Swagbag contest finishing soon!

Entries for the Christmas swagbag giveaway will be closed as of Wednesday this week, that's the 16th. So anyone who still wants to enter better get their arses into gear! After that, all the entries will be re-posted for your judgement. Voting will most likely take place via email, for unregistered readers and through the comments for those with accounts. For those who didn't enter, please at least make sure to cast your vote.

For anyone still on the fence here are the latest additions to the swag.


Some delightful Overlord figurines, a Prototype artbook, a Resident Evil zombie surgical mask, C.O.D. MW2 wristbands, an Avatar t-shirt and a Lego Rock Band keyring.

Posts will get a little erratic now, with Christmas making me very busy and very tired, however, I will be encouraging everyone to submit a few words to speak up for their Game of the Year 2009 and will be posting coverage of our as-yet untitled new year's gamesfest.

The Split-Screen Christmas swagbag big awesome giveaway bonanza!

Yeah, you read that right; big awesome, swagbag giveaway and what the hell, why not call it a bonanza too? Over the past few months I've been accumulating as much free game-related crap as I possibly can. Thanks largely to the ever-generous and consistently-awesome UltimateGMX, I've managed to amass a sizable amount of goodies. Enough at least to officially classify as a swagbag - believe it or not there is actually a specified criteria that legally must be met. We met it, and some.

Below you will see a picture of the swagbag as it stands now minus a few items that weren't to hand. Depending on who wins, I plan to throw in some extra goodies such as PSN credit, MS Points, or even those Nintendo ones - this prize can be chosen by the winner of course. Anything else that I can get my hands on will be added during the run-up to Christmas and I will regularly update with posts letting you all know what items have been added.


The swag so far:
MySims Agents agent pack
Buzz Lightyear DVD
Sonic Plush
Mini Ninjas Figure
Assassins Creed 2 leather wristband
GTA: Episodes from Liberty City art postcards
DLC for Forza 3 and DJ Hero
Tekken 6 limited edition character cards
Dissidia Final Fantasy art cards
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood bullet USB pen drive
Professor Layton character phone dangler
GTA IV Character posters (several, double sided
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 poster
GTA IV New Era cap
Rockstar Social Club enamel pin badge
T-Shirts:
Borderlands
Beatles Rock Band
Transformers: ROTF
Devil May Cry
Brink
Modern Warfare 2
Fairytale Fights

If that gets your motor going then you'll be wondering what it is you need to do to bag the swag........uuhhh...bag. I know we have a lot of buddingcreatives in our community, from artists, to designers and photographers, so I thought it appropriate to set a creative challenge. All you need to do is re-interpret the cover artwork for a game of your choice. Submissions can be hand-drawn, painted, digital, pretty much any visual format, so long as it can be posted here. The competition will not be judged on creative prowess, but on the most interesting, amusing or appropriate re-interpretation. For example, a photo of a steaming dog turd would be more than suitable as a new cover for Two Worlds.

Winners will be decided by a community-led vote to make it fair and all submissions should be emailed to splitscreensbrain@googlemail.com.
I hope I can count on a good amount of entries. This competition is open to everyone and I will happily mail the swagbag anywhere. Closing date will be around the 15th of December to allow enough time for mailing and deciding the winner before Christmas. Now get designing!

The Split-Screen Street Fighter IV Tournament: Round 6: FIGHT!

Well, Gentlemen. The scores are getting increasingly interesting, wouldn't you say? I know that time is getting on now, but this week we get to see a truly almighty match-up. This week, the mighty Vandalworks will battle the equally mighty J JOHNSON! Can you believe it?! No, me neither. But it's happening. So keep practicing and keep having fun. Right now we are toying with the idea of skipping the second load of match-ups so that we can get to the finals quicker. Once everyone has played each other once, then we may move into the eliminations. What say you? We'll be going with the majority on this one, so make yourself heard below.

Here's where we all stand:


And here's this week's fights:

The Faux Bot vs therightbullets
Bojack85 vs NaFunk
ULTIMATE GMX vs Prof Membrain
J JOHNSON vs vandalworks

Mike Haggar for Mayor!

The Faux Bot

The Split-Screen Street Fighter IV Tournament: Round 5 - FIGHT!

This week I want to send out a special thank you to NaFunk. His courage and determination is a inspiration to us all. I've also noticed this week that there is a distinct lack of trash talking going on! What's the matter pussies? Too scared to call me out in the comments box, huh? Hopefully it'll ramp up when the finals begin to close in. But for now, the order is self-deprecation and good old-fashioned sportsmanship. If I'm honest, that's the way I like it. So bravo gentlemen, bravo.

As always, here's the table as it stands:


And this round's fixtures:

Bojack85 vs therightbullets

Nafunk vs Vandalworks

Prof Membrain vs The Faux Bot

J JOHNSON vs ULTIMATE GMX (battle of the capitals)

IN-DE-STRUCT-A-BLE!!!

The Faux Bot

The Split-Screen Street Fighter IV Tournament: Round 4 - FIGHT!

This isn't on. The losing I mean. I should have figured out a way to rig my matches by now, right? I haven't, obviously. Forgive me, for I digress. What I should be telling you is just how it's all going. Right now, it doesn't take a genius to work out that J JOHNSON is a goddamn machine! As is the ever-mysterious vandalworks, who has mustered an impressive 5 points, presumably by summoning the spirit of the dark hado. Bad karma, man. I await my pasting. Prof Membrain, ULTIMATEGMX and Bojack could still turn things around considerably at this stage, but as for us three at the bottom, don't despair, for I have arranged an extra-special bottom 3 losers prize - HOOKERS! The classy ones too! *

Anyway, here's the table as it currently stands:


And here are this round's pairings:

J JOHNSON vs Prof. Membrain

Vandalworks vs The Faux Bot

ULTIMATE GMX vs Bojack85

NaFunk vs therightbullets

Who will prove the old axiom today?

The Faux Bot

*quality and existence of said hookers is subject to status

The Split-Screen Street Fighter IV Tournament: Round 3 - FIGHT!

Another round down, another 2 points lost by your truly. I really hope this trend doesn't continue. Anyway, check the table below to see how the competition is hotting up: Bojack and J Johnson duking it out for to spot right now, with Vandalworks sneaking in around the back thanks to a round against the Prof.


Hopefully this week's fights will stir things up even more, so without further ado, here are the matches for Round 3. Who will walk away a champion?

Bojack85 vs vandalworks

ULTIMATE GMX vs NaFunk

The Faux Bot vs J JOHNSON

Prof Membrain vs therightbullets

I'm practically shitting myself.

The Faux Bot

The Split-Screen Street Fighter IV Tournament: Round 2- FIGHT!

Well, gentlemen, there you have it: Round 1 is over and what a thoroughly thrilling round it was. Absolutely no 2-1's! Just 2-0 beatings all round. Oh dear oh dear. Hearts have been broken, dreams shattered, but wills have also been strengthened, and other cliched battle terms.

Anyway, I digress. I want to present you with the league as it currently stands:


And the prizes for which you so valiantly battle:

Yes, they are trophies. They are yay high and have "SPLIT SCREEN STREET FIGHTER TOURNAMENT 2009" inscribed on the plaques. There will be a runner-up prize which is yet to be determined.

This also officially begins round 2, here are the current fixtures, you know the drill:


ULTIMATE GMX vs therightbullets
J JOHNSON vs NaFunk
Prof Membrain vs Vandalworks
Bojack85 vs The Faux Bot

Have fun, fight well and dream of shiny, shiny trophies. I'd also like to take this opportunity to everyone for their help with this. JTRB for all his impeccable organisation and everyone for their continued support and enthusiasm. You all rock and are totally tubular.

The Faux Bot

The Split-Screen Street Fighter 4 Tournament - STILL progressing nicely

This week I am finding it hard to think about anything other than Street Fighter 4. I've been bouncing around the house all day, announcing my actions in a loud, furious Engrish accent and humming my favourite BGM tunes. But there comes a time when all children must channel their energy into activities that are not simply about annoying the family. I have realised that my enthusiasm would be put to better use on here, so here's the tournament as it currently stands:

The rules: No Akuma. This isn't up for debate, he is, for want of a better term, a total and utter cunt. He exists to punish those who get too big for their boots and is about the most unbalanced character in the game. As a result, it wouldn't be fair if anyone was to use him. With this in mind, I am also considering banning Seth and Gouken. Gouken will no doubt be pretty much identical to Akuma and Seth is supposed to be some sort of Edge Master type of supercunt. This will be made more clear when the game actually comes out and I can assess it for myself. However, I welcome any arguments concerning these other characters because I am not 100% familiar with them.


As far as the matches are concerned, everything will be kept to default standards, as in best of 3 rounds, 90 second time limit etc. Winning the tournament will be determined through a points system. Each round won will give you a point to be added to your total. This way, everyone has something to fight for, rather than simply accepting defeat after a pasting in round 1. As for tie-break situations, they will be easily solved by a default brawl between the two competitors. Everyone involved will be fighting each other twice and I will endeavour to arrange matches around other people's schedules, so please try to be patient and understanding.

As I've already mentioned, these details aren't exactly 'solid' yet, but the benefit of posting them is that it gives you the opportunity to pitch in or criticise before it's too late. I welcome any feedback or suggestions you may have.

The Prizes:

Because what constitutes a good prize all comes down to personal preference, I have decided it best that the winners are allowed to pick their prizes, with whoever comes in first place getting the first pick, naturally. The first that you see is actually now in my possession and the other will be very soon. With the prizes I wanted to put my money where mouth is, hopefully it's appreciated and will set the bar for future events.

Prize number one: Super-Deformed, Puzzle Fighter style Akuma figure:


Prize number 2: XBOX 360 Faceplate and console skin kit:
I've not decided on a third prize yet, but again, I'm open to suggestions. All you have to do is sign up if you fancy joining in. Don't worry about distance, if you need me to mail your prize to you, I will do so, happily. If I haven't spoken to you in person about it, just comment on the post to join in and let me know. All you need is regular access to an XBOX 360 with a gold account and a copy of Street Fighter 4.

I also mentioned before about creating some result screens for posting the results of each match. I've finished a mock up now, but if any of you actually want in on this, you're going to have to mail me photos as soon as possible so I can get started.

The Faux Bot VS. ULTIMATEGMX

Keep watching for more updates, don't forget to vote in this week's Skate 2 Throwdown and get practicing if you want to win those prizes.

The Faux Bot

The Split-Screen Street Fighter 4 Tournament - Progressing Nicely

Just a quick progress report for any that may have this down as another one of my wild fantasies. Quite a few names have signed up now and I have a few assured entries from people that are, at this current time, otherwise engaged. The first of 3 prizes has been purchased and I have begun deciding on the rules. More concrete details will be coming very soon, along with one of my ever-so-delightful banners to really seal the deal. For now, I've been keeping myself busy with some pixel work:


If any of you want to get on board with this, email me some headshots and I'll make yours too. It's work in progress at the moment, but if enough are interested, it could be a great feature for when posting the results. Keep on commenting kids, and don't forget to use your vote below.

The Faux Bot

A Thank You/A Big Announcement

Sometimes, a little effort goes a long way, doesn't it? As much as I enjoy writing here and discussing games in general, my motivation will often be lost to long days at work, or a busy schedule (yeah, right....) The point I'm trying to make is that I am genuinely grateful to everyone for their participation with the Skate 2 feature and I sincerely hope that the support continues. We need your comments to actually make it work and I couldn't be more genuine when I ask you to spread the word to anyone else who may be interested. I would love to build a community here, maybe even get a proper website, complete with messageboards, forums, the lot. But it can't be done without a readership and the recent show of support, however minimal, has shown me that it can be achieved with a little effort.

Also, I would like to say a special thank you to Paperboy for his orchestration of the competition, his continuous enthusiasm and giving me the first fully-formed feature that this blog has seen.

Now I'm sure you've heard this sort of hyperbole from me before, right? And I'm guessing you're pretty cynical, right? You have every right to be, which is why I refuse to sit still. Now that the Skate 2 feature is assured some sort of lifespan, I have cunningly began to plot my own nefarious scheme and by that I mean another feature. February 20th is a very special day for many of my friends and associates. If you care, you will of course know that this is the day that the console version of Street Fighter 4 sees it's UK release. To celebrate this, I would like to officially announce the upcoming Split-Screen Street Fight 4 Tournament. More awesome title is pending.



Have you taken that in? I'm not kidding. Due to a lack of a venue and a PS3, this comp will be strictly limited to 360 players only, sorry Paperboy. But should you wish to compete, I offer you the use of my XBOX as all matches will be somewhat determined by my schedule anyway. My intention is to referee via XBOX Live's part system, allowing the combatants to duke it out whilst I oversee and officially record the results. If there is no sort of spectator system in the game, then we shall just have to make do. Most of the details will become clear when we've all had a little hands-on time with the game and I know my what my boundaries are, however, for now, here are the facts:

- If enough of you get on board, this WILL HAPPEN
- I will be overseeing the event as a sort of referee
- There will be a Street Fighter-related prize for the winner, which I will be buying and will gladly send out via post.

So there you have it. Get on board, get prepared and get suggesting. Please use the comments box to let me know if you are even mildly interested and if you have any more suggestions, be it related to the competition structure, promotion or that all important prize. C'mon, who doesn't want to try and win some Street Fighter swag?

Zangief is in, are you?

The Faux Bot