WOW! How's that for the understatement of the year? Yes, for all of those who have been wondering about the updates of the worlds favorite cheat site, we can tell you that we are back and it will be business as usual once Dave gets out of bed. Which is no easy task, let me tell you.
Dave, who is the webmaster of Cheat Code Central and the one who gets all of those delicious codes for you, and I (John Doe) who does the reviews and editorials on this site, met for the first time last week in L.A. Dave reserved a beautiful hotel (the Universal City Hilton, no less) so we could travel in style. And not only that, but he footed the entire hotel bill. No kidding. It was close to $900.00. That's right, he spent close to $1000.00 on a hotel and didn't blink an eye. He was also gonna cover the convertible rental but that didn't pan out. Why did he do all this? Because he's a nice guy. Girls if I were you I'd start emailing this dude toots sweet. So the question is, how did we get along? Anyone see the Odd Couple? Dave and I would fight and argue about something, and then two minutes later it would be forgotten, because we were then fighting about something else. :) We got along really well for the most part. But you try staying with someone you've never met before and see how you drive each other nuts. I'll relate the "duffel bag incident" in a moment or two.
LA is a cool place. Basically it's just palm trees, freeways and cars. The weather was great, earthquakes were scarce and the drive by shootings were kept to a minimum. Once I got to the Hotel I had to wait for Dave to arrive, so I decided to kill some time across the street at Universal Studios City Walk. The City Walk is not in the Studio's so anyone can walk around there. It features restaurants like the Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood, some of the greatest gift and toy stores (chock filled with Pokemon, Star Wars and Austin Powers merchandise) bars like B.B. Kings and Wizardz which features a live magic show.
While trying to take it all in at City Walk, I accidentally bumped into Jay Leno. Once it registered who he was, I quickly introduced myself (I used my real name, obviously) and then we shook hands and that was it. I hadn't been in L.A. for two hours and I already met a celebrity. After that I tried to get into Marvel Mania, which is a restaurant/bar/gift store featuring all of your favorite Marvel Comics heroes, like Batman, Superman and Little Orphan Annie. Okay, if you know your stuff, you know I've just snowed you. Marvel Mania is decked out and I mean decked out, with Venom, Spiderman, The Avengers, Hulk, Fantastic Four....you name it. If you love comics, then Marvel Mania is for you! Unfortunately, that's the only one on the planet at the moment, so you'll have to go to LA. Anyway, I tried to get in, but was turned away due to a "private party". Too bad.
I went back to the hotel and eventually met up with Dave and then we set off back to City Walk. The only reason you need to know this is because the next coolest thing happened. Dave wanted to go to Marvel Mania, but I told him that there was a private function going on. He didn't care, he wanted to try and get in. Dave's like that. He won't take no for an answer. Sure enough, he walks up to the guy at the door and says, "Hey, can we go to the party?" (I edited out all the "you know, and "like um's" for your reading pleasure.) The very same guy that tossed me away an hour before, now says, "Oh yeah come in, and don't forget to take the free shirts and pictures of Futurama, the PJ's and King Of The Hill, because all of the voice talent from those cartoons are here and you'll want to get autographs." "Pardon me? Let me get this straight. You're letting me in to what I can only imagine is the coolest place on the planet, so I can eat and drink free of charge while talking to the people who voice some of my favorite cartoons?" I didn't say that last part, but I did think it. The guy must have saw me with Jay Leno earlier.... So sure enough, we are eating and then talking with the real life counterparts of Bender and Frye and Phil Lamarr (from Mad TV). Now that was Phat. (Thanks Mario, you'll read about him and Travis later). After Dave orders another Margarita and complains about the salt on the glass, I run after anyone I can find from the King of the Hill show. I tap this guy on the shoulder and ask him if there are any more people from KOTH around because I want to get their autographs. He says, "I think I'm the only one left." Then I recognize him. He was the guy who played Milton in Mike Judges hilarious comedy "Office Space". I go, 'Hey you're Milton! I loved Office Space". He thanks me and then says that he will tell Mike Judge personally. Things are getting phatter. He then signs my KOTH picture over the character of Bill. He does Bill's voice! Then he disturbs me with these words: "I don't think we are being picked up for next year." Write to FOX you guys and let's get this great show picked up again! For Milton's sake! As an aside we met some native Californians named Mike, Casey, Lianne and Andrea who were really great. Casey was mental over Perfect Dark and wished he could attend E3 just to play it. We tried to think up ways he could get into E3, but then opted for the easiest solution, which involved Casey just staying at home. Sorry man.
Later that night Dave and I suffered through Brendan Fraser's new bomb, The Mummy. The effects were great, but the acting? I'm from Canada and know nothing about acting or Hollywood, but I can tell you that I know he can't act very well. If I know that, why doesn't Hollywood? It was embarrassing. To be fair, nobody could have helped that picture. If you want to see it, better hurry. Oh, I'm sure George Lucas is terrified of that one.
The next day, Dave and I kill the day at Universal Studios. For anyone who hasn't experienced Terminator 2: 3D. All I can tell you is that it is no less than the most amazing spectacle of live and movie special effects I have ever seen, and in 3D yet. It alone is worth the $39.00 dollar park admission fee. One of the actresses even had to adlib her lines to include telling Dave to shut up. That was the best part. Who knew they could improv so well?
The backlot tram ride was terrifyingly boring. Oh the parting of the Red Sea huh? I remember this from when I was in LA in grade 3. I'm sure the teens were all very impressed. We were so lucky. We were "special" enough to see the little office that Alfred Hitchcock took a leak in one day. At that point I knew that this tram ride tour was a big mistake. We didn't even get to see the Jaws exhibit, as they were painting or repairing Bruce the Shark's mechanical fin. The one thing that got the most "ooohs" and "awwwws" from the tram patrons was a large blue wall that sat at the back of a lake. This was the "Truman Show" fake skyline that Jim Carrey busts through at the end. I've never seen a more incredible blue painted wall. You know what the best part is? I took a picture of it! I'm such a follower. I hear too many "ooohs and awwwws" and I would have stepped on someone to get a picture of the blue wall. I can't wait for the ridicule my wife will heap on me for the blue wall picture.
Speaking of taking pictures, you have got to see Dave take pictures. He says he took five rolls of film on the whole trip. He must have taken half a roll of the water fountain in the hotel lobby. If someone was going to 3D render that fountain for a video game they would have taken less pictures. If anyone out there knows Dave, and he asks if you want to see his pictures, run like hell. Well, first see if I'm kidding, then run.
After Universal Studios we met two guys at the hotel named Mario and Travis from Omaha. You can see pix of the show and of the people we met coming soon to this website. That evening Dave, Mario, Travis and I went out to Hard Rock Cafe where without getting into graphic detail, I felt so sorry for the waitress I tipped her an additional $6.00 on top of the generous tip we already left.
The next morning I was up at 6:30 am to get ready. Dave had brought boxes of shirts and hats made up with the Cheat Code Central logo on them to hand out to fans of the site, if there were any in attendance. We packed the first load into a hockey duffel bag and set off to meet the others on the shuttle bus at 7:30 am. Now that duffel bag must have weighed 60-80 lbs. It was HEAVY! I lug it down through the hotel and make it to the bus, and already I'm in real pain. Once at E3, we get in, get our extra special Media badges, and now it's time to find someplace to store this evil duffel bag. It's up the escalator and down to the West Hall we are told, which in reality was about a 5-minute walk. Well guess what? The storage place wasn't there. It was back where we came in. Half way back, I stop and say to Dave that I can't lug this thing any further. It was one of those real dramatic, "Just go on without me, I'll die here" sort of martyristic speeches you see in war movies all the time. Then Dave says, "It's a lot easier if you lift it up on one end and use the wheels." 'Wheels? What the $#%@ do you mean there are $#%$#@ wheels on this thing? Why the %$#@ didn't you tell me there were %$#@ wheels on this bag?" I was heard to exclaim. I don't think he ever really answered me. That started the Odd Couple thing right there. It was the defining moment.
Now the amazing part. People start coming up to us because they recognized the Cheat Code Central logo on our shirts. As we discovered throughout E3, there are tons of folks out there who go to CCC everyday. Everyone from gamers to game designers and programmers to PR and marketing people.... It was so bizarre to talk to the Public Relations Officer for one of the worlds largest video game companies and she knows who the heck I am, because she loves my reviews. Needless to say, her and the rest of the team, received free CCC t-shirts. If people came up to us at the show and said, "Hey I go to Cheat Code Central all the time" which countless did, they received a free t-shirt or hat. This resulted in tons of swarming, which was pretty scary at times. For those lucky enough to get the coolest looking shirt available at E3, we thank you. And you can thank, Dave. He supplied all of the shirts himself. Even an employee of our competition wanted a t-shirt. I can't say the name but it rhymes with Snappy Cuppy.
Now I know you want to hear about the games and that's cool. Come around to Cheat Code Central on Friday for Part 2 of our E3 coverage and you'll hear me give you my honest opinions on some of the hundreds (seems like thousands) of games I played at E3. You'll not only get insight into the hottest games coming down the pike, but also more behind the scenes shenanigans of our wild trip to LaLa Land in words and pix (if they are developed by then). Who knows, you may even learn my true identity and see some honest to goodness pix of Dave and I and our whacked out Omaha buddies. Sounds too good to miss, doesn't it? See you in The Games - Part 1, Friday, May 21, 1999.