Quite right, mancandy. That was an artifact of editing, after I had moved some sentences around, so I went back and fixed it.

But yeah, I had to listen to that argument all the time: MK versus SF. I was a Street Fighter fan, and even went and mastered MKII just to prove how simplistic the control scheme was compared to the subtlety and nuance of the Street Fighter series. So I was a fanboy, too - I know from personal experience how easy it is to fall into the trap. I also know, however, how easy it is to start drinking, smoking, and to get addicted to all sorts of things that I'm probably not supposed to talk about on here. I quit all of them except the video gaming, and I'm better off for it.

That does say something, though - I quit smoking, drinking, even drinking sugary sodas, but I can't quit Tetris. You'd think there would be a support group: Tetris Anonymous. If ever there was a game that needed a ten-step program, that would be it.

-Darque

Was it hard to put the chorme case on?

where i live at, its a place inside of the mall called gamefrog. they have everything there.

it does have every console there and a huge selection of the best online games to rent and play inside of the store. plus there are huge wide screen HD tvs. the place is top notch

Darc Requiem - exactly my point. As I said, I was really into fighting games. I was once even the winner of a double-bracket Street Fighter:CE tournament. (Interestingly enough, everyone took Ryu and Ken as their two characters, while I had Zangief and Dhalsim. I went undefeated, so the final round was supposed to be my Zangief versus my Dhalsim. But no, they didn't give me 1st and 2nd prize, the cheap jerks.) That's a great reason to stop the fanboyism and just learn to love your fellow gamers. Even though I have Sony stuff, I'm really more into the XBox and Nintendo stuff - but I've never refused a challenge on Tekken.

Since the arcades are virtually dead (especially around here in New England!) it would be nice to be able to hook up with people to play head-to-head. But everyone seems to be so wrapped up in proving their own system's superiority that there's never any common ground for them to play against each other. Once upon a time, arcades were the rule of law in video games, and fighting games were the unchallenged rulers of the arcades. Now, Street Fighter is officially defunct, existing only in a few rehashed ports, and fighting games in general have been on the decline for years. After all, just like you said, it's hard to appreciate the head-to-head aspect of fighting games online.

I'll even add that console controllers are simply not built for fighting games - the last controller I bought that I really loved for fighting games was a Capcom Power Stick Fighter for the SNES. Big, black, and intimidating, I perfected the Spinning Pile Driver on it, and Dragon Punches were as easy as falling off a log. But D-pads and thumbsticks really don't do justice to the complex control schemes and button layouts that fighting games require. So that, too, might have something to do with the steady decline in fighting games over the years.

All the more reason to make friends with each other so that we all have someone to play against! After all, isn't it better to settle your differences over a pulse-pounding three-round battle between two skilled fighters, instead of just arguing online over which system is better?

-Darque

I absolutely agree with you Darque! I have no idea why people around here take it as such a personal hit when someone doesn't have or like their chosen system. I don't understand why so many people have to try to prove how less of a human being people are that don't agree with them on what system is best. We all like games. We all have our preferences. And we don't have to feel that all other systems must go down in flames for our favotite console to be successful.

I like both my Wii and my Xbox 360. I highly enjoy them both. They have different types of games, but I see no reason why one would be any less of a system than the other. I am sure I'd love a PS3 just as much. I can't pay the high price for a PS3, but it doesn't mean the PS3 is and inferior gaming system or needs to die horribly.

Ugh. Can't we all just get along. 8)

That place sounds cool!!.PS you like the Mii's I have sent you??

Alacrist - the instructions were largely easy to follow, with one or two very important exceptions. (Those pics came right off the site I bought mine from, so I'm pretty sure you're looking at the same brand I have.)

The chrome parts are just a wee bit thicker than the stock parts, so you'll notice a slightly different fit to the case - which means that you do have to kind of squeeze to get the screws straight in their respective holes, especially the last few at the system face. Also, the instructions didn't mention how much of a pain in the rear it was to get the LED pieces and the power/eject/reset/controller-sync buttons to sit straight while you got the faceplate back on. Finally, when the faceplate is assembled and ready to go on the completed case, there are a few black tabs that need to slide perfectly into place, which the instructions didn't mention, so when you slide it in, you have to apply a little pressure from the bottom while sliding in to get them to go all the way in.

But a little tip from someone who's taken apart every piece of video-game hardware he's ever owned: don't insist on getting it done too fast, or even all at once. Don't be afraid to admit you need an extra day or two to get the whole thing done. Even professional installers take a long time when they do their first ones. (I can whip apart my XBox in about three minutes, and have it back together in five - but this was the first time I opened my Wii, and it took nearly ten hours.) Have a nice, well-lit (not too well-lit or you'll blind yourself on the chrome!) area with all the right tools, and make sure you keep the screws in the right order, according to their steps. Tighten, but don't over-tighten - plastic molds and metal screws weren't meant to take too much pressure.

And I noticed that my records for the Everybody Votes channel were corrupted. I *think* it was because I unplugged the system during stand-by instead of shutting it down completely before turning it off, but I'm not entirely sure. Either way, you'll have to go through and re-set a lot of the local settings, because the chrome case even replaces the original battery-backup tray, which means that you'll be removing the battery backup. (Yeah, I didn't know it had a battery until that moment, either.) So try to make sure you do a full shut-down before you unplug and start the operation, just to see if you can save all those votes. I had to delete the whole channel, re-download, and then start a new profile before it was working properly again.

-Darque

@Darque

That's why I built my own controller:

Holy crap, Mancandy - that looks just like my first apartment, complete with the group of guys, wires, and controllers everywhere! Hah, good times. I actually had a joystick for the XBox/PS2/GameCube that had three wires, so it could be used on each system. The action was horrible on the stick and buttons, though, and it ended up sitting on a shelf after I pulled it apart to see if I could slip in some arcade-issue hardware and found out that nothing would fit. It would be easier to simply build an entirely new controller and swap in the electronics, rather than modify the case to accommodate the pro-quality arcade hardware. I just never got around to it, especially when the next generation rolled around.

I swear, you add in a bunch of empty beer cans on the porch, and that could easily pass for my old place in Providence...

-Darque

i dont how you're able to think of mii's like that but theyre very creative.

they kick ass