The Net Monkey Weekly Report, 77

Netmonkey Weekly Report Issue LXXVII March 15th, 2000 g#S$ d. ____ ascii by garflozzy ____ $$$: -- ,$b ----- $$$ ___ $$$$$s __ :$$l $',$$$$.`$$ :$$$._l$$: ,s#S$$$$: $$$"╚$$b.`╚$i $$$ ',$$'└$$,`$ l$$$T$$$$._ --------- l$$$$$$$$ :$$l b,`Y$$,`l l$$.d$P . └$$,` $$l" $$$▓T$S#g._ ----------- ░░░░░░░░░ :$$$$$$$l l$$: $$b.`Y$$, :$$$$' d$b └$$,d$$: :$$l ,.`"▓T$S# ░░░░░░░░░ $$$$$$$: $$$ :$$$$. Y$$.s$$$' d$$$b '$$$$l l$$: l$'.d$$' $$$$$$$. $$$ l$$$$$. $$$Sl$' d$$$$$b '$$$: :$$l .'.d$$' $$$$$$l :$$l $$$$$$l l$$::P :$$$$$$$b.`$l l$$: ~~~~~~~ ------------------ l$$: ------- :$$l.' ---------- `: ;$$l --------------------- $$$ ░░░░░░░ .l$$ :: ~~~~ │ $$S#s,$$$ ::: ``^"▓Y$$$ `Y$ [ n ] ETMONKEY [ W ] EEKLY [ R ] EPORT Well we are a day late, well day and half since it's like 2am PST on thursday, we also lack alot of content, but I figured something was better than nothing, Dennison is back and so is Bud, but no Preacher kane this week. There will still be a new NWR story soon, it's taking longer than I had expected <G> Also, Jess is our special person of the week. :P She gave me the N'Chink asf of byebyebye heheheheh I'm adding a new feature next week as well, we'll see if it takes off or not. Remember, www.netmonkey.org is still up and the issue is now posted in incoming every week. -Les -----------[ index ]----------- I.) Intro a) Lester b) ndetroit II.) Quotes of the Week III.) Stats - Ndetroit's Weekly Stats, and comments on Sites. IV.) (Your Name Here)'s Biased Courier Report V.) Articles a) The Gaming Report b) Bud's Biased Utils Report c) Iso Monthly Utils Report d) Lesters Moview Reviews e) VCD Group and Movie Reviews f) Da' Game Review(Not to be confused with TGR):P VI.) Scene News - All the news thats fit to print VII.) Rumors! VIII.) Closing ---------------------[ Quotes of the Week! ]--------------------- Glen decided he didn't like our situation, so he is doing our quotes now:P [12:19] <lithium2`> uhhh ya hes fat ,,, or something [12:19] <lithium2`> oops [12:19] <lithium2`> hey [12:19] <__z> :) [12:19] <__z> me being fat is only a rumour, in fact i'm enormous :P [12:20] <dennison> omg ;D [21:06] <spazie> yo shit lester u got me in shit [21:06] <spazie> my momz saw that nigger with the big black dick [21:06] <spazie> she thinks im gay now [21:06] <fallin> haha [21:06] <glen-> HAHAHAHA [21:06] <Lestah> hahahaha [21:16] <glen-> armand were u born gay or is this something that u developed? [21:17] <[armand]> One for glen- and one for you, he can't find pussy - SO HE'S GOTTA PUNCH POO! [21:17] <[armand]> muhaha [21:39] <dewknukem> -- i got 2 italian chicks going down on me on aol [21:46] <dewknukem> -- omfg [21:46] <dewknukem> -- i got homework [21:46] <dewknukem> -- or get laid [21:46] <dewknukem> -- what do i chose? [21:53] <hell-> i like can give myself a blow with my hand [21:53] <hell-> its tight [22:37] <Evil_NeD> 20 mirrors for counterstrike and 1 works [22:40] <PinkDaisy> Evil_NeD xxxxx.xxxx..edu cstrike/cstrike [22:40] <PinkDaisy> try that [22:41] <Evil_NeD> ah thats betta [22:41] <Evil_NeD> 80k vs 5k from cdrom.com [22:42] <PinkDaisy> consider yerself lucky bein able to get on cdrom [22:42] <Evil_NeD> impressive how 20 commerical gaming sites cant mirror a single file but a bunch of warez ppl can move iso's around without flinching [08:22] <gollie> glen: can you give a shoutout to all my dunz in nwr ? [08:22] <glen-> werd mang [08:22] <gollie> peace. [08:35] <gollie> i did a presentation for this subject [08:35] <gollie> called [08:35] <gollie> 'knowledge is wisdom' [08:35] <gollie> and i gave props to killah priest at the end [08:35] <gollie> and everyone was like [08:35] <gollie> 'wtd' [08:36] <Muad`Dib_> killah priest is an idiot [08:36] <gollie> stfu dun [08:36] <Muad`Dib_> I AMZ KILLAH KIKE [08:36] <gollie> killah priest is my niggah [08:36] <gollie> my name is clide smith [08:36] <gollie> straight up [08:36] <gollie> ;[ -----------[ sites and stats section ]----------- Pick up our good friends at CWS's magazine this week for the stats. -----------[ Articles ]----------- =----------------------------------=--------------------------------------= -----------[ The Gaming Report ]----------- =============================================================================================== No games report this week. =----------------------------------=--------------------------------------= -----------[ Bud's Biased Utils Section ]----------- Bud's Biased Utils Report #49 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yawn. A day late. My fault. Disclaimer: It's BIASED moron. My opinion. So don't send me a bunch of mail & messages bitching about this or that. If you don't like it... SCREW YOU =] Rankings: Groups get a score out of 10. Points are given for amount of releases, but QUALITY titles will give a group a much higher score. Nukes for duping, broken releases and just plain CRAP will lower a groups score. However on the occasion that a title is nuked which I don't feel should have been, MY OWN JUDGEMENT TAKES PRECEDENCE. Cuz I'm writing this. Groups can also get points for any other reason I see fit. Week: Week is based from 03/07/00 to 03/13/00. I'm in the EST time zone so dates/times run according to it. Groups: (In no particular order) ▄ ▀▀██▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▀█▄ ▀█▌▀█▄ ▐ ▄█▀ ▄▄██▌ A Group ▐█▌ ▐▌ ▐█ █▌▐█▌ ▄█▀ █ That Gives ▄██▌▄▀ ▄██▌▀██▌ ██ ▐▌ Slightly ▀███ ▀███ ▀█ ▐███▄▄ █ Less Than ▐█▌ ▐█▌ ▐▌ ▀██▀ ▀▄ A Fuck. ▀ ▀ ▀ ▀ -XeN PIRATES WITH ATTITUDE: Releases: N/A PWA will be back when they're back... assuming they will be back... maybe I'll have word next week. Total: N/A ──────────────────────────────────[XX/XX]─ ▄██ ▄▄▄ ░ ▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ █▓█ █▓█ ▒ ██▀ █▓█ █ █▓█ ██ █▓█ █ ███ ██ █▓ █▒█ █▒█ █░█ ▀▀ ▄█ █▒█ ██ █▒█ █ ▄▄▄ ██▄▄ ▄██▀██▄ ▀ █▒█▀▀▀ ██ █░█ ██ ▄▄█ █▓█ ██ ▄▄ █▒█ █▓█ ▓ █▓█ ░ █▓█ █░█ ██ ░ █▓█ █▒█ ██ █▓ ███ █▒█ ▒ ███ ▬▀█████▀▄██ ▒ ▀█████▀ ▀████ ─── ██▀ ░ ──────────────── ▓ ───── sikos ─ X-FORCE: Releases: DOMINO_X_400_MESSAGE_TRANSFER_AGENT_R2.0_WINNT-XFORCE LOTUS_DOMINO_ADMINISTRATIVE_TOOLSET_FOR_ENTRUST_PKI_V1.0-XFORCE LOTUS_DOMINO_CONNECTORS_FOR_JDEDWARDS_V1.0-XFORCE LOTUS_DOMINO_CONNECTORS_FOR_ORACLE_V1.0-XFORCE SNIFF_PLUS_V3.2.1-XFORCE What?!? Scum missed a Lotus releases?!? Aside from the Lotus we see Sniff Plus, not sure if it's the Cross Platform enabled version (aka Sniff Plus Cross) and I'm too lazy to check it out, either way it's a decent app. Total: 7/10 /\______/| ___/\_ _/ ______ :|; . __/\ ____/\ __| // %%%\____ \ |__:_\__ \/ ~~ :\_ | __/%%%% iii_/ :| \\_ \ ;| \_ |____/ \iiiii :::\__ ; _/ | \\_ : // | \\_ | \\_::: \____/---|____/____/_______/-|____/kaz SHOCK: Releases: EnterNet.300.v1.31-SHOCK Icons.Control.Pro.2000.v9.0-SHOCK Vermont.HighTest.Plus.v3.21-SHOCK Lariat.Media.Reports.with.Data.Reader.v1.51-SHOCK Lariat.Station.Manager.v1.11.for.WMT-SHOCK PC-Install.with.Internet.Extensions.v7.01-SHOCK Not much out of Shock this week. The Lariat titles are over-priced (but not like you're paying anyways!), PC Install pales to the competition, and Icons Control, while useful, isn't going to be on any "best apps" list. Someone nuked EnterNet as minor, without thinking - MFD released a cracked trial of version 1.30.0008 or so, THAT was minor, worse still, the retail copy of v1.31 was available when MFD cracked the trial, they just failed to look into the matter. Total: 5/10 ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █ ▄▄▄ ▀▀▀█▄▄▄ [xx] █▀▀▀▀▀█▄▄▄▄█▄▄ ▀████▄▄▄ ▀▀▀▀▀█▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ █ ███▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▀▀█ ██ ▀▀▀█████▄▄▄ ██▀▀▀ ▄ █ █ ██ ▀▀▀▀████▄▄ ▀▀ ███▄ ▀▀█ ▄▄█▀ ████ ▀█ ▄▄█ ██ ███▄ ▄▄████▀ ▀ ▄▄▄███▄ ▀ ▄▄████▀▀ █ ▄▄ ██ ▀ ▄▄▄█████▀▀▐███▀▀▀▀ ▄▄▄███▀▀▀ ▄▄▄█▀▀ ▄ ▀▀█████▀▀▀▀▀ ▄ ██ ▄▄▄█ ▀▀▀ ▄ ██ ████ ▀██ ██ ▄▄▄█▀▀▀▀▀ ▀██ ▄▄ ▀▀▀▀▀▀█ ██ ███ ░░░░ ██ ▀█ █▄▄▄▄█████ ▀ ▄██████████▄ █ ███ ▄███▄▄▄█▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀███████▄▄▄████ ▀── pENTIUM fORCE tEAM ─────▀▀▀▀▀▀b1█ PENTIUM FORCE TEAM: Releases: Business.Objects.5.01-PFT OLD.BridgeVIEW.Development.System.2.1-PFT OLD.TrackRecord.Release.5.0.2-PFT CCC.Harvest.Client.4.11-PFT Screening.Room.2.1-PFT Websense.Reporter.6.0.1-PFT QARun.4.7.330-PFT PFT got busy this past week and did several mid-range tools, the best of which is probably Websense Reporter or Business Objects. QARun is decent but we see it a little too often, when a major update comes along I'll appreciate it more. Total: 7/10 ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▓▀▀ ▄ ▄▄█▀▀██▓▄ ▄▄▄█▀▀▓▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ▐██▓▌ ▄▄▄▄ ▐█▓█ ▐▓██▌ ▐▓██▌ ███▓ ▓██▌ ███▓ ▓██ ▓▄ ▓██▌ ███▓ ▓██▌ ▐██▓▌ ▐██▓ ▐█▓▌▐██▓ ██▓▌▐███▓ ████▓ ▀▀▀▀ ███▓ ██▓ ▐█▓█ ▀▀▀▀▀ ▄██▓▀ mg ▀ ▀▀▀▀████▓▌ ▀▀ ██▓▀ ▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▓▀ ▀ ▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀ :: <LEGENDS NEVER DiE> ::: <xx * 2880> :: ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄ LEGENDS NEVER DIE: Releases: N/A Total: N/A .__________. [xx/xx/00] \_ ___ ) Da ToP oF Da LiNe! .___. ===/ _/ /=======================/ /===== .:/ _____/__./(___.____/\.______./ /_____. :/ /__/ . ) . )____ ) _ ) / __ ) /__/ / / / / // __ / /__/ / /___/: .:/ /__/__/__/__/(______\____ /__/_____ /MO =/__/========================\/========\/=== = THE PINNACLES OF RELEASING (C) PNC 95-00 = PINNACLE: Releases: Netdive.CallSite.v4.0-PNC ComCash.v5.0-PNC StarTeam.Client.v4.2.675-PNC StarTeam.Star.Disk.Client.v4.2.678-PNC StarTeam.Virtual.Team.Server.v4.2.675-PNC PathMaker.v2.07-PNC PNC got some decent titles out this past week, though really they could be doing a little more. Starbase's StarTeam product line is probably the best bet here, and as Starbase expands its offerings we can hopefully expect some more. Total: 6/10 _______________ ____________ ____________ \_ ___ \_ ___ \ ___ \_ _/ l/ / l/ / l/ / \______ / / / /____ / /| ======\________/\__________/[om]\________/== d(*)d D r i n k O r D i e 2 0 0 0 d(*)d ===================== [ DOD * xx-xxx-00 ] == DRINK OR DIE: Releases: N/A Total: N/A _______________________________[xx/xx] \_ _ \_ ____/_ _ \_ ____/ |_\ ___/ / _/ ___)/ _/ ___) | \___ \ / | \_ | \ | \ | \ : \ : \ \___| /___ \____ \___ \___ \___ \ ====|__/===\__/===\__/==\__/==\__/==\__/ REBELS: WE MAKE ALL DAYS PARTY DAYS >> RELEASING WITHOUT PERMISSION << REBELS: Releases: IntelliWave_v2.01_CRACKED-RBS Security_Test_and_Analysis_Tool_v3.0_for_NT-RBS Greco_Systems_MTMS_Suite_v7.10_Licensed-RBS BNA_Income_Tax_Planner_v2000.1.US.ONLY-RBS Four apps from team Rebels, I'll just comment on the obvious one, which was nuked on a lot of sites (mainly those not in the US). Income Tax Planner 2000 brings to question the validity of regional based nukes. Now, we see foreign apps nuked on most sites, as they accept only Enlish titles. But regional apps in English... there has to be a line drawn (the phonebook for Jerkov, Nebraska isn't going to be needed in the scene), but the US is a damn big region. And if the whole idea of the scene is to make software available to the end-users, free of charge, than nuking this looks a little fishy. After all, since many financial apps deal in US currency, should we start nuking those as well? Now, not many US sites killed this, mainly Euro ones - but the scene is an international entity, and those Euro sites are bound to have a lot of US users. Anyways I'm rambling now... but I have enough respect for RBS to go with them on this one. If they go for the Jerkov phonebook, well that's another story. Total: 5/10 ..._______________________.___ ____.____... ::/ _______/ ____/ | \/ | \:: _/\____ \/ /___/ | \ \: \ > \ \ \/ \ \ :\__________/\________/_________/|_____|___/ ::.. .:[ SCUM ]:. .:[SCUM]:. .:[SCUM]:. ..:: ```````````````````````````````````````````` SCUM: Releases: CAMSOFT.CHEM.DRAW.ULTRA.V6.0-SCuM LOTUS.SMARTSUITE.MILLENIUM.EDITION.V9.5.2-SCuM STATSOFT.STATISTICA.V5.5A-SCuM FLUENT.FIDAP.V8.5.2-SCuM GANYMEDE.CHARIOT.V3.1-SCuM ORACLE.WEB.DB.2.1-SCuM CAMSOFT.CHEM.OFFICE.2000.ULTRA.UPDATED-SCuM BUYSITE.V6.1-SCuM A strong week for SCUM in what was a pretty slow seven days, and much improved from their previous outing. They pick up a good Lotus app in the latest Millenium Edition of SmartSuite, and pick up the latest from CAMSoft, Chem Draw and Chem Office. Add in Oracle Web DB and some other tools and you get a strong week overall. Total: 8/10 _______________________ ____________ __\ _______/ ______/______/__ / \ __/ / / \/ / / /_______\ /______________\____ /________\ -------------------------------\/----------- (*) F a t i g u e - Couriers Network (*) ___________________________________________. ________________________________________wK!. FATIGUED COURIERS NETWORK: Releases: INSTALLSHIELD_JAVA_v3.01.125_FINAL_FOR_SOLARIS-FCN Dream_Calendar_v1.1_for_Delphi_Full_Source_Code-FCN Dream_FilterBox_v1.1_for_Delphi_Full_Source_Code-FCN Youseful.v5.0i.for.Delphi.and.CBuilder-FCN ExpressBars.Pro.v3.1.For.C.Plus.PLus.5-FCN ExceleTel.TeleTools.v3.5-FCN Report.Builder.v4.24.For.Delphi-FCN RAIZE.v2.51-FCN Future.Fantastic.Genesis.Pro.v2.0.for.Lightwave-FCN SCUA.SECURITY.v4.05-FCN Softelvdm.SftBox.DLL.v1.03.incl.src-FCN LAMBSOFT.SMIRK.V1.5.FOR.3DSMAX.3.X-FCN LAMBSOFT.PRO.MOTION.V1.7.FOR.3DSMAX.3.X-FCN LAMBSOFT.MOVE.TOOLS.V1.6.ALL.VERSIONS.KEYGEN.ONLY-FCN I might have missed a FCN rel or two, I hope not though. The usual assortment here, interesting to note that FCN got Smirk v1.5 out at the same time KNO did a 1.0 release, not sure if someone did a bad back or if KNO was just really sloppy (don't have 3DSMAX installed to test). Total: 7/10 ---╧-----------╧----------- _ _ _ _ █_█ █_█ █ █ █ █ █_▀ █_▀ ▀█▀ █ █ █ █ █▀▄ ▀▄▀ █_▄ ▄_█ █ ---╧-----------╧----[xx/xx] HARVEST: Releases: AMAP.GENESIS.V3.12-HARVEST DIGITAL.FUSION.RENDER.NODE.V2.53-HARVEST IMAGE.LOUNGE.V1.0.FOR.AFTER.EFFECTS-HARVEST KROKODOVE.V2.10.FOR.DIGITAL.FUSION-HARVEST AMAP.GENESIS.V3.12.ADDON-HARVEST MAXMAN.V1.1.FOR.3DSMAX.V2.5.AND.3-HARVEST SOFTIMAGE.3D.V3.9-HARVEST CHAMELEON.FOR.3DSMAX3-HARVEST PHOENIX.FOR.3DSMAX3-HARVEST Harvest came on strong this week, and apparently read my report last week and decided to break out some good standalone apps. Fine, well maybe the world doesn't revolve around me, but they still did it! Obviously SoftImage is the standout here, but AMP Genesis is worth note as well, and even the smaller tools this week seem to be up on the quality side. Plus, from the looks of how next week is shaping up, Harvest is looking at a strong March all around. Total: 8/10 . )\_______)\__)\_______)\_______ . . __/ __ _/ _/ ____/ ___/ . . \__ / _\ \_____ \ ___/__ : . :/ \ \ / \ / \| : |\___/ /___/_____ /___ /| : | \_/_____/\____ /_____/___/_____/ | :...`---\_____\/----/_flr_/---/_p^D_/--' Really Into Spreading Elite: Releases: NOVAS.DEBUSSY.V4.4.H2-RiSE NOVAS.DEBUSSY.V4.4.H4-RiSE ALLAIRE.COLD.FUSION.SERVER.V4.5.1.ENTERPRISE.FINAL-RiSE ASHLAR.VELLUM.SOLIDS.99.SP1-RiSE SONIC.FOUNDRY.ACID.DJ.V2.0-RiSE PTC.DIVISION.PRODUCTVIEW.2000i.V5.DATECODE.2000075-RiSE IMAGEN.NT.PAYMASTER.V4.01-RiSE SILVERSTREAM.ENTERPRISE.EDITION.V3.0.FINAL-RiSE SILVERSTREAM.WORKGROUP.EDITION.V3.0.FINAL-RiSE Imagen was listed as involved with those lovely peeps at Aureate a while back, happily collecting info on you without your knowledge. For a full story check http://grc.com/optout.htm Rise did have a decent week with a new PTC Productview datecode, the final of the latest Allaire Cold Fusion Server release, and Sonic Foundry's Acid DJ 2. Total: 8/10 __ ______ \// / _______ _______________ _/ _/____/ _ \_____\_ \ _ \ \ \ \ / | _/ _/ / / \__________\________|____\_____ ____//\ - - imo -----------xx/xx/2000- |____| -- »» d$$""""ⁿ$╝" """""$$b """""$$b $$"""╝╝ⁿ" $$$ ` ⁿ$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ `""""$$b $$$ ░╝""$$ⁿ" $$ $$$ $$$ $$P ,d, $$$ $╝ⁿ░"""""` """""""` """"""` $$$"""""` """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""`d$$[Y] The Corporate Gods: Releases: N/A We saw Corp, Korp, Carp, and everything inbetween, but no CorpGods this week. Total: N/A __________________________________________________________ / \ \ / / \ \__________________________________________________________/ / ___ ________ _________________ _______ _____ \ \ // \ / \ ( ! / / \ | \__// \ / / /' \(# ─── / \ ____/─── | \| |__/ ___/ \ \ // ─── \ __ \___\ \( |? /. \ (___ / / / ___ \ \ \ \ \ ─── | |\ / \ \ \ \=\__/===\__/___/==\__/________)______\___|=\_\____/_____/=/ /==============================================-sleighty-==\ \__________________________________________________________/ ARSENIC: Releases: CADRaster.LTX.v4.61.For.FelixCAD-ARSENiC CADRaster.LTX.v4.62.For.AutoCAD-ARSENiC CADRaster.Pro.v4.61.For.FelixCAD-ARSENiC CADRaster.Pro.v4.62.For.AutoCAD-ARSENiC HyperDoc.v3.5-ARSENiC Super.Edit.v2.1-ARSENiC Nothing special, some CAD plugins, plus HyperDoc and Super Edit, HyperDoc prolly being the better release. Seeing as how this is the last group I'll leave it at that. Total: 5/10 New this week: N/A Idle this week: LND DOD Quote(s) of the Week: <LS> damnit lester, get nwr out u fuck nut <LS> Pooky Wooky Woo <toddle> i allways like lesbians or not lesbians but bi females ;) <toddle> as far as they willgive me some pussy :) <LupinMCP> I don't have a job and I buy socks from ebay. <[Arcanum]> !lastspoke bud <|botname|> Bud last uttered a word on #xxxxx 10 hours, 8 minutes ago. LND went back to la-la land. A lot of good titles came out after my week ended (DOD, Harvest, some others got busy after the deadline) so you can read about them next issue. Scum, Rise, and Harvest had the best offerings this week and tied. I'm all out of things to say (and brainpower, now THERE'S a shock!) so that's it, I'm outta here. - Bud =---------------Monthly Iso Utils Review------------------------= End of March eh. =---------[ Lester's Movie Reviews ]----------= Sure he's a prominent scene member, leader of the #1 courier group, and former "Miss Scene 1995".. But did you also know that in real life, Lester's real name is "Roger", and he hosts a popular syndicated television show, where he plays a big fatass who has nothing better to do with his time than go to every single movie ever released? Well.. now you know.. Mission To Mars Starring: Don Cheadle, Jerry o'Connell, Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars I have personally been waiting for this film for some time now, I am a huge fan of Don Cheadle and Gary Sinise, and even Mr. Robbins, so I was pretty excited goin in to this movie. It's a good movie, Armageddonish emotions, and though the ending was, well not the greatest in the world, the movie is pretty solid throughout and definately worth a look. Sinise was not at his best though, every smile on his face was too fake to be believed, he's better off as a bad guy. --- The Ninth Gate Starring: Johnny Depp Directed by: Roman Polanski Rating: 3 out of 4 Stars Well I also was pretty excited about this movie, since it focuses on satan, and it stars Depp who I enjoy a great deal and it's of course directed by the legendary Mr. Polanski, so it seemed like a winning formula to me. It also isn't really so focused on satan and misc. demons and shit coming out like end of days and stigmata, it focuses more on the task that Depp is assigned, which is to find out of the book of the nine gates is for real or fake. Mysterious characters follow him and a string of bad luck attaches to him after taking possession of the book. The ending was not too popular with alot of people in the theater with me, but I felt it was a viable ending, and if they did it differently, it probably would have been worse, but the movie is very good. ----------------- =----------------------------------=-------------------------------------= =---------[ VCD Group and Movie Reviews ]----------= VCD Group and Movie Review We would like to begin by explaining some of the common terms used in VCD releasing. These formats are: CAM - A cam is usually a handheld camera snuck into a full theatre. The base is shaky, the audio is poor, you can hear people laughing and talking. A cam is distinguishable by usually having a combination of all three or more of these flaws. Most sites nuke cams for their general poor quality. Workprint - An early release of a movie. These are usually stolen or leaked copies of movies that have made their way onto VCD from VHS or a variety of other sources. These will usually contain running time codes as well as other identifying marks used in movie production. The quality on these can vary from bad to very good depending on the quality of the source material used to encode the VCD. Note: This category is also used for very bad screeners or copies of movies that just didn't fit into any of the other categories due to defects or problems with the quality of the VCD's audio/video image. Telesync - Basically a very good Cam. A steady base such as a tripod is used, the theatre is empty or very close to empty, and the audio and video are up to par. Although, you can usually detect some flaw with a TS. You may see a random head pop up, the screen edges are noticable, or the audio isn't always crystal clear. While not perfect, the quality in general of a telesync ranges from good to very good and is usually the first type of VCD made of a new movie. Screeners - These are the top quality VCDs. They can be in either widescreen (letterbox) or in full-screen (pan and scan) with excellent audio and video. These are made from video distributors demo tapes, reviewers copies, insider copies of the film or from any number of sources. Most screeners will contain "1-800-NO-COPIES" or "Property of.." messages somewhere in the film, but it's not a requirement to fit into the screener category. These most closely resemble a VHS or LaserDisc copy of the movie. They're easily identifiable by their top quality. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- =----------------------------------=-------------------------------------= ---------------------[ Da' Game Review ]--------------------------------= DENNISON'S GAME REVIEW ---------------------- Not much good games to play this week, and well, I think that's good since this week up until the end of next week is all exams for me so I guess I won't have time to check out the new games anyways :P Also this week, I've had a lot of help from Senator and Darkpisces in reviewing some games so big big thanks to them! :) Games reviewed this week: - Rogue Spear: Urban Operations Expansion Pack - Invictus: In the Shadow of Olympus - Die Hard Trilogy 2 - Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 - Fish's Revenge - Army Men: Air Tactics Ok I know my computers suck, here are the specs. I will be mailing them over to my great pal JEFFK after I type this report so he can "haxxxx0r" my "computrar" and my AOL cos I hear he's good this shit, so with luck my Pentium 550 will be "overclocked" into a "PENTUIUM 99999 GIGAHERZ COMPUTAR" by JEFFK Test system (singleplayer): Windows 98 OSR2, Intel Pentium 550, 64MB RAM, 32MB ASUS Riva TNT2, Sounblaster AWE64 PCI, 52x CD-ROM Test system (multiplayer): Windows 98 OSR2, Intel Celeron 300a, 64MB RAM, 32MB ASUS Riva TNT, generic 32bit PCI soundcard, 32x CD-ROM, 10Mbit generic PCI LAN card, 100Mbit HUB Comments, suggestions, constructive criticism, money email [email protected] Flames, insults, curses, spam, fanmail, or sex email [email protected] Rogue Spear: Urban Operations Expansion Pack -------------------------------------------- Publisher...: Red Storm Entertainment http://www.redstorm.com/ Developer...: Red Storm Entertainment http://www.redstorm.com/ Homepage....: http://www.redstorm.com/urban_ops/ Genre.......: FPS Accelerated.: YES Price.......: $24.99 (Pre-Order, coming on 4/15/00) Demo........: Unavailable Requirements: Win9x, Pentium 233MHZ PC Compatible, 32MB RAM, 200MB HD space, 2MB video card, DirectX compatible sound card, 4x CD-ROM ESRB Rating.: Teen Graphics....: 9/10 - Rogue Spear has one of the most innovative and inventive graphics and animations ever to be seen in a first-person shooter, although playing the game at high resolutions on a low-end PC would cause some slowdowns. Playing the game on a Celeron 300a is ok, but gets a bit choppy during multiplayer, probably because of the engine's bloated or buggy multiplayer code. Urban Ops adds a load of new goodies such as civilians and terrorists who throw throw grenades, so now you have to be twice more careful and alert or you may end up finding the civilians-or yourself--dead. Sound.......: 8/10 - Wow, I just love the sound of bullets tearing through metall, wood, glass, or flesh! Aside from that you don't get much in-game speech, although the voice-overs at the beginning of every mission is really cool. Music is mediocre, and I find it better to play the game with music tuned down or off, since Rogue Spear is more of a tactical thinking game than a shoot-everything game like Quake. Control.....: 7/10 - There is quite a lot of controls to memorize, and it takes a while to get used to it but once you get the hang of it, only then can you be able to survive through the harder missions of game. Gameplay....: 5/10 - The game is a bit difficult and complicated even at the easiest level, so I never really enjoyed the singleplayer aspect of the game. Basically depending on the msision you are assigned different tasks ranging from rescue opertaions to eliminating all hostiles within a territory and it really takes strategy and quick thinking to survive through each mission because one shot at you and you're dead, no bandages or whatever--the game is that realistic. Story.......: 10/10 - The story varies from every mission, basically you are to control one of the elite members of Rainbow, an elite secret force that is called out only on really important and top-priority missions--in short, if no one else can do it, you can. Your enemy are always terrorists, like in real life, the biggest threat to any country or entity is organized crime, or, in this case, terrorism. Anyway each mission is really detailed and realistic that I decided to give it a perfect 10. Movies......: 5/10 - Not much to watch except for the intro. Instead of movies you get still pictures in the mission briefings, which kinda sucks since they just flash different pictures in an order you will never understand. Replay......: 5/10 - Ok if we're talking about singleplayer, I'd give the game a replay value of around 7-8 since 90% of the people I know got tired of the game after 5 or so missions, I knew only about 2 persons who ever finished the game without getting stuck. This game requires a lot of patience especially with the latter, more difficult missions. Gender Bias.: 7/10 - Obviously Rogue Spear is another testosterone-driven game that would attract only a minority of females, most probably those who are really into such games and although I do know quite a couple of girls who play the game, still majority of them just watching their male friends play. Fun Factor..: 7/10 - I guess this game poses quite a challenge, and is a bit more inclined to the more serious gamers out there. Hell, this is no arcade game, so prepare to feel your heart pumping, or to jump from your seats in shock. Multiplayer.: 10/10 - This game definitely revolutionized the teamplay concept of multiplayer gaming which was started by games such as Team Fortress and Action Quake, but this time the game is serious, more realistic, and more of a thinking game as you try to outwit your human opponents and shoot at them before they even know where you are. This is what makes the game unique and popular among the multiplayer gaming community, and for that they deserve a perfect 10. Overall.....: 6/10 If you may notice my review was more about Rogue Spear than Urban Operations itself, the reason for this is because Urban Ops adds nothing more than just a bunch of new maps and new missions, I didn't have time to compare the weapons and utilities but it seems that with Urban Ops there are not much new weapons or tools, I only noticed the M249 saw as a new weapon. Anyway if you're more into playing Rogue Spear multiplayer, don't get this as it is more focused on single player and there are a lot of free mods out there that offer more than this expansion pack does. The only reason I can find for anyone to buy this addon is if he's really into collecting the Rainbow Six games or if he's really craving for new singleplayer missions. - The Bottomline: Don't get it if you don't play Rogue Spear in singleplayer or if you're just looking for new multiplayer goodies because you'll just be disappointed. - Invictus: In the Shadow of Olympus ---------------------------------- Publisher...: Interplay http://www.interplay.com/ Developer...: Quicksilver http://www.quicksilver.com/ Homepage....: http://www.interplay.com/invictus/ Genre.......: RTS Accelerated.: NO Price.......: $44.99 Demo........: 105Mb ftp://ftp.interplay.com/pub/demos/invictus.zip Requirements: Win9x, Pentium 266MHZ PC Compatible, 64MB RAM, 300MB HD space, 2MB video card, DirectX compatible sound card, 4x CD-ROM ESRB Rating.: Teen Graphics....: 5/10 - Talk about terrible graphics, this game must be left behind in the shadows. The graphics engine sucks, and the artwork is really bad. There is no 3D acceleration, which could've made the game better. Sound.......: 5/10 - Sounds effects and music are mediocre and could've been a lot better. The characters' speech suck, it seems like voices were recorded over a telephone line, and they are uninspired and repetitive. Control.....: 5/10 - Controls are mediocre, and could be a whole lot better with the addition of shortcuts and more control options. Gameplay....: 4/10 - There is a noticeable lack of AI control in the game, both in your enemies and in your own troops. like, if you tell your troops to attack they usually just go to their enemies and just stand there getting decimated by the enemy until you give another order. Story.......: 8/10 - The story sucks, the in-game missions are all like, kill all your enemies, rescue missions, nothing spectacular or inventive that the game becomes boring after a few minutes, in case you weren't bored from the start. Movies......: 3/10 - Not much to see except for the intro, could've been better with inspiring video clips in between missions. Replay......: 3/10 - After playing the game for one time, I wouldn't dare play it again. Gender Bias.: 8/10 - The game offers a gameplay and a slew of characters that both males and females will love to play--and get bored with. Fun Factor..: 4/10 - Yawn, uninteresting gameplay and story. Multiplayer.: 5/10 - Not much to say here, the game offers 5 multiplayer style matches, but even that not enough to keep boredom out of the way. Go play starcraft instead. Overall.....: 4/10 The concept of having a RTS game set in the Mythological universe is very cool, but that is upset by bad gameplay and low production value. - The Bottomline: For $50, this game is a bit overpriced, so don't buy it, not even if you're a Mythology freak. What do you think we consumers are? Money-growing trees? - Die Hard Trilogy 2 ------------------ Publisher...: Fox Interactive Developer...: Homepage....: http://www.foxinteractive.com/products/products.html?/diehard2/index.html Genre.......: Action-Arcade Accelerated.: Yes (required) Price.......: $29.99 Demo........: Requirements: Win9x, Pentium 2200 MMX PC Compatible, 32MB RAM, 200MB HD space, 2MB accelerator card, DirectX compatible sound card, 4x CD-ROM ESRB Rating.: Mature (17+) for animated blood and gore, animated violence Graphics....: 8/10 - The graphics are good, and doesn't slow down in my system There are a lot of graphics effects like explosions that add to the ambience of the game. Sound.......: 7/10 - Yipee Ki-yay! I just love the sound of exploding barrels and rocket and grenades! woooohoo! rock on! The music is good too, and goes well with the game. Control.....: 9/10 - Controls are basically point and click, since it's an arcade/console game, so not much to complain about.. Gameplay....: 8/10 - Actually this game is too easy, all enemy are just standing there waiting for you to shoot them. Totally no challange in this game, but it's an arcade game anyway so what do you expect? But hehe, I just love easy games like this :) Story.......: 3/10 - Story? I don't understand the friggin' story! I even went to their website to research on the story :( Movies......: 6/10 - Not bad for intro, I haven't been able to go though much of the game to get to see another movie but I assume all you get is an intro movie and an ending movie. Replay......: 5/10 - I don't think I'll play it again. Gender Bias.: 6/10 - Well, it may be a boy's game but it sure is a hell lot of fun to point and shoot at enemies just for the hell of it And I guess girls love that too, don't you girls? ;) Fun Factor..: 6/10 - Not much fun with the game. Just point and shoot the eneny, and enemy's moves are so slow. Multiplayer.: none Overall.....: 4/10 Ahh, I disctincly remember playing Die Hard Trilogy 1 on the PlayStation, and I had a lot of fun with it that's why I've also been looking forward to this game. Being a big fan of arcade games which you can finish in a few hours, I find this game quite a good addition to the PC product line, the only downs I see for this game is the lack of challenge and obviously linear storyline. - The Bottomline: If you're into arcade games, definitely get this. If you want more challenging ones, then don't. - (thanks to Darkpisces for helping me out on this review! :) Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 ---------------------------------- Publisher...: 3DO http://www.3do.com Developer...: Team .366 http://www.3do.com Homepage....: http://www.3do.com/products/pc/hh2001/ Genre.......: Sports Accelerated.: YES Price.......: $24.99 Demo........: 55Mb ftp://ftp.avault.com/demos/hh2001.zip Requirements: Win9x, Pentium 166 PC Compatible, 32MB RAM, 110MB HD space, 2MB video card, DirectX compatible sound card, 4x CD-ROM ESRB Rating.: Everyone Graphics....: 7/10 - The player models and skins are beautifully painted and fluidly rendered. The game also offers the option to choose from a vast array of resolutions ranging from the low-end 640x480 to the higher-end 1200x1600. I played it at 1024x768 and the game played smoothly except at some instances where the game gets a bit choppy due to loading of sounds and graphics. One complaint I have always had about 3DO's baseball games is the audience. The audience looks like a bitmap of, well, nothing but dots. They look so dull and plain compared to the background audience in NBA Live. Sound.......: 4/10 - The sound effects are okay, and there is hardly any in-game music to liven up the game. There are no voice-over commentators to add spice to the game either. Control.....: 7/10 - Controlling the pitcher and batter is very easy, all you have to do is hold one arrow key and press enter and the pitcher will throw the ball in different styles depending on the arrow you pressed. Controlling the fielders and basemen, however, is another story. Due to the 3D camera rotating at different angles, it gets confusing as to where to throw the ball, like, for example I wanted to throw the ball to the first baseman, but it gets thrown to the second baseman instead. Also, you can't configure your controls so there's absolutely no way you can find out which button does which without consulting the manual Gameplay....: 6/10 - There is not much spice in the game, it looks so dull and dead. There is not much to keep my attention long enough to go through the whole game, and I know many of you out there have short attention spans like me. Story.......: N/A - sports games dont have stories Movies......: N/A - no story = no need for cinematics Replay......: 7/10 - I grew tired of the game after playing it for about 10 minutes but I sure as hell would like to play it again just for the sake of baseball :) Gender Bias.: 7/10 - What can I say, it's a baseball game and well, baseball is a guy's sport, but with easy controls (you can make the computer controls the out fielders and basemen) I bet a lot of women would be incliened to try out the game as well. Fun Factor..: 4/10 - Like I said, the game lacks attitude and spice to make the overall experience fun. Announcers, profanity, fights graphical effects, and the like would help give added attraction to the game. Instead, the game looks poorly produced and unmotivated. Multiplayer.: none Overall.....: 6/10 High Heat Baseball 2001 was one of the games I have eagerly anticipated for, ever since the High Heat series was concieved. I was disappointed to find out that HHB 2001 was almost like HHB 2000. All they did was make the graphics look better, update the rosters, and add a few features here and there. I had been expecting something more from the 3DO guys, especially with companies like Electronic Arts owning the Sports gaming industry. And I think they will continue on this domination not unless the others become more competitive. Cmon 3DO guys, your game engines are all f*cking outdated, from Heroes of Might and Magic, to Might and Magic, down to the High Heat Baseball series, it seems to me you guys are getting very low on budget so you keep on reusing the same slow godforsaken engine over and over again! Don't you guys even have the ambition of doing something better than the other games out there? Take a look at NBA Live's motion-capture players, or the animated audiences, or the great 3D engine that even enables players to use their face as skins. I know 3DO can do better, but I hope they do this soon enough. - The Bottomline: $24.99??? are they nuts?? I'd rather save up my money to buy Diablo 2! - Fish's Revenge -------------- Publisher...: Snarfblat http://www.snarfblat.com/ Developer...: Snarfblat http://www.snarfblat.com/ Homepage....: http://www.snarfblat.com/fishrevscreens.html Genre.......: Fun Accelerated.: NO Price.......: $19.95 Demo........: 8,3 Mb http://www.snarfblat.com/fishdemo.zip Requirements: Pentium 133 or higher 16 bit graphics card with 2 Meg Video Ram 2xSpeed CD-ROM 10 Meg Available Hard Drive Space Windows 9x ESRB Rating.: Everyone Graphics....: 6/10 - The graphics are pretty good, although they are not 3d rendered. If it was an ordinary fishing game, I would have ranked them lower, but what do i have to say, the game concept is VERY funny! Sound.......: 6/10 - There is one happy song playing in the menu and during the game. The in game sounds aren't that spectaculair we have the rod spinning and cast sounds and ofcourse the splashing water! Control.....: 5/10 - Well, the controls are way to sensitive if you ask me, if you want to rotate to look for some fishermen it moves too fast. The controls are like this: you use the screen position for speed. For example if you want to reel the line in, you hold the left mouse button, moving the cursor to the top of screen will slow the speed down, moving it closer to the reel will speed things up. Practically the same with rotating the rod. Once you're used to it it's ok.. Gameplay....: 7/10 - What can I say, it's FUN! :) Like this game is not common in any way, the lures make no exception. This is some of the stuff you can choice from: Beef Jerky, Beer, Sheep, Bra's and alot more. When you catch a fisherman, you see his head on a woodenplate like a trophy. Story.......: 7/10 - The game is about a fish called Fin he is tired of being caught by fishermen and think it's time to pay them back! Pretty original I say.. Movies......: 5/10 - Movies? There aren't any real movies in the game. There is an animation when you start the game, that's explaining the story.. Replay......: 4/10 - The first few times you play it, it's really funny, but I don't think it will last that long... Gender Bias.: 6/10 - They fishing is a mens sport and that's projected in the game you can catch fishermen but I didn't see any fisherwomen around. Fun Factor..: 6/10 - Like I said before it's pretty fun the first times you play it! :) Multiplayer.: N/A Overall.....: 6/10 I don't know any game I can compare this title with except the fishgames you actually fish to get fish (already confused :P) like Trophy Bass. Those games are aimed to bring you simulation, this game is pure entertainment! - The Bottomline: Fish's Revenge isn't really expensive, but I suggest you to get the DEMO to see if you like it enough to spend $19,95 on. If you are looking for simulation get other fishing titles.. - (reviewed by Senator/dF, thanks Senator! :) Army Men: Air Tactics --------------------- Publisher...: The 3DO Company http://www.3do.com/ Developer...: The 3DO Company http://www.3do.com/ Homepage....: http://www.3do.com/products/pc/airtactics/ Genre.......: Action Accelerated.: NO Price.......: $29.95 Demo........: 42.42 Mb ftp://ftp.3do.com/pub/products/airtactics/amatdemo.exe Requirements: Pentium 133 DirectDraw 2MB SVGA 32Mb of RAM 100MB HD(minimum) 275MB HD (recommended) and Win9x ESRB Rating.: Everyone Graphics....: 7/10 - The graphics are good, they aren't 3d rendered, but that wouldn't make much difference in this type of game. The game uses the overhead view which gives you a good look at the nicely created levels you play in. It's the same view like games such as desert strike. Sound.......: 7/10 - Let's start with the music, like expected in this type of game it's a nice tune that gets you in the mood of fighting war. The ingame sounds are really cool. This is also the case for the speech. Control.....: 8/10 - The controls are great and very easy like it shoud be! :) Everything you need to control can be done with just the mouse. Flying, steering, shooting, changing weapons, everything. Gameplay....: 7/10 - You can learn how the game works by going to flight school. It teaches you the basics on how to fly the chopper, transport soldiers etc. The game plays really well I must say. Story.......: 6/10 - It's kinda like the same story as other army men titles, but for the people that don't know or never played them, here it is. The game is about the war between the Greens and the Tans. You probably played it yourself when you were a kid :) Movies......: 7/10 - When you start the game there is a really cool intro movie. Also the game features some well done cutscenes.. Replay......: 7/10 - I liked the game pretty much. Although every mission you have to fly the plastic warchopper it's not boring. Every level is a small new adventure. Gender Bias.: 7/10 - Girls playing with plastic soldiers? Can you imagine? :) But I think the girls will like the game too, it's fun and plastic soldiers don't bleed :) Fun Factor..: 7/10 - The game sure is fun. The people that like the other titles will loves this one, because it brings a new touch to the army men titles... Multiplayer.: 7/10 - Take on your friends for some toy warfare! You can choose between 4 teams, of course the greens and tans, but also the blue and gray. You can choice between three types of multiplayer games: Savage Scavenge, Death match and Bug Hunt. You can win bug hunt by killing the most bugs, like roaches. Everyone knows death match that brings us to savage scavenge. This game type where you have to fill or your landing pads with the right vials. Overall.....: 7/10 I liked the game more then I thought I would. It reminds me of desert strike mixed with the cool plastic soldiers. It didn't bore me and I still didn't complete the game :) - The Bottomline: If you like the Army Men, this title is sure worth to add it to your collection. If you are looking for some serious war games, don't get this! - (also reviewed by Senator/dF, thanks Senator! :) -----------[The Scene News]----------- All the news thats fit to print... and then some... - posey had a car accident, goodluck to him :( - precise and trsi unmerged back to their old groups - cod is perm down, and the admin is looking for a new link --------[Stories from the Watercooler]---------- Ahh yes, rumors, we all love them even though we love to say how much we hate them when they are about us. And these are some of the better ones circulating around this week. Email us or find us on irc if you have a good rumor you'd like entered, your name will not be included, but we do not add rumors like that Xtremist is having Jess' baby or that Elocin is being gang raped by Cedric and Sins, because we all know that those are both true. Rumor has it that JGT makes the world better for AIDS kids who have to pay for their games Rumor is that Xtremist is going to have triplets! =-------------------------------------=--------------------------------------= Well friends.. Thats about it. If you've read this far, we sincerly thank you. We like to know this thing gets read, so if you get the time, drop one of us a quick msg, and tell us what you think, give us suggestions, tell us it sucks, or just say "hi" to us!.... Greets fly out to: Ryche, Edge, Bernis, Elocin, Sins, Crackz, Zip, Goatass, Dma, Bigmom, Bud, Preacher K, Bohnz, Ceddie, Glenfag, Prs, Tyger, Dopestar, LS, PaleDeth, Humble, Xtremist. MANDRAKE@#!)#@)*!#@!@ Find us on IRC in #nwr, (channel commands: !nwr, !nwr 69 or whatever issue you want. +lester 03/16/00