Supernatural (a fan review)

Okay, well, supernatural is a freakin' good show now appearing on the CW. I suggest checking it out because, well, it mixes comic book horror with Joss Whedon style banter and a conplex nerdy occult history lesson. Basically, everything I stand for...:) And it's not your average Chick Flick of the week that you usually find on the CW, so don't even think something like that.

Here's an example of the banter you find on Supernatural:
Dean Winchester: [Sam points to a word carved into a telephone pole] Croatoan?
Sam Winchester: Yeah.
[Dean stares blankly]
Sam Winchester: Roanoke... lost colony... ring a bell? Dean, did you pay any attention in history class?
Dean Winchester: Yeah. Shot heard 'round the world, how bills become laws...
Sam Winchester: That's not school; that's schoolhouse rock!

or my favorite sequences
Sam: Dean I....
Dean: Whoa. [holds up hand] No chick flick moments.

HAHA. Anyway, I wanted to write a good review for Supernatural, but well, I couldn't. However, I found that tons of people have written something about it. So this post goes out to you readers. Make your comments about the show if you've seen it. But here's what other people have said:

One word: Awesome, 17 September 2005
Author: downonthecorner2000 from United States

During the 90's I was a big fan of the X-Files to this day I still am. The X-Files had great stories and character development, which is needed for a great show. Supernatural has that from the very first episode. I admit that I missed the first 10 minutes of the show, but I knew exactly what happened and where the story was going. Most shows you tune into after the first few minutes your lost and you lose interest, unlike Supernatural. CBS's Threshold, may not live up to the X-Files, but Supernatural does.

One final note, as long as the WB doesn't do any tweaking of the show this series will last for quite a few seasons.

Author: Supernatural.tv
I’m really glad that the show was not based off a reporter investigating the paranormal because in a way, it would be like a rebirth of the X-Files. The Winchesters are different from other paranormal hunters because very few people know that they hunt demons and other spirits. The golden family rule, “We do what we do and we shut up about it.” Supernatural is geared toward teenagers and having the show be about an adult reporter just wouldn’t fit right.

The thing that appalled me the most is that Eric originally wanted to use a 65 Mustang in the show. It was Eric’s next door neighbor who gave him the idea for the 67 Chevy Impala. A Mustang is not a classic road trip car, but more of a sports car. The Impala’s essentially the third character to the show. I can’t even picture Dean driving a mini van in second episode of this upcoming season, let alone a Mustang.

When the casting for the show was being held, they originally wanted Jensen to play the role of Sam. That would’ve totally killed the show. Thank the Lord Jared came to the rescue. Jensen’s perfect for the role Dean because the older brother’s supposed to be a total smartass. LOL!

I’m really glad that the show was not based off a reporter investigating the paranormal because in a way, it would be like a rebirth of the X-Files. The Winchesters are different from other paranormal hunters because very few people know that they hunt demons and other spirits. The golden family rule, “We do what we do and we shut up about it.” Supernatural is geared toward teenagers and having the show be about an adult reporter just wouldn’t fit right.

The thing that appalled me the most is that Eric originally wanted to use a 65 Mustang in the show. It was Eric’s next door neighbor who gave him the idea for the 67 Chevy Impala. A Mustang is not a classic road trip car, but more of a sports car. The Impala’s essentially the third character to the show. I can’t even picture Dean driving a mini van in second episode of this upcoming season, let alone a Mustang.

When the casting for the show was being held, they originally wanted Jensen to play the role of Sam. That would’ve totally killed the show. Thank the Lord Jared came to the rescue. Jensen’s perfect for the role Dean because the older brother’s supposed to be a total smartass. LOL!

I’m really glad that the show was not based off a reporter investigating the paranormal because in a way, it would be like a rebirth of the X-Files. The Winchesters are different from other paranormal hunters because very few people know that they hunt demons and other spirits. The golden family rule, “We do what we do and we shut up about it.” Supernatural is geared toward teenagers and having the show be about an adult reporter just wouldn’t fit right.

The thing that appalled me the most is that Eric originally wanted to use a 65 Mustang in the show. It was Eric’s next door neighbor who gave him the idea for the 67 Chevy Impala. A Mustang is not a classic road trip car, but more of a sports car. The Impala’s essentially the third character to the show. I can’t even picture Dean driving a mini van in second episode of this upcoming season, let alone a Mustang.

When the casting for the show was being held, they originally wanted Jensen to play the role of Sam. That would’ve totally killed the show. Thank the Lord Jared came to the rescue. Jensen’s perfect for the role Dean because the older brother’s supposed to be a total smartass. LOL!

Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Marjorie Kase

SUPERNATURAL follows the lives of Sam (Jared Padalecki, Gilmore Girls) and Dean Winchester, (Jensen Ackles Smallville, Days of our Lives) in this X-Files meets Hardy Boys paranormal thriller.

These two gorgeous brothers both come from extraordinary pasts. As children, their mother died from a horrific supernatural event. While Dean spends his life fighting the demons that may have killed their mother, Sam does everything in his power to escape his traumatic past. When their father goes missing on a "hunting" trip, Dean rips Sam from the law school track on a search for Dad and answers to their mother's untimely death.

Supernatural picks up where the X-Files, Angel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer left off. Supposedly based on real folklore, the overall tone of the program is very eerie. At times, the dialogue drags on, especially when the brothers reminisce about their childhoods. One troubling issue is that all three female characters, including the homicidal specter, are portrayed as virginal prey, and men are treated no better (given that victims were chosen for their infidelity).

The show is entertaining, especially if you're into cute boys and sci-fi horror. But this isn't a show for kids, and not even for some adults.

Tweens and teens looking for a tamer sci-fi thrill should check out Strange Days at Blake Holsey High or Lost instead.

Okay, now I'm waiting to hear from all of you. Say what you think. If you haven't seen the show, go home and watch it. NOW!!

How to hold a Phantom Hourglass

When you get a Nintendo system, there is always one game that you should get. Now that the DS Lite has become the common device, it's time that we had a good review of yet another story in the Zelda Saga.

Okay, so this game is full of all the Zelda-like components that we've come to love: sword-swinging young guys, a damsel in distress, little munchkin like enemies hitting us and taking our hearts, puzzles and, of course, Pirates....wait what?

That's right, in this version, Link is a pirate, in fact, so is Zelda. Interesting twist eh? Not really, well fine Stinky McMood Spoiler, pick up the game and play it for yourself if you don't agree that ship sailing is a fine addition into the Zelda universe.



Okay, now mind you this is old, but when I first started this post in October (Yes, I got side-tracked) it was brand spankin' new. And well, it's still entertaining, so yes I decided to come back to it. But I can tell you that it is a fun game.

Now you may get lost in all the puzzles and find yourself running back and forth, trying over and over again to solve the darn things, but since all I had to do was move my little fairy person around the screen and Link followed, that was easy enough. Definitely easier than doing battle on the WII version of Zelda...*GASP*

Yes, I know, I just committed blasphemy, but come on, with the DS's built in microphone, you actually have to shout at some enemies in this version to break them into pieces. Yes, instead of just interacting with the game via controllers, that granted you have to stand up and wave around like you're going throw epilepic seizures or something, the gamer must actually do some work to defeat the enemies. You will not be able to finish this game casually sitting at your desk at work or in the back of the classroom, oh no, you'll actually have to yell.

But, once its over, its over, so you know, you'll probably want to invest in more games than just this one. I know *gasp* again, but hey, as much as I love Zelda, you should always have a back-up supply of something else to tide you over between games, because, well, it takes so darn long.

I give it a A- for piratey goodness.

Why does hell always seem to have a gate?

Alright, so it's about time we added another review to this site, and well, you've heard about it before, but you've never had a review like this. This one of those special reviews, full of blood, gore, demons and lots, and lots, of violence (thank you Scott Sigler for that rhetoric).

Well, it finally hit the markets after being pushed back twice. And though the gameplay is fun, there are some general let-downs that normally associate game releases, as well as some bonuses that you may not have expected. This game is just like them.

Time for the lots and lots of violence. Watch this:


Now, it's no surprise to those of you who read these posts that I am somewhat of a Hellgate Fanboy. So, I was expecting quite a lot from flagship studios--the creators of this game, and a surprisingly young company that branched off of Blizzard North. Now, it turns out, that the founders of Flagship Studios, Bill Roper, Max Schaefer, Erich Schaefer, and David Brevik, are the same people who created the Diablo game. But well, I wasn't too much of a fan of Diablo, so I found myself sadened by the uncreativeness that I should have expected. You see, even though the release of this game got pushed back, the only reason I feel this happened was because they were too busy promoting the game with fan art and comics.


Though the game starts off with the intro video that links it to the comic series, parts of the story are changed for dramatic effect. And then, when you expect the game to start off following the plot from the comics and the videos, you find that you are thrown on some completely different task, and the quest of Jessica Summers and the templar isn't really your concern. In fact, I'm up to level 11 and I still haven't even heard of Jessica Summers's quest, but I have passed through the hellgate twice and caused a whole bunch of problems while I was at it.

While the gate has some good visuals and really simple gameplay, it loses part of the image when you find out at the very beginning that the Demons aren't actually demons at all, but a race of extradimensional beings who have moved from planet to planet in our universe enslaving the creatures they ran into until they bumped into the Knight's Templar and the general human stubborness to not become someone else's bitch. I wish they would have kept it as a psuedo-religious game with occultist undertones and strange powers that can only be explained as Godsends or as Dark Magic, but instead, it's like the beasts are mutants infused with extradimensional abilities.

Anyway, the nature of the beasty bash is very much like diablo and the multiplayer mode plays itself out like Guild Wars. Great, more time to hunt on my own and then sit around while I wait for the story to pick up or for other people to come into the town so that i can trade them goods. I guess that's okay, because the game has an ingenious crafting system, where you're weapons have slots available attachments, which give you the ability to make it stronger and have cooler effects, and you can infuse your weapons, armor and items, perminently with cool legendary abilities. That's always a nice function.

Wanna see some gameplay, check out more the violence in this one:



I love the Hellgate concept and I like the game, but it's not what I was expecting because the build up to it being a religious-themed storyline (which you get from the comic books) and because of that, I was forced to give it a C because it passes for being a fun game, but fails because the idea was lost in translation someone. I mean, why do you call them demons and wraiths if they are infact just aliens? I also gave it a C because the maps are repetitive and the items are customizable, but you begin to find that you will eventually find the same weapon for free with more options later on down the road. In fact, if you are going to pick up an alien crunching game this winter, I suggest Crysis, Mass Effect or Tabula Rasa instead, because at least in those games you have some really well done multiplayer.\ If you pick up this game, happy hunting.

This game was rated a C by the author

Podcast

Okay, well, I made a podcast for our group. It can be found at www.talkshoe.com under the nerd evolution name. It will be good in the future when I can get some of the others in on it.

Oh, and we are also listed on iTunes, so if you search for Nerd Evolution, you'll find it, with the artist Heero2020.

And now it's posted on this page.

Adventures at Pax and My Wil Wheaton Interview

The Return of the King of Iron Fist Tournament

Same Whooping, New Faces. Basically Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is the same old school beatdown of Tekken 3, Tekken 4, and Tekken Tag, but some new faces have been added to the mix. And some of them are not the kinds of faces that I'd like to meet in a dark alley.

Basically, the Namco has been hitting it big with Tekken since 1995, and now they've come to the conclusion that what they were doing before was good enough to keep them in business. Well, Darn if they weren't right. Originally, this game was released under the title "Tekken: Dark Resurrection" and was only for the PSP, but since it was one of the better PSP games that came out during the first edition runs of the new device, Namco agreed to make it into a full version game to be played on the PSP's bigger brothers--namely the PS2 and the PS3. I chose to go with the PS2 version because, well, I'm cheap and that's all I could afford. Nonetheless, I knew that Tekken was going to be Tekken no matter what version it was, but just to certain that I got the full go around, I did play the PS3 version to make sure that it was all the same--which it turned out it was. The only difference is the inclusion of Eddy Gordo and Jinpachi Mishima as playable customizable characters.

Anyway, there was talk that the console versions of Tekken 5 would have new move combos and different control designs, but those changes were minute. If you're a fan of the previous Tekkens, then you'll be able to slide right in and lay the smack down. In fact, without bring up the command screen, I decided to see how well I'd do playing the Story mode at the "VERY HARD" setting, and well, I didn't do too bad. I expected the continual increase in difficulty, and found that it actually capped at Stage 4 before continuing in the same level all the way to the Boss--something that I've never experienced in other Tekken games. But I was pleased to find that the uneven surfaces in Tekken 4 were taken out, which made the fighting a lot smoother.

I also noticed a significant change in how the game was put together. You see, until now, all, and I repeat ALL for emphasis, of the characters, regardless of orgin, would speak Japanese in the previous Tekken games. The character taunts and pre-fight voices would be in Japanese, done by japanese voice actors, but this Tekken has actual voiced over cut scenes and languages, which makes it nice. It always cool when you're Korean Taekwondo character actually taunts his enemies in Korean and during the cut scenes goes on and on in Korean about wanting to take Jin to the cleaners. Or when Paul and Law get into an argument in English before the stage 4 fight breaks out. All in all, the languages and taunts were a lot better in Tekken 5.

As far as the game's story goes (and I know that Tekken is notorious for it's varied storylines), the game starts directly following Jin's ascent at the end of Tekken 4. For those of you unaware, when Kazuya wins the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, he enters a shrine that has been in the Mishima family for years and finds his son Jin chained to the wall. A fight between Kazuya and Heihachi breaks out, but Jin manages to break free by turning into the demon/angel creature that he has been since his parents (Devil/Kazuya and Angel/Jun) mated somewhere during the second game. Jin smashes through the ceiling and gets away, leaving Kazuya and Heihachi staring at the new skylight.

Well, the game starts with Heihachi and Kazuya looking into the sky, wondering what the Mishima heir is going to do next. At this moment, there is the sound of incoming aircraft, and suddenly a platoon of Jack-5 robots come crashing through the building. At first, the father looks at his son, assuming that these Jacks are sent by the ever cryptic G Corporation, but Kazuya is just as confused by their intrusion as Heihachi. So, like true Mishima's, Kazuya and Heihachi begin showing the Jack's why you never mess with a family of samurai. Unfortunately, the Jack supply is endless, overwhelming the two men.

Kazuya, never happy with his father, takes advantage of the opportunity and escapes, leaving Heihachi to fend off the men by himself. Timing seems to be Kazuya's speciality, because at that very same moment, one of the Jacks detonates his self-destruct device and destroys the entire Mishima family shrine in a mushroom cloud. Meanwhile, on a cliff top nearby, the explosion is watched by a man dressed in black(revealed as Raven). He raises his hand to his ear, and speaks into James Bond-like communication device, saying, "Heihachi Mishima...is dead."

At that very moment, a Jack robot attacks unexpectedly attacks Raven from behind, only to find itself instantaneously sliced into two bits by the mysterious man, who then disappears into the night. As the aircraft disappeares into the night, a pile of debris is blown apart, and something dark emerges from the fire, unseen. The very next day, news of Heihachi Mishima's death spreads rapidly across the globe. Most people believed that Heihachi's death would bring about the end of the Mishima Zaibatsu, but behind the scenes someone else has taken control, and business goes on as usual. A month later, it is announced that the Mishima Zaibatsu will hold The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.














Returning Characters
Heihachi Mishima (unlockable)
Kazuya Mishima
Jin Kazama
Nina Williams
Yoshimitsu
Marshall Law
Paul Phoenix
King
Ling Xiaoyu
Julia Chang
Anna Williams (unlockable)
Christie Monteiro
Eddy Gordo (Alternate, uncostomisable costume for Christie in Tekken 4, but he is a separate, customisable character in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection)
Lei Wulong
Lee Chaolan
Bryan Fury
Hwoarang
Kuma (unlockable)
Panda (unlockable)
Mokujin (unlockable)
Baek Doo San (unlockable)
Wang Jinrei (unlockable)
Bruce Irvin (unlockable)
Ganryu (unlockable)
Steve Fox
Craig Marduk

New Characters
Asuka Kazama
Feng Wei
Raven
Jack-5
Roger Jr. (unlockable)
Devil Jin (unlockable)
Jinpachi Mishima (playable on Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, PlayStation 3 version only)

Though the main boss is cheaper than any other Tekken predecessor, I still loved this installment on the already good series of games. I'm glad they made it into a console game for the PS2, because that meant I could play it, own it, and give it an A for being a fun fighting game that you can play with friends.

Good luck and don't get hurt too much.

¡Viva Piñata!

Have you ever desperately wanted a colorful garden absolutely full of a variety of flowers, with tall trees, berry bushes, and many colorful piñata? Well you should!

Viva Piñata is an XBOX 360 game developed by Rare Ltd., the same people that brought us such classics as Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, GoldenEye 007, and Star Fox Adventures, and was released for last year’s holiday season. A single player simulation style game similar to Harvest Moon, Viva Piñata has taken over my summer and made a $360 purchase of the game system perfectly justifiable.

The open ended game starts you off with a small patch of decrepit land for you to clean up and attract piñatas. Your garden space starts out small, but as you increase in experience, so does your garden’s size and the amount of piñatas you can attract. There are 60 different piñatas in the game, with cute, usually candy-related names (such as a Buzzlegum, Syrupent, Shellybean, or Moozipan.)

Each piñata has its own appear, visit, and residency requirements that you’ll need to complete before a piñata can become your resident. Once two piñatas of the same species are your residents, you can romance them (after completing another requirement or two to make them happy enough). The piñata’s do a unique ‘romance dance’ to propagate their species in their unique houses. Some piñatas are carnivores and need to eat other piñata to survive, thus creating an intricate piñata ecosystem.

The game lets you do what you want, with the only goal being to increase the value of your garden and attract more piñatas.

This has to be the most addicting game I’ve ever played, even considering the life altering experience of The Sims 2 or the original Harvest Moon. The open ended style lets the player decide what course he or she would rather take. You could try a large water garden and attract as many water piñatas as you could, including the adorably large Chippopatamus. Another path could be to breed horse variants (Ponocky, Horstachio, Zumbug, Doenut) to try to get an elusive Chewnicorn. You could even breed Goobaa’s (sheep) and sell their wool for lots of chocolate coins (the currency).

The possibilities in this game are literally endless, and thus, I believe, its widespread attraction. The game is made to appeal to both children and adults and is the best $20.00 game on the market.

And even if you don’t have a 360 and aren’t interested in purchasing one just for this game, the game is being developed for the PC and Nintendo DS.

I give this game an A+ for general awesomeness and ability to keep me entertained for months. And I highly recommend it to anyone.