tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84380968667006510692024-03-18T21:16:23.059-07:00Ryan's Xbox One Fan Site and Video Game blogWho 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.Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-4381573100973055762017-02-10T10:07:00.000-08:002017-02-10T10:07:32.633-08:00My Amazon account has been hacked into and compromisedHere is a quick update. I am sorry to inform you all that my Amazon account is gone. Yesterday, I got this message:<br />
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<img height="1" src="https://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?C=KFU9AE08RQL8&K=A16WZQ4FNH3JJP&R=EM8YFWAA5X0T&T=O&U=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-na.ssl-images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FG%2F01%2Fnav%2Ftransp.gif&A=BJC2JXJ47PIADHXUA9F3A38KOOCA&H=G29VUAEJM6LZAAFZ3HLJPD1T9OKA&ref_=pe_1118270_122131130_opens" width="1" /> <br />
Thanks for visiting <span class="currentHitHighlight" id="0.9051278512066614" name="searchHitInReadingPane">Amazon</span>.com! Per your request, we have changed the e-mail address associated with your account <br />
The e-mail address associated with your account has been changed. The old address was ryansjones@hotmail.com. The new address is hojryanjones@gmail.com.<br />
Visit Your Account at <span class="highlight" id="0.8457481908670847" name="searchHitInReadingPane">Amazon</span>.com to view your orders, make changes to any order that hasn't yet entered the shipping process, update your subscriptions, and much more.<br />
Should you need to contact us for any reason, please know that we can give out order information only to the name and e-mail address associated with your account.<br />
Thanks again for shopping with us<br />
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Unfortunately, it wasn't me that changed the email address and it appears that whoever hacked into the account changed the password too, so I can't get in. I will probably have to close the account and start a new one someday. Consequently, I decided to remove Amazon Affiliate links for now (since some else now controls it). If the issues get resolved and my account gets restored, I will post new links. Will also remove the amazon associates store page too. I am not sure how the hackers got my password (very good at not falling for phishing scams), but someone probably guessed it and got in. Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-33669185956091666132016-02-24T21:29:00.001-08:002016-06-02T20:26:24.793-07:00Top 10 Cliche costume ideas for comic consHey everyone. The next Emerald City comic con is literally 2 months away (set in April) and I already have a ticket for the Saturday event this year. In case if you have never been to a comic con, it is essentially an event held in cities like Seattle, San Diego, New York, and many others where people can sell comic related stuff, dress up in costumes (much like you would on Halloween), and possibly even meet a celebrity (or at least sit in on the panel discussions they do). Anyways, here are some of the most cliché costumes might encounter at the events<br />
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Interested in going to emerald city comic con or learn more about it? You can check out their website at <br />
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1. Deadpool - </h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="This was an awesome game!!! So excited for the movie! #deadpool #geek #modernistablog: " class="pinImage rounded" data-load-state="pending" height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/f9/a6/56/f9a6569ceb2975585e29eecf166a3a17.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="212" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random Picture of Deadpool on Pinterest</td></tr>
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A comic con is never complete without at least one person dressing up as Deadpool from Marvel. He is essentially the merc with a mouth type of antihero and is well known for popping his wisecracks (much like spiderman) when dealing with foes. By the way, have any of you seen the new Deadpool movie yet? I have seen it and it is pretty awesome, though I might not recommend it for kids considering that the movie is somewhat crude and might be too much for some people. I imagine it would be a challenge to create a Deadpool costume, but people do make it<br />
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2. Power Rangers</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Power Rangers at the comic con. They had pretty impressive costumes (looked almost like the real thing, though I doubt that it is the same actors).: " class="pinImage rounded" data-load-state="pending" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/87/b1/ea/87b1eafbb55ae43328787c5161ce670a.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Managed to get a picture of at least one group of people dressed up as Power Rangers a few years ago</td></tr>
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"Go go power rangers..." (quote from the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers theme song). Yeah, you might encounter some people dressed up as power rangers (across all seasons), though the classic mighty morphin power rangers (aka Jason/Rocky the red ranger, Billy the blue ranger, Zack/Adam the black ranger, Tommy the green/white ranger, Triny/Aisha the yellow ranger, and Kimberly/Kat the pink ranger) are the most common form of power rangers you might encounter at the events. I can't say you will encounter these people every time, but I have seen people dressed up as them on several different occasions (even last year I saw some people dressed up as rangers). BTW, although I have never gone to it, apparently there is a power morphicon that meets just about every year in Pasadena California that is geared towards power rangers enthusiasts and even features various actors from the shows (such as Jason David Frank, Catherine Sutherland, Jason Narvy, and others). See http://officialpowermorphicon.com/ for more info about the power morphicons. Anyways, this year, I understand that Jason David Frank (very well known for his role in the Power Rangers franchise) is supposed to be at the Emerald City comic con this year, so people might be more inclined to dress up as power ranger characters this year. Also, next year (2017) is supposed to be when the Power Rangers Reboot (basically 1990's all over again) is supposed to come out to theaters, so I wouldn't be surprised if I see power rangers cosplayers at the comic cons both this year and next year. Though I haven't really considered dressing up as a ranger, I have considered doing a "Bulk and Skull" cosplay. Remember Bulk and Skull were those punk dudes that were well known at least in the earlier incarnations of the show that often provided comic relief for the shows. Though I don't really have a punk outfit, and it would work best if I paired up with someone (I could be Bulk and someone else could be Skull). No comic con is complete without seeing at least someone dressed up as a power ranger in my opinion.<br />
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3. Darth Vader and other Star Wars Characters</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" height="240" src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t31.0-8/856105_557396417622_785234069_o.jpg" style="height: 720px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 960px;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here are some businessmen dressed up as Darth Vader and Boba Fett</td></tr>
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<img alt="Darth Vader "force choking" a random jedi dude.: " class="pinImage rounded" data-load-state="pending" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/82/90/4c/82904c1d3afa2e4ca664f3fc0d923e90.jpg" /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="true" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" height="240" src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/12360311_642817233622_353763393328015599_n.jpg?oh=d44faff04801287ddf3f5d177e8e0768&oe=5756D51C" style="height: 720px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 960px;" width="320" /></td></tr>
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Here are some Storm Troopers posing for the camera at the Emerald City Comic con</div>
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Star Wars is very popular for cosplayers. In fact, the Emerald City comic con even has areas dedicated to Star Wars cosplayers with people dressed up as Darth Vader, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Obi Wan Kenobi, Boba Fett, and even Emperor Palpatine. With Force Awakens officially out now and Star Wars Rogue One coming out later this year, I definitely would not be surprised if I see more people dressing up as Star Wars characters, especially say Kylo Ren, First Order storm troopers, etc. Interestingly, you might also encounter an R2 unit or two as well. <br />
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4. Spiderman</h3>
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Yes, your friendly neighborhood Spiderman is known to make an appearance or two at many comic cons (if not all of them). You may even encounter Dark Spiderman and Venom too. Spiderman is definitely one of the more iconic figures in the Marvel Universe (in addition to Deadpool, Captain America and Iron Man and others). Spiderman is definitely a popular costume to go as for cosplayers. Definitely the classic superhero type. By the way, who is a fan of he Spiderman franchise? I remember watching the 1990s spiderman series on fox kids when it was on and even seen both the Toby McGuire spiderman trilogy as well as the new Amazing Spiderman movie. <br />
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5. Master Chief from Halo series</h3>
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Who here has any of the Xboxes (original xbox, Xbox 360, and/or Xbox One)? If you are an Xbox (regardless of generation), you probably know about the Halo series (along with Call of Duty, Battlefield and similar war style first person shooter games). Video games can often make inspirations for people to dress up as their favorite characters (i.e., Link, Mario, Luigi, princess peach, Zelda, Dr Robotnik, ad many others), but I think the Master Chief costume is quite impressive. The Halo series also make very good multiplayer shooter games to play too. Definitely the type of costume to attract the ladies in my opinion.<br />
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6. Superman</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Super Man and Lex Luther: " class="pinImage rounded" data-load-state="pending" height="400" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/4f/61/f2/4f61f2088fc0d9d7b52a49b63918dabd.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="298" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture I got of 2 guys, one dressed up as Superman and the other as Lex Luther</td></tr>
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You know, the new Batman vs Superman movie is supposed to be released this year (March 25 according to IMDB) and I would be surprised if nobody dresses up as Superman this year. Definitely the classic super hero, complete with a secret idenitity (Clark Kent), cape and all. Even I have done some super hero cosplay, most notably around the time the first "Man of Steel" movie came out. For advantage sales and marketing, I had to do this demo at Walmart in South Everett (the one off of Evergreen way) where I had to literally dress up as Superman (shirt, pants, cape, and all) and try and get people to buy special tickets for the movie on opening night (had a special introductory footage by Henry Cavill himself). I thought I took a selfie, but lost the picture so I can't post it, but I did just that, though back in 2014, I did a slight cosplay of superman without the cape (had a superman t shirt I was wearing) myself. Given the rivalry between Superman and Batman in the upcoming movie, it will be interesting to see if the rivalry is played out by cosplayers this year.<br />
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7. Batman</h3>
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Just thinking about the new Batman vs Superman movie coming out, hey, will the real Batman (aka Bruce Wayne) stand up. There have been many different versions of the character, including Adam West, Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, and now, Ben Aflec. By the way, about 3 years ago (back in 2013), I sat in the panel discussion that Burt Ward and Adam West put on at the comic con (where they talk about their experiences in the 1960s era Batman movies along with other things). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t31.0-8/859439_557396347762_1101038421_o.jpg" style="height: 720px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 960px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me sitting in on the Adam West and Burt Ward panel discussion at the Emerald City comic con back in 2013. They were well known as the "original" Batman and Robin (at least prior to Michael Keaton and all of the more recent Batmans)</td></tr>
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8. Nick Fury</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ryan's Xbox 360 Fan Site and Video Game blog: " class="pinImage rounded" data-load-state="pending" height="240" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/3d/b2/c6/3db2c604fb50a4d68c10ce70644fa729.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of me dressing up as Nick Fury at Comic con (btw, Nick Fury was not always portrayed as a Samuel Jackson type, older versions of the character, like the version of him in Marvel Ultimate Alliances 1 and 2 were portrayed as Caucasian instead of African American characters, much like how Thor was not always portrayed as a female character as is the case with the MCU version of Thor).</td></tr>
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9. Captain America</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Picture of me at the comic con (I was posing with Captain America and an imperial moff from Star Wars).: " class="pinImage rounded" data-load-state="pending" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/48/cc/4b/48cc4b9bbae6bc71db6bf61d2910b6a9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me posing for the camera with a star destroyer pilot from Star Wars and a person dressing up as Captain America.</td></tr>
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With all of the different Marvel Cinematic Universe movies coming out (i.e., Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and all) it is no surprise people will be dressing up as their favorite avengers characters. Captain America can be a popular choice for people looking to dress up as an Avengers character, after all he is very well known in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, along with Bruce Banner (the Hulk), Iron Man, Thor, and all of the other averangers related characters. With new MCU movies coming out just about every year in recent years, there will be more inspirations for cosplayers. This year, there is the Captain America Civil War (similar to the comic version of the Marvel Civil War) and Captain Strange. Last year, there was Avengers Age of Ultron, Ant Man and Guardians of the Galaxy to name a few along with non MCU movies such as Fantastic 4 and X-men days of future past (just watched Deadpool in theaters last week). I wouldn't be surprised if people dress up as Captain America and other avengers characters this year.<br />
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10. Villians</h3>
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Yes, you might get people dressed up as villainous characters too. At the costume contest they do about 2 years ago, there was a man dressed up as the riddler from Batman. Perhaps the most well known Riddler was the Jim Carrey version of the character in Batman Forever. Other common villians includes: Venom, Magneto, Carnage, the Joker, Loki, Geth from Mass Effect (at least Mass Effects 1 and 2 portrayed them as villainous characters), and many others. I am actually considering as dressing up as Captain Hook from Peter Pan myself (the main antagonist in Peter Pan). Used to have a fake hook somewhere. <br />
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Other notable mentions:</h4>
- Malificent<br />
- Iron Man<br />
- Super Mario and luigi<br />
- Aladdin (you can also find people dressed up as him at Disneyland)<br />
- Thor<br />
- Characters from the Mass Effect series (such as Commander Shepard, Legion, and others)<br />
- Galactus (the planet eater villan)<br />
- Back Cat from Spiderman<br />
- Chun Li from Street Fighter<br />
- Lara Croft from Tomb Raider <br />
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My plans for this year:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="bulk-and-skull.jpg (610×374): " class="pinImage rounded" data-load-state="pending" height="195" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/d6/2a/1b/d62a1bd6f9468a14ef53912c7e6b7a31.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random picture of Bulk and Skull on Pinterest</td></tr>
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Originally, I was thinking about dressing up as Bulk from power rangers, however I don't have a punky outfit, and although I am planning to go to comic con with my brother Justin, I doubt that he would want to play as Skull (the costume would work best if I paired up with someone). Might go as Bulk next year, especially with the new Power Rangers movie coming out next year. So, another idea I have is to dress up as captain hook (though Captain Morgan is a possibility too). Will likely shop for pirate clothing sometime in March. Captain Morgan was a possibility too, though now that I am on the 30/10 weight loss diet (can't drink alcohol), that might be difficult to do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="dustin hoffman as captain hook in hook: " class="pinImage rounded" data-load-state="pending" height="320" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/2d/4a/f0/2d4af0b99380563be597a0e6c55f119c.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="214" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of Captain Hook from "Hook" on Pinterest</td></tr>
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Update 6/2/16<br />
Yes I did dress up again at the comic con this year. Considering that the new Batman vs Superman movie came out around the time of the comic con, I thought it would be fun to do a Lex Luthor costume. Will post the pics in a separate post.<br />
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Well, that is all for this post. Have you been to a comic con (or similar event)? What would you consider your most cliché costumes? Feel free to leave a comment below?<br />
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Like this post? Please feel free to "like" and share this post with others. Want to help support this site? Feel free to take time to visit my sponsors and share their ads with others. Your support will be most appreciated.Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-74633788658338083682016-01-16T23:05:00.000-08:002016-01-16T23:05:05.762-08:00My history as video gamer part 2: the 1990's (work in progress)Ah, the 1990s. It doesn't feel too long ago when those 2 decades came and went. The 1990's and 2000's definitely brought lots of changes in my life and game systems have changed dramatically in those 10 years. Interestingly, I would end up moving 4 different times during that decade. It was also the decade when I spent the vast majority of my schooling years, starting with 2nd grade back in 1990 and ending with my sophomore year in high school (though I also went to college for about 6 years, so I didn't fully finish my schooling career till 2007). <div>
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(coming soon): Mallard Drive house in Illinois</div>
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(coming soon): my former homes in Silver Firs then and now pictures</div>
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Where do I begin when it comes to the 1990's? I definitely saw lots of changes in my life during those 10 years. Back in 1990, I was still living on Timber Lane near Lindenhurst, Illionis and I would live in that home till I was in 3rd grade. After that, we moved to our second home on Mallard Drive (just across street where my old friend, Matt Bleich used to live, though he ended up moving to Florida many years later). 1991 was the year whem my other brother, Justin was born (November 1, 1991). I remember me and Brett spent the night with him downstairs that night. Video game wise, I still had the regular NES and it wasn't till christmas of 1993 till I upgraded to the Sega Genesis (though also got the Sega Game Gear maybe about a year or 2 before that). By the way, who here was a Sonic the Hedgehog fan? I remember playing through Sonic the Hedgehogs 1-3 as well as sonic and knuckles. Even remember doing Sonic CD, Knuckles Chaotix on the 3DX and eventually Sonic Adventures 1 and 2 on the Sega Dreamcast. While there are plenty of games I liked on the Super Nintendo (like Super Mario World, Castlevania Dracula X, Mega Man X, and Contra 3) I ended up getting a Sega Genesis instead. Back then, I did not have a job, so I usually had to rely on "Santa Claus" (aka mom and dad) to buy the games or systems I wanted for me. </div>
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(work in progress)</div>
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Brief highlights of the 1990's (which I will expand on later):</div>
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- Getting the Sega Geneis (16 bit days), though eventually I would also get the Sega CD and 32 X add ons as well</div>
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- Birth of my other brother, Justin (back in 1991)</div>
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- Going to Florida and Disneyworld twice</div>
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- Moving to the Seattle area (1994) and living in 2 different houses in Silver Firs </div>
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- Moving to Snohomish (current house I live in)</div>
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- Middle School and High School years</div>
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- Experience with the Nintendo 64, sony playstation, and Sega Dreamcast</div>
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- Going to Canada for the first time (field trip to Vancouver, BC)</div>
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and many others.</div>
Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-58648628869466443532016-01-16T22:22:00.002-08:002016-01-16T22:30:14.957-08:00Star Wars Battlefront Xbox One ReviewWho here has played the new Star Wars Battlefront game yet? For my birthday, I got a $50 gift certificate for game stop and decided to save it for when the new Star Wars battlefront game came out back in December, and used it to help buy the game. By the way, I still remember when the original 2 Star Wars Battlefront games came out for the regular Xbox (some were playable on the 360 too via the Backwards compatibility feature) and definitely liked playing through the 2 games.<br />
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Above is a random gameplay video from the new Star Wars battlefront game.<br />
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Dice's version of Star Wars battlefront definitely gets a huge makeover definitely has a "Call of Duty" or Battlefield style feel. The game is primarily set in the original trillogy, though the game also has Sullust (seems to be from the expanded universe) as well as Jakku from Star Wars Force Awakens. The game reminds me alot of Battlefield 1943 on the Xbox 360 in many ways, which was somewhat like an online only Call of Duty game where players can play as either as the Americans or Japanese (usually chosen randomly between battles), reliving various battles in the Pacific during World War with one side usually coming out on top at the end of each mission. Star Wars Battlefront has a similar feel where you play either as the Rebel Alliance of Galactic empire, except that the game is much bigger. While the game does have plenty of things for single players to do, such as training missions, battle matches (where gamers play for points) as well as an extensive survival mode where the player's character is stranded on a planet (like Hoth or Tatooine) and must survive many waves of imperial forces before being able to leave the plent, the game is definitely best played on the online multiplayer mode (aka Xbox Live). In online multiplayer mode the game gets much more interesting and fun to do with many different modes to play in. Some of the most popular modes to play in my opinion includes:<br />
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-Fighter squadron (where you pilot an Xwing, Awing, tie fighter or tie interceptor) and go up against other pilots (though some enemy ships are controlled by AI forces too). Sometimes you can fly a millenium falcon or Boba Fett's Slave I ship, but you have to get a special power up to play as them.<br />
- Walker Assault Mission. These maps are often huge with players playing either as the rebel forces or imperials The imperials launch an invasion against rebel forces, while it is up to the rebels to try and destroy the AT-AT Walkers. Game ends when either the rebels destroy 2 AT-AT walkers or when the rebels are no longer able to call up the y wing squadron.<br />
- Domination: the goal of the mission is for one side to control all of the major points on the map on a planet.<br />
- Heroes vs Battle (perhaps my favorite). In this mode, legendary heroe(Han Solo, Leia, Luke Skywalker) go up against Star Wars Villians (currently Boba Fett, Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine). Each hero or villan has their own unique abilities and powers. For example, Luke can whack people with his light saber and even has the force push availability, Darth Vader can use force choke on his enemies in additon to his usual lightsaber availabilities, and Palpatine can use his signature force lightning against opponents too). Only 6 players can control a hero or villian at a time (3 per side) so whenever there are extra players, they play as either rebel soldiers or storm troopers tasked with providing protection for their heroes and villian coutner parts. The game randomly chooses who play as a hero/villian or who plays as a rebel soldier / storm trooper and usually changes each round (one round you might play as say, Han Solo, another round you might control Princess Leia, and occsionally you might control a rebel soldier or storm trooper instead). Also, if you die as a hero or villian, you automatically assume the role as a rebel or storm trooper. I would like to see more heroes and villans added to the mix (such as Chewbacca, Kylo Ren, Darth Maul, etc) I am sure if they are added, they will come as DLC.<br />
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Things I like about Star Wars Battlefront:<br />
- Great multiplayer mode. Almost like a Battlefield or Call of Duty game.<br />
- Lots of variety.<br />
- Stunning graphics. You definitely feel like you are in the Star Wars universe. Each planet and map have their unique feels and looks. Tatooine feels like the desert planet it was in the movies (even has a Sarlacc creature lurking in the sands too, if you know where to look). Hoth is incredible too and feels like you are reliving the battle of Hoth from Empire Strikes back<br />
- It is often fun playing as heroes or villians. Adds some variety to the game play<br />
- The training missions are fun too and somewhat extensive. In one mission, you pilot an X wing and go up against tie fighters. In another mission, you control one of the speeders on Hoth and have to try and destroy At-At or At-St walkers. Conversely there are plenty of fun imperial missions too, such as one mission where you control either Darth Vader or Palpatine and slaughter rebel troops on Hoth or pilot speeder bikes on Endor too (btw they are easy to crash in my opinion, making the mission extra challenging).<br />
- This game will definitely be a hit for Star Wars fans in many ways especially when being able to relive various battles and events in the Star Wars Saga as well as challenging other players too. <br />
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<b>Negative Aspects about Star Wars Battlefront. Sure this game might not be for everyone</b><br />
- Limited Single player mode. Personally I find that the online mode offers alot more than single player mode. Single player will likely get old and boring after a while. Sure there are plenty of training missions you can do, survival maps to play through as well as battles to relive, but single player only offers so much for the player. You will definitely get more out of the game with the online multiplayer mode<br />
- Limited number of maps and planets to play through. The Star Wars universe is much bigger than planets like Tatooine, Hoth, Sullust, Endor, and Jakku. I hope Dice and EA add more maps over time, such as Coruscant (wouldn't it be fun to relive the battle of Coruscant that appears at the beginnign of Revente of the Sith), Genosis, and even Naboo along with various maps and planets from the Clone Wars. Even Force Awakens has got to give Dice some more inspiration too (such as the battle on the Star Killer Base). <br />
- I would also like it if they added more heroes and villians to the mix too. They should also include Kylo Ren, Chewbacca and other heroes in the mix.<br />
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Overall Grade: A-<br />
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Interested in getting Star Wars battlefront? You can either buy it at your local retailers ro order it online at Amazon.<br />
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<b>Other platform differences:</b><br />
I remember trying the demo version of Star Wars battlefront on the PS4 at one of the Walmart stores, but I found the controls are easier to master on the Xbox one version Other than that, I don't know too much about the other versions. If you have the PS4 or PC version, feel free to share your experiences in the comments below.Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-64263226919584068282016-01-12T22:34:00.003-08:002016-01-16T00:43:12.574-08:00My history as a Video Gamer part 1 - NES EraI got an email request recently asking about my history as a gamer and I think that now would be a good time for me to share my story. Like most kids growing up in the 1980s and 90s, I have had lots of exposure to video games in many different forms. My history is quite extensive too. My history is too long to do in one post, so I will have to break it up into several posts. In this post, I will explore the NES days<br />
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Above is a picture of Mountain View, California as it is today as of 2010. It was in Mountain View where I was born. Memories I have of those years are very faint at best (though I do have some pictures and videos of those years) considering that I ended up moving to Illinois when I was about 2 years old. Though sometimes I do get that home style feeling when visiting northern and central California (especially the Sacramento area). Interestingly, I haven't been to Mountainview in many years. Probably would not mind going there again someday seeing how much it has changed since I moved, though my family rarely takes trips to that part of California so I don't see myself going there again any time soon.<br />
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My video game history in the 1980s (NES and Atarti Era)</h3>
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I don't recall owning an Atari, but I did get my first game system when I was 7, the classic Nintendo. However, I do remember when I was about 4 years old, I used to visit my grandpa on my Mom's side (Joe Shackelford) in Rancho Cordova, California (he used to live there before moving to Washington State in 2004 and later passing away during the summer of 2005) and I remember getting to know one of his neighbor's kids and playing video games with him sometimes. Back then, my dad was in the Navy (mostly stationed in Illinois, though he was stationed in Mountain View for a while, where I was born), and remember he got deployed to Japan for a few months and me and my mother flew out to California from Chicago (yes I used to live in the Chicago area long before moving to the Seattle area back in 1994) and staying with him for several months (it was a long time ago, so I don't remember all of the details). Can't remember if he had an atari or sega master system, but he had at least one of the 2 game systems. I also faintly remember Aunt Linda (one of my Aunts) used to have an Atari system at her apartment (she lives in the Sacramento area too and had a son too, though I can't remember his name since he moved out when I was still young) and play some games on that. Around the time I turned 7, the classic NES was already becoming popular with fellow kids and friends in my neighborhood and remember playing nintendo games with some of them (such as Super Mario Bros and Contra). Eventually, I got my own Nintendo and got games like Super Mario, Duck Hunt, and others. That game system definitely brings back memories. I still remember playing games like Mario Bros 1 and 3, Mega Mans 2-4, Contra, Duck Tales, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, Teenage Ninja Turtles 2 (The Arcade Game), and even Battletoads (took a long time for me to beat that game too). I kind of got addicted to video games during those years too as I could spend long hours playging some of the games I had and often even visited friends and playing Nintendo at their houses too (most notably playing Mega Man 2 at this kid named Stephen's house). Also was friends with Michael Blocker and he had games like Contra, Super Mario 2, and Mike Tyson's Puch out and used to play those games from time to time as well. I remember some of the kids gave me a hard time for being hooked on video games too, and at least one kid spreaded false rumors about me plaing Mega Man 3 while he was gone at his house, though I faintly remember that day and have no memory of going there while he was gone (hey even if I did I probably didn't know better back then considering that I was probably only 8 or 9 years old at the time). <br />
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Most memorable games from the NES days:<br />
- Mega Man 2, 3 and 4. I remember used to have a friend named, Stephen Santiago (lost touch with him after moving to Washington State) and I remember how I used to often have sleep overs at his house ang play video games like Mega Man 2 and 3 with him sometimes. By the way, I did get the Mega Man Anniversary collection for the Xbox, which was fun to play through (as it features all of the classic mega man games, except for Mega Man and Bass, Mega Man 9, and Mega Man 10). I remember I used to spend long hours playing through that game (sometimes spending several hours in one sitting playing the games from beginning to end).<br />
- Super Mario bros. You know you are a typical 1980s kid when you have played through classic Super Mario bros at least once or twice. I remember getting hooked on this game too and would often spend long hours playing through the 8 worlds. I remember visiting friends and doing 2 player super mario bros with them from time to time (one person plays as Mario while others play as Luigi). By the way, this was far cry from say New Super Mario bros Wii or Wii U where 2 or more players can play simultaneously. Back then, players usually switched off between their characters die (which can mean long or short waits for the other player depending on how good the other player is). <br />
- Super Mario bros 3. This was definitely one of the better sequels in the series (besides Super Mario World and others). The game is huge compared to the first game and features huge maps of each world. By the way, good luck playing the game from end to end without using the whistles since back then, there was no save feature, so if you wanted to play from end to end, you would either have to use the hidden whistles to get from one world to the other or if you are the diehard type, you could spend long hours playing the game from end to end too (definitely could take an entire day to play from end to end in my opinon considering that each world is long with several boss fights in between each world and each getting progressively harder than the previous ones).<br />
- Contra and Super Contra. Definitely 2 classics in the contra series. By the way, who remembers the Komnai code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start)? It is almost essential to know for players serious about beating the game considering that getting hit even once usually results in instant death for the players and you only get so many lives and continues before you have to start over from the beginning.<br />
- Ninja Turtles 2 Arcade game. I remember playing this game in the arcades before a version came out for the consoles too. Forget the first ninja turtles game, Ninja Turtles 2 was definitely awesome. Given the difficulty of the game, along with the fact that you only get 3 continues, most people probably won't make it to the final boss against shredder though there are some cheats players can exploit to get there. Also, the game even has its classic villans for enemies and boss fights too, such as foot soldiers, mousers, krang, baxter, beabop and rocksteady, casey jones, and even shredder himself. The game is also one of several arcade style ninja turtles games for consoles since developers would later develop Ninja Turtles 3, Ninja Turtles 4 Turtles in Time (for the Super Nintendo) and later Ninja Turtles Hyperstone Heist for the sega genesis. I remember you can also either play the game on solo or team up with another player and work together to play through the game. By the way, wouldn't it be awesome if a version of the games came out for Xbox One and utilized the 4 player system either locally or via Xbox Live? That would be awesome. They could even remake the games and give them arcade style graphics instead of the old 8 bit or 16 bit graphics too.<br />
- Mega Man 3. This game was definitely a hit in the classic mega man series. Set sometime after the events of Mega Man 2, Dr Wily is at it again and it is up to Mega Man to foil his plans once again (a theme that would happen again and again over time). This game is also unique in several ways that in addition to fighting the usual 8 robot masters, you also have to fight a whole another set of robot masters from Mega Man 2 (in the form of the gamma robots that uses the abilities of their fallen comrades) in remixed versions of some of the levels you went through earlier. It is also the first game in the series to introduce Protman too (back then he seems to be hostile to Mega Man, at least till the end). It is also one of the few classic mega man games where the boss music changes between the regular robot master bosses and later the wily castle bosses. In many other games, the boss music either stays the same most of the time or doesn't change till the final boss. It is also one of the last games in the series where capcom gets creative with Mega Man's final confrontation with Wily. From Mega Man 4 onwards, the final boss (where Wily telports around the room) is more or less the same (barring capcoms creativity for Wily's first form). I remember some kids used to bully me over this game and one kid spreaded false rumors about me going to his house while he was gone and playing mega man 3. My memories from the incident are sketchy, but even if I did do that, I probably didn't know better back then (was probably about 8 years old at the time) and was probably set up too.<br />
- Battletoads This game was definitely one of the most challenging games I have played on the NES, but definitely one of the more fun ones too. You play as one or 2 super hero toads in their quest to save Pimple and their girlfriend Angelica from the evil Dark Queen in an adventure consisting of 12 huge levels full of enemies, obstacles to overcome and other challenges to get through along with the occasional boss fights along the way too. By the way, if you thought level 3, the turbo tunnel was hard, that was just the beginning my friend as the game is 12 levels long with each level getting progressively tougher to play through than the previous ones, plus you do have several more similar levels such as surf city (where you are riding a surf board instead of a bike) and volkmire inferno (where you fly a plane through a fire filled level). The final 3 levels get insanely hard too and you only get so many lives and 3 continues before it is game over. I also like how the dark queen taunts the players on the way. It took me many attempts to beat the game, but eventually I was able to get to the end and defeat the dark queen on the top of the tower of shadows, with help from game genie of course. Good luck beating the game without game genie if you insist on not cheating.<br />
- Castlevania Simons Quest as well as Castlevania 3. I remember the earliest incarnations of the castlevania series. Took along time to beat Simons Quest, but it was pretty fun to play through non the less and is one of the more different titles in the series. Castlevania 3 was pretty fun to play through too considering that you can either play as Trevor, Alucard or their allies going up against Dracula and his cronies. It is also the first Castlevania game to feature the "big battle" boss music too (which would eventually happen again in Circle of the Moon). By the way, newer castlevania games (especially Symphony of the Night Style castlevania) games would give the series a huge boost. So far my favorites are probably Dracula X, Symphony of the night, portrait of ruin, dawn of sorrows, order of ecclesia as well as Castlevania Harmony of Despair. <br />
Other honorable mentions:<br />
- Double Dragon<br />
- Mike Tyson's punch out - I remember playing this game with Mario posing as the referee and you do several levels' worth of boxing matches with Mike Tyson himself being the end boss in the game.<br />
- Duck tales and rescue rangers. These were fun game based on their cartoon counter parts, both developed by capcom. By the way, there seems to be a remake version of Ducktales for the xbox one.<br />
- Adventure Island<br />
- North and South - I remember me and my brother Brett would play this civil war themed game sometimes where one of us would play as the union soldiers and the other plays as the confederates. Doing various battles and even doing these levels where you have to try and rob a train or steal an enemy flag. Usually Brett would beat me, but it was still fun playing through sometimes.<br />
- Superman. This was a classic rpg game where you play as Superman in his quest to rid the world of its villans. Never beat the game myself, but it was fun to play nonetheless. Kind of hard to get to the end of the game if you don't know what you are doing.<br />
- Bart vs Space Mutants - long before the simpsons game on the Xbox 360, there was Bart vs Space Mutants. Only rented this game, but never actually beat the game (back then, you usually had to go to the local store like Blockbuster or even Ben Franklin if you wanted to rent games). Not sure how people rent games now that Blockbuster and many other well know video stores have gone out of business.<br />
- Super Mario 2 (this game was definitely an odd bunch in the series compared to the other super mario games)<br />
- and many others<br />
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Other noteworthy memories:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of my former house on Timber Lane when I was living in Lindenhurst in Illinois. The area is more developed than it used to be and obviously has new owners (also I don't always remember the extra floor there), but that is where I used live back when I was in Illinois. By the way, back in the 1980's the house used to back up to a cornfield (with a farm in the distance) and the McDonalds Forest preserve was a short walk away, providing easy access for families who want to go on a hike there. </td></tr>
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- Back then, I was living in Lindenhurst, Illinois (situated about half way between Chicago and Milwalkee maybe about 5 miles south of the Wisconsin border). Lots of fond memories there (even have home videos of those years). I remember I used to take more trips to Wisconsin than I did going to various places in Illinois. Of course, I was too young to drive back then, so I had to rely on my parents to take me places. I also remember going on camping trips to places like Door County and Minoqua in Wisconsin. Even went on a cabin trip to Ely Minnesota once (north of Duluth). Interestingly, my family is talking about going on a trip to Door County this fall. Not clear if or when we will do such a trip, but it would mark my second time going to Wisconsin since moving to Washington (the first time occured back in the summer of 2000 when I visited my old friend, Matt Bleich and we went on a camping trip to Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin). <br />
- I remember having this toy red jeep that I would drive around along with Brett and Matt.<br />
- I had some other friends like Megan Kasper, Michael Blocker (lost touch with him, though my mother is still friends with his mother, Debbie along with her older sister, Joni), Sara Koth (lost touch with her) and Stephen Santiago. Sometimes I would go to friends houses and play nintendo with them too.<br />
- I don't remember doing the Sega Master system back then, though I did eventually get the Sega Game gear, which does seem to have some the games from the sega master system. Most if not all kids back then either had an atari or nintendo. <br />
- I definitely have lots of other fond memories from those years, such as going to several different elementary schools before getting mainstreamed at Millburn (before then, I also attended school at BJ Hooper in Lindenhurst, a school near Lake Villa and later a school in Antioch). Was placed in an early childhood program too, so I was pretty much in some form of schooling from when I was about 3 years old through the end of my college years.<br />
- Used to do block parties on 4th of july, Halloween parties at my old house, etc too.<br />
- Remember going to Chuck e Cheeses for birthdays sometimes too (most notably when I turned 5 years old). I also used to like this girl named Heidi too (though I ended up losing touch with her after moving to Washington State).<br />
- It was also during my time in Illinois where I would break a bone on 3 different occasions. First time I popped my shoulder after messing around on a one of those spider web poles you see in some playgrounds (did this thing that some kids would do where you would climb around the poles before sliding down, and that proved to be a mistake for me since I lost my grip and fell). Ended up in a cast for a while then. Also broke my pinkie finger once not too long after that (I think I tripped on something and broke it that way). The third time it happened was when I was living on Mallard drive and fell backwards from a playground bridge. Was taunting some kids (didn't know better) when I slipped and fell (definitely learned my lesson from that) and ended up in a cast for the whole summer. Luckily I haven't broken any bones since then so far.<br />
- Unlike present time where I live with 2 dogs (a golden retriever and a shih tzu), we did have a dog for a little while there, a springer spaniel named crocket (he looked like snoopy). Unfortunately the dog had behavior problems and did not fit well in the family so we ended up giving him away. It wouldn't be till 1997 till we got our second dog (Teddy the golden retriever). <br />
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Well that is all for this post. Stay tuned for post number 2 (the 1990s').<br />
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Noteworthy moments in the 1990s': Sega Genesis Days, computer games (such as Xwing and Mech Warrior 2), Sega CD, Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast, and Playstation. Even moved about 4 times during those years too.Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-25802173577504916482016-01-07T19:20:00.001-08:002016-01-07T19:20:47.033-08:0050 Ways To Die In Super Mario Bros XHere is a funny video for super mario fans here. <br /><br />
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<!-- Kontera ContentLink(TM);--><script type="text/javascript">var dc_AdLinkColor = 'blue' ; var dc_PublisherID = 168106 ; </script><script src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/KonaLibInline.js" type="text/javascript"></script><!--Add Tracking code--><script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-5100884-10']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://' : 'http://') + 'stats.g.doubleclick.net/dc.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();</script>Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-33490985693033001042015-12-13T21:17:00.001-08:002016-01-15T23:07:22.400-08:00Star Wars Universe's unlikeliest couplesHere is another Star Wars themed post (especially with the new movie coming out soon). In this post, I will go over some of the galaxy's unlikeliest relationships. Though I suppose even in real lift, the man/woman tht God intends for you to marry might not be someone you would expect. Even my parents once lived on opposite ends of the US from each other long before they met and got married (my dad grew up on Long Island in New York and my mom was a California girl, living in the Sacramento area before meeting my dad). Anyways, let's look at some of these relationships. Note that this post contains spoilers (assumes you have watched the movies and read the books). <br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Relationship 1 - Anakin Skywalker (formerly a slave on the desert planet of Tatooine) and Padme Amidala (aka Queen Amidala in Episode 1)</span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random picture of Anakin and Padme from Attack of the Clones<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: small;">(img source:</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=padme+and+anakin&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=678&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjm_LjaxtrJAhVM02MKHS2PAi4Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=xcGKOtzj0rFAqM%3A" style="text-align: start;">https://www.google.com/search?q=padme+and+anakin&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=678&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjm_LjaxtrJAhVM02MKHS2PAi4Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=xcGKOtzj0rFAqM%3A</a><span style="text-align: start;">)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random picture of Anakin Skywalker as a kid</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random picture Padme as Queen Amidala</td></tr>
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<h3>
Who would have thought that Anakin Skywalker, a slave on Tatooine who would later become a jedi knight and eventually Darth Vader, would marry a royal queen and later Senator from Naboo? Well, it did<br /> </h3>
Is there anyone here who haven't seen any of the star wars movies yet particularly the prequel trillogy (episodes 1-3)? Despite the obvious flaws in episodes 1-3, in my opinion they do an amazing job in chronicalling the back story of Anakin Skywalker (who was destined become the evil Darth Vader). Obviously, in along with the whole story about the jedi order along wth the infamamous clone wars as well as Palpatine's eventual rise to power as the emperor of the Galactic Empire (formerly the old republic). In Return of the Jedi, when Luke reveals to Leia that they are actually brother and sister and that Darth Vader (aka Anakin) was their father, she does seem to reveal that she had some faint memories about her birth mother (though she must have had an amazing memory if she remembered Padme considering that she dies shortly after Luke and Leia are born) and their mother is none other Padme Amidala, herself. When we first see Padme in episode 1 (Phantom Menace), she was recently elected as the queen of Naboo (apparently kings and queens are Naboo are elected officials much like presidents are here in Amerca and only serve several terms before they get replaced by a new king or queen) and her planet was facing invasion by the trade federation (who were under the influence of the villanous Darth Sidious). A younger Obi Wan Kenobi as well as his master, Qui Gonn Gin are caught in the middle of the conflict (after the trade federation tries to kill the two when ordered by Sidious) and eventually manage to get Padme (who disguised herself as a handmaiden at the time) and a bunch of other people off of Naboo and head towards Coruscant. However, they barely make it past the blockade (thanks to R2 helping them to get their shelds up) and are forced to make a pitstop on Tatooine on the way to get new parts of their hyper drive system. Natually, Padme tags along with Qui Gon and Jar Jar binks as they venture into Mos Espa to try and buy parts for their ship from junk dealers like Watto. Coincidentally, a young Anakin Skywalker happened to be working for Watto that day and had his chance encounter Padme, a meeting that would definitely help set up their relationship story that takes place in Episodes 2 and 3. By the way, considering that most of us work, have you ever met a famous person where you work? I remember meeting former Seattle Mariners Baseball player, Jamie Moyer once at the QFC in the University Village. Was doing a demo for New Concepts in Marketing (long before getting hired onto Advantage) where I was tasked with working with him during a calendar signing event, which was pretty interesting to do, especially considering that I didn't have any real experience working as a body guard or security person. Haven't had any demos like that since then. I liked how Anakin said to Padme, "are you an angel.." and she giggled about it. You can definitely tell in Phantom Menace that Anakin quickly develops an attraction towards Padme (even though he was probably only about 8 years old at the time) and that attraction would definitely grow significantly during the course of the prequel trillogy. By the way, can't you imagine what it might have been like if Padme and Qui Gon did not stop on Tatooine or if Anakin wasn't in the shop that fateful day (or by chance if Anakin lost the pod race that Qui Gon betted Anakin's freedom on), probably would have messed up the whole prequel storyline unless if Anakin's path with Padme crossed another way. Interestingly after Anakin gets off of Tatooine and goes to Coruscant with Qui Gonn and Padme, she does seem to develop some motherly love for Anakin too (definitely showing that the 2 had some degree of chemistry for each other). Eventually after defeating the Trade Federation's invasion on Naboo, the two would part ways for over 10 years, at least till the events of Attack of the Clones (episode 2). <br />
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In Episode 2, things get alot more interesting between Padme and Anakin. By episode 2, Padme is no longer queen (apparently the monarchy system on Naboo is more like the presidential system here in America where a king or queen has to be elected and can only serve up to 2 terms before being replaced by another king or queen), but a senator instead, and Anakin is training to be come a jedi with Obi Wan as his jedi master, and after she returns to Coruscant to oppose a bill to create a clone army, she survives an assasination attempt by Jango Fett and his crony,Sam (we learn later on in the movie Viceroy Gunray had a grudge against Padme after his defeat on Naboo and hired hitmen like Jango Fett to kill her along with the help from sith lord, Count Dooku). At Chancelor Palpatine's suggestion, Padme and Anakin's paths would cross once again (probably the first time in over 10 years). Obvously by the time Episode 2 comes around, Anakin was quite infatuated with Padme and those feelings only grow dynamically during the course of the movie and culminates with them getting married on Naboo. By the way, considering that many of us have had crushed on someone at some point in our lives, have you ever crossed paths with your former crush or old flame (whatever you want to call him/her), especially if you were both still single? I remember at one time, I used to have this crush on this cute blond girl, named, Kim Carlberg during my middle school and high school years. Although I did get to know here somewhat, long story short, I was the typical shy guy type and I did let my shyness get the best of me (you know how we guys can be when there is a girl we like in our lives) and missed my chance to get to know her better and possibly get into a relationship with her. I know know I probably should have at least tried to "break the ice with her" and at least try to get to know her better, but it is what it is now. We used to live in the same neighborhood (in the South Everett area), attended various classes together (both at Gateway and Jackson) and even did some sports together (such track and field). However, life happens, as I ended up moving to Snohomish (where I live now), and after high school graduation, we parted ways. I understand that she went off to the University of Washington in Seattle and I ended up going to Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma (at least during my first year and a half of college), though about a year and half later, I would transfer to Northwest University in Kirkland and spend the remainder of my college years there. Interestingly she also ended up moving away too (probably to the Tacoma area, at least at the time I last saw her, though that was back in 2002 and I have no idea if she still lives there or not, considering that I lost touch with her since then). To date, I only encountered her once after high school (bumped into her at a Starbucks in Mill Creek while running errands with my mother back in the spring of 2002), but like Anakin and Padme, we parted ways and I haven't seen or heard from her since then. I have no idea if our paths will ever cross again considering that she has been out of the picture for a long time now, but I am not sure how I would react should she resurface in my life, especially if she was still single by chance (which seems unlikely at this point). Would I be shy? How would I react? Who knows? I suppose I will "cross that bridge" if and when I get there (like some of the contestants would say on Celebrity Apprentice). By the way do any of you have similar stories (where you encountered a former crush much like Anakin and Padme do)? I would love to hear your stories in the comments below.<br />
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Moving on, after a second assasination attempt on Padme's life by Jango Fett's associate, Zam, the Jedi Council would have Anakin become her bodyguard and have her watch over her on Naboo (isn't that convenient situations for him to "catch up" with her). Soon, a romance sub plot emerges (much like that between Han and Leia in Empire Strikes back), and eventually the 2 would fall in love with each other despite her serving as senator and his vows to the Jedi (which does seem to forbid romantic relationships, a rule that Anakin seems to ignore after falling in love with Padme). Reminds me of a line from Pyro in Xmen 2, where he tells Rogue, "do you always do what you are told" when at one point in themovie. Like Leia after her, Padme resists Anakin's advances at first probably due to their obvious differences, but understandably she develops feelings for him too and even flirts with him while on Naboo too (with her feelings for him becoming more pronounced by the time they survive an execution attempt on their lives on Geonosis at the hands of the separatists). She could have rejected him if she wanted too (and I am sure she thought about it too), but her falling for Anakin is understandable considering that the original trillogy assumes everything in the prequel trillogy happened as they did. After all, can't you imagine how the story might have been different if they broke up on Naboo instead of falling in love with each other? That definitely probably would have messed up the rest of the storyline and it is possible that Luke and Leia might never had been born if that were the case. By the end of the movie, Anakin and Padme secretly get married on Naboo, further establishing their bonds and would also have implications for episode 3 (and help lead to Anakin's downfall too, at least in a way). <br />
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By episode 3, Padme becomes pregnant with 2 babies (Luke and Leia) and Anakin does seem to like the idea at first, despite the fact that it might cost him a position on the Jedi council if discovered as the father. Sadly, a happy ending for the 2 was not to be since Anakin would eventually turn to the dark side of the force much at the goading of the soon to be, Emperor Palpatine (aka Darth Sidious), who had already had his sights set on him after the death of Count Dooku when looking for a new apprentice, and become the evil Darth Vader (even murdering jedi padwans in the jedi temple at the commands of Darth Sidious (around the time he did his infamous "order 66" stuff causing the clone troopers to turn on their former Jedi comrades). The irony of his transformation is that he had nightmares of Padme dying in childbirth (much like the dreams that Anakin had of Shmi before she died at the hands of the tusken raiders) and he thought that he could save her by turning to the dark side, but boy was he wrong since Padme would end up dying anyways in childbirth (in part at the hands of Vader when he used force choke on her when she confronted him on Mustafar with Obi Wan stowing on her ship too) thus fulfilling his dream she would die in childbirth (perhaps the dream was supposed to be taken as a warning not to turn to the dark side, but he probably did not think about that at the time). I like the line that Darth Sidious towards the end of the movie where he says to Vader regarding Padme's fate, "it seems in your anger, you killed her" and Vader shouts out a huge "noooo!". Despite the sour ending to their relationship, there relationship was definitely one of a kind and definitely one of the more coveted types of relationships in the star wars universe. Who would have thought that a royal queen from Naboo would marry a slave boy on Tatooine? But it happened.<br />
<br />
<b>What makes Padme and Anakin an unlikely couple?</b><br />
Talk about winding up with someone "outside of your league". Before Padme and Anakin met, not only did they literally live worlds apart (Padme on Naboo and Anakin living out in the deserts of Tatooine), but their lifestyles were radially different. Before they met, Padme was queen on Naboo and Anakin was a slave working for Watto in Mos Espa on Tatooine (possibly a farm boy too). I bet when Natalie Portman's character was a little girl, if someone told her that she will one day marry a slave on Tatooine that would later become a jedi and eventually Darth Vader, she probably would laughed it off in disbelief, but that is exactly what happened. Can't you imagine the odds of such a relationship? In addition, Anakin and Padme's age differences were different too (probably at least 8 years apart), though I suppose sometimes that does happen in real life too (even my parents are 6 years apart from each other). In Episode 2, Anakin becomes a jedi padwan under Obi Wan and Padme becoems a senator and interestingly, the jedi code forbids romance relationships, which inevitably happens betwen Anakin and Padme, which puts him at odds with the Jedi counsil, especially after they secretly marry on Naboo and moreso after it is revealed that Padme is pregnant with Luke and Leia in episode 3. Interestingly, Anakin seemed to have had a hard time keeping the marriage a secret, such as during the Clone Wars series when he gets jealous when another man develops feelings for Padme (forgot who he was) and when he gets the dream warning that Padme would die in childbirth, he goes great lengths, even turns to the dark side to try and prevent her death. Eventually Obi Wan finds out about their relationship when he learns that she is pregnant with Luke and Leia which puts their relationship in a more awkard relationship. Sadly their relationship disintegrates after she learns about Anakin's transformation to Darth Vader and she ends up dying from a broken heart after giving birth to Luke and Leia. I liked the quote that Palpatine said "it seems, in your anger, you killed her". <br />
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Anyways, in real life, I am sure relationships like Padme and Anakin are very rare. Padme marrying Anakin would be comparable to say Princess Kate from England marrying say a random farm boy from say Arizona or Nevada. Interestingly, Owen Lars (Anakin's step brother) entered into a relationship within his league with Beru. I don't know too much about Owen or Beru's history besides what is shown in the movies, but if I had to guess, I am sure they would have grown up together as farmers and a relationship formed between them more naturally. Even I don't see myself marrying say a hollywood celebrity (rarely visit the Los Angeles area anyways) or a political figure. More likely if I did get married, I would probably wind up with someone form here in Washington State, whoever that is. Though, I suppose you never really know who you might encounter in your everyday life. I remember when going to college, I met lots of fellow students who were from other states (like Oregon, California, Idaho, etc) and sometimes people do get into relationships with fellow college students too (even from out of state). At my jobs at Crossmark and Advantage, I go to all kinds of different retailers and grocery stores all around the seattle area and sometimes even visit stores and areas that I might not visit otherwise (like the Ballard Fred Meyer, Burien Fred Meyer, or the QFC in the University Village near Seattle). I never know who I might encounter at the stores I visit. It can be fellow classmates (like Shannon Bates from Jackson High School at Albertsons in Mill Creek), friends from Church or even family members. I am sure that there are famous people lurking around the Seattle area too (especially people like Bill Gates and Paul Allen who seem to live in the are too). I still remember the time when I met baseball player, Jamie Moyer for the first time. By the way, if you go to comic con events (like the Emerald City comic con here in Seattle), you just might meet a celebrity (I have sit in on several celebrity panels myself at those events) or even get an autograph or picture with one if you know where to look for them and when to look for them (though I wouldn't be suprised if some of them wander around the convention center during their breaks so you could meet one while wandering around too, though unlikely). Even my parents lived in opposite ends of the US before they met (my dad lived in New York while my mother lived in California) and they eventually met at a party in the Bay area. Despite the obvious differences between Anakin and Padme, it appears that they were destined to meet on the fateful day when Anakin happened to be working for Watto when Qui Gon, Jar Jar Binks and Padme (who decided to disguise herself as a handmaiden) showed up while on the run from the Trade Federation as well as the sith for that matter. By the way, has something like this ever happened to you? Have you ever met someone you never thought you would meet? Has any celebrities ever flirted with you? Feel free to share your stories in the comment section below<br />
<h3>
Relationship 2 - Han Solo (a smuggler) and Princess Leia (a princess on Alderaan and daughter of Padme). </h3>
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Spoiler alert: I have seen Star Wars Force Awakens, so I will update the info on Han and Leia to reflect the new movie </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://assets.vg247.com/current//2015/10/leia-and-han.jpg" height="221" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random Picture of Han Solo and Princess Leia together (source: http://assets.vg247.com/current//2015/10/leia-and-han.jpg)</td></tr>
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A smuggler and a princess together? Happened to Princess Leia and Han Solo. I don't know much about Han Solo's life before he met up with Luke and Obi Wan other than him being a smuggler, befriending a Wookie named, Chewbacca (apparently he has a life debt to Han) and presumably working for Jabba the Hutt and was known for his famous "Kessel Run" with the Millenium falcon, though both of which have yet to be explored in the cinematic star wars universe, though hopefully, the stand alone Han Solo movie (and possibly Star Wars Rogue One) will explore Han's back story, along with Han's friendship with Lando (along with him acquiring the falcon from Lando during a game of sabbac) as well as that he is a wanted man with a bounty placed on his head by Jabba the Hutt (presumably due to a botched smuggling run). Of course, the course of Han's life would forever be changed on the day he met a then, young Luke Skywalker along with an aged Obi Wann Kenobi (who had finally come out of exile in the aftermath of the events from Revenge of the Sith), who were both on their way to Alderaan to help Princess Leia, who was in trouble after obtaining the stolen Death Star plans and was trying to flee from the Empire before getting captured by Darth Vader in the process. Han thought that it was another routine trip for him to take and possibly an easy way to earn the extra money needed to pay off Jabba the Hutt, but it turned out that the Alderaan was destroyed by the Death Star and he along with Luke and Obi Wann inadvertantly found themselves on the Death Star too after getting caught in one of its tractor beams. While they were on the Death Star, Obi Wan broke off with Han and Luke and went to disable the tractor beam along with confronting Darth Vader for the last time, while Luke and Han set out to rescue the princess much to the discovery of R2 and Luke goading Han into attempt the rescue. Interestingly, Han almost missed out on Princess Leia considering that she was actually sentenced to death after witnessing the destruction of Alderaan (Tarkin even wanted to speed up her execution too after learning that she lied to him about the rebel base being on Dantooine) and she could have been days or even hours away from her scheduled execution when Luke and Han rescued her. If Han put his foot down on rescuing her if they arrive to the death star too late, she could have been dead upon arrival and Luke (and Vader/Anakin for that matter) would never have known that she was his sister (doesn't get revealed till Return of the Jedi) and Han would have missed his chance with the perfect love interest in his life (plus she along with Luke, Chewie and Lando would later return the favor since they would later rescue Han from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt and even help him escape an execution attempt on his life too via the sarlacc pit on Tatooine). <br />
Princess Leia was definitely a feisty type and even resisted Han's advances on her at first much (which was pretty evident in Empire Strikes back) but she slowly falls in love with him (especially while spending lots of time with him on the Millenium falcon while trying to flee the empire) and they really do seem to fall in love with each other by the end of Return of the Jedi. Interestingly there was some rivalry between Luke and Han over Leia (considering that both of them liked her) though that would change when Luke later finds out that Leia was in fact his long twin sister, seperated from birth at the end of Revenge of the Sith (though Luke didn't know that at first). After the Events of Return of the Jedi, there are 2 versions of what happens in their relationship.<br />
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<b>Legends Universe:</b><br />
I haven't read all of the novels or comics (I've read some such as the Thrawn Trillogy, Jedi Academy trillogy, and others), but it appears that they would inevitably get married and give birth to jedi twins, Jacen and Jaina Solo, who would both later become jedis themselves. Interestingly, it appears that Jacen pulls an Anakin Skywalker and turns to the dark side at that point, creating some extra friction in the family, though it seems like he eventually gets redeemed. Chewbacca actually gets killed too at the hands of the yuuzhan-vong (I haven't read the yuuzhan-vong trillogy yet though, so I don't really know the details other than that chewie dies), which sends Han into a depression which also creates some more drama in the family too. <br />
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<b>What makes Han and Leia an odd couple:</b><br />
A scrufty smuggler and a princess becoming a potiential couple? I am sure in real life that such relationships are very unlikely if not impossible. I live in the USA and we don't have a monarchy (though I suppose a president of the united states is very similar to having a king or queen barring some obvious differences such as being elected as well as limits on power). Han Solo and Leia would be comparable to say a member of the criminal element like Al Capone (who was an alcohol smuggler during the prohibition years) marrying one of the president's daughter or a princess from colonial era England marrying say a pirate like Blackbeard. Such relationships are very unlikely. Though for Han and Leia, technically they were both finding themselves on the wrong side of the law. Leia was one of the leaders of the rebel alliance, which I am sure that the empire did not take kindly to (along with having a target on her back after acquiring the stolen death star plans which she would later use to bring about the eventual destruction the death star by Luke Skywalker), and Han had a huge bounty placed on his head by Jabba the Hutt and had bounty hunters (especially Boba Fett) hot on his tail. In the aftermath of the battle of Hoth, they were both on the run from the empire and were eventually united by facing common enemies.<br />
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<br />
<b>Revised Star Wars Canon Han Solo and Princess Leia</b><br />
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<b>***Spoiler alert***</b><br />
This section assumes you have seen Star Wars Force Awakens. It has been out for several weeks now (since December) and I am assuming most people have seen the new movies already (hey, I have seen the movie 3 times myself). If you haven't seen the movies yet or procrastinating on seeing the new movie, I might recommend seeing the movie soon while it is still in theaters (it will be in theaters for only so long before getting replaced by another movie) if you are trying to avoid spoilers Of course, if you haven't seen the movie yet and want to be suprised, feel free to skip over<br />
Star Wars 7-9 version of events.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://ajmartinezauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/star-wars-kylo-ren.jpg" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of the villanous Kylo Ren, who was also an offspring of Leia and Han too. Image source:<br />
<a href="http://ajmartinezauthor.com/spoiler-alert-star-wars-force-awakens-movie-review-fans-hate-admit/" rel="" target="_blank">https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjS0Mb5navKAhVY4mMKHU86B8AQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fajmartinezauthor.com%2Fspoiler-alert-star-wars-force-awakens-movie-review-fans-hate-admit%2F&psig=AFQjCNE3jCf8BhJM24iBnpVbr3xNgPM8Hg&ust=1452927060148555 </a></td></tr>
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As you probably know, Disney has scrapped the Expanded Universe version of the post return of the jedi storyline, and only time will tell what elements, if any, survives the cut and which ones don't. That being said, like in the books, it does seem like Han and Leia do seem to get married and instead of having twins, they give birth to a boy named Ben Solo. It is not clear if they had any other kids (though there does seem to be speculation that Rey might be their daughter, though it is not clear if those rumors are true or not and seems unlikely to be the case in my opinion). While Ben's details are sketchy, he ends up joining Luke's "Jedi Academy" where Luke even attempts to rebuild the Jedi order, which was virtually non existant by the time Force Awakens comes around, largely due to the Empire trying exterminate all of the jedi starting with Darth Sidious' infamous "order 66" tag line in Revenge of the Sith and later culminating with the great jedi purge that occurs afterwards (especially between episodes 3 and 4 with Darth Vader leading the charge to helping the empire to hunt down and destroy the remaing jedi knights who survived order 66 and heeded Obi Wan's warning to stragglers to stay away from Coruscant). Of course, Luke is no Yoda (who was much more experienced with the force than Luke was and definitely better Jedi master in many ways), and eventually, Ben turns to the dark side (having "too much Vader in him" as General Leia Organa would say, presumably being seduced to the dark side by Snoke, much like how Darth Sidious seduces Anakin to the dark side in Revenge of the sith and seems to replace Darth Sidious as the "overlord" in the new trillogy). It appears Ben (like Vader before hi)even sets out to kill all of Luke's jedi padwans and even wants to kill Luke too if possible (which leads him to go into hiding, much like how Obi Wan goes into hiding after Anakin turns into Darth Vader). Sadly, the rise of Kylo Ren also causes Han and Leia to seperate (though not offically divorce). Leia becomes a general of the resistance (formerly the rebel alliance) leading campaigns against the New Order (formerly the Galactic Empire) and Han returns to smuggling (evidently transporting Diagona or Sarlacc like creatures called Rathiers for various criminal organizations). He even loses the Millenium Falcon too, at least till it gets recovered by Rey and Finn (who was a former storm trooper that eventually defects to the New Order) as they are trying to evade capture by the first order on Finn and wind up on the freighter Han was on. Eventually, Solo and Leia would reunite at the new resistance base before working with the resistance to destroying the Starkiller base (basically a huge planet version of the death star).<br />
In the end, Han tries to get Kylo Ren turn back to the light side of the force (much like what Luke does with Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi) and help set things right, but long story short, he gets betrayed and murdered by Kylo Ren (who impales Han with his light saber and sending him falling to his death). Interestingly, according to the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2527336/">IMDB</a>, Harrison Ford is supposed to reprise his role as Han Solo in Episode 8, but it is not clear what his role to be after his apparent death on the Starkiller base. It also remains to be seen whether Kylo Ren turns to the lights side of the force or not considering that he killed Han and seems to be beyond redemption by the end of Episode 7.<br />
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<h3>
Other Odd Couples in the Star Wars Universe</h3>
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<h3>
<b>Relationship 3 - Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker (Mara actually hated Luke long before they married), Star Wars Legends Universe.</b></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/25300000/Luke-and-Mara-jedi-couples-25346043-464-375.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random picture of Luke and Mara from the EU (source:<br />
<a href="http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/25300000/Luke-and-Mara-jedi-couples-25346043-464-375.jpg">http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/25300000/Luke-and-Mara-jedi-couples-25346043-464-375.jpg</a>)</td></tr>
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Long before Star Wars 7, Force Awakens came out and prior to Disney's aquisition of the Star Wars Franchise, most of the star wars story, both between the episodes (such as Shadows of the Empire bridging the gap between Empire Strikes back and Return of the Jedi) as well as most of the story that takes place after Return of the Jedi was explored by the Expanded Universe (particularly the books such as the Thrawn Trillogy, Truce at Bakkura, yuuzhan-vong trillogy, jedi academy trillogy, and many others). There were even various games that seem to have continued the story too, such as the Dark Forces Jedi Knight franchise (which does provide one of the few onscreen appearances of Mara Jade along with several other EU elements), along with Force Unleashed (helps bridge the gap between Episodes 3 and 4 and aims to explain the rise of the rebel alliance and shows Darth Vader's infamous quest to rid the galaxy of the jedi) and even the "Knights of the Old" republic series too. One prominent character that appeared in the Expanded Universe was Mara Jade. She was a smuggler working with a man named Talon Kardde and apparently served in the Empire as one of Emperor Palpantine's most trusted agents. What makes Mara and Luke an odd couple is that after the events of Return of the Jedi (most notably the death of Palpatine at the hands of Vader), she develops a hatred for Luke and even tries to kill him on various occasions. I don't know too much about Mara's story after the Thrawn trillogy (haven't read all of the books), though I am sure you can read more about her on Wikipedia, but it appears that eventually she gets married to Luke and they have a son named Ben (much like Han and Leia do in the revised canon). But I bet it had to be somewhat unsettling for Luke to wind up marrying her, especially considering that she wanted to kill him for a while. I mean would you want to marry somone that hated you, even if it was like that in the past (for example, marrying say a Charles Mansion type)? Definitely an interesting couple to watch in the EU version of events.<br />
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<b>***Spoiler alert - this upcoming section assumes you have seen Star Wars Episode 7, Force Awakens. If you haven't seen the movie yet and want to avoid spoilers, feel free to skip this section. **** </b><br />
<br />
Note about the revised version of the post Return of the Jedi Star Wars universe.<br />
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After Disney's acquisition of the Star Wars franchise and scrapping the EU version of the Star Wars Universe as canon, it will be interesting to see whether Mara Jade makes an appearence in the revised canon or if someone else will take her place (if anyone else). I don't remember seeing her in Episode 7, though Luke himself doesn't appear till towards the end of the movie and exiled himself to some island on the outer rim, probably due to the rise of Kylo Ren and his quest to kill Luke (much like how Obi Wan goes into hiding on Tatooine after Anakin turns to the dark side) but it will be interesting to see how Luke's story plays out in the Episodes 8 and 9. Does he survive to the end? Does he die at the hands of Kylo Ren or even Snoke? Does he have a love interest (such as Mara Jade)? There is speculation going around the net that Rey is in fact either Luke or Obi Wan's daughter (search "Rey as Luke's daughter" on google or bing to see what I mean), but it is not clear whether the rumors or true or not. Personally, I doubt that she is related to Obi Wan, though if you saw the clone wars saga, you would know that he did seem to have a romantic connection with <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Satine_Kryze">Dutches Satine</a>, though seems unlikely they would have married or had kids like Anakin and Padme did considering that Obi Wan seemed to be more strict about following the Jedi code than Anakin was, plus she seems to get killed off by a resurrected and vengeful Darth Maul towards the end of the clone wars series. If Rey is Luke's daughter, who is his wife? If not, who else is she related to? Does Mara Jade make an appearence in Episodes 8 or 9 or does someone else take her place? I am sure Episodes 8 and 9 will expand on Luke's story, especially now that he has been brought out of hiding by Rey as well as the resistance, but it will be intersting to see how things play out. I could see reasons why Mara might not appear in the new movies, especially considering that she hasn't made any formal appearances yet in the cinematic Star Wars canon (no sign of her in the prequels, clone wars, star wars rebels or even the original trillogy) so it would be easy for Disney to exclude her if she want considering that it is very possible that she might not exist as far as the cinematic star wars universe is concerned. My guess is that if she doesn't appear in Episodes 8 or 9, then she probably doesn't exist in the cinematic Star Wars Universe. What elements from the EU version of the Star Wars Universe (if any) crosses over into the cinematic Universe, if any, remains to be seen. Does she appear in Episodes 8 or 9? Only time will tell for sure.<br />
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Honorable Mentions<br />
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1. Bastila and Darth Revan (knights of the Old Republic)</h3>
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If you have played through the first Knights of the Old Republic game, you probably know that Bastala is a romance option for the player. In the game, you play as a character who was once, Darth Revan who became a reformed jedi in an open ended pre Empire Star Wars universe. As the game progresses, you can enter into dialogues with various NPCs, including those in your crew and you do develop relationships (both good and bad) with them depending on your choices. Interestingly, Bastala too gets lured to the dark side by Darth Malek and the player can either try to dissuade her from joining the dark side or join her and it is possible to have romance dialogue options too. An odd thing about this relationship is that Bastala was as a jedi master and Revan was once a sith lord (at least prior to the game) so that is worth mentioning. It is not clear if Knights of the Old republic is considered part of the Star Wars canon (especially under Disney), it was definitely a fun an intersting Star Wars game t play through.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/f/fc/Revan_and_Bastila.png/revision/latest?cb=20130613204107" height="188" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random picture of Revan (the game's protaginist) and Bastila (from <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:Revan_and_Bastila.png">Wookiepedia</a>)</td></tr>
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<b>2. Daisy and Rey (a desert scavenger and potiential future jedi from Jakku and an ex storm trooper who defected from First Order)</b></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i.newsarama.com/images/i/000/152/670/i02/ep7-26115-1377-1378-03_0_0.jpg?1439388784" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.idigitaltimes.com/sites/idigitaltimes.com/files/2015/09/06/download-1.jpeg">Random picture of Finn and Rey as they flee Storm troopers on Jakku</a></td></tr>
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Although it remains to be seen whether they become a couple or not, there did seem to be some chemistry between the 2 from when they meet on Jakku and throughout the course of Force Awakens. Interestingly in both the prequel trilogy and original trilogy, the second episodes in each trilogies usually expands on a romance sub plot (such as Anakin and Padme in Attack of the Clones along with Han and Leia in Empire Strikes back respectively), so it is possible that Disney might follow that tradition and feature a romance sub plot in Episode 8 too (such as possibly between Rey and Finn). Obviously I don't have all of the answers about the upcoming movies, but it will be interesting to see how their relationship plays out during the course of Episodes 8 and 9.<br />
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3. Obi Wan Kenobi and Dutches Satine<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/6/63/Obi-Wan_Satine_VoT.png/revision/latest?cb=20120906224122" height="136" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random picture of Obi Wan and Satine from the Clone Wars Saga. Image source:<br />
<a href="http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/6/63/Obi-Wan_Satine_VoT.png/revision/latest?cb=20120906224122">http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/6/63/Obi-Wan_Satine_VoT.png/revision/latest?cb=20120906224122</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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If you have seen the Clone Wars series, you probably know about the history between Obi Wan and Satine. Apparently, long before Obi Wan became the jedi as we know him, he did seem to have a love interest: a Dutchess from Mandalore named Satine. It is not really clear how close they were or if they ever married (let alone had kids), but it is worth mentioning. Unlike Anakin and Padme, he seems to resist the temptation to fall in love with Satine though. Who would have thought that Obi Wan once had a love interest considering that he is was a very active member on the Jedi Counsil (and was strict about following the rules too) and even lived as a hermit for a while on Tatooine <br />
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Well, that is all for this post. By the way, who all here have seen Force Awakens? I have seen it 3 times myself. Definitely an epic start to the new Trillogy that will explore the Star Wars story in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. Episode 7 has come and gone and 2 more movies are on their ways in the next several years, with several stand alone movies coming too (such as Star Wars Rogue One and the upcoming Han Solo movie too).<br />
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What do you think about this post? Do any of you have similar stories to share about unlikeliest relationships? Have you ever met a famous person or developed a relationship with them? Feel free to leave a comment below.<br />
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Feel free to "like and share" this post if you like it. Your support for this blog will be ost appreciated.<br />
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Resources:<br />
<a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page">Wookiepedia </a> I only know so much about the Star Wars universe. For more exhaustive information about the saga, feel free to visit Wookiepedia (Star Wars' official wikipedia)<br />
Also:<br />
<a href="http://www.starwars.com/">www.starwars.com</a> (main website for Starwars)Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-84712754324521505762015-12-01T17:22:00.001-08:002015-12-01T17:22:45.289-08:00Bear in Whistler Village ringing door bell.Here is something you don't see everyday: a bear ringing in the doorbell. I have been to Whistler several times, but have yet to see a bear in the village (though they say that sometimes there are bear sightings in the village). Here is a video about a crafty bear trying to get into a building.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-lIVUVHm16w" width="480"></iframe><br />
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(actually I meant to post this on my other blog)Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-37511297472722700582015-11-19T23:54:00.001-08:002015-12-02T22:26:00.522-08:00Top 10 Most Memorable Star Wars games (work in progress)Well, the new Star Wars movie, Force Awakens is supposed to come out in a less a month away from now (sometime in December) and for this post I will share some of the top 10 most memorable Star Wars themed video games I have played. Note: I haven't played the Xbox One Star Wars Battlefront game yet (planning to buy it sometime when I get the chance though).<br />
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*warning: this blog post contains spoilers as it does assume you have played through the games. If you rather play through the games instead, you can always buy them as well the platforms they play on on Amazon. As for Star Wars arcade games (like Star Wars Trillogy arcade), I am sure you can find them at various arcades in America or by used machines either on Amazon or ebay)*<br />
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Game 1 - X Wing PC<br />
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This game was ahead of its time (especially for one that mainly used floppy disks instead of CD Roms). This game is best played if you have a joystick as well as a good soundboard for the computer. In this combat flight simulator game, you assume control of an X-wing, though sometimes you will be flying a Y wing or an A Wing too and do Tour of Duty missions for the Rebellion's campaign against the empire. More casual players can do training missions and just for fun missions too. Game does have cheats that you can enable from the menu (such as invincibility as well as unlimited ammo), but you have to play the game without cheats to advance in the tour of duty of missions. Players who make it to the end of the game are treated to an assault on the first death star (including piloting down the infamous trench much like Luke did in A New Hope). By the way, I remember you needed a code in the game to play it (was printed in the manual). Lose the manual, and the game basically becomes unplayable unless if you remember some of the codes. Similar games: Tie Fighter and Xwing vs Tiefighter.</div>
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Game 2- Star Wars Rebel Assault (Sega CD)</div>
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This was fun game for the Sega CD, though there is also a version for the PC. You do various missions and levels. I remember this game for the Sega CD, though there is also a version for the PC. You play as a young rebel pilot and solider doing missions for the Rebellion against the empire. It has been a long time since I have played this game yet, but it was definitely a fun Star Wars gaming experience. The final mission has you reliving the battle of Yavin, where the rebels go up against the infamous Death Star Trench.</div>
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Game 3 - Dark Forces Jedi Knight as well as Mysteries of the Sith<br />
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Ah, this was a fun game. Never played through the first Dark Forces game, but I have played through its' sequel Jedi Knight. You assume the role of Kyle Katarn, the mercenary who stole the Death Star plans in the first game in his latest adventure to stop the evil dark Jedi, Jerec, who wants gain ultimate power and become the new emperor of the empire. In this game, Kyle gains jedi powers and can either become a light jedi or dark jedi depending on how players play through the game and choice players make (killing bystanders can cause you to turn dark for example). Never played through the game's extension pack (Mysteries of the Sith) but it goes on record of being the first onscreen appearance for Mara Jade and several other Starwars Legends (formerly expanded universe) characters and creatures (for example, it is one of the few Star Wars games to feature Noghris, which are grey skinned aliens that served as assasins for Darth Vader, though eventually became alligned to the Rebels thanks to efforts by Princess Leia in the Thrawn Trillogy). Food for thought: with Force Awakens coming out later this month, will Mara Jade make a debut appearance in the new movie? In the Legends universe, she was a lady who was originally working for the Empire and was a close associate for Palpatine, and even develops a hatred for Luke in the aftermath of Retun of the Jedi, but eventually changes her ways and even marries Luke. Speculatively speaking I want to think she will in the new movie, but since Disney is taking the franchise in a different direction and declaring the books no longer to be cannon, it is not clear if she will be in the new movies or not. Considering that she hasn't appeared in any of the original trillogy movies, prequels, clone wars, or Star Wars Rebels cartoons, it is possible she doesn't exist as far as the cinematic Star Wars Universe is concerned (you would think she would have been introduced by now if she does exist in the mainline storyline. Only time will tell whether if any elements of the Legends universe crosses over into the cinematic universe, so it will be interesting to see how the new movies play out in relations to the Expanded Universe.</div>
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Game 4 - Star Wars Trillogy Arcade<br />
This is not to be confused with Star Wars arcade for the Sega 3DX. This was a game in the arcades where you can play through the Star Wars saga on various missions and events throughout the series. Most people will probably not make it till the end unless if they have plenty of extra loose change to spend on continues as they play through the games. </div>
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Game 5- Lego Star Wars (Playstation 2 and Xbox)<br />
These were some fun games featuring Lego's version of the Star Wars universe. There 3 different versions of the game (prequel era, original trillogy era, and complete saga). Where you can play through various events and levels from the different star wars movies. Plenty of twists too, such as being able to revisit levels as different characters (for example, playing as Darth Maul on Naboo, Darth Sidious, droids, soldiers, etc). There are even several boss battles throughout both games. By the way, although I never did it, hard core gamers in the Original Trillogy version of Lego Star Wars could even access Lego City in the game too by finding all of the hidden items in the game.</div>
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Game 6 - Star Wars Shadows of the Empire (Nintendo 64)<br />
This was one of the few Star Wars games to be based on the Expanded Universe novels (not sure if any other Expanded Star Wars novels were converted to video games). You assume the role of mercenary, Dash Rendar as he does missions for the Rebel alliance as well as serving as Luke's body guard who not only becomes a fugitive from the Empire (Darth Sidious wants him dead while the Anakin Skywalker in Darth Vader wants to convert Luke into the Dark side, despite the fact that there can only be 2 siths at a time) in the aftermath of Empire Strikes back, but also becomes a target for assasination attempts by the Blue Suns criminal organization who want him dead. The game is fitting for the Nintendo 64 being in a huge 3D style environment. Noteworthy levels includes: Battle of Hoth, Escaping the Rebel base on Hoth (there is even a cheat that lets you control one of the several wampas lurking in the base), boss fight with Boba Fett, reliving the mission where you have to help the Bothans (not seen in the game) steal the plans for the second Death Star, battling a giant diagona, as well as playing through the game's climatic final missions and levels. Food for thought: considering that Disney is planning to make several stand alone Star Wars movies, I think a movie adaption of Shadows of the Empire would be cool, especially considering that it helps bridge the gap between Empire Strikes back and Return of the Jedi (much like the clone wars saga does between Attack of the Clones and Mysteries of the Sith). Whether a movie adaption of Shadows of the Empire is possible, I have no idea (though probably unlikely unless someone wants make that movie), but it would make an interesting installment to watch. </div>
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Game 7 - Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2 (Xbox)<br />
Long before there was the new Star Wars Battlefront Reboot for the Xbox One and PS4, there were older versions of the games for the original Xbox. Much like the reboot, you revisit battles and events from both the Prequels and the Original trillogy (such as the battle of Endor, Geonosis, clone wars battles, battle of Kashyyyk, Hoth, and even the battle of Coruscant from Revenge of the Sith). Battlefront 2 focuses more on the events of the clone wars and Revenge of the sith (including the infamous order 66) and even lets you do space battles too, where you can either fly as fighter pilot, help defend your cruiser (manning the guns) or even working to sabotage the enemy ship. </div>
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Game 8 - Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2</div>
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I am going to list these 2 games together because they are very similar to each other. The same people (Bioware) who made the Mass Effect Series also teamed up with Lucasarts to make Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. These games are set about 4000 years before Revenge of the Sith, yet ironically still very futuristic worlds (in real life Earth was a completly different world 4000 years ago, with modern style technology and transportaion either being non existant or primative at best and you would have been living in the ancient world). In Knights of the Old Republic 1, you assume the role of the former Darth Revan (this doesn't get revealed till later in the game), who was stripped of his force powers after being captured by the Jedis at the time and even had his memory erased too. This game is unique as not only is the game not confined to the movies, but it has a huge open world environment and plenty of cutscenes and dialogue too (it is almost like a movie in itself). In these games there is a huge choose your own adventure style element. Some things you can do in the original game includes:<br />
- saving your allies and friends<br />
- being a "dick" to people (choosing mean dialogue options)<br />
- Falling in love with a female jedi named Bastilla<br />
- Lying to the jedi counsil (interestingly, they do buy your lies)<br />
- Turning to the dark side and betraying allies<br />
- Being a light jedi and saving the galaxy<br />
- Becoming a bounty hunter and collecting on bounties<br />
- engaging in gladiator style duels (including one where you can fight to the death).<br />
There are plenty of interesting NPC characters too, including an ancestor of Yoda (he looks like yoda and even has his own jedi counsil, but is not the same character), a protocol droid known as HK 47 who is also an assasination droid and is great for characters who want to create dark jedis and loves to talk smack about other characters and even has the tag line of: "meat bags" and many others. <br />
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Knights of the Old Republic 2 was the official sequel to the first game and you play as this "exile" character who was cut off from the force by the jedi (apparently the jedi counsel can do that as far as the game is concerned) and introduces a cunning sith lord known as Kreia (who also functions as mentor for the Exile) who apparently wants to get rid of the force all together and take over the galaxy). In that version of the game, your force alignment is determined based on your actions and you beome either a light or dark jedi around the mid point of the game (the game changes based on your alignment) and you can even take sides in ongoing struggles various worlds are going through. For example, I remember a world lead by a queen (similar to Naboo) with an evil dictator that wants to launch a coup de tat and take over the planet and you can either side with the queen or the miltary coup. Also, much like in Revenge of the Sith, there are several sith present and in power and are hunting down the Exile as well as other light jedi, making things interesting for the player as the game progresses. Besides the Knights of the Republic game for the PC, Knights of the Old Republic 2 is currently the last of its kind for the consoles, though it would be nice to see a remake or sequel for Xbox one someday, much like what they are doing for Star Wars Battlefront. These 2 games are definitely classics in my opinion and you were definitely missing out if you didn't play through them What other Star Wars game takes place 4000 years prior to Revenge of the Sith and lets you make your own choices during the play through, and even plays like its own movie?<br />
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Game 9 - Star Wars the Force Unleashed<br />
This game is set sometime between Episodes 3 and 4 and is one of the several stories in the Star Wars saga that aims to help bridge the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope (considering that the movies are set almost 20 years a part) along with Star Wars Rebels and the upcoming Star Wars Rogue one movie (the one that is about the operation where rebel spies steal the Death Star Plans prior to A New Hope). In this game, the Empire has established its grip across the galaxy and Darth Vader continues on his quest to kill off the jedi knights who survived the infamous Order 66 and headed Obi Wan's warning to stay away from Coruscant. In the game, Vader recruits protaganist, Galen Malek (aka Starkiller) to help hunt down the Jedi Knights while secretly wanting to use Starkiller to help kill the Emperor (probably in part due to Padme dying at the end of Revenge of the Sith which Anakin did not take kindly to when he learned about her fate) and you do go on various missions where you go after some of the jedi (such as Rahm Kota and even Shaak Ti). Eventually Vader betrays Stark killer and Star Killer is forced to join forces with the rebels (lead by Mon Mothma, Baal Organa, Princess Leia, Garm Bel iblis, and others) in their struggle against the empire This game is definitely a dark installment in the series, but was pretty fun. You wield a lightsaber and gain force powers (I like how he can use force lightning on enemies, gain special shields to deflect blasters, and even ligth saber throw). He can also manipulates objects and hurl them at enemies too (such as hurling explosives at storm troopers or chucking thermal detonators back at jawas who try to kill Starkiller). Lots of cut scenes worth watching too. This game seems to mark the first onscreen appearance for Garm Bel Iblis (one of the well known rebel leaders in the Expanded Star Wars universe) and possibly one of the last appearances for Bail Organa (who presumably died when Alderaan was destroyed by the Death Star in episode 4). At the end of the game, Starkiller can choose to be a "light jedi" and save the rebels who were about to be executed by Palpatine or turn "dark", defeat Vader and side with Palpatine (though he also tries to betray Palpatine too which ends up backfiring on Malek). There are several DLCs you can download too, which pretty much assumes that Malke turns to the dark side at the end of the main storyline and has several non cannon missions, such as hunting down Obi Wann Kenobi on Tatooine and assasinating Luke on Hoth along with others.<br />
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Game 10 - Force Unleashed 2, particularly the Battle of Endor DLC<br />
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Though not quite as good as the first Force Unleashed game, Force Unleashed 2 is the official sequel to the first Force Unleashed game, and you basically assume the role of a cloned version of Galen Malek (the original Malek is presumably dead in the aftermath of the first game after sacrificing himself to save the rebel leaders). In the game, Malek escapes Kamino (while being pursued by Vader and his cronies) and ultimately sets out on a mission to save is former love from the first game (apparently clones maintain memories and feelings that the host body had) and even sides with the rebels in taking on the empire. The game does seem like it could have had been longer, though it does seem to have some epic boss battles too (my favorites were the ones where you fight a giant rancor as well as the epic duel with Darth Vader). I also got to play through the Battle of Endor DLC pack where you assume the role of dark side Malek in his missions to take out the rebels while also battling ewoks, rebel soliders, and even storm troopers in his mission to take out the rebel leaders, Han Solo and Princess Leia. The Battle of Endor mission was actually quite amusing, especially if you have the Jedi mind trick ability (which basically causes enemies to turn on each other) which proves quite handy throughout the level Obviously, Force Unleashed 2's version of Return of the Jedi is not cannon, but was pretty fun and amusing to play through. You even fight a "Jedi Master" version of Princess Leia at the end of the mission too. In the movie version, obviously Leia had only discovered her powers (much like how Luke was in Episode 4) and was more of a learner. Interestingly Luke never makes an appearance in the DLC version of Return of the Jedi and it is Darth Vader that gets struck by Palpatine's force lightning attack (Emperor Palpatine seemed to know about Vader's schemes to overthrow him and did obviously not take kindly to that). There were several other DLCs, but I didn't play through them</div>
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<b>Honorable mentions</b></div>
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- Star Wars Battlefront Xbox One (can't say I have played through the game yet though)</div>
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- Dark forces (played through part of the game, but not all of it)</div>
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- Jedi Knight Jedi Academy (played through part of the pc version of the game)</div>
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- Star Wars Rebellion</div>
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Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-25732670112389880982015-11-11T23:16:00.003-08:002015-11-11T23:23:24.261-08:00Top 12 Video game and movie veteran characters (work in progress)As you probably know, today is Veterans Day and I thought that I would do a Veterans Day themed Post. In this post, I will pay some tribute to some well known "veterans" in the video game and movie universe.<br />
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1. Super Mario and Luigi - going on countless adventures to save the princess from an evil dragon named Bowser, bent on world domination<br />
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2. C 3PO and R2D2 as well as the Rebels in the Star Wars Trillogy -<br />
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3. Mega Man<br />
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4. Mega Man X and Zero<br />
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5. Commander Shepard - Mass Effect Series<br />
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6. Call of Duty soliders<br />
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7. Master Chief - Halo Series<br />
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8. The Power Rangers<br />
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9. The Avengers and Justice League<br />
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10. Sonic the Hedgehog<br />
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11. The Belmont Clan - Castlevania series<br />
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12. Bill and Lance in the Contra Series<br />
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Honorable Mentions:<br />
- Donkey Kong<br />
- John Marston - Red Dead Redemption<br />
- Star Fox<br />
-Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-85023182271838125182015-08-28T17:20:00.002-07:002015-08-28T20:56:48.755-07:00Top 10 Unlikely Allies and Heroes in Video Games and showsIn many video games, you control a protagonist bent on foiling the schemes of one of the many different video game villians in the industry. Of course, one can't always save the world alone. In this post. Of course,some allies come from unexpected places. In this game, I will talk about some of them.<br />
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<b>1. Yoshi from Super Mario Bros</b></div>
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Yoshi was first debuted in Super Mario World (Super Nintendo era Mario Bros) and is a dinosaur that is pretty much capable of swallowing just about anything in his path, even enemies. Of course, he becomes a useful ally of Mario and Luigi in their neverending quest to defeat Bower and rescue Princess Peach (who often finds herself kidnapped by Bowser). Yoshi's appetite can definitely be a blessing or a curse for the plumbers as he could easily view them as food and *accidently* swallow them if they do not keep him well fed. Of course, is very useful to have as he can easily defeat enemies, fly, eat and shoot fireballs, eat pirana plants and has even been a very good babysitter for Baby Mario in Yoshi's Island (Super Mario World 2). As you can see in the video above, Yoshi can be a nuisannce sometimes. <br />
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<b>2. Alucard from Castlevania Symphony of the Night</b><br />
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Did you know that Alucard's name spelled backwards spells "Dracula"? In the Castlevania series Alucard has proven to be a powerful ally of the Belmonts (and similar protagonists) in their quest to stop the latest schemes of Dracula and his goulish army. Of course, Alucard is a vampire, son of Count Dracula and was supposed to be evil like his father is in the series. Unfortunately, Alucard has often alligned himselves with the humans and helped foil Dracula's plans on more than one occasion. Perhaps the most notable role for Alucard was in Castlevania Symphony of the Night, where he becomes the primary protagonist in the game after Richter Belmont gets kidnapped by the evil priest, Shaft and is given his own castle (brainwashed by Shaft and Dracula). Death (Dracula's closest associate) even tries to dissuade and even stop Alucard from his quest, but gets defeated in the end too. Hey, if it weren't for Alucard's intervention, Symphony of the Night could have ended alot differently, with Dracula taking over the world and using Richter as his puppet. This is not the only time Alucard has a role in a game. He was also an ally of Trevor in Castlevania 3 as well as a support character in Aria on Sorrow and Dawn on Sorrow (disguising himeslf as Arikado) when Dracula's spirit tries to possess Soma. In Dawn of Sorrow, in Julius mode, Alucard becomes a playable character in the quest to stop Soma after becoming "Dracula" (Julius mode follows an alternate storyline that assumes Soma turns into dracula based on the second bad ending of the game and Alucard is one of the 3 playable characters in that mode). He is also a playable character in Harmony of Despair (Xbox 360) as well aimed at defeating his father once again. Can't you imagine having to fight against your own father? Even Luke Skywalker from the original star wars trillogy was faced with the same dilema after learning the truth about Darth Vader (him being Anakin Skywalker after turning to the dark side in Episode 3) and Darth Vader was definitely a monster in the Star Wars universe considering his track record (i.e., betraying and killing former Jedi allies including Obi Wan Kenobi, destroying Alderaan with the Death Star, killing Biggs, using Lando Calrissian to betray Han and Leia on Bespin, etc). Alucard's quest begs the question: is it ever okay to go against your father? If so, when?</div>
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<b>3. Protoman from Mega Man 7-10</b><br />
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Protoman has been a close ally of Mega Man starting with Mega Man 7. He is even a playable character in Mega Man 10 (helping Mega Man in his quest to defeat Dr Wily and foil the Robofluenza outbreak). Of course, Protoman was not always an ally. In Mega Man 3, for example, he was one of the boss characters you had to fight (aka "Break Man") and proved to be a hinderance for Mega Man. Apparently earlier versions of Protoman had him being more antihero and alligned with Dr Wily. Protoman's loyalty to Dr Wily seemed to have fractured in the events of Mega Man 4 (after Mega Man defeats Dr Cossack, who was an unwitting puppet of Dr Wily after his daughter was kidnapped by Wily) and more so after being framed by Wily in Mega Man 5. Even after joining Mega Man's cause, he does seem to have an antihero personality, as was the case in Mega Man 7 when challenging Mega Man to a duel (Protoman is an optional boss in that game) possibly out of jealousy/ Hey, envy can do that sometimes, causing people to become jealous of one and another and somtimes corrupt otherwise good people and we do see that happening time and time again in various video game storylines (for example, in Castlevania Circle of the Moon, Hugh becomes envious of protaginist Nathan Graves and unwittingly becomes a pawn of Dracula and even becomes one of several boss encounter Nathan faces during the course of the game). Protoman is also a playable character in Mega Man Power Battles 1 and 2, once again helping Mega Man stop Dr Wily once again.<br />
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<b>4. Zero from the Mega Man X series</b><br />
In the opening sequence of Mega Man X4 Zero has a vivid dream about Dr Wily (who orders Zero to destroy Mega Man X)<br />
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In Mega Man X5, you can see X and Zero duking it out in a boss style fight:
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Have you ever watche the old Disney Movie, "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082406/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">The Fox and the Hound</a>"? I used to watch the movie when I was a kid. Anyways, the movie is about a tamed red fox named Todd who friends a hound dog named, Copper. Initially they had a close knit relationship. However, Copper's owner is a poacher that likes to hunt red foxes and has another dog that hates Todd and both want to drive a wedge through Todd and Copper's friendship. Of course, if you have seen the movie, eventually the poacher succeeds in causing Todd and Copper to turn against each other, though eventually they become friends once again at the end of the movie. Anyways, if any video game friendship or alliance were to closely resemble that of that of "The Fox and the Hound", it would probably be Mega Man X and Zero. From the beginning of the series, Zero has been a close ally and mentor of X. In Mega Man X1, Zero even saves X when he was about to be destroyed by Sigma's henchman Vile both in the prologue sequence of the game, and later in the first level of Wily's fortress and even helped X to get stronger in the process. From time and time again Zero proves to be a powerful ally of X too. In X3, he helps X defeat Dr Doppler and Sigma. In X4, Zero and X work together to stop Repliforce (on seperate storylines). In X5, he works with X to stop the Eurasia Colony from crashing to the earth. This list can go on, but what X probably does not know is that Zero was actually created by Dr Wily (presumably before he died sometime between the events of Mega Man 10 and X1, though the gap between the 2 series has yet to be bridged and might never be bridged anytime soon) and was supposed to be an enemy of X (much like Bass was in the original series, though more powerful than Bass). Wily even tries to goad Zero to kill X in his dreams (much like what happens at the beginning of Mega Man X4). Sigma tries to turn Zero against X too on at least 2 occassions (first in Mega Man X2 and later Mega Man X5). Interestingly, at the end of Mega Man X3, in the ending credit sequence, the game hinted that X will have to destroy Zero someday, and vice versa in Mega Man X4). In Mega Man X5, the Dr Wily subplot seems to reach a climax as Sigma tries to turn Zero into a Maverick by causing a virus infected space colony to crash to the earth (which can happen should the colony crash to Earth or if both the Shuttle and Laser missions fail with X facing off with a more powerful version of Zero in the 3rd Sigma stage). Mega Man X5 even makes some obvious references to Dr Wily (such as when Sigma faces off against X as the final boss of the game, talking about someone other than him hating Mega Man, obviously referrencing Wily). <br />
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Interestingly, the Dr Wily subplot seems to disappear after the events of Mega Man X5 and the series has yet to reach a definitive conclusion (apparently, according to the wikipedia article of Mega Man X5, the game was supposed to be the final game of the series, but that was before Mega Man X6-X8 were released (unless if those ones are not canon). The series seems to be on hiatus mode after the events of X8 and it is not clear if or when (if ever) the series will reach a definitive conclusion, but there could still be an epic duel to the death between X and Zero someday that surpasses that of X5 (maybe Wily will make his first official appearance besides appearing as a shadow in Zero's dreams in the series too when that happens along with the Elf Wars that bridge the gap between X8 and Mega Man Zero 1, but those remain to be seen). Till then, Zero remains a major ally of X and is a primary protaginist in the series. He also appears in the Mega Man Zero series (presumably after freezing himself at the end of Mega Man X6) and helps foil the schemes of the evil Dr Weil in that series too. </div>
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<b>5. Knuckles from the Sonic the Hedgehog series</b><br />
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In Sonic's never ending quest to defeat Dr Eggman's (aka Robotnik) latest schemes, he has acquired many allies in his quests, such as Tails, Amy Rose, big the cat, silver the hedgehog, and others. He often teams up with Tails and Knuckles as well. Of course, Sonic and Knuckle's friendship was not always there. In Sonic 3 and Knuckles, he was tricked by Dr Eggman into thinking that Sonic was a villian bent on sending Angel Island into the sea) and becomes a thorn in Sonic's side to stopping Eggman, creating various traps and obstacles in Sonic's path. Perhaps one of the more insidious of Knuckles' traps (among many others) was that in the Sandopolis Zone where Sonic is ventures through a massive pyramid and inadvertantly releases ghosts stumbling across a trap presumably by knuckles, making for an extra dangerous adventure for sonic as the ghost quickly become hostile and start attacking sonic (especially when it is dark) with the only way to ward them off is to make sure it never gets real dark (unless if he manages to become super sonic and then the ghosts are no match for him). Eventually, Knuckles challenges Sonic to a boss fight in the Hidden Fortress Zone and is quickly defeated by sonic before finding out that Eggman was the real villian in the game. Interestingly, Sonic 3 and Knuckles is not the only time that Knuckles gets brainwashed by Dr Eggman. He also gets tricked by Dr Eggman in Sonic Adventure 1 and becomes hostile towards Sonic when they first meet in the game not knowing that Dr Eggman is trying to create a powerful monster in his plot to take over Station Square, as well as the Sonic Adventure Series. There seems to be some rivalry between the two sometimes as well. </div>
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6. Tommy the Green Ranger and later Kat from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers<br />
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I have to admit that I was a power rangers fan when I was younger (especially back in the 90s). Who else had a celebrity crush on the pink ranger Kimberly (aka Amy Jo Johnson) by the way? Anyways, in case if you never seen power rangers, it is an ongoing series about these teenagers who become heroes after being recruited by Zordon (an interdimensional being who becomes the supreme leader of the rangers, at least in the old school version of the series) who team up to battle the latest monsters and cronies created the evil Rita Repulsa (who literally wants to destroy the planet) and later Lord Zedd (along with other villians in the series, such as King Mondo, Master Vile, Divatox, and others). Anyways, a well known leader / figure of the classic power rangers (besides Jason, the red ranger) was Tommy the green ranger (later known as the White Ranger, Red Ranger, etc). Tommy was perhaps the most powerful ranger known in the classic series (wouldn't know if that is still the case) and even became an adept leader of the team after Jason stepped down in season 2 and even had a romance going with Kimberly (the pink ranger) before she left the show in season 3 and later broke up with him in Power Rangers Zero (via a "Dear John" letter). Anyways, Tommy was not always an ally of the rangers. Initially, he was recruited by Rita Repulsa to help destroy the rangers (see the first season) and nearly succeeds in doing so but was eventually subdued by Jason after a lengthy duel with him and eventually he redeems himself by joining the other rangers. Interestingly, Rita gets back at Tommy by having his power drained by Golddar and later on lord Zedd manages to sap the rest of his power, but eventually he becomes the more powerful white ranger and becomes a powerful leader of the team (at least through the Power Rangers turbo season becoming a major foil to the plots of the villans).<br />
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Interestingly, in season 3, Kat (aka Catherine Sutherland) does the same thing, starting off as an ally of Rita and Zedd and even develops shape shifting powers to spy on the rangers as an ordinary kitty cat (she even becomes one of Rita and Zedd's monsters too in one of the episodes before gettign defeated by the rangers). She even manages to wreak havok against the rangers and help zap Kimberly's powers. Like Tommy, eventually learns the errors of her ways and redeems herself by taking Kimberly's place after she steps down as the new pink ranger. Interestingly, allies in the series can start of as enemies as we have seen on more than one occassion. <br />
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7. The Borg (Star Trek Voyager series<br />
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I used to watch Star Trek Voyager when it was on back in the 90's (the official sequel series to Next Generation besides deep space 9) and did you know that the Borg temporarily become allies of Star Trek crew? At one point in the series, the crew went up against a hostile alien race known as species 8472 and proved to be defenselsess against them. Eventually they were forced to turn to the Borg for help, and while they did help neutralize the Species 8472 threat, their help did come at a price as they tried to assimilate the Voyager crew afterwards. On the positive note, eventually the Voyager crew was able to redeem at least one person that was turned into a borg: Seven of Nine (who became a permanent member of the star trek crew for the remainder of the series). </div>
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8. Shadow and Silver in the 3D era Sonic the Hedgehog games</div>
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Ah, Shadow and Silver the hedgehog. Prior to Sonic Adventure 2, one used to think that Sonic was the only hedgehog in Sonic's world, however that soon changes from Sonic Adventure 2 onwards. Shadow is first introduced as one of the primary antagonists in Sonic Adventure 2 and works with Dr Eggman in his scheme to take over the world and even manages to frame Sonic in the early part of Sonic Adventure 2 for his crimes. Eventually, Shadow and Eggman get defeated and Shadow's alliance with Eggman seems to get fractured after the events of Sonic Adventure 2 and he becomes more of an antihero. Depsite being rivals with Sonic on more than one occassion, he has known to align with him sometimes, as was the case in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 when he helps Sonic in his quest to defeat Dr Eggman, Mephiles (basically an evil twin of Shadow) and later teams up with Sonic and Silver to take down the monster Solaris at the end of the game. He has also helped Sonic in Sonic Generations going against the Time Eater machine that Dr Eggman creates too. Still, he can be a wild card and sometimes he can ally of sonic or an enemy too. Silver the Hedgehog is another hedgehog that was introduced in Sonic 2006, and like Knuckles before him, he was tricked (by the evil Mephiles) into believing that Sonic was evil and tries to defeat sonic. However, he later becomes an ally of Sonic after Shadow reveals that Silver was being brainwashed by Mephiles and he eventually helps Sonic and Shadow take down Solaris in the final boss of the game. He has made a few other appearences in the series, such as Sonic Generations. Interestingly, Amy seems to have feelings for Silver in addition to Sonic, there could be a love triangle between the 2 in future sequels.<br />
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9 . General Morden and his army - Metal Slugs X, 2, 3, and 6</div>
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In the Metal Slug series, the games are loosely similar to contra, where you control one of several commandos in a shoot em up arcade style game going up against the villianous General Morden (basically a Saddam Hussein look alike in my opinion) as well his army of thugs. Usually Marco and his allies are fighting against Morden's army, but when things don't go as planned for Morden and his army, sometimes they are forced to form an uneasy alliance. This happens the first time in Metal Slug 2/X (pretty much the same game) at the final boss when the aliens turn on Morden and his men and launch an Independence Day style invasion and a co-op final boss fight takes place where Maro, Tarma, and their allies team up with Morden's army to destroy the alien craft (btw, much like Independence Day, a fighter pilot sacrifices himself by flying into the ufo's main core and taking out the ship with him). And this is not the only time that Morden and his army form an uneasy alliance with the herose. The same thing happens again during the last mission of Metal Slug 3 where "Morden" turns out to be an alien disguised as him and the real Morden gets abducted by the aliens once again and the heros are forced to team up with Morden's army once again to defeat the hostile alien forces in a more epic final showdown than that in Metal Slug 2. Interestingly, even Allen (usually hostile towards the players) makes and appearence fighting along the heroes (doesn't happen every time though) as they up against the aliens during the final level. They also team up once again in Metal Slug 6 when mutant insects launch an invasion against the human race as well. Of course, the alliance usually falls apart in the aftermath of the games ad the two sides are usually fighting each other once again in the sequels (with the exception being Metal Slug 5 since the heroes are up against a new foe in that game with Morden and his men mostly absent from that game). Metal Slug 7/XX marks the first time since Metal Slug 1 when Morden is the sole antagonist and final boss character at the end of the game, recruiting soldiers from the distant future in his plot to take over the world and challenges Marco and his allies to an epic multi-tier show down at the end.</div>
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10. Trevor Phillips Grand Theft Auto 5</div>
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If you haven't played through Grand Theft Auto 5, you have definitely missed out on perhaps one of the best Grand Theft Auto games yet and the first game in the series that I am aware of where you can control up to 3 characters throughout the game (plus the online mode character). Initially you control Franklin (at least after the prologue), but as the game progresses, you can also play as Michael (a former gangster who becomes a family man living in Rockford hills) and later Trevor Philips, who is basically the red neck type in the game. Trevor is definitely the most scandalous and antihero character you will meet in the game. Initially, he is living out in a trailer in the desert near Sandy Shores (GTA's version of real life Desert Shores in California) and literally soon goes to war with a biker gang after an incident where he pretty much steals Johnny's boyfriend (a biker gang member) and later kills Johnny) and develops other enemies as well (such as the Aztecas, a chinese gang known as the Yakuzas and many others). Trevor is very short tempered and is known to kill sometimes (as is the case when he is first introduced after the Jewelry Store heist mission as well as an incident while stying at Wade's cousin's house) when angered to a point. After learning that Michael is still alive after the events of the game's prologue (which inevitably happened when the FIB agents learned about Michael's Jewelry store heist mission) he soon seeks out Michael and later meets up with Franklin as well. Initially he is friends with Michael, but he grows hostile over time (especially while exiled from Los Santos after double crossing a mexican kingpin called, Madrizo) and Michael and Amanda soon seperate after Trevor resurfaces. Trevor also inevitably meets Franklin too. <br />
Throughout the game, Trevor is definitely a loose cannon. At one time he can be a powerful ally, but when his temper gets the best of him, he can become a fierce enemy (as players see time and time again) and his storyline is arguably the darkest of the 3 (moreso then Michael and Franlin in myopinion) and will likely be offensive to some players. He is definitely the type you probably woudn't want to have as a room mate in a dorm or apartment type setting (like Floyd finds out around the midpoint of the game) and is great at making enemies too. Throughout the course of the game, he makes enemies with biker gangs (such as the Lost and Damned from GTA 4), the Merryweather security firm (especially after his infamous Merryweather heist mission), Chinese gangs, the Aztecas (rival weapon smugglers), and many others. Despite his scandalous and borderline antagonist nature, he does have some redeeming sides to him making him an unlikely ally. For example, in a mission where he is forced to help interrogate a mexican immigrant the FIB agents want Trevor to kill him, but Trevor cuts the guy loose and helps him to escape back to his own country. In a drug deal gone wrong mission (Hood Safari) that Franklin does, Trevor comes to the rescue and help Franklin and Lamar escape an otherwise dire situation (especially with Ballas and later cops constantly gunning for them). He even helps rescue Michael and Dave Norton towards the end of the game when Steve Haines tries to betray Michael and Dave by having them arrested with Merry Weather, FIB agents and AIA agents joining in on the fray despite officially being enemies by that point in the game. He also proves valuable on some of the later heist missions of the game as well (especially the Paleto Bay score and later the Big Score mission). By the way, Trevor, like Michael can be killed of permanently by Franklin at the end of the game if the player chooses (can be useful for players who hated Trevor during the course of the game), though that action is permanent so you might want to save before the final mission and be sure to complete all of Trevor's missions and side missions before killing him off if you are going for 100% completion. Trevor is definite quite a character in GTA 5 and is definitely the classic redneck type.<br />
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Well, that wraps up my top 10 list. I hope you liked it. If you have more to add to the list, feel free to share them in the comments section below.<br />
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Honorable mentions:<br />
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1. Klingons in Star Trek Next Generation - although the Klingons were common enemies for the Federation when Captain Kirk was captain, by the time Captain Picard came to the scene, the hostilities between the klingons and the Federation seems to have largely come to an end by then. The USS enterprise even recruits a Klingon to help run ship (aka Lt Warf).<br />
2. Cerberus and the Illusive Man in Mass Effect 2 - When the evil alien race known as the Collectors start abducting humans and processing them for the reapers (the primary antagonists of the series) from various colonies across the galaxy, Cerberus forms an uneasy alliance with the alliance (particularly with Commander Shepard and his crew) much to the the distrust of the council on the Citadel as well as Shepard's closest ally and potiential love interest, Ashley (male captains) or Kaiden (female captains), temporarily straining Shepard's relationship with them. To cerberus' credit, they did help save the human race from certain extinction at the hands of the Collectors (considering that they were killing off their prisoners at their base near the center of the galaxy) and literally raised Commander Shepard from the dead after his apparent death after being ambushed by a reaper ship during the game's prologue (Shepard would have been dead as a door nail if it wasn't for cerberus resurrecting him). They even helped him reunite with some of his former crewmembers (such as Garrus, Lliara, Tali and Mordin) and even provided him a potiential love interest too that rivals Ashley (Miranda). Still, Cerberus was not entirely insane as they almost got Shepard kidnapped by jailers on the Purgatory jail ship that Jack was on (she seems to have been driven insane by Cerberus), sent them on a suicide mission to take out the Collector base (the Illusive man probably didn't care if Shepard came back alive or not) which could prove tragic for the crew depending on the choices the players make throughout the game and especially on the final mission, and even creating some mistrust for Shepard (they were probably one of the reasons what Shepard was detained at the beginning of ME3 besides the incident involving the Batarian race and their system's relay). Of course, after the events of Mass Effect 2, the alliance with Cerberus comes to an end and the Illusive man and his cronies become hostile towards Shepard and the alliance by the time Mass Effect 3 comes around (though some cerberus agents like Miranda and Jacob side with Shepard in ME3). They even take over the Omega space station too.<br />
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3. Magneto in Xmen Clone wars - in Sega Genesis' X-Men Clone wars, Magneto (usually an antagonist in the series) becomes an ally of the X-men when they face a threat from a hostile alien race that has the ability to clone the mutants and wreak havok across the galaxy.<br />
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4. Clone Troopers, Anakin Skywalker, and Palpatine - Star Wars Prequel trillogy as well as Clone Wars - long before the events of Episode 4-7, the peace of the galaxy was threatened by the Trade Federation, Commerce Guild, Corporate Alliances and other hostile alien races, with Count Dooku leading the charge between Episodes 2-3. Of course, what the Jedi and republic heroes don't know was that Palpatine was really Darth Sidious and was pulling the strings on both sides of the conflict and in episode 3 Palpatine's alliance with the Jedi came to an end after Anakin turned to the dark side, the infamous order 66 was given, and the clones soon turn on the jedi permanently.<br />
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5. Malificent and Pete in Kingdom Hearts 2 (World that Never Was world) - although Malificent and Pete are considered antagonists in Kingdom Hearts 2, often clashing with Sora, Donald and Goofy throughout the course of their quests in the game, the real villians pulling the strings was Organization 13, lead by Xemnas. In the final world of the game when Sora, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Rikku (initially disguised as Xehonort), King Mickey, Ansem the Wise, and Kairi officially go to war with the entire Organization 13 (with boss fights against the remaining Organization 13 members they have not defeated), Malificent and Pete join in the fray against organization 13. Of course, Malificent has ulterior motives for the alliance as she wants to take over Castle Oblivion (which she presumably does in the aftermath). What she does with the castle and remaining heartless remains to be seen in the sequels (Dream Drop distance and later KH 3). <br />
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Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-64648511778787737232015-08-16T19:51:00.000-07:002015-08-16T22:10:07.733-07:00Serbio's Castlevania Fighter Arcade ReviewHey, who here is a Castlevania series fan here? I came across a fan made game called Castlevania Fighter Arcade Created by Serbio. Here is a gameplay video (featuring Shanoa) below showing how the game works:<br />
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Note that Shanoa is just one of many characters you can play as in Castlevania Fighter Arcade<br />
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Before I write this review, have any of you played Mega Man Power Battles 1 or 2? Mega Man Power Battles actually came with the Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the Xbox (probably PS2 as well). In that game you can play either as Mega Man, Bass, or Protoman and each "level" consists of a boss fight from a previous Mega Man game usually chosen at random from previous games. After you beat all of the robot masters, there is one Wily Castle boss, and the end boss is none other than Dr Wily himself (much like how it is in Mega Man 1-10). Anyways, in Castlevania Fighter Arcade, you can choose from a whole host of characters to play as, such as Simon Belmont, Richter, Julius Belmont, Soma Cruz, Alucard, Shanoa, Death the Grim Reaper, and many others. Interestingly, you can also play as non castlevania characters such as Ronald McDonald (since when was he in a Castlevania game?) and several others. After choosing a character, you can choose a difficulty level (with beginner being the easiest mode and "nightmare" being the hardest) and then the ggame begins. Like Mega Man Power battles, each "level" consists of a boss fight from various Castlevania games (such as Circle of the Moon, Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, Dracula X Chronicles, Order of Ecclesia, and others). The boss fights chosen for each level is generally randomized (meaning you might fight different bosses in each play through) though there are definitely some recurring bosses you are likely to encounter in most if not all playthroughs. Of course like many Castlevani games (despite not being an official castlevania game) Count Dracula (the primary antagonist in the series) is back and serves as the game's final boss and his close associate, Death the Grim reaper marks the second to final boss in the game. Other noteworthy boss fights I have encountered includes:<br />
- Giant bat<br />
- Dario and Aguni (usually happens back to back of each other)<br />
- Carmillia (from Circle of the Moon)<br />
- Richter (plays out much like the SOTN version of Richter)<br />
- Albus<br />
- Stella (from Portrait of Ruin)<br />
- Brauner (one of the primary antagonists in Portrait of ruin, besides Dracula and Death).<br />
- Barlowe from Order of Ecclesia<br />
- Zephyr from Dawn of Sorrow<br />
and many others.<br />
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<b>Pros about Castlevania Fighter Arcade</b><br />
- This game is definitely going to be a hit for long time Castlevania fans in my opinion. All of the boss fights in this game are pretty well known in the Castlevania franchise (especially for people who have played through the game).<br />
- Multiple difficulty levels. If you think the game is too hard, I might recommend starting with beginner mode. Think the game is too easy, you might consider cranking up the diffiulty. By the way, some of the characters will have a better chance of beating the game than others.<br />
- Characters come with both basic and advanced attacks and moves. By the way, at the Serbio website, it does list all of the characters as well as all of the moves they can perform.<br />
- Follows the classic scheme of castlevania games. Boss music is very similar to the ones in previous games and changes for each boss fight. Also, this is definitely one of the few newer Castlevania games that features Dracula as the final boss. Not every new castlevania game features dracula as the final boss.<br />
- Leveling up system. As you beat each boss you can use points to purchase potions, power ups, defense boosts, extra continues, etc from Renon (from Castlevania 64) by holding the start button (I have mine mapped to the enter key) after beating a level till the screen advances to the next level. Also, there is a unique trick where if you jump and catch orbs while attacking right after they appear, you can get bonus hit points, defense boosts, level ups, and possibly continues too (I haven't confirmed it yet). <br />
- Bosses do have patterns they follow (much like their counterparts in the games they were in) so the game does get easier over time if you find yourself struggling. For example, Dracuala's first and 3rd form are very similar to those in Order of Ecclesia. Gergoth, Aguni, and Zephyr function much like themselves from Dawn of Sorrow. Some bosses are faster though (such as Brauner) and unpredictable too (such as Richter). <br />
- With all of the difficulty modes and characters you can play through as, replay value is pretty high in my opinion. By the way, Dracula has 3 forms on Beginner Mode, and 4 forms in Normal to Nightmare Modes. Also some of the boss patterns changes by the change of difficulty.<br />
- Multiple gameplay modes. Besides arcade mode, there is also a survival mode, vs mode (can be useful if your computer supports 2 players), co-op survival mode, and training mode where you can test out your character's moves before playing through the game.<br />
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<b>Cons of Castlevania Fighter Arcade</b><br />
- I might recommend checking the installation requirements before downloading. Also some versions do work better than others. By the way, I have encountered crashes of the game a few times too. It has gotten better for me over the months and seems to be rare, but it can happen.<br />
- No save feature. Once you start a new game, it is recommended you have at least 1-2 hours to spare since there is no save feature. Also, you only get a limited amount of continues (sometimes you might not start with continues at all, especially early in the game) to work with and once they run out, game is over and you will have to start over. This can make the game extra challenging, especially as you get farther in the game and bosses get progressively harder to beat, and there are some recurring boss fights that will likely take multiple attempts to beat (some of the most challenging bosses I have encounted includes: Aguni, Stella, Brauner, Barlowe, Death, and Dracula).<br />
- Controls can be a bit confusing at first. By the way, there is an app that lets you configure the controls. Also, some of the moves each character has are going to be easier to learn than others. Consequenlty, I might recommend starting with characters with less moves such as Simon Belmont or even Ronald McDonald (he can actually hold his own in the game and is suprisingly formidable to play as too). <br />
(more will be added over time)<br />
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Over all, I thought that Castlevania fighter arcade was a pretty fun game to play through. It certainly is challenging and might not necessarily be for everyone, but I definitely recommend it to the many long time castlevania fans out there (at least if you have a good computer to play it on). Sure fighting boss after boss can get repetitive and might be a turn off for some people and devoting time to play through the entire game will likely be challenging for some people, but it is definitely one of the best fan made castlevania games I have played through. You probably won't beat the game as every character, and you will likely find yourself having better luck with some characters than others.<br />
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If you are curious, you can check out the game at <a href="http://serio.piiym.net/cvbla/">http://serio.piiym.net/cvbla/</a>. The game is currently free to download.<br />
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<b>General gameplay tips (based on my experiences with the game):</b><br />
- I might recommend starting the game on beginner mode (at least for your first several times through). It can seem easy, but it lets you get familar with the game, how each boss fight plays out and it is a little more forgiving than the higher modes. I would advise against "nightmare" mode until you are fully confident as the enemies get tougher to defeat the higher the difficulty.<br />
- Whenever you defeat a boss, red orb will appear that you can collect to beat the stage. Interestingly, the game has an interesting reward where if you jump and hit the attack button right after the orb appears and get the orb at the same time, the game offers bonus health, strength, hp upgrades, defense upgrades and other bonuses (possibly extra continues as well, though unconfirmed). If you see the video near the beginning of this post, you can see what I mean (it actually works best with whip users like Simon), but if you do it correctly, you should see a good, excellent or great message when done right. It can take several tries, but it is very useful when you get it down.<br />
- Each boss has his or her own unique pattern of moves and attacks. Familiarizing yourself with the enemies' attack patterns can be very useful for your success. By the way, many of them follow the same patterns as they do in their original games. Dracula's pattern (at least the first and 3rd form) is very similar to that in Order of Ecclesia. In his second form, he is very much like his demon form from Circle of the Moon. Aguni (one boss fight that will likely be a challenge for some) has several patterns. He can swoop in one or more directions, try to swat your player, shoot fire at the player, and even try to divebomb the player (much like how he does in Dawn of Sorrow). Dario behaves much like he does in Dawn of Sorrow (same with Zephyr). Brauner's attacks are very similar to that in Portrait of Ruin, though he seems to be somewhat faster and some of his attacks can be harder to dodge (especially the poison attack), and he can also try to suck the player's blood too (which doesn't happen in the original game). I will post more detailed tips on the boss fights (at least ones I have seen) in a future post. <br />
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Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-21871057781101845362015-05-19T20:14:00.001-07:002015-05-21T15:40:54.104-07:00Most memorable Mega Man games I have played, classic Mega Man and Mega Man X era games (work in progress)You know what I did today after getting home from work? I plugged in my Playstation 2 and played Mega Man X5 all the way from the beginning to end (sadly Zero went maverick in that playthrough even though originally I was playing as him before having to switch over to X). Anyways, I can definitely say I have been a longtime player / fan of the blue bomber (Mega Man) franchise. I have no idea when new games will be made in the series, but in this game I thought I would share some of he most memorable ones I have played through:<br />
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Classic Era Mega Man<br />
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<b>Game 1: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004SVS3/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00004SVS3&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsavjoma-20&linkId=NZ5YWX4NOHGQBACW">Mega Man 2 - Nintendo NES</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=rjsavjoma-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004SVS3" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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Mega Man 2 was perhaps the first mega man game I ever played (I don't remember playing Mega Man 1 till later). Mega Man 2 is arguably one of the hardest and most challenging Mega Man games I have played (I thought Mega Man 9 was pretty challenging too). I remember when I first played Mega Man 2, I was just a little kid (maybe 7 years old?) living in Illionois and used to have friend (his name was Stephen) and he had that game and I used to go to his house sometimes ad play that game with him (of course, now days I have the Anniversary Collection version of the game). Mega Man 2 was quite fun, yet perhaps one of the most challenging games in the classic Mega Man franchise. Noteworthy moments and notes about the game:<br />
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- First mega man game to feature 8 robot masters (if I remember correctly, Mega Man 1 only featured 6)<br />
- First mega man game to feature Dr Wily's castle. While Mega Man 1 did have Dr Wily levels, it did not have a full castle to play through like Mega Mans 2-10 does.<br />
- To date, currently this is the only mega man game where the boss music remains the same throughout the whole game. The robot masters, Dr Wily stage bosses, Dr Wily's first form, and Dr Wily's Alien form (his final form) all have the same boss music. Even Mega Man 1 had 2 different boss musics (the robot masters boss fights and later Dr Wily stage boss fights) .<br />
- Noteworthy boss fights includes: Metal Man (interestingly he is very weak to metal, which can kill him in 2 hits when you fight him in the teleporter room), Wood Man (he had the wood shield), Quick Man (his primary weakness is Flash, but it only takes out half of his energy bar), Mecha Dragon, the turret boss battle (the one that you have to use crash bombs to defeat), as well as Dr Wily in his alien form.<br />
- Another unique thing to Mega Man 2: the infamous Wall turret boss (4th stage in the Dr Wily castle). This is the only boss in the series I am aware of where one popular strategy involves using the crash bombs on the explodable walls, die, refill crash bombs, and face the boss again (the second time around has those walls gone) with all of the turrets exposed. Apparently, there is another way to do it without dying at least once, but that sees trickier in my opinion.<br />
- Mega Man 2 has perhaps one of the most the most Dr Wily castle levels in the series (6 levels long).<br />
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Game 2: Mega Man 3<br />
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Mega Man 3 was definitely a gem in the classic Mega Man series in my opionion. This game was the 3rd installment in the series. I remember I first saw the game when an old friend of mine brought a copy over to my house and played through the game with me, though eventually I would get my own copy of the game (especially the Anniversary Collection of Mega Man for Xbox). This game was pretty addicting too, as sometimes would spend hours playing the game from the beginning to the end.<br />
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Notes about Mega Man 3:<br />
- This game has perhaps that longest robot master section of the game. In addition to the usual 8 robot master levels, you have to play through 4 of them a second time through and fight robot masters from mega man 2 (reincarnated as "gamma robots"), with 2 major boss fights in each level. After those, there is a boss fight with "break man" (protoman?) and then after that is the Dr Wily levels.<br />
- To date, Mega Man 3 marks the only game in the series that I am aware of where all 8 robot masters from a previous mega man (from mega man) game make an appearence in the sequel version. Sure Mega Man 7 has a resurrected version of Guts Man, and in Mega Man 10 "The Archives" boss fights in the first Dr Wily stage have abilities from various robot masters in the previous games (i.e, Wood Man, Slash Man, Tornado Man, etc), but those ones are not quite the same as how it was in Mega Man 3, where all 8 robot master from a previous game make a reappearence<br />
- First game to feature Protoman, this time more as a "close associate". I think at the time the creators of Mega Man weren't sure if Protoman was going to be an ally or enemy, though Protoman does eventually become an ally of Mega Man (probably after being framed by Dr Wily in Mega Man 5 as well as turning on Wily in Mega Man 4). <br />
- To date, Mega Man 3 is probably the most creative game when it comes to the final boss fights with Dr Wily in both forms. In his first from, he attacks Mega Man in a huge spider walker machine (not sure what else to call it), and in his final form he pilots a huge gamma robot (the one with the horns)<br />
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From Mega Man 4, onwards, while the creators are pretty creative with Dr Wily's first form, his final form is more or less the same where you are in a room and he teleports around the room (much like what Count Dracula does in the Castlevania series, where he teleports around and attacks when reappearing).<br />
- Mega Man 3, in my opinion, has probably the easiest Dr Wily stages compared to most of the other games in the series I thought the Dr Wily levels in Mega Mans 2 and 4 were much more challenging. Also, some of the bosses (such as the turtles and mega man clone) can easily be beaten by the regular mega buster. Even the blog monster has a pattern that is relatively easy to remember (he is more challenging in Mega Man 1 and Mega Man X5).<br />
- Interesting cheat: if you think the game is too hard, there was a cheat where if you had 2 controllers, one person can hold down "right" on the d pad on controller 2 and if you fall down a hole, you would lose all of your health bar, but would not die an would pretty much become invincible. The only way he could die then would be to fall on spikes or get smashed.<br />
- One of 2 mega man games to feature Rush Marine. He can be very useful for some of the underwater sections of the game, such as gemini man stage as well as the first Dr Wily castle level. Rush Marine seems to have disappeared from Mega Man 5 onwards. Also, there is a cheat using the password menu that makes it so that you can start with all 9 E tanks as well as one that makes it so you can start the game with at least one robot aster already defeated<br />
- Mega Man 3 is also the first game in the series to feature Rush the dog (aka Rush Coil, Rush Jet, and Rush Marine)<br />
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Game 3: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004SVS4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00004SVS4&linkCode=as2&tag=rjsavjoma-20&linkId=ZU2UXWZODR4PAFXU">Mega Man 4</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=rjsavjoma-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00004SVS4" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z8v_aLnf9Iw" width="420"></iframe>
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Mega Man 4 was definitely another classic in the series. This game does seem to several firsts in the series. Here are some notes about Mega Man 4:<br />
1. First game in the series to feature the powered up version of the mega buster. Starting with Mega Man 4, players could hold down the attack button to charge up the mega buster shot and shoot a charged shot at enemies (can be somewhat effective against bosses and stronger enemies).<br />
2. First game in the series to feature balloon and wire power ups that Mega Man can get The balloons function much like their counterparts in Mega Man 2 (they have the helicopter blade underneath and mega man can use them to move upwards and is an alternative to rush jet and and rush coil)<br />
3. First game in the series where Dr Wily is not the only primary antagonist that Mega Man is up against (aka Dr Cossack). Dr Cossack is a russian doctor that unwittingly became a pawn of Dr Wily after Wily kidnapps Dr Cossack's daughter and forces him to fight Mega Man. Interestingly, for first time through players of the game (especially back when it was first released back in the 1990's long before the internet as we know it became main stream), they wouldn't know about Dr Wily until after defeating Dr Cossack (the game makes no mention of Dr Wily before that point) It is only after you defeat Dr Cossack when Dr Wily is revealed as the puppet master behind Dr Cossack and then the Dr Wily Stages of the game begin.<br />
4. This is also the first game in the series to feature 2 castles players have to play through (first Dr Cossack's castle and later Dr Wily's castle). By the way, there is no save point or codes in between the 2 castles, so players had to play through both on in one setting (otherwise if they turn off the console they would have had to start over in the game's final levels). <br />
5. First game in the series to feature Dr Wily's usual final form, where you are in a room and Wily teleports around and attacks after reappearing. This version of Dr Wily's final form is pretty much the same in the remaining classic Mega Man games (though in Mega Man 10, Mega Man is up against 2 Wily saucers) .<br />
6. This game is the first game in the series where the boss music remains the same in the robot masters, Dr Cossack, and Dr Wily Castle bosses of the game. The boss music does not change until you fight Dr Wily's final form (that is also pretty much the same kind of deal in Mega Mans 5 and 6 too).<br />
7. This game also marks the first Mega Man game to feature a giant Metalloid as major boss fight (sure there were some large metalloids in Mega Man 3 during the second time through in Needle Man's stage, but it was not a major boss fight, like it's counter part is in Mega Man 4).<br />
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Game 4: Mega Man 7<br />
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Game 5: Mega Man 10<br />
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Mega Man X era<br />
Game 1: Mega Man X1<br />
Game 2: Mega Man X4<br />
Game 3: Mega Man X5<br />
Game 4: Mega Man X8<br />
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<br />Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-5860187015099229882015-05-15T15:57:00.001-07:002015-05-15T16:27:33.705-07:00Information about Boost Insider: an online income opportunity that lets you monetize your blog postsHey fellow readers. Are there any webmasters or bloggers here today? Do you like to blog? How would you like to monetize some of your traffic? In this post, I will talk about Boost Insider, which is basically an online affiliate network where you can shared sponsored posts and links and get paid each time visitors respond. <br />
<img height="167" src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/superboostaa/g1_1428017674797_800.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<img height="209" src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/superboostaa/yb4_1428017609925_800.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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Boost insider can be a very exciting and lucrative affiliate opportunity for bloggers, article writers or web masters looking to earn some extra cash with their blogs. I have been an affiliate at Boost Insider for about a month now and have made at least $2.20 as of today's post (it is not alot of money, but it is a start. In this post, I will share with you what I know about the opportunity.<br />
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What is Boost Insider?<br />
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Boost insider is an affiliate network that basically pits advertisers and publishers together where advertisers will share affiliate links and sponsored posts and publishers can share some of that content on their blogs, and usually publishers get paid each time visitors click on the links they are given to post. There are many different campaigns that people can choose from. Boost Insider often targets blogs on video games, but they have content that can relate to other niches and fields as well (such as ipads, android phones, health issues, making money online, etc).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaxt713Y4BA_mIEBAGBjRDaHIg3XFobdamaMlWR-fuS4yuZAbUHpDDq8BREvbOVfwYZJVkF0402yu9WNWbCpBAl9kX8gXlG39bHlTGHczBsEz_PdkWKlHBrTY4mvfpls-pjaKKCtzCw6e/s1600/boostinsider+campaigns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaxt713Y4BA_mIEBAGBjRDaHIg3XFobdamaMlWR-fuS4yuZAbUHpDDq8BREvbOVfwYZJVkF0402yu9WNWbCpBAl9kX8gXlG39bHlTGHczBsEz_PdkWKlHBrTY4mvfpls-pjaKKCtzCw6e/s400/boostinsider+campaigns.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is a list of campaigns I can choose from to publish on my blog. You don't have to do every campaign, but I recommed doign at least one or 2 campaigns per week minimum since the more exposure you have to the links, the more profitable it should be. Note that that the campaigns with the red circle means that those ones are paused or cancelled, while the green ones are fair game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://bst.is/p99KW8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Already interested? Click here to visit Boost Insider </b></a></h4>
What you need for boost insider?<br />
1. Website or Ad Enabled blog<br />
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While boost insider is free to join, you do need to have an ad enabled blog or website to use to host the sponsored links and posts advertisers post. If you are looking to use a free blog, Google Blogger can make a very convenient choice since they do allow affiliate links (as long as posts are not real spammy) and is pretty easy to use and post new posts. If you are looking to build a website, I might recommend either Site Build it or Global Domains International as both companies make it possible to build affiliate websites for relatively low costs. <a href="http://www.sitesell.com/snohomishnichemarket.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Site Build it</a> costs $30 per month to use and they do provide lots of resources to use, including their signature site builder, niche brainstorming tools (similar to word tracker where you can research good key words and niches to build your website around), built in email marketing system (can save webmasters from using 3rd party services such as Aweber or Traffic Wave from using those services for email marketing, for example creating email newsletters). <a href="http://website.ws/ryansjones" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Global Domains International</a> is another option as it only costs a mere $10 per month to use their services and it comes with a domain name, site builder (though more advanced webmasters can opt to use their own html software), email boxes, as well as wordpress.org blogs you can set up as well. Can be useful for building affiliate websites or blogs on a low budget. Host gator and Empower Network are also popular networks for building affiliate websites and blogs. Anyways, once you have a website or blog set up, you are ready to join Boost Insider and use their system. Warning about free blog hosts: if you plan to use free blog hosts for boost insider, I recommend checking the terms of service before posting affiliate links from boost insider since some hosts (for example, wordpress.com, squidoo, myspace and hub pages do not allow affiliate links) and can susepend or terminate your account if you are caught using affiliate links (this is where paid web or blog hosts can be useful).<br />
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2.Traffic (preferably lots of it).<br />
As a fellow affiliate marketer and in the field for several years now, I hate to break it to you, but without traffic (preferably lots of it), you will not get paid (and it can literally take months or even years before you start getting paid without adequate traffic levels and response rates). Much like Google Adsense, Kontera ads, or Adhitz ads, most of the sponsored links (though some pay on a per lead / sale basis as well) you are given to post pay on a cost per click rate, which means visitors have to click on the links for you to get paid (an no you can't click on your own links). In my experience, most visitors probably will not click those links so you will need to get logs of people viewing your sponsored posts for you to earn money from the clicks. 100 hits per day minimum is a good start, though at least 1000 hits or more per day is ideal. There are many ways you can advertise your website or blog, including: word of mouth, including your blog ling in your email signature file when sending out emails, taking part in forums that allow links in your signature file (note that not all forums allow links in the signature file so I recommend checking the rules of forums you want to join before joining them), doing paid advertising (Bing Ads and Adhitz can be good places to start for PPC advertising). I would recommend Google Adwords, though they have gotten more stringent when it comes to advertising affiliate website or blogs and they are notorious for banning people who get their ads rejected alot. (happened to me a few years ago when I tried advertising my other blog http://rjanimalvideos.blogspot.com for "site policy" violations, probably because it has affiliate links on it or something). Social media (such as Facebook and Twitter) can also be useful for sharing posts you make too if used properly. More savvy bloggers and webmasters can also use Search engine optmization techniques as well to help boost their ranks in search engines as well (though it can be easier said than done to less experienced bloggers ro webmasters). How you promote your website or blog is up to you, but the more traffic you are getting each day, the better. By the way, I am not an expert when it comes to boosting traffic levels or boosting conversion rates on ads (if I was, I would be alot richer than I am now and could blog on a full time basis instead on taking part time jobs, but obviously I am not at that point at this time). <br />
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3. Choose campaigns and share sponsored posts and links. I recommend sharing sponsored posts that interests you and is relevant to your blog and share those. Be sure to log into Boost Insider periodically and check your balance as well as for new campaigns to host on your site or blog.<br />
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Things I like about boost insider:<br />
- Good variety of links to share and you do have some control over what ads you host and which ones you don't. Some ad networks (such as Adsense and Adhitz) choose ads for you and they are not always relevant (for example, ads on income opportunities on say a blog that is about pets and animals) in my opinion.<br />
- Better cost per click rates than Adsense and Adhitz. Most ads pay $.10 or more per click, which is somewhat more compared to other display advertisign networks. Some also pay on a cost per lead basis as well.<br />
- You get paid each time you earn the required hits in a campaign. Can go rather quickly or slowly depending on traffic levels. This is where hosting more than one campaign can can be useful.<br />
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Down sides to boost insider:<br />
- Like most affiliate opportunities, making huge bucks with Boost Insider can definitely be easier said than done for typical affiliates. In the ideal world, almost every affiliate would be making $1000 or more each month in ad revenue, but we do not live in an ideal world, and some people can make alot of money with this, while others might make very little if any money. I wish I can tell you a fool poof way to ensure you are making at least $1000 per momth minimum but I am not an expert when it comes to income opportunities or affiliate programs, so some people will probably have it easie than others. My guess is that traffic is king when it comes to cost per click systems. Without traffic or at least click throughs you will probably not make a dime with Boost Insider. I recommend setting up a strategy to get more traffic to your sites for best results. If you have money, I might recommend setting up ad campaigns on Bing ads or Adhitz as that can give you extra hits to your sites each month. Paid to click sites, safelists and traffic exchanges (my favorite ptc site to advertise on is Clixsense) can be useful for getting lots of traffic too, but most people at those kinds of sites tend to view ads for the money or traffic, so the response rate can be low that way. <br />
- Quotas on each campaign can be tricky to meet for the averange novice. In the ideal world one can hit the required ammount of clicks for pay out every day, but it is definitely not as easy as it looks, so it can be a while for average affilaites to hit the minimum payment threshold for the campaigns.<br />
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Well that is all for now. <br />
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<h4>
<a href="http://bst.is/p99KW8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">For more information about Boost Insider or if you are interested in joining, feel free to click here to visit their site (sign up is free by the way). </a> </h4>
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My earnings so far as of 5/15/2015: <a href="http://bst.is/lnHPW8">2.40</a><br />
<br />Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-52833080188515413582015-04-30T15:54:00.003-07:002015-05-13T16:37:07.451-07:00Kim Kardashian Hollywood game first impressions review Facebook versionHere is my first impressions review of the Kim Kardasian Hollywood game (Facebook version)<br />
<img height="320" src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/superboostaa/cover_1426112566487_800.png" width="320" /><br />
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In my last post, I did a a sponsored post for the Kim Kardashian Hollywood game for the iOS (which you can download at <a href="http://bst.is/yVENW8">http://bst.is/yVENW8</a>. Anyways, I noticed that there is a Facebook version of the game (do a search for "Kim Kardashian Hollywood" and you should find it) and decided to try it out myself.<br />
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Overview of the game:<br />
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So, this game is pretty much a point and click adventure game (kind of reminds me of games like Yoville, Cityville, Sims Social, etc) where you assume a role of a guy or girl that moves to Los Angeles with aspirations to become a star or starlet. You start out as a sales associate at a department store called So Chic, but early on in the game you encounter a virtual version of Kim and she becomes your mentor and basically helps you to get started on an adventure to become a successful celebrity like she is (you almost get a virtual glimpse into her world in the game). Lots of things you can do, including:<br />
- Meeting new people in the game (btw, you can also invite Facebook friends to play the game too and interact with them in the game too)<br />
- Traveling to various locations (such as Los Angeles, Malibu, Las Vegas, Miami, Florence, etc)<br />
- Take on girlfriends (if you are playing as a guy) or boyfriends if you are a girl. Btw, I think it is possible to have same sex relationships too, though personally, I'd rather date a girl over another guy (yeah, I am straight). You actually get your first relationship rather early in the game too (my guy is currently dating a girl named Michelle). <br />
- Do photo shoots and ad campaigns.<br />
- Visit parties<br />
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By the way, there are several antagonists in the game you will encounter (they seem to hate your player without a cause other than jealousy) and will try to make your life in the game miserable. For example, one girl my guy met got my guy fired from working on a movie because she didn't like my guy in the movie. Also, they will try to eat at your fan base too. How you stand up to them is yet to be known but it is worth mentioning too.<br />
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<b>Pros and cons about the game:</b><br />
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<b>The good:</b><br />
- Fun point and click adventure with lots of variety<br />
- Who doesn't like Southern California even though it is not the real thing?<br />
- Who doesn't like Kim Kardashian as a celebrity? Not that I personally know her (I can't say I have ever met her in person other than "knowing" her on TV like most folks do) of course.<br />
- Lots of tutorials, places to visit, things to do, etc. Makes becoming a celebrity look easy (I am sure it is not nearly as easy as it looks being an average joe myself).<br />
- Dating simulator elements. This game also functions as a dating simulation game (where you meet virtual girlfriends and do some virtual dating). You get your first girlfriend or boyfriend early on in the game. Also, relationships can seem to evolve into marriages too.<br />
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<b>The bad:</b><br />
- <b>Annoying energy bar system (which refills slowly every 4-5 minutes)</b>. The energy bar system is rather limited and drains quickly as you do various tasks (such as going to parties, photo shoots, dates, etc). Once the energy bar runs out, unless if you are willing to buy energy, you have to wait a while (usually 4-5 minutes per energy level) for the energy to refill. This can definitely put a crimp into doing some tasks in the game, especially visiting parties, dates, etc within a time frame as you can use up all of your energy points rather quickly and then you have to wait a while for your energy bar to replinish before doing anything which can make it difficult to beat certain missions (especially within a time frame). At most venues, as you do various tasks you earn stars which count as progress towards completion of them and sometimes it can be easier said than done to get them all within certain times.<br />
- <b>Redundancy.</b> Some things can get redundant after a while (such as doing photo shoots, working, etc).<br />
- <b>Pressure to put extra hours into the game (expect to have at least 2 hours set aside per play if you want to make real progress in the game).</b> The game does seem to operate at real time (no way to pause or save and reload progress int the game). Alot can can happen between logins (for example, missed meetings, opportunities, etc). Also, you have a fan base system that increases or decreases over time depending on your energy level. Consequently, pressure is on to log in almost every day and spend at least 2 hours minimum (preferably more) per session. This can definitely be a turn off for people who have busy schedules. Sure if one has alot of free time on his or her hands, then the real time feature would not be a problem, but for most people who have jobs, school, church, or other responsibilities to attend to, one can only do so much in a given session. Also, vacation mode might be recommended for the game too if one anticipates being offline for an extended period of time, such as vacations, work, family activities, etc (considering that summer is just around the corner, what if people have to take off for a whole week)? Who knows what can happen if that happens.<br />
- <b>Probably appeals more to girls than guys</b>. Definitely a feminine style game. This is not to say that some guys will play the game, but it definitely seems to be geared more towards women (such as fashion, glamour, relationships, etc). <br />
- <b>Dating system is flawed and may or may not be worth the effort (you might be better off remaining "single" in the game rather in a relationship</b>. Integrated with the Kim Kardashian hollywood game, is a built in dating simulator where you can meet "girls" or "guys" (depending on your preference) in the game. In my experience, players usually get their first "significant other" early on in the game. While the dating system does add more interactivity in the game, the dating system does seemed to be flawed in my opinion. From a guy's perspective, girls in the game can be high maintanence and you never know when they are going to call and want to break up (especially if you miss a day). Originally I hooked up with a girl named Michelle. A few days later, she called and wanted to break up (got a little busy doing other tasks in teh game too). My guy met another girl met another girl (I think her name was Paige) and today I had to work my real life job and when I came on, she wanted to break up (I guess creators of the game are expecting players to have lots of free time on their hands). You know, people can be busy in real life (I have 3 part time jobs myself, with Crossmark currently being my primary job) and I don't always have time to play the game. It might be easier to hold off on the dating sim part of the game until you have lots of time to invest into the game. It is alot easier to play through the game without girlfriends or boyfriends in my opinion.<br />
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<b>Overall Grade: B</b><br />
<b>Good, though perhaps not the best choice for everyone. Will definitely appeal to Kim Kardashian fans though. </b><br />
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Well, that is all I can think of for now. This game will definitely be a hit for many people who are into the Keeping up with the Kardashians franchise and looking for some games to play on facebook (can make a good alternative to games like Candy Crush or Farmville). By the way, it appears Kim may have had a hand in making the game (see <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kim-kardashian-hollywood-game-history-2014-8">http://www.businessinsider.com/kim-kardashian-hollywood-game-history-2014-8</a>). Of course, this game will probably not appeal to everyone, especially people not into the point and click adventure style game as well as people who don't have time to play these kinds of games. Note tthat this is only a first impression review I have and I will try and do a more detailed review of the game at a later time.<br />
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<b>Other thoughts and tidbits:</b><br />
- This game definitely makes becoming a celebrity look easy. I am sure it is not as easy as it looks.<br />
- <b>Important disclaimer:</b> I do not personally know Kim Kardashian nor am I working for her in this post. I got the sponsored post via Boost Insider (fellow bloggers, you can check them out at <a href="http://bst.is/lnHPW8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://bst.is/lnHPW8, sign up is free by the way, though you do need an ad enabled blog to host the referral links)</a>. Like most people, I know her on television (such as in Keeping up with the Kardashians), but I don't personally know that lady (can't say I have ever met her).<br />
- The game definitely makes you feel like you are in Southern California. Like I said in my last post, I have only been to the Los Angeles area twice in my life (back in 2001 and 2006). I have been to California on several other occasions, but those times I usually mainly visited the Sacramento area (my aunt lives there, and so did my grandfather too before he passed away back in 2005). I have also been to the Lake Tahoe and San Francisco area on more than one occasion. I do live in the Seattle area, which is 2 stats north of California (right along the Interstate 5 corridor).<br />
- Important disclosure: this review is based on my own experiences with the game and may not necessarily reflect the thoughts of other people who played the game. I don't personally work for the people who made the game (just an affiliate), and I may earn a commission if people click on the referral links for the game (same with the Amazon link for Grand Theft Auto 5). <br />
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<b>Similar games:</b><br />
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Grand Theft Auto 5 (San Andreas is very similar to Southern California in many ways, barring some obvious differences). <br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=rjsavjoma-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00KVSQAGO&asins=B00KVSQAGO&linkId=SSLQXWUL7S5EYHTH&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
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<b>Comments?</b><br />
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Have any of you played the Kim Kardashian Hollywood Game? What is your experience with the game? How would you rate it? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-42021752193233948132015-04-26T10:08:00.001-07:002015-04-27T20:16:37.826-07:00#KimKardashianBI Hollywood Video Game -Let's Play (Gameplay), Sponsored Post (updated)Here is a<br />
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I think it is time for another sponsored post. Are any of you Kim Kardashian fans? Here is an interactive adventure game where you can "work" for Kim. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ck4WkFtoe3s" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<!-- Kontera ContentLink(TM);--><script type="text/javascript">var dc_AdLinkColor = 'blue' ; var dc_PublisherID = 168106 ; </script><script src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/KonaLibInline.js" type="text/javascript"></script><!--Add Tracking code--><script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-5100884-10']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://' : 'http://') + 'stats.g.doubleclick.net/dc.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();</script><br />
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<b>You can get this game at: <a class="emphasis" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="short-url-391774" style="text-decoration: underline;" value="http://bst.is/yVENW8">http://bst.is/yVENW8 </a></b><br />
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<span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-sizing: border-box;">1. Game features and information:</span></div>
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Join KIM KARDASHIAN on a red carpet adventure in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood! Create your own aspiring celebrity and rise to fame and fortune! Have you ever dreamed of visiting Hollywood? This game offers a simulated Hollywood experience (IOs style). Obviously it is not the real Hollywood, but it is based on it.<br />
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? CREATE YOUR OWN STAR and customize your look with hundreds of style options, including Kim Kardashian’s personal picks! The game lets you customized your own character.</div>
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? STAR in a huge interactive adventure as you encounter other celebs, dedicated fans, persistent paparazzi… and even hang out with Kim herself! It is basically an interactive story game (choose your own adventure style).</div>
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? RULE THE RED CARPET as an A-list movie actor, cover model, fashion designer and more – what you do is up to you! The goal of the game is to become a virtual celebrity.<br />
? TAKE OVER L.A. in a virtual world complete with exclusive clubs, upscale boutiques, and luxury homes! Travel to New York City and Miami! Probably based on some of the locations the Kardashians have been to (such as New York and Miami).<br />
? DATE AND DUMP CELEBS at the best parties and hottest clubs! Flirt and become the next huge celebrity power-couple! Reminds me of of dating simulation games on Newgrounds a bit.<br />
? BRING YOUR FRIENDS ALONG FOR THE RIDE using Game Center and Facebook – help each other rise to fame, compare styles, send gifts, and see who can be the biggest star! Like many Facebook style games, you can invite friends to play as well.</div>
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<span style="color: #555555;">Commentary</span></div>
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I don't have an iphone, so I haven't been able to try this game yet, but it looks pretty neat and creative. It also seems to promote the Dash brand too. I can't say I have ever been to Dash (only been to the Hollywood area once and that was back in 2001) considering that Dash doesn't seem to exist in the Seattle area, but I do work part time at Kohls, which is kind of like Dash in a way (retail clothing store environment) so I could almost relate to the Kardashians that way. By the way, Grad Theft Auto 5 also makes you feel like you are in LA too in a much bigger world and adventure. </div>
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Have you tried The Kim Kardashian Hollywood video game yet? Feel free to share your experiences with the game below.</div>
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Update (April 27, 2015)<br />
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I noticed that there is also a Facebook version of the Kim Kardashian Hollywood video game and to be fair (sadly I don't have an iphone or ipad, have a Windows Phone and Dell Tablet instead) I will play that version of the game and post a full review of it at a future date. Though I could share my first impressions of the Facebook version of the game in my next post.<br />
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Similar games: Grand Theft Auto 5 (you are basically in a virtual version of Southern California in that game too, barring some obvious differences). <br />
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<b>Foods for thought:</b><br />
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1. My experiences in California.<br />
I have only been to the Los Angeles area twice in my life. The first time was during the summer of 2001 and in 2006. In 2001, I had recently graduated from high school that year (at Jackson High School in Mill Creek) and for my senior trip, my family flew on a plane to the Los Angeles area. Highlights of that trip included:<br />
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<ul>
<li> visiting Disneyland and staying there for a whole week (lots of time to see the many different rides and attractions they offer).</li>
<li>Visiting universal studios in Hollywood</li>
<li>Driving around the Hollywood and Beverly Hills area</li>
<li>Driving up the Coast to Monterey via highway 101. Stopped a a beach near Santa Barbra (forgot the name of it) and San Luis Obiso along they way. Probably drove right past Calabasas that time on the freeway (obviously I didn't know anything about the Kardashians back then, at least not till the tv show started airing).</li>
<li>Visiting my grandpa in Sacramento before flying home.</li>
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In 2006, my family did a road trip to the Los Angeles area. Stayed at my aunt's house in West Sacramento for a few days and then drove to Palm Desert and stayed at club intrawest there for a whole week. Afterwards, we visitied Disneyland again for a few days and then instead of taking Interstate 5 home, we went up 15 and visited Las Vegas (marked my first time there, we stayed at the Luxor casino / hotel that time)), Bryce Canyon, and Twin Falls, Idaho on the way home. By the way, I have been to the Sacramento on various occasions too, especially back when my grandfather was still alive (he passed away back in 2005), with the most recent trip being back in 2012 when I visited my aunt there. </div>
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2. I do have some experience working in the fashion industry myself (at least in the way), via Kohls. I can't say I have ever been to Dash retailers (the business Kim helps run) or similar retailers in Southern California, but I do have a part time job working at Kohls, usually working in the men's department, so I do have some experience when it comes to apparel and similar kinds of merchandise (even helped in the Misses and Juniors departments on more than one occassion). In the video game, your characther works in a clothing retailer, which I am quite familiar with.</div>
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Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-75193014481505832302015-04-17T16:54:00.002-07:002015-04-17T16:59:38.041-07:00Grand Theft Auto 5 Online: A ghost town now?Who here has played Grand Theft Auto 5 Online on Xbox One lately? Considering that I have already played through the storyline mode on the Xbox 360 version of GTA 5 I have decided to try and focus a bit more of my time in the online version of the Los Santos area. My character is officially at level 14 as of today and will likely level up again in the near future as well.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="267" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Bodie_CA_-_ghost_town.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of a ghost town. Looks like a town, with nobody in it (maybe ghosts though, considering that some do have ghost stories). Image source <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Bodie_CA_-_ghost_town.jpg">http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Bodie_CA_-_ghost_town.jpg</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Introducing Uncle Steve on GTA 5 Online" src="http://prod.hosted.cloud.rockstargames.com/ugc/gta5photo/eNnzxAEJq0-Nz-1Q1yyztA_0_0.jpg" height="223" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is a picture of my GTA Online character. I named him Uncle Steve (was trying to be creative with names)</td></tr>
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Anyways, while playing through the online mode, I have noticed that the streets Los Santo has been rather empty lately (besides npc characters). At onetime, GTA Online has been quite lively with lots of people online, doing missions together, organizing races, doing pvp matches, etc. Now days, it seems to look more like a ghost town. There are npc characters you can interact with and some missions can be doable even on single player (though some missions can be considerably more difficult to do when playing alone as opposed to teaming up with people), though the online mode is definitely funner to do when other people are online too. By the way, some missions and mini games are unplayable or nearly impossible to complete on single player mode (especially ones requiring 2 or more players). I remember doing this one drug deal mission gone wrong mission where you had to go to a drug deal, though the people you had to meet turn hostile and you have to steal the drugs and destroy their vans (can't remember the name of the mission right off), but that missions was nearly impossible to do in single player (even on easy mode). Not only do you have to take on an army of gang members but you also have to destroy vans too in that mission which pretty much suicide when one attempts the mission alone. <br />
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By the way, I am disappointed and suprised to see the empty map in GTA Online, especially now they are advertising the new GTA online heist missions that people can do on GTA online now. Obviously you can't do a heist mission if there is nobody to team up with. I hope Rockstar will fix those issues with GTA online, otherwise GTA 5 Online could very well be dead (much like how it was on GTA 4 was when GTA 5 came out) and you might be better off just sticking to the single player mode. I don't have any pictures of the empty map yet, but if I see an empty map again, I will share it to show what I mean. </div>
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Is anyone else having these issues with GTA Online? By the way, I am not sure if this is issue is just affecting the Xbox One version or if it is affecting PS4 as well, but if you play GTA online you just might find yourself in a ghost town for now.</div>
Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-23132475289152247192015-04-14T16:29:00.001-07:002015-04-14T16:29:40.837-07:00Super Freakin' Parody Rangers THE MOVIE (Part 1)Here is a funny parody of Power Rangers the Movie (1997). Warning; this video does contain some crude language and some twisted humor. <br /><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2FD4TBGgcww" width="480"></iframe>Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-18089739218293177082015-04-14T16:11:00.001-07:002015-04-14T16:11:20.661-07:008 bit Avengers Age of Ultron<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g3XzBGpQfEo" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
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You know, the new Avengers of movie is supposed to come out in just a few weeks from now and there have been several different trailers out and here is a very humorous 8 bit trailer of that movie featuring NES characters and sprites.<br /><br />
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Few notes:<br /><br />
- Mario seems to be portraying Thor<br /><br />
- Mega Man as Tony Stark and Iron Man (Mega Man is somewhat fitting for that role considering that he too has his own mechanical suit and armor)<br /><br />
- Donkey Kong as Hulk (pretty funny, especially when he takes on Mega Man).<br /><br />
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8 bit can definitely make funny parodies of various movies and shows.Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-75150459513468586592015-04-13T20:58:00.001-07:002015-04-13T20:58:49.389-07:00The Avengers - 8-Bit CinemaHere is a short 8 bit version of the first Avengers movie. Pretty funny to watch. Seems to use mega man style sprites<br /><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P-5c5ct1FfM" width="480"></iframe>Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-12861460724507542892015-04-10T17:36:00.000-07:002015-04-10T17:36:19.685-07:00Big name movies coming out this yearThis year is definitely going to be an intersting year for movies. Last year, there was the third and final hobbit movie, Iron Man 3, Guardians of the Galaxy (interstingly, the guy that played Starlord is from the Lake Stevens area here in Washington), Teenage Muntant Ninja Turrtles reboot (still have yet to see that movie) and even Captain America Winter Solider (btw much of the Agents of Shield episodes since the movie have dealt with the aftermath of that move with the revived Agent Coulson being named the new director of SHIELD after Nick Fury stepped down), Lego Movie and even Interestellar (I thought that movie was as blast to watch, especially at night in theaters). This year, more movies are slated to be released. Here are some movies I am looking forward to:<br />
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<b>Movie 1- Avengers 2: Age of Ultron (should be coming up in May)</b></h3>
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It looks like Marvel is going to be starting this year off with a bang with the release of the anticpated Avengers 2 Age of Ultron. This movies seems like it is going to be significantly darker than the first movie and brings the heroes back in a seemingly more chaotic world, especially with SHIELD in ruins and pretty much in civil war mode in the aftermath of Captain America 2 as well as unfolding events in Agents of SHIELD (given the hydra situation as well as now the so called "Real SHIELD") group too that has arisen (tough to tell the good guys from the bad guys too sometimes). By the way, at comic con this year, I decided to dress up as Nick Fury (had the trench coat and eye patch) with the new movie coming out. Interestingly, Age of Utron is supposed to mark the end of "phase 2" and being the "phase 3" marvel movies. Apparently, it is also supposed to tie into Captain America 3: Civil War (apparently the Civil War storyline is going to be shown in that movie), though it is not clear on how the events will lead to the marvel civil war.<br />
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<b>Movie 2: Ant Man (currently set to come out in July sometime) </b></h3>
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This movie will start the storyline in the Marvel Cinematic universe version of Ant Man (aka Hank Pym). He had a much bigger role in earlier versions of Avengers (such as Avengers Earth's Mightiest heroes, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Marvel's Ultimate Avengers 1 and 2 movies). Interestingly, Hank is not supposed to appear in the New Avengers movie considering past versions of Ultron were Hank's creation.<br />
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<b>Movie 3: Fantastic 4 Reboot</b></h3>
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Who here saw Fantastic 4 back in 2005 with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0344435/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t1">Ioan Gruffudd</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004695/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t2">Jessica Alba</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0262635/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t3">Chris Evans</a> (also known as Steve Rogers from Captain America), and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004821/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t4">Michael Chiklis</a> portraying the Fantastic 4 characters? Well, it looks like we are about to be a reboot version of that movie, this time portrayed by different actors. Will the infamous Doctor Doom make a return in this movie? Only time will tell. It will be interesting to see how this version compares with the 2005 version.<br />
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<b>Movie 4: Jurassic World</b></h3>
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After a long hiatus in Jurassic Park movies, the franchise is about go get yet another sequel. This movie is supposed to be set about 22 years after the events of the original movie and a new dinosaur theme park is built in place of the old one. It appears a new mutant dinosaur is supposed to make a debut too? I still remember when the earlier version of the movies when they came out in the 1990s and early 2000s (especailly Jurassic Park and Lost World). By the way, where is Turok the Dinosaur (from the N64 game Turok) hunter when you need him should the dinosaurs go on a rampage once again?<br />
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<b>Movie 5: Terminator Genysis</b></h3>
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Interestingly, the 5th installment of the Terminator is slated to be released later this year and Arnold Schwarzenegger is supposed to make a return into the franchise once again, after being absent from Terminator Salvation (aka Terminator 4) probably as a result of him being governor of California at the time. Interestingly according to an article I read apparently, he wasn't too wild about Terminator Salvation (see <a href="http://www.fashionnstyle.com/articles/56098/20150409/terminator-genisys-news-arnold-schwarzenegger-slams-terminator-salvation-says-glad-didnt-have-appear-fourth-movie.htm">http://www.fashionnstyle.com/articles/56098/20150409/terminator-genisys-news-arnold-schwarzenegger-slams-terminator-salvation-says-glad-didnt-have-appear-fourth-movie.htm</a>), though I suppose having less say in the movie was a small price to pay for not being in that movie and being governor instead that year. By the way, while I have seen Terminator Salvation, I haven't seen all of the other 3 movies yet. Will have to watch the other movies sometime.<br />
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<b>Movie 6 - Star Wars Force Awakens (aka Episode 7)</b></h3>
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You know, who would have thought that there was going to be a third Star Wars trilogy in our lifetime. I remember <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/287442/george-lucas-no-more-star-wars-movies-and-it-s-the-fanboy-haters-fault" target="_blank">George Lucas once saying that he wasn't going to make any new Star Wars movies</a> after episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith). However it seems like he had a change of heart and let others directors continue the Star Wars movie storyline. This movie will officially mark the beginning of the 3rd trilogy and will see the return of old favorites (portrayed by the original actors and actresses), including Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, etc. This storyline is set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, though even I am in the dark on what the new movies are going to be about. Originally I thought that the Expanded Universe (such as books, comics, games, etc) were going to bridge the gap between the original trilogy and the new trilogy but it looks like the producers are not going to use those versions of events (no longer considered canon) and the new movies will be all new, so it is pretty much uncharted territory now. There is some speculation though considering that there were some loose ends ins the storyline after Return of the Jedi (especially in light of the prequels). Some questions I might have includes:<br />
1) Does Luke restore the Jedi council (remember it was decimated during the events of Revenge of the Sith, especially once Order 66 was issued by Palpatine).<br />
2) Does Darth Sidious Make a return despite his apparent death in Return of the Jedi?<br />
3) What happens to Coruscant and the fallen Old Republic?<br />
4) How about Han and Leia? In the book version of events, they get married and have kids (Jacen and Jaina)<br />
5) Does Boba Fett escape the Sarlacc monster? In the expanded universe, he does?<br />
6) Is Luke married? In the book version of events, he gets married to a lady named Mara Jade. Interestingly, if you read the Thrawn Trilogy, initially she wanted to kill Luke as a result of Palpatine's death, but I don't remember seeing her in the prequel trilogy, so I don't know if she will be in the movie or not.<br />
7) Does Obi Wan Kenobi make a return as force ghost<br />
8) Does Leia become a jedi? Remember in Return of the Jedi she just begun to realise her powers (much like how Luke was in Episode 4).<br />
9) How about Luke and Leia's origins (not sure how much they knew about Anakin and Padme).<br />
And many other questions. Of course right now, one can only speculate. <br />
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Well, that is all for now. I am sure there are many other movies set to be released this year. How about you, are there movies you are anticipating this year? Next year (2016) we will see more big name movies, including Captain America 3: Civil War, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Reboot (bringing back all of the original characters portrayed by new actors), Superman vs Batman (interestingly, when Man of Steel came out, I had to do a demo at the Walmart in South Everett where I literally had to dress up as Superman and try to get people to buy tickets for the debut screening of the movie, it will be interesting to see if Walmart stores do a similar promotion for the next film), and Independence Day 2 (yes, Independence day is getting a sequel at last). By the way, all of these movies coming up are already giving me ideas on what to dress up as to next year's Emerald City comic con. Could go as superman again, Batman, a power rangers character (doing a Bulk and Skull cosplay might be fun, though I would have to get someone to dress up too and get a punk outfit to look authentic), or even a Star Wars character.Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-57191372787175162712015-04-09T22:31:00.001-07:002015-04-09T22:31:19.028-07:00Star Wars Battlefront 3 2015 Talk: Singleplayer & Force Awakens DLC; Mus...It looks like the latest Star Wars Battlefront game is going to be coming out this year. I remember playing through the first 2 Star Wars Battlefront games too. Will definitely consider buying this game when it comes out. Interestingly, it looks like there might even be content in the upcoming Star Wars Force Awakens movie too (aka Episode 7).<br /><br />
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<!-- Kontera ContentLink(TM);--><script type="text/javascript">var dc_AdLinkColor = 'blue' ; var dc_PublisherID = 168106 ; </script><script src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/KonaLibInline.js" type="text/javascript"></script><!--Add Tracking code--><script type="text/javascript"> var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-5100884-10']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://' : 'http://') + 'stats.g.doubleclick.net/dc.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();</script>Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-14059048746063256312015-04-09T18:34:00.000-07:002015-04-09T18:35:20.620-07:00Lego Movie Xbox One ReviewWho here likes Legos? I remember playing through both Lego Star Wars (prequel era Star Wars) and Lego Star Wars 2 (based on the original trilogy back in the day) and thought they were pretty fun to play through. It is Lego and Star Wars after all. Fast forward to Christmas season of 2014, there is now a game based on the classic Lego Movie that was released earlier last year. In case if you don't know, Lego Movie was a movie that was released back in February of 2014 and was basically about an average Joe worker, named Emmet who had been living a seemingly normal and comfortable life. However, unbeknownst to Emmet, the world he was living in was basically a global dictatorship lead by the evil Lord Business, who was pretty much ruling the world with an iron fist and secretly wanted to "cragle" (or anhilate everyone). One day Emmet stumbles across a prophecy that would spell the end of Lord Business' regime and soon gets caught in the middle of an ongoing conflict between Lord Business and his cronies (such as Bad Cop) and an ever growing group of rebels that want to overthrow his regime and it is up to Emet to help save the day. I won't spoil how the movie plays out and ends (assuming some of you haven't seen the movie yet), but if you want to see the movie, you can probably buy it on Amazon or maybe even Netflix (not sure of it is on Netflix or not). See link below for the lego movie.<br />
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Anyways, as most people might expect: several games have been released based on Lego Movie and I was able to play through the Xbox One Version of the game. After playing through the game, in my opinion it is definitely a fun and interesting movie based game to play through. The game starts out with the prologue, where the wizard <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Vitruvius and Cleopatra teams up to take on Lord Business (much like he does in the movie) which comes in the form of a boss fight and ends with Vitruvius utters his prophecy about the downfall of Lord Business' regime. Then the game shifts over to present day and in the role of Emmet and in an open world environment. Initially the game takes place in the City of Bricksburg, but other areas open up as you play through the game, inlcuding Flatbrush gultch (which petty much as an old west style theme), Cuckoo land (basically a city in the clouds) and later the Octan tower. There is also a bonus room (there is nothing in there at first, but comes alive after you beat the story mode) and a secret area too I believe. In each world there are a series of levels and storyline missions to play through. Below is a video showing the first 9 minutes of the game.</span><br />
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I won't spoil the rest of the game for you (of course if you do not mind spoilers, you can get a full game guide at <a href="http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox360/722935-the-lego-movie-videogame/faqs/68687">http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox360/722935-the-lego-movie-videogame/faqs/68687</a> that details the walkthrough of the entire game). Overall, personally I thought the game was a very fun and great tie-in to the movie. The levels and worlds feel like you are playing in an interactive version of Lego Movie, full of worlds, levels, cutscenes and voice acting that you would see in the movie. It even has a huge boss fight at the end where Emmet and Hello Kitty team up in their final showdown against Lord Business. I have seen some sources that seem to offer mixed reviews of the game, but I have seen movie game that are much worse than Lego Movie, but I am sure that Lego Movie will not appeal to everyone, though I am sure kids will love the game, though maybe not as much for older crowds. <br />
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Review Highlights:<br />
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Pros:<br />
+ Plays out much like the ovie<br />
+ Good replay value. Like many lego based games, as you play through each storyline level, you will find that there are hidden objects and secret areas hidden throughout the levels and will definitely require revisits on Freeplay mode if you want to find them all. <br />
+ Somewhat open worlds in Free Roam mode. The map size is not too big, but there plenty of things you can do in each world, such as stocking up on lego pieces that can be used to buy red bricks or unlocking new characters. Many of them even have hidden objects you can find and side missions you can do (for example, in Bricksburg one side mission has you finding cats around the city for a reg brick, and in Flatbrush Gulch there is a side mission where characters can help find and bring outlaws to justice).<br />
+ Lots of cutscenes from the movie complete with voice acting and all from the movie.<br />
+ Interesting characters you can play as too. My favorites are: Batman, Superman, Bad Cop, Green Lantarn, as well as the guy that can throw dynamites at things, but there are plenty of other ones available.<br />
+ Minigames (especially the hacker terminal games, which pretty much play out much like Pacman).<br />
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<b>Negative aspects about the game:</b><br />
- The storymode is relatively short and linear. Though it is possible to stretch out the game to extend the gameplay<br />
- Will probably appeal more to kids than adults. While I thought the game was pretty fun even though I am 32 years old, I am sure the game will not appeal to everyone, though I am sure kids will love it.<br />
- Like many similar games, eventually, you do run out of things you can do and items to find and then there really isn't much left to do. Eventually you play through the storyline, complete the freeplay mode and complete all of the side missions in each world and then it is time to move on. On the positive note, the game can be stretched out so that you don't have to do everything in one setting.<br />
- The game might seem to be too easy to some people. When your character dies, he/she just respawns right by where he died and it just subtracts some of your lego money.<br />
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<b>Overall grade in my opinon</b>: A<br />
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Want the game, you can buy it on Amazon at:<br />
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Note that the game is also available for the PS4, 3DS, Xbox 360 and WII U as well.<br />
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Similar games:<br />
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Have you played Lego Movie? Feel free to share your experiences with the game in the comments section below? Feel free to like and share this post if you like it. Your support would be most appreciated. Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-32671426845223068742015-03-30T18:26:00.000-07:002015-03-30T19:02:35.546-07:00Commentary on the article: Cheshire, England: Schools Intend To Call The Police On Parents Who Let Kids Play Violent Video Games Pic<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">Here is a Big Brother is Watching you photo with Tony Blair (image source: flickr.com<span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Arial;"><span style="background-color: #191919; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px; white-space: nowrap;">)</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of Halo 3, another video game that could be affected by the new rules</td></tr>
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Here is an interesting and potientially controversial article I found on Inquisitr and at Infowars (http://www.infowars.com/schools-to-parents-if-you-let-your-kid-play-call-of-duty-well-call-the-cps-on-you/) worth talking about. Apprently in England, some schools are adopting a new policy where if kids are allowed to play violent video games (such as Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto 4 / 5, Dogs of War, etc) or use social media like Facebook, schools can calls Child Protective services or even the police on their parents. Here is the original letter posted on the info wars website:<br />
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(source: http://www.infowars.com/schools-to-parents-if-you-let-your-kid-play-call-of-duty-well-call-the-cps-on-you/)</div>
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My Commentary:</div>
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Who here have kids or even teenagers that play video games? Talk about a Nanny State style system. Can't you imagine this: you have a typical teenage son (say 16 or 17) and he plays Call of Duty Advanced War Fare with his buddies or maybe he does Halo Masterchief, Assassins Creed, or similar games (which I am sure many teenagers do) and should nosy school officials learn what games he is playing, they might call the cops on the parents. Interestingly, the proposed rules would also prohibit kids from using Facebook (possibly twitter and myspace too) or apps like WhatsApp, apparently because they might encounter cyberpredators online (which is definitely an inherit risk people can take when online considering that you never know who you might meet online). What do you all think of such policies? Should schools or even the government be able to dictate what games kids or teens can play or wither or not if they can use social media like Facebook. </div>
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Now, I have mixed issues when it comes to what kids can play and do. Sure there are games that kids probably shouldn't be playing (especially games like Grand Theft Auto 5, where you pretty much control 3 different criminals in a huge open world environment that mimicks Southern California and gets into things like drugs, gangs, crime, murder, and similar elements that are likely to be offensive to some, especially kids and mothers). On the flipside, you can get a grey area when it comes to video games and some people can handle violent video games better than others. I remember when I was in high school, the Nintendo 64 and Sony Playstation were the style and I remember playing 007 Golden Eye on the 64 on many different occasions (even bought the 64 and golden eye back during my college years) which was very similar to Call of Duty in many ways, and definiely a predecessor game that probably helped inspire games like Halo and Call of Duty (especially the multiplayer modes). Also, back then there used to be a flight similar arcade called The Otherside (which seems to have gone out of business since then) where people can pay $20/hour and play online games, such as World War 2 dogfight games, Duke Nukem, Quake, and similar games over a huge network. So should teenagers (let alone parents) be punished by schools or even the government for what games they play on their game systems? Also, would be restrictions just be aimed at MA 17 games or could they be expanded to T rated games too (such as the Sims 3 or say Mortal Kombat)? </div>
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I found the Facebook restrictions interesting too. By the way, according to Facebook, people have to be at least 13 or older to sign up for Facebook (though back when I was in high school, facebook and myspace did not exist and I did not sign up there till when I was going to Northwest University). Sure there can be shady people on social media sites like Facebook, Myspace, etc such as trolls, cyberbullies, scammers, and even the occasional pedophile types. Even I sometimes get random ladies online that I don't know trying to flirt with me on MSN Instant Messenger and Facebook too sometimes and I usually ignore them since I don't really know them and want to protect myself. Last year I won't name names, but I met a random lady from Wyoming (she contacted me first). She was apparently in her 30s, had 2 kids and no husband (apparently he died sometime ago) and she obviously seemed to be in a hurry to get into a relationship with me. She wanted me to drive out to Cheyanne, Wyoming at least once or twice (which is definitely at least a 2 day away from the Seattle area) and even wanted me to call her, and even meet her at a state park in Montana once, but obviously I did not know her personally and knew better than to rush into such a relationship (after all, I did know know what her intentions were). Even if she was legit, I knew I wasn't ready to have kids of my own, which probably would have come with the relationship with her and obviously I would not be able to support them considering that I am only working part time and living on low income. Luckily she unfriended me and moved on before things got out of hand. Anyways, people like her do exist on Facebook and Myspace and people have to be careful when it comes to meeting people online. But at the same time, Facebook (and similar social media) can be used for more productive things too, such as connecting with friends, sharing photos they take, keeping in touch with people, etc. Blogging sites, such as Blogger can be good to have too, as it can help kids develop their writing skills, which is pretty crucial to have, especially once they go off to college as writing quality papers do become a part of the daily routine in college and papers not living up to standards usually get Ds and Fs. </div>
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By the way, while the new rules concerning violent video games and social media mainly affects England, I am sure it is only a matter of time before American schools take up similar laws and rules (after all, America and England are similar in many ways, even when it comes to politics and schools). Also, this is not the first time schools have tried to impose their policies and rules to students even when they were not in school. I rmember when I was in college at Northwest University, students were not supposed to drink alcholic beverages, even when off campus, so if students went to nearby bars and pubs, they ran the risk of someone noticing them and reporting it to school authorities (which probably could lead to susepensions or even expulsions in some circumstances). <br />
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1. In Virginia Beach, Virginia, a pair of 7th graders were expelled for the "crime" of doing airsofting in their own yards, not far from the rest stop. I don't know what all lead up to the expulsions, but the kids were playing some airsoft in their own yard (which is somewhat similar to paintball, where you you shoot small airsoft pellets at targets or sometimes even each other which is pretty harmless, though they can leave bruises and welts much like in paintball) and a neighbor complained about it and somehow the school found out about it and expelled the kids apparently for "possession, handling and use of a firearm" (apparently airsoft guns are considered fire arms as far as the school was concerned and not allowed, even at home). Not sure if the students were able to overturn their expusions or not. By the way, if me and my brothers were in that district, we probably would have been expelled too considering that we used to do mock civil war battles with cap guns in our back yards, even went paintball and laser tagging on a few occasions too.<br /><br /><br /> 2. In another incident a student from Louisianna was arrested because he was using an app called, "Real Strike" to "shoot" fellow students. Real Strike is an augumented reality app for the Iphone that mimicks Call of Duty in Real life settings (much like how it is with Laser tag, where people can shoot harmless "lasers" at each other). Now while "shooting" fellow students was definitely inappropriate in my opinion, having the student arrested shows how far the zero tolerance policies can go.</div>
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(above is Real Strike in Action, it is a similared game, where app users can "shoot" things in a simulated setting, though of course nobody really gets hurt). By the way, the Windows Phone has a similar app where you can "shoot paintballs" at "targets" (you tap the screen, the phone vibrates and a virtual paintball splatters). <br />
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3. Perhaps a more disturbing story: Student getting expelled for refusing to wear an RFID tracking chip<br />
In this story, a girl named Angela was expelled from school because her family wanted to opt out of the RFID program apparently for both religious (apparently she thought it was the prophecized Mark of the Beast from Revelation in the Bible) and privacy reasons. It was apparently a chip embedded in student asb cards that can track student werabouts at all times (both on campus and off campus) and apparently kids had to check in with staff members to go over the RFID data. Apparently it was also used to reduce truancy as well. Personally I have mixed feelings about the chips. First off personally I doubt that the chip is the "mark of the beast". From Christian standpoint, the mark of the beast system is not supposed to be implemented until when the end time events happen, probably around the mid point of the 7 year tribulation period (just before the great tribulation that is supposed to take place during the last 3 1/2 years before Christ's return) and will be imposed by the Antichrist himself (he is a prophecised world leader that will appear, probably in Europe or the Revived Roman empire as a charismatic leader that will impose a global dictatorship on the entire world and will eventually be indwelt by Satan himself, claim to be God and demand to be worshiped, which will also lead to the imposition of the mark of the beast system). Most likely it will likely be some sort of microchip, tattoo, or similar implant that goes on the right hand or forehead and people won't be able to buy or sell without it, with the threat of death (probably by beheading) for people who refuse it (you can read the book of Revelation in the bible for everything you need to know about the antichrist, mark of the beast, etc). Obviously people will want to avoid the mark of the beast at all costs (even if it means martyrdom) given the eternal ramifications for people who take it. Anyways, last I checked, t he tribulation has not begun yet and the Antichrist is not on the scene yet, so I doubt that the RFID chip is the mark of the beast. It could be a predecesor to it for all I know, but it is not <u>the</u> mark of the beast (at least not the present form). As for privacy concerns, while the school officials may have good intentions for it, such as being able to tell where students are on campus (especially in the case of emergencies or fire drills) and even help find kids who go missing (which can be useful considering some kids do get kidnapped or lost at times), the technologies can definitely get intrusive too. I can't imagine what it would be like going to a school or college where staff members can track your every move both on and off campus (for example, I wouldn't even think about going into a bar or pub the schools I went to tracked my every move).<br />
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I am sure this list goes on, but this article definitely shows how far schools can go when it comes to imposing their policies on students on and off campus and how more authoritarian schools are becoming. Personally, I think big brother and zero tolerance policies is a dangerous mix when it comes to people's freedoms both in England and here in the US considering that many unsuspecting students and kids can easily find themselves caught in the ever expanding system, especially when there already does seem to be school to pipeline style system in place in many places across the country and taking a big brother approach to things could definitely lead to more people falling into that system, which would be terrible for society in my opinion. Hopefully people will work on setting up checks and balances for school systems to ensure they do not get too much power over peoples' lives and reduce unnecessary suspensions or interactions with law enforcement agencies. I will try to keep you updated on this story as I come across more. <br />
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What do you think. Should schools be able to dictate what games kids can play or should it be left up to their parents? Do you have teens that play games like Call of Duty or similar games? Feel free to leave a comment below. For fellow Americans, what would you do if schools inacted similar parties. <br />
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Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438096866700651069.post-61278673678599532602015-03-29T21:12:00.002-07:002015-03-29T22:50:29.755-07:00Emerald City Comic Con 2015 Slideshow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvLWlWywNGZlC4Yo73nNxAizZMUd02KYfOBUDjv4UDLb2ZYS_Enx0k4lh8BfE6mZL6kt_DPGwcjMRP5yrO0FH7dirLK4eBFqKDJCaxJiBc9dO9yWV2iBOuNJbsFEAW7LzvVgp6fSHESLbE/s1600/WP_20150328_028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvLWlWywNGZlC4Yo73nNxAizZMUd02KYfOBUDjv4UDLb2ZYS_Enx0k4lh8BfE6mZL6kt_DPGwcjMRP5yrO0FH7dirLK4eBFqKDJCaxJiBc9dO9yWV2iBOuNJbsFEAW7LzvVgp6fSHESLbE/s1600/WP_20150328_028.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Yesterday, I went to the Emerald City Comic con and decided to create a slideshow from the pictures I took. Here is the video below:<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/play/4e44497a4d6a59314e546b3d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_playback_link&partner=smileboxee" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to play this Smilebox slideshow" src="http://www.smilebox.com/snap/4e44497a4d6a59314e546b3d0d0a.jpg" height="330" style="border: medium none;" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/?partner=smileboxee&campaign=blog_snapshot" target="_blank"><img alt="Create your own slideshow - Powered by Smilebox" src="http://www.smilebox.com/globalImages/blogInstructions/blogLogoSmilebox.gif" height="46" style="border: medium none;" width="420" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td align="center">This <a href="http://www.smilebox.com/anytime-slideshows.html?campaign=blog_playback_link&partner=smileboxee" target="_blank">free slideshow design</a> generated with Smilebox</td></tr>
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I definitely had a blast yesterday at comic con. I went with my brother Justin yesterday and got there about 10:30ish and was there all day, till about 10:30 pm. This time around, I mainly sat in on the panels discussion, though I did wander around on several occasions as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2FXdqWae8K4u6Xw78aZfmsd3FPxOygiVccta_bZCvUZO0K-jJ8MwjEX1GcZHJIDzL73lXmRU8Iwf01gnrJZtEDdn3lNWBqoU3XWy2oq7CVtgrYknAYhRC4xUTYqlwDFy1jv1fnvCkxid/s1600/WP_20150328_008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2FXdqWae8K4u6Xw78aZfmsd3FPxOygiVccta_bZCvUZO0K-jJ8MwjEX1GcZHJIDzL73lXmRU8Iwf01gnrJZtEDdn3lNWBqoU3XWy2oq7CVtgrYknAYhRC4xUTYqlwDFy1jv1fnvCkxid/s1600/WP_20150328_008.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This time around, I did some cosplaying myself and dressed up as Nick Fury from the Avengers.</td></tr>
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Show highlights at the show includes:<br />
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1. Anthony Daniels panel discussion<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of Anthony Daniels (source: <a href="http://totalgame.es/star-wars-7-ya-tiene-titulo/">http://totalgame.es/star-wars-7-ya-tiene-titulo/</a>). I got a picture of him too, but I was in the back and it was hard to get a good picture of him.</td></tr>
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Obviously, if you have seen any of the Star Wars Movies, you should be familiar with C3PO and Anthony Daniels is the actor who played the droid. He has definitely had an interesting career playing C-3PO considering that he was not only in the original trilogy, but he also served in the Prequel trilogy and the upcoming sequel trilogy as well. He even reprised his role in Clone Wars, Star Wars rebels and other Star Wars media featuring C3P0 (see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000355/">http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000355/</a> for Anthony Daniels' information on IMDB). His panel was just starting when I got there and sadly I got there late (got lost trying to find his panel as the comic con's convention center layout was changed since last year). I did have at least one question for him, but I didn't really get a chance to ask it, but my question would have been: "which trilogy did you like working with and why". <br />
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Other notes about the comic con</div>
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- Star Trek Improv</div>
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This one was fun to watch. Back in 2013 a similar "Star Trek Crew" did a similar improv where they do a lengthy play based on an episode of the show that the audience helps to create. This year, the audience picked "Candy Land" the planet the crew landed on with the people made of chocolate (which made some of the crew members like Uhra hungry) and the crew was on a diplomatic mission to work with the people of candy land. Pretty funny improv to watch. Last time I saw the play, the crew went to a planet called the "Kardashians" (some of the audience were Kardashian fans) and the people of the planet were worshiping "apple pies" and was funny to watch too.</div>
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- Geek Career panel</div>
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This is an interesting panel to watch for people looking to get "nerdy type" careers (such as working for companies like Nintendo and microsoft. Considering that I am looking for work myself (hey if this blog was generating alot more ad revenue than it, say at least $100 per day or more, then it is I wouldn't need to find a new job, but unless that happens, I will scouting for jobs), I decided to attend the panel and get some tips</div>
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- Marina Sirtis panel</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what Marina Sirtis looked like in Star Trek Next generation (back in the 1990's)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvLWlWywNGZlC4Yo73nNxAizZMUd02KYfOBUDjv4UDLb2ZYS_Enx0k4lh8BfE6mZL6kt_DPGwcjMRP5yrO0FH7dirLK4eBFqKDJCaxJiBc9dO9yWV2iBOuNJbsFEAW7LzvVgp6fSHESLbE/s1600/WP_20150328_028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvLWlWywNGZlC4Yo73nNxAizZMUd02KYfOBUDjv4UDLb2ZYS_Enx0k4lh8BfE6mZL6kt_DPGwcjMRP5yrO0FH7dirLK4eBFqKDJCaxJiBc9dO9yWV2iBOuNJbsFEAW7LzvVgp6fSHESLbE/s1600/WP_20150328_028.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of Marina Sirtis. She definitely looks older than she did in Star Trek Next Generation</td></tr>
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This panel is definitely a must watch one for those who watched Star Trek Next generation. By the way, John De Luce (aka Q) was at the comic con last year and I saw that panel too. Interestingly, Patrick Stewart was there too last year, but I didn't see him (I think he did his panel on Sunday and I was only there on Saturday). I remember my family usually watched TNG back when it was on during the 1990's and even saw the movies too when they came out (Generations, First Contact, and Nemesis) along with Star Trek Voyager, which became the official successor to Star Trek Next Generation. </div>
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- Clark Gregg Panel</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of Clark Gregg of the Comic Con (image source <a href="http://seattlepi.com/">seattlepi.com</a>)</td></tr>
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This was definitely a "must see" panel in my opinion. In case if you do not know, Clark is best known for his role of Agent Coulson from Thor, Iron Man 2, Agengers, and now Agents of Shield (he was "killed off" on the Avengers by Loki, but was resurrected by Nick Fury in the Agents of Shield storyline). I actually meant to get to this panel earlier and get a closer seat, but the time of the panel was changed and I was unaware of the change until my brother texted me about the changed time (it was originally going to be on at 6 pm, but it was changed to 5 pm, right after Marina Sirtis' panel). Had I known better, I probably would have just stayed in the Main Hall (where the Marina's and Clark's panels were held) and gone to Clark's panel alot earlier than I did. Sadly, I was late and and was forced to stand in the back of the room, so I didn't get a real good view or photo of him.<br />
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- Steampunk Murder mystery. This was an interesting mystery where these actors were acting out a seance and one character seemed to have died during the event (probably a good reason not to dabble in the occult such as doing seances, ouija boards, considering that demons can and do come through and cause all kinds of trouble for people doing those practices, not that I have witnessed that first hand but I do hear stories like that when people do those things, though I am assuming that the characters were just acting it out). Anyways, after a character is killed off, it is up to the audience to help solve the mystery. By the way, there was a huge line for the Steampunk murder mystery and I barerly made it to the event since I was near the back of the line (which was pretty much the waiting list portion of the line should there be extra seating available or somone leaves early, which some people did by the way) and I am sure some people were turned away after me. I meant to stay for the whole mystery, but it went till 9 and overlapped with the costume contest (which started at 8 and my brother was at it) and I wasn't sure how long the costume contest was supposed to go on, and so I had to choose between the 2, so I don't really know how the murder mystery ended of if they did any actual seances (will have to scour the web for how it ended).<br />
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- Costume contest<br />
As if you don't get enough cosplayers to see and get photos of at the comic con, there is a costume contest towards the end where contestants can show off their costumes and compete for prizes (with the grand prize being a $1000 check, which is awarded to the grand prize winner) and is hosted by a guy who is dressed up as the Riddler from Batman and has a lady dressed up as Harley Quinn as his personal assistant in the contest. In the end, a gargoyle character from World of War Craft won. I kind of wanted to compete, but it was my first time cosplaying and plus there were several other people dressed up as Nick Fury as well at the comic con. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8aBqKWrlxMN-MVdtS2OzCHuRTVAxO9HG_8im8ZvGxRVXrAXOaR6YdgqmKR_sWyxchP3b18XzIL6EVDZfidG17eKFiBJfDhX8H7XkfQyAGwkIaK0Dc1pgAfqS1RWcHWtwMDjUlI918Y3k/s1600/WP_20150328_056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8aBqKWrlxMN-MVdtS2OzCHuRTVAxO9HG_8im8ZvGxRVXrAXOaR6YdgqmKR_sWyxchP3b18XzIL6EVDZfidG17eKFiBJfDhX8H7XkfQyAGwkIaK0Dc1pgAfqS1RWcHWtwMDjUlI918Y3k/s1600/WP_20150328_056.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me as "Nick Fury" watching the costume contest</td></tr>
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Interestingly during the contest, people dressed up as the Penguin and Catwoman walked around looking for extra potiential candidates (even if they did not register for the contest) to call up and while I thought I could have been picked, I did not, so I just enjoyed the contest.<br />
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Other highlights of the show:<br />
- Checked out the "Bridge" similator (where people can try their hand as "captains" of the Star Trek Enterprise in a simulated adventure)<br />
- Visited the arcade<br />
- Saw the Star Wars Exhibit<br />
- Checked out the lego displays (some people definitely have talent with legos).<br />
- An many others.<br />
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Well that is all for now. If any of you have been to the comic con, feel free to share your experiences in the comments section.<br />
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Tentative Plans for next year's emerald city comic con (subject to change of course):<br />
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According to the Emerald City Comic Con publication, next year, the comic con is supposed to run from April 8-10. Tentatively I am planning to go to that event too, unless if something comes up between now and then. By the way, I do have a few ideas on what I can do next year. I have 2 ideas in my head right now. Considering that next year is when the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Reboot is supposed to be aired (currently set for July 22, 2016, according to <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3717490/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IMDB</a>), i am thinking about doing something along those lines.<br />
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Scenario 1: Dress up as a Power Ranger. I have to admit that I have been watching the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series on Netflix (currently on the 3rd season) and I could either go alone as a ranger or invite 5 or 6 people to dress up with me (including at least 2 girls) and go as power rangers. Not sure which color I would be (probably either red or blue) but that would probably be cool. I saw some people dressed up as rangers yesterday, but they left early, so I wasn't able to get any pictures of them (interestingly, the guys were unmasked most of the time too). A few downsides to this option: it would be a very elaborate and probably costume to make (not sure where or how I would get the items needed, such as helmet, uniform, gloves, etc), it is a pretty cliche type of costume (considering there will probably be others dressed up as rangers) and finding 6 people go go with me (including 2 girls) could be easier said than done (though I do have some friends that have expressed interest in going to a comic con event possibly next year sometime). Any volunteers by the way?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random people dressed up as power rangers. I could probably dress up as the Blue or Red Ranger (source <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/exia93/galleries/72157624818225575">https://www.flickr.com/photos/exia93/galleries/72157624818225575</a>)</td></tr>
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Scenario 2: you know what might be funner to do: teaming up with one other person, possibly my brother Justin (though somehow I don't quite seeing him fitting the role) and dressing up as Bulk and Skull. I could probably dress up as Bulk considering that I am overweight as it is and then get someone to dress up as Skull<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">Random Picture of Bulk and Skull from MMPR (source: <a href="http://amy-amy.com/">amy-amy.com</a>), I would probably play as Bulk if I went as Bulk and Skull considering that I am overweight myself and kind of relate to Bulk in some ways.</td></tr>
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This costume might be a little bit easier to put together and a bit more creative too. I could put together a punk outfit and play Bulk. Of course, I would have to find someone willing to play as Skull (any volunteers? Preferably another guy to look more authentic). Not sure if I would grow my hair out (considering that Bulk had a pony tail in some of the episodes) or get a buzz cut. I could also get police officer clothing too (considering they were dressed up as police officers in both season 3 and power rangers zeo. If I did go as a power rangers character, this option would be more likely. Of course, I am sure I will get other ideas as next year's event gets closer, but those are the ideas I have so far. Or I could go as Nick Fury again too, but most people don't wear the same costume year after year, so something different would be nice. Other ideas includes: dressing up as a pirate, going as Batman (Superman vs Batman: Dawn of Justice is supposed to come out next year too), or even Count Dracula.<br />
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That is all for now. Feel free to like and share this post. Feel free to share your comments if you would like too.</div>
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Ryan Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17045777235193899489noreply@blogger.com0