We welcome back Asian DVD Club, one of my favorite sites on the net. For those of you that don't know, ADC was taken offline during the raid on thepiratebay.org. Unfortuantely, ADC's servers were in the same place as TPB.

Well months later, the owners have decided at the fans' request to reopen ADC, essentially starting over. The site isn't necessarily back at this exact moment, but it will be within the next few days. In fact, the URL now points to an actual site instead of the old blog site they had up.

We here at Rated-M.com know that you guys have been interested in this story, we see it in the stat sheet. So we feel it is our duty to announce the official rebirth of ADC! Welcome back ADC!

http://www.asiandvdclub.org

We have decided to keep Home of the Underdogs as our "Free Game of the Month" for the second month in a row. Why? Not because there aren't any other good free games out there. Simply because Home of the Underdogs is one of the absolute greatest websites on the entire web. I personally hold this site up against Wikipedia and IMDB. HOTUD is by and large one of the most important video game archives there is. Sure, it only deals in abandonware PC games, but one look through their catalogue shows you why I feel this way.

So there you have it. Home of the Underdogs has the full support of Rated-M.com. Check it out at http://www.the-underdogs.info.

Okay so British Gaming has posted a huge preview of FFV Advance for GBA and since we haven't really gotten into handhelds yet, I think this is a perfect place to start. Aside from the four new classes, and other little minor touches, I think this version is very nice. SquareEnix did a great job remixing a classic. Anyway, for all the new pictures and what nots go to: http://www.britishgaming.co.uk/?p=1186

Blizzard has announced that they have a huge announcement(hah) coming up pretty soon. Speculation is that it will be the announcement for Starcraft 2 and not the dead on arrival Starcraft:Ghost. Rated-M will continue to follow this story to give you the total up to date information.

If you haven't heard of this game, you've been hiding under a rock. Or perhaps you have been too focused on other stuff. Well we think it's time to open the eyes of the world to the awesome sandbox game Crackdown!



Crackdown is developed by the GAME GOD David Jones, the man who created Grand Theft Auto, and even coded Lemmings 1&2 BY HIMSELF! You play as a member of "the Agency", a group of super-cops hell bent on wiping out crime in Pacific City. Agents are clones of their former selves, kind of a rebuilt super-soldier. Think Universial Soldier meets Marvel Comics here...



The game's structure takes the typical GTA-style missions to the next level. Not only is the ame open ended, but you can do any mission at any time! You can go straight to the biggest, baddest crime boss there is and take him out...or try to... Chances are, you'll have to do a lot of levelling up (yes, like an RPG), and get some sweet weapons before you can actually beat the baddest bosses in the game. However, the fact still remains that how you play the game is up to you.



So what are the RPG elements? Well, each player will have a basic stat set that they will be able to increase. Increasing them is as simple as using the skill you want to increase. The more you use it, the better you get at it. The more you shoot, drive, lift, fight, run, the better you get at it. Eventually you will become a super hero. Also, depending on the skills you increase, your physical appearance will change as well.



So what about multi-player? Well at any time, you can have a friend jump in your game via XBL for some killer co-op play, but it doesn't end there. While playing with a firend, you can learn some of their unique skills, as well as share your unique skills with them. You can also trade items and other stuff!



So far, there are over 100 licensed music tracks built in the ame, with the unique ability to assign specific songs to specific NPC's and areas. This is awesome for the fact that if you feel Boss A deserves Song B, you can make it so that song always plays when he is around.

So you can see why we are so hyped about this game. This game is only for XBOX 360, developed for Microsoft Game Studios by Real Time Worlds, and we anticipate this to be one of many system sellers for the first next-gen system on the market. To see more about this game, visit the official site, linked below!

http://www.crackdownoncrime.com

It's almost time! Time for what? Viva Pinata, silly! We are just a couple short months away from both the game and TV show for the next RareWare masterpiece. To celebrate this awesome game, we bring you the Viva Pinata Spectacular! In this article, we give you everything you need to get your Viva Pinata fix! So sit back, eat some gooseberries, and enjoy!

First, we bring you the mp3 of the official theme somg for the show, possibly the game as well. This song is courtesy of 4kids and RareWare.

Viva Pinata Theme Song (1MB MP3)

Next up, we bring you a catalogue of all the informative websites out there so far.

4Kids Viva Pinata Site

Viva Pinata Wiki

Official Viva Pinata Website

Viva Pinata Forums

If you can't find the info on any of those above sites, you aren't looking hard enough!

From now until the launch and even after, we will be continually updating this page with more and more info! Check back for these updates!

Famed video game developer RareWare offers free video game soundtracks on their official website. All soundtracks are in mp3 format, and represent a wide spectrum of their games. To see what is offered for yourself, and grab your favorites, check the link below!

http://www.rareware.com/extra/downloads/all_download.html

Another great site we came across recently allows you to take your XBOX Live GamerCard from your 360 and use it as a forum signature! The sig is updated in real time, and features all the information you would find in your xbox.com profile, such as last game played, last time played, achievements, etc.

The card is really simple to set up, and is even compatible with MySpace.com! Check out my example below.




Pretty cool, huh? Visit the link below to make your own!

http://www.mygamercard.net

So you started getting random error codes and/or red lights on your XB360, eh? Well you aren't alone. However, just because you get an error or red light doesn't necessarily mean your system is FUBAR. We have found a website which not only lists every known error code on the system, it explains the red lights, symptoms, and fixes too!

This info is a must have for any 360 owner. Red lights don't mean death. in the words of the Hitchhiker's Guide, "Don't Panic". Just visit the link below!

http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/Xbox-360-error-codes.htm

XBL has been booming the last few days. Here is a sampling of things recently added:

Chromehounds - New Weapons/Colors/Items
Viva Pinata - New Episodic Videos
Just Cause - Trailers and DEMO
Texas Hold Em - Was free for 48 hours
Samurai Warriors 2 - A Crapload of Download Content (before the game is even out!)
Test Drive Unlimited - New Demo
Oblivion - Vile Lair DLC
Red VS. Blue - New Episode

Check out Live for these and a lot more!

Snakes On A Plane came out this weekend and I was there. Let me just say that it put that stupid pirate movie to shame. I'll tell you now, if you go into the theater and take this movie too seriously, you'll be let down. It's not for the stuck up look at me type. But, if you go in ready to just enjoy a no punches pulled action movie, you're gonna have a blast. The beauty of SOAP, funny anagram there, is that it doesn't take itself too seriously in any way, shape or form. The whole thing is a pretty silly idea, but damn it was fun to watch. So go, and enjoy yourself. No it isn't Spiderman, but it is Snakes On A Plane, and that's exactly what you get with this movie, a crap load of snakes. We got snakes in the lights, snakes in the luggage, snakes in the drink cart, and snakes in the barf bags. Snakes dropping into the bathroom and breaking up a mile high club initiation session was probably the high moment for most teenagers in the crowd. Plenty of "made ya jump!" moments too. The action moves at a perfect pace, giving you just enough time to catch your breath before tossing you back in for more. The always awesome Sam Jackson is super cool, not quite Pulp Fiction cool, but he rocks every second he's on screen. Delivering his lines with the intensity of a burning inferno. No doubt this movie will become a cult classic, it's just got all the right elements and I'm hoping it comes out on DVD for Christmas.

The verdict: See it

Kevin

Imagine this. You are sitting in your living room, you have no surround sound system, you don't even have one of those awesome rocking chairs with the speakers built in. So what's a man to do to get a little boost in sound? Well, with Japan and Nintendo on the job I think I have the answer for you right here. Enter the Nintendo franchise speakers. You can plug these bad boys into a Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, iPod, or any other handheld/equipment that accepts a headphone jack. With these nifty speakers not only can you get better sound then with the tinny gameboy speakers, but you could look stylish doing it. Either that or your girlfriend will kick you out of the relationship immediately. But who cares when you have a realistic Pow brick pumping out your sound for you?! This is a simple footnote in the bizarre world of Nintendo branded merchandise. Unfortunately, at the time of this article, http://www.lik-sang.com was sold out of said speakers, however they do normally carry them so keep an eye out for these rare treats!

In the next few days, I will be making some changes to the site. One change, probably the biggest, is the introduction of our review format.

Reviews are nothing more than an opinion. We all have our own opinions on things. That's why our review format is going to be called "Opinions". Why fancy it up with a name that blurs the line, like "review"? Reviewers today are more opinion heavy then they ever were. There are even some sites/publications that are paid by game companies to say specific things about games. A true review would be unbiased, and only talk about the specifications of an item, and the performance thereof. However, the entertainment industry changes that around, so that entertainment reviews are full of opinions.

So we just wanna tell it like it is. I may love a game, but another writer here may hate it. Expect us to both tell you why. We aren't gonna use some crappy rating system, no letter grade, no stupid decimal number. We will simply say one of three things at the end of our reviews. "Buy, Rent, Pass". Those three words say it all.

We will also allow you readers to add to these reviews, both in our forums and in the comments section at the end of each post. We all have our own opinions, so if you agree/disagree with us, let us know!

Most of the other changes are aesthetic in nature, but if any more major content changes occur, I will be sure to let you all know!

Now I'm going to take a chance here, but I think some of you will find this interesting if you don't know about it yet. A bunch of remixers decided that a soundtrack for Chrono Trigger was in order, however it isn't about just the game itself, it's actually a soundtrack for a movie version of the game if it were ever to come out. Now, I downloaded it(as it was the only version available at the time) and I must say it's super high quality as if Yasunori Mitsuda himself put it together. The title of this project is simply Chrono Symphonic and is definately worth a download. So if you want to hear some of the best video game music ever to grace a game then definately give this a download.
The link for the project is: http://chrono.ocremix.org/