Now it begins for real.
The bracket has been updated for the winners of the play-in round. If you were wondering about the final tally, they were:
Twisted Metal defeated Oddworld 14-5
Tekken defeated Xeno 12-4
Total War defeated Megami Tensei 7-5
Silent Hill defeated NCAA Basketball 9-6
So now that that's done, and the bracket is updated, the tournament can officially begin. List your votes in the comment section below. The words in parentheses indicate the site of the match-up.
HYRULE REGIONAL:
(16) Twisted Metal vs. (1) Super Mario (Kanto)
Twisted Metal is in this bracket by way of their one-sided victory over the mudokons of Oddworld. I must admit, I was surprised at how easily Twisted Metal dispatched of their play-in opponent on N. Sanity Island. But TM's run ends here. Perhaps somebody will have a chance to knock off the Looney Tunes of video games, but I don't foresee that happening here. Mario will cakewalk into Hyrule.
(9) NCAA Football vs. (8) God of War (Kanto)
The 8 vs. 9 match-ups almost always provide the best match-ups from the first round. It doesn't get much better than an awesome being like Kratos go up against a bunch of college football players with aspirations of one day playing in Madden NFL. With the weather-ridden Kanto region, the players of NCAA Football, led by QB #5, will see similar difficulties that NCAA Basketball saw against Silent Hill in the play-in round. Fortunately, Football players are more prepared for weather issues. Their biggest issue will be how to deal with Kratos's devastating power. Their helmets and pads will do little to protect them from his double-chained blades.
(12) Far Cry vs. (5) Half-Life (SimCity)
Gordon Freeman takes on the team of Jack Carver, The Jackal, and Jason Brody. The Sims in SimCity get to witness a pretty nice match-up here. In a tournament that's loaded with great 5-12 match-ups from top to bottom, I think Half-Life, one of the most beloved PC non-MMORPG franchises ever, has the best chance of all the 5s to move on.
(13) Wing Commander vs. (4) Gears of War (SimCity)
Probably the best 4-13 match-up in a field of pretty meh 4-13 match-ups. I always thought Wing Commander was a pretty fun game, but I don't see them getting past the Gears. Marcus, Dom, and the rest of Delta Squad should have no problem containing the pilots of the Terran Confederation.
(11) Splinter Cell vs. (6) Madden NFL (Kanto)
Here we have the best Football players in the world against one the greatest masters of espionage known to gamers. In my opinion, the best days of Madden are far behind us, so I give Sam Fisher and the guys from Third/Fourth Echelon a decent chance. Fisher will have to be at his best, going up against the likes of Calvin Johnson and Peyton Manning.
(14) Pong vs. (3) Mega Man (Kanto)
Pong has an outstanding legacy, but it doesn't have much else going for it. Mega Man has about 50 different weapons at his disposal (and more, when you include the spin-offs.) Probable Run-away for the blue bomber here.
(10) NHL vs. (7) Metroid (SimCity)
Continuing with the theme of sports franchises, here we have the NHL franchise going up against a very under-seeded powerhouse from Nintendo. Once again, the players' protective gear will do little to defend themselves from Samus Aran's vast array of weapons. I see Samus blasting her way through to the Round of 32.
(15) Guitar Hero vs. (2) BioShock (SimCity)
Nothing really much to say here. The multitude of artists from Guitar Hero have their work cut out for them against the guys from Rapture. BioShock should be able to win rather easily.
ANGEL ISLAND REGIONAL:
(16) Tekken vs. (1) Legend of Zelda (Sera)
Tekken took Xeno by the throat early on, and wouldn't let go. They were completely dominant. But as bad as Tekken beat Xeno, Nintendo's beloved Legend of Zelda will destroy them twice as bad. Zelda will likely breeze right through all the way to Angel Island.
(9) Contra vs. (8) Metal Gear (Sera)
Once again, 8-9 match-ups tend not to disappoint. Here we have a very interesting match-up between a shoot-em up and a stealth action. And the site for this particular match-up couldn't be any better. Metal Gear got, in my opinion, a pretty bad break in terms of seeding. I see Solid Snake using a smart and strategical game plan to take down Contra and move on to a match-up with Zelda.
(12) Castlevania vs. (5) Uncharted (Azeroth)
One of Sony's finest goes up against one of the classics. Nathan Drake vs. Simon Belmont is a hell of a match-up. For both sides, this match begins and ends with them. I don't envision any of the Sony fanboys letting Mr. Drake down in this one. But in a world where 12s routinely upset 5s, anything can happen.
(13) Tetris vs. (4) The Elder Scrolls (Azeroth)
The Elder Scrolls have one of the more dangerous starting 5 in the entire field. Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, and the best of all, Skyrim, combine to make up video game's version of the Fab Five. Tetris is much like Pong. It has a great legacy going for it and... that's it. To the Fab Five of video gaming, the blocks of Tetris don't present much of a challenge.
(11) Duke Nukem vs. (6) Assassin's Creed (Sera)
The original bad-ass as some have proclaimed him, will face off against a powerful 6 seed in the modern day pride of Ubisoft. Ezio and the rest of the Assassins make a formidable squad against a character and franchise that was dead in the water until a resurrection in 2011 brought him back. In a tournament with a LOADED #6 line, The Assassins will take out Duke Nukem with little difficulty.
(14) Tomb Raider vs. (3) Halo (Sera)
Could we have a more bad-ass match-up of Male vs. Female than freaking Lara Croft vs. Master Chief? No, we probably couldn't, at least not in video gaming universe. Tomb Raider is currently in the midst of a comeback, while Halo has been a staple for Microsoft and Shooter games since the first game's release in 2001. In a match-up of total bad-ass, Master Chief takes a close one.
(10) Pac-Man vs. (7) Borderlands (Azeroth)
The bread and butter of Namco, Pac-Man too has a great legacy, especially it's arcade games. It's popularity earned it a 10 seed and a date with a still-somewhat new franchise in Borderlands. Pac-Man will have a tough time trying to consume all of the bandits, mercenaries, and wildlife of Borderlands.
(15) Ninja Gaiden vs. (2) Resident Evil (Azeroth)
And today's hectic day of action concludes with a horror thriller vs. a beat-em-up. Honestly, I think Ninja Gaiden could potentially be a darkhorse, if only got a better seed and perhaps a better match-up. But Ryu Hayabusa and the Ninja Gaiden crew will have difficulty containing the 1-2 punch of Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield. Throw in match-up nightmares in Jake Muller and Ada Wong and you have a likely Resident Evil victory here to round out the first day of R64 action.
Once more, sorry if my analyses sucked. You have 24 hours to vote.