Happy Birthday, Code Redd Net

Memories...

Code Redd Net is 11-years-old today, and we get to celebrate by taking in Skyfall this afternoon! It's been quite a journey, from the days of Geocities (if you know what that was) to the Blogger of today, and we hope you continue to enjoy our prose. As ever, we're committed to engaging with new media as well as lovingly embracing the neglected, aging artifacts of gaming and film. Look for new reviews of Skyfall (the exciting conclusion of our Nobody Reviews It Better series) and 007 Legends, as well as a Jackie Chan Retrospective coming out later this month. Of course, we'd love to hear from you, so drop us a line in the comments below or send a nice, loving birthday e-card to codereddnet@hotmail.com. Now, if you're feeling as nostalgic as we are, we entreat you to check out the following commemorative articles which Chicken Man and I penned last year in celebration of 10 years of dedicated adolescent fandom:

An Ode to Code Redd Net
A Concise History of Code Redd Net

And if you didn't already know, take a look at the Code Redd Net Awards. They're subjective, of course, but wonderfully so.

An Honorary Code Redd Net Award: Best Jason Statham Movie

For excellence in headbutts and handsomeness, we give you the Code Redd Net Award for Best Jason Statham Movie. And the nominees are...

The One (2001)
The Transporter (2002)
Transporter 2 (2005)
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
The Italian Job (2003)

And the winner is...

The Transporter

Thrasher Presents: Thrasher's Top Ten Video Games, Part Four

Looks like the old Code Redd Net synchronicity is kicking in today. Earlier, Chicken Man picked Everything or Nothing as his next game of choice before I could. I would cry copycat, but the truth is we spent almost as much time playing that game together than we did individually. Hopefully this won't be the only time our picks match up.

A recap of my choices so far:

Freedom Fighters (PS2)
Crazy Taxi (PS2)
NHLPA '93 (SNES)


What a dumb question.

Everything or Nothing (PS2)

Talk about accolades; EoN won our awards for both Best Bond Game and Best Co-Op Multiplayer, and was also nominated in the crowded, highly-competitive Best PS2 Game category. In many ways, EoN is like the Citizen Kane of Code Redd Net. It's the rubric by which we judge other Bond games. It's canonical. As I stated in my review, no game with the license to kill can touch this one in terms of, for lack of a better term, 007ness. This game feels like James Bond, especially, as Chicken Man so precisely observed, in the hand-to-hand combat, which perfectly captured the brutality and creativity of the films. And Chicken Man will attest to this, some of our fondest memories are of playing co-op together for hours. I may have to go back and play a round or two of this tonight. I assuaged my own Curse of Completionism with this game last year, and consequently I haven't had a reason to pick it back up since. This seems like the perfect opportunity to do so.

A Hip Hop Primer, Thanks to Thrasher Presents: Skate and Destroy (1999)

I've been playing a whole lot of Skate 2 for my 360 lately, and as much as I love that game (and I certainly do), the abundance of Thrasher Magazine references reminds me of that other skateboarding game I cherish, Thrasher Presents: Skate and Destroy for the PS1. There are many, many reasons to love Thrasher, but perhaps most of all, I love the soundtrack. Which reminds me, coincidentally enough, that though Thrasher was quite deservedly nominated for Best PS1 Game at the inaugural Code Redd Net Awards (losing, as fate would have it, to another seminal skateboarder), it clearly should have been rewarded for its fantastic beats alone. So, without further ado, allow me to present Thrasher with an honorary CRN Award for Best Game Soundtrack. Congratulations to all parties involved. Here's your prize:

If you're interested, this gentleman has kindly put together a list of all the funky beats and old school classics in the game. You would do well to search them out.

Remodeled for 2012?

Get a glimpse into what Code Redd Net might look like if it were launched today rather than 2001:


Evidently, in this fantasy scenario our skills in the graphic arts have remained roughly the same.

Code Redd Net Awards: Best Movie

Finally, we conclude this afternoon with our selection for Best Movie. It's a sentimental pick, we admit. And the nominees are...

The Dark Knight (2008)
Rush Hour 2 (2001)
Fight Club (1999)
Transporter 2 (2005)
Casino Royale (2006)

And the winner is...

Rush Hour 2

Code Redd Net Awards: Best PS2 Game

PS2 is certainly our favorite console, so it is only fitting that our Best PS2 Game award closes out the gaming prizes for today. And the nominees are...

Rise to Honor (2004)
Freedom Fighters (2003)
TimeSplitters 2 (2002)
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (2005)
Everything or Nothing (2004)

And the winner is...

TimeSplitters 2

Code Redd Net Awards: ChickenMan's Choice (Game)

In the category of ChickenMan's Choice (Game), the winner is...

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

Code Redd Net Awards: Thrasher's Choice (Game)

As before, our final two staff picks were chosen by their respective writer without a list of nominees.

In the category of Thrasher's Choice (Game), the winner is...

Freedom Fighters

Code Redd Net Awards: Best Jet Li Movie

Up next we have our award for Best Jet Li Movie. And the nominees are...

The One (2001)
Kiss of the Dragon (2001)
Unleashed (2005)
Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)
Hero (2002)

And the winner is...

The One

Code Redd Net Awards: Best Jackie Chan Movie

Our next award is for Best Jackie Chan Movie. And the nominees are...

Rush Hour 2 (2001)
Jackie Chan's Who Am I? (1998)
Jackie Chan's First Strike (1996)
Mr. Nice Guy (1997)
Shanghai Noon (2000)

And the winner is...

Jackie Chan's Who Am I?

Code Redd Net Awards: Best Sonic Game

Up next is our award for Best Sonic Game. And the nominees are...

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994)
Sonic Adventure (1999)
Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)

And the winner is...

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Code Redd Net Awards: Best Multiplayer

As opposed to the previous award, the Best Multiplayer award is tailored for games which foreground competition between players rather than cooperation. And the nominees are...

TimeSplitters 2 (2002)
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (2005)
Nightfire (2002)
Thrasher Presents: Skate and Destroy (1999)
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002)

And the winner is...

TimeSplitters 2

Code Redd Net Awards: Best Co-Op Multiplayer

The award for Best Co-Op Multiplayer is designed for those games which support teamwork between players in completing missions/levels together, whether through the main story or through a specific set of missions/levels set aside for co-op play. And the nominees are...

TimeSplitters 2 (2002)
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (2005)
Everything or Nothing (2004)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)
Rainbow Six: Lockdown (2005)

And the winner is...

Everything or Nothing

Code Redd Net Awards: Best Bond Movie

Our second Bond award is for Best Bond Movie. And the nominees are...

The World is Not Enough (1999)
Casino Royale (2006)
Goldfinger (1964)
From Russia With Love (1963)
GoldenEye (1995)

And the winner is...

GoldenEye

Code Redd Net Awards: Best Bond Game

In the category of James Bond, we have two awards to give out today. Up first, the award for Best Bond Game. And the nominees are...

Nightfire (2002)
Everything or Nothing (2004)
From Russia With Love (2005)
GoldenEye 007 (1997)
The World is Not Enough (2000)

And the winner is...

Everything or Nothing

Code Redd Net Awards: Best Action Game

Up next we have the award for Best Action Game. And the nominees are...

Spy Hunter (2001)
Winback: Covert Operations (2001)
Second Sight (2004)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)
Crazy Taxi (2001)

And the winner is...

Spy Hunter

Code Redd Net Awards: Best Sports Game

Our next award is for Best Sports Game. And the nominees are...

NBA Live 2004 (2003) NBA Street Vol. 2 (2003) Tiny Toons Adventures: ACME All-Stars (1994) NBA Jam T.E. (1995) NFL Blitz 2000 (1999)

And the winner is...

Tiny Toons Adventures: ACME All-Stars

Code Redd Net Awards: Finest Fight

Our next award is for Finest Fight. Nominees consist of our favorite fight scenes from the action cinema of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Jason Statham, and others. It is important to note that only the indicated fight scene is up for the award, and not the film itself. And the nominees are...

Ladder Fight from Jackie Chan's First Strike (1996):



Rooftop Fight (featuring Crazy Legs) from Jackie Chan's Who Am I? (1998):



Twins Fight from Kiss of the Dragon (2001):



James Bond/Red Grant throwdown from From Russia With Love (1963):



Garage Fight from Transporter 2 (2005):



And the winner is...

Rooftop Fight (featuring Crazy Legs) from Jackie Chan's Who Am I?

Code Redd Net Awards: Best N64 Game

Naturally, our next award is for Best N64 Game. And the nominees are...

GoldenEye 007 (1997)
WCW/NWO Revenge (1998)
Super Mario 64 (1996)
The World is Not Enough (2000)
Winback: Covert Operations (1999)

And the winner is...

The World is Not Enough