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I have been putting two and two together. - On the one hand, there are some people telling variations of the same general story. Jeff wrote a potentially crass review, was told to tone it down, did, still pissed off Eidos either because of the low score or the way the review (video review) was written, and got fired for it. - On the other hand, there are lots of anonymous sources, unknown posters "coming forward" that want to be quoted, mysterious phone calls, and some questionable jumps in logic (see above comment on the 1UP article). If this thing was being reported on the local news, reporters would be all over the story questioning it's validity before going public with it, because of there being so many unknown sources. As such, I don't think I'm in the wrong by saying it's easy to still be a bit skeptical and not jump on the bandwagon of "EIDOS IZ EVAL AND GOT JEF FRIED!" when looking at everything. Edit: Interesting article, Specter. Even they said the review was a little mean (this coming from GR ). It's starting to look more like several reasons were behind Jeff's canning, and not Eidos demanding Jeff be fired. Also, remember Howard Stern's movie, "Private Parts"? Remember the scenes where the radio management was ready to fire Stern because of sponsors dropping out due to his crass nature on the air? Anyone else think that some of that may be in play here?

I have to bring up an interesting part of the 1UP article... Somehow, whoever this mystery person was, took "He also implied that 'AAA' titles deserved more attention when they were being reviewed", and went straight to, "which sounded to all of us that he was implying that they should get higher scores, especially since those titles are usually more highly advertised on our site." Mighty big assumption. The recently deceased Evel Knievel would have a hard time with that jump. I have to wonder why that statement didn't also come off as meaning that high profile games deserve more than a single page review... kind of like what Jeff did with Halo 3 and the OMG CONTROVERSIAL "Twilight Princess" review. Maybe they expected him to raise the rating, maybe they expected him to go into more detail as to why the game deserved a 6.0. Who knows. We don't, but a lot of people sure are acting like they do without much in the way of facts out there at the moment. Again, until someone comes forth with proof that Jeff was canned for giving the game a 6.0, and not because of some other reason(s) (questionable review quality, being too crass in stating his opinions, etc.), it's rumors, conjecture and back alley whispering right now. Perhaps this makes me a bit of a hard ass on this subject, but real life and watching things unfold on the Internet have shown me not to buy into the hoopla and conspiracy proclamations when drama arises. So, I'll wait for the information to come out (and it will, one way or another). If he got fired for scoring K&L a 6.0 and pissing off Eidos and their site investment, that sucks. If he got fired for writing reviews that weren't very in-depth or professional, well...

So many people are talking like that review is what got him fired. I don't believe anyone has given concrete proof of anything beyond "He was let go". Right now, it's simply a bunch of people claiming he was fired to make Eidos happy. No evidence, no comments from other people who work for Gamespot to back it up with proof... just rampant rumors being clung to as truth. If I'm wrong, please point to where it's been proven that review rating is the cause. As I said. He's written piss-poor quality reviews before. If you want proof, go and read his "review" of Taito Legends 2 for the PS2. If he's handed in that kind of thing once, he's likely done it before over a ten year span. I personally think there's a better chance that those horrid quality reviews caught up with him, than there is of the "K&L getting a 6"-thing being the cause of his departure. In short, if he was fired because a company advertising on Gamespot had their game rated as average, I will truly be surprised.

Yeah. There's two versions of him, right? Three actually...

Bah. Difficult without being cheap is half the fun. Besides, I don't think there are too many casual gamers in this thread. And if there are, they need to sharpen their teeth on some games that are harder than Bowling Bigfoot- You mean this guy?

Nah. I was just joking. The game is punishment from beginning to end, and will fight you're claiming victory every step of the way.

Shhhhhhh... We're sitting right here. No need to shout. Bigfoot- You cheater. All you have to do to get to the final level on the second loop is play for five hours without pausing. Then the game feels sorry for you, and moves you to it

Meh. After his horrid Taito Legends 2 review that was almost insultingly bad and devoid of info, I'd been questioning every review I read from him since. If he called that a review for TL2, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd done similarly lacking reviews before. I also wouldn't be surprised if this firing was the end result of too many questionable reviews on his part.

Spheres of Chaos Ever wonder what Asteroids would be like if it was made by a Woodstock programmer on a major acid trip while listening to Pink Floyd? Well wonder no more, because here it is. Recently released as freeware, Spheres of Chaos is an electronic mindfuck just waiting for you to enter it. As mentioned, it plays a lot like Asteroids (right down to a Hyperspace button), but with added weapons. The ships are geometric in design, and the effects that are constantly going off are nuts. So warm up that lava lamp, get out your black light, and give it a whirl.

You bitch about how much stuff there is to do, then you bitch about being given new stuff to do once you've done all the previous stuff. I suppose next you'll be bitching about having nothing to do once people stop resending their songs. Then you'll start bitching about your own bitching about stuff. Next comes being called a whiny bitch, and finally, you'll be bitching in circles about the bitching of bitching about stuff from whiny bitches bitching about bitching until it rips through the fabric of our reality... ending bitching as we humans have come to know it. GAWD! YOU'RE JUST NEVER HAPPY!

Looking at the list, here's 15 of the best ones in my view... -=SNES=- Super Castlevania IV- A great entry into the series. Nice graphics, good music, but a bit on the easy side. The controllable whip makes for some interesting gameplay additions, and there are plenty of levels to make your way through. R-Type III: The Third Lightning- Great shmup. Pretty damn hard too. Great graphics, good music, and a choice of three different Force orbs to make for some experimentation. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts- Hard as a fucking rock, it'll make you want to punch a baby. However, it's not hard because it's cheap, it's hard by way of enemy placements and level layout. It's graphically very good, has a very nice soundtrack, and to see the ending, you'll need to play through twice. Super Metroid- Do I really need to explain anything with this one? Axelay- Another shmup from Konami. As expected it looks quite good, has good music, and it switches from "into the screen" view, to side view every other stage. Gotta crank this one's difficulty all the way to see everything in the ending. -=Genesis=- Ristar- A platformer that really got little attention, despite the rather high praise. The character is sickeningly cute, but the gameplay is spot on. Great graphics, upbeat music, fun gameplay thanks to the character's stretchy arms, and big, fun levels. The boss fights are blast too, and the game as a whole has just the right amount of challenge. Great stuff. Gunstar Heroes- Contra-like gameplay, but much more hectic. Very good graphics, good music, a tough challenge, and lots of levels. It's by Treasure, so it's got all the expected cool special effects too. Run 'N Gun baby. Alien Soldier- Take the above game's gameplay, difficulty and visual style, shorten the levels, and make twenty-plus bosses for you to fight. This game is a boss fight lovers dream, as the bosses make up the majority of it. It never came to The States, and it's a shame since this game is quality stuff (again) from Treasure. Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole- Action RPG that's set up in an isometric view. It's done by Climax, and it has a similar graphical style to games like Shining Force and especially Shining In the Darkness. Making the jumps is a bit difficult because of the view, but the game is great from start to finish. Shining In the Darkness- A dungeon crawler on the Genesis? Why not. The music gets a bit repetitive after a while, but it's a quality title. The dungeons get tougher as you go along, and keep some paper handy as you'll want to make a map of your journey. Good graphics, nice tunes, and a solid challenge that keeps from feeling unfair. Beyond Oasis- Another action RPG, done by Ancient (Yuzo Koshiro's company). Great graphics and a tough, but fun quest wait for you here. The music's a bit average, but mostly because the tunes aren't all that memorable, as opposed to being bad aural quality. Shinobi III- The last entry on the Genesis, and it's a good one. Very nice graphics, good music, a nice variety of levels, and it's a good challenge. It plays similarly to Revenge of Shinobi, but its gameplay has been expanded with a few new moves, and ridable vehicles. A very good action platformer. -=NES=- Castlevania- An NES classic. Sure, the graphics are rough, but the music is memorable, and the gameplay is good. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest- Better graphics and equally good tunes, this game's several times larger thanks to the broader quest. Another NES classic. Ninja Gaiden 1+2- I'm putting these together because they play damn near the same. Both games are hard as hell, but they're also quality titles thanks to the graphics, music and level design.

What genres are your favorites?

Well, then I'll keep working on it. Be a few days before there's a WIPable item though.

As I said in the other thread a few days ago, it's a shame when someone who's just getting started in their life has it taken from them. Having such a tragedy come to pass during an event that was supposed to be happy and festive makes it sting just a bit more for those who knew him. I never spoke with Reuben, nor have I ever heard his remixes and original music. But this fact doesn't prevent me from extending my condolences to you, his family and friends. Your loss was great, and my heart goes out to you as you make your way through this extremely hard time. If it's any small measure of confront, know that this thread shows you're not alone in your grieving, as the remixing community is sharing in some of your pain. Your son and friend touched a lot of people with his music.

I chuckled at how they were talking about the extra power 16bit offered, and as examples of that power, they showed several Master System games. Um, what?

Has there ever been an American system/game that did well in Japan? American gamers are all for buying-Japan made games and systems, but it always seems to be quite the opposite when it comes to Japanese gamers buying American made games or systems. Are they really that disinterested in American-styled gaming, or is it just the charts that are released making it seem that way?

I was thinking about trying something between bouts of SM64 remix work, and even got a song started. But, I noticed too late that Carol of the Bells has already been covered. Oops.

Money's pretty tight for everyone in my family, so I'm very much favoring not asking for anything. I'd rather they hang on to their money in case they need it for something.

Guess it's like the swastika, which, if memory serves, essentially was a symbol of "well being" before Nazi Germany perverted it into a hate symbol. And now Sephiroth has been tainted as well. Damn them and their inability to come up with their own new ideas! **shakes fist**

I think he's just referring to the OCR side of it, and not that the whole thing will be a focused OCR-centric effort. Although, perhaps having one site handle the mailing for the other sites involved like Anime Remix and such might not be a bad idea... or rather, have one person handle the mailing. I'm sure the Kee family doesn't want their address posted on multiple websites, so perhaps if one or two people had the address in private, it might be better. I mean, with the talk of individual tributes and such, bombarding the Kees might not be the best idea. As DragonFireKai mentioned, they're going to be in grieving for quite a while. So maybe having one concentrated package/letter might be more considerate than a regularly recurring flood of them. Anyway, just a thought.

I am sure with all these lurkers that are from Singapore posting in this thread, it really won't be necessary, but still awesome just in case. Very true. But, better safe than sorry with something like this. Kudos for offering DU.

Heh. I'm sure the thread title would be more tactful than that, but I can understand how that might make some people feel a little strange, or uneasy. It's a bit like seeing a family obituary over and over again. And since I wasn't as clear as I needed to be, I was only speaking against the name "Reuben Roulette", and not the idea of having his remixes on the front page in that space for a short while. His remixes being there is a nice concept. Indeed. We're discussing things that we each feel may or may not be good community tribute/condolence ideas in a very constructive manner. No flames, no put downs, just ideas and concerns, zyko. And Mr. Bottle Rocket, skill level has nothing to do with creating something heart felt. Even if what you made didn't turn out well in your eyes, the sentiment behind it will still be felt just as strongly

I don't believe there's a "bad" FF game on the DS or GBA. Chances are, you'll enjoy the GBA/DS remakes/ports of 1-6 (though folks who grew up with the original SNES carts might differ on that). None of them got low marks, so you're likely safe. And since up until recently, Square-Enix didn't make sequels to the FF series, you don't have to worry about playing them in order unless you want to.

So that's what happened to it. I wondered whatever became of that project, but could never find anything on it earlier this year.

I don't see anything wrong with a thread bringing his passing to people's attention. Lots of celebrities, musicians, game makers and such that've passed away over the last five-plus years have gotten threads made in memory of them. But "Reuben Roulette" just had a... gimmicky, ring to it (no offense intended whatsoever Harmony, as I know it was a heart felt idea). As such, a thread about his death seems more fitting to me, and it gives people a place to express their thoughts