Revolution 2—EXTREME Anticipation
by Bruce Stark
brucestark4life@yahoo.com

Raw Deal is so much more than a game.

I’m writing this tonight from the penthouse of one of the ritziest hotels in Las Vegas with the most amazing view with my even more amazing girlfriend dolling herself up in the next room to sit behind me tonight at a high stakes no limit poker table. In the almost two weeks I’ve been out here I’ve met and partied with a few celebrities, sports figures, and even a politician whose constituents wouldn’t be happy if they knew the comment he made to my girl. I’ve been front row at the best shows, ate at the best restaurants, and drank vintage spirits bottled before many of your parents were even born. Yet when we came up here this afternoon to take a break from the hullabaloo, there was one thing on my mind—Revolution 2: Extreme.

Raw Deal is so much more than a game.

Before I left I got an email from someone asking me how much I got paid for playtesting Raw Deal for all these years. I’m sure most know it from my writings on BarronVangorToth.com as well as more recently on the Squared Circle fan site, but I have a financial stake in quite a few businesses in and around my community. Not to mention that in the last few years I’ve made significant amounts of money playing poker. I’m also writing a book that, when finished, will have me on a few talk shows (check local listings) according to my agent. As it turns out, the boxes I earned working on every set I’ve told Barron to let CI keep as all the work I put into the product has nothing to do with me lining my pockets.

Raw Deal is so much more than a game.

It’s not just me, either, lest you think I’m volunteering due to being Barron’s friend for almost thirty years. Look at the other guys who are part of Barron and Mike’s inner circle of main playtesters: Matthew Hatcher and Kevin Fish are big mucky-mucks at a major bank; David Marks is some type of professional; Jason Griffey has I don’t know how many degrees; and Ryan Alarie and Creed are smart enough where, if they lived in Connecticut, they’d make a pretty penny working for me even by comparison to Connecticut where everything is inflated. You get the point, right? These are guys who put in five, ten, maybe even twenty hours in a week into something where they get a few boxes every few months. Did Barron and Mike somehow find the stupidest smart people alive or is there another explanation?

Raw Deal is so much more than a game.

We’re all here for a reason. We’re all here because we know a single truth, even if it’s only in your subconscious. Do you wonder why those few remaining naysayers about Revolution are still complaining about it? It’s because they know. And when you have something like this game that’s pretty much as close to perfect as any game has ever or will ever get, you naturally are inclined to think that any change is more likely to make it worse than better. So they worry instead of realizing that even though the line is still inching towards 100%, it hasn’t reached there yet. Barron and Mike have created something nobody else could’ve dreamed possible: the ultimate game based on a subject as simple as professional wrestling. No, it won’t even be a “perfect” game in the way Chess is a perfect game; however, it will be grander in scope … if it isn’t already, and I’d argue that it is.

Raw Deal is so much more than a game.

Friends have been made, internet communities hatched, and lifelong relationships forged due to the imaginations of our two visionary hosts and the company savvy enough to let them take the ball and run with it these past seven years. Those of us privileged enough to be behind the curtain for all these years still have that same thrill seeing the new creations from Barron and Mike that you all have when you open that first pack. I’ve known about some of the cards in Revolution 2 for a very long time and yet I’m here in Vegas with a picturesque view and a gorgeous lady leaning over my shoulder and I’m salivating at the thought of those first packs I crack after WrestleMania 23 when I’m back home.

Raw Deal is so much more than a game.