Who likes video games? Who likes the Xbox 360. My name is Ryan Jones and I have been a gamer ever since I was a kid, and so I have created a website/blog all about video games and in particular, the Xbox 360 (though I will also talk about other systems as well). This site talks about upcoming games, offers reviews of games I have played, user sumitted content and more. Connect with me here on BlogSpot.
Another Emerald City comic con is fast approaching (this weekend) and I thought that I would do a recap of last year's comic con. Last year, I went with Justin, Kenyon, and his former girlfriend, Kara (they broke up later that year, long story short). Anyways, here are all of the pics I took last year.
Picture of a Star Wars themed shirt and super man themed shirt. Last year I decided to keep it simple and wear a superman shirt to the comic con.
Driving into Seattle after picking up Kenyon and Kara in Woodinville. Yes, it was raining that year too.
Picture of the convention center.
Me dressed up as superman (minus the cape).
Picture of the first panel Me and Justin went to. In this one some people were offering advice on cosplaying (like I will be doing this year, as Nick Fury).
The convention center was packed as it often is during the comic con event on Saturday. Lots of people dressing up in costumes too. Event staff were a bit more strict on photography and video taping last year, so I had to be selective on when and where to take pictures.
Random panel discussion I attended, forgot which one though.
Picture of the first celebrity panel I attended. I can't quite remember her name, though I like to think it was
Elizabeth Henstridge from Agents of Shield, but I am not positive.
Picture of the Star Wars display at the comic con. The droids and r2d2 were pretty lively when I was there with someone controlling their moves with a remote control.
In this picture: someone dressed up as Princess Leia with Darth Vader in the background, 3 random droids (including R4?) and R2 D2. You know, I would not be suprised if the Star Wars people do somethings special this year considering that Episode 7 (Force Awakens) is supposed to come out later this year (in December) and will mark the first new Star Wars film to be made since Revenge of the Sith (episode 3) was released in 2005. Unlike the prequel trillogy, the new one is supposed to be set about 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi and will feature the return of some old favorites, including Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, R2 and C-3po, all played by the same actors from the original films (though obviously aged significantly over the years). It will be interesting to see the storyline of the new trilogy, especially considering that much of the expanded universe storyline that would have bridged the 2 trilogies (i.e., Heir to the Empire, other novels, Dark Forces Jedi Knight series, etc) are no longer considered cannon in the Star Wars storyline, which means the new trilogy will definitely be in uncharted territory.
Are there any lego fans here? Check out these displays people have made. I wish I had that kind of creativity and skills with legos.
More lego displays
Here is a picture of a fully functional lego R2 (it too was lively like the other one I got a picture of earlier)
Who likes Minecraft? Check out this picture of some kid with a "creeper' from the game. I have the game for the Xbox One but I haven't tried it yet. Will have to try it out sometime (been playing through GTA 5 and Lego Movie lately).
Did another selfie of myself
Attended the panel discussion for John De Lance. In case if you do not know, he played as the infamous Q, who was one of the many villains that Patrick Stewart (aka Captain Picard) and his crew encountered throughout the series and played a huge role in the series finale. He also did several other works too (such as some of the My Little Pony cartoons as well).
Picture of John talking to a random kid. By the way, celebrity panels (like this one) are often packed and so sometimes it is easier to get views and pictures of celebrities on screen as opposed to in person (unless if you are lucky enough to get in the front row seats).
Here is another picture of the R2 and droid units in action at the Star Wars display. At one point they were moving around together and playing tunes.
Random Jedi and Storm Trooper at the Star Wars display. By the way, in the mainline series, the Jedi and Storm troopers were definitely not friends, especially after the infamous Order 66 was issued by Darth Sidious (aka Palpatine) which essentially caused the Clone Troopers and later Storm Troopers to turn on the jedi.
Attended the costume contest at the end of the show. I actually did get more picturs from Justin's (my brother) camera, but he forgot to share them, so I had less pictures to share, but some of the costumes people wore were quite impressive.
Another selfie of me at the costume contest
That is all for now. Will try to get pictures at tomorrow's event too.
About 2 days ago, I downloaded Rayman Legends for the Xbox One. They were offering a special in the Xbox Live store (at least gold members) where you could download Rayman and several other games for free (or at least reduced prices), so I decided to try out Rayman Legends.
Above is a video, posted by pivmaster2 showing off the first 10 minutes of the game (essentially the intro and the first level). The game is divided up into several worlds (similar to how it is in games like Donkey Kong Country, New Super Mario Bros, and Sonic Boom) full of levels you can play through, as well as at least one major boss fight per world (with the first one being a giant dragon you fight). You start off playing as Rayman, but you can play as other characters as well. In addition, you can also unlock Rayman Orgins levels as well as do online challenges as well.
Things I like about the game so far:
- Humorous to play through. Very comical too
- Fun and interesting platformer game
- I also like the side kick feature in the game where on certain levels, Rayman can have a side kick come along and do things for him (such as flipping switches, helping to defeat enemies, taking care of potiential traps, etc).
- Cool boss fights. I fought the dragon this morning and it was quite fun and divided into several parts.
- Each level does have friends that Rayman has to rescue and levels are rather huge with many things to do, areas to explore, and secret areas to find.
- Interestingly, although you can play though each world in order, it is possible to unlock stages in other worlds (such as Toad Story) early on and play through more than one world at a time. It is also possible to unlock latter stages and even boss fights early on too.
Negative aspects:
- Cheap deaths. Expect to die alot in the game, especially if it is your first time through. Usually Rayman can take 2 hits (assuming he has a heart icon over his head) and then he dies, though sometimes he can get killed in one hit too. Each level is filled with obstacles, enemies, pitfalls, and other death traps, all eager to send Rayman to an early retirement.
- The game can get addicting, so you may want to pace yourself while playing through the game.
That is all for now and I will post more about Rayman Legends as I play through the game.
Want to try Rayman Legends for the Xbox One? You can download it from the Xbox Live Store on your Xbox One.
Here is another interesting video I saw on Youtube yesterday. Can't you imagine what it would like seeing parents and grandparents playing Grand Theft Auto 5, let alone watching a trailer for the game? Check out these 2 videos below. Warning: scenes from Grand Theft Auto 5 in the below videos may be offensive to some.
Video 1 - Elders reacting to trailer for GTA 5
Video 2 - Elders Playing GTA 5
My Commentary about the videos:
First off: seeing the elderly playing Grand Theft Auto 5 is impressive, never thought I would see the day. I seriously doubt that my parents (especially my mother) would play Grand Theft Auto 5 if it was offered to them (especially considering that my mother doesn't like those games to say the least). Anyways, these 2 videos were definitely inteesting to watch. In the first video, it looks like a group of eldely were watching a trailer for the game and some random gameplay videos of the game too (seems like it was the Xbox 360 era GTA 5) and in the second video, they actually get to play the game. Interestingly, some of the participants were actually more enthusiastic about the game than others. One common question I heard was: what is the objective of GTA 5 and I think at least in the main story mode is to complete the storyline and side missions, which pretty much tell the story of the game. Other than that the game is a pretty open world with lots of things players can do.
Other interesting tidbits about the videos:
- I like the manic laugh sound effect that appears sometime.
- Apparently one elderly was an ex cop and he definitely has an interesting point that there are no known successful or decent criminals like the protaganists in GTA 5.
- There does seem to be the notion that Grand Theft Auto 5 (and previous entries in the series for that matter) can teach some people bad ideas, and while I am sure there are people that ideas from the game, there are plenty of teachable moments in the game and people (especially kids) should be taught that everything they see is purely fiction and should never be tried in real life.
- I also like watching the participants playing in the game.
- Remember: for your own good, anything you see in Grand Auto 5 and similar games are purely fiction and should never be imitated in real life and doing so can lead to serious consequences, long prison sentences or even death.
Bonus Content: Elderly React to Call of Duty (this video was pretty amusing to watch and I do have to admit that I am still a noob at Call of Duty too).
Well, that is all for now. What do you think of these videos. By the way, are any of you elderly or in law enforcement? What is your take on the series?
You know, just watching this video below makes me feel a little old (considering I was a little kid back in the 1980s and did have an nes system back then too.). In this video, long story short, teenagers get to play classic Super Mario Bros on the nes and share their reactions to it. Interestingly, I am not sure if any of them have played NES before. Check out the video below
Commentary:
Ah, being in my 30's, this video showing teens the classic NES definitely brings back memories. In case if you do not recall, long before the current generation game systems (Xbox One, PS4, and WII U) back in the late 1980s and early 1990's (before the Sega Genesis and SNES) there was the classic NES (though obviously game systems have changed dramatically since the 80's, especially now with the PS4 and Xbox One being the latest generation of game consoles). I definitely like the reaction of the teens when they try out the old game system and I do remember that the NES was definitely the style back in the 80's and early 90's. I still do have some retro games myself, such as the Mega Man Anniversary collection for the Xbox (which features Mega Mans 1-8 along with Mega Man power fighters 1 and 2) as well as Mega Mans 9 and 10, which are 8 bit in that incarnation (despite being for the xbox 360). Here is a list of games I had when I had (or played) the NES:
- Battletoads - argurably one of the best and yet hardest games of all time. Boy if you though the Turbo Tunnel level was hard (level 3), that level was just the beginning as the game was 12 levels long, with each level getting progressively tougher than the last, especially from level 7 on. Game Genie is almost a must have if you want to beat the entire game given the limited lives and continues.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
- Super Mario 1 and 3 (don't have 2)
- Rescue Rangers
- 1943
- Duck Tales
- Castlevania 2 Simons quest (though my favorite castlevanias are Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, Dracula X, Symphony of the Night, and harmony of despair).
- Contra
- Mega Mans 1-6 (my favorites were probably Mega Man 3 and 4).
- and others
By the way, the above video is not the only video showing kids reacting to NES era stuff. I will share other videos over time. By the way, you know what I thought was funny about the above video: Mario dying in level 1 considering that level is just the beginning. I think my favorite Mario games were Mario 3, Super Mario World, Mario 64 and New Super Mario Bros wii.
What did you think of the NES era? Especially in the light of current gen game systems.
Bonus content: Teens Reacting to classic mega man:
Well, I was finally able to get my Xbox Live account working with the help of my father. Anyways, I have started a new game and career on GTA 5 Online. Let me introduce you to my new character, which I dubbed: Uncle Steve (was trying to be creative with names and thought that name looked cool).
Did a "selfie" of my character
Interestingly, there was nobody else online last night so I pretty much had the GTA Online mode to myself and was able to explore the map and try out the online features. It is also worth noting that this character will replace the character I had on the Xbox 360 version of the game (even if I wanted to resume that version of the game, I traded it in at gamestop and got the Xbox One version in its place).
Stay tuned for the latest updates.
Here are some other pictures I have taken so far:
Siberian huskies at a dog park north of Los Santos. Yes: sibes do exist in this version of the game and can often be found at parks like this one.
Hey everyone. In this post, I thought I would share with you the New Power Rangers short film on Youtube. You can watch the film there. Warning - this video is rated R and may be offensive to some. Here is the original video if you want to watch it. Interestingly, the film was temporarily taken down, but it appears that the film maker was allowed to repost it. Note: the film is listed as "adult content" (as a part of the agreement the poster had with Bandai / Saban)
My Commentary of the film
In case if you don't know, the creators of the Power Rangers franchise are planning to do a reboot movie of the the MMPR franchise which is supposed to take the series back to its roots (back in the 1990s' incarnation where Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd were the main villians and you had the original characters: Tommy, Jason, Triny, Zack, Billy, and Kimberly as the power rangers), which will definitely be a first since the 1990s. Anyways, there was a fan made short film of the original franchise and I thought I would talk about it. The short film is definitely not canon in my opinion (completely different from the original series) with the franchise set sometime in a distant future New World order style system where the Rangers take on an evil empire called the Machine Empire (not to be confused with the Machine Empire from Power Rangers Zeo). In the film, it appears the rangers were defeated in a battle against a corrupt NWO style government known as the Machine Empire and Kimberly (who is a blonde type unlike her counterpart in the original series) is being interrogated by the secret police (I won't spoil the film). The film is definitely much darker than the original version but has a little bit more action and drama.
Things I liked about the film:
- Futuristic look (the graphics at the beginning of the film remind me of those in the Halo franchise)
- New actors portraying the original characters
- Different take to the saga.
- I definitely liked the acting style
- New villians: instead of the rangers taking on monsters from Rita or Zedd, they take on an evil empire in a New World Order style world (where there is a global dictatorship).
Negative aspects:
- Definitely more violent and dark than the original
- The fact that it was taken down today. It looks like I just made it before the film was taken down since it was taken down shortly after I watched it.
- Not quite the same as the original franchise.
- Power Rangers (at least the original version) dieing is definitely not canon in my opinion.
Interesting tidbits after watching the film:
- Machine Empire (the empire listed in the short film): this was a real empire in the franchise, at least during the Power Rangers Zeo series. The real Machine Empire were the main antagonists during the Power Rangers Zeo season (bridges the gap between Alien Rangers and Power Rangers Turbo), lead by King Mondo. They replaced Rita and Zedd during much of the Power Rangers Zeo series while Rita and Zedd were on the run from them on the moon. Eventually the Machine Empire was defeated by the rangers (indirectly with help from Rita and Zedd I might add), though by the time Power Rangers Turbo aired, another villain replaced the Machine Empire (namely Divatox and her minions).
Picture of King Mondo from Power Rangers Zeo (image source: rovang.wikispaces.com, appears that the website was taken down).
- Interestingly many of the original rangers including: Kimberly, Triny, Jason and Zack all left the show before the events of Power Rangers Zeo took place. If you remember, Jason, Triny and Zack all left the show around the midpoint of Season 2 after being picked for the "world peace conference" which apparently happened as a result of a pay dispute between the actors and film makers, which is somewhat understandable in my opinion. According to the IMDB, the actors and actresses would often put in very long hours, sometimes day and night almost every day (poor fellas, I wonder when they are able to sleep or have days off) and were only paid minimum wage (you would think actors and actresses would have made significantly more being in the show and all especially by being the star in the film). Their characters would be replaced by Rocky, Adam and Aisha as a result, though it appears Aisha left the show shortly before Power Rangers Zeo. Though Jason does make a brief return about midway through Power Rangers Zeo as the gold ranger and was on the show once again for a while before leaving the series once again at the end of the Zeo season (before PR Turbo aired). He also briefly appeared in the Power Rangers Turbo movieas one of Divatox's (the new series antagonist during the PR Turbo series) hostages in the Power Rangers Turbo Movie (she wanted to sacrifice him and Kimberly to a weird volcanic monster that appears towards the end of the film).
- Amy Jo Johnson (aka Kimberly) left the show about midway through season 3 (taking up gymnastics on a full time basis) and was replaced by Katherine (Catherine Sutherland). Interestingly she is only mentioned once in Power Rangers Zeo when Kim sends Tommy a "Dear John letter" (which is basically a letter informing Tommy that she wanted to break up and just be friends), effectively ending their relationship permanently (probably as a result of Amy leaving the show). Interestingly, like Jason, Kimberly makes one more appearance in the Power Rangers Turbo Movie as another hostage of Divatox before leaving the series once again afterwards. Not sure if she makes any more appearances afterwards.
- Billy and Tommy return on Power Rangers Zeo, with Billy more as a support character than a ranger and he leaves the show before the end of the Zeo series.
- Kimberly as a dumb blonde type?! In the Power Rangers Short film, Kimberly (the pink ranger) is portrayed as blonde type. Interestingly, according to the trivia page as well as Amy Jo Johnson's panel discussion at the Lexington comic con (see youtube video below) for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, when Saban started doing auditions for the original show Amy's character was originally supposed to be portrayed as a "stereotypical dumb blonde" type, possibly as a comic relief style character, much like Bulk and Skull were (probably the same iq level as them if I had to guess and those guys were definitely the idiot types in the series almost like Beavis and Butthead in many ways). Though obviously her role eventually ended up being the much wiser California / Valley girl type (Valley Girl, California girl, what is the difference?). The short film seems to go with the original idea and make her more of a dumb blonde type. Thought that I would point that out.
- The Machine Empire in this version of events reminds me of the New World Order style government that will likely appear in the tribulation era (presumably lead by the Antichrist during the 7 years leading up to Christ's return, at least from Christian stand point). It features the rangers going up against a corrupt global dictatorship with corrupt government agents replacing the "putties". Many conspiracy theroists think there will be a NWO style dictatorship someday. When and how such as global dictatorship comes about is yet to be know, though most likely it will probably appear during the end time events (at least in Christian perspective) with the Antichrist leading it.
- Even though this is only a fan film, it does seem to mark the first new incarnation of Power Rangers to bring back all of the original characters (Zack, Billy, Jason, Triny, Kimberly, and Tommy), portrayed by new actors. We will probably see that again when the Power Rangers Reboot movie comes out next year. Up till now older characters are usually replaced by new ones with different names (such as Jason being replaced by Rocky, Triny being replaced by Aisha and later Tanya, Kimberly replaced by Katherine, and all of the other changes over the years).
Well, that is all for now. What are your thoughts on the short film? You know, the reboot version of the show is supposed to come out next year sometime. Who all is looking forward to that? Feel free to leave comment below or like and share this post.
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