Real (low level) Tanks of Genius: Mr. I Don't Need Mail To Tank Guy

Unnecessary Blogage Presents: 
Real (low level) Tanks of Genius: Mr. I Don't Need Mail To Tank Warrior Guy

(Real [low level] Tanks of Genius)

Today we salute you, Mr. I Don't Need Mail To Tank warrior guy.

( Mr. I Don't Need Mail To Tank warrior guy)

Some would say that you shouldn't tank in leather, but for you it's all about the stamina.

(I got more HPs now!)

Those leather DPS classes in the group complaining about your new shiny loot? They're just jealous!

(They were plus crit legs)

While people try to explain to you why mail is better for tanking you cough up some phony mathematical equation to prove why you're right and they are wrong.

(Look at me with my numbers!)

So crack open an ice cold Bud Light, Mr. Leather Tanking warrior. You may not have good armor for tanking, but you sure got a lot of HPs now.

( Mr. I Don't Need Mail To Tank warrior guy)

So recently I've been guilty of leveling up another alt. With the new LFG system I've heard from lots of the other WoW Bloggers I talk to that it's pretty fun to do. So a few days ago I cleared a character space on my server and started a little hunter. Yesterday I got a group for the Deadmines. The group seemed to be full of people who actually knew how to play.

Our group started with a druid tank, a dps warrior, a healing paladin, an ele (?) shaman and myself. As we progressed the druid tank actually had to leave and the warrior became our tank. It just so happened that the switch was made in the foundry right before a boss.

That is where the fun comes in. We downed Gilnid and he dropped Smelting Pants (76 armor, 8 stamina and +7 crit rating). You may recall that in the last patch, there is no longer a armor class limitation on rolls.. The shaman, the warrior and myself rolled Need. The warrior won them. Of course this was met with indignation.

The warrior explained that he needed the legs for tanking. I couldn't believe it.. I knew he couldn't be that much of a noob I mean.. he had Bind of Account items so this wasn't his main. I calmly explained to him that he would be MUCH better off tanking in mail than leather and expected him to hand them over to the highest roller on the item, I was horribly mistaken. This guy HONESTLY believed they were better for tanking because of the stamina on the item. I informed him that as someone who played a tank for the main I knew what I was talking about and although the item did have a good amount of stamina it was just silly to choose HP over armor, since with more armor you'd take less hard hits and this would be better than just more HP. He replied that his main was also a tank and spewed some mathematical formula as to why he was correct and I was wrong.

I was stupefied, really there are not people this uneducated playing WoW.. I thought for a minute and considered that maybe his main was a druid tank and he might be a bit confused. I asked him what his main was and he replied a Death Knight.
I died inside at those words. I too play a Death Knight.. my main is a Death Knight tank. Anyone who plays WoW also knows how most DK tanks (or just DKs in general) are horribly bad at their class. The cliché really bothers me because it is hard to win people over especially when it comes to tanking, and here I was conversing with one such idiot who perpetuated the stereotype.


There was no winning, this guy was just an idiot. For the good of the group and for the sake of getting my stupid quest done I shut up and just continued the group. At Mr. Smite I was tempted to roll need on a 2 handed axe, Smite's Reaver, just to irk the Warrior and claim that I needed it for hit rating.. but it's just not really my style. I'm no ninja. I did however throw in a comment about how if I used "warrior logic" I'd roll need on the item even though the rest of the stats were useless for me.

At the end of the instance I also realized how much of a waste the legs were on the warrior even more so because the quest reward for him was Chausses of Westfall which were surely better for tanking than those leather legs. So I said the following:

Well duh I was sad because I didn't get the crit; IT'S A STAT THAT HUNTERS USE FOR DPS their main and only reason for existing! But honestly what was the most painful was that his main was a Death Knight tank.

Oh well a pity for the legs, it gets better because this guy is actually still wearing them (he must not have taken the mail reward) or it could be the REAL reason he needed on them was for DPS as he is currently specced to arms.

Optìm of Shadowsong EU, you sir are either incredibly stupid, or just a ninja. Either way, I hope I never have the displeasure of grouping with you again.

I'm in ur Hyrule, Raidin' ur Tombs

Doing: Thinking about a dollar store walk
Listening: White Wizzard
Feeling: Like rocking out! YEEAH!

Many apologies for my lack of review last week. Post midterms, kinda blah. To make up for it, I'm doing a double review today!

To start off, I told my good friend that I was writing these spectator reviews and he demanded that I watch him play through the first Tomb Raider game, declaring it to be one of his favorite games of all time. So I spent the week of my spring break watching him get through half of Tomb Raider.
A few notes before I begin this review: I only watched through half of the game, and my friend insists that I watch through the entirety before doing a complete review. The other thing is that when I watched, I was watching somebody who practically has the game memorized. Now on with the rankings!

Graphics: These graphics are part of the early CG era, so I can't complain about the quality. At its time, Tomb Raider was very cutting-edge. Now its low res graphics and huge polygons have a nostalgic look about them. 4/5

Storyline/Cutscenes: As you know, I have only gotten though half of the game, so I cannot make an analysis of the entire story just yet. Once again, though, the cutscenes have a nostalgic quality. I adore the way that the cutscenes slowly reveal the storyline as you go along and genuinely keep you hanging for the next part. I am unable to score these just yet.

Soundtrack: I love, love, LOVE the way the music is used in this game. Essentially the levels are quite quiet, but then a musical phrase will play at certain points. For example, I adore the ambush theme. It's very pulse-racing. This game does not just have good music, though, but the sound effects have a very rythmic quality that is fun to improvise tunes to. 5/5

Variety: This game is a wonderful example for a varied game. Every level has a new and unique layout, the enemies always change, and the trap-laden passages keep you guessing around every turn! It's never boring! 5/5

So far, the game ranks as a 14/15. It's up to the story to give the final scoring.

And now for review number two. In my college, there is a small room called the Game Room. Here, all the nerds come and hang out while playing Yu-Gi-Oh, Brawl, Flight Sims, and other sorts of games. I come here when I don't have classes and have some wonderful conversations. One such conversation was on Game-Based movies and which games would make good movies.

Of course, the April Fool's Day Zelda trailer came up during the discussion. Of course, that pissed everybody off. But then I found out that college age nerds weren't the only angry ones- BMB Finishes, a small independent film company, was also frustrated by the fake trailer. So frustrated that they started work on their own Zelda film- The Hero of Time.

Well, I managed to get myself a copy of this film that only had a five theater run, and I watched with my friend (the Tomb Raider friend) last night. Since this is game-related, I thought I would share my thoughts on it. It's the same format as the Spectator review, only I changed a few things accordingly.

Special Effects: This was an indie film, so it did not have any super-awesome big budget special effects. The ones that they did have were a mixed bag. Some of them were really nice-looking, Din's fire, Volvagia and the Poe for example. While others, like the big octo and one beheading scene, looked really cheesy. Because of the inconsistency, 3/5.

Storyline: As with all game-based movies, do not expect an exact retelling. There are no Zoras, and the Gorons are changed to a tribe of mountain men. The most glaring inconsistency, though, was the Gerudo. They were all MEN! There were no females! That was the only one I didn't find excusable. Though I sound angry, the things that they do get right they do with stunning accuracy! For example, remember the scene in the game where Zelda introduces you to Ganondorf? It was SPOT-ON! Even the expression on the Ganondorf actor's face was amazingly accurate! It's this attention to minor detail that makes the differences in the storyline not matter as much. 4/5

Soundtrack: The music that was written for this movie is spectacular. It is beautifully majestic and truly captures the spirit of Hyrule. The thing I liked the best about the music, though, was the addition of little melodies from the video game. My personal favorite was when Link was leaving the Kokiri forest, and you could hear a slow, sad variation of Saria's song playing in the background. If they ever decide to make the soundtrack available for purchase, I want it! 5/5

Acting: The three main characters were played amazingly well, especially Ganondorf. I can't get over how perfect Ganondorf was- from the appearance to his voice and even little things like the way he entered a room. It was amazing! I mean, just look at him:The Link in the movie was an amazing reluctant hero, and the Zelda/Shiek portrayed her characer wonderfully. The supporting cast was varied in quality. My personal favorites were Impa, who played the stern guardian really well, and Darunia, a fat Asian guy who was only in the movie for about five minutes, but he really did a good job. Some of the actors, especially Ganondorf's main minion and the shopkeeper Honest Ivan, were a little hammy, but not bad. 4/5

Altogether the movie got a 16/20, or a B-. It's a wonderful movie with beautiful scenery and an impeccable eye for detail, but do not go in expecting a perfect retelling.

UPDATE: I just recently found out that the Hero of Time is not available on DVD, thanks to Nintendo forcing BMB to stop showing the movie. You can, however, get it through torrenting. In fact, that's the only way to get it. So feel free to download the movie to your heart's content!

Megaman X

No, not Megaman X, but Megaman 10 (X=10 in roman)!

Now first of all, I would like to say that this game is AWESOME! I just beat it today, and the final boss is no letdown.

Alrighty, let's do this.

The game starts out with your usual megaman intro, in the meaning of "In the year 20XX, everyone is at peace, until suddenly... But this game centers around a strange disease that only affects robots, known as Roboenza (influenza, roboenza, get the pun? Ha...ha...?) which, at first, is just a robo-fever, but in the later affects of the disease, it makes robot go crazy and want to take over the world! Fairly soon after the breakout of this virus, Megaman's sister, Roll, comes down with the symptoms of it. During all of this nonsense, Megaman's arch nemesis, Dr. Wily, makes a crash landing in his UFO right in front of Dr. Light's lab. He says his robots have been malfunctioning due to the virus but can't do anything about it even though he has a prototype cure. Why is that? Because some of the robots have stolen the pieces to it. SO you have to go and find them yourself.

Are you lost? then watch this

So, just like in every megaman game (except for the first), there are 8 robot masters that you have to defeat. This one has a lot of variety in it, ranging from an electrically charged sheep, to a guy with a miniature sun on top of his head. If you want to know them, the names are as follows:

Sheep man
Pump man
Solar man
Chill man
Nitro man
Commando man
Blade man
Strike man

Each one has his own unique ability for Megaman.
-Sheep man allows megaman to shoot out thunder clouds that flies up into the air and shoots a lightning bolt directly below it.
-Pump man creates a shield of bubbles to protect you from attacks. When the shoot button is pressed again, the shield expands off the screen, damaging anything it hits.
-Solar man allows you to shoot out a firey orb that stops and shoots two crescents of fire from each side of it horizontally.
-Chill man can make you shoot out a glob of, I guess, partially frozen ice that creates spikes for your enemies to get damaged on when it hits the ground.
-Nitro man allows you to shoot out a bladed saw that rides along the floor and up the wall. It can be held out in front of you, and if you approach a wall like this, it will carry you up it.
-Commando man can allow you to shoot out directional bombs that expload on impact and create a shockwave that goes for four spaces each way.
-Blade man's abillity causes you to shout out three kinves at the same time. Angles of the knives depend on if you are jumping or not.
And finally,
-Strike man's ability allows you to shoot out a ball that bounces around walls. 'Nuff said.
*****************SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!*****************
Spoiler alert! if you do not want to ruin this for yourself, then go down to the next "*SPOILER ALERT*" sign.
---------------
So when you have beaten all 8 robot masters, Megaman comes down with a serious case of Roboenza. Roll, being the kind and generous robot that she is, gives Megaman one of her daily doses of her vaccine. It seems that the perpetrator behind the roboenza virus is none other than Dr. Wily. He says that he will give any robot the vaccine if they join him and his army in taking over the world.
So then, Megaman Shoves off to Dr. Wily's fortress to defeat him once and for all.
*fightfightfightfight*
Once Megaman has defeated Wily, it seems that the Doctor has gotten sick. Megaman, being the kind, generous, and naive robot that he is, rushes him to the hospital. form there, he gets away, but leaves behind enough vaccine to go around.
*****************SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!*****************

The end.

Now, for the ratings.

Story: 4/5
Meh, it could be better. The idea was good, but it was a bit tacky.
Gameplay: 5/5
Being the hardcore megaman gamer that I am, I had no prblem whatsoever with the controls, seeing how they stayed as true and blue as the Blue Bomber himself.
Difficulty: 5/5
HARD! but a fun hard, if you know what I'm saying. I still have to play it on hard difficulty, but for now, it's still a 5/5.
Graphics: 5/5
No change from the original. True and blue, just how it's meant to be.
Replay Value: 5/5
YES I WILL REPLAY THIS.

so, all-in-all, this game recieves a 24/25; 96%; A
Now that I look back at it, I'm sad that it didn't get a full 100%, but that story line isn't the best. Oh well.

That concludes this review.

Continuing on with the Saboteur

Playlist for the Lets Play

In this video set we to go a cemetery and fight some nazis. Then we find our rival. Do we catch him? Do we kill him? How do we get to that point? You'll have to watch the videos to find out.

Playlist Consists of 34 videos as of this post

http://www.youtube.com/user/Dubbington1221

Final Fantasy 13 thoughts on chapters 2 through 4

Okay, I woke up today and decided to start the second chapter. I was disappointed with the first one. I am glad i kept going. Things are starting to make sense. This story is okay so far. What i have gathered so far as to keep from mentioning spoilers. Your world is Cacoon. A world of peace, then a world below called Pulse, is like a hell from what is being told in the game. Pulse has invaded, and anyone that has been in contact with the Pulse Fal'ci (which i am still not to clear on what one is, i think its a type of person) is being sent to Pulse. That is what is being told anyway. Cacoon is "Purging" everyone into exile to Pulse. In reality its more like an extermination of the people. Then people rebel. Okay, i will stop there on the plot, but here are some things i have noticed.

Lighting is an ex soldier from the "Army" of Cacoon. Doesn't talk much at all, keeps her past secret. That sounds alot like Cloud from FF7. She also kind of has the personality of Yuna from FFX. Then you have Snow. Who is a cocky wannabe "hero" as he calls himself. Sort of reminds me of Zell from FF8. Then you have Vanille, she is a cheerful kid who is always looking at the positivity in everything. She seems like Riku alot. Next you have the most annoying person every in a FF game. Hope. He is a young kid, whos mother gets killed in chapter one while trying to help Snow out. He blames Snow for his mothers death, but doesn't have the guts to tell him once they accidentally meet up. Hope is annoying cause of the fact he grunts and whines constantly and is overly timid, but when its time to fight, he goes all out, then becomes a whinny baby once again. Final Fantasy 13 isnt' without the token black guy. Sazh. Full of worry and doubt about things and only thinks a certain way from what it seems so far. Like Wakka from FFX about the Al-Bed. Any Pulse Fal'ci is evil to him. Then wait.......well i won't spoil that for anyone who actually reads my blogs anway.

The battle system is getting more complex as in stuff to do, but really easy to understand. Does that make sense? No it doesn't, lol. Trust me on that once you play the game. There are tutorials for all new battle options as they come available. One more thing that seems like they took more ideas from past games is the Crystaliam. I probably spelled it wrong but i dont' feel like walking back to the couch to check, lol. Its almost identical to the Idea of the Sphere Grid on FFX. One amazing thing is though, after every battle, your health is restored to full. Thats very handy. No EX points to get you use that to level up. You do get CP (crystal points) after battles. The average battle takes no more than 30 seconds. The longest one was about 2 minutes so far.

Well that should keep you all informed on this game. I am getting more impressed with it as i play it. But its very predictable so far.

My Thoughts On Final Fantasy 13 so far

Okay the rest of my top 10 will have to go on hold for a bit. This is much bigger. Okay, as some of you know i am a FF nut. I luv them lots. Well tonight i finally got to start on 13. Done with the first chapter. This story is so hard to follow really. Lots of jumps from one group to the next. I won't go into detail cause i dont' want to spoil anything.

This game does go back to the roots of the series with the turn based battle system. Random encounters are no more though. You get to see your foes then they charge and a traditional battle takes place. They are really really simple at the start. As of the first chapter, you only get to control the leader of the group only. So its got a different feel as others. Battles tend to go very quick. One plus so far is that the loading times are very fast. You don't have to wait long. I know there will be lots more of things do go over in this game. I read the intro to the guide and the booklet with the game, so it told me lots of things. The graphics are amazing by the way. Very well done on the PS3. I dont' know how the 360 looks but ive heard its great.

Now my flaws with the game. The dialog between characters can be confusing. The names of things are not clear at all. I can't even spell have the stuff or know what a Fal'ci is. They keep talking about it, its it an item or a place. I am sure if i read more into the booklets it would tell me. I dont' want to read to far, so i am just going with what the games gives. In the first chapter, the map is very linear just walking a straight line. It does more at the start of the second chapter but that will be a different blog. The names of the characters are very abstract as usual. But from what the story seems so far, it really reminds me of a classic rebellion story. Hasn't this been done before in the series?????? I think so. FF 7 started out as one, and so did 12 in a sense. Id figure they would have something more in mind. I won't give up though, i will hopefully get some answers as I go through chapter 2 and onward.

Is this game worth getting if you are a die hard fan, YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1337 times over.
Is this game worth getting if you are a casual gamer, not really. You would be bored quick. This game just hasn't grabbed my attention like i thought it would.

The lead character Lightning really reminds me of an ex-SOLDIER from another FF game. lol

Other parts will come as i pass chapters.


Peace out from The1andonlybigh.

Blur Multiplayer Beta Demo: A Promising Outlook

(This blog is based on the beta demo and is not representative of the final quality/product as the game is still in development)

So today I received a beta key for the Blur Multiplayer Beta Demo on xbox live. I actually didn't know anything about this game until I received an e-mail from my local gaming store offering me one a week ago. I checked out the site and thought the game looked interesting enough to give a shot.

Blur is a racing game by Bizarre Creations and Activision. I wouldn't limit it so much to a "racing game" as there is a bit more to it than that but this is the easiest genre I can find to label this game with.

At first glance (and even after playing it) I'm reminded of some old games I loved to play with my brothers: Extreme G racing (1 and 2), San Fransisco Rush 2049 battle mode (both N64 games) with a mix of Burn Out Revenge. This is actually a good thing as I have a lot of fond memories of multiplayer mode on these games and probably why I'm already looking forward to the full release of Blur.

If you're not familiar with any of these games you might liken it a bit more to Mario Kart but with clickly less "cheesienes" (not to say that cheesy is bad, I like Mario Kart).

Blur boasts 4 player split screen play, 50 ranks and 60 challenges with over 30 tracks from L.A. to Japan. You can unlock new cars and new mods (will go into mod detail in a bit) along with the ability to customize both.

I was also a bit excited to see that you could authenticate with your twitter account to tweet your skills. It doesn't seem to be working in this beta demo version, but it sounds awesome as long as it won't get too spammy.

In Blur multiplayer you have special "power ups" that will allow you to attack/slow down your enemies, protect yourself and gives your car some boost to finish the race.

POWER UPS


Shock- Fires 3 EMP fields in front of the race leader.
Mine- Throw it ahead of drop it behind! A mine spins vehicles out.
Barge- a close range attack that blasts vehicles away from you (think the giant speakers in Rush 2049 battle mode)
Bolt- Shoot 3 energy rounds to nudge your opponent off course (a bit disappointed in this one, I think they need to maybe up the number of rounds to make it viable)
Shunt- A powerful homing missile that flips cars into the air (my personal favorite)
Nitro- Intense burst of speed! Fire backwards to use as an airbrake! (pretty straight forward)
Shield- Protects from power up impacts and collision damage. (very useful)
Repair- After all the punishment a quick fix is always helpful (no lie!)


These are the power ups you will find along the race tracks during online play, they add some lovely spice to an otherwise boring race. You are able to hold 3 power ups at any given time, you can cycle through them to reach one you want to use and even ditch them on the track if you don't want them.

For the most part these power ups are deployed in front of your vehicle with the exception of the mine. You can however alter the default direction by pushing down on the left thumb stick to aim and shoot it at someone behind you, or do the opposite to throw a mine in front of you.

You can also use power ups to avoid incoming damage, and I'm not just talking about the shield. Other than being nimble you can employ a barge to destroy a shunt that is headed your way! This gives a bit of strategy to the game as well making it even more fun!

Along with the damage from power ups you also take damage by colliding with cars or obstacles around the track. If your car takes too much damage you will be "wrecked" and suffer a 3 second penalty, this is why repair is a very handy and useful power up. You also take a penalty if you end up spinning out of control (and therefore facing the wrong way) on the track as the game places you back on the track in a forward facing position. I am unsure whether this is intentional but I would much prefer to be able to correct my facing position myself rather than the time it takes for the game to correct it as the delay is a bit much as punishment.


RANKS

Ranks are gained via "fans" in online play by placing in races (higher place means more fans), damaging your enemies, doing "tricks" (long drifts, fastest lap etc) and avoiding power up damage (by dodging nimbly or using a power up to block damage).

At the end of each race your fan total will be counted and you can increase in rank. New ranks unlock more cars, races and mods.

MODS

Your rank can unlock mods.

Mods are modifications you can add to any of your vehicles that will either modify how much damage you do/take, how you gain fans, and whether or not you start with a power up. (one mod has a "bribe" modification that allows you to start with a non-offensive power up)

There are default mod sets such as "aggressive", "defensive", "show off" and you have the ability to modify the 3 actions each mod applies to your vehicle for further customization. This gives you the ability to adjust your vehicle to your play style which I find to be a great thing (I'm personally a "defensive" user).

CARS

Cars are unlocked with ranks.

As with nearly all racing games you can unlock new cars that have different handling, speed, acceleration etc. From what I have seen there are 4 sets of cars and only 1 set allowed per track. You are free to choose your car at the beginning of each race but only from the allowed set.
It is also possible to customize your car visually with different paint jobs that include not only color but some more special options which I currently do not have unlocked to test.

My Thoughts

Overall this game looks promising. I'm really enjoying the multiplayer mode and the screams and laughter that ensue from attacking your enemies or narrowly escaping an incoming shunt (I prefer to just call them homing missiles really..).
Everyone I played with seemed to also be having a good time and laughing it up. I honestly spent most my time in last place (even though I tend to do really well the first lap) but still enjoyed myself. It seems like one of those games where half the fun in getting attacked and plotting revenge, and that is the kind of fun I enjoy.

The Saboteur Will Continue On.

Playlist for the Lets Play

Youtube is down for maintenance so i cant update the 2nd half of the videos but i didnt want to wait till tomorrow to post this so im doing it now. In this video set we do some side missions for The Hoot and Father Dennis. We also meet up with a old friend. Who is it? You'll have to see for yourselves.

Playlist consists of 28 videos as of this post. (when i can update)

http://www.youtube.com/user/Dubbington1221

Back on track with The Saboteur

Playlist for the Lets Play

Didnt get to do all the recording that i wanted to do yesterday since i had to render out videos all day. These videos are from Friday. The videos tomorrow will be from Saturday. In this video set we blow up two buildings and kills two bad people.

Playlist consists of 22 videos as of this post.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Dubbington1221

FATALITY!

Doing: Working on an English paper

Listening: Soundtrack Radio on Last.FM

Feeling: Meh…

Hello and welcome to my very first spectator review! If you were not here for my explanation, I decided to use my space on this wonderful blog to give a new type of review: how fun a game is to watch. To kick this off, I’ve decided to take a look at a more recent game: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

Truth be told, I’ve only recently started watching people play Mortal Kombat. One of my friends is absolutely in LOVE with these games, and they were interesting. I might talk about other Mortal Kombat games some other time, but this review is focused on the MK/DC crossover that my brother purchased out of curiosity one day. Because c’mon! Everybody wanted to see the Batman vs. Scorpion epic battle! I’m kinda "meh" about that certain fight, but that’s because I’m not fond of Scorpion.

I gotta say, when I started watching Bleebs play the story mode, I laughed. The entire storyline is like a bad fanfiction. Because of a... portal malfunction or something, Darksied and Shao Khan merged and became a new force called Dark Khan.

Yeah, that’s right. Dark Khan. Sounds like something that I would’ve come up with in sixth grade. But because of this new menace, Earthrealm is merging with the DC Universe Earth, and each group thinks of the other as the enemy. Of course, they don’t combine their forces until the very final battle. And I mean VERY FINAL battle. They beat the crap out of each other, until only Raiden and Superman are left. They get to Dark Khan and then they’re all like: "Oh wait! We’re on the same side!" Yeah, great job, you guys. They defeat Dark Khan and the big bad de-merges and becomes Darksied and Shao Khan again. The worlds stop merging, and everything is happy again!

Well, on with the review!

Special Note: If you are a HARDCORE MORTAL KOMBAT FAN, this might not be the game for you. The fighting style and fatalities are significantly less gruesome than most other MK games.

Graphics: The graphics in this game are in the "attempting to look like real people" school of graphics that usually I am not very fond of. Yes, on occasion they look good, but I find them to be generally creepy. For some reason, though, the graphics seem to fit this game, mostly because MK has always been the type to use semi-realistic graphics, even when they were 2D games. Then again, the graphics also have a kind of "comic book" appearance that I like. The mouths move a little funny on the characters, and I can’t get over that, though. (Honestly, watch Liu Kang when he talks. It looks ridiculous!)

Overall, graphics get a 4/5

Storyline/Cutscenes: This is where the game excels over most fighting games in my mind. Yes, the story sounds like it was written by a sixth grade me (which, believe me, is a frightening thought), but it was one of those stories that was bad in thought, but ended up being executed extremely well. The best part in my opinion is that there is a cutscene after EVERY battle in story mode, giving the spectator a reason to want to keep watching people beat each other up for a good forty five minutes. I was watching just to see the next installment of the story! And unlike most story modes where you select one character and there are, like, twenty BILLION different story modes, there are only two, one for MK and one for DC, and you play as almost every character on that side. So it’s very enjoyable because you get cutscenes and a variety of people to watch.

Cutscenes and Story get a 5/5.

Variety: This is where the game starts to lack a bit. Mostly because it’s a fighting game, and all you do in fighting games is… well… fight. Once again, in the story mode you play as almost every character, but they’re still doing the same thing over and over: meet the enemy, beat the crap out of the enemy, move on to the next enemy. The moves themselves are very colorful; my favorite movesets to watch are Shang Tsung and the Green Lantern. The additions of Aerial Kombat, Klose Kombat, and Test Your Might also gives the game a little more variety.

The game gets a 3/5 for variety. Good, but the genre keeps it from being more varied.

Soundtrack: Unfortunately, there were no tracks in this soundtrack that really stood out as being amazing, and it was mostly just boring pieces. Then again, MK is not exactly known for its music. But it really must be an unimpressive soundtrack if I don’t remember ANY songs from it. But that means it wasn’t bad either.

So soundtrack gets a 2/5

Now, let’s look at the overall score:

14/20, so a 70%

Not a bad score, but the lack of an interesting soundtrack really brought it down a few notches. Despite its "meh" score, though, it’s a really fun game to watch being played and if you have the chance to, sit down and give it a view, especially if they’re playing story mode. You won’t be disappointed.

Technical Difficulties Won't Stop The Saboteur

Only 2 videos this time. The reason for this is because these videos should have been uploaded with the second half but due to a rendering mistake it could be uploaded then. I did record an hour last night but due to technical difficulties I couldn't render them. I set them to render out over night but my computer crashed after it rendered 2 videos. In those 2 videos the voice over volume ended up being to low so I could not upload those either. The videos i uploaded today also do not have any voice overs since audacity decided not to save the audio file! After all of that im still going. I will have more videos tomorrow.

Playlist consists of 15 videos as of this post.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Dubbington1221

A Pikachu Riding an Articuno - Pokemon Snap Review

Yesterday, I asked the viewers of this blog to answer a poll on what video game I should review. A LOT and I mean A LOT of you guys wanted me to review Pokemon Snap, so as promised, I sat down last night and played Pokemon Snap for a couple hours to get it back into my head.

Before I start this review, I want to say, 'WHERE THE HELL IS THIS POKEMON ISLAND!' It sounds so cool! And why haven't I seen this in a normal pokemon game! It could be like, the Battle Frontier. And have rare Pokemon. Okay. Now on tho the review...

When I first started the game up, I felt like I was going to watch an extremely fun movie. And that is what you feel when you start a N64 game up. So I start the game up and you see this intro with your character walking in a forest of some sort. Then Mew (The 151st Pokemon) races by you! You rush to take out your camera. Then you get several 'booty' shots. But I got bored and just wanted to play the game so I skipped to the title screen. So I clicked New Game and it told me to put my name. What did I choose? Only the coolest name in the world! Dylan. And from there you jump right in and it shows you the basics in the beggining of th first course. Gameplay as simple as that is a great way to start off a game. Thus, going to effect the final review. Hehe.

But yeah. You then take pictures of Pokemon. Simple, right? Ehh. Not so much. These Pokemon MOVE. I will tell you that. By later on in the game I am jamming in my old joystick to catch up with the Pokemon moving around. It may sound like I hate it, but actually, I like it. It adds a challenge to the game and makes it more fun.

Then after every run, you have to submit one picture of each Pokemon to Proffessor Oak. And if they are good, you are going to rack up a lot of points. If it's a crappy back shot or a far left corner picture, you are going to lose some points. So try and get the best pictures possible.

One thing that I love about this game is the catchy music. Sure, it may be old, but it's fun. It fits the game perfectly!

Now here is a flaw. If you mess up, as in miss a secret area or get a bad picture, you have to go through it all again. Which is annoying and just plain stupid. I won't really spoil THAT much, though. ;)

So let's get the final word. A classic. Nothing but. Great fun, certian flaws but whatever. My favorite part is the fact you can get secret shots such as a surfing Pikachu or a Pikachu riding an Articuno! And then the final level. Oh my god, it is so much fun.

Rating - 9.0/10.0

Come on! Take out that old Nintendo 64 and re-play that game. And remember to post your thoughts on the game in the comments below!

Welcome Back to The Saboteur

Playlist for the Lets Play

This set of two videos should have been more but i failed a few times in the time that i play so i decided to edit my failings out. That left me with about 30mins of footage. You are probably saying to yourself "Wouldn't that mean you should have 3 videos?" usually you would be right. But a rendering mistake on my part left me with an 11 min video. Which you might know are not allowed on youtube. So i have to re-render the video out tomorrow and then post the two new videos. Good news is that there will be videos tomorrow. Bad news is it will only be two.

Playlist consists of 13 videos as of this post.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Dubbington1221

Hax Progress

(EARTHBOUND)
I just found an entire ROM editor for Earthbound/Mother 2. With this little sucker, I can edit everything, including event Flags, text, PSI names, and even tilesets for specific areas! I have also found another program to edit PSI animations. The page for these downloads is located here.
Some examples of the use of this tool can be found here.
((LONG LIVE THE STARMAN SUPER DUPER!))

*Quick post for today, but I couldn't think of anything else.*

Last time on The Saboteur

Playlist for the Lets Play


In this set of videos we escape from Nazi Germany to find that France is being invaded by the Nazis. Today, tomorrow and Thursday may not have me recording since today I had to work, tomorrow I have english stuff to write and Thursday (and every Thursday for 3 months) i have an SAT Practice class (AHH mom made me take it) But Friday and the weekend are free for me to do a nice chuck of recording!

Playlist consists of 11 videos as of this post.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Dubbington1221

Tanks! You're Welcome

No it's not a typo.. it's a play on words, you'll get it later :p

My current main character in World of Warcraft is a Death Knight Tank by the name of Raevn (Terenas EU). I had played every raid role except a tank previous to this character (previous mains included a Combat Rogue and a Holy Priest) and created her with the intention to tank. Things went well and I felt as if I picked up fast on tanking (being that I had tanked before in Ever Quest it wasn't totally new to me). I had a lot of fun raiding in a guild alliance of three guilds. However, that alliance eventually fell apart due to drama in one of the guilds and that left me with not much of anything left to do on my tank so I started leveling up an alt, a caster dps (something I hadn't played before), Landriana (Terenas EU).

I played this character a lot and basically focused on her until she was 80.. I did so many PuGs (as DPS was much easier than tanking) and once I reached full Tier 9 had nothing else to do on her being that I play casually and am not in a REAL guild (my guild is just for friends and my alts). That left me with only one thing to do: go back to farming heroics for Emblems of Triumph to get my DK in full tier 9.

But there was one problem.. I was rusty. I hadn't played my tank in so long I lost all confidence in myself as a tank, and being that my tanking meant PuGing I was even more weary.

I had seen as a DPS how pushy everyone was with the tank "Pull!" "Go! Go! Go!" and instantly leaving the group if one tiny mistake was made. DPS no longer respected aggro and expected that they should be able to go full out straight from the pull with the tank having no issue at all.

I actually really like this post on the EU realms Guide: Don't Spank the Tank because I can sympathize A LOT with this guide.

I decided the best way for me to build confidence was to just tank, except even though I didn't need much from them, I would tank the new Ice Crown 5 mans in normal mode. My belief was that most the people in normals were probably there for the first time and would be a bit more forgiving, patient and lenient. I queued for Forge of Souls and got my group.

I must have actually been really lucky that day because I ended up getting an entire group of people totally new to the instance (a double edged sword to be honest, but I was feeling nice that day) the only people who knew it were me (the DK tank) and my husband (on his hunter).

While it sucked that I had to explain everything and mark the mobs that needed to die first it at least meant I wasn't going to have some asshole to keep yelling "go!" at me. I got to take my time when I felt like, wait for death and decay to come back up and I felt relaxed.

The instance over all went pretty well except for the Devourer of Souls, sadly despite repeatedly saying "DO NOT DPS DURING MIRRORED SOUL" one of the dpses went right on and killed our healer (who also happened to be standing in the purple crap). Luckily enough my husband and I were so out geared for the instance it didn't make that big of a difference.

When it was over the others wanted to continue (of course, they had a well geared tank and the quests), I was still feeling nice and in need of the tanking warm up so I went ahead.

Another instance of going at my own pace, explaining bosses (and in some cases) mobs (the 4-packs before the tunnel in PoS). It went well.

We decided to press on to Halls of Reflection, and explained fights. As usual someone asked if we would fight the Lick King. Personally, I liked how when I first came I had no idea how the story would pan out. It was like a rush running from the Lich King at the end and then thinking I had to tank him. Therefore I make it a point to NEVER ruin how that instance ends for anyone. I just winked and said "You'll see.."

The waves went rather well considering that is usually pretty hard for people when they first come, but the line of sight trick kind of eats half that fun. It was late for me so we employed it as generally people prefer things easier.

Before we could run up the hall to the Lich King though one of our group members had to leave, and that is when I was pretty much floored:

 

It felt really nice to actually have someone appreciate the extra effort that goes into teaching tactics to players and thank you for tanking. Generally people are pretty abusive to their tanks and this was a welcome change. It made my transition back to playing my tank a more enjoyable experience. ♥

Unnecessary Blogger: Anex

I figured it couldn't hurt to at least introduce myself as the other bloggers here have done, rather than just bombarding you with blogs from "that Anex person".

So here I am, introducing away.. as you may have already guessed my name is Anex. No, it doesn't mean anything.. it's just a name that I have had since I was 13 in regards to my online escapades that came from a dream where this was my name (long story, maybe one day I'll share).

A 25 year old girl gamer, I'm a member of the world renowned PMS clan since 2005 and in the Rhythm Game division as an expert vocalist for Rock Band. I'm also a member and assistant general manager of the sponsored Rock Band team, Team Cena. I've been gaming since I had a Nintendo Entertainment System.. my first "FPS" was Duck Hunt. I've played many games over the years and nowadays have focused myself a bit more on certain genres.

I currently run my own blog called Unnecessary Blogage  (my personal gaming blog) which tends to be a bit more sporadic and varied than what I will be bringing here to The Lost Cake.

You can expect blogs from me about my gaming adventures mainly in regards to World of Warcraft and Rock Band as this is where I mainly focus myself. That doesn't mean you won't find things outside of those games as I do play other games on the side even if I don't invest myself as fully in them. I generally will write pretty soon after playing to keep the emotion I had during the experience in my writing, which means my entries can be VERY silly or really angry depending on how I felt. I do also have a tendency to use some mild language and will try to forewarn ahead of time in case some readers are a bit more sensitive to it.

I hope you will enjoy my contributions to The Lost Cake! ^^

10 List of The Hardest NES Games

This will be my first blog here on some of the Most Insane NES games ever. Some will surprise you in this list others may not.

10. Ghostbusters

Most games from movies suck really big elephant testicles. This is no exception. It is a challenge of course. Main reason is as soon as you start this game it takes you to a map of the city with no explanation on what to do. Once you fiddle around you see that you have to go to the store and buy your beams. That didn't happen in the movie did it. Of course not. Then you get to go around the city when the buildings flash and drive to the location. Just dont' run out of gas or your pushing your car. The music for the game is the Ghostbusters theme throughout never changes. Gets old after a while. Then you bust ghost. I hope you have the instruction manual for controls if not, pressing B i think it is, switches characters. Its pretty easy to get the hang of. Now the hard part if once you bust enough Ghost you finally get to go to the center building. Well have fun going up the stairs and dodging the ghost. Its next to impossible. Then if you make it to the top. You have a non epic battle with Gozer while dodging ghost and beams that will kill you after a few hits. If you go down one screen, you can see Stay Puff climbing the building. Don't let him get the top or your fucked!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you die here you start all over. If you happen to actually beat this piece of a crap game, the ending is one of the worse ever. It even misspells congratulations. Good use of Engrish to rush out the game and not translate it. I would rather get a prostate exam than play this game again.

9. Batman

Not all of these will be based on movies. This actually is a great game. It has some great music for the NES at the time. It seems to have its own story from the movie, which there really isn't much of one. Its a classic platform game with a twist. You get to go left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Most games out that were platforms, you only could scroll the screen right. This one you can go Up, Down, Left, Right. This also introduced the art of wall jumping. I am aware that Ninja Giaden had similar wall jumping. But this is way more the standard. You go through each of the levels and fight a boss. You also get 3 sub weapons. You can actually beat this game with only your fist though. Its a challenge. The first 3 levels are cake. One note though on the second boss. If you try to use a weapon you get shot at. You have to use your fist. You get all the way to a not so epic battle with the Joker. Easy battle considering all the hard crap you went through to get here. There are some quotes out of the movie in the still cut scenes as well. Over all this game is a must for any retro gamer. Myself, I play this game once every few months. Its really that good. One of the best hard games that was out on the NES.

8. Final Fantasy

This game is the definition of RPG. Unlike other games that was out at the time, you could go through this game without any outside help. Every hint is available to find. You start out getting to name your 4 characters. Plus you get to choose their type. If i remember correctly, its Fighter, Ninja, Thief. Then 3 Mages, black, red, and white. The difference in the mages is the magic you get to use. Black is more attacking magic, white is more defensive, and red gives you a bit of both, However, you cant use all black and white with a Red Mage. Very detailed for an NES game. As you go from town to town, doing various task you acquire experience points, and items that are essential for completing the game. You get a pirate ship, and then later an airship. Which lets you go everywhere in the game possible. This isn't a walkthrough so i won't give any hints, but you need the airship to complete the game. Lots of playing time as well for the first time gamer. Most NES games didn't take several hours to complete, this one did at first. The final battle is an EPIC showdown. Its not too hard though. Thats why this game is listed number 8.

I will finish this review in a new blog, cause nothing is saving.??????

I thought the Cake was a lie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Howdy everyone. I am Harold, otherwise known as The1andonlybigh. Besides being a bassist for Team Cena (the only bassist at the moment actually) I am into Retro Gaming. I shall bring all games from the past that has shaped way for what we have today. NES, SNES, Sega, Sega CD, Sega 32x, will be most of the platforms I will cover. I will try to get some modern game reviews as well. This is my first venture into the blogging world so bear with me a bit until I get the hang of it all. Any ideas or anything just drop me a line and I will get to it.

Harold

KayLove Reporting In!

Hellow internet!
I am KayLove, Bleebs's older sister! It's kind of interesting being on a game blog, seeing that I don't play many games, but oh well. I can talk games just as good as any hardcore gamer, and at times even better. I account this to watching games, from my brother to my ex-boyfriend to both of their friends. You can actually learn a lot from watching people play games.
Because of this unique view, I'm most likely going to contribute a very different kind of game review- the Spectator review. Instead of reviewing playability, I will analyze a game's WATCHability.
Another thing I would love to do is Soundtrack analysis. I will do these every once in a while, mostly when the soundtrack of a game is especially good.
Expect posts every Sunday, since that is the only day I have no school.

The Top 10 Most ANNOYING Video Game Characters

Ah, yes. Video Games. Sometimes they bore the greatest, most liked, most influential characters. They are characters who we think of when we play other video games. Characters we think about in our dreams. Ones that we look back on as a high point in our video game careers.

Okay. Maybe I was a bit over the top but still, you get it. A video game character can probably make or break a game. You don't want to be playing as a complete douche or whiney five year old the entire game. No. And you don't want to be encountered by these characters either. Imagine being pestered by a character every five seconds saying, 'HEY! LISTEN!'

I had to.

So let's start this list, shall we? And just to get things straight, this is only MY opinion. Not anyone elses on my writers list.

Number 10? How about Funky Kong?


Yeah, sure he was badass in my childhood, but still. He is so loud and annoying. Plus the way he says, 'HEY MAN!' Wants me to imitate it SOOO badly. And most of the times I do. Plus he makes such odd sounds when he jumps. Once again, making me want to imitate him...badly.

So where is this going to next, you ask? How about we ask Leon?


Ah, Ashley Graham. Sure, she may be hot at times, and the continuous upskirts you get of her make the extremely long, yet fun game of Resident Evil 4 more....enjoyable (AKWARD! :D), but after her getting captured by every freaking enemy there is in the game and every time you hear, 'LEEEEOOONNNN!', you will want to take that pistol and put it in your brain. Did you know there is a bottle cap collectable that talks in the game, and you can hear her yell that over and over and over...you still got that pistol, bro...?

Enjoying this yet? NO PLEASE DON'T LEAVE! You will love number 8!


Chip from Sonic Unleashed. Chip....well, we aren't sure what he is, but he is pretty annoying. I mean, sure, he is cute, but STILL. Chip is that cute and loving stray animal, you find out can talk and you take home with you. Then you get him in your house and it turns into a movie where you are trying to get him to leave....is that a movie? I'm sure it is. If anyone can think of a move like that, please tell me below in the comments.

What? I should be on this list? Oh, silly reader, I am not a video game character. Although James over there is very animated so he may be considered one.

*stares at JimmyGrimbleRB*

Alright, where was I? Oh yes. Number 7. A very good number, yes? No.


Sonic from Super Smash Bros Brawl! Yeah, way to make a fucking late enterance you bastard! I hope just for that they spawn a whole internet meme off of your taunt, making you the most made fun of character in the history of video games! Oh? They already did? My bad. You still are very gay sonic. It's a shame I loved your older video games so you didn't bring me this much disapointment.

Now at this point you may disagree with some, but still. These are my opinions and the thoughts that are on my mind at the time. Now let's move on...


LET ME GET THROUGH THIS CAVE! I DON'T WANT TO BATTLE YOU FOR THE LAST TIME! LET ME ESCAPE! GOD DAMMIT! /Rage Quits/ Anyone who has played through Pokemon has encountered this one. Golbat. Evolved forme of Zubat. These things are a bitch.

We are getting somewhere, right? Ugh. You are probably only looking at the pictures. Oh well.


Props to Hyliaman for making this! Look him up on Deviantart. So yes. Slippy is, like, what? Seven? I mean, in Japan this isn't crazy to see a frog flying a laser shooting plane but still. The reason why Slippy is on this list is because he annoys you to the point where you are yelling at the screen to shut up. Facepalm moment soon to occur once you find out he isn't listening....give that about a minute or two.

Hey! We're almost done. The two of you who are reading this are great people. Now, on to number 3.



Ummm...hello? I am trying to have an adventure here? SHUT THE HELL UP! Navi from Legend of Zelda, everybody! If you don't know who he is, just search 'navi hey listen' on Google. Yes, that is a search result.

Oh look! The other person just walked away. Well buddy, it's just you and me. You ready for number two?

(YOU WHO GAVE A CHILDISH GIGGLE, STOP THAT!)


I'm sorry I turned the Game Cube off! Really! My mom was yelling at me to turn it off because we had to go to dinner! Yeah, Resetti earns pretty high on my list. Especially since I logged enough Animal Crossing in my younger days...well...younger days. What made this funny is that there was a rumor going around that you could KILL Resetti if you reset the game enough. It was fake. So if that one time your mom told you to turn your game off, you may never want to play again...EVER!

So who is the final and most annoying character on my list? Well, this is after playing Mario Kart all of today. This character is non other than...BLUE BOWSER!


Who is Blue Bowser? Does this look familiar?


Yeah! It's bullshit that these things hit you when you are in first! BULLSHIT! So this one is for you Mr. Blue Koopa King. You and your fucking radio active shells and your bullshit causing me to go from 1st to 8th! Go die in a fire! No...wait....Dry Bowser! AHHH!

I found the cake... >.>

Hey people of the internet, I'm James, otherwise known as JimmyGrimbleRB.

If you didn't already know, I'm British, so don't blame me if I speak strangely.

I play alot of video games but wouldn't say I am 'good' at any of them. I particularly enjoy Rock band, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Gran Turismo 5: Prologue. I also enjoy any sport related games and am hoping to invest in NFL10, NHL10 and Vancouver 2010 as soon as possible, so expect videos from them when I eventually buy them.

The first 2 Posts I will be making are 'The guide to British gamers' and 'The guide for British gamers.' This is simply because I know personally how people react to British gamers whilst playing online, and I thought I'd share it with you all.

James

Lets Play The Saboteur with Dub

Playlist for the Lets Play

After many tests and even the addition of a new computer a project that Ive been wanting to do for awhile is started. A Lets Play is a playthrough of a game (usually a blind playthrough) with live commentary. I wanted to play The Saboteur so I thought I should do a Lets Play of it. The entire Lets Play will be done in HD and will have about 5 new videos a day (hopefully). Hope you enjoyed and subscribe to my channel for other updates.

Playlist consists of 5 videos as of this post.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Dubbington1221

Party Time! Excellent! - Wayne's World Review

As everyone knows, usually when videogames are based of of movies, about 7/8 of them are horrible. This game is no exception to that. I am, of course, talking about Wayne's World for the Super Nintendo.

The whole story is about the main characters, Wayne and Garth, getting sucked into a video game while at an arcade (now, that seems very cliche, doesn't it?). But what makes up for it is the "amazing" (note the quotes) intro cutscene. Just watch it, and you'll get the idea.

Wayne's World

Now, when the game starts, you are playing as Wayne. The graphic in this game are outrageously hilarious. I mean, just look at the picture below.

our hero, Wayne

So, as I was saying, you run around as Wayne, with your only weapon being a Guitar that, get this straight, shoots shockwaves out of it whenever he strums. Yes, very cheesy. You go against baddies such as evil bagpipes, trombones, and drum cymbals.

...and that's about it...

...It's just so bad I can't really say much about it...

...With such a bland storyline that really does not have anything interesting...

Now, on to the ratings (oh boy, this will be fun).

story: 1

Cliched soooooo many times. 'nuff said.

gameplay: 2

Contols are simple. A little too simple for my taste.

Difficulty: 2

Not hard, but confusing. I can't pinpoint any true difficulty. That's why it's so low.

Graphics: 3

Truthfully, the actual sprite GFX are absolutely horrid, but the stage GFX themselves are quite nice, but still only good enough for a 3.

Replay value: 2

I would not really want to replay this game unless you put a gun to my head, or if I am just that bored.

All-in-all, this game gets a 10/25; 40%; F

...now that I look back at it, I am not amazed one bit.

And that concludes today's video game review.