How to Unban Yourself From a Website (Change IP Address)

[Admin's Note]: Meet Gameshowkid222 (Billy B.), Frayed Wire’s newest writer! Look forward to his wisdom on computer hacks/tips!

This is how you unban yourself from a website. (n00bs)

Before you do all this go to — Start <> Run <> Cmd <> And type ipconfig /release
1.) Open up your notepad. (If you don’t know how then you’re an idiot)

2.) Copy and paste this:

@echo off
title Billy B’s IP Configuration Batch File - 2005
setlocal
set OK=N

:again
set /p choice=Please enter 1[Home], 2[School] or END ??
if /i [%choice%]==[END] endlocal&goto end
if [%choice%]==[] goto again
if [%choice%]==[1] goto 1
if [%choice%]==[2] goto 2
set /p xxx=wrong entry, press any key to exit.
endlocal
goto end

:1
echo NIC setting for Home being configured…..
@netsh exec home.txt
set /p see=IP changed successfully to Home Settings [9]see new setting [Enter]exit…
if [%see%]==[9] goto show
echo Ending IP Configuration
goto end

:2
echo NIC setting for School being configured…..
@netsh exec school.txt
set /p see=IP changed successfully to School Settings [9]see new setting [Enter]exit…
if [%see%]==[9] goto show
echo Ending IP Configuration
goto end

:show
@netsh int ip show config

:end
@echo on
cls

And save it as a .bat

Now open it and type 1 for home and 2 for school.

Internet Game Spotlight: Bowman 2

Bowman 2 is a simple game where you and an opponent take turns carefully lining up shots towards the other player with your bow and arrow. It is more an intellectual battle than anything since all your shots at the beginning are guesses and then towards the end you figure out exactly how you need to aim in order to win. The distance between the two players is always randomly generated as well, so one angle/power combination won’t work every time. Bowman 2 features a variety of modes, including Vs. Computer, Vs. Human (two people share the same mouse), Practice, and Bird Hunting. A few settings can be tweaked as well, removing the index, adding wind, walls, and changing the amount of hits someone can take before they die. It’s a fun game for the internet, and one of the best for when you have a buddy with you.

Line up your shot…

Two hits and you’re done…

Rating: (Teen) - Content Warnings: Blood, Mild Violence

Play this game here!

WiiWare Premieres!

Today WiiWare games were released on the Wii’s Shop Channel for the first time. The opening lineup is strong, and it seems that Nintendo wants to release new titles on a regular basis. The launch games are:

LostWinds

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As a King

Defend Your Castle

Pop

TV Show King

V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack

IGN.com is reviewing all of them quickly, most earning a score around 6 or 7, but so far with LostWinds in the lead with an 8.2 out of 10. Now I kind of wish I saved those 500 points I had on Sunday for Defend Your Castle (the only 500 point game of the bunch), but Super Mario Bros. 3 probably is a much better game…

By the way, Final Fantasy up there has downloadable content features… nice. Nintendo’s finally starting to understand.

And as a final note, the Nintendo Channel was also given an update with new videos (mostly of the WiiWare titles) and DS demos. While it’s a bit disappointing to see Ninja Gaiden gone from the lineup, new demos like Apollo Justice and Iron Man have caught my eye. If the Nintendo Channel keeps getting awesome updates like this every week, I’ll be one happy gamer.

Nintendo Channel Impressions

The newly released Nintendo Channel for the Wii is in my opinion, one of the only Wii channels truly worth your time. It shows great potential, so I hope it will continue to exceed my expectations in the future.

The whole thing could be described as one giant shameless advertisement, since it consists of product information, videos, and demos. However, I found the whole thing to be rather interesting, so I’d use nicer words in my description.

When you first start it up, a “Digest” video is shown, highlighting recent game releases and videos that can be viewed on the channel. Clicking on the screen will instantly convert the it into fullscreen mode, but as a result the quality will be hurt a small bit. This is understandable, since every video is streaming from the internet, and the compression really doesn’t distract too much. The only thing that does distract you during videos on the Nintendo Channel is the frequent need for buffering, pausing your video for about 5-10 seconds before it starts playing again. Strangely though, I found that by pressing the B button on the Wiimote (this brings up a bar where you can select which part of the video you want to watch) during such instances, you’ll usually be able to stop the buffering and resume the video.

Nine pages of videos are shown on the main page of the channel, but you can easily find more by pressing the “Find Titles For You” button at the top. While you can’t view the entire catalog of Wii and DS games, there’s still hundreds of listed titles, each complete with basic information, a link to its official website, and sometimes a video or two. Included in this catalog are all the Wii Virtual Console games, which excited me because finding videos of those games is now much easier. Too bad some of these videos suck (Phantasy Star II, I’m looking at you). Sometimes it looks like whoever is playing in the video has never tried the game before, and as a result we have to sit through 40 seconds of the noob struggle with the controls. And after watching the above-mentioned Phantasy Star II, you’d never know it’s an RPG since all you see is the player shopping at a store. Exactly what was the viewer supposed to get out of that? Still, most of the videos do give you a fair idea of what the game’s like, and it sure beats blindly downloading the game and realizing how it plays after you’ve already paid for it.

Another interesting feature of the Nintendo Channel is the “Everyone’s Recommendations” section. You can fill out a short survey for Nintendo for any game you’ve played for more than an hour on your Wii. The questions are things like “Which gender was the person who most enjoyed this game in your household?” and “How old were they?”. In the search function of the Nintendo Channel you can search for games based on how people described them in that poll, but so far whenever I’ve tried to search for games that way, I haven’t been able to pull up any results. With time and more poll submissions I think that’ll be fixed, though.

The main attraction for many people (and reason enough to download the channel) is the DS Download Station. You can send demos of DS games to your DS through the Wii. If the demo selection keeps getting updated, this will definitely become one of my favorite parts of the channel. So far I’ve tried the demos for both Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword and Jam Sessions, which both played well and downloaded rather quickly. Now all we need are those Wii demos (and is downloadable content for retail games too much to ask?)…. but until then, I’m glad to see that Nintendo has finally started to embark on the right path in terms of bringing videos and demos to the user through the Wii.

Nintendo Channel Launched!

A bright blue glow from my Wii greeted me this afternoon - and so did the new Nintendo Channel, featuring game footage, information, DS demos, and more. Expect Frayed Wire’s impressions in a post soon.

Justmattpwn3r’s Top 13 Games

I was reading BurningBaboon’s top games and he brought up some very good games. Since he can beat me at most games, I must have more games in my list for my sense of accomplishment. I have some small guidelines for my list: It can’t have been on BurnB’s list and I have to have played the game. Let’s start the countdown!

13: Rock Band

This game didn’t make the list because of the not having the awesome Create a Rocker mode. I played the half-assed ps2 version. It was just the songs, but with the awesome group dynamic, it won over Guitar Hero 3. If you’ve got a PS2 and mound of cash laying around, it’ll liven up any party with amazing songs and perfect levels of difficulty.

12: Halo 3

Don’t PMS all over my face fanboys, I don’t own a 360 and therefore have had limited play time with this game. I’ve done a couple of campaign missions, including the end which I don’t get, and lots of online multiplayer. However, you know a game’s good when you can have fun pissing off the other people with teabags and nonstop laughter during games.

11: Tetris DS

The name says it all - it’s Tetris, my favorite puzzle game hands down. Tetris DS is like a throwback to the classic NES games that started Nintendo’s orgy of awesomeness. It had appearances from Donkey Kong, Mario, Samus, Link and others that became Nintendo mainstays. It has online play which is a plus and some creative takes on a game that defines classic.

10: Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

This game is amazing. It’s an amazing turn based strategy RPG with an OK story, but I’m willing to look past that for the addicting gameplay. It’s always satisfying when your characters completely pwn the other army’s faces off. I liked this better that the original Fire Emblem on the GBA because this one allowed you to take your time between story missions and power up your team for more pwnage!

9: Wario Ware: Smooth Moves

If you want a game that’ll keep your attention for years to come, this game isn’t for you. If you want a game that’ll use the Wiimote in inventive ways, run to the store and buy it. You’ll be doing something new every minute. With all the forms, (ways you hold the remote) it can seem intimidating, but it’s handled very well. Also a good party game, since only one remote is needed for multiplayer.

8: Super Mario Sunshine

This game, I think more than the Wii, shows Nintendo’s ability to take risks. They broke away from the traditional platforming Mario game. It wasn’t that great of a risk, but enough to show that their balls dropped. Something else worth mentioning, the graphics. This was one of the earliest Gamecube games released and it still looks better than half of the cheap 3rd party Wii games out now.

7: Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

This game made it in because I didn’t like KH1 so much and BurnB took the second one. It’s a semi spin-off that helps fill some holes left if you just played the PS2 titles. It has a deep story for a handheld and an interesting real-time, card-based battle system. It would’ve placed higher on my list if Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix ever came, but whatever. (KH2:FM was going to have an extended KH2 and Chain of Memories on the PS2.)

6: Metroid Prime 3: Coruption

This game has what I look for in a good game. A deep story, good action, just hard enough puzzles, and fresh gameplay. I haven’t played a lot of it, but what I have played is amazing. This game also rides the line between deep enough for hardcore gamers and accessible enough for n00bs. If you think this game’s all kiddy because it’s Nintendo, I will come to your house and rape your brains out. [Ed's Note: Sheesh!]

5: Mario Pary games before 8

Why not 8? It’s boring! The other ones had features that made it feel fresh. Every couple months I have an itch to play minigames and collect stars. These are the games I play. I have the original and number four, but I’ve rented the others and my non-gaming sister and I can have a blast unlocking all the minigames. When ever I hear nostalga, these games are the ones I think of.

4: Assorted Virtual Console Games

While typing this list, there were multiple VC games that I thought deserved a spot, but right as I was about to type them, I thought of a better game. Not the case here, the ones I mean are Super C, Mario 3, Mario World, River City Ransom, and lots more. Being only in 8th grade, I was born at the end of the 16-bit age and completely bypassed the 8-bit era, but the VC allows me to experience these amazing eras in gaming.

3: Super Smash Brothers Melee

I don’t mean to belittle Brawl, but I must follow the rules. Brawl improved on this game in many ways, but this game still has its place in history of the game that saved the Gamecube from being sexually abused by the ps2. It blew my mind how much better it was than the original with better stages, more modes, a butt load of characters, and trophies. If this game was never released, Brawl never would’ve seen the light of day.

2: Super Mario Galaxy

I what you’re thinking: “How predictable.” If you’ve played it I don’t need to say anything. If you haven’t played it, you should commit suicide. Everyone must play this possibly genre-saving game. People say that platformers have all been going downhill since Super Mario 64, but with more games like this, we could be seeing the rebirth of gaming’s oldest and most treasured genre.

1: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

I’m a guy that buys games more often than food. I play them for 5-10 hours and I’m done with them. Not the case with TP. I played for about 2 or 3 weeks on the main quest, and another 2 or 3 finding all there is to find. I played the GC version, but from what I hear, the Wii version makes good use of the remote without overusing it. That’s a big task, but Nintendo made the system so they should know what they’re doing.

*Games are in semi-order. I did this all at the computer without writing the order out so don’t hold me to these positions.*

BurningBaboon’s Top Five Games (ever)

I thought it would be a good idea to list, in my opinion, my top five games. Only games that really have meant something to me make this list, and I hope at some point and time they make an impact on your life as well. All the games are amazing and should definitely be picked up during your life time, or you like guys.

#5 Tales of Symphonia

Where can I begin with this game? It is amazing, My first big RPG and I fell in love with it. Tales of Symphonia is a title in the “Tales of” series and is a classic. First off, this has to be on e of my favorite plots in a video game ever. You’ll feel for the characters, get involved, and some of the story reflects on you decisions through the game. The battle system works great, except in the multiplayer option the camera only focuses on P1. And there aren’t random battles which means a lot to me. The main story took me about 60 hours and there are so many side quests available. And with a sequel coming to Wii play this one right away.

#4 Elite Beat Agents

AGENTS ARE GO!!!(Get game to understand) Elite Beat Agents is a rhythm action game that uses the touch screen of the DS. The story is that people are going through tough times, and the Elite Beat Agents, a secret organization, comes and dances to motivate you to do your best. The characters you help vary from a teenager who is about to go steady with her boyfriend when she is forced to babysit to a white blood cell that needs to fight off a virus. The plot is humorous and you’ll find yourself snickering now and then throughout. There are four difficulties, multiplayer, ranks, and 18 songs, enough to keep you loving this game for a loooong time.

#3 Kingdom Hearts 2

Kingdom Hearts is a surprising mix between Disney characters and Final Fantasy characters, and guess what? It works! Kingdom Hearts is an action RPG and a damn fine one at that. It takes everything from the first one and improves on what was already great. The first Kingdom Hearts had a better plot in my opinion, but the second’s plot is engaging and has some twists and cliff hangers. You travel to worlds of Disney and open the keyhole to stop the heartless from having their way with each of the worlds. The battle system is fast paced and keeps you alert at all times. This game holds my record for longest consecutive play time at thirteen hours, so that’s gotta tell you something.

#2 The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

It’s a Zelda game so of course it’ll be good. Wind Waker was no exception to the trend and it was the first Zelda game I played. Wind Waker brought Link into a new light with his spiffy new Cel-Shaded look some people thought this was an odd move, but it added so much character to the game. The plot is good just like in about any Zelda game, but it stands out because of some twists here and there. It play’s like any other Zelda game, go to temples, get something that helps save the world, and get new weapons here and there. Wind Waker hold’s a special place in my sexy heart because of its style, plot, and addictive game play. You’ll want to play through this game several times, it’s that fun.

#1 Super Smash Bros. Brawl

I don’t know what I can say that you already haven’t heard about Brawl. It’s amazing. Melee was in this spot before Brawl because even after having Melee for six years, I still loved playing it. Brawl surpasses Melee in many ways so it now has the number one spot. 35 characters to choose from(some characters that were really deserving didn’t make it however…), 40-some stages plus whatever your sick mind can think of in Stage Builder, Subspace Emissary, 700 stickers, 544 trophies, 258 songs to unlock, and so many other things I can’t even think of. If you don’t have this game and you own a Wii the chances you are a terrorist are rather high. GET IT!

Well I hope you some day own all the games listed above and you enjoy them well. There are some games I really really like that didn’t make the list unfortunately so I’ll list some of them below. I strongly advise you buy these games as well. (Bold titles indicate a must buy!)

God of war I & II(PS2), Okami(PS2), Guitar Hero series(multi console), Shadow of the Colossus(PS2), Radiata Stories(PS2), Metroid Prime 1,2,and 3(GCN/ Wii),Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door(GCN), Kingdom Hearts 1 and Chain of Memories(PS2, GBA), New Super Mario Bros(DS), Animal Crossing Wild World(DS), The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass(DS), A WarioWare game(GBA,DS,GCN,Wii), Tetris DS(DS), Mario Kart DS or Wii(DS/Wii), Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess(Wii), Super Paper Mario(Wii), Fire Emblem Sacred Stones(GBA), Super Mario Galaxy(Wii), Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition(Wii), Sonic Battle(GBA), Metroid Fusion(GBA), and Mario and Luigi Super Star Saga or Partners in Time(GBA/DS).

By buying any of these game you are doing yourself a favor.

“Contra 4″ DS Review

What do you do when thousands of aliens attack Earth, destroy entire cities, and slaughter most of mankind? Why, you send in a single person armed with whatever gun he can find, of course!

So is the premise of Contra 4 - you control a shirtless tough guy who must take singlehandedly take down an entire army of vicious aliens. With devastating weapons like homing missiles, fireballs, and that classic Spread Gun, you run and gun your way through both screens of the DS. The four starting characters you can play as are all palette-swaps of one another, complete with the same voices. Still, with giant muscles, clichéd tough-guy one liners (”Lock and load!”; “Let’s party!”), names like “Scorpion” or “Mad Dog”, endless ammo, and an inability to jump without somersaulting 3 or 4 times in the process, these guys’ baddassery knows no limit. That is, until they die after one hit. Huh… maybe this won’t be so easy…

And it isn’t. Contra 4 is easily one of the hardest games I’ve ever played. On the “Normal” setting, you’re expected to complete all 9 grueling levels with 6 lives and limited continues (continuing starts you back at a checkpoint - usually the beginning of the level). Needless to say, it will destroy you. My advice is to try it first on Easy mode. Your weapons are always fully upgraded, enemies are fewer, and they’re easier to kill. Even so, it’ll probably be more than enough challenge for many people. And when you get to the end of level 7 and enter the alien base, the game ends and tells you to try playing it on a real difficulty if you want to see the ending. This is hardcore, that’s for sure.

Despite its crushing difficulty, Contra 4 is still quite a bit of fun. With challenge comes reward, so conquering a level does make you feel like you’ve accomplished something. The game is also packed with extras, such as artwork, promotional comics for Contra 3 and 4, extra characters (Probotectors!?), and the full NES versions of both Contra and Super C (with the Konami codes intact), among other things. The game may never apologize for completely pwning you throughout, but it does make sure you feel good about the victories you make.

The gameplay itself is exactly how Contra was meant to be - fast-paced, action-packed, and exciting. The two DS screens allow you to see double the amount of beautiful 2D graphics at once, but they also give you twice as many enemies to worry about. Fortunately for you, a new Grappling Hook tool lets you latch on to certain things above you, so you’ll be able to explore both screens equally. The bosses also take full advantage of the dual screens. Expertly designed, these bosses always manage to impress. Many are remakes of those seen in the original Contra, but most are new to this game. The boss encounters are some of the most memorable moments of the game - a massive robotic spider that wedges itself between two buildings, a fast moving bug that can only be killed while you ride a hijacked hovercraft, and a long-armed alien that you fight while hanging on to a giant speeding missile… the list goes on and on.

Every once in a while you’ll enter a 3D level in which you make your way through an enemy base one room at a time. The 3D graphics aren’t quite at the lofty quality of the 2D ones (though I wouldn’t say they’re bad), and for some reason these levels are very easy - it’s not too hard to complete the whole thing in one life. While it may be a nice breather from the otherwise insane 2D levels, the easiness doesn’t really fit right with the rest of the game.

An unlockable “Challenge Mode” gives you 40 different scenarios to complete, ranging from limited ammo, getting through a section in a certain amount of time, or killing all the man-faced mutts, to defeating bosses with one life, as well as others. These have no selectable difficulty level, and as a result become some of the hardest parts of the game. However, since many of the unlockables are gained through this mode, you’ll want to spend quite a bit of time attempting the challenges. It also helps that these are nice and short - perfect for when you don’t have a lot of time, and don’t want to begin the normal single player game.

Co-Op is present in Contra 4, but both players need their own copy of the game in order to play it. Luckily for me, Matt (Justmattpwn3r) also has the game, and we were able to try it out. Despite a few cheap deaths resulting from a partner advancing the screen too quickly, it did make the game a lot more easier and fun. Maybe I will see the ending on “Normal” after all…

Even with a sky-high difficulty, Contra 4 is one of the best DS games of 2007. I’d definitely recommend it to any gamer who isn’t afraid of a little challenge.

Pros: Crazy and exciting gameplay, excellent level/boss designs, great graphics, rewarding, full of unlockables/extras, nice music, addicting Challenge Mode

Cons: Can be ridiculously hard - sometimes to the point of being unfair, 3D levels with easy difficulties that don’t fit in with the rest of the game, Co-Op requires both players to have their own copy of the game

Final Score: 8.5 out of 10

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“The Forbidden Kingdom” Movie Review

This is our first ever video/audio review. Hopefully this review format will allow us to easily review more things for the site. Feel free to give me feedback on what to do/what not to do in future reviews like this.