I’m back with another round of cheers and jeers for various members of our fine industry. Let’s jump right in, shall we, and don’t forget to bring the steel-toed boots!

First of all, I have to quickly issue a swift Kick in the Sack to everyone who has already written the Playstation off as deceased. As the very next item will show, the supply of games for Sony’s aging gray box has merely slowed, not stopped altogether.

A couple of incredible announcements for Playstation owners have appeared on the various news sites this past week – there are some great games on the horizon! Lionhead Studios is working on a PS version of the recently released (on PC) Black & White; a major announcement for fans of Peter Molyneux’s various god games (Populous springs to mind). Black & White is playable on the PC with only the mouse, so a good console translation shouldn’t be a problem gameplay-wise. Also, Activision announced that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, previously thought to be a PS2 exclusive, will also be heading to Playstation! A big Pat on the Back to these guys, and all of the other developers currently working on PS games, for keeping the faith and keeping the little box that could chugging along.

There’s a new videogame based on E.T. coming out, courtesy of NewKidCo, for GameBoy Advance and PS2. Here’s what I have to say about this. I think it’s about time that we got a good video game based on the classic Spielberg extraterrestrial flick, and I hope that it turns out well. However, the mere mention of the words "E.T." and "videogame" in the same sentence brings back painful memories of childhood, back when I was young, naïve and stupid… back when I though that E.T. for the Atari 2600 was a good game. So, here’s a big ol’ retro Kick in the Sack to everyone involved in the making and selling of that game, and a Pat on the Back to the good people who buried thousands of E.T. game cartridges somewhere in the New Mexico desert so that they could never again harm the fragile minds of children with their horrible "fall in the pit, get out of the pit, fall in the pit…" gameplay.

Although Conker’s Bad Fur Day sold well under expectations for a Nintendo/Rare venture, I have to send a consolation Pat on the Back to Nintendo for taking the chance and releasing the game. I fully expected them to pull out at the last minute, and was actually surprised to see the game in stores. Hopefully the lukewarm reception won’t deter Rare from plowing ahead with the sequel.

Stop pushing back the release dates for the games I want, dagnabbit!!! DDR floor mats, Outtrigger, Crazy Taxi 2, 18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker, BeatMania IIDX 4^th Style all got the push and it makes me mad! I just don’t know who to Kick in the Sack for it, dang it…

Another well-deserved Kick in the Sack goes to 3DO. If you haven’t heard, the little company that couldn’t has sued Lucasarts over the use of "Starfighter" in the recently released Star Wars Starfighter game for PS2. They claim that Lucasarts infringed on 3DO’s own Star Fighter property, and go on to say that the Lucasarts game might cause confusion among consumers who can’t differentiate between the two franchises. I know I’m confused – what the heck is Star Fighter, anyway? I can’t say that I’ve heard of it, so 3DO can’t be spending too much cash promoting it. Lucasarts states that the term "Starfighter" has been part of the Star Wars lexicon for over two decades, and that 3DO has no grounds for a lawsuit. I have to say, I agree. It seems obvious to me that 3DO is looking to grab some money from Lucasarts, and they’re grasping at straws to do it. Shame on you, 3DO.

Another Pat on the Back goes out to Konami, for the recent announcement that their DDR Disney’s Rave might be making its way to the U.S. later this year (October, specifically, which probably means December, no wait, November, umm, we meant February, er… now it’s September…).

And a Pat on the Back to Nintendo, for selling over a million GameBoy Advance units since the system launched in Japan last month! Hmm… I guess that means that the GBA sold better at launch than the PS2, doesn’t it? No, that’s funny! And that’s all the pats and kicks for this edition; come back next time when I’ll be testing out my new spring-powered "auto-kicker 2000" steel toed boots in the Pat on the Back or Kick in the Sack All E3 Edition! See you then!