Nerd Synthesis

A Great Way to Motivate

2011-05-02T09:06:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered how to get people to exercise, recycle, or do your bidding? If you have, then there is a new scientific discovery that will help you on your way to change the world for good...or bad Mwahahahahahaha!!!! It's called the Fun Theory and it basically states, "fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour." Yes through fun you can help save the world or brainwash a nation, the choice is yours. Here is an example of a positive application of the fun theory, the Bottle Bank Arcade Machine. It was designed to get people to recycle their glass bottles by making it fun

To check out other Fun theory ideas, like the piano stair case, check out TheFunTheory.com

Handling the Playstation Network Attack

2011-04-27T09:24:00.049-05:00

So yes, the Playstation Network (PSN) has been hacked, so what? This sort of stuff happens all the time. No really it does, remember that Epsilon fiasco that happened three weeks ago? Whether the bad guys are getting smarter or the good guys are getting lazier, you as a consumer must always be prepared to handle the unfortunate possibility of having your personal information stolen. Especially if you’re putting your information out on the inter-webz. So is Sony at fault? Absolutely, but I can’t just put all the blame on them. As far as I can tell Sony made two glaring mistakes.

Sony is in the middle of a law suit with an organization named Anonymous. Anonymous basically didn't like Sony's handling of the PSN or the lawsuit against one of their own, George Hotz. To make a point, Anonymous found some wholes in the PSN's security protocols and decided to exploite them. Now I’m not claiming that Anonymous is responsible for the recent hacking, I’m just saying Anonymous pointed out some huge problems with the network and Sony didn’t act with immediate urgency.
The fact that it took Sony 6 days to say there has been, “a compromise of personal information ” is a little ridiculous. Sony, did you know it only takes an hour or so to ruin someone’s credit? What took you so long to tell us that we needed to change our passwords and throw our credit cards into a shredder?

Like I said, this stuff happens so lets stop pointing fingers and do something a little more productive. Now that we know the PSN has been hacked, what can we do to protect ourselves? Thanks to Joystiq’s article on the situation, I feel we have some options. First off lets determine what was taken.

Stolen Information

Name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PSN/Qriocity password and login, and PSN online ID

Outcome: Nothing too bad, worst case scenario, be prepared to get your email and regular mail spammed.

Information That May Have Been Stolen

Purchase history, billing address (city, state, zip), your PSN/Qriocity password security answers, and of course your credit cards numbers

Outcome: This is a lot more serious mainly because a credit card number has been stolen. Worst case scenario: You have just furnished someone with multiple new cars, a trip around the world, and a state-of-the-art robot butler.

Solution

Change your passwords and cancel those credit cards immediately. While I believe 90% of PSN users probably won't run into any troubles, I always find it better to err on the side of caution when it comes to hackers who can financially ruin you. Don’t let the PSN hackers bum you out, PSN will be back and better than ever and we will all go back to playing MvC3 and Call of Duty in no time.

Teach Me: How Video Games Can Teach a Generation

2011-04-26T09:35:00.000-05:00

I'm a strong believer that games can be a force for good rather than the mindless entertainment some games come off as e.g. Grand Theft Auto or Super Mario Bros. Yes, I will agree there is a degree of strategy to these games and you can definitely learn something. Like, a hooker will fly very far when you hit them at full speed when you're being chased by cops. While I don't ever see myself applying this information, at least I can say I learned something. But video games have the potential for so much more. In this Extra Credits video, they show how tangental learning (the process by which people learn if the topic is exposed to them in a context that they already enjoy) can be applied to video games. After watching the video do you think games can be a good way to teach or are they strictly for entertainment purposes?

Street Fighter x Tekken...Yes Please!

2011-04-25T22:53:00.003-05:00

This is me phoning it in super late. Oooooo, look at the pretty trailer for Street Fighter x Tekken. Word on the street says Street Fighter x Tekken will feature 2-on-2 battles between four players and Tekken's bound system (aka ground bounces). There's actual game play footage, but it was boring in comparison to this rocking trailer with cinematics.

Based off of this trailer, Capcom has confirmed Ken, Ryu, Guile, Able, and Chuni-Li on the Capcom side and Kazuya, Nina, King, Marduk, and Bob on the Tekken side. According to an interview with Seth Killian on Eurogamer, it sounds like Street Fighter x Tekken will have a different feel than the ordinary Capcom versus game. Some things worth mentioning is the health bar situation and the tag in system. As far as the health bar goes, if one of the two characters dies, then it's game over regardless of the other character's health. For the tag in system Seth said, "You can just tag normally – it's pretty fast. But it's not completely safe...So you want to find situations where you can tag. One of the ways you can do that is by tagging in during a combo." If you want to read the entire interview with Seth Killian (and it's really good if you're looking for more information about Street Fighter x Tekken) you can check it out here. So yeah, I'm excited, but I'm very sad that Capcom has found another way to suck up all my free time...and my not so free time.

My Thoughts on the Green Lantern Movie Trailer

2011-04-22T10:01:00.001-05:00

This looks awful! The end.

What? I need to write more? Fine, it looks really awful, is that better?

No?

Alright, well this youtube video is from 2011’s Wondercon and it shows off some of the more flasher aspects of the Green Lantern movie. I‘m a huge fan of Green Lantern, because who wouldn’t like to see the bad guys get stopped by a giant green pair of floating scissors? While I think the rapper Common would make a better John Stewart than Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, I really have no room to complain about which Green Lantern is in the 1st movie because Hal Jordan is obviously Earth’s first Green Lantern. What I can complain about is the over use of CGI. The alien worlds do not look appealing and I fear that the movie might fall into the same trap G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra fell into with its big crazy effects, but little to no plot. Will I go see the movie? Of course, but I have no expectations that this will be a good movie. Have a look for yourself and decided if I’m right or wrong.

SSF4 Gen's Laugh out Loud Infinate

2011-04-21T09:29:00.002-05:00

I am not a fan of infinite combos in any fighting game. Props to anyone who takes the time to learn and execute infinites flawlessly, but to the average player, like myself, they are just freaking frustrating. When I get stuck in a long combo, all I can do is watch my character slowly die and there is nothing I can do about it. So when I heard that Gen had an infinite combo in SSF4, I had to know what this new devastating combo looked like just in case I started running into a lot of Gen players in the online arena. I was expecting a basic tutorial on how to pull off the combo, but instead, I got this rather hilarious video. Technically it’s not an infinite, but as you will see it can be very annoying.

C2E2 2011: After Thoughts

2011-04-20T17:17:00.001-05:00

Oh yeah, C2E2 is back...well it has passed, but I’ve got to write about it anyways so here we go. C2E2 returned to Chicago’s McCormick Place back in March (Yes, I’m late with this review, but I had a good reason...My dog ate it. What! You don’t believe me? Well, I don’t have time to explain the digestive nature of a dog that may or may not be real). C2E2 was even better the second time around and that’s saying a lot considering how great it was last year. This being the second year of the cons existence, it obvious that the people in charge were taking notes from last year. So what made C2E2 even better? I’ll sum it up in one word...variety. Yes, there was a little something for everyone, from the hardcore comic book nerd to the casual bystander who might say, “comic what?” anyone who walked through C2E2's doors would have been pleasantly surprised.

For The Rock Stars

Ever have a dream of being a rock star? I know I have, and thanks to C2E2 I can officially check that dream off the list. The second you walked into the convention you were greeted by an empty stage full of instruments and one goal, to rock out. For all three days the Rock Band stage was open to anyone brave enough to climb up on the stage and drum, strum, or sing their heart out for a cheering crowd.

For The Gamers

Got a 20 sided die? C2E2 had one, actually, it had a lot. Opposite of the main convention area there was a another area for playing games. There were a lot of role playing games similar to that of Dungeons and Dragons as well as card games like Magic. I tried to play a brand new, never been seen before table top game, but after a couple of minutes I felt very out of place. Thankfully, on the other side of the room, I was rescued by a Playstation 3 and copy of Marvel vs Capcom 3.

For The Nerds

The main area was a sight to behold. Marvel and DC seemed to own a large chunk of the main area. Marvel was doing it’s best to show off their upcoming movie Thor, while DC was giving away comics like they were candy. Both sides also had a lot of their artists and writers autographing their current work. Of course what comic convention wouldn’t be complete without nerdy memorabilia to buy. I mean, who doesn’t look good in a Green Lantern T-shirt or in Thor’s Helmet?

For the Fearful

Unfortunately, I seem to developing some kind of agoraphobia because I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people attending this years C2E2. During the more crowded moments of C2E2, I made a hasty retreat to several of the comic book panels. There was a large selection of panels to choose from. There was the ever so popular “Cup O’ Joe” where anyone could ask Marvel’s Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada anything about Marvel. There was a panel about how to get into the comic book biz, and there was a panel about the future of comic books. Sadly you couldn’t attend all the panels because they conflict with other panels so you had to choose wisely.

For Everyone Else

Costumes! Yes costumes, and like last year they were fantastic. Men, women, and children all walking around dressed as their favorite heroes and villains, they really made the con come alive. Oh and the art was cool too, with giant murals being painted on the floor and artists creating drawings for people on the fly. Also, some of the panels had nothing to do with comic books, but rather, popular TV shows like Chuck. While I’m sure that costumes, art, and TV shows could easily apply to the other categories of C2E2 goers, I believe to the non-comic book fan, these things would standout the most and leave them with a positive impression of comic book conventions.

For Those Who Like Endings

So there you have it, C2E2 in a nutshell. While this article is finished, C2E2 is far from being done. I can already tell that the third year of C2E2 is going to phenomenal just by how much it has progressed from last year. I can’t wait for next year to come around and hopefully next time my “dog” wont eat anymore of my blog posts.

A New ThunderCats Cartoon

2011-01-26T14:38:00.000-06:00

Thunder! Thunder! ThunderCats! HO!!!!!!! Yes, that’s right, one of the most beloved TV shows of the 80’s is getting a remake and it’s about time. While the remake is probably not news to most fans (I have to admit, I feel like I’ve been stuck in a hyperbolic time chamber when it come to pop culture) the reboot is still something to get excited about, especially since there is now concrete evidence that the show is real and not just some horrible prank.

MTV’s Splash Page found this promotional image of the new ThunderCats hanging out at the London Toy Fair.

After fighting through my initial excitement, I discovered that Cartoon Network will be airing the new show sometime in 2011. The new ThunderCats will use the anime art style we all know, and maybe love, since anime can be a hit or miss kind of thing. Studio 4C, who produced The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, is in charge of the show, and if their previous work is any indication of the show’s potential success, then the new series is going to be a grand slam. Other than the art style, it’s impossible to know how anime-esque the show will actually end up being. The creators are bringing a fresh take on the 80’s classic, by giving the show a darker tone and making it relevant for today's viewers. While I’m very excited for the show, I already have concerns. Why aren’t WilyKit and WilyKat in the promo picture? I realize they weren’t the main players of the show, but I really liked them. I was also concerned that Snarf wouldn't be in the show, but the Splash Page confirmed that Snarf made the cut...sorta. He's not the same mothering nursemaid he was in the 80's, this time around he's more of a pet dog who only says snarf. To some, this might be a relief, but for me, I'm a little disappointed to see Snarf's personality taken away from him. Oh well, at least he's in the show.

It’s looking like 2011 is the year of the 80’s comeback, with shows like G.I. Joe Renegades and Transformers Prime hitting television air waves by way of The Hub, a new network that appeared out of nowhere three months ago. By the way, if you haven’t seen either of these shows you should definitely check them out, especially G.I Joe Renegades. Like I said before, the new ThunderCats are coming sometime in 2011, probably around summer time. Lets cross our fingers and hope this show rocks.

Mediated Mortal Kombat

2010-04-05T15:43:00.014-05:00

Can't We All Just Get Along

Oh yes, isn’t it something when even video games like Mortal Kombat can teach us how to get along with one another. In this video from College Humor, we see what the ultra violent video game Mortal Kombat could have been, if they had replaced the blood and gore with wholesome family values. Move over Big Bird, Mr. Rogers, and Dora the Explorer, there’s a new group of lovable characters dying to teach children that violence just isn’t the way.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World Trailer

2010-03-26T10:12:00.003-05:00

Scott Pilgrim, one of my favorite comic book series created by Bryan Lee O’Malley, is almost done getting its movie makeover...yay! In the film, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, a boy named Scott (duh) played by Michael Cera falls in love with a girl named Romona, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, in what can only be called the greatest love story to ever hit the silver screen...well, not quite.

See, it looks like Romona has some issues, seven of them to be exact, and before Scott can officially call Romona his girlfriend, he must defeat all seven of her evil exes. Borrowing heavily from comic book and video game lore like Super Mario Bros, X-Men, and River City Ransom, Scott battles a rogues gallery of outlandish enemies to prove his undying love for Romona. Some of Scott’s villains include, a rock star who can summon demonic hipsters, a vegan who has gained telekinetic powers by mastering the art of veganism, and a deranged half ninja femme fatale. As you will see from the trailer, the movie is over the top and comes complete with the Pow! and Smack! signs from TV's 60's Batman. If you're looking for a ridiculously fun movie that doesn't take itself too seriously or you've been itching to get your nerd on by finding video game and comic book references in a movie, then you might want to check out Scott Pilgrim vs The World which hits US theaters August 13, 2010. Also don't forget, the last volume of Scott Pilgrim comes out July 20, 2010, I don't know about you, but I wonder what kind of shenanigans will end this memorable series.

Nintendo’s 3DS: 3-D Gaming in Your Pocket

2010-03-23T09:02:00.004-05:00

All right people, what’s up with 3-D being such a big deal. Almost every animated movie now a days needs to be 3-D, but you know what, they don’t, especially if the 3-D affects look gimmicky. Anyways, Nintendo has jumped on the 3-D bandwagon again, lets not forget the Virtual Boy fiasco, and is upgrading the DSi to resemble what I can only imagine as a 3-D pop-up book for Nintendo’s little handheld. Don’t believe me, then check out this official announcement from Nintendo...did you read it? Well if you could, kudos to you because I can’t read japanese, but I can clearly read the 3DS in bold, so there’s something special going on.

According to Crunch Gear, the Nintendo 3DS will include two cameras and will be backward compatible with DS/DSi games. The best part about the 3DS is you won’t need to wear those awkward red and blue glasses to enjoy the game’s 3-D graphics, so I’m anxious to see how Nintendo is going to pull that off. Right now, there are no specs, pics, or prices for the 3DS, but more information is bound to come at E3. Here’s to hoping the 3DS is as cool as I think it will be, and also, here’s to hoping that the 3-D graphics won’t melt my eyes out or send me into an epileptic seizure like a a certain Pokémon I know.

Super Street Fighter IV Trailers

2010-03-22T14:59:00.011-05:00

Wahoo! I have New Super Street Fighter IV trailers hot off the press....everyone get pumped! What, these trailers are over a month old...Yeah I know, I’m a little (very) late with these, but whatever, I just found them, and I’m super excited, and I’m going to talk about them anyways. The game features 10 new characters that are a mix of Super Street fighter II, the Alpha Series, and Final Fight characters with a couple of newbies thrown into the mix. Our ten new characters for Super Street Fighter IV are:

New

T. Hawk

Dee Jay

Adon

Cody

Guy

Dudley

Ibuki

Makoto

Super New

Hakan

Juri

I can't wait to play as Ibuki, the teenage girl ninja who just wants a normal life. While I’ve never played as Ibuki before, I do have an affinity to ninjas, I mean, who wouldn’t want to throw shuriken, run up walls, and well, be awesome! One newcomer that’s getting a lot of buzz is the brand new character Hakan, a Turkish Oil wrestler. As you will see in the second video, the giant and very red skinned man, can bathe himself in oil and perform some very well....ummm, awkward and perhaps suggestive attacks that will send characters flying across the screen. I’m counting the days until I get to revel in all of Super Street Fighter IV’s glory.

Come fight me online if you dare, me and my PS3 will be waiting for you.

A trailer to get you pumped

And now a trailer that might disturb you

Psychic Pinball

2010-03-08T18:59:00.014-06:00

Yes! Read the title again....psychic pinball, welcome to the 21st century everyone, lets play some video games. The research group, Berlin Brain-Computer Interface (BBCI), demonstrated the results of their hard work by plugging a person's brain waves directly into a pinball machine with a portable EEG hat. In order to control the pinball flippers, the player only needs to think of moving their right hand to move the right flipper and think of moving their left hand to move the left flipper. In the video below, the player looks like he has complete control of the flippers with little or no lag time between his thoughts, and the pinball machine's action.

This has some serious real world applications as it will advance prosthetic technology by leaps and bounds. In all seriousness, we’re about to reach the age of cyborgs, one day robotic arms will be more useful then our real ones. Think about it, it’s a hot summer day and you need to cool off, “Oh look, my right hand transforms into a fan and my left foot makes the best cherry slushies ever!” Wow, isn’t the future great.

While I don’t think BBCI's research will be invading our home consoles anytime soon...you can breathe easy Wii Motion Plus, Project Natal, and Sony’s Motion Controller, it’s cool to think about where this technology can take us. It looks like my prediction of a real life Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robot fighting game isn’t too far off, so maybe I do have some clairvoyance in me. To see the possible future of video games yourself, check out BBCI's demonstration of a guy going Jean Grey all over a pinball machine.

(Source: The Escapists)

Shhhh! Quiet in the Library, We're Playing Video Games

2010-03-02T06:16:00.030-06:00

It’s a Monday night, the computer lab in the library is full of high schoolers doing their homework....wait, they’re not typing book reports or doing research, so what are they doing? Would you believe playing video games.....yeah I would too, but how about learning how to make video games of their own. Last week the Palatine Public Library hosted a workshop called Video Game Design Lab and as the name suggests you got to design your own video game.

Prior to the the Video Game Design Lab I got a chance sit down with Megan Ower, the Palatine Public Library’s Teen Librarian in charge of the lab. Megan noticed that some of the teens had a difficult time using computers. In a day and age where computers are the wave of the now, Megan was worried they would be left behind in the wake of advancing technology. She needed to find a way to solve the computer illiteracy problem, but how she wondered? As she sat thinking of an answer, a ray of light shot down from the heavens surrounding her in light and the phrase USE THE POWER OF VIDEO GAMES miraculously came to her mind. OK so that didn’t happen, but how cool would it be if it had? Megan is aware that game design and programing wont solve all the computer illiteracy, but at least it’s a step in the right direction, especially for the teens who like video games.

Anyways, back to the making video games part. The workshop was instructed by Jon Cukjati, a game designer from MIT who recently finished making the Terminator Salvation arcade game. Jon showed the workshop how to use a simple program called Scratch, a free open source program that teaches the basics of game design to aspiring developers. The best way to describe Scratch is to think of it as HTML lite. Instead of typing long strings of code onto a blank page, all you need to do is drag brightly colored pre-arranged code from the left side of the screen into middle screen, type in a few numbers and blamo! you just made a game. Depending on how complex you make the code, the game could be as simple as moving a stick figure across the screen or as complicated as dodging asteroids in space. I’m not going to lie, the graphics weren’t the best, but hey, its designed for beginners and its free, so I can’t complain.

While I’m not in high school anymore, Megan let me sit-in on the lab, and let me just say, I had a blast making a game called Snuggle’s the Fire Breathing Dragon. The objective of the game was to fly Snuggles around a rudimentary maze looking for a bowl of Cheetos and blasting them with his fiery breath of doom...how cool is that?!? OK, so it’s no Legend of Zelda, but I’d like to see you do better. Using Scratch was very intuitive and the only difficulty I had was when I made my code too long and too confusing. This resulted in Snuggles flying through walls, but through some trial and error and help from Jon I was able to keep Snuggles from ghosting through walls like Kitty Pryde.

From what I can tell, the Video Game Design Lab was a huge success and Megan is planning on doing another one in the spring. So if you’re in the Palatine area you should definitely come by and enroll in the second workshop. If you’re impatient like me or don’t live in Palatine you can always download the program and make a game at home. If you need help using Scratch, the Palatine Public Library also has Scratch Programming for Teens available for checkout or you can buy it online at Amazon.com. I’m glad to see a library using video games as a tool for teaching and I hope this continues not only at the Palatine Public Library, but at other libraries as well.

For more information on the teen section and other events being held at the Palatine Public Library check out their blog or follow them on twitter @palateenbrary

Come Home Sonic...Come Home

2010-02-17T14:19:00.011-06:00

As you may or may not know, Sonic the blue blur hedgehog is finally returning to his 2D roots after years of 3D fiascos in Sonic the Hedgehog 4. You might be asking why Sega decided to go back to 2D. Perhaps it was the wild success of Street Fighter 4 and Mega Man 9. Both games stuck to their 2D roots which might have caused Sega to shout, “EUREKA!!!! people do like playing 2D games.” Thanks Sega for not listening to your grumbling fans and waiting to see what other companies do before you make a game. Geez, stop being such a money grubbing corporation. Following in the footsteps of other companies, it looks like Sega wants to prove they can make stylish 3D graphics too and have rendered the zippy hedgehog in 3D. Thankfully they’ve kept everything else fairly straightforward and have put sonic back on his linear track.

Now for the real reason for this post. The writers at Joystiq.com were able to find a leaked gameplay video of Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Joystiq would have you believe that this “leaked” video is just a marketing ploy to get people interested in the game and you know what, they’re probably right. But I choose to romanticize the situation with intrigue. I imagine a video game journalist named Mr. Smith breaking into Sega and repelling through a ceiling like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. There in the room Mr. Smith finds an Xbox with the Sonic game waiting to be played. The rest of this daydream involves a russian femme fatale, a couple of honor bound ninjas, and a massive explosion, but I don’t want to bore you with the details.

Check out the Sonic the Hedgehog 4 gameplay video that Mr. Smith so heroically brought us.

The History of Fighting

2010-02-11T08:09:00.010-06:00

Do you hear that? Yep, those are the sounds of ribs cracking, teeth shattering, and fireballs crackling. This is the complete history of the fighting game genre. OK so I can't squeeze the entire history into 1000 words so really, it's a snapshot of the the major events. If you’re wondering about my credentials let me just say I’ve been playing fighters since I was six. Some of my earliest memories are of me sliding my allowance into arcade machines and kicking the butt of every bad guy that showed their ugly mug on the screen. It was like a dream come true where I became a superhero vigilante like Batman, but without going through those pesky years of training and brooding over dead parents. Now that you know a little about me, let me tell you about the gaming genre that round house kicked its way into my heart. It’s time to enter the ring....are you up for the challenge?

Round 1: The Origin

Right off the bat there is some debate about which game is the first fighting game. Chronologically it’s Sega’s Heavyweight Champ which hit the arcades in 1976. The player took control of two joystick like objects in the shape of boxing gloves and pummeled the computer Fight Night style. While this is technically the first appearance of a fighting game, the true soul of the fighting genre came in the form of an arcade game called Warrior. Created by Vectorbeam, Warrior depicted two wire polygon “knights” locking swords in epic battle. It was the first arcade game to incorporate a second player which brought a whole new dimension to the arcades. While Warrior wasn’t exactly a 2D side scrolling battler, it was the spark that made people think, “Hey, my friend can be such a jerk; if I can’t clobber them in real life why not give them a virtual black eye.”

The genre gradually evolved and in 1983 Karate Champ by Data East took its turn in the ring. Karate Champ was simple, walk over to your opponent and beat the crap out of them. In 1984 a new challenger entered the ring named Yie Ar Kung Fu and brought special abilities with it. This was the first game to include button combinations that allowed players to perform special attacks. Of course, our friends at Capcom saw the success of Karate Champ and Yie Ar Kung Fu and did what any good conglomerate would do...they stole elements from both games. In 1987 the result of their thievery was finally revealed as the glorious Street Fighter franchise.

Round 2: The Boom

It wasn’t until 1992 when Street Fighter II made its way to the arcades that fighting games became a big deal. At this point I want to mention the state of arcades. Until Street Fighter II, the arcades were slowly going extinct. Mainly because home consoles like Nintendo’s Entertainment System and the Sega’s Genesis were offering a lot of the same games, but at a better price. Yes, you could play fighters on the home consoles, but the graphics weren't as good and it didn’t match the thrill of beating your buddies with a crowd of people cheering you on. It was the competition that drew hoards of people back into the arcades and made the fighting genre a heavyweight champion.

When technology advanced so did the fighters. In 1994 Sega fought back with its new game Virtua Fighter, a game that let players move on a 3D plain. Instead of just being able to move forward and backward the player could move in any direction. This brought a new kind of gameplay and style which changed the face of the fighters. The technological upgrade also let the games feature flashier attacks and eye popping visuals which was demonstrated in detail by the very controversial Mortal Kombat. Between the fierce competition and the dazzling graphics fighting games had made a real impact on gaming culture. By the mid 90’s there were more then six hundred fighters floating around in the video game ether and it looked like nothing could take the belt away from the champ.

Round 3: Knockout

So what knocked-out the fighting game? The over zealous developers. For whatever reason the developers equated challenging to “holy cow this is ridiculous.” Instead of being able to walk into an arcade and tap out a few simple combos, the player now had to memorize long complicated stings of combos. The pay off was high if you had nimble fingers, but for the casual player it was an intimidating and almost impossible feat. For the hardcore fans this was a dream come true, but for everyone else it was a lesson in anger management. I mean seriously, who here enjoys watching the computer splatter them across the screen with incredible combos while the best you can manage is punch and strong punch? When fighters began catering specifically to the niche of hardcore players the genre suffered a near fatal blow.

Current Day

While fighters aren’t as popular as they used to be, they still hold a special place in many people’s hearts. Companies like Nintendo have realized that people just want to pick up a game and have fun. Games with simpler controls like Super Smash Bros. have done very well in bringing new blood back to the genre. Online play has also done its part in bringing fighters back to life. With games like Street Fighter 4 hitting the online arena, causal and hardcore fans can fight opponents at their own skill level without bruising their egos too much. Players who really want bragging rights can always enter competitions like the EVO Championship Series and pocket some serious cash if they're good enough.

The Future

In the Year 3000 fighting games will consist of people fighting holograms or controlling androids Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robot style. OK so maybe I’m not psychic or even Conan O'Brien so I can’t say for sure what the future holds. What I can say is that even if fighting games never reach the same level of popularity as they did in the 90’s that’s OK. As long as developers continue cranking out a variety of fighting games, I and a slew of other people will continue playing them.

You can find this article and more articles like it at RealTalkgaming your place for real gaming news.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T20:51:00.004-06:00

Wahoo it's the eve of Christmas eve and sadly I won't be able to post for a while. I will be in the barren internet land of Michigan so I won't have anything to say for awhile. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and of course an awesome Brand New Day...oh wait, I mean brand new year.

YouTube Find: Sonic vs. Pac Man

2009-12-19T08:20:00.007-06:00

Sonic vs. Pac Man....actually, it’s Sonic vs Pac Man’s ghosts.....well actually, it’s Sonic destroying Pac Man’s ghosts and showing Pac Man who’s the better video game character. The name of the game is speed so try and keep up with the blue blur as he collects all the dots. A lot of the funny videos I find are on Daneboe’s YouTube profile so check it out if you want to see some really funny mashups. Enjoy!

Final Fantasy XIII Sells 1 Million Units in One Day

2009-12-18T11:21:00.003-06:00

HOLY COW!!! Final Fantasy XIII sold over a million copies in Japan yesterday....that’s crazy. One million copies of FF XIII translates to about 60 million US dollars. With that kind of money I could seriously buy a small island, build the coolest castle/fort thingy on it, and maybe still have enough money to buy a robot butler to do my laundry. But wait, there’s more. Final Fantasy XIII is a PS3 exclusive in Japan, just imagine how much more money Square Enix will earn when it releases the game in the US and in Europe for both the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Even Scrooge McDuck would be jealous of the giant swimming pool of money Square Enix is poised to make. If you’re a fan of the Final Fantasy series I suggest you pre-order yourself a copy at your local GameStop right now or be prepared to face crushing disappointment when all your friends have the game and you don’t. Expect FF XIII to hit the US shelves some time in March 2010.

[source]

Conan O'Brien Spoofs Popular Video Game

2009-12-16T16:00:00.001-06:00

LOL this great!!! Conan O'Brien (a funny funny man) spoofs Assassin's Creed II with his co-host of sorts Andy Richter (also a funny man). In the clip from The Tonight Show, Andy believes he should have won an award at Spike TV's Video Game Awards show for his voice-over role as Ezio, the main character of Assassin's Creed II. This has huge implications for the gaming industry because it looks like main stream media is taking note of video game's impact on today's pop culture, even if the games are the butts of a jokes. Now sit back and let the waves of comedy wash over you.....ahhhhh that's the stuff.

Learning Literature Through Gaming: Dante's Inferno

2009-12-16T09:00:00.003-06:00

Awhile ago I wrote a post on the educational ramifications that video games can have on its players (click here to read the post). It seems that someone at Visceral Games read my post (not really, but I can pretend I’m super important in the gaming industry) and has added extra content for it’s PS3 Divine Edition of Dante’s Inferno a game based on Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno.

The PS3 version sports:

Developer commentaries
A Wayne Barlow digital art book
The game’s soundtrack
A digital copy of the Longfellow translation of Dante Alighieri’s Inferno

I think this is great. After hacking and slashing demons and zombies God of War style you can pick up the real Dante’s Inferno and read what actually happened. English teachers rejoice, you’ve gained another tool to leverage your students into doing their homework.

I’ve watched trailers and gameplay videos of Dante’s Inferno and I wasn’t horribly impressed by the game, but now that Visceral Games is throwing in all this extra swag, I would be foolish not to buy it. I just need to get around that whole not owning a PS3 thing, but I’m working on it. I really enjoyed reading Dante’s Inferno in college so I hope this game can do some justice to the literary masterpiece that inspired it. I don’t think I can handle anymore of my favorite classic literature turning into pop culture failure like the Beowulf movie. Expect the game and all of its goodies to hit store shelves February 9th 2010.

[source]

Can’t We All Just Get Along? A look at New Super Mario Wii

2009-12-15T09:00:00.006-06:00

“Why would you pick me up and throw me into a piranha plant!” Yep that’s my experience playing the New Super Mario Bros. Wii for the Wii. I had heard a lot of great things about the game so I was over joyed when I got a chance to play it with my friends. Then we started playing and all that glorious joy went away.

Lets start with what the game does well and that’s basically everything except for the multiplayer. The graphics look great with its old school Mario feel mixed with semi 3D worlds. The music also brings Mario’s world to life with remixes of it’s classic themes like Bowser’s castle, underwater world, and starman. What really surprised me is that Nintendo dropped the Wii motion nonsense to make game feel as retro as possible.

Now lets move to the bad news. As a single player experience New Super mario Bros. Wii is an enjoyable time that’s a Delorean ride back to the good old days of Super Mario Bros. 3, but as multiplayer extravaganza it’s a pain in the neck. As previously mentioned it’s not hard for players to accidently (or purposely) throw you at the deadly enemies who have no remorse for taking one of your lives.

With more than two players cluttering the screen it’s also very easy to trip over each other. If you run too fast you’ll collide with one of you teammates then stop dead in your tracks. This is bad because you were probably running away from something and now the both of you have been squished. If you go too slow, the screen will scroll away without you and you’ll have to give up a life to continue.

The most frustrating aspect of the game was trying to jump when others were around. The idea to allow someone else jump higher by jumping on top of another character’s head is a great idea on paper, but when you’re both jumping over lava pits there is no doubt one of you will be pushed towards a fiery doom while the other lands safely on the other side. The other con to jumping is when a player dies. When anyone dies the screen freezes for a spit second to rub in the fact that that someone has died. No big deal unless you were getting ready to jump, then you’re guaranteed to press the jump button too early and miss the ledge by inches causing another split second freeze and potentially another death.

As a single player game New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a challenging and fun experience, but as a four player game the challenge becomes a game of delicate precision or instant death. I’ve focused on a few of the negatives, but don’t let a few minor problems keep you from getting this game. This is a very solid game despite some of its hiccups. If you’re still worried about needless game deaths and fights over why you had to be sacrificed for the good of the team then maybe you shouldn’t tell you friends about your shinny new Christmas present. New Super Mario World Wii gets 4 It’s a me, Mario out of 5.

The PS3 Gets the Midas Touch

2009-12-14T18:25:00.004-06:00

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Hmmm I have way too much money what shall I ever do with it all?” Well I haven’t, but if you’ve got a swimming pool filled with money, a private helicopter, or even a small island, boy do I have something for you. Introducing the 24K gold PS3 with matching gold controllers. No lie, someone made this and it can be yours for the low low price of $4,999. Whew, thank goodness it wasn’t $5000 that might have broken the bank.

This piece of golden hardware is brought to us by Computer Choppers a site dedicated to turning expensive technology like iPhones, Mac notebooks, and Blackberry phones into even more expensive items for sale. So if your looking for something to match your gold TV, your gold watch, or that prize winning show dog that you dipped in gold to impress the judges then I highly recommend you buy this shinny PS3. For the rest of us who still think a $299 price tag is a bit steep, we can always dream about another price drop or maybe we can find a lost 24k dog waddling through a park.

[source]

Violent Video Games Vs. Australia

2009-12-12T10:00:00.005-06:00

If you haven't heard, Australia (the land that I love) is a little unfriendly towards gamers. Sad I know, but here are a few reasons why you don’t want to move to Australia if you love video games. Firstly, everything reaches its breath taking shores 6 months later then it does for everyone else. Secondly, the consoles and the games are almost double the price there then they are here in the US (tragic). Thirdly, (and what’s aggravating me) the wonderful land of Oz is banning boat loads of video games like Fallout 3 and Aliens Vs Predator because they are too violent.

Before I get to my rant let me drop some knowledge for those of you who don’t know about Australia’s video game rating system. Unlike the US and other countries, Australia doesn’t have a formal rating system expressly for video games. To compensate for this Australia uses its movie rating system to rate games. No big deal right....I thought so too. A lot of the more violent video games that get rated by the ESRB as M for Mature (that’s 18 and up) end up being rated as refused classification in Australia A.K.A. “Nah uh you ain’t getting into my country!”

The way I see it, an M rating for a video game is about the equivalent of an R rated movie. So you’re next question should be, “Do R rated movies get played in Australia?” Yes, yes they do. They get slapped with an R18+ rating and are ready for adults to view.

It’s odd that R rated movies can make it across the ocean, but the equivalent R rated game cannot. Australia’s Attorney General Michael Atkinson tries to explain, "You don’t need to be playing a game in which you impale, decapitate and dismember people." Atkinson is worried that the realism of video games will increase the crime in Australia. He continues to say, "98 percent, 99 percent of gamers will tell the difference between fantasy and reality, but the 1 percent to 2 percent could go on to be motivated by these games to commit horrible acts of violence."

At this point I still don’t have a major problem with the man banning M rated video games. Sure it’s annoying, but if Mr. Atkinson wants to keep the mean streets of Australia clean and wholesome who am I to try and stop him from trying to make Australia a better place. What bugs me is that he’s not banning movies, television, or other media that also depicts adult violence. Seriously, there are movies that have the audience cheering for the guy who just murdered 20 people (Boondock Saints, Crank, Reservoir Dogs, etc.) and I don’t see Atkinson getting bent out of shape over them. (On a funny side note: The Reservoir Dogs video game is banned while the movie is not.)

So Mr. Atkinson what do you say to the 1 or 2 percent of people who get lost in movies and decide to slaughter an orphanage? (Oh that’s terrible, lets hope that never happens) If you think adults can handle adult movies then why can’t adults handle adult video games? I guess what upsets me about this whole thing is the bias and hypocrisy that comes when evaluating video games. Is it really that hard for the Australian government to trust their citizens enough to make decisions for themselves? Thankfully there is some hope. Recently there have been a lot of petitions circulating around (like this one) asking for the rating system to change. If you want to help your fellow Aussie gamers then click the link. Hopefully Australia can get their act together before I smuggle myself into their beautiful country and take a life long vacation on one of their sunny beaches.

[source]

YouTube Find of the Week: Mortal Kombat vs Donkey Kong

2009-12-08T22:07:00.007-06:00

Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe is a great game because you get to see the MK bullies beat up on the DC goodie goodies, but what if the MK characters had something cute and far less threatening to pummel? I present to you Mortal Kombat vs Donkey Kong. It's a surprisingly accurate battle as well as a surprisingly hilarious spoof. Enjoy!

Getting Better by Being Worse: The Legend of Chun Li

2009-11-09T16:14:00.024-06:00

Well this weekend I finally got to see Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li and I have to say I was a little disappointed. I knew from the previews and the short stay in theaters that this movie was a flop, but I thought it was going to be one of those, “It’s so bad it’s good” movies. Unfortunately, the movie just stays at “It’s so bad.”

First off, the movie tries really hard to be the next action adventure, romance, drama movie of epic proportions, but instead it falls flat on its face without capturing the essence of any of the aforementioned genres. I feel that the jack of all trades master of none approach to winning over the audience was a big reason why this movie did so poorly. I wish I could say that was the only reason for this movie being so terrible, but that’s not the case. The movie suffers from uneven pacing, poor characterization, lame effects, bad uses of flash backs, and a forced lesbian dance scene that looked more like the chicken dance then a raunchy attempt to keep teenage boys captivated. The list goes on, but I don’t have time to pick apart every reason why this movie was an epic fail.

So if the movie was so bad, why didn’t it become good? To borrow some insight from 30 Rock, the Chun Li movie didn’t climb down into the crevasse. For those of you who don’t watch the show, Jack Donaghy, one of the main characters, tries to advise his star employee about getting out of a difficult situation. He says:

"Some times the way back up is down. Let me tell you a story. It’s 1994 and I went ice climbing and I fell into a crevasse. I hurt my leg and I couldn’t climb back up. So fighting every natural instinct, doing what seemed most awful to me I climbed down--into the darkness and that’s how I got out."

The moral of that story is sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do in order to achieve our goals. If we follow this metaphor, the Chun Li movie tried to climb out of the crevasse by trying to appeal to everyone. Instead, it should have climbed deeper into the crevasse and focused on the niche market of nerds who already like the Street Fighter series.

Here are 4 ways the movie could have climbed deeper into the crevasse.

Special moves-The movie only featured three of Street Fighter’s recognizable special moves. When I think of Chun Li I automatically think of her rapid kicking ability, yet for some reason her signature kick didn’t make the cut. If they really wanted to push this movie past the bad and into the good zone they should have had a lot of crazy over the top special attacks. Example: Have Bison, the movies antagonist, flying around the screen surrounded in a rainbow colored aura or have him leaping into the and stomping on people’s heads....hilarious, right?
Music-There was no Street Fighter music in the entire movie. Would it have been so hard to update a few of the 16-bit songs? At the very least Chun Li’s stage music should have been incorporated somehow. Even if the director was completely lazy he should have thrown the original game music somewhere in the movie.
Plot-Because the movie tried to be so many things to so many people the plot was very watered down. Considering the ridiculous storylines that come from the fabled fighter, I think the writers could have picked a more interesting plot or embellished the one they were already using. I don’t know Chun Li’s complete story off hand, but let me share Cammy’s story as an example of where the movie could have gone. Bison clones himself, but the clone (Cammy), unaware of her origin escapes his clutches and eventually seeks out Bison for the soul purpose of killing him. When she confronts him, she feels oddly attracted to him and then proceeds to pummel him to death. Crazy I know, but a story line like that could have made the movie a winning loser.
Fans-The biggest thing they could have done was cater to the fans. It was very off putting to see characters not look or act the way they are depicted in the video games. Bison, for instance, was portrayed as a less than menacing blond blue eyed CEO. If you’re going to make a movie about something that already has an established fan base, you should maybe consider not alienating them in hopes of getting money from the casual movie goer.

I know it doesn't look like one, but this post was suppose to be a review. Let me just wrap things up by saying this movie was bad, don’t waste your time with it. If you want to watch a Street Fighter movie go watch the 1994 version. At least it was entertaining even if it wasn't good. I’m giving Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li 1 spinning bird kick out of 5

(1 out 5, that’s a first for Nerd Synthesis history. Congratulations Legend of Chun Li you suck)

Throw Up the Horns for Shrooms

2009-11-04T16:54:00.010-06:00

Thanks to Twitter (yes, I have officially succumbed to Twitter....weep for me) I can now find really stupid, yet incredibly funny things on the internet. This little bit of internet gold comes from @NowGamer_Dan who didn’t tweet this specific video, but he did point me to the site called weebls-stuff.com. I must admit, weebis-stuff.com might just become my new go to site if I want to waste that precocious thing called time. Sorry Facebook, Newgrounds, and TheOnion.com you’re just going to have to vie harder for my attention. Anyways, Jack Black would be proud to see these fungi rocking out like Dethklok from Metalocalypse. If only Mario had heard this song before his little addiction to the magic mushroom, then maybe we wouldn’t be waiting with bated breath for his appearance on Dr. Drew’s Celebrity Rehab. Enjoy!

Twisted Mickey

2009-11-03T08:22:00.008-06:00

We were all worried that Disney was going to make Marvel into a cutesy sugar coated company where bad ass characters like the Hulk and Iron Man would skip through through fields of flowers; but none of us ever imagined that Marvel’s grittiness would rub off on Disney. It seems like Disney’s lovable mascot is getting a makeover for his his new game Epic Mickey set to be released sometime in 2010 for the Wii. Now when I say gritty I really mean a game that’s not blasting you with over the top cuteness just regular adorableness.

The plot of the game goes something like this: Mickey is kidnapped and brought to a demented world called Cartoon Wasteland where all of Disney’s cartoon rejects who couldn’t cut it as icons were banished to live their lives out in obscurity. Armed with a paint brush and paint thinner Mickey must battle his was through Cartoon Wasteland and unravel its mysteries. Like a lot of games today, Epic Mickey comes complete with a moral system. You can choose to be the hero and help the denizens of Cartoon Wasteland or (and this is were it gets kind of stupid) not help them at all and become a loner. That’s right you don’t even get the option of being bad, you just get the option of being a jerky good guy.

This is where I would normally rip into a game for believing that slightly tweaking an established character will appeal to a more hardcore audience. Instead, I will have to forgo my mockery until the game is released. The reason for this is because Spector, the creator of Deus Ex and Thief, is in charge of the game. Both Deus Ex and Thief are good games so I officially have mixed feelings. On the one hand the premise of a darker Mickey feels gimmicky, but on the other hand, I know that the developers who are in charge of this game are top notch. If Spector can pull off making Mickey “edgy” or at the very least shift people’s perception of the delightful spokesperson for that evil corporation...ehm I mean whimsical company, then I would be more than willing to give the game a try.

[source]

Villain of the Week: Ganondorf

2009-11-02T08:41:00.015-06:00

So, for Villains Month I’ve decided to change the Hero of the Month to the Villain of the Week and while I was writing the Villains Month post, Ganondorf instantly popped into my head. Ganondorf from The Legend of Zelda is the main villain in most of the franchise’s games. Though he has changed from game to game he always has one thing on his mind, conquering Hyrule and then...the world (Bum Bum BUUUM!). While wielding the Triforce of Power Ganondorf plunged the world into darkness in the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princes and inadvertently submerged the world under the ocean in Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker. Gandorf also does a good job at capturing the fair maiden, Princess Zelda, and holding her for ransom or using her for his dubious plots.

But under that gruff evil exterior is there goodness inside his heart? Maybe he’s just misunderstood and wants to change the world for the better. Maybe midway through his destruction and mayhem he realizes that he has become a monster and that’s why he allows Link, the hero, to gather the necessary supplies to defeat him. Naaaaah, even if there was an ounce of goodness in Gandorf’s heart, Dr. Horrible made a good point about people’s character in regards to gruff exteriors yet vulnerable and innocent interiors. He said, “Sometimes there's a third, even deeper level, and that one is the same as the top surface one. Like with pie.” It’s obvious to see that Ganondorf is a monster and not just figuratively. In the games where Ganondorf starts off human he usually transforms into a beast named Ganon whose grotesque appearance reflects the evil in his heart.

Lastly, what really makes Ganondof a good candidate for villain of the week is that he is a survivor much like Destiny Child’s aptly titled hit single, Survivor. He has been “killed” many times, but unlike his protagonist counterparts who must be reincarnated in almost every adventure, Ganondorf is usually the same person from the previous game. Even if it takes him a century to return, when Ganondorf promises, "I'll be back," he means it. If only politicians could sick to their word like Ganondorf; and yes, I did just take a potshot at politicians by saying they were worse than monsters. What’cha gunna do about it?

Villains Month

2009-11-01T19:12:00.019-06:00

It’s Villains Month!!! Why November? I don’t know, I just made it up. I don’t think November is any more evil than June, but I’m sure I could make up a dozen arbitrary reasons why November could be a month of villainy. Hmmm what’s in November...oh yeah Thanksgiving. Well there is that warm fuzzy story about the pilgrims becoming friends with the Native Americans, eating a wonderful feast, and learning about cooperation while building the foundation of a great nation. But, it could be interpreted as the Pilgrims allowing their greed to get the best of them by plundering the Native American’s land and slaughtering all the innocent who got in their way....you know, November representing the baddies might not be too far off. Anyways, it’s official now (because I have that kind of power) November is Villains Month and it will join November’s illustrious list of month long observances such as Aviation Month, National Epilepsy Month, and of course Peanut Butter Lover’s Month (mmmmm). In honor of my new observance I’ve

tweaked the site a bit to follow suit. Enjoy your Villains Month...Mwahahahahahahahaha!!!!

A New Challenger Enters the Ring: Psylocke

2009-10-17T23:30:00.005-05:00

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, while being a short game, is really freaking fun... or so I’ve been told. (I’m not bitter about not having a PS3 yet) Well our friends at Activison have made me more anxious then ever to get my hands on this compilation of Civil War in video game format. Psylocke my favorite body swapped psychic ninja is now available for for DLC on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. Check out this video of the psionic assassin doing what she does best.

Drooooool. While Psylocke does appear on the Wii and PS2 version of the game she certainly doesn’t look as good when compared to her NextGen facelift. Expect to see Psylocke and other downloadable goodies coming your way in coming weeks.

[source]

Learn Something New

2009-10-17T22:47:00.011-05:00

So you might have noticed I haven’t really posted anything of substance for about a week and....well...the reason for that is because (cue the dramatic music). I’ve been cheating on this blog with another blog (gasp). I know it’s horrible and I feel terrible, but I’ll make it up to you somehow my sweet blog. Dramatics aside I’ve been working on articles for a site called Lunchlearning.com. It’s basically a place where business people (who have real jobs and actually get an hour lunch break) can go on their lunches and learn something new. It’s a really cool idea if you think about it. Feel free to go there and poke around. While you’re there you can check out my articles, they’re not hard to find, they’re the only articles about video games.

So anyways, while I was writing an article for Lunchlearning.com I ran into a really funny video about the potential video games have for teaching. I would have written a post about it on Lunchlearning, but the video was too short, had no real business application, and well, didn’t look professional. It might not have been a good fit for my mistress site, but it’s an excellent addition to this one. If you’ve never heard the argument for games as teaching tools Daniel Floyd (the robust stick figure in a green tie) basically breaks it down for you. He explains the rift between games created expressly for fun and the games specifically created to teach. Floyd explains the pros and cons of both sides and offers suggestions on how to fuse both fun and education into one rewarding experience. While I doubt there will be a game that lets me beat people into submission while teaching me the fundamentals of trigonometry (what a weird game that would be) our tiny sketched friend has a point. Lets see if developers take the hint and use video games for something other than cheap thrills and one night stands.....[breaks down in tears] Oh I’m sooooo sorry my beautiful blog, I’ll never leave you again. Can you ever forgive me?

Let me give you the BOOT!!!!

2009-10-13T22:20:00.010-05:00

HAHAHAHAHA just another reason why people with video cameras who love video games and have way to much time on their hands should be my friend. I don't know what I would have done if that boot tried to stomp my way.

Superman/Batman Public Enemies Review

2009-10-06T08:28:00.012-05:00

I watched Superman/Batman Public Enemies this weekend and I was surprised to find that the movie was good. I mean, I wasn’t expecting the movie to be bad, I just didn’t expect it to be as good as it was.

Plot

A meteor made of kryptonite is on a crash course towards earth and President Lex Luthor (ehm bad guy) with his infinite wisdom decides to use his own patented missiles to destroy the space rock of doom instead of asking for help from one of the many superheroes who could have easily punched the meteor out of the sky. Superman and Batman, who think Lex’s plan will fail, decide on their own method of saving the planet and inadvertently bruise Luthor's ego. In retaliation to the egregious offense to his pride, Lex implicates Superman of murder and slaps a $1 billion bounty on the Man of Steel. Superman must then team up with Batman, the only person in the world smart enough to know that Superman isn’t a cold blooded killer, if he wants to survive the constant onslaught of foes looking for a little extra cash and friends wanting to bring him to “justice.”

What the Movie did Right

Fan Service-They definitely crammed a lot of characters into one movie, but it never felt like the abundance of characters were arbitrarily thrown into the movie just because it need bodies. A lot, but certainly not all, of the cameos got a chance to show off their talents as they battled our two heroes.

Battle Royal-A lot of animated movies try to focus on telling an interesting story with one or two big action scenes and that’s fine...sometimes, but this is a comic book movie and we (the fans) want action and this movie delivered it. I don’t think five minutes passed without someone getting thrown into a building or being pelted with exploding batarangs.
Good Writing- So what if the plot, “The world will be destroyed unless you save it,” has been done a million times before, it doesn’t mean the writing can’t be good. The dialogue wasn’t drawn out or sappy and none of the lines seemed forced or cliched so kudos to the voice actors. But what I really liked was that several characters brought jokes and friendly banter with them. I couldn't help, but laugh at random comments about Batman’s dreary personality and Power Girl’s accentuated costume.
This One’s for the Big Kids-Not to say that this film isn’t kid friendly, but the movie was definitely aiming to please teenagers and up instead of the 5-12 year old crowd that most cartoons these days are targeting. Basically, good job creators for targeting the larger demographic of your audience, I’m sure that will equal bigger sales.

Here’s What the Movie did Wrong (I’m just being nit picky)

Why so Stiff-The animation was stiff and it looked like all the characters couldn’t move properly because their rippling muscles got in the way.

Special Features-The special features were not interesting, well on disc one anyways. When the special feature says Green Lantern preview I expect to see a clip of the movie or some really good concept art, but all I got was the director telling me Green Lantern's origin and how perfect the voice actors were for their roles. Now there is a second disc with a slew of extras, but unfortunately Redbox doesn’t let you rent the bonus disc. Sad, I know, but I might add onto the review if I ever see the bonus features.

Final Thoughts

Overall the movie was a good, straight forward action packed flick that should make any DC fan happy. I’m giving Superman/Batman Public Enemies 4 batarangs to the face out of 5

Oh hey, in my preview of this movie which you can check out here, I mentioned that all the characters in the movie were ripped and that everyone must belong to a gym as some kind of world mandate. I’m here to go on the record and say that I was wrong. My new theory is that everyone had liposuction and the doctors didn’t know what to do with all the extra fat so they put it in her.

See that rather large androgynous looking woman with no neck making out with Lex Luthor...it looks like she's sucking out all the fat from lex's body. I bet you can't think of a better way to perform lipo, can you?

Poll Results

2009-10-02T00:17:00.006-05:00

The polls are in for “Who Wields the Power of Thunder Better, Storm or Thor?” And the winner is....THOR!!!!! It was a good try Storm, but a weather witch just can’t beat a Norse god whose title is God of Thunder. Lets all go to Valhalla and party down with the the victorious Thor.

This month question is, “Who is Faster, The Flash or Sonic the Hedgehog?” Is it the Flash who is faster than Superman or is it Sonic, who according to his Saturday morning cartoon theme is the fastest thing alive. The race to be the fastest is on and it’s up to you to decide a winner.

Here are two clips that let you compare the two speedsters...sorta.

This is an episode of The Justice League that really shows off the Flash's abilities. Start watching the clip at 2:08 and if you like what you see just keep watching the episode.

This is Sonic, the song explains it all.

If you feel strongly about one speedy hero being faster then the other then post a comment like the one below. Otherwise, thanks for clicking one of the options to the right.

Hero of the Month

2009-10-02T00:08:00.006-05:00

I was having a rough day yesterday and as I walked to my car I imagined that the best way to end my long day was to have a little yellow piece of paper tucked neatly under my windshield wiper informing me that I had to pay $25 for an expired meter. Luckily, that wasn’t the case, but I continued to think of what might have happened if the meter maid had left a gift for me. My one conclusion to the scenario was to yell into the dark empty void of space hoping that my reverberating voice would somehow cure my mounting frustrations. At that moment, without thinking, I let out a weird little yaaaaaa sound that reminded me of Banshee. My tiny yaaaaaa sound was so awkward and random that I instantly started laughing out loud and that is why Banshee gets hero’s honors this month because he made me smile on one of my off days.

Uncharted 2's Big Screen Preview

2009-10-01T08:22:00.002-05:00

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is getting raving reviews from everyone and it’s already been predicted to be the best game of 2009...not bad for game that hasn't been released yet. Even G4’s Adam Sessler said that Uncharted 2 has the best single player experience of any game he has ever played and that’s saying something when it comes from the guy who controls all the gaming news for an entire cable station and its website. Apparently the game’s graphics will blow your mind and the game's attention to detail makes it standout from the heaping mass of generic shooters that clog Game Stop’s shelves.

As a way to create buzz around the game, Sony has decided to let people preview the game before its release in four movie theaters across the nation. Mike Fidler, Senior VP of Sony’s digital camera division said, "This is the first time we're doing it in a theater. We think it's a start of something for us, and hope we can build this into a standard element in the movie-going experience." Uncharted 2 will be projected onto the theater’s mammoth screen using Sony’s new 4K digital projectors. Combine the state of the art projectors with the game’s stunning graphic engine and the eyes of those at the preview will most likely melt out of their sockets due to all the prettyness happening on the screen...so if you plan on going to the preview you have been warned.

San Francisco and Thousand Oaks, California; Bellevue, Washington; and Rosemont, Illinois are the lucky winners of this video game/theater experiment (YAY Illinois). I’m not really into shooters, but I am interested in this one so come down to the MUVICO Rosemont Theater at 9701 Bryn Mawr Ave Rosemont, IL 60018 and check it out and don’t forget your seeing eye dog.

According to MUVICO’s website the Uncharted 2 tournament (yes, not just a preview, but a competition as well) will happen on Tuesday October 6 from 5:00 till 10:00 PM. It’s $15 to play or $10 to watch other people play (boring). If you want to order your tickets in advance go to MUVICO’s website or call (847) 447-1030.

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Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories Review

2009-09-30T12:15:00.008-05:00

Its been a long time coming, but I’m finally reviewing Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (CoM) for the Playstation 2. As you may know, the Kingdom Hearts (KH) franchise fuses Disney with Final Fantasy in such a way that it creates a completely weird and very interesting world to explore. You might be wondering, “Hey didn’t that game come out for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) like four years ago?” Yes, Yes it did and I can safely say that the PS2 version is exactly the same as its handheld counterpart with a few extras.

Story

CoM takes place between the events of KH 1 and KH 2 so you could say it’s KH 1.5 and like most games that try to squeeze themselves between established titles, CoM’s plot has no real bearing on the main story. CoM begins with Sora, the spiky haired hero, looking for his friends Riku and Mickey. On his journey Sora and his traveling companions, Donald and Goofy, stumble upon an architect's worst nightmare called Castle Oblivion.

Inside the the castle, Sora meets members of Orginization XIII who inform him that his friends are lost somewhere inside the castle. In order to find his friends Sora must lose his memories so he can access all thirteen floors of Castle Oblivion. Sora must then weigh finding his friends against losing his most precious memories, as well as, unravel the secret behind Organization XIII and rescue a mysterious girl named Naminé.

Game Play

CoM is technically a card battler, meaning you use playing cards to decide how you attack, but the game cleverly manages to disguise itself as a button mashing melee game. You are given a set number of cards that you can carry and depending on how you chose to level up Sora, you can increase the number of cards you can hold. Every card is assigned a value between 0-9; if your opponent attacks with a card valued at 7 then you must use a card with a higher value or zero to defeat their card, this is called a card break.

You can also combine up to 3 cards to create a number too large for an enemy to break or use the combination of cards to perform special attacks. There are three types of cards: magic cards that let you shoot lightning, ice, or fire, attack cards which let you strike your opponents, and summon cards that let you bring other characters like Simba onto the screen to attack for you. The trick to winning most of the battles is to get enough high level attack cards into your deck so you can mindlessly tap the X button and wail away on all the bad guys. Unfortunately, once you figure out the trick the game becomes a battle against tedium and some gamers might not have the patients or the desire to play all the way through to the end. Granted, there are some amazingly challenging boss fights that force you rethink your strategy, but those are few and far between.

Design

The game takes place in all the same locals of KH1 such as Wonderland, Agrabah, Halloween Town, and Monstro’s belly, but the big downfall of CoM being ported to the PS2 is the level design. In the GBA version CoM was a top down 2-D romp through a maze of rooms with each room missing a wall so the player could see inside. In the PS2 version, you now have the ability to rotate the camera so when you do a 360 degree spin around a room, instead of seeing four walls, you see three walls and a black void where the fourth wall should be.

So why were the game designers so lazy that they didn’t add a fourth wall? Because in Japan CoM was a free game when you bought the remixed edition of Kingdom Hearts 2. If you think about it, why would the game designers spend extra money on making a lot of changes to a game that’s wouldn’t be gaining profit. It’s very upsetting to know that Square-Enix got away with selling a free game in Japan for $60 here in the U.S.

Audio/Visual

No original music here. The music features everything you heard from KH1, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. This time around the cast from KH1 lend their voices to CoM in order to create a more in-depth experience. The cut scenes look great in fully 3-D graphics and some of the big boss battles made me want to put down the controller and watch the frenzy of dazzling attacks kill me. Because of the fleshed out graphics and the voice overs, CoM comes complete with a theater mode that strings all the cut scenes together into one large movie.

Reverse and Rebirth

The main reason I cared about this game was that after you played through the game as Sora you get to play it over again as Riku, the villain/hero of KH1 who is also lost inside the castle. It’s interesting to see how the two plots are intertwined and how both characters choose to escape the castle, but the real reason I wanted to play as Riku was so I could use his dark powers to blow stuff up.

Final thoughts

I can really only recommend this game if you like Kingdom Hearts. The story, the boring battles, and the poorly designed levels make this game really hard for the average gamer to enjoy, but if you’re a fan of Kingdom Hearts then this is a must buy because it’s fun to play as Riku and its cool to see the cutscenes fully rendered in 3-D. I’m not quite sure how to rate this game. As a GBA game CoM is easily a 4 out of 5 because the controls work better for the Game Boy and the game is much more challenging because you can’t side step every attacks. While the Playstation 2 game seems like a lazy attempt to update a good game with extras that feel tacked on. I would have to give Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories for the Playstation 2 a 3 out of 5.

Heroes Season 4

2009-09-25T08:21:00.004-05:00

So Heroes premiered on Monday and I completely missed it. What was I doing with my time? I was watching House...I know bad nerd, but begrudgingly I must admit I made the better decision with House. Now I’m not saying that Heroes was bad, it was fine, I’m just saying it wasn’t anything special. The fourth season kicked off with Claire going to college and trying to be a normal kid, Hiro desperately trying to achieve hero status again, a mysterious new character named Samuel, and of course the ever looming return of Sylar. The show introduced a handful of characters, but the only one worth mentioning is Samuel and even after the the two hour premiere all we know is that his power allows him to control ink and that he has some kind of scheme up his sleeve.

There were two things about the premiere that I had beef with.

It was soooo mediocre-Like I said, the show wasn’t anything to write home about. No startling revelations or a horrifying vision of the apocalypse to mull over, just a lot of loose ends for the viewer to try and interpret. I know the show got a lot of flack because of its crazy story lines and many people blamed the ridiculous plot as the cause behind the show’s lowered ratings, but the craziness is what made the show standout. As for the reason behind the dwindling ratings, I don’t think it was the schizophrenic story that turned people away, I believe it was the poor character development that left people scratching their heads. I mean seriously, they sent that Irish woman from season two into the future and then forgot about her. What happened to her, is she dead because that future doesn’t exist anymore? And lets not forget the wonder twins fiasco, didn’t everyone want them to die because they were utterly useless. If the writers had bothered to make those characters interesting fixtures instead of convenient plot devices I think the show would have done a lot better.
No focus-Heroes is suffering from X-Men movies-itus. Basically, the writers (or whoever makes these kind of decisions) are cramming way too many characters into the show; to compensate for the excess of people, the writers created extra mini plots that feel diluted and are ultimately inconsequential when compared to the main thrust of the series which is stop the bad guy. If the creators focused on two or three seemingly divergent plots (instead of the five that I’ve already counted) then the audience wouldn’t feel like the show was jerking them around just because it can.

What I’ve learned from watching Top Chef is that too many ingredients can ruin a dish, but if you can stick to some classic flavors you wont be in the bottom three. If Heroes really wants to stay on top it should stick to basics by adding depth to its characters and writing plots that have a meaningful impact on the story as a whole.

Contra vs Duck Hunt

2009-09-23T15:27:00.003-05:00

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! (catch my breath and wipe tear away from my eye)....Amazing.

Hispanic Heritage Month

2009-09-17T08:31:00.010-05:00

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month so I’ve decided to round up some of Latin America’s best or maybe worst characters that have been featured in comics and on TV.

El Dorado - Yes, El Dorado was a racist stereotype of a Latin American man because of his broken English and yes, he was only used as a plot device to transport characters to far off locals and to neatly rap up episodes of the Super Friends, but he was one of the first Latin cartoon characters to appear on TV and that has to mean something...right? Blatant racism aside, El Dorado is a formidable opponent with super strength, teleportation, illusion casting, and flight. Oh, did I mention that he has no nipples...I feel like that's the greatest offense of all.

Bane -The man who broke Batman’s back was for years a prisoner in Santa Prisca where he basically became king of the prison yard by building up his body and his mind. FACT: Did you know that Bane’s mental prowess rivals that of Batman? Brain and brawn, now that’s a frightening combination. Bane uses Venom, an experimental drug, to enhance his already beastly physical stature giving him muscles that not even Sammy Sosa could hide.

Ultimate Iron Man -Tony’s full name in the ultimate universe is Antonio. He’s still pretty much the same sleazy robo-suit wearing lush that we all know and tolerate, but lets count Antonio as a plus since he is one of the richest and most influential people in the ultimate universe.

Blue Beetle -Ummmm well, my entire working knowledge of the Blue Beetle comes from the animated series Batman the Brave and the Bold and I really don’t know how accurately the series portrayed his origin. Jamie Reyes happened upon the Blue Beetle Scarab (advanced alien technology) which decided to force itself onto Jamie’s body. The reason for the hostile takeover of Jamie’s body is unknown, but Batman suggests that it was Jamie’s virtue that made him the right person to wield the scarab’s power. The scarab transforms itself into a super charged battle suit which can morph into various weapons likes swords and plasma guns.

Más y Menos - Oh the lovable super speedy twins from Guatemala top my chart. Más and Menos were first introduced in Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans as a pair of heroes who only spoke Spanish. I don't know what the twins were actually saying during show because none of the other characters could translate for them and the creators wisely decided not to include subtitles. Más and Menos not only broke the sound barrier, but they also cleverly broke the language barrier by way of their gestures and sometimes frantic action poses. To activate their power of super speed Más and Menos must be in physical contact with each other which makes their fighting style interesting to watch because of the many different ways they choose to move as a team.

There you have it, my 5 pics for Hispanic Heritage Month. I know there are a lot more Hispanic characters out there in the world, but these were the ones that really stood out to me. If you think someone else deserves to be on the list then jot them down in a comment.

Who's got an Emmy?

2009-09-15T10:26:00.005-05:00

Doctor Horrible has an Emmy. That’s right, the critically acclaimed Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog has finally gotten the recognition that it deserves and not even Kanye West can steal its thunder. Joss Whedon’s mini web series/movie won Outstanding Special Class- Short Format Live-Action Entertainment Program. I know it’s a really specific and oddly named category, but I think it means anything that’s produced specifically for the internet so think of web series like the Guild. To continue the momentum, Neil Patrick Harris (Dr. Horrible) will be hosting the Emmys this Sunday (9/20/09) and he will no doubt plug Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog like he did at Spike TV’s Video Game Award show. Neil Patrick Harris is also up for a few more Emmys with How I Met Your Mother nominated for best comedy series and NPH being nominated for best supporting actor. So what’s left after you’ve taken over the world and won an Emmy....perhaps an adventure in space?

To read my review of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog Click Here.

[Source]

Katamari Forever Soundtrack

2009-09-14T07:31:00.006-05:00

It’s coming, don’t you hear it? It's the rumbling sound of everything created on God’s green earth getting rolled up into a giant ball and then flung into space. Yes, the Prince is back for his latest installment on the PS3 in Katamari Forever. If you’ve never played a Katamari game stop reading right now and go to your local Game Stop and buy a used copy. Seriously, I’ll wait for you to come back....

Alright, the game is pretty simple, as you now know (because you bought the game), you control a giant sticky ball that has the ability to pick up anything. The items that you can pick up run the gambit of the mundane like cars, balloons, and airplanes to the bizarre like ninjas, bears on unicycles, and giant sea monster squids. Now I’m not here to preview Katamari Forever which comes out September 22, instead, I’m here to showcase some of the game's music. As always for the Katamari series, the game features a funky and distinctly Japanese soundtrack that keeps you humming and tapping your toes hours after you’ve finished playing. The music this time around focuses on clever remixes from the previous title, We Heart Katamari, along with some of its own quirky originals. The YouTube clip is an 8-bit remix of A Crimson Rose and a Gin Tonic and is so far my favorite song from the new game...enjoy.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

2009-09-12T13:17:00.005-05:00

Wahoo it looks like Superman and Batman are teaming up once again for an animated adventure extraordinaire. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies movie is an adaptation of the popular Superman/Batman graphic novel by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness. The plot goes like this, a huge asteroid made of Kryptonite is hurtling towards earth and Lex Luther, President of the United States, has accused our heroes (Batman and Superman) of being the cause for this potential catastrophe. Lex offers a 1 billion dollar bounty to the person, hero or villain alike, who can bring Superman and Batman to “justice.” The clock is ticking and it’s up to our super duo to fight off their good friends and old foes, unravel the secrets behind the asteroid, and save the earth from destruction. Here’s a sneak peak of what to expect from the movie. In this clip Lex discusses his plans for handling the asteroid situation with Superman.

WOW!!!! Everyone is ripped! I guess in that universe, Bally’s Total Fitness is a requirement. The animation looks good and the movie features a top notch V/O cast that includes: Jerry O'Connell, Tim Daly, and LaVar Burton (Geordi LaForge!!!) to name a few. From what I’ve seen, this movie is going to be action packed with a huge heaping of comic book cameos so get ready to play the Who’s Who game with a bevy of your favorite characters. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies comes out on Blu-Ray and DVD September 29th. I’m already waiting with anticipation...are you?

[Source]

Boxed In Reveiw

2009-09-08T07:24:00.003-05:00

Boxed in for the iPhone or iPod touch is your basic move box onto switch open door puzzle game. You take control of a tiny robot and the point of the game is to collect the gears scattered through out the level and to get him past obstacles to reach the portal situated somewhere on the level

Game Play

You move your tiny avatar by dragging your finger where you want him to go. On the ground are color coordinated switches that correspond with the colored forcefields; obviously, you need to push a box on the red switch to make the red forcefield go away. You can’t pull the boxes so if you shove one into a corner you can't get it out which adds a little difficulty to the game. Once you have moved all the appropriate boxes, deactivated the forcefields, and collected all the gears you are ready to move on to the next level.

Final Thoughts

Overall it’s a good solid puzzle game and it’s challenging enough to be fun without me wanting to throw my iPhone on the ground and stomping on it. Thank goodness too because I don’t think I can afford another iPhone. I’m giving Boxed In 4 over worked robots out of 5.

Oh yeah, the full version is free for a limited time so I would download it ASAP.

Marvel vs. Disney Universe

2009-09-07T08:48:00.008-05:00

The fan boys are still going crazy over Disney buying Marvel and they all can’t help but speculate how Disney will change the face of their favorite comic company. I too have been thinking about the profound changes that this seemingly unholy union will bring to comic books, pop culture, and the nation’s current economic status. I’ve thought carefully and I’v came to the conclusion that this is Disney’s chance to make a really great video game and they should call it Marvel vs. Disney Universe.

Marvel vs. Disney Universe would be a 2D side scrolling fighting game much like Marvel vs Capcom 2 (MvC2) where it pits characters from both franchises head to head in a battle royal. Like most fighting games the plot doesn’t matter, so I’m not even going to bother justifying why the lovable Disney characters want to pick a fight with the Marvel ones. Here’s what I did, I picked 10 characters from each franchise for various reasons. On the Disney side I tried to be fun and creative with my picks because not every character is suited to be a fighter. Just think about it, other than you’re standard punches and kicks what would Sleeping Beauty do? On the Marvel side, I mostly picked characters that have or are going to have high budget movies because I can see Disney using a game like this as a marketing opportunity.

Disney

Snow White-I felt she could have a really fun fighting mechanic. Instead of directly controlling Snow White on the screen, your button combos would trigger one of the seven dwarfs to come out and attack for her. Think of the fighting style similar to Olimar from Super Smash Bros. Brawl (SSMBB), but with very aggressive Pikmen.

King Mickey-Mickey from Kingdom Hearts with his key blades swinging would be excellent. He would also use magic and showcase acrobatics that would make even Yoda from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones jealous.

Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers-That’s right the Rescue Rangers are back! Chip and Dale would fight together much like the Ice Climbers from SSBB. They would use attacks that played of each other and use items like magnifying glasses and acorns to pummel their enemies. They would also use weapons made from household items created by Gadget their rodent equivalent of James Bond’s Q.

Hanna Montana-Yes even Hanna Montana or the next rising Disney star has a place in this game. Miss Montana would would use her guitar to assault the other characters and sing catchy tunes that would put her opponent into a star stuck daze long enough to perform a deadly combo.

GizmoDuck- GizmoDuck is perfect for this game. He would be a silly character that would roll around shooting boxing gloves and he would be able to fly above characters with his helicopter hat and drop lamps on their heads.

Buzz Lightyear-I had to throw a Pixar character into game and Buzz is sure to deliver. He can fly around on his jet pack and use laser beams, rockets and homing missiles to subdue his enemies.

Kim Possible-The teen heroine will wear her battle suit which will allow her to shield against energy blasts and morph her hands into various objects like baseball bats or lacrosse scoops.

The Beast-Eh, I just wanted to throw in a character with a lot of brute force into the game and I think the Beast from Beauty and the the Beast is a good choice. The Beast would have a similar moves to Blanka from Street Fighter.

Maleficent-She would be in her dragon form and she will be the biggest character in the game. Tail whips, green fire, and a bevy of arial attacks would make her a hard one to beat, but her giant size would would make her the slowest and easiest character to hit in the game.

Jafar-This is pre-genie Jafar so he will use his serpent staff for his melee attacks, but don’t worry he will be able to conger up magic spells and shoot fire balls.

Marvel

If you’ve played MvC2 then you know the characters move sets, if you haven’t check out some youtube videos of the game

Spider-Man-Spider-Man 4 is coming and even though I don’t like playing as Spidy in MvC2 I couldn’t imagine a Marvel game without him.

Iron Man-The billion dollar playboy is back for this brawl and he’s ready to use his high tech weaponry to win.

Wolverine-Everyone is still in love with Wolverine so with a heavy heart I must put Wolverine on the roster.

Psylocke-I picked Psylocke because I love her and I don’t see why I can’t put a character I like into a game that I created.

Storm-It would be a great injustice if I didn't put one of the most powerful and well respected mutants in the game.

Deadpool-Meh, I don’t actually care about Deadpool, but he is getting a movie so he’s in the game too. Deadpool would essentially take the place of Cable from MvC2.

Captain America-Of course Captain America is in this game, it would be unpatriotic if he wasn’t.

Gambit-Gambit has a huge following, but no one seems to know what to do with him in the movies so here’s hoping that Gambit gets a X-men Origins remix.

Emma Frost-The White Queen (not in hooker attire, this is Disney after all) would be a fun and interesting addition to the game because of her diamond form and various things she could do with her psychic attacks.

The Human Torch-Despite what Smokey the Bear says, playing with fire is fun.

The list for characters goes on and on with some of my other favorite picks which include Darkwing Duck, Ariel, Dash from the Incredibles, Dr. Strange, and the Scarlet Witch. I boiled it down to these 20 characters because I thought it would be amusing to see them fight. I also thought the 20 characters I chose had the potential of having well balanced moves without any one character feeling unstoppable. Now I doubt Disney would approve of their warm fuzzy G rated characters going toe to toe with the graphically violent marvel characters, but if by some weird aligning of the planets a game similar in concept happens, then the Marvel merger was definitely worth it. OK maybe I wouldn't go that far and say the merger was worth it, but I would appreciate Disney a more than I do now. If this game were to exist who would you put in it?

Picture [Source, Source]

Nrrrd Grrrl

2009-09-06T19:32:00.008-05:00

Yeah I know this is kind of old, but I just found it and I thought it was pretty good, plus the video is hilarious. It goes to show you that even nerds can find love in the least expected places. This song was created by MC Chris who is also responsible for Fett's Vett (My Backpack's Got Jets).

Lobo is getting one too.

2009-09-04T19:21:00.005-05:00

Wow even Lobo, the dirt bag with a pimped out floating Motorcycle, is getting a movie makeover. Lobo isn’t one of my favorite characters, but he does have a massive following. If you don’t know who Lobo is think Gene Simmons from KISS with strength that rivals Superman. Very little has been said about the movie’s plot, but since Lobo is a bounty hunter with questionable ethics I’m sure it will involve him looking for fugitives while having a beer and starting an intergalactic bar fight. Director Guy Ritchie whose previous works include Snatch and that new Sherlock Holmes move will take control of the unwieldy handle bars for this movie. Now I wont have a problem with this movie if they portray Lobo as the violent anti-social jerk that he is, but if the writers turn him into a misunderstood soul with a heart of gold then they missed the entire point of Lobo.

Oh wait hold on a second, I'm getting breaking news. It seems that the Lobo movie is going to get a PG-13 rating and the movie will feature him with a teenage girl as his sidekick....WHAT! Oh no DC, what have you done. Let the fan boys have mercy on your soul.

[source]

Marvel Going Once, Twice, Three times SOLD!

2009-09-02T12:15:00.009-05:00

It’s been all over the news that Marvel was sold to Disney for 4 billion dollars (now that’s some change). Honestly, I don’t know how to feel about the whole deal. Here’s how I see it, on the one hand, Disney is a HUGE corporation and just on principle I hate HUGE corporations. So when I see the already massive Disney swallowing up more companies faster than Fat Princess can eat pies, I can’t help but get upset. On the other hand I don’t necessarily hate all of Disney, just the marketing department for the teenage angsty parts like Hanna Montana and the Jonas Brothers.

According to all the Market Analysts this was a smart move for Marvel since Marvel’s stocks will go up and their budgets for producing comic books will be much bigger, but I’ll ask, is it worth it? Marvel never seemed to be strapped for cash and even though both Disney and Marvel swear that Marvel won’t change I just don’t buy it. In any merger or acquisition things get changed, that’s just how it works. People get shuffled around and the corporate hierarchy gets scrambled then re-arranged. So even though they are keeping Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter to make sure the comics we love all stays the same, Marvel will undoubtably change.

Now I hardly doubt that Marvel is going to do something stupid like feature Winnie the Pooh in the next issue of the Avengers, but I wouldn’t put it past someone trying to be cute or clever sticking a Disney character into an issue just because they can. Right now, I feel that Marvel’s sale will only impact the people who work at Marvel and the consumers 15 or 20 years down the line after a lot of the current staff is replaced with fresh blood that now have bosses who strongly suggest that they use some of that Disney magic we all hear about. But hey I could be wrong, it worked out for Kingdom Hearts so who’s to say it won’t work again.

Picture [Source, Source]

Article [Source, Source]

You Heard my Desperate Pleas, They’re Making a New Okami

2009-09-02T08:40:00.018-05:00

If I’ve ever talked video games with you then you know I love Kingdom Hearts, go crazy for Zelda, and have tried to force you to buy Okami. Just like The Spectacular Spider-Man series, Okami was on the verge of disappearing as a franchise because of its poor sales despite all the game’s glowing reviews (shame on you, unless you own a copy). Luckily, Capcom bought the rights to Okami and decided that the sales of the game were sufficient enough for a sequel called Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyo.

Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyo, just like it's predecessor, will borrow heavily from Japanese mythology and mix it with a bit of that weird Japanese humor and the game’s graphics will continue to use the unique cell shaded art style that resembles a Japanese water painting. In the first Okami you assumed the role of Amaterasu, a debunked sun goddess in the form of a wolf, and it was up to you save world from evil demons with a paint brush. If you’ve never played the game it sounds kind of stupid, but trust me it worked amazingly well. This time around, months after the events of Okami, demons have mysteriously returned to plague the world and Amaterasu is once again summoned to save the day. Unfortunately, there was some mix up in the cosmos and instead of getting the fierce Amaterasu they got the cuddlier puppy version of the sun goddess named Chibiterasu.

Now when I say sequel I use the term liberally. I’m pretty sure the correct term for this game is Okami 1.5 since it will most likely be a rehashing of all the same levels from the first game. Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyo will only be released for the Nintendo DS with game play that focuses on solving puzzles and utilizing partners that Chibiterasu must work with to complete missions. The game will also take advantage of the famous paint feature where by drawing on the screen with the stylist, you can draw bridges, fire, wind, and various other items to clear obstacles out of Chibiterasu’s way. Even though this is not the Okami game that I was expecting, I’m just thankful that Capcom wants to do more with this franchise. Expect this game to come out next year in Japan and for those of us in the States I would have to guess some time in 2011.

[Source]

8-bit Trip

2009-08-29T08:22:00.006-05:00

This is one of my YouTube finds called 8-bit Trip. The music is good with a catchy rhythm, but I did notice that the beat kept repeating itself. The visuals are fun and the video was able to hold my attention while putting a smile (or at least a smirk) on my face.

The Megan Fox CATastrophe

2009-08-28T05:58:00.006-05:00

It was rumored that Megan Fox from Transformers was to play the sultry Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's third installment of his Batman series. This news gave a lot of boys naughty thoughts of Fox in leather, but Warner Bros. quickly shut down the rumor in a press release saying, "It's rumor. It's not true." Can’t you hear the collective groans of disappointment from boys all around the world? To read what my friend had to say about Megan Fox and her pick for the Catwoman role visit her blog Pop Candy Arcade.

[Source]

A Potential New TV Show Based of a Comic

2009-08-28T05:56:00.004-05:00

One of the comics series that I read over the summer, Powers, might be given a TV makeover. Powers is a comic that depicts a world where people with super powers are very common and it’s the duty of detective Christian Walker (a de-powered hero) and his partner Deena Pilgrim to solve homicides involving citizens with special abilities. Basically, the comic boils down to Marvel’s version of CSI. Brian Michael Bendis the creator of the series said, "All kinds of good things are going on behind the scenes right now. They’ve (Sony) just asked for more material and we’re putting together budgets as well as some other stuff.” I hope this happens because I think this comic might actually work out to be a good TV show.

[Source]

The Xbox Gets a Price Cut Too?

2009-08-28T05:55:00.009-05:00

Literally a day after Sony announced that they were going to cut the price of the PS3, Microsoft (not wanting to be left out of the spot light) also announced a price cut of their own. The 360 Elite will be getting a $100 reduction making it $299. Analysts firm EEDAR believes that Microsoft's price cut won’t make a difference in sales, probably because price conscious Xbox fans have already bought the less sophisticated Xbox pro for the $299 price tag. The EEDAR also believes that if the Xbox truly wants to compete with the Wii and the PS3 Slim they will need to lower to the price of the Elite to $250. Oh Microsoft, why can't you give others some time in the lime light you greedy corporation.

Side Note: If you're wondering about the fate of the Xbox Pro, it too will recieve a price cut of $50, but once all remaining units are sold Microsoft intends on discontinuing the Pro series.

[Source]

The Spectacular Spider-Man: Trials and Tribulations

2009-08-27T08:03:00.001-05:00

The complete first season of The Spectacular Spider-Man is out on DVD (woot woot!!!) and I am definitely going to pick this one up. Unfortunately, I’m not just here to give a shining review of one of the greatest Spider-Man series so far, I’m also here to pay my respects to a show on its death bed.

Like a distraught mourner, I want to scream in a fit of rage and trears that it was your fault (the reader) for not watching this incredible series, but it wasn’t your fault, it’s no ones fault. A lot of people watched The Spectacular Spider-Man and critics gave it raving reviews. IGN even gave it an award for best animated series for 2008 and also gave the show’s Peter Park the award for best TV hero of 2008. So you ask, “What lead to the shows demise?” The answer would be bad circumstances. The show fist got picked up by what was left of the Kids WB and when the WB finished phasing into the New CW all contracts owned by the WB were void and it was up to the CW’s discretion whether or not to pick up any of the old WB shows. They opted for not and that is how Spider-Man was sent to TV limbo.

Let me pause for a second and tell you why you should actually care about this show.

It’s an interesting take on Spider-Man -- The Spectacular Spider-Man is an intriguing mix of several Spider-Man universes. I can see influences from Ultimate Spider-Man, the movie Spider-Man, and of course the show’s name sake, the Spectacular Spider-Man comic book. The series somehow seamlessly combines all these different aspects of Spider-Man into a show that gives a fresh perspective of our friendly neighborhood spider.
The animation is great -- It has a very distinct look and the characters move fluidly making all of the boss fights look awesome. Speaking of the fights, the animators took their time to make sure the web slinger’s fights were intricate enough to show of the wall crawler’s speed, agility and fancy spider moves.
The writing is top notch -- It is one of the few cartoons today that has a plot that builds off itself. I think it’s cool to know that the minutia in episode 2 can avalanche into an epic fight all the way down in episode 13. I also like that Spider-Man doesn’t defeat his foes in same old tried and true way. Example: Instead of always blasting Sandman away with water, he incases him in cement. This isn't necessarily new, but at least he uses other options unlike his 90’s counterpart. Spidey is also back with his clever quips and one liners and I must say that his banter sessions with the Green Goblin are throughly entertaining.

Alright, now that you have a better grasp of the show lets continue. Disney was the one to rescue The Spectacular Spider-Man from limbo by picking up the rights to the already completed second season and placed the show on its new channel Disney XD. This seemed like a great place for show to land, but that’s not the case. Disney XD clearly doesn't care about the show which is evident by the show’s sporadic air times and the lack of commercials promoting it (I bet Disney would care more if it had a Disney star like Hanna Montana on it).

This wouldn’t be a big deal if season 3 didn't hinge on the success of season 2. You might be thinking, "At least there’s hope." Well sort of, the problem with season 3 (if it does manage to get picked up) is that all of the writers and animators who made the show have moved on with their lives and are doing other projects. That means the Spider-Man will have a whole new crew with a new look and feel. It still might end up being an amazing season, but I’m a HUGE fan of how it is right now.

What can you do to help save Spider-Man? Well I can only imagine that the DVD sales of season 1 and eventually season 2 are what will really keep this series going and even if it's not the same show anymore I really want a season 3. So I urge you, please buy season 1 of The Spectacular Spider-Man and do your part in saving a good show. If you’re still not convinced that this show is worth rescuing, then watch some of the episodes on youtube [click here] and find out how good this show is for yourself. If you don’t feel any attachment toward the show thats fine (heartless!!!), but if you do end up enjoying this series then hopefully you will buy season 1 as well.

The New Face of the Green Lantern

2009-08-26T19:53:00.015-05:00

Ryan Reynolds is going to play the Green Lantern! I must have been sleeping because this was announced back in July and I’m just learning about it now. Let me just rub the sleep out of my eyes, OK thats better. Lets think about Reynolds as our hero in green, I have nothing against Reynolds being the green power house, but he never struck me as the Green Lantern type. Hal Jordan (I hope it’s Hal and not Guy Gardner) seemed kind of serious and I’m sure Reynolds can play serious roles, but I’ve only seen him as the goofy guy with an arsenal of decent jokes. By the way, whatever happened to Reynolds being in the X-Men Origin's spin off Deadpool? I wonder how he will be able to play both roles since Deadpool and Green Lantern are set to be in production around the same time. In news that is actually new, the Green Lantern movie is having some problems with it’s budget. The movie is ready to be filmed in Australia, but due to the rise of the the Australian note the movie could see a loss of 15 to 25 million U.S. dollars in currency exchange (yikes). Anyways congratulations Ryan, seeing as how you're going to be in four different comic book movie adaptations you are clearly the poster boy for the comic book movie genre.

Article [Source]

Picture [Source]

Unpause the Screen Please

2009-08-26T09:19:00.008-05:00

It looks like Ubisoft is having a little trouble getting the sequel to its cult hit Beyond Good & Evil into the grubby hands of its fans. Now I haven’t actually beaten the first game, but I do like what I’ve played. I mean who doesn’t like unraveling the mystery behind a corrupt government? Very little is known as to why the game is on hold, but it’s very unfortunate that a another good game (put it back on the list with Psychonauts and Okami) may never get that sequel it deserves. [Source]

X-Men Origins: Magneto is also on hold once again. David Goyer, the producer trying so hard to make Magneto’s silver screen story a reality, revealed that a writer’s strike and the lack of lead actor contributed to the film never making it to production. Goyer remained hopeful and said, “I'm sure that project will move forward in the next year or so" (Translation: maybe in 3 years we will tease you again with the prospect of a Magneto Movie). As you may already know, I was in opposition to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but I can’t deny the endless laughter that I enjoyed from watching that movie, so I can't wait to see how they will butcher Magneto’s life story too. [Source]

Spider-Woman Agent of S.W.O.R.D. Review

2009-08-25T09:08:00.026-05:00

Yesterday while I was reading my friend’s Game Informer I noticed a small blurb about Marvel’s new Motion Comic series featuring Spider-Woman. According to them, the Motion Comic might be the new way of story telling that could take the comic book to a whole new level. I tried to get more information on this “innovative” new series, but no one had too much to say about it other than buy it on iTunes. So like any prepubescent teen, I caved to peer pressure and I did (my mom would be so ashamed of me right now). It was a whole $.99, I know big spender right, but our friends at marvel know how the seedy underworld of comic books work. The first score is free (or in this case cheap) and then when you’re hooked raise the price. If you liked the first episode its going cost you $1.99 to score another hit of the sweet sweet Spider-Woman that you love.

Now let me just say I know absolutely nothing about Spider-Woman other than she shoots electricity that’s not really electricity. I tell you this to say that I will be relinquishing my nerd card for this review and take the position of the average joe. Before the nerd card goes away I have to mention that this story takes place right after the events of the Secret Invasion and Jessica Drew finds herself trying to figure out what to do with her life. Should she rejoin the avengers or perhaps join a new organization named S.W.O.R.D. who basically tell her, “We want you to beat the crap out of the aliens that hurt you and we want to pay you to do it” (judging from the title, I wonder which team she will pick). One last thing, Spider-Woman Agent of S.W.O.R.D. is written by Brian Michael Bendis author of the Ultimate Spider-man series and what I’ve discovered is that people either love him or hate him which means if you don’t like any of his previous works odds are you’re not going to like this one.

What’s a Motion Comic?

It’s basically a still frame shot that movies occasionally, whether it’s moving cars in the background or Drew raising her cell phone closer to her face. The whole thing really presents itself as a giant monologue except when Drew talks to another person (then it becomes a dialogue). Also, our friend Jessica Drew got some complaints for having a british accent, but since I have no previous attachment to her all I can say is that her voice over was good. In fact, everyone’s voice over was good.

Art

Alex Maleev did an excellent job of drawing beautiful characters and detailed backgrounds. This episode of Spider-woman has Drew battling feelings of hatred and despair and the dark backdrop perfectly captures those feelings. Another aspect of Maleev’s art style that I enjoyed was that his drawings were very sharp with heavy distinct lines and good shading.

Music

Nonexistent!!! I would have really liked to have heard some ominous music to compliment the the somber tone of the comic, but I guess I’ll have to settle for the appropriate noises in the background like cars whizzing by an open window.

Writing

Its good, but I like Brendis so take that with a grain of salt. I will say that a couple of times when I was fully immersed in Drew’s monologue about her tragic life she would say a word like do-hickey and I would instantly snap out of the world Brendis so carefully tried to create.

Final Thoughts

The word on the net is that the Motion Comic is going to bring something new and creative to the table and while it may be true that it’s new for marvel, it is in fact old, very very old. The animation and art style reminds me of one of my favorite TV shows, The Maxx, that aired on MTV in 1995. It had a similar look and feel as Spider-Woman Agent of S.W.O.R.D. and frankly I think The Maxx did everything a little bit better. That’s not to say Agent of S.W.O.R.D. isn't good, I’m just saying there is room for improvement. Spider-Woman's motion comic is about 10 min long and though I would like to see how this story plays out I’m way to much of a cheapo to pay $1.99 for each episode. Maybe when Marvel comes out with the first Motion Comic omnibus for a reasonable price I’ll buy it. Until then, I can only imagine what kind of misadventures Spider-Woman will be having.

I’m giving Spider-Woman Agent of S.W.O.R.D. 4 bioelectric blasts out of 5

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Review

2009-08-23T09:38:00.021-05:00

Oh G.I. Joe, how do I feel about your movie? I think the word that sums this summer blockbuster up is meh. I can understand why all those big movie reviewers (who get paid to do this stuff) gave this movie such a low score. The acting is bearable, the music wasn’t noticeable, and the visuals were just something else and based on those criteria it deserves the D rating that it got from so many of my peers. But I actually like bad movies...I’m talking to you Dead or Alive and Doom, so what’s my take on G.I. Joe you ask?

Acting/Writing

Like any good (or bad as it may be) B movie the acting must be terrible or the dialogue must make you cringe because you know that no one in real life would actually say that. In G.I. Joe’s case the acting wasn’t good enough to merit praise, but it wasn’t bad enough to warrant laughs. Clearly it’s not the actors fault for having terrible lines, but I’ve seen clichéd lines pulled off very well...in cartoon; so I don’t see why movie stars who make a living of this sort of thing can’t do it too. In regards to the writers, they obviously wrote this movie more for the general public and less for the G.I. Joe fans, probably because they thought they had a chance of actually making a hit (laughter in the distance). I think if they had stuck more to the G.I. Joe mythology the movie would have popped a little bit more and maybe would have gotten a big cult following by the fan boys; instead, the movie was a wash because of its blasé attempt to appeal to everyone.

Special Effects

Ok I’ll admit that the special effects are what saved this movie for me. I get very bored very quickly and the fact that I only checked my watch twice during the movie is a testament to how visually crazy and appealing the movie was to my senses. I will say that in two years when the graphic technology advances, this movie will look like a flashy steaming pile of poo. I would say that 87% of the scenes in this movie seemed to have computer generated backdrops and 100% of the scenes had some kind of glowing very not real looking gizmo in it.

Final Thoughts

If you’re a fan of G.I. Joe you have to see this movie, but I have to recommend you wait till it makes its way to the cheap theater where people shout at the screen and have loud conversations on their cell phone, but its a $1.75 so why complain. You can also wait till it comes out on DVD and rent if for a dollar at a redbox and if you’re really not that into G.I. Joe wait for it to play on TBS. Now you know and knowing is half the battle.

I’m giving G.I. Joe 2 YO JOES!!! out of 5

Oh wait, did I forget to mention the ninjas? Well they weren’t that special, but if you combine them with the warm fuzzy childhood memories of me playing with my cousins G.I. Joe action figures I’m going to have to bump this movie up a notch.

3 stealthy ninja throwing stars out of 5

The new score is a 3 out of 5 for those of you not paying attention

Do You Wanna Date My Avatar...Yes I Do!!!

2009-08-22T07:56:00.007-05:00

First off YAY!!! I’ve been in love with this video since the second I watched it on my friends XBox 360 and I’m super happy it made its way to youtube. The song is catchy, the choreography is actually good, and the overall production value is great. Even though I'm a fan of free things I will advocate that we all buy this song off of iTunes or Amazon so we can support the Guild and catch the 3rd season of the Guild starting August 25th.

Side Note: If this song ends up on DJ Hero or Guitar Hero I think my head might just explode out of sheer rapture.

We’re Just Not Compatible Anymore

2009-08-21T22:49:00.004-05:00

So as you may know the big buzz around the gaming community is that the PS3 is going on a diet and she will be ready to show off her slim sexy new body some time before Christmas. Not only is she going on a diet, but she’s also going to be cheaper then ever before ($299 you hussy). Despite her new vivacious curves the PS3 seems to be getting a lot of flack for not being backwards compatible (BC). From what I’ve gathered Sony representative John Koller announced that, “It won’t be coming back,” because the PS3 has grown big enough in the market to not need gimmicks like backwards compatibility to sell systems. So my question to you out there in cyber land is why are you so angry about the PS3 not being BC?

From what I’ve read on the net, people want to keep their massive collection of PS2 games and thats fair, but who said you had to throw out your games or your PS2. Is it really so hard to put your PS2 in a box and pull it out to play with when overwhelming nostalgia hits you? Because that’s what I do with my N64 and Genesis. Also, considering that the PS3 is $300 cheaper than its original price tag, don’t you think the BC feature would have made the PS3 Slim more expensive and less slim? As I recall, people have been complaining about the high price of a PS3 since its conception and now that it’s cheaper people still don’t want to buy it because a feature that will make it more expensive isn’t included (Ahhh so irritating). I for one am all for the PS3 Slim and the decision to keep backwards compatibility out of the picture. I can’t wait to get my hands on inFAMOUS, Katamari Forever, and one day in the distant future Kingdom Hearts 3 now that the PS3 is within my budget.

[Source]

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review

2009-06-02T08:20:00.003-05:00

So I saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine a while back and I never got around to telling you, the public, how I felt about it. Well the wait is over and I can honestly say I enjoyed the movie. Yes, yes I liked the movie, but not for the reasons you might think. I classify Wolverines movie as so bad it’s good so let me break down my reasoning for you. From a nerd point of view, I’m appalled by the creator’s blatant disregard for Wolverines actual origin story. They got some aspect of his past correct, but then they started making things up left and right i.e. Gambit and the Blob. From your average movie goer’s perspective I must say that it was still pretty bad. The CGI looked terrible, there were some inconsistencies in the movie, and while the acting was good from our friend Hugh Jackman some of his supporting characters left more to be desired.

I would love to go on a crazy nerd rant on how Emma Frost looked Bedazzled and how she wasn’t a psychic or how Deadpool’s origin was sooooooo wrong i got a little angry or the fact the Gambit was a plot device that could have been filled by anyone, but I wont. I won't talk about how the creators made an illusion to Wolverine being a werewolf or how every scene that Hugh Jackman is in he either has his shirt off or his claws out. (Seriously, he could have asked an old lady where the bus stop was in that movie and he would have pulled out his claws and figured out a way to tear off his shirt and pose dramatically for at least 3 seconds) But with all that nonsense said (or not said) it all mixed well into an enjoyable experience. It felt like they tried hard to make this movie serious and dramatic, but it came off clichéd and overdone. I think I was the only one laughing in that theater, but who cares I can honestly say I got my moneys worth (thank you student discount)

I’m giving X-Men Origins: Wolverine 3 claws out of 5

Throw Down a Life Bottle!!!!

2009-06-01T09:32:00.008-05:00

Sorry everyone or maybe no one, but I've been out of the office for a while. Hopefully I can get back to posting like normal. So consider this blog resurrected and ready to kick some butt. So check out this clip I found on The Onion's Website

Hot New Video Game Consists Solely Of Shooting People Point-Blank In The Face

This hilarious clip made me think about how video games are all basically the same (especially shooters) and how we as consumers like to dress up the games and give it meaning, but when you boil it down you're just shooting people in the face. Do you agree? Disagree? Or have some other opinion? Then write a comment.

Discuss....

EA Games Waves Good-bye to Will Wright

2009-04-10T10:17:00.004-05:00

Will Wright the designer of the Sims and Spore is leaving EA after 12 years of service. The reason for Wright’s decision to leave was his desire to put more time and energy into his own company called Stupid Fun Club that he created back in 2001. Stupid Fun Club focuses on developing new and unique forms of entertainment which will include video games, toys, movies, and anything else Wright can imagine. Wright’s decision to switch gears and create different types of media stems from his observations the entertainment industry. Wright felt that the entertainment industry was moving into an “era of revolutionary change” and he wanted to be on the front lines of the revolution.

You would think EA would be upset that one of their top designers is leaving, but you would be wrong. It seems that EA is having a little money troubles (evident by EA firing over 1,000 employees) and said that Wright’s games took a lot of time and money to make. This all seems like an amicable split, but EA isn’t letting Wright off the hook so easily. EA owns the rights to develop any video game that comes from Stupid Fun Club and it seems that the two companies will work together on other projects in the future. So good luck Will Wright and I hope to see something amazing from you in the future.

An Apology to X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2009-04-01T08:45:00.009-05:00

So I’ve been talking to a lot of people about Wolverine and about his up coming movie and I must admit I was wrong. The acting from what I saw in the previews actually wasn’t bad and including Gambit in the movie was a good idea especially since I’ve been waiting for him since X 1. And though the cameos by other mutants like Emma Frost, Banshee, and the Blob seem weird I feel that the writers will work them flawlessly into the the story. Through all my discussions (which were a lot) I eventually came to point where I could accept Wolverine as a good character. He’s not my favorite (no one beats Psylocke), but he’s definitely top 5 now.

(My words were like bullets to your good name and for that I am sorry)

April Fools!!!!

Whew, I really had you going, but don’t worry I still think Wolverine is a meh character and that his movie is going to suck.

(Thats right I shot you Wolverine and I would do it again in a heart beat.)

DANGER!!!!!!!

2009-03-31T19:55:00.007-05:00

For all you PC gamers or PC users in general be ready for tomorrow’s super virus. It is called Conficker and no one really knows what it will do. Speculation is that it will create a bot that can rent out your info to those who want to send SPAM, steal IDs, or direct you to online scams and phishing sites. If you say to yourself, “Oh I just won’t go on any unsafe pages,” you are in danger!!!! Conficker infects networks so you don’t even need to be on the net just connected to a network where someone else is connected to the web. Obviously Conficker makes any MMORPG a hazard to your PC’s health. I recommend that you turn Wednesday into the new sabbath for your PC and give you computer the day off, but if you feel the need to level up your level 31 paladin then protect yourself. The Norton anti-virus webpage suggested these steps.

Run a good security suite
Keep your computer updated with the latest patches. If you don’t know how to do this, have someone help you set your system to update itself.
Don’t use “free” security scans that pop up on many web sites. All too often these are fake, using scare tactics to try to get you to purchase their “full” service. In many cases these are actually infecting you while they run. There is reason to believe that the creators of the Conficker worm are associated with some of these fake security products.
Turn off the “autorun” feature that will automatically run programs found on memory sticks and other USB devices.
Be smart with your passwords. This includes:

Change your passwords periodically
Use complex passwords – no simple names or words, use special characters and numbers
Using a separate, longer password for each site that has sensitive personal information or access to your bank accounts or credit cards.

For more details on how to protect yourself check out these websites

McAfee Threat Center

Norton Symantec

Be Safe