Fifth Grade Friends] of, what does it take for people to live and work in a community together?” says Martire.

That big idea blossomed when Montross went to another one of her teachers, Ms. Tasnady, and told her that she had done a Math-A-Thon in her former school.
A Math-A-Thon is a fundraiser where children do math problems to raise money for children with cancer at St Jude Children’s Hospital.

“[When she came to me with it], I told her, I’m so busy, can you please take care of it,” Ms. Tasnady jokes.

And Montross did take care of it, organizing a way to get her peers involved. Her teachers aided by getting local businesses to contribute, too.

“We really hit the pavement,” Ms. Tasnady says at an assembly where all the fifth graders were present, “and all the businesses know what you did in the fifth grade, and we raised close to $500 in donations from the community.”

That $500 is in addition to the $3000 the students raised on their own.
Martire wants to make it even bigger next semester though by starting at the beginning of the year and getting every grade involved.

“We’re looking to make this an annual event,” Martire says, “and by next year, we want to make it school wide, and then, we’ll try to make it district wide, as this district is so huge.”

It doesn’t stop there, either, as Martire has big plans for what the students can do for the community.

“We were just approved for the Community Day Fall Festival,” Martire says, “We’re going to use the funds [we make] from that to kick off [the St. Jude fundraiser] for next year.”

Martire, as well as all the teachers in the school, has high hopes for the children and believes that they are the arbiters of education for children in the area.

“They are our children,” Martire says, “and we have to curve their learning [to show them] what they can become.”

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Ten Music Games That Aren't Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Or DDR

To find the article with pretty pictures and such, click here: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Ten-Music-Games-That-Aren-t-Guitar-Hero-Rock-Band-Or-DDR-18128.html

Music based games are huge right now. Whether it’s that sweaty, three hundred pound guy down to a wife-beater shuffling his feet like lightning to DDR, or that five year old who can play Dragonforce on expert in Guitar Hero, the “rhythm genre,” which it’s so often called, is big business right now, and it only looks to be getting bigger. But what about those games that AREN’T the aforementioned three heavy weights that can’t AFFORD to have commercials with Heidi Klum gyrating in her underwear? What about THOSE games? Well, below, here are some other music based games that you may or may not have heard of over the past few years. Brace yourself, one of them is a Sega CD masterpiece. And by masterpiece, I mean, a master piece of emu dung sugar.


Gitaroo Man

Gitaroo Man has a pretty simple control scheme (All you pretty much do is direct the analog stick along to the melody coming at you on the screen), but it’s the strange storyline that manages to land this game in obscurity-ville with other titles like Ico and Beyond Good and Evil, which were great games that were too niche and artsy for their own darn good. No matter, Guitaroo Man was popular enough that a PSP version port, called Gitaroo Man Lives, was released, so if you didn’t get to play it then, you can play it now, and you really should, because it’s quirky enough to be put up there with Katamari Demacy. The story consists of you being the last legendary guitar player of a planet called Gitaroo. Whatever. All that matters is that the gameplay is addictive, and the music is fun and buoyant. What else do you want from a music game? A plastic guitar that comes with the game? Pfft, you’re asking too much!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8-4K5Q0Zc8


Mad Maestro!

A music game with CLASSICAL music? What was Eidos THINKING? Still, Mad Maestro! (And by the way, you can probably find it at your local supermarket, as that’s where I found it), is a really fun experience unlike any other music game of its time, which is probably why it failed. Today, Elite Beat Agents isn’t too different when it comes to erratic controls that go along with the music, but in its time, MANY people found Mad Maestro’s! controls to be too confusing and off putting, since you had to put emphasis on just HOW hard you moved the stick around, as well as focus on the overall melody of the song. You get used to it after awhile, but I understand why it wasn’t a runaway hit. Hopefully, this video below will clue you in to the brilliance of Mad Maestro!. Or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUDpKyAVew8


Get On Da Mic

Hip-hop gets the shaft when it comes to music games, and I’m pretty sure I know why. To cater to a larger audience, companies sort of have to stray away from that M rating when it comes to music related games, because quite frankly, if they’re selling a peripheral that comes with it, they don’t want to have a title that only a 17 and older crowd can purchase—they want parents picking those games up on Christmas! And that’s why Get On Da Mic fails, even though it actually has a pretty impressive track listing, mostly consisting of classics from the likes of 2Pac, Snoop, and Biggy. The songs are watered down, though to get that teen rating, so anybody expecting to say “bitch,” this, or “ho,” that, is going to be sorely disappointed. And unlike Guitar Hero or Rock Band where the lyrics play second fiddle to the actual music, for a game relying SOLELY on lyrics, it kind of hurts having to do the squeaky clean, kid tested, mother approved version of “Hypnotize.” And plus, it’s really just karaoke with Sir Mix-A-Lot, so yeah. Get On Da Mic really sucks. No diggity, no doubt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n2ZrbjbtJA

Samba De Amigo

Sega was really onto something with those maracas. Without a doubt, the original Samba De Amigo (And let’s please not talk about the Wii version, thank you very much), was as energetic as you were willing to make it, as the game could quite simply not be played sitting down. The rhythm was thunderous, the graphics were colorful, and the music was infectious. Also, the controls were flawless (At least, for the Dreamcast version) and the pose feature, which is where you pose in the direction they present on the screen, is a fun little addition, too. Find this game, play it, and enjoy life now! This game is the naz!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9e7vL5MH1o

Donkey Konga

Donkey Konga makes your palms hurt until you realize that all you really need to do is tap the side of the respective bongo to get it to register your hit. After that, Donkey Konga kind of loses its luster, but it’s still a great game all the same. Basically, it is what it sounds like—you play Konga like music on a bongo peripheral with the monkey known as Donkey at your side (And yes, thanks to Futurama, I now know that monkeys can’t be donkeys) while the music streams on by. Unfortunately, the track listing is less than stellar, but it’s fun while it lasts. It was definitely inspired, I’ll give it that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT7wjoKhdAQ

Space Channel Five

Why is Michael Jackson in this game? Because it’s the dancing-est, space age-enest (And yeah, I said it, space age-enest) game ever made, and it was more fun than you could ever imagine from mere still shots of it. Really, though, all it was was Simon Says, as the game would tell you where to move, and you would follow its commands. But the results were stunningly fun, and the better you got at it, the faster it went, and the more advanced the motions got. What was the story line? Please don’t ask me such things. It had something to do with a reporter in a mini skirt named Ulala blasting aliens or something like that. But the music was upbeat and stellar, and there was never a dull moment. There are rumors that a new one may be getting made in the not too distant future. But for the time being, watch this clip of Michael being Michael.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pnCvZ-yBOs


KORG DS-10

While not even really a game at all, KORG DS-10 is really the only title out there like it in that you can actually make real music on it. To do so, though, you REALLY need to be patient, as it’s not for the faint of heart who simply want to pick it up and play. The instructions for this one are thick, as they’re based off of the rudimentary commands of a KORG synthesizer, planted down in your DS. Using the stylus to manage through the various interfaces, you switch through the screens and tweak the beat to your liking. It takes some getting used to, but I made a few tracks that weren’t cringe worthy within the span of three hours or so. It’s not for everybody, and I’m shocked it was even made, but KORG DS-10 has its weight in gold if you’re honestly and truthfully passionate about making music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGsTABRQbz8

Lumines

Okay, you got me, Lumines isn’t a music game, it’s really a regal puzzler in which music plays a part. But WHAT a large part it plays, as the game wouldn’t be nearly as enthralling without that pumping dance music rocking through the speakers as you match the two colors with each other to make a perfect square of a like color. I am VERY much in love with Lumines and put it up there with Tetris when it comes to puzzlers, and DDR when it comes to music. It’s the best of BOTH worlds. Play it now. Right this very instant. You will be dazzled, to the nth degree, no less. To the nth, the nth!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3dy5oOZp4Y

Um Jammer Lammy

The follow-up to Parappa the Rapper that nobody cared about, Um Jammer Lammy is another guitar based game, like Gitaroo Man, but played like the dog with the winter cap, with you pressing the buttons along with the notes that come along on the screen. The thing I remember most about this game though was that it was SO much harder to play than Parappa, which you could just pick up and play. Um Jammer Lammy was a real hit or miss experience, but one definitely worth checking out if you liked Parappa the Rapper. Just try to find it though. Go ahead, because it’s IMPOSSIBLE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zeR5_BoU-8&feature=related


Make My Video

If you want proof that God was a Nintendo fan back in the Sega/Nintendo wars, look no further than the Make My Video series, which was SO bad, that I’m pretty sure it put Sega back ten years (And my theory as to why Sega lost in the console wars as a whole, think about it). Full motion videos were all the rage with the infamous Sega CD (Whoooooa, Sewer Shark), but this batch of four—featuring Marky Mark, INXS, C+C Music Factory, and Kriss Kross—was the absolute lowest you could get. I can’t even DESCRIBE how bad these games are, but this guy can. Watch both videos. So true, so true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDH-d3VFlBs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWAlmmOsMKw&feature=related

My Movie!

Check out my movie at this link. It's terrible. But in a terrible way! Wait...that didn't make any sense. Oh, well (Skips off into the sunset wearing a blue bonnet and a diaper)

People Really Seem To Like The Da Vinci Code...Especially When It's Read To Them Over The Phone

To Find the article on the site, click here: http://www.zug.com/live/81593/People-Really-Seem-To-Like-The-Da-Vinci-CodeEspecially-When-Its-Read-To-Them-Over-The-Phone.html

Outside of Mike Tyson's Punch-out!!, crank calling people is my second favorite pastime in the whole wide world. It's almost as if I never even HEARD of The Jerky Boys or Crank Yankers before, I do it so much these days. Well, anywho, after many humorous times of either calling up people and making Arnold Schwarzenegger noises (Hello? Yeeeeaaayyyoooouuu! Who is this? This...is...Yeeeaayyyyooouuuu!) , or asking a long-lost friend with an accent who used to come into my friendfesezs store and ask for new issues of The Incredible Helk (Hello? Hello, sir, do you have new issues of HEEELLLLK? Who ees this? This is Harold, is it not? I Haroaaald, but I do not know what you are talking about), I think I met my crowning achievement about a month ago when I picked up a copy of The Da Vinci Code.

Well, you see, my friend, AJ and I, decided that since a lot of people would probably pick up the book again just to read it before its prequel, Angels and Demons, came out in theaters, that we would like to read chapters of The Da Vinci Code (Since neither of us owned A&D) to people over the phone just to see how long they would listen to the riveting account of the protagonist's, Robert Langdon's travels and tribulations. We didn't really know what to expect from people--especially since we did a dry run and didn't call people we knew but instead, just flipped through the phone book and started dialing folks--but we got a few humorous responses (One guy even sat still and listened for FOUR-WHOLE-CHAPTERS. We had to hang up on HIM!) Here are some of the responses we got below.

Oh, and PS, to save Dan Brown from emailing me about unlawfully taking excerpts from his book, I'm just going to leave the funnier responses below instead of the actual text from the book that we read from. Enjoy!

1. Robert Langdon, why do I know that name?

2. Who is this? Is this Phil? Yo, knock it off, man. Phil? Yo, Phil? Stop talking for a second, man. Phil. YO, PHIL! Yo, fuck this shit, man. You're being a real asshole today, you know that? (Click)

3. (After a brief and startled pause) Go on.

4. Hello? This is from The Da Vinci Code, right? I don't need to buy a copy. This is the service to buy the book, right?

5. What kind of person calls people in the middle of the night and reads The Da Vinci Code to them over the phone? (Click)

6. What is this, some kind of joke? Is this a machine? (Speaking off to the side to somebody) Rachael, come here for a second and listen to this. (Rachael supposedly gets on the phone)
Rachael: Hello? (Turns to her husband) It doesn't sound like a machine. This is really creepy, honey, can we just hang up? It just keeps on going. (Turns back to me) Whoever this is, please don't ever call me or my family ever again (Click).