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Editorials   Dr. Mario Invitational
- By Dan Doll

A lot of things went down at E3, but perhaps the most important of all was the NPuzzles Electronics Entertainment Expo Dr. Mario 2002 Invitational Tournament.

It all started with the man in charge. NGenres' esteemed Tariq Bashir wouldn't close his esteemed mouth about "Oh I'm great at Dr. Mario," and "Oooh, I love Dr. Mario," or "I'm going to kick your butt at Dr. Mario!"

And all of that was just to the flight attendant serving some orange juice on his flight to L.A.

Needless to say, when we all assembled for E3, it wasn't long before the gauntlet was thrown.

Many cowered in the face of such a challenge, but two men accepted. Defending the honor of the NPuzzles name, both Kevlar Gorilla and I, Dan Doll, agreed and the NPuzzles Electronics Entertainment Expo Dr. Mario 2002 Invitational Tournament was born.

The name of the game? Dr. Mario.

The rules were simple, Tariq would go up against Kevlar Gorilla in the semi-final round, the winner of which would meet me (entering the finals with a bye) to determine the undisputed Dr. Mario champion.

The tournament began as Kevlar and Tariq did battle in a best-of-five series. Kevlar tried his best, but was handicapped partially by the fact that he wasn't in L.A. at the time.



It wasn't long before Tariq Bashir came out on top with a clean score of 3-0 and advanced to the finals.

And this is why we're here.

We all knew it would come down to this, Tariq Bashir and NPuzzles' own Dan Doll set to do battle for the ultimate prize.

The doctor will see you now!



Our battle began with the all important first round. It was truly a neck-and-neck race down to the wire when one man snuck the victory by just one virus.

Leading the final round with a score of 1-0...

Tariq.

But fear not, puzzle fans, as the next two rounds proved to be a different story. With the two of us in a heated race to empty our bottles of every last virus, it was I who came out on top.

An impressive turn around for sure that no doubt sent fear into the heart of that big-mouthed Bashir.


The score? Dan Doll, 2-1.

We knew it would be an exciting battle, but reaching the fourth round brought us to an electric pitch.

Perhaps your NPuzzles Editor in Chief got too overwhelmed by the tournament's magnitude, because my jar quickly became too much even for me and I went over the top.

This unexpected mishap tied up the series 2 apiece, and we went into the fifth and final round.

It was truly a back and forth matchup. Tariq pulled out to an early lead, dropping viruses with reckless abandon, but his poor planning allowed me the chance to catch up and even take the lead!

Surely it was anyone's game until, at 17 minutes and 10 seconds, it was over.

(Click and drag below to reveal...)
The winner, by a measly four viruses...




Tariq Bashir


That's right. He was the winner this day, and your NPuzzles Electronics Entertainment Expo 2002 Invitational Tournament champion.

But mark my words, puzzle fans, he hasn't seen the last of us!

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Agree with what I'm saying? Disagree? Let us know your thoughts on this issue in our mail bag. The views of Dan Doll are not necessarily the views of NGenres.com or its affiliates.