My Birthday Wish List (stress “wish”)

Since it’s my birthday and I am supposed to be showered with gifts I thought I would make a list of awesome stuff I have always wanted that either doesn’t exist, or may never exist.

I mean they call them Birthday Wishes for a reason right?

I would like to start off by mentioning a few things I had always wanted and never thought I would see that have ACTUALLY come to exist. These are things I dreamed about when i was a wee lad, wishing and hoping for. One year one of my birthday wishes came true!

Star Wars Legos!!

I actually wished for Star Wars Legos on my birthday one year, no joke. It didn’t happen that year but eventually that wish turned into some awesome toys.

Coming soon to a theatre near you (2012) The Lizard!

My favorite Spider-Man villain is finally getting a shot at the big screen. Ever since Spiderman came out with Tobey and Kirsten I have been hoping to get to see another of my favorite green comic book characters on the big screen. Soon I will do just that!

So what are some things I have always wanted that do not exist yet? Here are two of the bigger ones.

Ghostbusters 3

Closer to being a reality than most of the other things floating around in my head I simply can’t wait for this movie to get off the ground. I’m giddy every time there is news on the project and how it is progressing (albeit slowly thus far).

Being a huge part of my childhood (before i even understood the humor) and now being even better as an adult. This is one trilogy I simply HAVE to see some to a conclusion. Chances are we will see almost the entire cast return (except for Rick Moranis and possibly Sigourney Weaver) with a handful of new faces to keep things interesting.

 

A new Earthbound game in the States

At one point in time we were teased with what was supposed to be Earthbound 64. I can’t begin to tell you how geeked I was for this game. Earthbound was a true Gem for Super Nintendo that begged for more games to be made just like it. And they were… just not in America.

Someone somewhere thought that there wasn’t a big enough market for games like Earthbound in America. Even after its obvious cult status, its ridiculous price tag (sells on ebay for 60-80 bucks) They still haven’t got the hint. They made a sequel on Gameboy Advance that never saw the light of day in the U.S.A nor did the original game for the NES.

I truly hope Nintendo is as smart as I think they are, and are secretly creating an awesome new game for Wii U or something. Hell even a Sequel on the 3ds with purposefully retro graphics would be hella cool.

Speaking of Earthbound and now that I am thinking about it how awesome would a cartoon based on the characters be? You have all the major elements, Fun protagonist with companions that everyone can relate to on some level. A best friend turned evil pawn by a great and powerful (yet rarely seen) antagonist. Countless wacky places to visit and people, monsters, Aliens to meet. Yet all of it basically starts in suburbia… and involves cities all over. Its not your usual mythical RPG story… Not to mention the directions you could take and the freedom the creators would have with it OH MAN THE POSSIBILITIES!

I may return in the near future with an entire series outline for Earthbound… I now feel it is something that must be done.

David Rapoza is my new hero

David Rapoza is an artist. David Rapoza’s work has been seen on Magic cards and now he has been doing a series based on the Ninja Turtles!! It doesn’t get much better than that in my opinion. I’ve decided to share what he has done so far, if you are digging it as much as me pay his site a visit. Prints are on sale and limited to 25 per piece!

Check out the website and order your print here or check out his Deviant Art page with all kinds of artwork here.

That is all I just HAD to share

EDIT*  I was devastated to find out the two i wanted most were already sold out. Shredder and April are both gone… I may buy Casey Jones but I am tempted to wait until he does more. OH WHAT A WORLD WE LIVE IN! Where I can’t hang my Shredder and April Artwork up in my man-cave….*insert violin music here*

NHL Playoffs round 1 is done, round 2 predictions

I know I never posted anything on the NHL playoffs in regard to round one but that will do little to keep my opinions on round two in check.

Round 1 of the 2011 NHL playoffs was nothing short of stunning. I honestly can’t think of a better way to describe the suspense and excitement every game seemed to bring to the table. I found myself watching every game my cable provided. The sheer greatness of the Hockey being played was enough to keep me hooked.

Lets take a look at why Round 1 was so exciting.

14 overtime games: Nothing creates drama like overtime in the NHL playoffs, well maybe one thing.

2 game seven overtimes: Do or die this is what it all comes down to. Sudden Death has a new meaning when you are literally playing to move forward or start your summer.

4 series going the distance to game seven: Overtime or not game seven isn’t something you see everyday and almost everyone is a nail biter. Especially when you have your netminders playing like they were, which brings me to…

9 shutouts: some of you may argue that shutouts are boring. Since I have a small obsession with the armored defenders of twine I can honestly say that the anticipation of watching as a goalie gets a shutout is on par with watching a team defend a one goal lead in the dying moments of the third, when the opponents pull the goalie for the extra attacker.

I could go on about the sheer joy of watching goalies but perhaps I will save that for another time. I should probably get to my predictions for round 2.

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS

#1 Washington Capitals vs #5 Tampa Bay Lightning
This is a series I will be watching with much interest. The things Steve Yzerman has done in HIS FIRST YEAR with the lightning have already improved the team by leaps and bounds. They were shaky early on against the Penguins but were able to overcome their inexperience in the playoffs and beat the Penguins in a battle of attrition in game 7. Dwane Roloson is a huge part of the reasons why. If Roloson can stay hot and the young talent on the Bolts can get going, expect to see the Lightning ride Rollie the Goalie into third round with St. Louis’ guns ablazing.

Washington has finally figured out that offense alone does not win hockey games. With the new (and very good) more defensive minded play of Alex Ovechkin and the gang make the Capitals a more balanced team and a much heavier contender for the cup than they have been in years prior. They will need the new defensive gameplan against the Bolts who have a lot of potential for explosive scoring bursts. But if the Caps can keep them contained their own talent (which they have plenty of) will be enough to get them by.

My Prediction: The pressure is on the Caps to win the series and the Bolts have nothing to lose. Win or lose the Bolts are getting a lot out of this playoff run. Expect to see them come out fearless and surprise the Capitals. Bolts in 6.

#2 Philadelphia Flyers vs #3 Boston Bruins

The Bruins are coming off a dramatic game 7 win over playoff rival Montreal. One demon down one to go. The Bruins are up against the team that game back from being down 3 games last year to beat the Bruins in game 7, and don’t think they don’t know it. However they are a different team and it’s a different year. If the Bruins can return to playing the way they did most of the season they have a good shot at quieting the naysayers. Tim Thomas proved he still has plenty left in the tank coming up huge for Boston when their sloppy play gave Montreal FAR too many chances. If Thomas stays at this level of play Philly will have a hard time scoring… just like they did with Ryan Miller when he was playing his best hockey.

Philadelphia played ok against what seemed to be a very un-energetic and un-inspired Buffalo team in the last round. They will have to be better against the Bruins. Unlike the Sabres who all but quit playing in the last game the Bruins proved that they are in it for the long run. They never gave up despite bad breaks and a lot of mental errors down the stretch. Hopefully Boucher will stay consistent and stop the revolving door or goaltenders in Philly. They need a strong showing in net if they want to keep up with Thomas and the Bruins.

My Prediction: Boston to me has more potential to go far in the playoffs. Riding a super hot goalie that makes big saves after huge misplays is often a momentum changer. I think Boston puts their act together, reworks their TERRIBLE powerplay and forces Philly to play on their heels. Meanwhile Philly’s goalie situation will only add to their problems. Confidence is Key. Thomas has it Boucher/leighton/bobrovsky don’t. Boston in 5

I will continue with the west tomorrow Granted after watching day one tonight but lay off im busy! So for safety sake just to say I called it prior Wings in 6, PREDATORS in 7

Christmas Coke, M&M’s, and Top 5 Gifts

I want to take a look back at Christmas’ past in my life, there are so many awesome memories and even more awesome presents. I have a lot of Christmas memories and traditions that i can’t particularly explain. For example Christmas Coke.

Yeah, I am one of those people that HONESTLY believe that Christmas Coke tastes better than Coke at any other time of year. Growing up I couldn’t explain it. I didn’t know if maybe it had more sugar, or more syrup, or if it was made by Santa’s Elves. All I cared about was that I loved Coke at Christmas. Well in vast 25 year old wisdom I’ve realized why Christmas Coke does IN FACT taste better.

Christmas Coke tastes better at Christmas because THATS HOW I REMEMBER IT. When I was little I wasn’t really supposed to Drink pop/soda all the time so when I did get to drink some it was the best thing in the world. Christmas happened to be the one time of year that the family ALWAYS had Coke as it was looked on as a treat. Just like the Green and Red M&M’s that my Grandmother would always have out accompanied by peppermint hard candies and cinnamon gum drops. So its no surprise that when I think of Christmas these are the first things to come to mind and absolute MUST HAVES at Christmas time.

I’m sure all of you, my reader’s (if there are any) have things that remind you of Christmas too. And so what if its not your stereotypical “THE TREE!!” or “SNOW!!” Things like Christmas Lights and Presents remind everyone of Christmas, I’m talking about deep down the things that make Christmas Christmas.

Since I am on the topic I thought I would reminisce about some of the greatest gifts I ever got for Christmas as I remember them. I’m sure you all have gifts that you remember getting like you just got them yesterday. You know, like the first bike or your fiancee proposing? Yeah well neither of those made my list but here goes.

5. “The Lizard” Action Figure

You might wonder how something so small could have been such a big deal? Simple, this was my favorite character in the Spider-Man Universe (still is in case you were wondering) and HE WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND! For anyone who actually collected action figures or even just bought them as a kid knows there is always ONE DAMN FIGURE that the company makes hard as hell to get. Mind you this is before you can just order anything you want online circa 1992. I don’t know how they did, and I’m just gonna chalk it up to Christmas Magic, My family found the diamond in the rough and made that Christmas one of the best ever.

4. Pokemon Blue Version

This was one of those gifts that pushed me toward becoming a “gamer” I got this beauty at the same time as my Nintendo Gameboy Color. My friend got the Red version and we spent all Christmas Break playing the games. When I returned to school I was shocked to discover three friends in my class had also received this magnificent game and I quickly became hooked. If it hadn’t been for pokemon my gaming would have been limited as would many of the things it eventually led to like Graphic Design and yes… Magic the Gathering.

3. The Ghostbusters Fire House

What can I say? I was destined to be a dork from an early age as all of the gifts on this list will show you. But come on, I know how bad every boy wanted this when they were younger, don’t try to deny it. Ok if you weren’t into the Ghostbusters maybe not, but I bet you still understand the DESIRE to have the big Toy. Every action figure line had one. Im not ashamed to say that two of them made my list (see number 2) These were the castles, home bases and playsets that most kids just never got to see. This was what took the child from simply pretending a stack of books is a fire station and making his imagination come full force. I have to add that this is one of the best constructed toy buildings I think I have ever seen. I still have mine to this days with the exception of the doors which I remember removing because they got in the way, the whole thing is still together in one piece. It may not seem that amazing but considering how I played with my toys, its always a miracle when anything pre-1999 can be found in tact.

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sewer Playset

I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I was to get this. I was 4!! and I still remember this like I remember my graduation day or the time I saw the original Turtles Movie in theaters. I stopped opening up my presents right then and there, I MADE my parents put it together and would have been completely content with Christmas right then and there. That was the year my parents stopped letting me pick which gifts i opened and saved the big ones for last I know own two of these as I have collected Turtles Toys for a few years now and I can honestly say I was still just as excited when receiving the second one. There is something about getting “the big toy” that still makes me giddy to this day I will always be a kid at heart i guess, but I’m not complaining. If anything I feel sorry for everyone that has lost their sense of childish wonderment, it really is an awesome feeling

1. The Nintendo Entertainment System Control Deck

Any of you readers that know me might have seen this coming. And honestly i can say that this did not make the list because I was the most excited to get it. In fact i vividly remember not knowing what it was. I had heard about some friends playing video games, and i had been to an arcade once or twice with my parents but at the ripe young age of 5, I honestly was only mildly intrigued by the present. I was much more caught up with my new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Toys. But of all the gifts I have ever received  this one has by far had the biggest impact on my life. I remember when we sat down to set it up in my parents room that the first one didn’t work. We had to return it and get a new one. However we forgot to include the Mario/Duck Hunt game with the console and as such I had two copies of it. Those and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the only games I had. But it didn’t matter. The first time I picked up that controller I was scared, I didn’t want to be bad at it and I was content watching mom and dad play. But once I finally did venture off on my own and as its abundantly clear, I never looked back.

I hope my little venture down memory lane has brought back some good ones for you too. I would love to hear about your Holiday memories and what gifts stand out above the rest. Comment here and let me know and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all my readers

A Taste of Things to Come

So since class has ended and all is well with the world (yes I am very well aware of how UNWELL things actually are) I have decided to revamp my blog.

What does this mean for you the readers? Probably nothing since there are none of you to begin with. But it does mean I will be covering everything in this blog from video games, relationships, currents events, hell I will even cover Holiday Specials.

There will still be a focus of course. Since I am a huge dork I am sure this blog will be chock full of games, star wars, and other dork awesomeness. But who knows maybe somebody out there will share the same strange collection of interests.

Here’s to bigger and brighter things!!

“We eat Gods for breakfast!”

Yep thats right. Egon Spengler’s best line ever. Not to mention quite possibly one of my favorite things to ever come out of Harold Ramis’ head.

Ghostbusters The Video Game was something I had been waiting for quite some time. By this month I was oozing with anticipation of playing through yet another storied Ghostbusters adventure with one of the best comedic casts ever assembled. The experience was nothing less than a true joy.

Right off the bat, the minute the menu opened I knew i was gonna love this game. Even the music is enough to get me giddy as a schoolgirl with the Ghostbusters. The original score was used for the most part and it really helps the “nostalgia” factor.

Without giving too much away about the story I will say this: the game answers a lot of the unanswered questions many people may have had after the first two movies. Questions like; Who was Ego Shandor? What was his obsession with Gozer? As for Gozer, remember  when Rick Moranis talks about Gozer taking the form of a “MIGHTY SLOR” yeah well you’ll get to see what a SLOR really is. Not to mention, I always wondered… did the Ghostbusters ever go back and catch the librarian ghost they met before becoming the Ghostbusters? Turns out they didn’t and now you get to help! Lots of old favorites are back as to be expected including Slimer, and good ole Stay Puft… But how? Gozer is dead right? Didn’t stop him (or her) the first time

But none of that matters really. I mean what everyone was really looking at was the gameplay. I was pleasantly surprised with it if i do say so myself. Control is similar to any 3rd person shooter really, but you get to deal with the added problem of your stream not always staying straight, and changing weapons to suit your ghost or ghoul. This was where I was really impressed, while your normal proton stream will be your best friend I didn’t find myself always using just one weapon, there were many varied and different times where I found myself wanting to use the slime blaster… or the new to this game shot gun type blaster.

I couldn’t have asked for more. But I got it. The game was difficult enough on normal that I had to retry numerous times, and the added bonus of collecting cursed artifacts is not only difficult but entertaining… there is even a haunted toilet Also you can use the PKE meter to scan for hidden ghosts, cursed artifacts, and to add entries into Tobin’s spirit guide. It’s very similar if not identical really to scanning objects in the Metroid Prime series. In the end Ghostbusters provides something for everyone, and will go down as one of the great movie tie in games of all time. Now I just have to wait around for that 3rd movie… impatient as I am this is gonna feel like forever.

BUY THIS GAME

The New Logo…Huzzah!

So here is what i came up with for the iPOD logo assignment. I have always been a fan of the Black and Green color combo so i figured why not play with that? I think it looks pretty WEB 2.0 ish but thats my own opinion tell me what you think!

For Educational Purposes Only

I think it looks pretty spiffy… Not much too it really, but there isn’t much to WEB 2.0 graphics after all.

 

 

The Legendary Starfy Swims Again!!

Today’s post will touch on a few points of my most recent handheld purchase… The Legendary Starfy!

Get to know Starfy here!!

The idea is simple enough, the game is a classic platformer with a few added quirks

This was my first romp into the Starfy series but this is actually the 4th Starfy game to come out. Well if you want an unbiased opinion compared to the other games you’ve come to the right place. My first impression of this game was a good one, bright colorful and full of cheer… i expect the game to be rather easy at this point.

The top bottom views are great for this game and offer a lot of fun play expereinces that you may be familiar with if you have played the Mario and Luigi titles for the DS. Boss battles will almost always take up both screens and it makes for a much larger environment for you you to swim around in.

The game itself handles really well, the added movement complication of swimming is a breeze to become familiar with as are starfy’s famous spin and other special moves. My one complaint here is that occasionally when I find myself moving boulders and such i want things to go faster…. i spend a lot of time waiting for things to drop… realistic i understand but this is rather annoying.

The Fun don’t stop there though! New to the game are the character Bunston the rabbit seemingly from space and his ability to help Starfy change into a variety of different forms. To the right you see Starfy in his dragon form which is the first form you become familiar with. Blowing fire in all directions and halping starfy take on his first boss in Big Squiddy. This concept is very reminicest of Mario and his powerups fire power, the raccoon suit, frog suit, bee suit, etc. but hey I love Nintendo and their gimmick rehashing ways.

Rehashed or not its fun, it works and unlike Mario you can’t get powerups and keep them, rather you can only use them when Bunstons around and only for that particular segment of the level. No dragons don’t swim in this game.

All in all this game is entertaining. Though if cute and fuzzy aren’t your things this is one to stay away from. It oozes with adorableness that younger kids will just eat up. If you can deal with that and you love platformers, pick it up you won’t regret it. Its not terribly long, but there is enough to keep you busy for a good couple of rainy days.

Crashing Castles and Breaching Boundries

Sorry for the delay in posting loyal fans… all none of you. But one day maybe people will read this on a regular basis and wonder to themselves “where was he for so long?” Well truth be told i was in the hospital with a Kidney Stone. A rather pesky one at that as the first surgery was a unable to reach the stone. So i got to suffer for a week while the stone painstakingly moved its way down. 

I may have been laid out but there’s one thing i do rather frequently while laying down and that being doped up on vicadin wouldn’t really affect Yep gaming. I watched too many movies and played enough of my 360 in the past two weeks to tide most people over for a good long while. And you lucky readers get to hear of the fruits of my incapacitation. 

Just before the stones i had just hooked my 360 up to x-box live. This was big for me since all my friends have been on for a while. The first thing they made me do (after setting up my account, avatar, etc.) was download the live arcade game Castle Crashers.

 

The Heros

I was really excited about crashers because i was always a huge fan of arcade style beat em ups. Some of the most classic examples are The Ninja Turtles Arcade Game, The Simpsons Arcade Game, and games like Streets of Rage. You take control of one of the characters and walk through various side scrolling levels slashing and basing your way to the next stage. They were simple and yet really entertaining…. and the difficulty as the game progressed would always become a challenge.

Same stuff here you start off as one of 4 knights whose party has just been crashed and its time to teach the bad guy a lesson, save the girl, and make money all at the same time. Each of the knights has his own unique magic abilities but other than that they all play out exactly the same. 

I was so excited to play this game with my friends, and yet once i had it was never able to make that happen. At least not yet. I did however beat the game by myself in what according to my friends was a ridiculously quick time. Overall the game is great, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. So here are the good and the bad.

The Good

• Incredibly fun simple gameplay
• A steadily increasing difficulty
• beautiful, crisp, and clean 2d graphics in all their gory glory
• Lots of Unlockables (characters, weapons, pets)
• The story is hilarious

The Bad

• The characters all seem the same, maybe different storylines for each character or a unique move set…something
• For all the trouble i had getting through the levels the bosses were a bit unchallenging 
• Their should be a better way to unlock new characters than simply beating the game with a different one. Beating the game is not a walk in the park, maybe with 4 people working together who knows.

So yeah not too many complaints and since its the first game in the series (assuming with its popularity there will be more) i would expect to see a lot of awesomeness coming out of the Behemoth (the developer) in the future. I will update as soon as i have had a chance to play with a few friends and let you know how the experience changes too.

BREAKING DEVELOPMENT

Due to my friend moving back in with his parents and a lack of place to put it i have finally gained access to a PS3. So now i have all the major systems in place in my house, plus all the retro stuff too So expect to see some more varied gameplay soon this this month in particular i will be picking up Ghostbusters, The Legendary Starfy, Klonoa for Wii, and hopefully diving into some PS3 games which at present i have zero experience with. Stay tuned for some major updates!

Bustin’ Makes Me Feel Good!

Yep Ghostbusters is back this June and in a huge way. June will mark the release of their new video game set to hit EVERY current system. Check out the newest trailer below for the Xbox 360 version.

The thing to take away from this stellar video is that not only is the game visually appealing you might have heard some familiar voices coming out of those animated mouths. Thats because the original cast (most of them anyway) are back to portray their ghostbusting counterparts once more. Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis even wrote the script for the game which started out as a screenplay for a 3rd movie. Joining the original cast as Peter Venkman’s love interest is Alyssa Milano as….Alyssa, well that works well i guess.

Not all of the games will be the same of course the story will be similar but the art style between the systems will of course vary take a look at the Wii trailer to see what i mean.

As you can see it’s got a much more exaggerated and cartoony feel as well as a more personal touch as YOU are now a member of the team where in the PS3 and 360 versions you take control of your favorite busters.

Look for this one out mid June (hopefully it isn’t pushed back again) or if you want to get a jump on things you can pre-order it at your local Gamestop or EB Games to score a limited edition t-shirt, ROCK!

 

Free Shirt and playable alternate costume.

But thats not the only option! You can pre-order at Walmart or Best Buy to score some different in game playables. Check these out.

 

Walmart Exclusive Gold Proton Pack

 

Best Buy Exclusive Costumes

 

 

 My favorite of these little special editions though is the Slimer edition at Amazon.com. This sucker comes with a limited edition statuette of Slimer, an Ecto 1 led keychain light, Exclusive console skins, and a set of exclusive ghostbusters Minimates you cant get anywhere else. It comes with a hefty pricetag but in my opinion it’s well worth the small bank loan you would need to buy it.

If you are like me you already have this gem (i hope) pre-ordered. If not get on that man i mean seriously look at all the awesome-ness that is coming with this game. You might forget how awesome the game will be! As if this wasn’t enough reason for Ghostbusters fans to rejoice this game comes along with the announcement of Ghostbusters 3. Yep thats right a 3rd film is in the works… now all we have to do is wait