"Disclaimer" I will make it no secret that I tried out for this season and was not selected due to XBox Live issues during game analysis. I was only able to connect for one of the sessions, and thus disqualified. Knowing that, please read these recaps as a reviewer's aspect and not a bitter gamer. My views would be the same even if I had not tried out.
The End Begins
So we pick up right where the show left off in the poor cliff hanger. Mystik (Kat), Thirstee (Jake) and CND The 3rd (Caesar) were all still head to head in the rotating Splinter Cell: Conviction match. All with nine out of ten kills under their belt. Just as Thirstee (Jake) and CND The 3rd (Caesar) were about to make their last kill tragedy struck in the form of dying and enemy AI out smarting, respectfully. Thus leading to Mystik (Kat) getting her final kill and moving on.
Now Thirstee (Jake) and CND The 3rd (Caesar) had to go head to head after everything being set back up. Now here is where I think the editors decided to get a little fishy with things. CND The 3rd (Caesar) appeared to dominate the entire round with Thirstee (Jake) doing extremely poorly. Something had not been shown on his screen the first two rounds. I don't question CND The 3rd (Caesar) getting all the kills first, but the speed at which and the lack of kills shown by Thirstee (Jake) didn't sit well with me. It was all done and over in the amount of time a commercial break could have taken place.
It was now Thirstee (Jake)'s turn to take the walk of shame out of the Gauntlet. A walk that also included tears for the first time I can think from one of the male contestants. Maybe my memory is off.
Now Thirstee (Jake) wasn't the only one to be leaving the loft on this day. In fact at this point everyone was thrown out and sent packing. At first it sounds a bit weird, but the producers didn't want to house the final three for another three months while they waited for the WCG Grand Finals to take place. You were expecting some crazy drama that DQ'ed everyone huh? Instead they decided to fill the gap with views of the contestants' home lives and them getting ready for the final challenge, a three game montage. More on that later though.
Never Before Played By Them
So the time had passed through the miracles of editing and it was time to bring the final three back together so they could whittle it down to two for the grand finals. The game to do that Tron: Evolution. A game that has yet to come to market, but anyone who's gone to a gaming or "geek" convention has had a chance to get hands on with. Which is why it was kind of odd that none of them had played it yet and made a big deal about not playing. Did they not go to any conventions Disney was at? I've had hands on with it twice already while standing in line like a general attendee at these things. Maybe their contracts said they couldn't go to any. We'll go with that.
Anyways, it was time to sit down and play the lightcycle multiplayer portion of Tron: Evolution. Just as you would expect it to play out too. You drive around a closed course trying to get the other drivers to hit your line of light coming out your back end. Also you can throw discs to try and help with the kills.
Once again, the cockiness of CND The 3rd (Caesar) came flying back into the game. Not even back together for a half hour and he is already talking all high and mighty in the game, not to mention make it known he was gunning a bit for Mystik (Kat) because he couldn't lose to a girl. But that didn't go over too well for him. As soon as he had a decent lead he left attacking her figuring she was no longer a threat. Which of course is when she swooped in and completely destroyed both CND The 3rd (Caesar) and clowN (Yaz) leaving them vying for the number two seat.
This blow completely shook CND The 3rd (Caesar) off his game and he ended up losing not only to a girl but losing out completely. What a slap to his pride that must have been huh? Not that he lost to a girl, but that he made that his goal and psyched himself out. I guess that's what you get for not seeing every gamer as a gamer and not [Gender] gamer.
clowNed And Out
Now that it was brought to the final two, no time was spared jumping into the finals and thus the finale for the season. A nice three round mini-gauntlet that had scores applied to the round based on how much the advertisers paid. One point for the winner of Green Day: Rock Band, two points for BlazBlue and three for Halo: Reach. A score structure that pretty much meant that whoever won at Halo: Reach would be the overall winner. Do the math. There was no way for someone to win if the dominated the first two titles but sucked at Halo: Reach. Brought to you by Microsoft.
So first up was Green Day: Rock Band. Both had to play American Idiot on Expert. Not too hard until you hear that it had to be played on Drums. The part of the game that most players have difficulty with. At least they tried to mix it up from what we are use to with rhythm game competitions. Something I bet Mystik (Kat) was not truly ready for. In the first 30 seconds of the song clowN (Yaz) was already four times her score. Obviously from there, round one went to clowN (Yaz).
Next up was BlazBlue with both players selecting their characters and winning the five matches. Now this could have been entertaining but it was not at all. clowN (Yaz) either selected a character he could not fight with or got to cocky from the first round because all five round played like Mystik (Kat) was fighting against the tutorial fighter. You know the one that kind of moves around but generally lets you wail on them until they fall. Yea, she went 0-5 with two almost "Perfects" for the fight. Round two to Mystik (Kat).
It was now 1-2 with Mystik (Kat) in the lead and up now both of their genre of choice, FPS. Here is where it seemed the show would hit a high point of intensity. But just as I figured, it was another five minutes of watching Mystik (Kat) completely spank clowN (Yaz). I'm talking 1-15 by the end. Yea, he is going to have a hard time holding his head high in FPS circles. Not because he lost to a female mind you. But showing how good at FPS games he was during the show and against Mystik (Kat) only to almost get shut out in the finals. Now that is a hard blow to gamer pride. But hey, we caught it all on cable TV and the internet so he can rest assured it will not go away for a bit.
In The End
No need to say it, but Mystik (Kat) won it all. The first gamer who is female to win on the show that has only had two seasons. I will admit that when she made it to the gauntlet with Seltzer (Rachel) I began hoping one them would win it all. All for the sheer fact that all of the male contestants did what every other 12 year old on XBL says, "I CAN'T lose to a girl!" Then talk even more crap when they start to lose to them or it looks like they are slipping. The douche bags they got for this show needed a blow to their pride like this to shut them up.
So congrats to you Mystik (Kat). You showed them. Have fun with that 100K and gaming package. Try not to let it all go to your head. Most likely see you at CES 2011 like I do the rest of the cast from season one.
Again in tribute to the fallen, I leave you with Timmy Dance. The reason this time, YOU GOT PWNED! What you swore wouldn't happen to you did happen and you deserved it. Just like you deserve looking at the rolls jiggle here.
