Blog Posts from "Tremendous Tom's blog"

Behind the Blogger II - Tremendous Tom

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:22:32 -0500

Previous entries: I - Silent_Protagonist ~ ATUHOR’S NOSE: Yes, this is essentially a little biography, but it’s also my new segment for interviews with you, the g1s! Everyone should get to indulge themselves by telling them a bit about themselves, don’t you think? =) Hey everyone, welcome to the very second addition of my interviews. In the very first interview, I interviewed one of our favourite silent protagonists… Silent_Protagonist. Since then, I’ve met a pretty cool guy here on ScrewAttack. He writes good blogs, and he doesn’t afraid of anything!! At least that’s what he said when I was introduced to him. You may have read some of his blogs before and he has been seen a few times in the “Top Post tab” as well, along with some other great blogs. But nonetheless, it’s time get to know the man behind such blogs as… well, let’s get started!

Rush - The Spirit of Radio

Hey, Tom, thanks for having me! So why don’t you start off this interview by giving a little introduction of yourself? Certainly! Well, my name is Tom (not really hard to guess, eh?) and I’m a 16 year old boy who lives in Sweden with my family. I go to a school where I’m taking a course specialized in civics in hope of someday becoming a politician… or perhaps a luxury bed tester. In my spare time I hang out with friends, hang out here on ScrewAttack of course and, sadly, doing a lot of homework which takes up a lot of my time. What are your gaming “credentials”? Well, the first video game that I remember seeing was Super Mario 64. My cousins played it, and I was baffled by the fact that you could control something on a TV-screen. It was like a cartoon that you could control, and I got hooked the very first time I saw it. I later ended up with a Super Nintendo, which I played the **** out of and I got games from my cousins who had grown older and moved onto more important stuff like girlfriends and drinking beer. I later got a Nintendo 64 and then a Sega Dreamcast (which I sadly don’t own anymore, since the laser which reads the disks broke) and I was probably the only kid in my school who own that beast. I’ve always considered myself a gamer and a fellow who’s interested in games. I never let stuff like that go to my head though, I realize that there are a lot of things in life that are more important than games.

The game that started it all...

Are there any other things besides games that interest you? Well, I’ve always been interested in music, and I’ve been dying to learn an instrument. I can play a lot of instruments, but not particularly well. When I graduated from 9th grade, I ended up with an A in music, with my teacher saying that I could learn to play any instrument very easily. Perhaps the one instrument that would learn is piano, or perhaps guitar, haven’t really decided on that part. I can also see myself drawing, especially something in style of a web-comic. My friends often tell me that I’m a funny guy and I’ve noticed myself deliver some one-liners that would make David Caruso laugh… okay, maybe not that good. Alright, let’s move back to some video game related stuff! What are some of your favourite games? Well, I’m currently doing a Top 50 List of my favourite games of all time, so saying anything would really be considered a spoiler. But, I’ll try to do my best not to spoil anything; my favourite games are games that leave an impression on me, games that inspire me to do something creative with my spare time and games that really leave you awestruck. Grand Theft Auto comes to mind, with it being more than just beating up your hooker who just nibbled on your gear lever. I’m considering picking New Super Mario Bros. up, since it reminds me of one of my favourite games of all time, a game that I spend a lot of time playing in my childhood. You can probably guess it, so I won’t spoil it to you… Next question! What’s your favourite console? That would be the Sega Dreamcast, since I had the most fun with that console. I got it when I was probably 7 years old or something, I think it was Christmas ’99, along with the games Sonic Adventure and a rally game which was an arcade port. Beside the Dreamcast, Super Nintendo is also one of my favourites. From this generation I guess I have to say Xbox 360 and Wii. I chose Wii since Nintendo has always had a soft sport in my heart and my friends went with Xbox 360 and I wanted to play with them.

Are there any games you’re really hyped up about? Well, I don’t really fall for hype, since I know it’ll stab you in the back by colouring your expectations. But I think that New Super Mario Bros. Wii looks pretty good, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 is probably a buy for me too. Other than that, though, there isn’t very much I’m hyped for. Left 4 Dead 2 looks cool, but I rather play that on the PC, and my PC runs like a steam engine from the 1920s. Okay, now let’s move on to some ScrewAttack-stuff! How did you discover ScrewAttack? Well, I was on YouTube one day when I saw “BIBLE GAMES – by the Angry Nintendo Nerd”. I clicked and I kept laughing at the fact that Noah could carry 2 oxen and a horse. I looked at this other videos, and they finally led me here to ScrewAttack. This was at the end of V2, y’know when Handsome Tom was still here? This was back at the early V3 days, I mean the day after it had come out, and I didn’t think that a membership would be in order. Well, I actually became a member (named TremendousTom). I only went as far as posting one introduction blog, which I then deleted and ended up without writing anything. But I always come onto ScrewAttack to get my daily video and news! What’s your favourite ScrewAttack feature? Ben’s The Scoop is probably my feature, just because he is the best editor in the world. I also love how serious he is in his reviews, like he’s the reason I bought my own copy of My Horse and Me… hell, I don’t want Burt Reynolds to eat me! Okay, I didn’t actually buy it, but I really love to see the Scoop because they’re both honest and funny. Hard News also comes to mind, and it can’t be done without Destin. Yeah, sure, Corey does a good job, but is there really anything better than a one-liner from Destin? Other mentions are Clip of the Week, VGR and of course Out of the Box. Do you have any favourite ScrewAttack personalities? Well, I don’t want to be saying that “you are better than that guy”, since… y’know, everybody’s equal. But yeah, there are some people that I find to be funnier than someone else. I think Destin is probably the funniest guy and I really like his rants on Hard News (he does write his own script, yes?). Then of course we can’t forget the loveable Corey or the sexy, smexy Jose! Truth be told, I really like watching everyone do their thing and I really don’t that anyone’s better than the other at doing their thing.

Do you have any favourite g1 content? Well, I really enjoy all blogs on ScrewAttack that are well written, have original ideas and is well presented (the latter of which isn’t really that important, but it makes it all so much more appealing). I love SP’s “Overlooked and Underrated” blogs as much as anyone and Wandering_Swordsman’s blogs are really something special. Other g1s that come to mind are DJGrandPa, Elmo 3000, Whitly, tasteslikemocha, BirdmanTWIG and more. But as I said, I really like any blog that’s well written, so anyone of the g1s mentioned above can be totally disregarded. To sum it up… you, the reader can by my favourite blogger! Do you have any tips on how you can improve your blogging? One thing I do is to be sure to blog about stuff I know a lot about. For instance, I made a blog about some ancient warlords like Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great. It got Top Posted and I felt really good writing about something that I really had a passion for. I wouldn’t be writing about peaches or perhaps science when I don’t know anything about it, and I feel really stupid trying to do research of something just to make myself look good here on ScrewAttack. On top of that, blogs need dedication. I feel that if you want to write a quality post you got to spend some time writing a coherent text and maybe work with the presentation a bit. Silent_Protagonist has made a perfect blog in which he lists what the different HTML-commands that you can use do. I don’t really know how V4 will affect this, so I’m just going to leave it at that. What’s your favourite part about blogging? That would be when you have worked hard on your blog, spending maybe 3-4 hours writing and on the formatting, and the comments come in telling you what a good job you did. It’s always satisfying getting praise from other bloggers that you admire. One of my favourite comments has to be on my “Top 5 Warlords/Generals” blog where a guy said that he would copy my blog for a history work that he know he would have some day. That really made me chuckle. But any comment telling me what they really liked is also my favourite type of comments. =) What are you expectations for V4? I have to say, I’m genuinely hyped for this. I know I said I don’t really fall for stuff like that, but ScrewAttack is never anything short of awesome and people have kept telling both me and the rest of community that it’s the site that we g1s have been craving. I haven’t done more research than just checking Elmo 3000’s V4 blog and the OotB episode. But yeah, I have to say that I’m really excited! Are there any other sites besides ScrewAttack that you visit? Of course, I hang out on Facebook everyday, checking on my friends’ status regularly. Other than that, I check out the guys at ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com, Ctrl-Alt-Del, The Escapist just to name a few.

WII, YOU CAN'T READ THAT NEWSPAPER! YOU'RE A VIDEO GAME CONSOLE!

Okay, thanks! What are some of your favourite movies? Do you have any movies that you would like to see? Well, I’m a big fan of both comedy and drama, and pretty open to other genres as well. My favourites include Fight Club, The Godfather, Die Welle and Das Leben der Anderen. Die Welle in particular left a big impression on me, since it was based on an actual event (although they didn’t go as far as they did in the movie). I’m also a big fan of plot twists, and Fight Club’s plot twist really left my jaw dropped. I’d really like to see some of the greats that I’ve missed. Citizen Kane is one of those movies that everyone has seen and is considered the best movie of all time. Lawrence of Arabia seems pretty interesting too, since I’m a bit of a fan of Peter O’Toole. Of the newer films out there, District 9 and Up looks pretty interesting. Do you have any favourite actors or perhaps director? Alfredo James Pacino is my favourite actor, hands down. I think he’s just a brilliant actor and that you can’t really take your eyes off him when he’s in a movie. He’s definitely one of the reasons that The Godfather is one of my favourite movies (besides it being one hell of a story). Speaking of the Godfather, Marlon Brando is also a big favourite. Other favourites are Jack Nicholson, Johnny Depp and Jim Carrey (hm, I just noticed that I have a lot of favourite actors beginning with the letter “J”). My favourite directors are probably the more famous ones such as Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Peter Jackson. Not much to say, I’m just a big fan of their work. =P What kind of music do you listen to? I listen to all kinds of music, whether it be Finntroll one day and Black Eyed Peas the next. But for the most part, I listen a lot to classic rock/heavy metal like Queen, Rush, Boston, Kansas, Journey, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin and so on. There are a few “newer” rock/metal bands that I listen to, such as System of a Down (and every project that band spawned) and Nightwish. But as I said, I’m open to all kinds of music… except techno and probably every Swedish rapper rapping about “the gangstah life in Sweden” (if you’re Swedish; Ken Ring immediately comes to mind). Imagine being a gangster in Sweden... see, nobody can do it!

Rush.

Any favourite singer/guitarist/drummer? Well, I made a Top 10 Singers blog (which I’ll probably redo at some point, as I’ve discovered a lot of new music since then) where Freddie Mercury from Queen landed at #1. As of guitarists, there are a lot of people that come to mind. Jimi Hendrix is probably the undisputed champion of that department, but there are some contenders for that spot as well such as Dave Murray from Iron Maiden and Kirk Hammett from Metallica. Neil Peart from Rush is my favourite drummer, but Buddy Rich definitely deserves a mention. Do you mind listing some of the band that you recommend? Not at all: Queen, Rush, Kansas, Boston, Megadeth, Anthrax, Pantera, Sparks, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Skid Row, Slayer, System of a Down/Serj Tankian/Scars on Broadway, The Who, Thin Lizzy. These are the ones I can think of right now, there’s definitely more music that I like. Are there any other persons that you’d like to mention? Well, I’m a big fan of Serj Tankian, mainly because he made me interested in System of a Down and that he’s a great vocalist as well. I know pretty much every song he’s ever written for System of a Down and for his own album “Elect the Dead” by heart. Not to mention, he looks really cool in his beard. Another person I’d like to mention has nothing to do with music; however he is an idol of mine. And that is George Carlin, the best stand-up comedian ever. I was actually planning to do some sort of tribute of him earlier, but I scrapped since I think that just seeing his material shows how good he really is. For those of you haven’t heard anything about him, check him out… NOW!

May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008 R.I.P.

Alright… now we’ve come to the random part of the interview! First with probably the most clichéd questions; what superpower do you want and why? Invisibility is probably one of the coolest powers one can possess. Imagine going invisible and sneaking up on one of your friends and following them home. Then, you pop out of nowhere when they least expect it and you scare them ****less. Wouldn’t that be a fun thing to do? If I couldn’t get my hands on some invisibility, I’d probably go with super speed. I mean, who hasn’t had a dream when you can run super fast and jump about 50 meters in front of you? Is there any celebrity that you would like to punch in the stomach and why? Oh, I’d really like to punch Paul Anka’s wife, Anna Anka. Anna Anka is basically the Paris Hilton of Sweden; it’s only that she’s about 128 years older. The only reason Anna Anka is famous is because she’s married to Paul Anka, who has the right to be more successful than her. She appeared in her own masturbation material known as “Svenska Hollywoodfruar” (literally “Swedish Hollywood wives”, a show about Swedish women married to celebrities indulging themselves in stuff that someone in the working class can’t and won’t afford) where she received more attention from the media than the Swedish budget, which I think indicated what we Sweden really enjoy watching. It’s pathetic… Kanye West is also someone I’d like to punch, but just because I have a perfect setting. He would be performing when I suddenly run up on the stage yelling “Yo, Kanye, I’m happy for you and I’mma let you finish” and then punch him as hard as I could. Sure, I would be beat down by he’s bodyguards or something, but isn’t stuff like that something that you really want to do?

Isn't she sexy?

If you could go back in time, where would you go and why? Well, every adult always keep talking about how it was “in the old days”. I’d really love to be in Sweden during the 70s and 80s, since that seemed to be a pretty happy time. Also, going back to the Roman Empire would be nice as well… Where do you see yourself working in 10 years? Well, probably in something easy like a store… I don’t really have any big plans for the future, I’ll probably take the day the way it comes… carpe diem is my motto. =P Would you ever consider working for ScrewAttack? Well, of course! Although I think it would be pretty difficult getting there in time every day, since I love on the other side of the planet. The closest I can get is perhaps SGC, and if I can somehow get there without my wallet hurting too much, I’ll ******* be there! =) Is there anything else to add to this blog? Yes. For those of you unaware, or too lazy to read the author’s note, I know this is essentially me interviewing myself, but this was to make a biography and make my last mark on V3 before the transition to V4. So, now you know who I am when I start posting stuff on V4… First ScrewAttack, then the world!

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Some of Tremendous Tom’s blogs!

Tremendous Tom's Top 5 Warlords/Generals

My own take on the Nostalgia Critics "Old vs. New"

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm - My thoughts

Tremendous Tom's Top 10 Favorite Characters from Dragon Ball and DBZ

Tremendous Tom recommends:

SP's HTML Coding Tutorial

Top 10 Worst Types of Video Game Customers

Jet Fire's Top 100 Games of All Time

See you all on Version 4!

Tremendous Tom's Top 10 Favorite Characters of Dragon Ball and DBZ

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:58:01 -0500

So what can you say about Dragon Ball? Well, for those of you who are not familiar with this show, it’s an anime created by Akira Toriyama and it has been around since the 80s. It stars a little boy named Son Goku (based off of Son Wukong from the book “Journey to the West”), who sets off to find the seven Dragon balls. If you should collect all seven of them, you can summon the dragon named Shenron who will grant you any wish that you desire. The show is probably one of the most recognized animes in history. Even for me, it’s my favourite anime series of all time, as well as one of my top overall series of all time. I’ve watched every single episode of the show, I own all 42 manga volumes of both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z (translated in Swedish) and I would say that I’ve been a fan of the series since long. Dragon Ball is one of those shows that you have to watch with your tongue in your cheek, because it’s a show that goes over the top in many ways. For example, death is something that the Dragon Ball universe seems to be completely absent of. When a character in Dragon Ball dies, the other character’s are all like “No problem, we can just bring him back to life using the Dragon Balls”, which is pretty hilarious since death is probably the biggest issue a human being can deal with. Yeah, some of the characters die in the series, but just because they die doesn’t mean that the characters will the never see the deceased one again. Other than that, it so unrealistic! For example, some characters can break about 20 bricks with their finger, while others can destroy planets by just coughing at them. The unrealism of this show makes it just so much more awesome, because if you saw this as kid you were hyped! Explosions, characters flying across the screen while screaming at each other – what more could you ask for!? So, to celebrate the launch of ScrewAttack V4 and the Dragon Ball’s 25th birthday, I’m giving you a list of the ten characters in Dragon Ball that I find to be the most entertaining! There are a couple of rules I go by when it comes to a list like this. My first rule is that I do not go by any characters from Dragon Ball GT (a spin-off, taking place after the Dragon Ball Z timeline), since I never really cared for that show. My second rule is that the characters I’ve chosen must have appeared in the manga, so no anime exclusive characters like Garlic. So, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s start counting down the Top 10 Characters from Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z.

But… what is THAT?!

Saiyan/Super Saiyan: If you just Google “Dragon Ball Z”, chances are that you’re going to get a lot of pictures with muscle bound guys having yellow hair standing out from everywhere. Well, the reason for that is because they are known as Saiyans. The Saiyans are a race of warriors from the planet Vegeta, and they usually travel around space, killing entire planets and selling the remains to other people that are in need of the planet. The planet was destroyed and there are only about 4 Saiyans left in the entire universe. One of them is Son Goku. But what about the yellow hair? Well, according to Saiyan legend, once every thousand years a great warrior called “The Legendary Super Saiyan” is going to emerge. The Super Saiyan is supposedly stronger than all the other Saiyans and he will no doubt be the leader of Saiyans. Every Saiyan strives to be the famous Super Saiyan and become remembered for legends. I’m going spoil it directly by saying that every Saiyan can become a Super Saiyan with the proper training. However, none of the main characters is the Super Sayian that the legend speaks of. That Saiyan is not part of the main story line, but he’s one of the main characters of one of the many Dragon Ball Z movies out there. When one of the Saiyans turns into a Super Saiyan, their power level increases and they get yellow hair. In the image above, the ones with the yellow hair are the Super Saiyan versions of the ones with black hair? Can you name them all? But Tom, what’s the difference between Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z!? Well, the big difference is that the series get a whole new different tone as soon as Dragon Ball Z begins. I don’t know if it has something to do with the production of the show, maybe some other Dragon Ball nut out there can fill me in on that one, but a lot more emphasis is put on the adventure aspect in Dragon Ball Z, like the villains and character development for example. The characters become a bit more complex and the story evolves at a much higher rate. Not to mention, a lot of the main characters of the show are grown up at the time Dragon Ball Z begins. The original Dragon Ball series, with the main characters as children, the tone of the show is more on the easy side. There’s still a lot of serious business going on, but there are a lot more humour in the original Dragon Ball show, with a lot more sexual innuendoes and actually some potty humour at some places. For example, there’s a character named Oolong who ****s excessively every time someone says “Piggy”. Why? Well, you’ll have to find out that one for yourself! Anyway – on to the list!

---------------------------------------------------------------------- #10 Mr. Satan

Ah yes, the comic relief of the show. Mr. Satan is, in the Cell Saga, the strongest human in the world, since he had won the world tournament of fighting that had happened while the main characters on the show were on a different planet fighting another villain. All the normal people of the Dragon Ball universe believe in Mr. Satan and they think that he can save them all from total damnation. But in reality, Mr. Satan is nothing more than a coward, who has nothing to show for comparing to the other characters of the show like Goku. He can’t fly, he can’t bust out a Kamehameha or even a single burst of energy. He’s just a guy who let the fame get to his head. What makes this character so great is that he provides comic relief, as mentioned above, in the very serious tone that the late Dragon Ball Z has. He even attacks Cell, one of the major villains of the show, but fails miserably as Cell just tosses him aside as a pile of garbage. While every man on the planet just stood awestruck, looking at Mr. Satan’s failure, the other characters just cover their faces with their palms as they only find him as a nuisance. If I were too look deep into this character, I’d say he’s a perfect representation of someone who had gone famous and who had let the fame get to his head by thinking that he was invincible. I don’t think it would be long before we had a celebrity like tha- oh, hey Kanye West!

#9 Master Roshi

Master Roshi is one of the most important characters in the very beginning of Dragon Ball. He meets up with Son Goku and his new friend Bulma to help them locate of the Dragon Balls. At first glance, Master Roshi seems like an old wise man, kinda like the Mr. Miyagi of the Dragon Ball franchise. But, when Bulma asks if she can get the Dragon Ball from Master Roshi, Roshi says that he will only give it to him if she shows him her panties. Yeah, I’m not kidding, Master Roshi is a perverted old man who will do anything to get some poon, even if the girls are underage. Ok, in a manga it’s sometimes hard to tell if a girl is underage or not, but he sure wants to touch a lot of girls inappropriately. But he who can blame him, he lives alone in an island far away from civilization and his roommate is a wisecracking turtle who refuses to put up with Master Roshi’s perverted schemes. Now if you’ve read that paragraph you might think that Roshi is a big pedophile. But no, he’s not a pedophile and his “sexual ambitions” is not what lands him on the #9 spot on this list. Master Roshi becomes Son Goku’s and Krillin’s sensei and Roshi trains both Goku and Krillin to become harder, better, faster, stronger. He serves as a role model and he turns out to be one of the best senseis ever to have walked the earth. He knows, for example, that both Krillin and Goku will be stronger than him one day, and that he must embrace by teaching them that their power must not go their heads for example (see Mr. Satan). After the arc where Roshi trains with Goku and Krillin, all his perverted shenanigans are thrown aside and he becomes like the Obi-Wan Kenobi of the series, always giving advice to his pupils and making sure that they do alright, even if it kills him.

#8 Future Trunks

When Trunks first appeared, in the middle of Dragon Ball Z, I really hated him. I didn’t like him at all, since he basically walked in and stole the show from the other characters when a familiar villain showed his face on earth after being defeated on another planet. But, as Dragon Ball Z continued, I grew to like him more and more. Trunks is the son to one of the last persons you’d ever think would care enough to get a baby. I won’t spoil it for you, but if you watch Dragon Ball Z from beginning to finish, I think you’ll be as surprised as I was when I found out who Trunks’ father is. And no, it’s not Darth Vader. The reason he’s called “Future Trunks” is because this Trunks comes from the future. He travels to the past to warn his close friends about the horrible future and the cyborgs that will eventually kill them all. Since Future Trunks didn’t have the time to warn his friends in the universe he lives in, he hopes to go back to the past so that he can warn his friends beforehand so that they can at least put up a fight against the dreaded cyborgs. True, Trunks then gets born in the same saga, but he never grows into the same age as Future Trunks does until the very end of Dragon Ball Z and that’s why Adult Trunks is often referred to as “Future Trunks”. Anyway, Future Trunks gets a spot on this list because of his love and caring for his close friends. Trunks will do anything he can do stop his friends from the same fate they had in their future, he even shows it to go back into the past. Also, his father doesn’t seem all too happy with Trunks’ existence, since he doesn’t know from the start who Trunks really is. And all Trunks wants to do is to show his father that he really does have a son and that he should care more of him. Not to mention, the Trunks in the future never got to meet his own father before he got killed by the cyborgs, so that’s another thing that keeps him motivated. Overall, Future Trunks is one of the most sympathetic characters of Dragon Ball Z. I know some of you might like the later version of Trunks, where he’s a seven year old boy with his cocky attitude and the same pride that his father has.

#7 Frieza

Now here’s a fan favourite! Frieza is probably one of the most appreciated characters of Dragon Ball Z franchise, at least of the villains. But no, he’s not my favourite villain of the franchise, but he definitely deserves a spot on this list. Frieza is essentially a galactic overlord bent on taking total domination of the universe by gaining invincibility from the Dragon Balls. He has a great entourage of minor characters that he sends to do his evil deeds instead of himself. He also controls an intergalactic space force known as the Ginyu Force who will take care of Frieza’s real dirty work. He’s also incredibly strong, and he knows it. He was even in charge of all the Sayians, and he was even the one who killed them all because he was afraid that one of them would rise up as the Super Saiyan mentioned above and defeat him. The reason I like Frieza so much as one of the main villains of the show is that he’s aware of how powerful he is and he uses that to every extent that he can. He can single-handedly wipe out the entire Ginyu Force, a force which the main characters had a very hard time beating. Even when Frieza was defeated, left alone cut in half on an exploding planet, he still manged to survive and rebuild himself, just so that he could get revenge on the people who did this to him (only to be completely owned after just spending about 1 hour on planet Earth). He also has a brother named Cooler, who would later try to avenge Frieza in the anime, but Cooler can’t live up to Frieza’s deeds in anyway and Frieza (or Freezer, as he’s translated in the Swedish manga). I know this is pretty short, but if you have watched the anime or read any of the books (do the latter one, it’s way better than the TV series), you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. And if you haven’t… well, check him out, I’ll bet you like him. There you go, Flashpenny, there’s another great villain for you!

#6 Krillin

Now, Krillin is also a big fan favourite out there. He entered the franchise as early as the third manga volume and wanted to become a student of Master Roshi. He succeded in doing so and became Goku’s rival (at least in terms of fighting, not that Krillin holds any grudge against Goku) and best friend and he has remained the latter one throughout the entire series. He was one of the strongest characters in the show and he usually served as bit of a comic relief in the early parts of the show. For example, people would make fun of the fact that he was bald at such a young age (he shaves his head in order to concentrate better, which he was taught by the monks who trained him before Roshi did). While I like the adult version of Krillin, I find the younger Krillin a much more appealing character. The adult Krillin is a pretty likeable character as well. He’s definitely not as strong as the other characters are, but he can definitely fend for himself. He knows what he’s doing, and he’ll do anything to protect those who stand him near. He becomes sort of a minor character towards the later parts of Dragon Ball Z until he doesn’t even fight anymore (which results with him, *gasp*, growing hair! AARRRGHH!!1). But as I said, I like the younger version of Krillin more since he played a bigger role in the series than he did later, and he was one of the funniest characters along with someone who may or may not be on this list later on. It’s a shame that he was so downplayed in the later parts of the show, because he really is a great character and definitely one that shouldn’t be overlooked.

#5 Piccolo

In the original Dragon Ball, Piccolo was the main villain. He was described as a demon who went on a rampage and he was bent on trying to gaining world domination. However, he was defeated by Master Roshi’s sensei named Mutaito who sealed Piccolo away using a technique called “Mafuba”, which Roshi even tried to seal Piccolo away with. But, at the very beginning of Dragon Ball Z, he served as more of an anti-hero of the show. He was still very cold-hearted, and he wouldn’t show any sympathy to anyone, at least not until he’s knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door. But it’s the late Piccolo that I’ve grown to like even more than the original and evil version of Piccolo. The late version of Piccolo acts more like a mentor. Mainly because he was once fused with the Dragon Ball equivalent of God. So he’s very wise and very strong. And since God had created the Dragon Balls, they disappear if either God (known as Kami in the manga and anime) or Piccolo dies. Now, Piccolo might not be the strongest character in the show, and he went the same way that Krillin did in the very late parts of Dragon Ball (until not even being part of the main story line in Dragon Ball GT) by not being one of the main fighters. He was still around though, taking care of his friends. He’s also very sly, and he even tricked the final villain of the show on a detour in his castle so that that villain’s opponent could train and rest just a little bit longer. I don’t think he’s as widely appreciated as Krillin, just because his transition from supervillain to anti-hero and finally into an ally. But I find that pretty impressive in a character like that to understand what he has done wrong and be able to realize what is right for the people around him and for himself. Or, perhaps it was a case of “if you can’t beat them, join them!”

#4 Son Gohan

Son Gohan is the son of Son Goku (he’s named after Son Goku’s grandpa, who took care of Goku while he was growing up), and he was one of the first new characters of Dragon Ball Z. In the very first chapter of the Dragon Ball Z manga, he’s introduced as a shy but well-mannered boy who does whatever his father tells him to do. Every character that knows Goku knows that Son Gohan will be one of the strongest characters ever and even Goku knows that Gohan has great potential. However, Gohan is more into studying and he does everything he can to become a scientist one day. But, if there’s a crime scene going on he’s not the least bit shy to step in and take action. While in his Super Saiyan form, he’s known to the townspeople as the “Blonde Warrior”, even though the people are unaware of that it actually is Gohan. Gohans personality has changed a lot since his introduction. When he was first introduced, he was only four years old and he could barely control his emotions. Whenever he would get angry, his power level would rocket through the roof and he would go ballistic at the one making him angry. Later, when he had grown up into becoming a teenager, he had more control over his feelings but he could still go ape**** (and thank God, because his rage would eventually become the downfall of a major villain). But it’s when he’s about 16 years old that you really grow to like him. Even though he 16 years old, and one of the strongest people in the world, he still has to focus on school and not showing off too much of his powers (even though he involuntary does so). There’s a moment when he and his class are playing baseball, and he tries to hold back. And when he’s “holding back” he still makes leaps 8 meters into the air and catches a baseball with ease. A tad cliché? Yes, but it’s also brilliant in his own way. But it’s not simply the fact that he has to be a normal person as well that make him so likeable, it’s also that he’s fully aware of his responsibility to protect the ones who stand him near. But for all the praise I’ve given him, I don’t think he stand a chance against the Top 3!

#3 Cell

Cell is the main villain of the so called Cell Saga, and he’s a scientific project created with one purpose only, to become the ultimate life form. What’s so special about Cell is that he consists of Cell material from a lot of the main characters. For example, he has cells from Goku and Piccolo which he snatched in the very early parts of Dragon Ball Z. He even managed to gather some cells from Frieza, when Frieza visited Earth. So because of that, Cell knows all the techniques that the main characters do like the Kamehameha, which is Goku’s signature move. But, the only thing that can make Cell the perfect and ultimate life form is if he absorbs the two androids Android 17 and Android 18 (also known as C17 and C1 which are two of the cyborgs that Future Trunks warned Goku and his friends about. The androids doesn’t want to be part of Cell either, so they do what they can to stay away from Cell. But, since the picture above shows Cell in his perfect form, you can probably guess how it goes for those two. Of all the countless Dragon Ball Z villains out there, I find Cell to be the most impressive. Granted, he’s not the final villain of the show, but he might as well be, mainly because the final villain’s scheme is laughably stupid. Maybe the same thing can be said about Cell, and the fact that he’s trying to become the perfect life form, but Cell is such a smart villain who knows how to take advantage of his enemies that he becomes more impressive than the final villain. By the way, here’s a fun fact: did you know that the same voice actor who did the Japanese voice for Cell also did the Japanese voice for M. Bison in the Capcom vs. SNK games? It’s a shame that he didn’t keep doing M. Bison’s voice forever, because Cell’s Japanese voice is probably one of the coolest voices ever. If you can somehow find an episode of Cell speaking in Japanese, you’ll not regret it!

#2 Vegeta

If you’re not a Dragon Ball fan, you may still be aware of who Vegeta is. Probably because of a certain meme that has been used so much now that it isn’t even funny anymore. But besides the meme that has been used over 9000 times by now, Vegeta is the last Saiyan prince (which would probably make him king seeing how his father died when the planet Vegeta was destroyed). By the beginning of Dragon Ball Z, he served as one of the villains, and it wasn’t until the very last arc of Dragon Ball Z when he actually started caring for his fellow fighters. Vegeta is the arch rival of Son Goku because they are almost equally strong and very much alike in every way. Both Goku and Vegeta train very hard, both for different reasons. Goku trains because he wants to become stronger, Vegeta trains because he wants to be stronger than Goku. Since they’re very first fight, which ended with Vegeta fleeing Earth almost fatally wounded, he’s always wanted to fight Goku again. He even goes so far to handing himself over to a villain, just so that he could fight Goku and show that he’s the strongest character ever. Ultimately, Vegeta cares a lot for the people around him, at least when he’s not bent on fighting Goku. Even in the near middle of Dragon Ball Z, he shows that he cares about some of the main characters by killing one of the Ginyu Force, even if Vegeta himself wouldn’t admit it. Vegeta is probably one of the most developed characters in the Dragon Ball franchise, and he’s also a big fan favourite and it’s easy to understand why. He’s a badass, he’s way to proud to show any remorse to any of his enemies, but still he cares about the ones around him. And I think that is what really makes a likeable character. He went the same way Piccolo did, but I think Vegeta went one step further with his proud attitude and the fact that he is a Saiyan prince… I mean “king”.

#1 Young Son-Goku

I know what you’re all thinking. “Hey, isn’t it a bit cliché putting the main character of the show at the #1 spot? I thought you were going with someone obscure like Yamcha or Chaoitzu!?” Well, yeah, I’ll admit that it is a bit cliché putting the main character of the Show at number one, but here’s the catch! I’m not putting the Goku from Dragon Ball Z here; I’m putting the Goku from the Dragon Ball (see above for the difference). My reason why is because these two are like completely different characters, and I find the young Goku to be more likeable and a hell of a lot funnier than the fatherly figure that Son Goku becomes in Dragon Ball Z. Not that it’s anything wrong with that, and it definitely shows that he growed up (which would be pretty weird if he still acted like a ten year old while he was in his forties). But let me explain why I think the young Goku is a funnier character than the older Goku: First of all, he’s so naïve that it becomes hilarious. At the very beginning of the series, Goku lives alone in the mountains, far away from any form civilization. He chops wood and hunts by only using his bare hands. But when Bulma, the very first girl that Son Goku meets, comes along he becomes curious about other humans. For example, he can’t distinguish between boy or girl, so he continually taps people on their crotch in order to check. Every character he does this too gets freaked out by this, but Goku can’t understand why because he doesn’t know any better. He even promises a girl he barely knows that he’ll marry her when they both grow up. Goku didn’t have any feelings whatsoever for this girl, he only agreed just because he thought it would make her happy. It’s that kind of actions that really symbolizes the kind nature that the young Goku has. He does whatever he can to protect the ones he trusts, even folks he barely knows. And for being one of the most naïve and curious characters, as well as the nicest and most sympathetic, I think he really outshines the old version of Goku by a long shot. And don’t get me started about the young Goku from Dragon Ball GT. I mean, I know they wanted to have a young Goku and a serious tone but… no, it just doesn’t work…

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If you’re into anime, and you haven’t given Dragon Ball a try, I pity you. It’s a must for anyone who like anime to at least watch the show or even acknowledge it. Because this is probably the show that introduced manga and anime to the western audience and if it wasn’t for them, we would’ve had shows like Lucky Sta… or Naru… ok, maybe it wasn’t a very keen idea on that part, but it’s definitely worth checking out. In fact, to honor it’s 25th anniversary, Dragon Ball Z is getting re-released in glorious HD. Nothing is changed from the original show, just that it’s HD now. The new version is called “Dragon Ball Kai” and if you look around there’s probably some website that has all the episodes streaming on their site. In fact, just because you g1s are so awesome, I’m going to include the intro just above my signature! =) Thanks for reading! If you had any trouble understanding anything about this show that I mentioned in this blog, feel free to ask, I’d be glad to help you. I’ve tried to write it so that everyone could read it and understand what I’m trying to get at. I apologize if there was some vital part that wasn’t understandable, but as I said, I’d be glad to help you! Also, just because I’m a big fan of their work, you absolutely have to check out Team Four Star! I’m sure you’ve heard of them, they are in charge of “Dragon Ball Z: Abridged” and they’re one of the biggest abridged series ever, alongside with LittleKuriboh’s “Yu-Gi-Oh: Abriged Series”. Ah well…

Watch in with full screen and the lights turned off for the best effect! - Tremendous Tom -

Tremendous Tom's Top 10 Favorite Video Game Themes!

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:43:08 -0400

Good evening, fellow g1s and welcome to another blog by me, Tremendous Tom! Today, or tonight rather, I’m looking at something that has a big impact on games, and really something that helps enhance the feelings of your gaming experience – video game music! I’ve been dying to make a list like this. Mostly in video form, but since I’ve put that on hold until further notice I felt like doing it this way. These are the 10 themes that stand out in my mind as one of the absolute best and the most memorable. No particular rule is in order here, I just don’t allow two themes from the franchise on the list, even though I do allow the same franchise to repeated when I’m in the honorable mentions section. Now, the descriptions are going to be pretty short this time around. Why is this, you might ask? Well, mainly because I feel that music speaks a lot for itself, and it’s pretty much up to everyone listening to it to interpret the song the way they feel like. Yet I still feel obligated to share my interpretation of the respective songs with you, and I’m going to tell you pretty much I how feel when I listen to the song. So, without further ado, let’s cut to the ones that didn’t quite make it on the list – the honourable mentions!

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--Honorable Mention #1-- Song of Storms – Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Who would’ve though that you could control the weather using a blowing instrument?

What a nice and cheerful tone we have here! The Song of Storms from Ocarina of Time allowed you to control the weather to open secret holes in the ground where you would, for example, find a lonely cow (who in there right mind puts a live cow in a hole which can only open by playing this song on the ocarina?). It’s not completely necessary for finishing the game, but damn is it catchy! This theme is probably one of the most recognized as well as most memorable tunes in the franchise. There are several types of lyrics written for this song, but we have yet to see a rendition from our good friend brentalfloss. So, Brent… Song of Storms, please? Whenever I hear this song, I think of a pretty cheerful place. I find it pretty ironic that I think of something cheerful when this song represent storms, something that’s almost always connected with something depressing. But a storm in one of the best games of all time is just like a fart in the wind, and it still one of the best songs in the game. I know some people prefer Gerudo Valley over this theme, but I think it’s a pretty happy tone, and it keeps me happy as well. Since it’s so easy to memorize, you’ll be whistling along with this theme for as long as you can whistle. Unfortunately, there were some themes in the franchise that was just a little better than this theme. Keep reading, and you’ll find out!

--Honorable Mention #2-- Snake Man – Mega Man 3 Arguably one of the besssssssssssst robot masssssssssssssster ever!

Snake Man has often been considered one of the best robot masters in the Mega Man franchise. While I tend to disagree with everyone thinking that he’s the absolute best of the bunch, I still think he’s a hot contender for the top spot. Not only is the design of his lair ingenious and filled with creative obstacles, he puts up with a pretty formidable fight when you reach the heart of his lair and where you fight him. Even his name kicks ass, also one of the best names in Mega Man history (although I like Hard Man’s name pretty much too). But the best thing about Snake Man is no doubt the music that makes his lair even more fun. If the song was sucked out from the stage, the stage itself wouldn’t be as enjoyable anymore. I think that the intro of the song really set the mood for a big challenge, which Snake Man gleefully provides when you finally meet him. And after the intro, when the song really starts, it’s pretty much a classical stage theme which also sets the mood for the rest of the stage. But even though that intro still lingers in your mind, you know that there’s a hell of a challenge waiting at the end of this level and you must do whatever you can to reach it!

--Honorable Mention #3-- One Winged Angel – Final Fantasy VII Sephiroth eats babies!

If you’ve read my list over the Top 10 Villains (in which this guy landed on #3, by the way), you’d know that I’m not a big fan of Sephiroth. Sure, I like him as a villain, but I think he’s just an ******* ready to make life miserable for anyone who tries to pester him. Not to mention, I don’t like how he tries to look all suave with his long, grey hair and his long sword (maybe he’s compensating for something). The thing I do like about Sephiroth, though, is his theme song in Final Fantasy VII – One Winged Angel! I was actually going to include this song in the Top 10, but I scrapped for a theme I remembered to be more memorable than Seph’s theme. One Winged Angel is probably one of the best villain themes of all time, since it’s has a really intimidating tone. Even though Sephiroth might not look pretty intimidating, his theme sure makes him look like it. Even though the beginning of the song makes me think of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”, I think it’s when the choir hits when it really sends chills down my spine. I believe they’re singing in Latin, and it makes it seem more intimidating when it sounds almost ancient, like it’s trying to connect with Christianity or something. Nobuo Uematsu, the composer of this great piece, is getting a standing ovation from me for composing one of the best villain themes in all of all time!

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Now that we’ve gotten the three honourable mentions out of the way, I think I’ve kept your interest long enough for me to introduce the real 10 entries of my personal favourites in video game themes! Let’s begin immediately; we have no time to waste!

#10 --Frog’s Theme – Chrono Trigger-- http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9783/evanfrog3d.jpg' width=350 height=260> I remember when I met Frog for the first time and named him “Horse”.

Come on, I had to name him Horse, it was a golden opportunity. Either way, besides meeting Frog, I haven’t played very much of Chrono Trigger. There’s something about that game, and RPG’s in general, that seem to turn me off a bit. I’ve mentioned this when I talked about Grandia II in my Top 50 List, and Chrono Trigger happens to be one of those games that I cannot bear myself to finish, even though everyone you meet says that Chrono Trigger is one of the best games ever. However, I must agree that the music in this game is probably one of the best themes ever, especially the theme of Horse… I mean Frog! Frog’s theme sounds really good and it feel like an introduction to the character. The militant theme of the song makes you feel like Frog is a very strong and disciplined character, and one that’ll really help his team mates when he’s supposed to. Although, I believe he was a human before named Cyrus, or perhaps that was his brother? Ah well, that’s what happened when you get ****** over here in Europe because Chrono Trigger wasn’t released over here (yeah, I emulated the game). Anyway, Frog’s theme serves as a great introduction as the character and I think it really stands out amongst the other tunes. And saying that a tune really stands out from the Chrono Trigger soundtrack must really mean something, am I right?

#9 --Guile’s Theme – Street Fighter II-- You can really tell he’s been working on his forearms!

Of all the Street Fighter characters out there, one of the most memorable ones has to be Guile. You know guile, the one with the crazy hair and the American flag tattooed on his arm? He’s also memorable for the fact that he was one of the 8 original characters from Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. Even though they tried to replace Guile with Nash (or Charlie, but I prefer to call him Nash), there’s no fighter like that crazy haired Guile, throwing his Sonic Booms and uses probably the best anti-air attack in the game; the flash kick. But the reason we are here is not because we want to discuss about Guile and why he’s so awesome, we’re here to discuss #9 on our list – Guile’s theme! Taking place at an airport, with pilots or something cheering on you in the background, Guile’s theme has some of the most memorable music. I think it would sound pretty redundant if I said that this theme was to introduce Guile, because what do you think a theme song is to do? There are some great other theme songs like Ken’s, Chun-Li’s and even Vega’s theme, but none of them stand out like Guile’s theme does. It has a really light tone and it’s very catchy as well. It sounds just like something you’d here out of America and something that tries to symbolize it, which I think it completes to a certain degree. No introduction is complete without a visual as well!

#8 --Metal Harbor – Sonic Adventure 2-- After this game, everything started to go downhill in supersonic speed…

I know, I know, you’d probably expect something like the Green Hill Zone from the first Sonic game, or maybe Angel Island from Sonic 3. But no, we’re going pretty “new-school” with this entry, because I think it’s the best Sonic theme out there. It’s a really catchy tune that really makes you want to listen to the song rather than playing the stage. I always find myself deliberately slowing down so that I can hear the song a bit more, which works great if I haven’t heard the song in a while. The whole song is arranged with kick-ass guitar play and its metal-like feel really makes the song live up to its name. This truly is “metal” harbor! I think the tempo of this song really goes well with Sonic blazing through the stages. Its upbeat tone really makes it a good song and it makes me happy in a weird way, and it really makes for one of the best Sonic themes in history. The tune is really catchy as well, making it even more memorable than it already is. As I said, I know people prefer the Green Hill Zone, but I just think this summarizes better what Sonic is all about, more than the Green Hill Zone theme does, and isn’t that what a good Sonic theme is supposed to do? But it’s definitely two thumbs up for a theme that manages to be better than the theme that almost everyone sees to be the best of the best!

#7 --Opening Theme – Banjo Kazooie-- ”Banjo Kazooie, what a ****in’ game!”

If you’ve read that part of my Top 50 list in which Banjo Kazooie was present, I mentioned that the theme song to this game is one of the best opening themes ever, and I think it would come as no surprise that it would make it on this list. What better way to introduce a game with the protagonist and his best friends rocking away as a band? I think the best in the band has to be Tooty, Banjo’s sister and the damsel in distress in the game. She’s playing the flute, and the part she’s playing really sends goosebumps down my spine. It’s also very fun to whistle along. Believe me, one day you’ll hear me whistle this song! Anyone who’s ever played Banjo Kazooie would know that it’s a pretty goofy game. I mean, these are the same guys who did Conker, though Conker came out a few years after Banjo Kazooie, so of course it’s bound to be a bit on the silly side. I think this theme song really sets the tune for the rest of the game, a tune that promises fun, a good platformer… and maybe some cake. Nevertheless, definitely one of the best opening themes in existence, and you can listen to it over, and over again – it never gets old!

#6 --Bomb-omb Battlefield – Super Mario 64-- < Chocked not to see 1-1 from Super Mario Bros. on here, eh?

When it comes to Mario themes, the themes from the original NES game (and possibly Super Mario World as well) seem to overshadow the great themes that Super Mario 64 had. I know the fact that a song consisting of 8 bits only might seem a bit amazing when you can make it outclass an orchestrated soundtrack, but I just think that the Bomb-omb Battlefield theme from Super Mario 64 really shines amongst the mix of the Mario themes out there. Why is it so amazing? Well, just like Banjo Kazooie, it never tends to get old! Super Mario 64 was one of the first games that I ever played, and Bomb-omb Battlefield was one of the first themes I remembered (when I was about 5). Seeing how this tune has stayed with me until now (I’m 16 now, by the way), that really says a lot when it comes to music. As you might’ve guessed, I have a big fixation with upbeat tunes, and the Bomb-omb Battlefield tune is no exception. I think this is a really good song to go along with a level, since it’s a very happy tune that, for the most part, takes place in a setting that’s very green and colourful, making the upbeat part about the song really shine through. I don’t think it’s one of the classic themes, but that’s not what this list is about. This list is simply about what theme songs in the gaming industry that I find to be the best, and I think this one beats the classical ones, just because it makes you feel real happy as well as giving you a “oh-it’s-on-now-mother******!” feeling. And for that, I think it’s a well deserving spot on this list!

#5 --Opening Theme – Metal Gear Solid 3-- Could the reference be any more obvious?

I remember when I first saw the intro to this game, and I was all like: “Oh, did I leave my Bond movie in?” Because that’s exactly what this intro music (as well as intro, with the name of the developers gliding across the screen) reminds me of, and I think that was what Konami was aiming for. Especially when the song reaches about 0:53, that’s where it really makes me feel like I’m watching a Bond movie. And when Cynthia Harnell, the one singing this song, sings “SNAKE EATEEERRRRRR” as the song is coming to an end, it really makes me feel like someone stuffed an ice-cube in the back of my shirt. Talking about this time is a little hard, mostly because the theme might seem a bit out of place. Sure, it’s a great opening theme song, but I don’t think it sets the mood for anything more than a Bond-like adventure, which it is, in one sense. But the way it sets that tone is pretty well done, and reminds you of “The World is Not Enough” or “Goldfinger”. Also, the Metal Gear Solid series is probably infamous for having very long, and very many cut scenes, which makes it look even more like Bond. And I don’t think it will be long before we’ll be hearing Snake say “yes” Sean Connery style. Regardless, it’s still a great theme, and I think it’s definitely a hot contender for one of the best themes in history! Now, if we could have something similar to this in Metal Gear Solid: Rising…

#4 --The Moon – Ducktales-- Mentally different duck in the great beyond that surrounds our planet.

In a Top 10 List like this, there are bound to be some themes from one of most classical games out there, just like Super Mario 64. But I never felt that Ducktales for the NES really got the same popularity the other games had, and I don’t think it’s remembered as one of the best games of all time. But I do believe, however, that the reason that this game was remembered (for one thing) was its brilliant musical score. There are several memorable tunes in this game like The Amazon, the Himalayas and #4 on our list of the best video game themes, The Moon! Just the idea of having a duck on the moon is pretty weird, don’t you think, especially if all Scrooge McDuck wants is to be richer. I mean, think about how much it must cost for him to go up there in the first place, is there really enough treasures on the moon to make the trip there profitable in the first place? … Oh, sorry about that, let’s get on with the theme in question. As our good friend brentalfloss said, this theme seems to fit better as the ending credits. I disagree there, brentalfloss, because I think that this theme fits perfectly with something as far-off as our own moon. It has a space-like tune, making the whole “space”-aspect of the stage really good (as good as it can get on the NES, Scrooge hasn’t even got anything to get oxygen from). But I think it would fit great as the ending credits, but not for a game like this. I think it would fit better in a game with a more triumphant ending, because the song actually makes you feel like you’ve won something, that you’ve killed the last boss and freed the kingdom from terror. But I guess it’s anyone’s guess on how this tune should be used at its finest, but the former statement was just how I felt about the tune. What I’m trying to say is that there’s a reason why this tune is on everybody’s Top 10 list – it’s amazing!

#3 --To Zanarkand – Final Fantasy X-- I wonder if the game is as awesome as this song?

Describing a song coming from a game I’ve never played is going to be pretty difficult. I don’t know what context this song is in, so I’m going to play the guessing game. All I know that there’s a chick wearing small pants, another chick who claims to be a guy and a guy with a cool jacket wearing sunglasses. I’ve read a plot synopsis about it, and I know the plot is about some guy named Sin making life miserable, and that there’s a plot twist too. But the thing that really keeps my interest when it comes to this game is one particular theme, To Zanarkand. I’ve used this song a lot on blogs, and I also suggested SP to use it one of his “Overrated and Underrated” blogs (which he did - thank you!). As I said, I have never played Final Fantasy X (or any Final Fantasy game beside Final Fantasy VI on the SNES), and I don’t really know in what context this song is. So, excuse me if I’m being wrong here, but this is how I feel when I hear the song. I think it’s a pretty sad song, and the simplicity of just having nothing more than piano really helps build the melancholy. However, I also think this song can make for a pretty calm song as well, and it’s definitely one of those songs that can lull you to sleep. If I had to guess, I’d say it had something to do with the main characters going to Zanarkand, which is a city looking like in the one in Yu-Gi-Oh, (according to Seto Kaiba of Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series) after a tragic event happening. It’s hard describing a song when you don’t know the context in which this song is played, and you can’t really tell what it’s building up to or what it sets the tone for unless you’ve already played it. Nonetheless, it’s still a great song, and I think it’s a pretty good song for reading blogs here at ScrewAttack. Now I have to find a copy of the game so that I can play it and discuss it further!

#2 --The Theme Song to the Legend of Zelda-- I don’t feel the need to insert a witty comment here.

Ah, now here’s a theme that seems to be on everybody’s Top 10 Lists, and this list is definitely no exception! I know I put the A Link to the Past theme on here when I put a picture of Link from Twilight Princess here as well, but I’m just trying to show you that it doesn’t matter in which form the song it is, it still has the same effect on the games as well as on the gamers who play the games. The one who tells me that he doesn’t know the Legend of Zelda theme in his head on this site is not a true g1 (*may actually be a g1*) and I think almost everyone can agree on that it is one of the best themes in history. But, it’s not the best theme of all time, oh no. Why? Well, I’m about to tell you! Let’s talk about the history of the Legend of Zelda, and I’ll try to be as brief as possible. Originally, the first Legend of Zelda game released on the NES was based off Shigeru Miyamoto’s childhood, in which he ran around the nearby woods playing for himself (in a truly non-sexual manner, as you already might’ve guessed, judging by the outcome of the series as a whole). The tune really sounds like it’s heralding a great adventure and as Link, one of the greatest adventurers in video game history, that is really what the game gives you. It sounds like a hero is on his way, and he’s ready to rid the land of all evil (I apologize for the level of nerdiness in that last sentence) and it really sets the mood for one of the best adventures you’ll experience without leaving the comfort that is your own house. But I think this has been used so much that it has lost a bit of its novelty that I think Koji Kondo (the composer to most of the Nintendo songs) was going for in the first place. Sure, this is Koji Kondo’s best theme song, but I think it has been praised so much that it almost has gotten over to the ridiculous side a bit. Even I gave it a ridiculous amount of praise, and yet this is #2. Well, that’s because #1 is…

#1 --Mega Man 2 – Dr Wily Stage 1-2 Theme-- Dr. Wily is going down… for the second time… of nine!

Yes, this is the best video game theme, according to me. I always praise Capcom in the music department, most notably the original composer of this masterpiece of a theme (don’t know his/her name though, which is pretty shameful). Mega Man is also known, besides it’s stellar run ‘n gun-action, for it’s great variety of music. Bubble Man, Metal Man, Snake Man, Skull Man to name a few are all some hot contenders for the best of the best, but I don’t think there’s any theme better, any theme more memorable than the first and second stages of Dr. Wily’s Castle from Mega Man 2. I think most people, who’ve listened to this theme long enough, would agree with me that this is the best Mega Man theme song so far, and I’ll explain it all to you: As soon as the song begins, with the seven notes going crazy, you instantly feel like you’re up for a big challenge. After all, you’re at Dr. Wily’s Castle already, the final stages of the game are just meters away and a theme preparing you for the hazards to come is definitely something that’ll enhance the mood (even though the difficulty always stays as ruthless as ever). I mean, it’s pretty difficult talking about this song because it’s so clear of what this song is trying to be, a tune that’s building up for one of the biggest gaming challenges you’ll ever face (don’t use anything except the Mega Buster in Dr. Wily’s castle and I’ll assure you that it will be a big challenge to you). I’ll try to summarize what I think this song is all about, and what I think most people think of when they hear the song: a theme that’s promising a great set of levels ahead of you, a theme that sums up the later levels of the Mega Man series, a tune that’s going to make you feel psyched about the later levels of any games! Seriously, try listening to this tune while you play the last level of Super Mario Bros., I’m sure you’ll find this tune to be a more fitting theme than the one already present. The Legend of Zelda theme is known for being the Legend of Zelda theme, but with a theme that you can use for almost any other game really stands over a theme like the Legend of Zelda theme in my book. And that is why Dr. Wily’s Stage is the #1 best video game of all time… according to me.

============================= Thanks for reading – leave a comment and tell me what you think! - Tremendous Tom -

Tremendous Tom's Top 5 Warlords/Generals

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 19:30:51 -0400

‘Sup ScrewAttack, this is your good friend Tremendous Tom coming at you with a fresh new list. When I started writing this, I had just come home from a history class in which we talked about ancient Rome and its history, most notably the about the Punic Wars. A lot of the victories made in those wars, and just about any war at that time was thanked to the leaders of that army, the great warlords of ancient time that have now been dead since long. But for once, I have decided to remind you of these 5 great warlords that stand out of my mind as the most impressive ones of their time. It doesn’t matter who had the biggest empire, just who did the most awesome things. Yes, I am aware that not all of them are not exactly warlords as described in the dictionary. What I’m thinking of is a person of ancient history that was big in the military department and was overall successful or known for something groundbreaking. But there are the warlords/generals that I find to be the most interesting ones. I know posting this on a video game related site might be a little weird, but a little education hasn’t hurt anyone, right? Honorable Mentions, as suggested by TechnoMen3000 Robert E. Lee George Washington Arthur Wellesley George S. Patton Charles XII of Sweden Attila the Hun

Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is

#5 Napoleon Bonaparte ===============

Nationality: France Born: 1769 Dead: 1821 Who could possibly forget the French Revolution? The words “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” (“liberty, equality, fraternity” respectively, it’s also the French national motto) shall forever echo in France. Hell, if you don’t know the year in which the revolution started (1789, by the way), you don’t belong on the civics course I’m taking in school. It’s not only a major historical event, but a historical political event as well since it was a revolution to the authorities and the people demanded a change. One of the most important people during this revolution was Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the greatest generals of all time. I bet you’ve heard anything about him, since he’s one of the most well known persons in history thanks to the fact that the died so close to our time. Here’s a fun fact by the way, did you know that the king of Sweden is actually a descendant of one of Napoleon’s generals, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte? Our king’s full name is “Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus Bernadotte”. He’s also dyslectic. Anyway, about Napoleon… During the French revolution and the storming of the Bastille (which marked the beginning of the revolution), Napoleon was in Auxonne which was not to far from the Bastille and after just a few days had he been reached by the revolution. During some fights he got promoted to lieutenant and a couple of months after that, he got promoted to captain. In 1804, years after that the revolution was over, he promoted himself into the first emperor of France. As an emperor, Napoleon had a lot of support from the people, and he used to say that he “embodied the ideals of the revolution”. Still, a lot of wars with Britain erupted and Napoleon did what he could to defend himself. He completely blocked the Atlantic Ocean so that the Brits wouldn’t get any resources from other countries and would therefore starve to death. However, all was not going well for Napoleon. He attacked Russia, the country that had helped him implement the continental blocking of Britain. The Russians were a smart people, and they used a tactic they had used before, most notably on the Swedish king’s Charles XII (Karl XII to us Swedes) – the scorched earth tactic. The tactic is about that you burn villages and other resourceful materials so that the invading countries can’t use them and would therefore starve. And finally, at the Battle of Waterloo (which took place in modern day Belgium), Napoleon was captured by the Brits and taken to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic. He lived in a mansion there with 14 of his servants and two of his best friends. He finally died on the 5th of May 1821. A Swedish dentist claimed in 1961 that a lot of arsenic had been found in his body. However, it has been confirmed that Napoleon died of stomach cancer.

#4 Hannibal Barca ===============

Nationality: Carthage, Tunisia Born: 248 AD Dead:181-183 AD One of the biggest enemies to the Roman Empire was no doubt the Punic from Northern Africa. Their capital was the city of Carthago (or just Carthage to some people, just Karthago to me) and they had an army that could match that of Rome. They even had three wars against the Romans, although the Romans emerged as the ultimate victor. There was even a statesman called Cato who always ended his speeches saying “Carthago delenda est” which is Latin for “Carthage must be destroyed”. But perhaps the most important person for the Carthagian’s was their fearless general, Hannibal Barca. God, I hate when my history teacher “mistakes him” for Hannibal Lecter to provide comic relief. So as you probably might have guessed, Hannibal was not a cannibal! Seriously though, Hannibal Barca was feared in Rome for being a completely fearless leader and he had the powerful army that turned out to be one of the superior armies during the Second Punic War. Hannibal is no doubt famous for a strategy that no one had tried out before. Hannibal decided that the best way to attack the Romans was to attack them from behind (no pun intended). So with he took his army, complete with elephants and other animals, and crossed the Alps. After he had crossed the Alps and entered Italy, he fought two big battles on Roman turf which he won. Some sources say that Hannibal was planning an attack on Rome to deliver the final blow, though something like that didn’t happen. However, back in Tunisia, he did get beaten in the Battle of Zama where he suffered a defeat from the lead of Scipio Africanus, one of the greatest Roman generals in history. However, he did not die there and he returned back to Carthage where he became a politician. Fourteen years after the battles of Zama, Carthage had become rich and prosperous. However, since the Romans wouldn’t want Punic War II to happen again, they demanded that Hannibal should surrender. Hannibal denied and got forced into exile. He finally ended up in Syria with great hospitality by the king named Antiochus III. He also fled to Armenia, where he was greeted by Artaxias I. But Hannibal suspected that the court there would surrender him to the Romans, so he first fled to Crete and finally to Prusias I of Bithynia (Bithynia is small part of modern day Turkey). Even after Hannibal had saved Prusias’ life on the battlefield, he still agreed to hand Hannibal over to the Romans. When Hannibal heard this, he took is own life because he didn’t want to die in the hands of the enemy. He died by taking poison (which, according to some people, he had been carrying in a ring for a long time) somewhere between 181-183 BC. The exact year is unknown, but it has been established that it was somewhere between those 3 years. Before taking the poison Hannibal left a letter. The letter said:

”Let us, relieve the Romans from the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience too much to wait for an old man's death”

#3 Julius Caesar ===============

Nationality: Roman Empire Born: 100 AD Dead: 44 AD Julius Ceasar is probably the first man that comes to mind when you hear about the Roman Empire, or the Romans history in general, and for a good reason. Julius Caesar is probably one of the most influential persons in history. Hell, the Roman word for “emperor” is exactly “Caesar” and the Russian word “tsar” was derived just from the word “Caesar”. Hell, there is even a salad named after him! Julius Ceasar is most noted for his strategy and he’s known as one of the best tacticians of all time. He did suffer the occasional defeat, but his tactics usually proved to be successful most of the time. During the Gallic War, he was one of the most important persons present. Caesar could basically take any battle, at any time, in any weather and turn it into a bold success for his side, most of the time. He even had the Gallic leader during the Gallic War, named Vercingetorix, surrender to him. Now that’s a testament of a good tactician! When Julius Caesar became dictator of Rome, people tend to mark it as the transition from Republic to Empire. Yes, Caesar was a dictator, but not one of those cruel people that would put you in prison if you had an opinion different from his. The title that Caesar had was called “Dictator perpetuo”, or dictator in perpetuum which was more of a monarchical form of dictator. But people were still unhappy, and they would rather have things the way they were. Julius Caesar had a senate, led by a man named Brutus. In the year 44 AD, Caesar was assassinated by his senate, under the lead of Brutus. He was probably given around 20 something stabs from the senate. One famous line, which is like Marie Antoinette’s famous phrase “let them eat cake” in one sense, was “You too, Brutus?” and it was supposedly uttered by Caesar himself. Just like “let them eat cake”, it’s not actually known if Caesar actually said “You too, Brutus”, since other sources say that Caesar didn’t say anything when he died (which sounds a bit more natural to me). However, Caesar’s death caused another civil war and later on the new emperor of the Roman Empire turned out to be Augustus, who later took the name of Augustus Caesar (since his heir was adopted by Julius Caesar). Overall, there was no dictator like Caesar, or politician for that matter. His skill as a tactician would probably become on of his more famous attributes, as well as being an icon in the Gallic War and for Rome as a whole. I don’t think that Rome would be what it was without Caesar, and I don’t think Italy would be what it was today. Or… maybe it would?

#2 Genghis Khan ===============

Nationality: Mongolia Born: 1162 Dead: 1227 Genghis Khan was born as “Temujin” in the far-off country of Mongolia, which lies just north of China, if you didn’t know. According to legend, Genghis was born with a blood clod in one of his fists, which was a sign of him becoming a great leader one day. He grew up by the Onon River, which isn’t too far from the current capital city of Mongolia (Ulaanbaatar). He was the oldest of three children and his father’s name was Yesugei Bahathur which was the head of one of the biggest clans of Mongolia. Mongolia was, during Genghis’ childhood, divided into several regions divided by clans. Genghis Khan was, in the fact, the one to unite these clans and declare the nation of Mongolia and would further expand the Mongolian Empire to become the biggest Empire in history. Yes, as read above you’ll see that Temujin, more commonly known as Genghis Khan united the country that is today known as Mongolia. But it’s not because of that why Genghis Khan is on this list in the second place of this list. Genghis Khan’s fame is no secret, his expansion of the Mongol Empire. At 1279, when the Mongol Empire was as its prime, it reached all over from the eastern parts of China to the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Vilnius). Although Genghis Khan wasn’t the leader of the Mongolian Empire at this point, he was the founder of it as well as the most important person to it. Because without Genghis Khan, who else would’ve started the Mongolian Empire? It’s pretty strange that such a far-off country as Mongolia, a country which we rarely hear about in the news or whatnot was actually one of the biggest countries in the world as of 1360. By the time of the death of Genghis, the the empire was about half the size of modern-day Russia and was still expanding. It was Genghis Khan’s son, Ögedei Khan, who really let the expansion go and really helped the empire expand. But, as already said, it was Genghis who really stood out as the best warlord here. Just like any other historical warlord, Genghis Khan has left an impact on popular culture. There are several movies about him, one of which was nominated for an Academy Award, and many more movies that revolve around him. There’s also a German pop band called Dschingis Khan, named after just Genghis, but that’s being way off the point. Just look at their song called “Moskau”, and tell me the similarities between them and Genghis Khan, please.

#1 Alexander the Great =============== Iron Maiden – Alexander the Great

Nationality: Macedon, Greece Born: 356 AD Dead: 323 AD Alexander the Great was born 356 years before Jesus Christ to Philip II of Macedon. When he was young, he was tought by the great philosopher Aristotle about astronomy, math and the things that Aristotle would teach. And when Alexander was 19 years old, he succeeded his father as king of Macedon and got one of the best trained armies in the world. With this army, he would become one of the most feared people in the world at that time, and known as King of Asia by 331 AD when he had won the Battle of Guagamela, where he defeated King Darius III of Persia. Besides just being King of Asia, he was also a Pharaoh of Egypt and Shah (Great King) of Persia. He also paved the way for Hellenism, which was basically Greek culture as many of the lands he cultures adapted Hellenism as their own culture after Alexander had conquered them. He even managed to conquer Babylon and western parts of India. He was going to conquer more of India, but his armies had grown tired of the wars they’ve been in. His goal was to “reach the ends of the world and reach the Great Outer Seas”, which he almost did. Alexander died 323 AD in Babylon of what was probably fever, but the exact causes of his death are unknown. Although, it is said by Diodorus, one of Alexander’s men that he was struck down in pain drinking a huge bowl of wine to honour Hercules. So why is he the greatest warlord of all time, according to me? Well, for one thing – he was the ******* King of Asia! He managed to do something that was thought impossible for the time being. Sure, Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants, and that was amazing enough for its time, but I bet no one could ever guess that Alexander the Great would ever invade their country, let alone travel as far as India (which was pretty unknown territory for Greeks at the time). Alexander the Great has since become a legend for example cutting the Gordian knot (we’ll get to that one in a bit), and for creating the city of Alexandria where one of the biggest libraries in history were said to exist. Probably one more thing I feel the need to talk about when it comes to Alexander the Great is the cutting of the Gordian knot, which has become a famous legend and sort of a phrase. According to the legend, there was once a knot in a temple in the Persian province of Phrygia. In that temple there was a knot, tied with such complexity that almost no one could untie it. If one should be able to untie the knot, he would become the king of Asia. Alexander tried to untie it, but he could find the ends that would help him untie the knot. He then became angry and cut the knot in half and just seconds after he had cut it, he realized that he had solved the problem. Even though this is just a legend (and not the main reason that Alexander had the title of “king of Asia” in the first placed), it still left a huge impact and one more reason that we should all remember Alexander the Great. His cutting of the Gordian knot resulted in a phrase called “cutting the Gordian knot” (fun fact: in Sweden, it’s called “Alexanderhugg”, literally meaning “Alexander chop”) and it refers to a quick and drastic solution to a difficult problem.

Alexander cutting the Gordian knot

Overall, Alexander the Great was almost like the Chuck Norris of ancient Greece, although he did most of the things that people said about him (I highly doubt that Alexander had a fist under his beard though). He has also left a huge impact on modern culture, spawning movies such as Alexander (which later had a video game based off the movie that was based off of Alexander’s campaign) and has become an influence to many people. He is probably the most famous Macedonian ever, and he will remain as the most famous for centuries to come. He is that impressive!

=============== Thanks for reading! - Tremendous Tom -

Tremendous Tom's Top 50 Favorite Games of All Time - #30-#25

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:40:17 -0400

Tremendous Tom's Personal Top 50 Games of All Time #30-#25 Super Mario 64 - Bomb-omb Battlefield

For #50-#46, click here!. For #46-#41, click here!. For #40-#36, click here! For #35-#31, click here! Guten Tag, meiner guten Leute heir am ScrewAttack! Ich bin der Tremendous Tom und ich habe der nächsten Teil von meiner Top 50 List geschreiben für euch. Und heute will ich... dammnit, I can’t find the appropriate words! Anyway, pretty noobish German aside, welcome to yet another part for my Top 50 Games list – the fifth part to be exact. We’re getting closer and closer to the top and we’ve reached the middle of the list as of now? What games will be on there? What do I have to say about them? What do you have to say about them? Just read my list and find out, I’m sure you’ll find it both enjoyable and pretty informative as well! =) By the way, as of tomorrow, I’m probably taking up my old habit of playing World of Warcraft again. I don’t know if that’ll be a hindrance to my blogging, but I have something ScrewAttack related in mind for my WoW-playing, I’m sure you’ll like it when I’m done with it. Expect it coming after this list is done. As for now, enjoy the fifth part of my Top 50 Games of All Time-list! ====================================== #30 – M.U.G.E.N. Developer: Elecbyte Released on: PC Genre: Fighting Did you know that no one actually understands what M.U.G.E.N. (or just MUGEN) stands for? Not even the developer, Elecbyte, knows what it means because he says that he has forgotten its original meaning. So anyone can make up their own theory of what MUGEN actually stands for. My theory is Mainly Underage Gentlemen Eradicate Noses. This is what I immediately thought of when I was trying to make out what MUGEN was supposed to stand for, and in hindsight I must say that my theory seems to be quite good, at least the three last words. Now, what do I mean by that? Well, stay tuned and find out just what the hell why mainly underage gentlemen eradicate noses! For those of you unaware, and for those of you who does not possess a pair of eyeballs to see the picture I’ve posted, MUGEN is a 2D fighting game created by only one person who decided to go under the name “Elecbyte”. The very first beta of MUGEN was released in 1999, and the complete version was released in 2004. After that, he shut down his website never to return again, leaving the whole MUGEN community to take care of his work. In 2007, however, he returned saying he was working a new version of the game. Now, on the other hand, it’s 2009 and nothing from Elecbyte has been released. Ah well, you’re probably wondering what the hell makes MUGEN so special, and why it’s so high on the list in comparison to the previous games. Well, what makes MUGEN so original is the freedom it gives to you, the player. When you first download MUGEN, you’re given only 1 character and 2 stages. You can then download other characters and stages and implement them into MUGEN to create your own 2D fighter. The characters can be completely original, ports from other popular fighting games such as Street Fighter and King of Fighters, or edited versions of already popular characters (Akuma, from the Street Fighter series, seems to be a good example of a character that has been edited to death). It’s probably the latter of the examples which seems to be the most popular one, which has result in thousand of both good and crappy remakes of the same character over and over again The thing that makes MUGEN so good is that a MUGEN game never gets finished. Ok, saying that a game never will be finished may sound a little weird, but it does take a long time to create the fighter of your dream. Implementing characters, stages and screenpacks (which works as a skin for your fighter which allows you to have more characters, for example) might seem hard at first glance, but it’s actually pretty easy to learn and it’s not that hard if you compare it to, say, coding a website or something. And with some screenpacks offering room for about 1000 characters and even more stages, it’ll make plenty of room for you to create the 2D crossover of your dreams. My version of MUGEN (not the one depicted in the image above) has about 200 characters now, with characters such as Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Kyo Kusanagi, Geese Howard, Rugal Bernstein and edited versions such as the almighty Rare Akuma (a character who can freeze time and has a special move that’ll hit you 999 times before the thrilling execution). Yeah, some characters can actually turn out to be pretty damn cheap and broken, but it’s sure as hell fun to play as one of them. My one big complaint about MUGEN, and probably the reason why it’s on the #30 spot on the list and not any higher is because the game is in dire need of an update. Every MUGEN is, in and of itself, the same as any other MUGEN out there. With all the different characters, stages etc, which may help the game be varied enough, you’ll still grow tired of the game’s modes pretty fast. There are the classical fighting modes such as Arcade Mode, Vs. Battle and Survival (which you can rename to something in your liking), but nothing beyond that. There is for instance no online feature, which makes it pretty lame since MUGEN has a massive community and are eager to show off their MUGEN creations to each other. This is now done in forums by people saying “OMG I HAEV EVIL RUY MY MUGEN IZ BEZT!!!1one”, and no proof of skill isn’t really shown in these sentences, as you can clearly see. But what the game needs is for Elecbyte to come back and update the MUGEN and give it a sexy online feature that we’ll all drool over. But I wouldn’t get my hopes up, since nothing has shown up since his “return”. #29 – Grandia II Developer: Game Arts Released on: Sega Dreamcast Genre: RPG I have never been a big fan of RPG’s. I haven’t played Chrono Trigger very much (partially because it was never released in Europe, and I don’t have a DS to play the newly released verison) and I haven’t played Final Fantasy VII at all. Hell, I put Paper Mario on #37 anyway, even though I like that game very much. But there is just something about RPG’s that always turn me off. It can sometimes be the characters, the battle system or even sometimes the story, even though that only happens in extremely rare cases. However, I’ve heard people talk about Grandia II saying that it didn’t have anything that often made me neglect RPG’s and pick a FPS instead, so I decided to give it a try. So, did it live up to my expectations? Let’s find out! The story is about an adolescent kid with spiky hair named Ryudo, who’s a Geohound. A Geohound is not, as it may sound, an animal but a type of mercenary who will do anything in his power to get the job done, whether it’s murder or just escorting one person. Ryudo is a pretty well developed character, acting pretty smug at times but ultimately cares for the well-being of those around him. Ryudo’s best friend is a bird named Skye who is Ryudo’s “voice of reason” and companion, who aids Ryudo during his countless missions. The story is about Ryudo, who takes on a mission to escort a priestess named Elena to a tower where she will perform a ritual of some sort. But when they are at the tower, and after Ryudo has promised not to enter the tower, something about the ritual goes wrong and Ryudo breaks his promise by rushing into the tower. When he reaches the top of the tower, he sees that Elena now has a pair of wings on her back and is clouded by a dark power. Ryudo rescues her from the dark power and learns that she has been possessed by “The Wings of Valmar”. Valmar is the God of Evil in the Grandia universe and he and his counterpart, Granas, had a battle to the death which caused a giant scar on the world which is known as the Granafalls. After the battle, Granas split Valmar into several body parts which were scattered across the world and was going to be sealed by the priestesses, just like Elena. Anyway, after they found out that Elena has been possessed by the Wings of Valmar, just one of the several body parts (and no, you damn perverts, none of the dirty body parts are in the game) they set out on a journey to consult with Pope Zera who probably knows how to tackle this issue with the not-so-dirty body parts of Valmar. I must say that the story is pretty damn good in this game, and I think the characters are the best part about it. There are several characters that you meet on the way to your goal; most of them are pretty well-developed, though lack of originality might be every character’s single flaw. Ryudo, for example, is the arrogant and your average tough guy, but deep down he’s really caring for those around him, as I mentioned above. Elena is pretty much the exact opposite, being extremely caring and… well, that’s about it. Elena’s counterpart, which comes forth every time the effects of the Wings of Valmar kick in, called Milennia is even more smug than Ryudo as well as being one of the strongest members of your party. None of these personalities are new, and as I said that the lack of originality in the characters might be their only flaw. But the chemistry between the characters in your party makes up for that flaw, by a long shot. Speaking of your party, let’s talk about the combat for a bit. The combat system of the game is unlike anything I’ve seen in a previous game. It’s still turn-based, like any other RPG’s, but it has a unique twist to it. In every battle, there’s a bar in the low corner showing you who’s going to attack next and when it’s your turn choosing what you want to do. Depending on your timing, you need to figure out when to block, when to counter or when the best time to bust out your special moves is. For example, if you should attack an opponent just as it’s about to attack you (and vice versa), you’ll make a counter move which will make some extra damage. The system is pretty easy to learn, overall, and it’s very user-friendly. It might seem a little unintuitive at first, but once you get into it, you’ll have a blast thinking out how you’re going to defend yourself or how you’re going to decide when to use different potions. It’s pretty fun seeing how making the wrong move at the wrong time, and not being careful enough with defending, can ruin your entire battle. Sure, it’s just like this in any other RPG that I’ve played, but I think Grandia II is one of these games that really focus on strategy. Overall, Grandia II is a great game, and I really love it for being a very original game. I’ve heard that Skies of Arcadia, released for the Dreamcast as well was slightly better than this game. Unfortunately, I haven’t played that game, so I can’t really say anything about it, but Grandia II still stands out amongst the RPG’s that I’ve played as being one of the better ones. It truly takes away the things I dislike about RPG’s such as random battles, slow battle system and stuff like that. And even though the gameplay couldn’t be any more linear unless it took place in a corridor with a flood of lava chasing you, it still makes for a great experience that I think everyone should’ve touched on if they ever could. #28 – Super Smash Bros. Brawl Developer: HAL Laboratories Released on: Wii Genre: Fighting This might actually shock you, but I haven’t bought a Wii game in over a year now. Why? Well, recently I’ve found the Wii library to be unappealing, and none of the games that I’ve seen have really drawn me in. Sure, No More Heroes looked like fun and I have to admit that I’ve been pretty xenophobic of Wii games lately because I am afraid of losing any money on something less than mediocre. The last game that I bought for my Wii was #28 on this list, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This game was hyped up as hell and every time you heard news about the Wii, it was news about Brawl. And why shouldn’t it be hyped, it’s a sequel to one of the best GameCube games of all time (hint, hint) and seeing how this was the third in the series, the developers knew what to do with the franchise. But, did it live up to the incredible hype? Brawl is, just like its predecessors, one of the pioneers when it comes to platform fighters. It takes the step the original Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64 did, but also takes it to new levels by introducing such features as the Stage Builder and Online Feature. While the online feature needs a fix, both these features are something that we craved for ever since the first Smash Bros. made its debut on the Nintendo 64. Something else that was added that the previous games didn’t have was an intricate story mode called “The Subspace Emissary”. The story is about a bunch of Nintendo characters getting together to fight off something called The Subspace, which was like a black void spreading through the beautiful world of… “Video game land?” I must say, this game does deserve credit for at least adding a decent story, the main problem I have with the story is the gameplay. It has the same platforming type of gameplay that Melee had for some stages, but it seems like this game really got carried away with this. Most of the levels are quite the same, in and of themselves and the same barrage of enemies are being launched onto you. It even expects you to go explore all the levels twice in order to finish the campaign. This is not like the Melee campaign which you can complete in about 15 minutes; this is a campaign you’ll never touch on again after you’re done playing it! But the worst thing about this campaign is that it’s required to be completed in order unlock half the characters, and with the dedication it takes in order to get all these characters, you’ve suddenly become even better than the friends you intend to challenge as Solid Snake or in fact as Jigglypuff. Which leads me into the next topic… This game is the first in the series to include an online feature, maybe because it’s on the first Nintendo console capable of one too. Finally, there’s a possibility to challenge someone in Australia to Brawl rather than just challenging the one sitting next to you, the one you’re probably better than. It does tend to lag sometimes, and the matchmaking can be awful at times, but the concept is great and it was certainly a step forward for the series. But beside the online feature, you have the standard group mode in which you and 3 friends can pick up the controllers and play. For Brawl, you might wan to stick to your old GameCube controller, because using the Wii-mote is really awkward, especially with the Nunchuk. No new modes were added in Brawl, but some new twists were added to keep the current modes fresh. The biggest is probably the Smash Ball. If you should shatter it, you could unlock a devastating move which, more often than not, kills your opponent. While it might be a bit on the cheaper side, you could just turn the thing off if you’re not satisfied. Overall, Brawl is definitely one a step forward for the franchise as a whole, but personally I didn’t think that it was a huge upgrade over Super Smash Bros. Melee. Sure, it had some characters that I wanted to have like Sonic and Wario, though the latter turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for me. If I were to put this game on this list, based off my time alone with this game, I would put it a lot lower because Brawl isn’t a game that you’re supposed to play on your own. The whole beauty of the game, and the franchise, lies in hearing your opponent screaming after you’ve gotten a Smash Ball. Sure, online was a great thing, but I still think that the fun lies in playing with one of your friends, because the people you meet online often feel like computers (especially since there’s no interaction besides a little comment you can add as your taunt). But as it’s stated, Brawl is a great game and definitely a step forward for the franchise. Let’s hope that the next game in the series will be a improvement for the franchise, an improvement equivalent of one that will make the universe collapse. #27 – Mario Kart 64 Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: Nintendo 64 Genre: Racing On #27 of our list, we have the sixty-fourth game in one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, Mario Kart 64. Ok, maybe not the sixty-fourth game of the franchise, it’s just the second. But why did they want to put “64” at the end of every single title for the Nintendo 64, do you think? Well, because they want to smear its graphics right in your face – Mario Kart 64, now pay us 64$! But being a racing game, graphics isn’t exactly the most necessary thing in the world. Sure, they are great for enhancing the world around you, but do they really add anything to the game? Well, let’s take a look, since this game seems to be so cocky about its graphics! So let’s start our engines and let’s read all the way to the finish line and hopefully you’ll enjoy the scenery going by in this blazing speed! Mario Kart 64 has expanded a bit since its predecessor on the Super Nintendo (#36 on this list, by the way) by now letting you play as four players at the time, if you have the controllers necessary. The multiplayer of the game follows the same fashion as the previous game did, you can either race or go into battle where you shoot of different balloons. Again, I find the battles to be so much more entertaining than the actual races, because if you have the opportunity to blast another kart with lightning or throw a turtle’s most important characteristic at the one sitting next to you, you’ll probably do that instead of doing the same races you could’ve done alone… while throwing turtle shells at an overgrown monkey wearing a tie. The same elements from the Super Nintendo linger in this game when it comes to the battle mode. You get exactly the same feeling when you annihilate someone with your turtle shells, and you can give the exact grin that you did when you annihilated someone with a turtle shell. And that is a big plus in my book. But there are some new additions to this game that would remain a staple in the franchise. This game introduced the powerslide, which has become a great way of getting around corners and gaining high speed. To powerslide, you hold the L button and slide down the road until you’re followed by red “smoke” (the smoke in this case are the letter “e” over and over again). When you release when the smoke is red, you’ll get a speed boost. You could also latch onto people by staying right behind them and gain some of their speed. Things like that really bring in the technical aspect of the game and it can really make someone a master at this game, since you must know when and how to powerslide, for example. While the powerslide may have become a bit casual as of late, it was a great way of turning a race around and getting close to those that had thrown a banana peel onto your vehicle. Not only that, but it also helped you access sweet shortcuts with a little bit of skill. Remember Rainbow Road and Wario’s Stadium? Incidentally, the tracks in Mario Kart 64 are some of the best tracks in the franchise, with such memorable classics as Rainbow Road and Wario’s Stadium mentioned above. The tracks are all varied and take place in different setting such as snow, a raceway filled with roaring traffic and even the giant castle of one of the racers himself, Bowser’s Castle. When I did another entry of this list, most notably the #36 entry which was Super Mario Kart, I mentioned that talking about Mario Kart is quite difficult, since everybody knows what Mario Kart is and has probably played it one or two times in their lives before. In this case, it’s no different. Other than the changes made to the series, and the changes that would become a staple for the franchise, there isn’t very much to add that everyone hasn’t added. After the Super Mario Kart, there wasn’t any point of changing the racing aspect of the game into something that it isn’t, and it certainly was a good choice by the developers. Anyone remember Mickey’s Speedway USA, for example? No, because it got overshadowed by Mario Kart 64, and for a good reason. It’s one of the best racing games ever made, and my personal pick for the 27th favourite game of all time! #26 – Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: Super Nintendo, Game Boy Advance Genre: Adventure After two amazing games on the grey beast known as the NES, Zelda’s jump into the next generation and to the Super Nintendo was promised to be a trip into a new Zelda experience. Sure, the jump wasn’t as big as the jump into 3D, but I was pretty curious to see what Nintendo had in mind for their next Zelda game. The result was the third game in the Zelda franchise called A Link to the Past, even though everyone thought that it would be called Zelda III first, since there was a Zelda II released before it. But the Super Nintendo Zelda had a lot to live up to in order for it to be what critics and gamers expected. Lucky for us, it surely became a legend on the Super Nintendo and one of the best 2D Zelda games in the franchise. Why is this, you ask? Well, let’s find out! Let’s start out with what most consider one of the most important aspects and for the franchise – the story. In this game, we are for the first time told how Hyrule was created by the three goddesses Din (the goddess of power), Farore (the goddess of courage) and Nayru (the goddess of wisdom). When they were done creating the world of Hyrule, they left the human world and left behind the ancient Triforce, representing the goddess’s powers such as power, wisdom and courage. The legend says that anyone who touches the Triforce can have any wish granted. As expected, many people would want this triangular force for themselves, so a lot of people tried to claim the Triforce, one in particular named Ganon. Ganon did actually manage to claim the Triforce, and wished to rule the Light World and then turned the Sacred Realm in which the Triforce lingered in into the Dark World. He then turned himself into a pig-like creature which would reflect his inner self. After gaining a lot of power, he decided to attack Hyrule, but lost to the Knights of Hyrule and got sealed away in the Dark World never to return again. However, the evil wizard Agahnim decided to set Ganon free and thus starts A Link to the Past. Ok, it actually starts when Link is lying in bed being spoken to telepathically by princess Zelda that he decides to set out on his journey to rescue Zelda. The story doesn’t really take over much in the game, it only serves a motivation. But it’s a Super Nintendo game and the emphasis is clearly the action of the game, as well as the usual brainteasers and side-quests. The game isn’t all about the story, neither is any of the Zelda game, but rather on the gameplay mentioned above, and I think it’s pretty weak judging a game by its story only. Hopefully, I won’t see anymore of that after this post, but I don’t expect much. The gameplay is pretty much the same as the first Zelda game. It’s from an overhead view and it’s very easy to pick up and play. If something looks at you funny, run toward it and slash it to bits with your sword. To help you slash up your enemies, you also have the usual disposal of different weapons. One new item that would become a staple in the franchise is the Hookshot, which was almost several times better than the bow for some fights, since it could almost reach across the screen. Something that was also new to the franchise was the light work/dark world scenario. Link could travel at will between the Dark World and Light World as soon he had gotten a mirror of some sort. The Dark World was, as written above, the Sacred Realm under the control of Ganon, which means that there are more enemies there and the towns are all destroyed thanks to our good friend. Overall, though, the gameplay is one of the best for a 2D Zelda game so far and being able to run diagonally really helps you fight certain enemies and to approach them. I think it was Craig who said that Nintendo really knows how to take care of its franchises, and that was exactly the case for A Link to the Past. However, this wasn’t the biggest jump that the series would do, for later on in the nineties, on the Nintendo 64 a game would show up that would revolutionize gaming as we knew it. Yes, I hinted an entry.

====================== Thanks for reading! - Tremendous Tom -

My own take on the Nostalgia Critic's "Old vs. New"

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:21:26 -0400

Just to be clear, I have no intentions what so ever to try to be better than the Nostalgia Critic, that bar is a bit high for me. What I am trying to do is my own take on his little segment “Old vs. New”. I doubt that there’s anyone who hasn’t heard of That Guy with the Glasses on this site. He’s in charge of one of the best websites ever and is definitely and inspiration to us all when it comes to creating your own content. He’s also the man behind characters such as Chester A. Bum and the Nostalgia Critic, and it’s perhaps the latter that gave him his true e-fame, especially when he started his feud with the Angry Video Game Nerd. The Nostalgia Critic is, for those of you who don’t know, a critic who reviews bad, nostalgic movies, i.e. movies that we appreciated when we were young and didn’t see for the bucket of rotten fish that it was. And recently, the Nostalgia Critic had started a little segment in his show called “Old vs. New”, in which he compared old movies to recent remakes or sequels. So far, he’s compared Batman, Lord of the Rings and Willy Wonka. And to tell you the truth, I wasn’t a very big fan of those segments, I usually prefer when he’s just talking about a movie. But, despite what I previously said, I don’t think it’s a bad segment. But since Doug is such an inspiration to us all, he’s inspired me to talk about two movies that I tend to compare every time people bring them up. And that is probably the most mainstream of all mainstream musicals out there – Jesus Christ Superstar!

JESUS CHRIIIIIST! SUUUPERSTAAARR!!!

I should point out that I consider myself an atheist, even though I’m not particularly proud of being one. I really love the different cultures that come with every religion, but I can not for the life of me believe in a God when the world looks like it does today. Also, I’m a big fan of George Carlin, who might’ve shaped my beliefs as well. But I respect people who believe in something, and I’m not afraid to say that I’m a bit envious of them. So you won’t be hearing any “OMG U BELIEVE IN GOD, UR SO STOOPID” from me. Ok, let’s get on the review: Jesus Christ Superstar was originally put together by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who wanted to tell their story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. This story begins a couple days before the Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a mule and it ends with when he dies on the cross. Sorry for the spoilers, by the way, but I’m pretty sure that you already knew a bit about the life of Jesus and his death on the cross. The musical was a big success on Broadway and it played in theatres here in Sweden during the last year. But we’re not taking a look at the versions you see live, oh no. A film based off the musical was released in 1973. Then, a TV version of the musical was released in 2000, with the exact same plot, songs etc. So, which is the best version? Well, keep reading and find out! =)

--Characters-- =============== 1973..................CAST:..................2000 Ted Neeley............Jesus Christ............Glenn Carter Carl Anderson............Judas Iscariot............Jerome Pradon Yvonne Elliman..........Mary Magdalene............Renee Castle Barry Dennen............Pontius Pilate............Fred Johanson Bob Bingham..................Caiaphas............Frederick B. Owens Kurt Yaghijan................Annas............Michael Shaeffer

First off, I think it’s pretty pointless comparing story and storytelling between these two films, because they are both the same. The story is about Jesus Christ, his arrival to Jerusalem and what happens thereafter. They are also told the same way, through song. But a musical isn’t very good if the story can’t be told by the characters that are in it. In other words: are these actors any good singers, can they prove to us that the story can be told without using boring, old dialogue? Just to spare you some time, I’m not going through all the characters, and not in great detail either. I’m just going to go through the main characters, or the characters that are most important in these movies. That is Jesus Christ, Judas Iscariot and Caiaphas and Annas. Ok, let’s go!

--Jesus from Nazareth-- Ted Neeley…………………………………………….Glenn Carter

I think I would look like an idiot trying to give Jesus Christ introduction, because everyone who’s heard of Christianity have heard of Jesus, one way or another. I’m not going to talk about Jesus from the Bible; I’m going to talk about the Jesus from the films. Jesus is played like a mentor in both movies, having a slew of followers worshipping him and sees him as the son of God. But Jesus himself does not see himself as such, as he simply says “that’s what you say” when people ask him if he really is the son of God or the king of the Jews. But when it comes to movies, everything comes down to the acting. The Jesus of the 1973 version, Ted Neeley, has a very bland expression on his face throughout the entire film. I don’t know if that’s the actor himself who does this on purpose, because his character is very humble, or because Neeley is a bad actor. I personally believe that it’s a little of both, but most of the first one. Sure, neither of the versions have big shot actors such as Al Pacino or something, but some of the actors are pretty lame. Neeley doesn’t seem to make Jesus a compelling character to me, maybe Neeley thought that playing Jesus Christ was going to be enough to make a compelling character. Glenn Carter on the other hand, suffers from the same flaws, but actually not as much as Neeley. Glenn Carter is a better actor, sure, and he’s a better singer too, but not by a whole bunch. But I do think that Carter made a much better Jesus than Neeley did, mainly because Carter does not have the same expression on his face all the time. When Carter is being followed by the people, just after he’s been arrested, he has an expression on his face that pretty much tells me that he’s troubled by all these questions that he’s getting. Ted Neeley, on the other hand, does not seem to be bothered by them at all, and just walks like nothing is surrounding him.

--Judas Iscariot-- Carl Anderson…………………………………………….Jerome Pradon

Ah yes, Judas Iscariot, the one who sold Jesus to the high priests of Jerusalem. Whether or not his surname was Iscariot is unknown, but that’s beside the point, though. Either way, one could definitely say that the whole musical circles around Judas and is from his point of view, because Judas is definitely one of the more interesting characters of the musical. Both Anderson and Pradon show the same kind of affection for their respective Jesus. Both of them admire Jesus as a friend and a good leader, but they both advise him that he’s going to far. The one who seems to be most attached to Jesus seems to be Pradon, and he’s portrayed as a very tragic character. I think Pradon seems to be more aware of that he’s making a musical, and has put a lot more emphasis on acting than Anderson has. But for me, Carl Anderson is still the better Judas, and I will tell you why. First off Carl Anderson was already a professional singer before Jesus Christ Superstar, and he has a couple of albums under his belt. He was even a better singer than Pradon, and that’s by a long shot. Carl Anderson was definitely one impressive singer and he had a very likeable voice as well. I don’t really know, but the “Judas Anderson” appeals so much more to me than the Pradon one. Sure, Jerome does a great job as Judas too, but he’s lacking the emotion and charisma that Anderson shows us, just by the first song. In fact, I’m going to show them to you, side by side to show you how big the difference is in the singing department.

Carl Anderson succumbed to leukaemia the 24th of February of 2003 – R.I.P.

--Caiaphas & Annas-- Bob Bingham…………………………………………….Frederick B. Owens I couldn’t find a picture of Michael Shaeffer portraying Annas, so I decided not to upload any picture of Annas from both versions.

Both of these characters are quite different, but yet pretty much the same. Ok, quite different was an exaggeration, because the differences aren’t really that many. The biggest differences between Caiaphas and Annas are their voices. Caiaphas has a pretty dark voice while Annas has a pretty bright voice. This goes hand in hand in some of the songs, and they pull it off well for most of the time. I’m not going to compare the acting of the 1973 and 2000 of these ones, because that’s an area in which they’re not significantly different. So it all comes down to voices for me, and I have a definite winner for this one – the 2000 version. I like the 2000 version of Caiaphas and Annas better because they seem like much more “dangerous” characters, and they actually are played off like the villains (remember, something like that has nothing to do with acting), dressed all in black and standing and they actually sound pretty credible with their deep and bright voices contrasting with each other. I think Frederick B. Owens really shows the other priests who the boss is when they’re talking (or singing would perhaps be a better word) about what they should do about this Jesus Christ, now that he entered Jerusalem and gained the people’s trust.

By the way, that bald guy is Michael Shaeffer. 1973: 0 2000: 1

--Setting & Atmosphere-- ===============

Of course, no movie is complete without a coherent setting, am I right? None of these movies failed in the setting department, I think, there’s no place in the movie that really take you out of the film because it’s so out of place. The 1973 version was actually shot in Israel. Sadly, it’s not shot where the said occurrences happened, so they are not in Jerusalem when Jesus gets sentenced by Pilate and Jesus does not get crucified at Golgatha in this version, the film is instead shot around the ruins of Avdat (Avdat was a camping place for travellers who were travelling on the Petra-Gaza road). The 2000 version of the film, however, is shot in about 4 different rooms, and the same location is constantly being repeated. My theory of why they did the musical this way was to make you feel like you were watching the cast doing their thing on stage, and not like you were watching it on television. But, this falls flat on its ass, because of the great camerawork in the 2000 version. But what about the atmosphere? Surely the setting of the whole musical isn’t everything right? Let’s start with the 1973 version. I think this suffers from the same flaws as Ted Neeleys acting did, i.e. letting the novelty of something overshadow what it’s trying to be. While this is being shot in Israel and all, nothing is done to enhance your feelings (there’s no enhanced lighting for example). But I guess the 1973 was trying to go for a more realistic feel and make you believe that you were watching a movie about Jesus Christ, where all dialogue has been switched out by song. All of the characters are dressed in historical clothing, they all have spears instead of guns and Pilate wears a golden crown for example. It’s definitely a plus in my book. The 2000 version on the other hand, does a great job building the atmosphere. Since the musical is being shot in rooms, or rather a studio, there is more control over the lightning (whereas in the 1973 version, almost every exterior shot is shot in broad daylight) which helps build the atmosphere. Also, like I mentioned when I talked about Caiaphas and Annas, the villains of this musical are portrayed as villains, wearing completely black clothing for example. It almost has an unrealistic feel to it, if you compare it to the realistic setting of the 1973 version. But giving the musical such an unrealistic feel to it makes it almost laughable, because some of the characters (like Herod, for example) tend to go over the top a bit in terms of both voice and clothing. So for setting and atmosphere, I’m going with the 1973 version, because of its realistic setting. While the atmosphere might’ve not been the best, not even good enough to exceed over the 2000 version, it’s the setting that makes most of the 1973 version’s atmosphere, and that’s good enough for me.

Remember, this is the ruler of Galilee singing to Jesus. 1973: 1 2000: 1

--Songs-- ===============

Probably the most important aspect of any musical is its songs. Because after all, how good is a musical if you can’t stand to listen to the songs. Now, if you happen to be a black metal fan, and if you’re completely narrow-minded overall, you’re not going to find any song in any musical listenable. And I agree I would not even put one of these songs into my iPod to listen to while I’m outside my own room. But when watching a musical, you can’t really expect any metal, or rock whatsoever, so calling a song good in this matter might sound pretty weird to you. Hell, it even sounds weird to me, but you have to know what to expect to like this sort of thing. Anyway, let’s get to it! As mentioned above, Carl Anderson is a way better singer than Jerome Pradon. But keep in mind that that’s only one character, and one character can’t keep up with the rest of a whole cast. What I am trying to say is that the whole ensemble of 2000 is better than the ensemble of the 1973 version. The 2000 just has better singers, like Frederick B. Owens, Fred Johanson and Renee Castle (even though she isn’t much better than Yvonne Elliman). And the songs? Well, I have to say that the 2000 version is better in that department as well, because of the atmosphere that the movie has built for you. Another thing I find better with the 2000 version is the instruments. I think the music is better arranged overall, and the singers’ voices go well hand in hand with the instruments. The 1973 version seemed to aim for a more “rock-y” tune (after all, it was a rock opera before it was turned into a musical, and rock/heavy metal was mainstream during the 70s). Even though I’m a big fan of rock and heavy metal, I find the 2000 version to be better fit for a musical than this “rock theme” the 70s version seemed to go with. It just fits better, I think. In fact, I’ll put two songs underneath that I think differs a lot when it comes to instruments and singing. The song is when Jesus has returned from Herod and is being whipped 39 times by Pontius Pilate. The acting from Fred Johanson (2000 version) might’ve been a little over the top, and Barry Dennen (1973) is a way better actor than him, but the atmosphere and singing I think makes for a better musical number. By the way, before I forget this; I think the biggest bummer I have about the 2000 version is that the writers decided to change the lyrics for some songs. It’s not a big problem, but there is one line that really perplexes me: when Jesus is being taken to Caiaphas after being arrested, Annas asks Jesus “is that it for the Jewish dream?” This question makes no sense, since Annas himself is a Jewish priest. If Annas was worried because of “the Jewish dream”, he wouldn’t approve of capturing Jesus. The reason they caught Jesus in the first place was because he was seen as a political threat by the high priests, not for religious reasons. At least that’s what they said in the film, how you interpret it is beyond me.

By the way, the Pilate of the 2000 version is from Sweden. 1973: 1 2000: 2

--Conclusion-- ===============

As you can see, the 2000 version seemed to have won over the 1973 version. And yes, I do think it’s a better rendition than the 1973 version, for the reasons I’ve already explained up above. Personally, I think that the 2000 version (or 2001, depending on where you live) seems to be more of a musical than the 1973 version, which I think is a better way of going if you’re doing a musical. I mean, if you’re doing something as silly as a musical anyway, why not go over the top? Ok, maybe not over the top, but just at the top, leaning to the other side, if you catch my drift. Other than that, I haven’t really got anything to say. I just think that the 2000 version is a stronger version overall. It’s not the best musical I’ve ever seen, but it sure is a good one even though it tends to go over the top sometimes. I can see the appeal of the 1973 version, but as I said, I think the 2000 version seems more aware of that it’s trying to be a musical. And I’m sorry; Carl Anderson could not alone win over the 2000 version, even though he’s an amazing singer. But it’s like one of my teachers said: “a musical is at its best when you’re sitting down in the audience, not on the couch.”

===============

So, that’s all I had to offer for today. I hope you found this entertaining to read, and perhaps a little informative. Stay tuned for the fifth part of my Top 50 List, which will be probably coming out sometime next week. Either way, I’ll see you around! =D

Tremendous Tom's Personal Top 50 Games of All Time - #35-#31

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:08:03 -0400

Tremendous Tom’s Personal Top 50 Games of All Time! #35-#31 Kansas – Dust in the Wind

For #50-#46, click here!. For #46-#41, click here!. For #40-#36, click here! Hey everyone, Tremendous Tom here again for the fourth part of my super-special-awesome Top 50 Games List of All Time. We’re getting closer than ever to the middle of the list and I couldn’t be happier, because as sooner I’ll get to the end of this list, the happier I’ll be. Not that making these kinds of lists is tedious or anything, it’s just that… well; it’s kind of tedious writing as much as I do for each entry. But I am not in favour of this whole “quantity before quality”-thing, you can consider me “quality and quantity before just quality. And considering the nice feedback I’ve gotten throughout these blog posts, I will not stop writing excessive amounts of text (haha, suck on that one!) of text. I’m going to write something completely unrelated here, because I just saw something hilarious in the news today. I don’t mind if you don’t read this, but stuff like this just don’t happen everyday. Either way, just outside my hometown (Borås), a truck had crashed and the driver has been taken into custody for reckless driving. While that not might sound like a hilarious accident, you know what caused his truck to fall over? He was jerking off at the wheel… no joke. He even jerked off during the interrogation the police had with him. And I have to wonder… why?! I’m going to leave the joke to you guys, but if you want my thoughts on it, click here! Other than that, I don’t have anything special to write about. Just remember to leave a comment, and tell me what you think of the list so far. Feedback from you, the g1s, is the primary thing that keeps me going when it comes to writing excessive blogs. Either way, I hope you’ll find this list enjoyable and that you’ll look forward to the next entries. So, let’s get rollin’! #35 – Banjo Kazooie Developer: Rareware (Rare) Released on: Nintendo 64 Genre: Adventure, Platforming There’s no denying that Rare was pretty much kings over the Nintendo 64. Okay, “king” might’ve been an exaggeration, seeing how Nintendo released both Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time on that console. Anyway, there’s no denying that Rare was pretty much princes over the Nintendo 64. They had several fantastic games for that console including Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Donkey Kong 64. Also, they had a great game called Jet Force Gemeni on there too, but we’re not going to touch that game on this list (sorry, didn’t enjoy it enough for it to be in my Top 50). However, the game we are going to touch is one of the games that really brought Rare into the gaming limelight – Banjo Kazooie. But do you really want to touch this game intimately, or is this a game you won’t touch with a ten foot long pole. Damn, I’m good at these introductions! So, Banjo Kazooie starts off pretty innocent and with one of the best themes you’d ever hear for a title (if you don’t know what I mean, go watch some brentalfloss). It’s catchy, memorable and its fun as hell whistling along, even though I always seem to lose it when Banjo starts playing the banjo. And I would’ve never guessed that Mumbo was such a genius with instruments. Ah well, enough with the awesome title screen; let’s get in to the actual story. The game starts off with a witch called Grunthilda. While Grunthilda still has the magic powers necessary to become supreme ruler of the “Banjo Kazooie”-universe, she is still angry because she does still look like a hideous troll. So, she asks her magical cauldron (yes, it’s a cauldron, not a mirror) who’s the fairest of them all. The cauldron says that a girl named Tooty is the most beautiful girl in the world. And being the witch that she is, she wants to have Tooty’s beauty for her own, so she sets out to kidnap Tooty, which she succeeds doing. But little does Grunthilda now, for Tooty is actually sister to the first part of this game’s title – Banjo, who is sleeping during his sister’s kidnapping. But when he wakes up, thanks to his lovable sidekick Kazooie (who is some sort of parrot, bird…whatever…) who lives in Banjo’s backpack, they both decide that the best thing to do is to set out on an epic adventure to save Tooty from her imminent ugliness. I don’t really have much to say about the story in general. It’s a pretty good story, and it’s original enough to keep you interested. Even though it has no impact whatsoever on the gameplay, or the characters around for that matter either, it’s the characters and their dialogue that make this game worth paying attention to, with the occasional sexual innuendo for instance. Not to mention, it has one of the best Game Over screens in the history of Game Over screens, where you actually see what happens when Grunthilda steals Tooty’s beauty. The game over screen really got to me, even though I wasn’t to connected with Tooty’s character, because I hadn’t seen anything like that. I mean, you couldn’t see what actually happened to Princess Peach while she was being captured by Bowser, although a lot of us still have a hunch. By the way, where did those Koopalings come from anyway? So, to rescue Tooty from Grunthilda’s grasp and that great, yet disturbing, game over screen, Banjo and Kazooie must travel through several worlds that have different settings, such as snow, water, and so on so forth. In these levels, Banjo and Kazooie must find jigsaw pieces (or Jiggy’s) in order to go get access to Grunthilda’s Lair. You can also get a little help from your friends, Mumbo and Bottles. Mumbo (y’know, the musical genius?) can transform you into different animals, for example, and make you both big and little. Bottles can teach you new moves, that’ll either help you dominate or make your platforming real easy. Now, being a 3D platformer on the N64 was a bit hard, because you had some standards to live up to. Super Mario 64 was already out as one of the launch titles, along with Pilotwings 64, and it had gotten excellent reviews all the time. Well, without spoiling too much, I can safely say that Banjo Kazooie is not as good as Super Mario 64, but it sure was one of the hot contenders for the best 3D platformers for the Nintendo 64. And even with its sexual innuendos, which makes it even more hilarious when you replay the game and notice someone ask how you’re nuts are doing, it’s really a trip you don’t want to miss out on. Overall, it’s one of the most original games that you’ll ever play and its on par with Conker’s Bad Fur day in terms of randomness, even though Conker’s Bad Fur Day was released a couple of years behind this game and its sequel, “Banjo Tooie” (which I haven’t played enough to write about). But bottom line, this is a must-play for anyone with a Nintendo 64. And if you haven’t played it… why haven’t you? #34 – Super Mario Bros. Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: Nintendo Entertainment System Genre: Platforming Here’s also a game that is a must-play. I mean, you don’t even have to have owned an NES to have experienced this awesome game. With the release of Nintendo’s first home console (if you don’t count the Color TV Games, which was released before the NES by Nintendo) came Super Mario Bros. a game that was destined to reinvent platformers and games as we knew it. Today, it’s not a secret that this game is the prime essential of videogames and there is probably no one out there who hasn’t heard of Mario or Nintendo for that matter. And let’s not even start on the music; the first tune that you hear in the game is probably regarded as the most famous videogame tune of all time. Everyone, and I mean everyone, know the six notes of the famous 1-1 level music. But why is so lovable, and why is it so revolutionary? Well, let’s check it out! The thing about talking about Super Mario Bros. is that everyone has talked about it so much about it that there aren't much relevant things to be said that hasn't been said already. So this paragraph will be a little shorter than usual, just because it pointless for me to go into too much detail. Either way, the game is about a plumber from Brooklyn who has to rescue a princess from the evil “dragon” Bowser. Right off the bat, when you reached the first castle and defeated Bowser for the first time, did you ever get pissed of when Toad said “Sorry, but the princess is in another castle”. You’d think that if you defeated Bowser, even once, you had gotten the princess to safety, at least until the next game. Fortunately, you could easily skip this torment by utilizing one of the most famous secrets in all of history, the Warp Zone, where you could easily skip to another world, like for example the -1 World that required you to glitch through a wall. Even though those secrets and that tease that Toad made was one of the first of its kind, it’s definitely not what made Super Mario Bros. revolutionary in the first place. Because the greatness in Super Mario Bros. is definitely no secret – its platforming! Super Mario Bros. is well known for its very standard type of gameplay, so simple yet so well-done that it paved the way for other games to come after it. It’s just you and the finish line and everything in between that you need to come across in order to conquer the stage. The greatness in the game lies in its simplicity, and the fact that it’s so user-friendly that anyone can play it. In fact, one of the first memories I had from an NES was at my cousin’s house where I used to play this game. The first time I picked up the controller, I ran straight into the very first Goomba. Yet this game has a high level of difficulty, and you need to be alert to play the game to its fullest. Sometimes, you’ll be unfortunate enough to run into a Koopa Troopa and break your neck falling or get your skull smashed in by a falling Spiny. Or just get touched by a flying fish and hear that same 9 notes over and over again as you fall into the foreground. But for all the praise I’ve been given this game, you might still think it’s weird that the game is so low on this list. Well, let me tell you why; when it comes to a personal list like this, you have to see a game for what it is and not for the impact it had on gaming. I still like this game, and I like it a lot, but despite being the most popular and well-known Mario game ever, it’s still not one of the best in my opinion. It lacks something that the other games have, mostly a thing called variety which is probably the most important aspect of any game if it’s going to keep you interested. Nonetheless, it’s still a great game, and it’s a well deserved spot on this list. #33 – Halo: Combat Evolved Developer: Bungie Released on: Xbox, PC Genre: First-person shooter For me, Microsoft’s first console, the Xbox, came out of bloody nowhere. Truth be told, I wasn’t a big fan of video games back when it was released in 2002, because I was only ten years old, and I had just bought my GameCube for a lot of money. But I all my friends had already gotten a hold of an Xbox of their own and all they ever talked about was “Halo” this and “Halo” that. I was aware that Halo was one of the launch titles for the Xbox, but I never cared enough to actually check the game out or anything. But soon, fate would make it so that even I would get the chance to check out this fancy-pants Halo-game. My half-brother happened to be one of the people who had owned an Xbox as it just came out, and I got the chance to play it on numerous occasions. But why is this game ranked higher than Super Mario Bros.? Well, let’s find out! Halo: Combat Evolved takes place in the distant year of 2552, and some people are out cruising on their pimped out ride called “The Pillar of Autumn”. After fleeing from… something, they come across a ring-shaped object that’s over 10 000 kilometres in diameters, which has the same type of climate as the Earth does. This, however, is not created by the climate itself, but by a race which used to inhabit the place called “the forerunners”. But suddenly, the Pillar of Autumn is caught up by the Covenant, and evil alien force which had been following the humans. The Covenant invades the ship and forces the humans to leave. In the heat of battle, the humans decide to awaken the Master Chief, the character which you’re taking control of who had his genes modified in order to be a more efficient fighter, a so called “Spartan”, named after… you guessed it, the Spartans! And after you’ve been awakened and gotten out of the Pillar of Autumn, you’re main objective is to get back to the Pillar of Autumn and defeat the evil Covenant. Believe me, there’s a lot more to the story than the things I’ve already told you, but if I were to tell you everything about the story, you’d probably lose interest. To summarize, I’m going to quote one of my favourite reviewers, as well as internet personalities; Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw (even though the following quote was about Halo Reach, but I think the quote applies well to every Halo game ever made): “Aliens suck, humans rule”. Perhaps saying that only human rules might be an exaggeration, because you are free to kill almost anyone on the battlefield who’s moving or looks at you funny. Especially on the easiest difficulty, when I found myself running up behind my team-mates and whacking them in the head with my pistol, or when I could run close enough to the enemy so I could stick my armoured crotch in their face, which I did every time one of them had fallen at my feet thanks to my sticky grenades. I actually find the campaign to be one of the bigger flaws that this game has. Not that it’s bad or anything, but it’s so not-memorable and I can promise you that won’t replay the campaign again. But all you ever want to do is to skip to the best part of this game: the multiplayer. Before I begin talking about the multiplayer, I must warn you people that are such amazing Halo players and you who hate everyone who doesn’t play Halo on a regular basis that I am not the biggest Halo fan ever, nor the best Halo player in the world, so excuse the lack of “skill” or experience. So, the multiplayer is just like any other first person shooters of its kid. You and a couple of friends are put in an arena with a handful of different weapons and you are forced to use them against one another until the last man is standing. That, at least is one of the regular game modes available, and the one I find to be the most common. There are a lot of different types of modes like Juggernaut and King of the Hill. If you were like me, and played this game on an Xbox rather than the PC, you’d know that there was no such thing as Xbox Live support, because this game was released before Xbox Live. However, this game used something called “System Link” which allowed 4 Xbox’s to be connected and up to 16 players could play simultaneously. Halo: Combat Evolved was the very first game to utilize this, but this method has been called “impractical” by critics because, let’s face it… when would you ever get 15 of your friends together to play one video game. I mean, if you had 15 friends around, I can promise you that you’d do something else than play video games. Nevertheless, the multiplayer is great and it’s varied enough to keep you interested for a long time, thanks to its different game modes and its strong online community (on the PC) that’s still going strong today. I remember that when me and my friends used to play, we used to let one of us occupy a cliff. Whenever one of us, let’s say that I, would shoot down the one standing on the cliff, I got to get up on the cliff and defend it by any means necessary. So, you don’t even have to play by the game’s rules to have a good time. Almost everyone who’s a fan of the Halo series sees it as one of the most revolutionary and epic first person shooters ever. Honestly, I can’t really see what so amazing about the game. Sure, it’s a great game, but it isn’t anything above great. It has great variety in the multiplayer department, a decent campaign and a huge variety of weapons and vehicles. But nonetheless, it’s not one of the best first person shooters, because I put fun before anything else when it comes to game. The more fun I have with a game, the higher it’ll be put on this list. And I had a fun time with Halo: Combat Evolved, but not fun enough for it to be one of the “Top 33”. And to be honest, I don’t really care about the rest of the Halo franchise, as weird as that might sound for some people. But sure, it’s a fun game and I couldn’t be more satisfied with having it at the #33 spot of my Top 50 list. #32 – Super Smash Bros. Developer: HAL Laboratories Released on: Nintendo 64 Genre: Fighting Up to Super Smash Bros., most fighting games were running with a pretty standard formula. It was usually about putting two buff guys in a 2D environment and let them beat one another. Not that it’s anything wrong with that formula, some of the greatest fighting games of all time is built just on that formula, but it was kind of tiring to basically play the same fighters over and over again. But in 1999, to our big surprise, came Super Smash Bros., a game that was going to shatter that formula and take a new step in the fighting game world – the platform-fighter game. But being one of the very first of its kind, Super Smash Bros. had quite the pressure on its shoulders. If this would be a commercial failure, games like this would not be made anymore. So why is this game such a kicker for fighting games such as this? Let’s find out, shall we? Super Smash Bros. has no story whatsoever, at least no story laid before you. If you want a story, you could always come up with your own. But the single player of this game is quite a weak one with only one type of “campaign mode” and a training mode. Just like Halo, you won’t be playing this game’s campaign more than you have to, especially since you meet the same enemies in the same order every time you start a new campaign. But once you get into the single player mode, you can actually find it to be pretty fun the first time playing through, if you’re playing on a difficulty level that suits you, of course. You get to choose one of 12 characters and it sets you in a 2.5D world (you know; 3D textures, yet in a 2D view to keep that 2D feeling that the previous fighting games had) where you can jump around exactly where you want and attack whoever you wish. There’s a lot of room on the stages, so it’s easy to make room for your fighting, and if you’re playing against someone as good as yourself, you’re in for a tough battle. As I said, there are 12 characters in the game and 4 of them have to be unlocked. The first eight are well recognized characters such as Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Kirby and more. However, the 4 unlockable characters, Ness, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, and Luigi, are not so recognized. Okay, almost everyone knew about whom Luigi and Jigglypuff were, but we had never even heard of someone called Captain Falcon or Ness for that matter. Ness was from a game called Earthbound, which was never released here in Europe. When I first saw him, I thought Ness was Mario’s nephew or something, kinda like Hewey, Dewey and Louie. However, there were actually some people who knew where Captain Falcon came from, because some of them had played F-Zero for the Super Nintendo. But none of them would’ve guessed that Captain Falcon was going to step out from his vehicle and kick Mario’s ass. He’s definitely one of my favourite characters. And who would’ve thought that Super Smash Bros. would be the first game to let the world see the glorious, yet horrifying weapon of mass destruction known as… the Falcon Punch! Punches aside, the character roster is after all a great one, despite having two characters that we never heard of. But just like Eric Idle sang, always look on the bright side of life! At least now we know about something we in Europe missed out on and were only available through emulators. But the biggest problem with the character roster is that it has to be unlockable characters to begin with. Because the only way to unlock them if in single player, if you want to get a hold of them quick enough, and that actually requires some effort. And with the effort made to acquire these characters, you’ve become so good (thanks to the game’s not-so-steep learning curve) that you can easily kill your enemies that hasn’t got the game at home. And being a 4-player game, it’s obvious that HAL was going for a party experience, and how fun is it when one player wins all the freaking time? Well… it’s pretty fun when you’re the one who’s winning all the time. Thankfully, Super Smash Bros. was a roaring success and it turned out to be one of the best games ever to grace the Nintendo 64. It was sure as hell one of the innovative fighters ever made and it’s still fun to play even today, just for the nostalgia factor. However, this is a game that won’t stand the test of time, and it was only amazing for its time. Now, it’s only a “great” game, if that makes any sense. As gaming technology advances, so much this game and therefore sequels must be made to keep this game. But are the sequels, Melee and Brawl, on this list? Well, stay tuned and find out. =) #31 – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: Nintendo GameCube Genre: Adventure After Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, expectations were high for the next console Zelda game. At one E3 convention, at E3 2000, a new trailer for a Zelda game was revealed. The trailer showed Link and Ganondorf fighting each other, and it couldn’t look any prettier. After all, this was a game that was supposed to match Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask in terms of quality. It was like the Zelda game of their dreams, and gamers couldn’t wait for it to be released. However, in 2002, when game finally arrived, nothing from the E3 2000 trailer had been the same. The game now had cell-shaded graphics and a cuter look, for example, and it threw a lot of gamers off guards. But as we know, graphics isn’t everything… or is it? Let’s find out! The backstory of the game tells us about the events of Ocarina of Time, and how Link defeated Ganon who had taken over the land of Hyrule by entering the Sacred Realm. But after Ganon was defeated, and Link was sent back in the past to relive his childhood, Ganon had returned, and the people of Hyrule begged to the gods that Link, or the Hero of Time as the game dubs him, to return and save them yet again. But the same Hero of Time was now a child, and was probably in Termina. And as Ganondorf ruled Hyrule with an iron fist, the goddesses of Hyrule flood the land and left only the highest mountaintops as a place for the Hyrulians to live, and it was believed that Ganondorf drowned along with Hyrule. Since then, it had become tradition for young boys to dress in a green tunic to honour the Hero of Time when they had reached a certain age. It was one of those days for you, the protagonist (or the Link of this generation). The game starts off on a little island called Outset Island, and you take control of a young version of link with big eyes and a big, blonde haircut. You live with your grandma (simply known as “Grandma”) and your sister Aryll on the island, almost cut off from the rest of the world around them. When the game starts, it’s your birthday and it’s time for you to dress up in a green tunic and set out on the most epic journey you’ve ever been to, which was probably planned as a trip to the nearby woods for Link. But suddenly, every thing jolly about this day is interrupted when a pirate ship is seen in the distance, chasing a monstrous bird. Using a telescope that you’ve “borrowed” for your birthday, you see that the giant bird holds a girl in its claw. Suddenly, the giant bird gets hit by one of the cannon balls fired by the pirates, and the girl that the bird held fell unconscious in the nearby woods. After Link rescues her, she introduces herself as Tetra, and she is captain of a crew of pirates who cruise the sea for fun and adventures! However, all is not well, because the bird that had brought Tetra to Outset Island is returning. Lucky for Tetra, the bird mistakes Link’s sister Aryll for Tetra and the bird snatches her with it. Link tries to rush after the bird, but he knows everything’s in vain. However, he realizes that the only way to get Aryll back is to go after the giant bird, so Link sets out on a journey to retrieve his sister from the monstrous bird. As with most Zelda stories, they usually start off with something easy such as rescuing your sister, but end up in something as vital as saving the world above from Ganon. If I were to write everything that happened in The Wind Waker, it would almost be as long as Jet Fire’s Top 100 List. However, the story is pretty good, but it’s not the best Zelda story so far. It has two (or perhaps only one?) plot twists, both of which are pretty predictable. Trust me, start playing the game and I bet you can see the plot twist coming. Ah well, enough with this enormous paragraph, let’s get into what makes Zelda great. The first thing you probably noticed about this game is the cell-shaded graphics. This is the first game in the franchise to have this style, and it seems that only the handheld Zelda games will have it from now on. Either way, most of the people I know that have heard of the Wind Waker were put off by the graphics at first sight. To be honest, I wasn’t, mainly because I thought it looked original and pretty stylish as well. I mean, it looked like a cartoon, and while that might not have been the best formula for an epic Zelda game, it was sure as hell entertaining to look at. As with Paper Mario, the character designs have a lot of personality because the designers seemed to have emphasized expressions of certain characters rather than the textures, which is great in one sense because it makes some of the characters a bit more likeable. Overall, the graphics for this game are great. They have a strong color scheme, a great sense of personality and it doesn’t only make the characters more likeable; it makes the game more likeable. Other than the change of graphics, the game is essentially your average Zelda game. You go to dungeons, pick up the item, kill the boss and then leave. But something new added to this game is your new companion, the King of Red Lions, who happens to be a boat. You can use the King of Red Lions to get across the Great Sea using a sail and controlling the wind using this game’s fancy music instrument, the Wind Waker. There’s a lot of emphasis on sailing in this game, and the game often has you sailing from one island to the next to follow the next objective. The sailing can sometimes be pretty slow, because sometimes there isn’t really anything happening other than just you cruising the sea and passing by the occasional island. But this game has the biggest Hyrule to date, and it’s a shame that a lot of it it’s just water that you need to come across. But there’s a song to be learned later in the game that allows you to teleport to various places on the map, so it’s almost easily forgiven. To summarize, The Wind Waker is not a bad Zelda game, but not the amazing Zelda game that gamers had hoped it would be either. I guess the trailer from 2000 set the expectations a bit too high, don’t you think? But it is a Zelda game, and it’s definitely one of my favourite games in the franchise. Even if you get tired of the main quest in this game, there is still a lot to do, like taking pictures of everything or helping the helpless people over at Windfall Island. If you have the opportunity to check this game out, I really think that you should, because it’s a Zelda game like no other and you’ll be sorry if you haven’t.

_________________________________________________ Thanks for reading! - Tremendous Tom -

Tremendous Tom Interviews: Silent_Protagonist

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:45:33 -0400

Ah yes, who on this site has not heard of Silent_Protagonist? We all love his O&U blogs and being featured in those blogs is equally as good as being Top Posted. And just because he is such a great g1, both to other g1’s and to the community itself, I just had to take the liberty of interviewing him. So, how did it go – let’s find out!

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Hey, SP, thanks for letting me interviewing you, it’s really a pleasure! Let’s start off right away; tell us a little about yourself! Well! I'm a male humanoid. 27 years of age, living in the great plains of the USofA, Kansas to be specific. I battle tornados and buffalo in my spare time, and I have 3 cats.

What are some of your favourite consoles from this generation? This generation? Well, the 360 is the only one I have any notable experience with. I was torn between getting it or a PS3. I've always been partial to the Playstation, so it was a tough choice. The 360 got my money though, I don't regret it. It even motivated me to upgrade to a large HDTV, but my wallet hurts now. The pain, the pain. =D Are there any other consoles you’d like to mention that aren’t from this generation? Oh sure, I guess I'll just mention what I own here in my shack, err pad, err whatever the kids call "home" these days. I have a NES, SNES, N64, PS2, and my DS along with the 360. As of late, my DS has been getting tons of play, so many great RPGs on it. When I'm sitting near the computer it's the PS2. I love my SNES the best, and it loves me back. Are there any games in the works that you’re really excited about? Hrrm...I don't pay too much attention, I kind of fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to new releases. I'm always surprised that way, like, "Oh wow! That's out already?". I'm excited for Forza 3 and FFXIII, the Okami game on the DS I'm pretty excited for as well. I'm probably forgetting something....hrrm

What are some of your favourite genres? Also, do you have any favourite games of that genre? RPGs! Also, included are the sub-genres, like strategy rpgs and action-rpgs. I love the Final Fantasy series obviously, I don't have many complaints about any of the games, unless I nitpick. Chrono Trigger is amazing, and so is Chrono Cross. Xenogears is one of my favorites as well, it doesn't get too much love anymore. For strategy RPGs I love Final Fantasy: Tactics, Tactics A2, and Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. Hundreds upon hundreds of hours there in those 3 titles alone. Fallout 3 is amazing, and one of the reasons I bought my 360. I also love the Star Ocean games and many others!!! Do you have any favourite games that are not from your favourite genre? I love the Mega Man games, 2 and 3 at the top. Mario 3 is one of my favorites. Hmm, let's see, I love Counter-Strike, well it's been awhile since I've played it, but I was hooked on that for a year or so. Forza 2, I love my racing sims, being a car nut. Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past and Super Metroid are timeless. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Order of Ecclesia are another couple favorites of mine. For a guilty pleasure, Cooking Mama! Woo! Where did the name “Silent_Protagonist” come from, and why did you decide to go with that name? Well, it's one of my favorite character archetypes in games. Link and Crono most notably. I just like having the main character silent so you can inject your own thoughts into him, instead of the writers forcing it on you. Mostly it just sounded kinda cool I thought. It's kind of funny, but all the nicknames I've had in my days, Spanky, Sparky, Speedy, Spoon Boy, all start with "SP", so it fits with my ScrewAttack moniker =D. Mostly, I just like Crono as a character. Who are some of your favourite silent protagonists? As I mentioned above, Crono from Chrono Trigger most notably. Link is a good one as well, I just haven't played many of the newer games in the Zelda series. I did one playthrough on Ocarina of Time, since that release I haven't played any newer ones. Crono is far and away my favorite, and Serge from Chrono Cross. =D

It's the swords, isn't it?

Okay, now on to some ScrewAttack related stuff: When and how did you come across ScrewAttack? Well! After I stopped drinking, I needed something to be passionate about again, since I was feeling sorta empty. Video games have always been a part of my life, ever since I was 4 years old, so they served as a good foundation to rebuild myself again. I got online and found GameTrailers and started watching ScrewAttack's vault vids and top 10s, then I found the Angry Video Game Nerd and followed him here. Here, I found what I needed. Since the beginning of this year, the g1s have helped me build myself back up to where I'm confident and steady as a rock when it comes to my health and mental well-being. Sure I have down times, but the g1s are always here. Hehe, kinda got off track a little. Haha, no problem. =) What are some of your favourite features, not counting g1 content? Nametags is awesome, and the Clip of the Week always rocks. Craig and co. always surprise me though with the new content they give us. We really should be grateful =D. Since ScrewAttack obviously is powered by its community, I was wondering what some of your favourite g1 content were and why? Also, do you have any favourite bloggers? There are so many good bloggers now I'd have a hard time naming them all. It's so great seeing a new g1 introducing himself to the community through a blog and then watching his/her progress and improvement. It's hard to choose favorites though. =D I love you all. Most people know you for making your famous Overlooked & Underrated-blogs? What inspired you to make those blogs and that type of blog in general? Mostly I felt sympathy for the authors having their blogs being pushed down and off the front page into oblivion. I wanted to show them that we are paying attention and we do appreciate the effort. I enjoy making people's day regardless of the situation anyway. I understand that some g1s really put a piece of themselves into every blog they write, and how they feel when you think you're underappreciated. I just try to help. Besides, I don't come up with much original content, and I'm just trying to give something back to the community and make people feel good about their work. That's basically it =D. What are your thoughts of the site as of now? Well, there's a bunch of great bloggers, almost too many! =D I can't wait to see what tools ScrewAttack 4.0 will give the blogging community. The system as it is is barely adequate. The mods are overwhelmed, and 4.0 ought to give them ease as well. So I eagerly, very eagerly, look forward to the new site. Then again, I'm also a little nervous, because it's an unknown and I'm not sure how the system is set up. My cat keeps walking on the keyboard! lol, FINE I'LL FEED YOU! =D Haha, go and feed your cat then! xD You don't own cats, they own you =) Haha, sure thing! But now, let’s move to some trivial stuff: Do you have any favourite movies? Hooha, being a J.R.R. Tolkien nerd, I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Star Wars 3, 4, 5, 6 are up there as well. Alien and 2001 are great. Carl Sagan is my hero, so Contact, the film adaptation of his book is one of my favorites. I really like Sci-Fi movies. Planet of the Apes, Mission to Mars, Solaris, Sunshine. That sort of thing. I also love Gladiator and Saving Private Ryan. Kill Bill is awesome as well. Wall-E! Let's not forget that little guy =D Who is your favourite actor and why? Oooh! Umm, I want to say Al Pacino. The man's just amazing. His presence and performances are all pretty brilliant. Johnny Depp is awesome also, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas baby. =D

Wow, I’m a big Pacino fan as well. It’s great to see that it isn’t just me who adores that man as an actor. And Johnny Depp is pretty good too. =)

Wow, I'm a big Pacino fan as well. It’s great to see that it isn't just me who adores him. =) Anyway, if you could be in one movie, what movie would it be and why? Well, without a doubt, The Lord of the Rings. The sets, the locations, the years of production. It'd be a life changing experience for sure. While we’re on the subject of fiction: what are some of your favourite books out there? Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series! It's so massive and immersive. I also enjoy Ender's Game and the books that take place in that universe by Orson Scott Card. Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy is very intriguing and in depth. R.A. Salvatore and Terry Brooks are a couple more authors I'm fond of. Classic sci-fi has a special place in my heart as well. Are there any movies or books that you would recommend, besides the ones that you’ve already mentioned? A few books off my bookshelf I'd recommend are non-fiction since we didn't touch on that =D. "An Anthopologist On Mars" by Oliver Sacks. "The Ancestor's Tale" by Richard Dawkins. "On The Shoulders Of Giants" and "The Universe In A Nutshell" by Steven Hawking. =D As for movies, I Huckabees and Donnie Darko are a couple that spring to mind.

Okay, we’ve reached the most random part of the interview; if you could have one superpower, what superpower would you have and why? As most people might agree, flight at super speed would be most desirable. Just being able to levitate and escape the grasp of gravity through force of will would be awesome. We've all had dreams like that, so that'd be my super power. I'd also like to umm, not die? Or at least live for a few thousand years. Hmmm... If you had one opportunity to go back to any time and place that you wanted, where would you go and what would you do there? I'd like to go back to the savannahs of Africa some 75,000 years ago. Play with my ancestors =D. Get eaten, sharpen some sticks, make fire, advance communication. It'd be intriguing to say the least. If you had the opportunity to punch any celebrity in the stomach, who would it be and why? Hmm...due to the recent indecency I can't seem to avoid hearing about, Kanye West, because he's a dick. Him or Tom Cruise, just for fun I'd like to see him squirming on the ground in pain =D Yay!

Anyone with the hair cut like a maze deserves to be punched in the stomach.

Would you ever consider applying for an internship at ScrewAttack? Absolutely! If I ever had the means I would in a heartbeat. You know how much I love to help =D. Are there any other places besides ScrewAttack you’d want to work at? The moon. =D Okay, as a conclusion, we’re going to talk about the economy and the recession that we’re- WORD ASSOCIATION TIME!! Bagel! Cream! Eric Clapton! String! Butt! Hole! Ferret! Bit! Cake! Lies! True Lies! Arnie! GET TO DA CHOPPA!!1 DO IIIT! DO IT NAOO Alright, thanks for having me SP! Is there anything else you’d like to add to this interview? A cherry on top! This was awesome Tom, some really great questions, I'm very happy you took the time to interview me! High fives and hugs my friend.

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So, here is my very first interview, I hope you all found it entertaining to read because it sure was entertaining as hell to make. Thanks for the great 1 and half hour, SP and thanks for the cooperation. Other than this brief little “thank you”, I don’t really have anything else to say to conclude this blog post. So… uh… look out for the next part in my Top 50 list! =D

Tremendous Tom's Personal Top 50 Games of All Time - #40-#36

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:31:16 -0400

Tremendous Tom's Personal Top 50 Games of All Time ~ #40-#36 ~ Super Mario Galaxy – Gusty Garden Galaxy

For #50-#46, click here!. For #46-#41, click http://screwattack.com/node/28863">here!. Hey hey, welcome back to the third addition to my Personal Top 50 Games of All Time-list. Regarding my spare time, I’m in a pretty tight schedule as of now. My promised computer has been delayed again (thank you, HP, you guys rule) and I can only write my material on longer breaks like today where I had a break from 9:20 AM to 1 PM. Either way, enough of my spare time. Let’s get on to some serious business. EDIT: As of September 11th, I am now a owner of a HP Notebook. When I started writing this list, it was 9th day of the 9th month of the 9th year in the 21st century – 9/9/09 (which means that you have to look back a couple of days to really understand the message of this paragraph). 10 years ago, one of my favourite consoles was released to the market, and the sixth generation of gaming saw the light of day. I am of course talking about the last home console from SEGA and the last attempt from the nemesis to Nintendo to keep up in the console market before being crushed to death by Sony – the Sega Dreamcast! I was probably the only kid in my town that had the luck to play this great console and I still think I’m the only one in my circle of friends who can relate to the awesomeness that is the Dreamcast. I don’t want to go too much in-depth in here, but I just want to give my own little tribute to the great white wonder. Happy birthday, Dreamcast, even though I’m a little late. Anyway, let’s get to the actual list! I don’t actually expect you to read it all, but you can even state your opinion even if you only read a little bit. It’s a shame that I don’t get a lot of feedback from these entries because they take so long to write. I understand that the length of the blog might turn you off… but hey, if you’re on ScrewAttack just to read blogs – spending 15 minutes reading mine wouldn’t hurt, right? Ah, well let’s get started with the actual list! #40 – Guitar Hero II Developer: Harmonix Released on: PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 Genre: Music Game Music games is probably one of the biggest franchises out there, with games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band just sucking gamers wallets and turning them into pseudo rock stars. There are so many music games out there that it’s hard to count; Guitar Hero, Rock Band (which actually has a peripheral in shape of a fog machine), Battle of the Bands, Rock Revolution… you name it! Of all those games out there, Guitar Hero II was the first music game that I ever owned and the first music games I can think of that actually required you to pick up a plastic guitar. Sure, the guitar was way smaller than it’s supposed to be, but the concept of Guitar Hero is simply brilliant. But does this game simply rock on paper, or will it rock you freakin’ socks off? Guitar Hero II is essentially the same game as the first Guitar Hero, you pick up a small plastic guitar while you press the button of the same colour as the ones appearing on the screen. I know this sounds weird, coming as it does, in a written text, but you just have to take a look at the picture I posted above to see what I’m talking about. Anyway, new techniques called “hammer-on and pull-off” have been perfected in this game. A hammer-on/pull-off makes it easier to play notes of different colour that are closer to each other, meaning that you won’t have to strum to pull the notes off and… y’know, I’m just going to stop explaining the gameplay mechanics of Guitar Hero to you because chances are that you already know about it/own it/play so much that you FC’d (whatever that means) every single song that came with the game. Something that was introduced in the Guitar Hero-franchise and what has become a staple of the franchise were some new elements in the multiplayer mode. Face-off, from the first game, is still intact in which you both shred away until the other player gets cramp in his fingers. But for Guitar Hero II, Harmonix added something called Pro Face-off (you know it’s awesome because it has pro in its name) where you both play on the same difficulty level whereas on Face-off, you can play on any difficulty that suits you best. The pro-face off really perfected the whole face-off aspect of the game, because when you play against someone it’s only fair that you both play on the same difficulty. The reason you’re facing off in the first place is to see who is the better Guitar Hero amongst you two. It’s like if you’re going to challenge someone to a duel at dawn with guns, but you let the other player bring a rocket launcher. A big part of the whole music game franchise is of course the music that the game offers you and so far I think that Guitar Hero 2 has one of the best collection of music out there (Greatest Hits/Smash Hits does not count, since it’s basically the best of all the games previously released) with songs from such great bands as Kansas (Carry on my Wayward Son), Lynyrd Skynyrd (Free Bird), Rush (YYZ), Black Sabbath (War Pigs). Even the band Dethklok from the show Metalocalypse makes an appearance with their song “Thunderhorse”, as well as Strong Bad with their song “Trogdor”. Now, why we don’t have the song Villain by Marik Sebastian Isthar III is beyond me, but it’s nice to see that we have humorous and pretty obscure songs into the mix as well as great classics. Unlike today, where we have a lot of less famous and less classic bands such as Rose Hill Drive. Sure, they might be pretty good, but give me Led Zeppelin, god dammit! I was obviously joking about the whole Marik-thing… #39 – Super Mario Land Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Released on: Game Boy Genre: Platformer There once was a game called Super Mario Bros., which was released on the NES way back in 1985. The game is was groundbreaking in every sense of the word, and it brought video games to a whole new level. You might look back at it and think that it actually is the equivalent of your naked grandma who used to be a supermodel, but Super Mario Bros. was really something that increased the NES’ popularity. Either way, in 1990 (for us Europeans) the Game Boy launched and with it came the game Super Mario Land. The idea of you playing Super Mario Bros. on a handheld, where you could play on the crapper, in school or even at the dinner table, was an awesome concept. So was this game really a game from heaven, or was this just a naked grandmother who hadn’t worked as a supermodel? Now, it might actually shock you to know that this game wasn’t made by Miyamoto, the father of both the Mario and the Zelda games. The objective of the game isn’t even to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser (hell, both characters isn’t even in the freaking game), but the objective is to rescue Princess Daisy from the evil Tatanga, who hasn’t been in a Mario game since Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. The game doesn’t take place in Mushroom Kingdom either, but in the kingdom of Sarasaland which pretty reminiscent of our planet with an island which the same heads that reside on Easter Island, the oceanic kingdom of Muda (which may be based off of the lost continent of “Mu” or possibly Bermuda however both theories are currently unconfirmed). There is even a boss which is, with no doubt, based off the sphinx in Gizeh even though this sphinx still has his nose. So the story, or background, is taking a step away from the previous Mario games. But as you probably already know, the story isn’t really a big deal when it comes to Mario games. The big thing that immediately comes to mind when you’re thinking about Mario games is its platforming, and Super Mario Land pulls it off pretty well. A lot of the elements from Super Mario Bros. are still intact, like the power-ups for example. However, the fire-flower changed a little bit by letting the fireballs bounce off of things. Another thing that changed about the game was the enemies. In addition of adding a whole slew of new enemies to the game, the Koopa Troopas from the previous game had been altered as well. Instead of jumping on the Koopas heads and kicking away their shells, the Koopa Troopas now explode after you jump on them, which might come as a shock the first time playing (I remember one blog that I read about Super Mario Land on this side called the Koopas “the al-Qeada of Koopa Troopas”). Now, don’t get me wrong, whether the enemies have changed or not do not really impact the decision of me putting it at number #39, but this change of enemies is really a great step in the right direction, even with the limitations of the Game Boy. One of the biggest differences between this game and the NES titles is the fact that in some levels, Mario will jump in an air-plane or a submarine (which, by the way, is not intended to be yellow) and the game will go from a platformer to a shmup! It was like having two games in one, and again it was a great step away from the other games in the Mario franchise. But why did this happen when Miyamoto wasn’t on board? Did Miyamoto dislike shoot-em-ups, or did he just want to keep the game as simplistic as possible? Honestly, I don’t know, and I don’t care because this game is even with its differences from the regular Mario games, it’s still a Mario game. It’s not the best Mario game out there, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it! #38 – Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes Developer: Capcom Released on: Arcade, Dreamcast, Xbox, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Genre: Fighting Maybe this comes as a chock for you, but I’m not a big fan of Marvel Comics. Sure they made Spiderman, which I watched a lot when I was a kid and they even made The Hulk, the person I turn into whenever I hit my toe on my desk. My reason for not being a big fan of Marvel is because it wasn’t my idea of comic books when I was growing up. Sure, the gritty looks of most of their comics sure appealed my youngster eyes, but not enough to make me a die-hard comic book fan. On the other hand, I already knew a lot about Capcom and their great video games released at the time so I was more of a fan of Capcom than I was of Marvel. But when I heard about Marvel vs. Capcom 2 I was like… “Wait, there was a game before this one?” The game offers a vast roster of *gasp* 58 characters, which is the most massive roster for a fighting game that I’ve ever seen. The characters from Marvel all include such favourites like Wolverine, Gambit, Spiderman, The Hulk amongst others. I think the most impressive feat has to be from Capcom, who really dug in their bin for characters to add in the game. Sure, a slew of different characters from the Street Fighter-franchise are there as well as characters from Darkstalkers (a way overlooked fighting game by Capcom, overshadowed by the Street Fighter franchise). Even the blue bomber gets in the action along with Tron Bonne and her sentry bots. There is a monkey-looking girl named SonSon, from the 1984 arcade game by the same name, which is based off of the book “Journey to the West”, for example. And don’t tell me that you expected to have Jill Valentine from Resident Evil in the game, a character that was not related to any fighter in any way before this one. And what’s more, they’ve actually developed a great moveset for those obscure characters, just so that they aren’t just thrown in the game as a gimmick, rather than showing us that Capcom really cares about its franchises – which they have, with success! When in a fight in the game, you form a team of 3 different fighters. Any Marvel vs. Capcom 2 fanatic will tell you how to make the most out of your team and how one character works well with another character. I, and/or any other newbie, I guess, will just take 3 random characters that they can play decent with and just run with it, just for fun (I’m afraid to even mention the 3 characters I use for my team, because I fear that I will be eaten by all you pro’s out there). If you’re going to have a roster of 58 characters, and have to use 3 different for every match that you do, it offers a lot of variety to the game since you’re almost always bound to make a new team every time you find flaws in your fighting. Since this game came straight from the arcades to the Dreamcast/Xbox/PS2 and later onto the 360 and PS3 the game tries hard to make it one of the most technical fighters out there. If you want to play competitively, you have to know when to switch your team-mates in and out, you have to know when you can use your super-moves, or whatever name you have for them. But if you want to play it just for fun, like me, it’s like any other fighter out there. Yet again, as I said with Street Fighter Alpha 2 on this list: “The Street Fighter franchise (Capcom) has always gone with their standard formula, “easy to learn, hard to master”, which is probably the best way to go if you want to make a successful fighting game.” And yet again, they’ve succeeded. It’s understandable how this game makes it to other people’s top lists; with a game that has this much variety and replay value, as well as Capcom’s “regular ‘easy to learn, hard to master’” formula. It’s definitely a fighter that will be a remembrance of how awesome arcades used to be before online gaming hit the… oh, wait! #37 – Paper Mario Developer: Intelligent Systems Released on: Nintendo 64 Genre: RPG When I first heard about this game, which was back when games didn’t really mean much to me, I thought that it was going to suck. I was never a big fan of RPG’s to begin with I thought that having Mario in an RPG was going to remove all the good things I liked about the series so far. I had heard of Super Mario RPG at that time, and I knew damn well who Squaresoft were – the creators of Final Fantasy (who had already been helping Nintendo on Super Mario RPG to begin with). And as I found out that Squaresoft was not making Paper Mario, my suspicions became even more convincing. But when I actually sat down to play it, it totally changed my mind. Why? How? Well, my idle reader, let’s find out! The story starts of the tranquil Star Haven, home of the sacred Star Spirits who grant the people of the Mushroom Kingdom wishes. The Star Spirits get their power from an ancient rod called the “Star Rod”. But of course, since it’s a Mario game, our favourite villain Bowser has to ruin everything for everyone by stealing the Star Rod from the Star spirits with the help of Kammy Koopa (trust me, she doesn’t look anything like the Cammy we all know and love). By acquiring the Star Rod, Bowser gets almost unlimited powers, and only the power of the Star Spirits can turn Bowser into his original self. But one has to wonder, how does this connect with Mario? Well, this is answered right in the prologue of the prologue (yes, the prologue starts after you’ve met Bowser for the first time). When Mario is invited to Princess Peach’s castle for a party, even though they both want to be alone together, a castle built underneath Princess Peach’s castle lifts Peach’s castle up in the sky (how Bowser even built the castle underneath Peach’s castle to begin with is beyond me). Bowser comes flying into the castle with Kammy Koopa after him and seems very confident since he has the Star Rod and that Mario doesn’t know about it. So, for the first time, Bowser defeats Mario and tosses him off the castle. But being Paper Mario and not Super Mario he soars gently down from the sky and lands unconscious in the nearby woods. He is awakened by the Star Spirits that he has to find all 7 of them in order to defeat Bowser. And of course, being the mute protagonist that he is, Mario accepts and sets out on a new epic journey. The game is your standard turn-based RPG. You choose your attack carefully and by following the commands shown on the screen you can deal some extra damage. To help you inflict pain, you can also have a partner. These partners are basically one of those generic enemies that you see in every Mario game such as a Goomba or a Koopa Troopa, but with a personality and a little backstory. These partners also help you overcome certain obstacles in the overworld like blowing up a wall using your Bomb-omb partner or flying over small gaps using your Parakoopa partner. One thing that sucks is that there’s no Geno or Mallow from Super Mario RPG in the game, but what do you expect when Squaresoft isn’t involved? But even with the absence of both Geno and Mallow, the game is still great fun. Besides you and your partner, you could also pick up badges and new gear in order to increase your damage further. It’s not like in Mario & Luigi where you can make about 500 damage in one combo, the most you’ll get is probably around 15 or something – but that’s still hell of a lot when it comes to Paper Mario! I guess one of my favourite features about the game, except for the combat and the user-friendly combat system has to be the graphics. As the name implies, Paper is perhaps the main thing about the graphics that might surprise you. You can move around in a 3D world the way you want, but every character, house and whatnot are two-dimensional to make it look like it’s made out of paper. Being that the characters still are in 2D, a lot of work can be done to faces which is probably the reason why most of the characters faces in Paper Mario are filled with personality (except for Mario, ironically, he has to open his mouth and raise his hand whenever he wants to say something). In fact, the whole game is filled with personality and it does a good job drawing you into the game and it really makes you keep playing with a big grin over your face. #36 – Super Mario Kart Developer: Nintendo EAD Released on: Super Nintendo Genre: Racing When it comes to spin-off games, the Mario franchise has about 152 of them. Okay, maybe not 152, but there sure are a lot; Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Football (yes, it’s called football, not soccer!!1) so on, so forth. The most successful of them all has to be Mario Kart, where you ride around in a go-kart racing anyone in the Mario franchise from your brother to your arch nemesis. As a kid, I used to play this game a lot, since it was one of the first racing games that I ever owned. But sometimes, the nostalgia factor of a game can cloud the fact that the game might be the worst piece of **** that you’ve ever encountered. So is this one of… well, I guess I can’t call this game bad since it’s on this list. Anyway, let’s start our engines and find out. This is actually the first Mario Kart game out there which means that a lot of the elements that are standard in today’s Mario Kart are present in this game, such as the race classes called 50cc and 100cc (just a simple disguise of “easy” and “hard”) and later 150cc, but that one had to be unlocked. Probably the most famous feature from the game, and the main reason people kept playing the game was its infamous battle mode, where you and a friend were pitted in an arena with a handful of weapons and 3 balloons tied to your kart. You’d win the battle if you could pop all your opponent’s balloons by hitting him with various weapons scattered across the field. This was easily accomplished if you could get your hands on a red shell, a weapon so bad-ass that Destin has added it into The Armory, as one of the very first entries following the Cerebral Bore from Turok 2. This red shell of doom and despair will instantly seek out its prey and strike without mercy to take one of your balloons as well as leaving you next to violated as your opponent sitting next to you grins with glee as he taunts you by circling around you with another red shell prepared for you. But if you are the lucky fellow who happens to get a hold of three red turtle shells, you’re the one who gets to laugh at the defeat of your friend sitting next to you, so why should one complain? The graphics of this game were amazing for its time. It utilized something the Super Nintendo had called Mode 7 graphics which allowed the background layer to rotate to create the illusion of an almost three-dimensional world. F-Zero is the prime example when it comes to Mode 7 because it was one of the first games to use it to its fullest, making it seem as if you were going real fast. Super Mario Kart utilized this as well, and the game camera even went 360 degrees around to show the character’s face when you had won a race, which then meant that 16 sprites for the same model was made to create that effect which the game got praised for. Clearly this is one of the best looking games on the Super Nintendo and it has gotten great review from different sites – not just for its graphics, but for its superb gameplay as well. The game is extremely fun if you have a friend to play with. You can even play it alone and still have a good time, thanks to the different tracks and with 3 difficulty levels that just makes you want to come back for more. Other than that, though, there isn’t a whole lot I can say about the game. I mean, it’s Mario Kart, you know what it’s all about and you know why everyone loves playing it; for its simplistic yet still hilarious gameplay as well as the Battle Mode which will make you want to bite the ears off your opponent, of course! But that’s not to say that this is the best Mario Kart-game of the bunch, oh no – more is yet to come my friend, so stay tuned! Same screw-a-time, same screw-a-channel! =============================================== By the way, big thanks to Silent_Protagonist for that awesome signature you made me. I’m really satisfied and I figured that you had to get some credit for your sweet work. Thanks buddy! =D

Tremendous Tom's Personal Top 50 Games of All Time - #45-#41

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:40:41 -0400

Tremendous Tom’s Personal Top 50 Games of All Time #41-#45 Brentalfloss – The Moon (Instrumental)

- If you missed #50-#46, click here! And for goodness sake, don’t click here! You’ll regret it! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey, g1’s you’re favourite Swede is here today to bring you the second part of his super-special awesome Top 50 list. It feels great to have finally started a big project like this, even if I don’t get that much time to write on it. Thankfully, I’m getting a whole new, ultra-efficient computer from my school this Wednesday, so I’ll probably have even more time to write on my blog and trying to make everything perfect. Also, thanks for the awesome feedback in my last entry. I spend a lot of time writing and I didn’t get to bed before 4 in the morning. Thankfully, my first lesson on Mondays doesn’t start until 11:50 AM, so I had plenty of time sleeping, thank you very much. It’s just a shame that it wasn’t a Top Post, though… Ah, well, maybe this will do a bit better. =) #45 – Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Developer: HAL Laboratory Released on: Super Nintendo Genre: Platformer I’m actually pretty ashamed to say this, but I did not discover HAL Laboratory’s lovable mascot Kirby until the N64 where I constantly played Super Smash Bros. with my friends. I have no idea why I didn’t check him out. Maybe it was because of peer pressure, where all my friends saw Kirby as a big pink marshmallow made by the hands of a guy who admire other guys a bit too much. However, when I finally got to play Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, I vowed not to judge a game by the cuteness and instead try to look at it from a reviewer’s perspective. That’s not to say that games like Barbie’s Horse Adventures would appeal to me, but Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards certainly made me more open minded to games that didn’t allow you to equip a gun that shoot shurikens or lightning or obliterate creatures with your bare bodyweight. Why? Well, open up and shallow this load… of text of me explaining why. Perverts…! The story involves a planet called Ripple Star which is home to a bunch of fairies and a Crystal which happen to contain some awesome power. Since this crystal holds such tremendous power, it was bound to attract a villain or two. Enter Dark Matter and his puppet Zero Two, the two villains of the series. These two bastards want steal the Crystal from Ripple Star and they plan to use it for their own evil deeds. But as Dark Matter is closing in on Ripple Star, the queen of the fairies orders another fairy called Ribbon to take the crystal to another place. Being the good fairy that she is, she obeys and tries to escape with the crystal. However, Dark Matter notices this and knocks her unconscious and he breaks the crystal into 74 pieces as they scatter all across the solar system, while Ribbon herself falls unconscious to Pop Star. When she wakes up, she meets Kirby who holds two of the 74 crystals. And after Ribbon discovers that Kirby is a very friendly creature, they both decide to set out on a journey to retrieve all 72 pieces of the crystal before Dark Matter and Zero Two does. The story isn’t actually entirely necessary when it comes to a game like this, and you can clearly tell that it isn’t very much emphasis on the story whatsoever. The game developers at least tried to give you a good story to keep you motivated and it actually works. But other than the story, there isn’t any form of character development or any plot-twists. But who the hell cares, it’s a Kirby-game. As I said, the story isn’t entirely necessary because it gets easily overshadowed by the best part of the game. The game is a 2.5D platformer, which means that all the models are made in 3D, but you still run on a 2D plane. As with most Kirby games, the game developers added a unique twist to the game to make the games seem less repetitive. You can still swallow your enemies and utilize their element, such as fire, but now you can combine two powers which each other to create a whole new power-up. There are seven powers (Burn/Fire, Stone/Earth, Ice/Water, Needle, Bomb, Spark/Electricity, and Cutter) and a total of 35 different combinations, and it’s always fun to combine two things like… if you combine Burn and Sword you get a huge flaming sword which obliterates almost any enemy foolish enough to stand in your way. And when you’re busy experimenting with the different elements to see what dastardly weapon you can come up with next, the story gets easily overshadowed. Games about Kirby always have, as stated before, a unique twist to their games to make the games less repetitive. It’s a wonderful way of keeping a franchise fresh and it makes the game a whole lot more memorable than it already is. I think Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards hit the ball out of the park when it comes to being unique with this game, because I don’t think there is any game where you can transform into a refrigerator and throw food at your enemies. And you definitely won’t see any armoured space marine with a grouchy voice and with no human emotion throw cakes at the horde of aliens approaching them - at least not yet! It just goes to show that you don’t need to have a muscular and unlovable character to make a game likeable, and a colourful game hasn’t hurt anyone yet, has it? #44 – Grand Theft Auto 2 Developer: DMA Design Released on: PC, PSX, Dreamcast Genre: Sandbox Ah yes, Grand Theft Auto. I don’t think there is any franchise that has caused even more controversy, with the possible exception of Mortal Kombat. But I guess you can say that you’re asking for it when you name your game after a felony, because a lot of people gets “turned on” by doing something forbidden (believe it or not, I’m referring to our precious Game OverThinker) like stealing apples from the neighbours tree. The controversy has especially bloomed during the most recent titles, where realism started to become one of the franchises major selling points. The fact that you can go on rampage in everyday New York seems like a genius idea if you want to unwind from a stressful day at work or school. But there was in fact a time in GTA-history when Rockstar North was called DMA Design and when video games where new enough to not have realism as a big part of the game, a time known as the 1990’s. And in 1999, we were exposed to the first direct sequel in the series: Grand Theft Auto 2. A big part of GTA nowadays is its story, and the impact of your playing habits on the world around you. Well, in Grand Theft Auto 2, the story of the game is completely absent. The game even has the balls to name the city to “Anywhere, USA”, implying that the game could might as well take place in your local hometown (if you’re American of course, I have a little problem imagining myself living in an American city where big groups of Elvis look-alikes wander the streets with no destination and where maniacs spray your ass full of lead). However, the game isn’t all about rampaging and the game actually offers you three factions that you can do missions for and they are as follows: The Yakuza, The Rednecks and the Russians. Their friendship with you is shown by the meter in the right top corner, and they will become hostile if the meter is low enough. If the meter is high enough, however, the gang in question will protect you from cops and other gangs shooting at you. But if you’re playing GTA 2, chances are that you’re not playing it to complete missions to complete the game. No, you’re obviously playing the game because of the wacky world you’re set out to destroy! The game really emphasises you killing everyone around you with having tons and tons of weapons cheats, several challenges spread out the world map encouraging you to fry every person you see with a gun that spreads lightning and they’ve even hidden tanks in the city for you to hijack. Of course, there is some emphasis on killing in the newer games as well, but nothing in the franchise makes me your gleeful than the announcer yells “ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING” after you’ve torched a group of Elvis Presley-look-alikes with your flamethrower. It’s not hard to see why Rockstar North wants to go with a more realistic feeling with the newer games. The illusion of you dismembering good, American citizens with the blades of a flying chopper in New York City is something that really fills anyone with a sense of dark humour with a laugh, because doing something that would probably give you death penalty in a game with is a great way to relieve stress if you can take out your anger of virtual representations of the people around you. And with the newer games just seem to make it as realistic as possible, Grand Theft Auto 2 seems to lift up the fun in killing someone virtually and make the whole killing aspect of the game a whole lot funnier and it makes you come back for more. But I wouldn’t want to call this the best GTA game in the franchise, you’ll just have to stay tuned for that. #43 – Fable: The Lost Chapters Developer: Lionhead Studios, Big Blue Box Released on: PC Genre: RPG One of the worst things that can happen when you’re a child is your parents breaking up and divorcing. When I was about 11 years old, this happened to me and I had to start moving between my mom and dad’s house like a piece of luggage. My parents divorcing made me pretty upset for a long time and I needed something to unwind. Thankfully, my new brother had an Xbox with several games including Fable. While I thought that the game was great, I felt that the game was still extremely short and I thought that it needed something more. But in 2004, a PC port was released for the game Fable: The Lost Chapters and it was going to add a thrilling conclusion or something that you would otherwise call an expansion. So did this game have the extension that I searched for, or was it just filler material? Fable: The Lost Chapters is essentially the original Fable until the part where you get to choose between if you choose to kill your sister or throw Jack of Blades sword into a vortex. But for those of you who do not know the backstory behind Fable, let me fill you in. You play as a nameless, mute boy who lives with his father and sister in the quiet town of Oakvale in the prosperous nation of Albion. No mother is present because she is out of town, as usual so she ironically leaves the father to do all the housework. But on the day of your sister’s birthday, Oakvale gets invaded by a group of bandits. After you manage to hide from the raid, you find your fathers corpse in Oakvale and your sister is nowhere to be found. There are still bandits in Oakvale and one of them manages to see you. As he rushes towards you to kill you, he himself gets killed by a mysterious man who can shoot lightning out of his hands. The man introduces him as Maze, and he offers you a place to live in exchange that you train for him and become his apprentice. You reluctantly accept, mainly because Oakvale is in flames and you start training to become the avenger of your family. The story is actually pretty damn good and it does a pretty good job drawing you in. I wouldn’t say that any of the characters are very well developed, but the story isn’t too predictable and it’s actually pretty fun to make impact on the story by utilizing the game’s major selling point: One of the biggest things about this game is that you get to choose if you want to be good or evil, depending on your actions in the game. To be evil you have to do evil things like punching citizens and slaughtering innkeepers. A great way of enhancing your evil look is to dress in black armour, wield a huge ass sword and be completely bald with a long moustache, all while looking like a total nimrod as possible by decorating your face with intimidating tattoos. Every man, woman or child in Albion will fear you as you step into a bar with while leaving a red, hellish trail behind you and with your red evil eyes and your large horns. On the other hand, if you decide to be a good guy, people will cheer on you for just walking into a town without even doing anything. As a good guy you have to resist killing entire villages just for giggles and convince yourself that stealing from the oblivious shopkeepers of Albion is bad thing. It’s definitely an easier task being an evil bastard because there’s almost no penalty with slaughtering an entire village and every guard from Oakvale to Knothole Glade (if you haven’t played Fable, the reference I made would fall flat on its ass). Sure, you get a hefty fine for using turning your local bar into an inferno, but just wait about 10 minutes and the inhabitants of the town you slaughtered have forgotten who you even are. While being good or evil probably is one of the best ideas ever for a role-playing game, the game has to still be linear. Just because you’re good or evil doesn’t really change the final boss or the ending itself (other than being given a final choice at the end). The game itself doesn’t seem to see itself than anything other than a non-linear game, because the there lies a whole open world before your feet and several squishy villagers to kill. But the biggest flaw in this game is that the open world isn’t really appealing. Besides the main quest, the game offers you a whole lot of other things you can do instead to make the game worth your money like marrying any NPC you wan’t (except for the guards and the kids, of course - guards have no soul!) regardless of gender. But when you have married your favourite generic NPC of your local town, nothing seems to happen more than that you can’t fool around with other NPC’s when your wife/husband sees you. Sure, you can smack your wife around like crazy or you can bone her until your penis drops off but there is no motivation of doing so. Not even the side quests offered by the headquarters are very rewarding either. But alas, Fable is definitely worth a spot on this list for being one of the most original RPG’s I’ve ever played. Sure, it’s a bit broken in terms of economy and side quests but a game allowing you to have 5 wives per town all while going from humping them to killing the entire village they’re living in is definitely not a game aspect that should be ignored. I think the game’s sheer originality is what makes this game land on the #43 spot. It’s extremely original, but if Lionhead had worked on working out the issues and making the side quests a bit more rewarding would definitely made this game a winner in my book. #42 – Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap Developer: Flagship, Capcom Released on: Game Boy Advance Genre: Adventure Of course a Zelda game would make this list, it’s just a matter of what game and where on the list. Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, the second (not counting the A Link to the Past-port) Zelda game for the Game Boy Advance, the first one being Four Swords Adventure. Many people speculate that this game is the first game in the debated Zelda timeline, most notably GameTrailers who showed the world their theory of the timeline in their 6 part retrospective. I usually stick to the GT’s version of the timeline because I think it’s more accurate (even though I do wish they could update their theory a bit when we hear more about the two new Zelda games coming out). But is the first game in the Zelda timeline worthy of being on this list? Let’s find out! The game starts when Princess Zelda comes to get take you to the Picori festival. The Picori, or “Minish” as they like to call themselves appear every 100 year to celebrate when they saved the Hylians from imminent destruction, thanks to one faithful Minish who wieled a weapon known as the Picori sword. And in memory of that day, a tournament of swordsmanship is held every 100 year and the winner gets to touch the Picori Sword. However, when both Zelda and Link (or whatever you want to call him, he’s always named “Tom” when I play the games) arrive to Hyrule’s castle town, the winner has already been chosen. A mysterious Wind Mage called Vaati has won the tournament with ease and has been awarded the honours of touching the Picori sword. But as Vaati approaches the sword, he instead decides to break it to steal the power that the Picori Sword has called the “Light Force”. When Zelda tries to stop him, Vaati turns Zelda into stone and knocks you unconscious. To Vaati’s demise, however, he does not find the Light Force and he sets out to find it. And now, the only one who can return Hyrule back to normal is you! The gameplay is actually pretty reminiscent of the older Zelda Games for the Game Boy, like Link’s Awakening. The first thing you might notice when playing this game is that you can not walk diagonal, like in A Link to the Past, but only up, down, left or right (pretty reminiscent, huh?). You can also wear two items at the same time, which means that you can use both A and B button for items, which means that you don’t have to have your sword and shield equipped all the time. Even though you can get past most hazards with only one item available, it’s still refreshing. Otherwise, the game runs with the same formula as the other games. If you haven’t checked out any Zelda game yet (why haven’t you!?), it’s essentially an adventure game with dungeons filled with brainteasers and… oh, who am I kidding, I’m not going to insult you by explaining how a Zelda game works? That’s just silly. I can’t really think of anything more to say about this game. I mean… it’s The Legend of Zelda, you always know what to expect when about these games – an epic adventure game filled with dungeons that will even frustrate you or fill you with glee when you realize that you can breeze through the dungeons without checking a walkthrough. Sure, the game is pretty easy compared to, say, Ocarina of Time, but comparing those two games pretty unfair. Since this game was released way back in 2005, it got pretty much overshadowed by the Nintendo DS which was released the same year and little did we know that Phantom Hourglass was on the horizon. And I would probably have put Phantom Hourglass on #42 instead of Minish Cap if I ever got to play the damn game (I still don’t own a DS). But to conclude this entry, I think I have to say that of the few Zelda games I’ve played, this ranks as one of the worse games out there. Don’t get me wrong, I like this game a lot, I just don’t think it’s as good as the other Zelda games out there. #41 – Power Stone 2 Developer: Capcom Released on: Sega Dreamcast, Arcade Genre: Fighter When Super Smash Bros. was released way back in 1998, 3D fighters instantly became popular. Breaking free from the standard formula of pitting two buff fighters against each other and have them fight for their lives was a daring concept, but it turned out to be a great success, so much so that the Super Smash Bros.-franchise probably is one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. But for those of you who had access to an arcade hall, or owned a Sega Dreamcast, you were probably exposed to game called Power Stone. Power Stone was a 3D fighter as well, but it never really got the attention and praise that Super Smash Bros. got. Power Stone didn’t allow support for 4 characters and it was a pretty cheap fighter if you managed to gather all three Power Stones, which would turn you into something that could kill your opponent in an instant. However, a sequel for the game was released in 2000 and people who bought the first Power Stone had high expectations. Could this be a new rival for Super Smash Bros., or was it just one game in the mix of random 3D fighters? As Power Stone 2 is a direct port from the arcade to the Dreamcast, it’s completely absent of a story. Instead, you have the classic arcade mode which allows you and a friend to embark on fights across the world. While fighting, you can pick up a handful of different weapons that’ll help you dominate on the field, like swords, pipes, guns and shields (which is the only legit way you can guard yourself). Also, the Power Stones from the previous game make a glorious return. If you collect three Power Stones, you turn into something inhuman that could kill your opponent in an instant – BUT, they are a lot weaker in this game which means that you can’t kill anyone with the Power Stones if you acquire them all early in the match. One thing that also improved over the first game is there can be a total of 4 players on the field, which makes the game even crazier than it already is. Sure, it can be tough getting close to your enemies sometimes, but with the use of the right weapons at the right time, that flaw should easily be forgiven. Like Super Smash Bros., Power Stone 2 makes a brilliant job trying to step away from the standard fighting game formula that we’ve grown to love. Even though I’d still prefer Street Fighter over Power Stone, it still makes the game extremely enjoyable. I can’t think of any fighter today that plays the same way Power Stone 2 does, with its excessive amount of different weapons (including the Power Stones) and unique fighting style, Power Stone 2 still remains one of the most lovable and memorable fighting games today, thanks to its sheer originality. Like I mentioned in my review of this game, the greatness of this game still raises one more question. For those of you who’ve watched my review of this game would probably know what question I’m referring to, or maybe you’ve drawn that conclusion yourself. Where the hell is Power Stone 3? I’m amazed that no word about the Power Stone series has been heard yet. With Capcom recently revamping their own franchises such as Bionic Commando, Street Fighter and even Mega Man, why not give Power Stone, a franchise that’s just begging for a sequel, a chance? I guess if the game wasn’t given enough praise a sequel might not be worth making, but with the advancement of technology today it makes you wonder – how would Power Stone 3 be bad for Capcom? Like if you threw online mode into Power Stone, as well as the option as playing as more characters on different stages. Different gaming modes would be nice to see as well, like a Capture the Flag mode or something. I don’t really know, I don’t think I’m the right person to talk about that kind of stuff. But if Capcom is ready to revive some of their older franchises, why not revive Power Stone? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Man, I’m so tired that I can’t even give you a proper conclusion to this list. This took so long to write that I’m on the verge of sleeping on my desk (it’s ******* 3:30 AM here in Sweden). Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope that the length of this blog didn’t prevent you from reading it. Leave a comment, and have a good night! - Tremendous Tom

Tremendous Tom's Personal Top 50 Games of All Time - Introduction, #50-#46

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:48:58 -0400

Tremendous Tom’s Top 50 Games of All Time Fear of the Heavens – Orchestral Version

Hey, g1’s, it’s your old friend Tremendous Tom here coming at you from Sweden, the big and cold penis of Europe. It’s been a while since I actually posted something here, and that’s mainly because school kicked off recently. I’m studying civics at probably the biggest school in my town and I can safely say that school doesn’t leave me any time that I can use for writing valid blog posts, because I’m practically being showered with homework. So with school taking up half of my free-time, I’ve decided to be pretty unoriginal when it comes to blogging. That’s right – I’m going the way of Jet Fire and as Thunderbird and y-bot did before him by making my own Top 50 Games of All Time! And don’t worry Angel Eyes, darklinkdude77 and Ultimate-Ninja – I’ve noticed your lists too! The list is going to come out in parts, like any other Top 10+ list out there, with 5 entries coming out as often as I can make them. The reason I’m not going to do a “Top 100” instead of just 50 is because making 20 elaborate posts about 5 games and why I put them there is just going to be way to time-consuming for me. That’s not to say that doing 10 posts about 50 games isn’t going to take a lot of time as well, but 50 is 50% off of 100, right? Also, I don’t really think I can think of 100 good games that I’ve played long enough to write a post about. Also, I should also point out that this is a 100% personal list and that *****ing about that your favourite not making it on the list is as pointless as cutting your own fingers off. Also, keep in mind that the list isn’t 100% accurate either, because it’s no easy task ranking 50 games that I’ve played (credit goes to darklinkdude77 for making a #110 list!) because it’s hard comparing two games that don’t belong in the same genre. So, now that we’re done with the introduction, let’s start with the first entries - #50-#46! Special thanks: Anyone who ever made a Top 50+ list for inspiration! ==================================================== #50 – Wario Land 4 Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Released on: Game Boy Advance (2001) Genre: Platformer Wario first made his debut in the Super Mario Land sequel “Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins” where he appeared as the main villain. Since that game, I always thought that Wario was going to be a recurring villain the series, mainly because he is depicted as a counterpart to the best plumber in video game history. But to my surprise, Wario did not become a villain (at least not in the same sense as Bowser did) but more of an anti-hero, putting his greed and his desire for wealth above anything else. Today, Wario has starred in a lot of games and has even started his own franchise, Wario-Ware. The fourth instalment of Wario’s solo career, Wario Land 4 is my favourite game about the yellow, fat anti-plumber! Wario Land 4 starts off when Wario reads the newspaper about a treasure that can be found in a golden pyramid. The newspaper talks about Princess Shokora who had been cursed by the evil Golden Diva because of Shokora’s enormous treasures. Being the greedy bastard that Wario is, he wastes no time jumping into his car and rushes off to the jungle to find the ancient pyramid and all the treasures with it! So the story is, as you can see, nothing short of William Shakespeare, right? The story isn’t really an important aspect of this game, even though a good game becomes even better if the story is well-written. But all you need to know about this game is that where there’s money, there’s Wario! The game is an old-fashioned sidescroller and the objective of each level is to find a key (which is hidden in the level somewhere), start a countdown timer and get back to the start of the level before the timer reaches zero – all while collecting as much loot as you can! To defeat enemies, you can pick them up and hurl them at other enemies like in the other Wario-games, and you can either dash into enemies by simply pressing the “B” button. However, by holding one of the shoulder buttons of the Game Boy Advance, you can do a fierce headbutt if you can get a running start. This headbutt can help you get to the goal (or start of the level, whatever you want to call it) faster as it increases your running speed, but it also knocks out most enemies and it makes your jumps way more inaccurate. One of the best things about this game is the levels. They’re all extremely imaginative and I think you’ll get your fair share of chuckles along the way too. And since this game has something more than just reaching the end of the level without dying, it makes the levels more interesting to take a different route back to the start of the level each time you activate the timer. Also, whenever you finish the game, you are more than welcome to redo all the levels again and fight all the hilarious bosses one more time. And if you can collect more treasures than you could the first time running through, maybe the princess will be even more sexy than she already is? I could’ve might as well put Wario Land: The Shake Dimension/Shake It for the Wii on as #50, but there is one thing that makes this game superior from the recent Wii title; this game is handheld! This game was perfect for me when I was sitting on the can or sitting in the backseat of a car going to my grandma’s house or something. That’s not to say that Wario Land: Shake It could’ve been on a handheld console as well, but I don’t think you’d want to spend 30 minutes on the toilet with this game and saying that you were stuck in the bathroom shaking a stick for half an hour. #49 – Aladdin Developer: Capcom Released on: Super Nintendo Entertainment System Genre: Platformer How to you earn quick money if you’re a game developer? Easy – you make a game based off a famous movie, of course! Such is the case of Aladdin, based of the 1992 movie of the same name. But having a movie based game on a video game console on this list, you’d probably think that I like this game. Well, if you’ve seen my review of it (which, by the way, has been taken down – so you know I’m not here to plug my channel, hurr) you’d know what I think of it. But if you haven’t, let’s find out! Like any other movie game out there, the story of this game is taken directly from the movie (so if you haven’t seen the movie, go watch it now). Although something is missing when it comes to the story like… the story itself. The story of this game is told in cutscenes in between every level. But this is clearly a game where Capcom decided to emphasize the gameplay rather than the story, which is probably the most important aspect when making a movie game since you’re not playing a movie game to watch the story and get connected with its complex characters, you’re playing it because… you know, you want to play a video game! But hey, it has a 16-bit version of “A Whole New World”, so I guess that’s alright. A Whole New World in Swedish, sung by Peter Jöback and Myrra Malmberg The game is also a very standard platformer. You run, jump and climb, but you also swing off of things and you throw apples at almost everyone who stand in your way. Every enemy in the game is taken directly from the movie, but they also seem to have been cloned since there are over a thousand (very accurate estimation, I know) Razoul’s out there. But complaining about stuff like that is just nitpicking, because the fun of this game lies completely in the gameplay and Capcom pulls the platforming aspect of this game off pretty damn well. The difficulty-meter might stay on casual throughout the entire game, but the “easiness” of the game only makes it more welcoming to come back and play it some more. And that’s what’s so great about the game, Capcom did not turn this game into something unfaithful to the movie, but rather it to something that you would totally expect from a movie based game. As a stand-alone game, I mean if we ignore the fact that this game is based off a movie, this game wouldn’t be one of my top #50 games of all time. But because of the movie it’s based off of, and the way Capcom pulled it off it deserves a spot here. I guess you could say that this game shares the same spot on this list as Wario Land 4 does. My only reason for this game not being #50 is because this game was part of my childhood and actually one of the first games I ever beat. But anyway, it’s a good game and I think it’s pretty deserving for #49! #48 – Pocky & Rocky Developer: Natsume Released on: Super Nintendo Entertainment System Genre: Action/Platformer Now here is a game I never hear anyone talk about – Pocky & Rocky. This game was actually one of the first games that I ever owned because I got this game along with my cousin’s Super Nintendo + Super Mario World. But why this game is left so much in the shadow still perplexes me. But if I seem to think so highly of this game, why is this only on number #48? Well, my friend, you’re about to find out! The story about Pocky & Rocky circles around a girl, named Pocky, and a tanuki (a racoon-looking creature which is part of Japanese folklore in many ways) named Rocky who both live in Feudal Japan. One day, when Pocky is at a shrine doing girly stuff, her friend Rocky who is part of group of yokai (Japanese demons) known as the “Nopino Goblins” tells her that every Nopino Goblin has been driven insane by an unknown evil force. The Nopino Goblins are all other creatures from Japanese myth such as kappas (sort of like a cross between a human and an amphibian creature), obake (shapeshifters) and yurei (ghosts) and know it’s up to both Pocky and Rocky to stop the evil force and turn everything back to normal! The game is like your average shoot-em-up, except you’re not in a plane. You’re either controlling Pocky or Rocky and you throw whatever weapon is in your disposal (for Pocky it’s cards, for Rocky it’s leaves) at whatever enemy that crosses your path. There’s really nothing more that I can say about the game, because you probably already understand the gist about what the game is all about. I mean, there isn’t really much to it than just blasting your way through the stage and defeating the stage boss. But the reason you’re playing this game is probably because you’re with a buddy, because this game is best played with a friend. In the two-player mode, one person takes control of Pocky and the other person takes control of Rocky, and it sort of becomes a shmup in which there’s two planes on the field which I personally haven’t seen before. Playing this game with a friend is makes this game much more hilarious than before because of just one move created for the sole purpose of ruining friendships – the slide. If you press the “X” button, Pocky or Rocky hurl themselves 5 meters. If you should happen to slide into your partner, it will cause your partner to bounce off the walls like crazy and while being turned into a human pinball, you’re bound to get a punch on the arm if the one you’re sliding in to (that didn’t sound 100% clean, now in retrospect) happens to be me. But now to the juicy and squishy point, why is this only #48 if it now is such an amazing game? I can’t really give you an answer, but I can definitely say that you’re exaggerating if you want to call this game amazing. I think my reason for this game being at the 48th spot on this list is because you have to look at this with your critical glasses and judge it by its flaws. It’s very short, with only 6 levels, and the difficulty makes it almost unforgiving if you’re playing it all by yourself. But if you have Pocky & Rocky lying around, invite your friend over to play it, and you’ll have fun for about an hour with it, or until you’ve punched the others player arms so much for making you bounce off the walls like a living pinball. #47 – Mega Man 6 Developer: Capcom Released on: Nintendo Entertainment System Genre: Action/Platformer It’s no secret that the Blue Bomber made his name on the good old Nintendo Entertainment System. He had 6 completely memorable games on the NES and a couple more on the Super Nintendo. Nowadays, however, he doesn’t really have the same reputation as he did before. I mean, Mega Man 9 (which I haven’t played enough to have a credible opinion about) reminded us that the Blue Bomber isn’t really dead yet, and that we could (I’m not saying that we should) be expecting something harder, better, faster, stronger from Rockman in the future. But let’s not hold our breath, and let’s remember the last game in the NES Mega Man line-up; Mega Man 6. The story about Mega Man 6 tells us about a robot master tournament. Dr. Light, being a pacifist, decides not to enter the tournament but the sends Mega Man to check on the tournament to see if everyone is safe. The tournament seems to work out fine and 8 robot masters are victorious. But as the tournament is about to end, a mysterious man named Mr. X tells the audience that he has reprogrammed all the robot to do his bidding and to help him take over the world! And of course, it’s up to our Blue hero to put and end to this mysterious Mr. X’s evil scheme. Many people say that if you’ve played an old-school Mega Man game you’ve pretty much played them all. While this is true, in a weird way, it’s also false in a way that makes the whole previous statement laughable. Rush, Mega Man’s robotic canine, returned in this game but he was a bigger part of Mega Man, quite literally. You could now use Rush to “fuse” with Mega Man and make him punch his enemies and fly farther. Aside from Rush, you also had your robot bird Beat to kill anyone on the screen for you. However, Beat could only be acquired if you fought Tomahawk Man, Centaur Man, Knight Man and Yamato Man in a different lair. And to get to the robot master’s hidden lair, you had to use Rush. With Mega Man 6, Capcom knew that they couldn’t go with the same formula they’ve gone with the whole time. Sure, the slide and powered up Mega Buster was still present, but having different paths on their stages, for example, was a great idea when it comes to Mega Man. Otherwise, it’s everything you’d need in a Mega Man game, all the “run ‘n gun” action that we’ve grown to love with Mega Man are there, as well as the difficulty (even though the game is somewhat easier compared to other Mega Man games in the franchise). So why is it #47? Well, seeing what Rockman went through in both Mega Man 4 and 5, all great games by the way, Mega Man 6 perfected the aspects that 4 and 5 was trying out. I still think Rush had his prime in Mega Man 3, but having him fused with Rock was a unique and great idea, and a great way to keep the games refreshing. And I think the difficulty, while not being challenging enough compared to other games in the franchise, is right up my alley and is therefore my pick for my 47th best game of all time. #46 – Street Fighter Alpha 2 Developer: Capcom Released on: SNES, PSX, Arcade, Genre: Fighting Hell yeah, Street Fighter! It probably didn’t come as a surprise that Capcom’s legendary fighting franchise would make it on the list in some way, shape or form! This is actually the first Street Fighter game I got to play, and I got to play the SNES version. But is it really the best Street Fighter-game I’ve ever played, or is this just one game in the vast sea of SF-games that I used as filler? Well, let’s get kicking! Street Fighter Alpha 2 carries on with the thing that made Street Fighter famous in the first place, it’s fighting. It still has the same aspects as the first Street Fighter Alpha game did, like the air-blocking, 3 level super bar and fall-breaking. However, Street Fighter Alpha 2 introduced the Custom Combo. When the super bar was on level 1 or higher, you could press two punch buttons and one kick button two activate Custom Combo which allowed you to use any attack you could as a combo until the super bar ran out of energy. While it not might’ve been one of the most innovative upgrades the series have ever seen, it made the game more welcoming to button-mashers, if that made any sense. Otherwise, the game is your standard Street Fighter; you pick a character and you defeat whichever opponent who happens to stand in your way until you reach the final boss, which actually didn’t have to be Bison all the time. For Ryu, it could be someone as Akuma or… if you were good enough – Shin Akuma! Speaking of characters, the game had a vast roster of different characters. Most of them had been seen before like Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and Akuma. But now, new characters had entered the fray such as Rolento and Sodom from Final Fight and Gen, Birdie and Adon from the original NES Street Fighter. Also, one new character was introduced – Sakura, a teenage girl fascinated with Ryu. She has even managed to emulate his moves by throwing hadoukens and doing hurricane kicks. There were also some hidden characters in the game. Shin Akuma was one of the characters, but you couldn’t play as him. You could, however, play as Evil Ryu for the first time as well as a different version of Chun-Li with her original clothing from Street Fighter II. You could also play as altered versions of both Zangief and Dhalsim. I think this game is the best Street Fighter game… in the “Alpha-franchise”. It is definitely not the best Street Fighter-game by any means, but I can definitely say that it’s one of the better ones out there. It was well received amongst critics around the globe, and for a good reason. Capcom didn’t want to screw anything up and they kept Alpha 2 simple, yet very in depth. The Street Fighter franchise has always gone with their standard formula, “easy to learn, hard to master”, which is probably the best way to go if you want to make a successful fighting game. It just goes to show that you shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken. But there are so much more better games out there, branching from different genres out there and compared to other fighters out there – all this is is dust in the wind. God, I love Kansas. ==================================================== And that concludes the first entries of my Top 50 List. I hope you found it enjoyable and I’ll hope that my schoolwork doesn’t take away too much of my time. I’m actually getting a free computer from my school, mainly because the people who run my school have realized that most work is done by a computer and not written by hand. So perhaps having access to a computer non-stop probably makes me more available, I don’t know… Either way, thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next part!

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm - my thoughts

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:05:35 -0400

This is not a rant on how about I think that World of Warcraft is going to be destroyed by its upcoming expansion. This blog is my thoughts about it. I haven’t been to BlizzCon, or anything “Cataclysm”-related that required me to leave my house, just so you know. And yeah, it might be a good thing that you know a bit about WoW before reading this. =P For those of you that are following BlizzCon, or even have friends that are part of the 11 million subscribers of World of Warcraft, you’d probably know that the third expansion for WoW was announced; World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. I should probably tell you that I used to be an avid WoW player. I had 3 level 70s (a warrior, paladin and a priest) when The Burning Crusade ended and me and my guild used to raid Hyjal on a weekly basis. Even though a lot of people consider that World of Warcraft was destroyed with the release of the Burning Crusade, I kept on playing – and so did my friends! We used to PuG (an acronym for “pick-up-group”, a term used when you aren’t raiding with your guild, but with random people instead) several raids and we still had a blast with the game. By the time the second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King (or “WotLK” for short) rolled around, we were obviously pretty psyched. Going to Northrend, fight the dreadful Lich King, bringing our super-special-awesome characters to the top of the servers! Sure, there were 10 more levels to grind ourselves through, but those were always part of the fun! Me and my guild used to remember how fun we used to have levelling in Outland (the new continent announced with The Burning Crusade) together, and we figured that the levelling in Northrend would be just as fun! However, when all of us got to level 80, things were starting to look grimmer. The difficulty of the game, or the dedication it took to clear some raid instances, had completely gone in the trash can. And even though the game was a lot easier, people were still very picky about what gear you had. Sure, there were problems like that in the past, but if you said that you could stay on your toes and not be a nuisance to the rest of the party, they’d probably let you join them. Here’s an example: to go into Naxxramas, the very first raid instance of Northrend, with a PuG (which was a great way to start building up your gear) you had to have completed an achievement which required you to have gone through all of Naxxramas without dying once. Now I can see the appeal of the reward (which was a title called “The Undying” which made your name look something like this: Tom the Undying), but stuff like that is really something that should be done with guilds, not with random people because you know that there’s always something bound to **** it up. So, it was the greed of the players and the difficulty-drop which made to finally quit World of Warcraft this March and I’ve been WoW-free ever since. Sure, my brother recently picked up the game, and I’d usually facepalm when he talked about what he did in the World of Warcraft today. But yeah, today it came to my attention, even though I had been reading a post on the Ctrl+Alt+Del webpage about it, but I didn’t really check out if anything of that was true – mostly because I didn’t care. But today I checked out the trailer for the expansion and it looks… pretty damn promising. The world torn asunder… The first thing that you’d probably notice if you’re looking at the trailer is that the world of Azeroth has been ravaged by the evil forces of Deathwing (head of the Black Dragonflight, also known as Neltharion). All the old locations like The Barrens, Ashenvale and Thousand Needles have all changed thanks to the destruction of the evil lord. To me, it looks pretty damn cool. I think this is something that will really lighten up Azeroth, if that makes any sense. Try to look back at your innocent grinding days in The Barrens. The wide, desolate fields lie before your feet, the sun is smiling down and you see the hilarity that is the Barrens Chat, were several noobs try to redeem their small penises with Chuck Norris- and your mom-jokes. Now image the same area, but with a big flood of lava in between everything. I think something like that could really refresh the gaming experience, because something like the destruction of your favourite area can really open your eyes again. It has also been announced that you can use flying mounts to get across both Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms. I don’t have any thoughts on that, but I think it will be way easier exploiting several secret places. Oh yeah, the new places… No new continent has been announced, but there is finally a possibility for you to go into the Maelstrom, also recognized as the big whirlpool at the middle of the map. Several other maps have been opened up, like Hyjal and Uldum and… I’m going to list them here.

- Gilneas - Lost Isles - Hyjal - Uldum - The Twilight Highlands - The Lost City of Vashj’ir - Deepholm I think it’s great that we’ll finally get to see Hyjal, since it’s one of the most exploited areas in World of Warcraft and probably the worst kept secrets of being a future area. But it’s great to see that we can finally see the famous Mount Hyjal without having to grind all the other instances for gear to finally get a glimpse of the last mission in Warcraft III from a soldier’s perspective. Beside Hyjal, there isn’t any other area that really seems that much compelling to explore. Sure, Uldum is bound to be pretty damn interesting, but an area like “Deepholm” doesn’t seem very interesting to me. The ones to form an Alliance with the Horde… wait, what!? Yes, there is going to be two more playable races in the game. The first race that was announced was the new Horde race - Goblins. We are given a backstory that the goblins of the Lost Isles have been fighting off against an “unfamiliar enemy” after seeking refuge there from the destruction of Azeroth. The Horde decided to help them out, and there you go; Goblins are a new playable class. And as you already might’ve guessed – the Goblins starting area is located on The Lost Isles. I never really saw Goblins as a race that you could actually play as. I mean, they have a big influence on the market in Azeroth, being in charge of prosperous towns such as Gadgetzan, Everlook and Ratchet. That’s about it for me, though, I only saw the goblins as a race of merchants rather than a race of fighters. But I guess they’ll do enough for the Horde, and they’ll probably be the new gnomes of the Horde which will probably lead to even more shouting 12-year olds with no idea how to play pick up and play. The announced classes are:

- Death Knight - Hunter - Mage - Warlock - Warrior - Rogue - Priest - Shaman Now, let’s take a short trip down Memory Lane again. Remember when the Burning Crusade was announced, and the two new races were announced as well. Blood Elves were immediately announced as the new Horde race, but Blizzard held off on revealing their choice of the new Alliance race – which was later announced as the Draenei. For Cataclysm, Blizzard decided to reveal their new Alliance race along with the Horde race. The new Alliance race is - Worgen In the wake of the Burning Crusade, Worgen was actually being considered as the new Alliance race. The reason for this is because behind the Greymane wall in Silverpine Forest, the humans had been transformed into Worgen for some arbitrary reason and since they were humans, they were eligible enough to join the Alliance. It’s probably the exact same reason why Blizzard let the Worgen join the Alliance this time around too. Like Goblins, I never really thought about Worgen as playable race, mostly because the majority of the enemies in Silverpine Forest are Worgen and they even have an instance filled with Worgen as enemies. Granted that a lot of the instances contain humans as enemies too, but with an instance clustered with Worgen, one can be forgiven for thinking that Worgen is a race filled with enemies, if that person isn’t really in to the lore. The announced classes are

- Death Knight - Druid - Hunter - Mage - Priest - Rogue - Warlock - Warrior Player versus Environment Of course there was going to be more instances in the game, don’t be silly. Here I’m giving my thoughts on just about any instance announced. The Elemental Planes – Abyssal Maw, Skywall, Deephome and The Firelands All of the elemental planes will now be accessible instances. If you don’t know anything about the Elemental Planes, I don’t blame you since not much is put on the table regarding this. But here’s a quick rundown; Each elemental plane is representing every natural element like wind (The Skywall), water (The Abyssal Maw), earth (Deephome) and fire (The Firelands). Every plane has its own “elemental lord” like Skywall has a guy called Al’Akir, The Abyssal Maw has a guy called Neptulon and so one so forth. Probably the most famous of the elemental lords has to be Ragnaros, which you can fight again in The Firelands. According to wowwiki, he has escaped the Molten Core (where he could be fought prior to the Burning Crusade) and is now trying to burn Nordrassil, a big tree located on Mount Hyjal. Blizzard did something similar to this when Wrath of the Lich King was released – they moved the entire citadel of Naxxramas (which was the last instance before the Burning Crusade hit the shelves) to Northrend where you were supposed to fight the same bosses using the same tactics over and over again.. Many of us saw this as a cheap thing to do and I saw this as a lack of originality. They’re doing the same to Ragnaros now, but I doubt that all the bosses of the Molten Core will be killable again. Perhaps it’ll be a new line-up with bosses, and just Ragnaros will remain the same. Uldum & Grim Batol These two are probably the areas in Azeroth with the biggest mysteries. Both are two giant fortresses, probably with a lot of lore behind them and both of them are just begging to be opened and explored. It’s great that we’ll finally get to see these two babies get opened and that we’re finally being exposed to the secrets of these two instances. Thanks Blizzard, took you long enough! Heroic Deadmines & Heroic Shadowfang Keep Remaining areas There is a few areas that I didn’t mention. This is because I don’t know anything about them and they haven’t interested me enough to make me write down my thoughts about them. The Best and the Worst The Best – Level 85 One of the things I got stoked about was the small raise of levels. Everyone thought that by the time of the next expansion, we’d be able to advance to level 90 because that was the formula we had gone with. The Burning Crusade brought us to 70, Wrath of the Lich King brought us to 80 and now Cataclysm is brining us to 85. This might seem a bit inconsistent, but I think it’s a great way to get into the later content really fast and it’s a good thing to make us cut down on the dreary grinding all the time. Yeah, I said that levelling could be fun, but you do spend more time alone levelling than with your guildmates. The Worst – Race/Class Combinations I know that this sounds like a innovative idea, and that Blizzard needs to do something in order to keep WoW new and refreshing. But I think stuff just have gone out of hand with this. When I first heard about Tauren paladins, I thought it was a joke. I mean, most of we Alliance players (yes, I played for the Alliance) were shocked over that the Blood Elves were getting paladins, or that the horde was getting paladins no less (as were the Horde players for letting us getting shamans). We could only imagine having a gnome priest with us, just for the sheer ridicule of it all or a hunter. Maybe I’ve gotten this the wrong way, but I think they should stick to the old classes. Final Thoughts I don’t think that this expansion will herald the cataclysm of this MMO. There has no doubt been brought some stuff that you’ll either love or hate. I’m actually really excited about how these new areas will change the way you quest or the way you interact with the world around you. Perhaps your best questing routes have destroyed, or perhaps they’ve been enhanced so that you can reach level 90… I mean 85 in a week or so. Then, of course, the question remains if the same difficulty curve the previous games have will be retained. The difficulty curve was in fact ****** because more players should be able to experience the later content without dedicating a whole evening because of it. Even though the intentions are good, a lot of the novelty of the game lied in about what bosses your guild had killed. It’s a bit hard to describe to you non-WoW fans out there, but imagine that you’ve played for a football team a long time. You practice and practice all you can and you do your best to advance within the leagues. In Wrath of the Lich King, it’s like facing the Denver Broncos (I’m actually pretty neutral when it comes to NFL, because your type of football isn’t really football in Sweden) against a team with 6 year olds. It sort of gives you a “if you don’t work, you won’t get promoted” type of view, and the dedication you had to put in this game in order to be on top was the motivation we WoW-players had. So please, Blizzard, let’s keep that same difficulty curve that you used to have. So, that’s my thoughts on the new expansion. It was a bit longer than I expected, but I really felt like writing something about it when the trailer flashed before my eyes. Either way, thanks for reading and I hope you’ll find this informative! - Tremendous Tom

Les Misérables (1998) - Movie Review by Tremendous Tom

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:40:33 -0400

- To Zanarkand -

If you’ve watched my review of the game ”Arm Joe”, a freeware fighting-game for the PC, you’d probably know that I’m a big fan of Les Misérables. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, let me fill you in. Les Misérables was originally a book, released in 1862, by French writer Victor Hugo (also known for his book “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, which the Disney movie of the same name is based off of). It was a book until 1980 when its fame would rocket through the library roof and take it to Broadway, thanks to Claude-Michael Schönberg and Alain Boublil. The musical was well received and it’s the third longest running musical on Broadway ever, following “Cats” and “Phantom of the Opera”. With Les Misérables having such a big following, there was bound to be more forms of media than just a musical. Today, there’s a movie, released in 1998, a TV-series released in 2000, which was basically another way to celebrate the musical’s 20th birthday (even though it starred big-name actors such as Gerard Depardieu and John Malkovich), and even a anime-adaptation released in 2007 by Nippon Animation. Of all the adaptations I’ve mentioned, the one we’re looking at today is the 1998 movie – Les Misérables.

From left to right: Geoffrey Rush, Liam Neeson, Uma Thurman, and Claire Danes.

The movie is set in modern time, as of when this was written, in France. Our story begins in the little town of Digne. It’s night time, and a man is trying to sleep. A woman disturbs him, however, and says that he can’t sleep there and she suggests that the man asks the bishop if he could spend the night at his house as a guest. When he goes over there and after the bishop opens the door after the man’s knocking, the man introduces himself as Jean Valjean and he’s portrayed by Liam Neeson (known from such movies as “Schindler’s List” and video games such as “Fallout 3”). Jean Valjean is a convict, and he’s been in prison for 19 years for stealing bread, and is currently on parole. He’s on his way from Toulon prison to Dijon to report to his parole officer. If he hasn’t arrived in Dijon until Monday, he will be sent back to prison. Even though Valjean is a convict, he still gets to stay the night at the bishop’s house (much to Valjean’s surprise, because he has a paper with him that says that Valjean is a very dangerous convict). While he’s at the house, he explains that after he’s gone to Dijon he might as well starve to death. He’s a convict who can’t read, and almost good for nothing. But he promises that he’ll be a new man after Dijon. But when Valjean tries to go to sleep, he’s starting to get troubled by his time in prison – his hard work that made him exhausted did not prevent the prison guards from hitting him. And when Valjean thinks about what he said earlier, about that he might as well starve to death, he gets up from bed, steals some silverware from the bishop and runs away. Valjean does not get far, however, because he’s already caught the same morning. When he sees Valjean, the bishop gets very angry. The guards that caught him say that Valjean claims that the bishop gave him the silver. The bishop says that Valjean tells the truth and the bishop explains that he’s angry at him because he didn’t take the more. When the guards release him, Valjean asks the bishop why he did this to him. The bishop answers that “you’ve promised to become a new man.”

“Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver, I have bought your soul. I've ransomed you from fear and hatred, and now I give you back to God.” – the bishop of Digne explains why he admitted that he gave the silver to Valjean. The bishop is played by Peter Vaughan.

The movie then skips nine years. Jean Valjean has broken his parole and is now the mayor of a town called Faverolles (the town isn’t really named in the movie, but I thought it might’ve been better to tell you the name of it). He has abandoned his old name and now is he’s known by the villagers as “Monsieur la Maire”, which means “mayor” in French. He’s known for being quite eccentric, he’s a very lonely person and he didn’t even want to become mayor in the first place. It’s told that the townspeople pleaded to him to be mayor. He also owns a factory, which is the biggest factory of Favorelles. He did certainly keep his promise about becoming a new man, didn’t he? Just after the timeskip, we see a new inspector arriving to Favorelles from Paris. The inspector’s name is Javert and he’s played by Geoffrey Rush (known from such movies as Pirates of the Caribbean as Captain Barbossa). Javert is told about the mayor from the police captain of Favorelles, captain Beauvais (played by Swedish actor Reine Brynolfsson – we’ll get to him in a bit), and after hearing about him, Javert wants to meet him. When Valjean sees Javert, he recognizes him immediately. He recognizes Javert from Toulon Prison, the prison where Vajean was known as convict 24601 and where he spent 19 years. Valjean realizes that if Javert finds out his true identity, he’s going back to prison again for breaking his parole. A few days later, both Valjean and Javert are working normally. When Valjean sits at his office, a man comes in and tells Valjean that an accident has happened to one his workers. A man has stuck under a cart and they need to lift they cart off him in order to help him. The whole fuzz about the fallen cart attracts a mass of people, including Inspector Javert. When Javert sees Valjean trying to lift the heavy cart, he starts to see the convict 24601 instad of Monsieur la Maire, and he becomes determined to find out if it really is him.

Javert starts noticing the similarities between Monsieur la Maire and convict 24601.

Javert continues doing whatever he can to find out more about Valjeans past, so he starts to test Valjean. He gives him a letter and asks him to read it, even though he’s fully aware of that most convicts are unable to read. Then he taunts him and says that he knows that he doesn’t read, which makes Valjean even more concerned. Javert’s final plan in order to find the real Valjean comes later on. He decides to take one man, previously locked up in Toulon prison along with two men who are to testify against him, both of which are also from Toulon prison. Javert then puts the man on trial, inviting the mayor, Valjean, to witness it. While Valjean is at the trial, he realizes that he cannot be quiet, and he has to save the innocent man from his own punishment. But is he really ready to risk everything he’s got for a man that he does not know? Valjean then remembers that he is a new man, and that he has sold his soul to God. He steps up to the court and makes the accused men recognize Valjean. Then he turns to the judge and he says:

”I am Jean Valjean.”

What I thought of the movie: I thought that the movie is really good. Even though it’s adapted from the book, the way it tells the story is brilliant. There are a few things that are left unexplained throughout the entire movie, and there are some characters that are left out (like Eponine and Enjolras). But the movie decided to keep the more valid characters like Fantine, Cosette and Marius – characters that actually contribute to Valjean’s part of the story (which the movie is mostly about). The acting is great too. Liam Neeson is perfect for the role of Valjean. Valjean is a very tragic character and he’s portrayed as a tragic one indeed, but also one that’s ready to help his fellow men – mostly because he sold his soul to God and has promised to become a new man. But Liam Neeson is, as already stated perfect for the role of Valjean because he makes Valjean looks like a really sympathetic man with his almost sad-looking face and a look that always seems to question the one he’s talking to. An enjoyable character, and one that you’ll really be caring for throughout the entire movie. The best actor in the movie has to be Geoffrey Rush as Javert, though. Geoffrey Rush manages to give Javert that cold look in his eye that really makes him a great movie villain. He fits perfectly as a police inspector with his mannerisms of being tall, pretty burly and most important of all… looking good in a hat. Sometimes, I found myself rooting for Javert more than I rooted for Valjean, just because Rush makes Javert such an interesting character, even though not much is explained about the character itself. There is one actor, however, who I found laughably bad, mostly because I can relate to his major flaw. Reine Brynolfsson playing captain Beauvais. The reason why I don’t like his portrayal in this movie is because Reine Brynolfsson is Swedish (don’t get me wrong, I’m Swedish myself) and has an incredibly thick Swedish accent. When I first heard him, I slapped my face so hard that you could see a red hand over my face, because his accent really takes you out of the movie. It isn’t really a big problem in the movie, since the movie gets rid of him very quickly. I don’t know how that will affect you, but it sure makes me feel that he’s like a vegetarian in a slaughterhouse – incredibly misplaced.

Fan ta dig, Reine Brynolfsson!

The biggest problem of the movie, though, is its very (and I mean VERY) slow pacing. It takes well over half an hour before Monsieur la Maire introduces himself as Jean Valjean and it’s after that epic scene which the movie actually starts. You could probably read this from the introduction I made above that a lot of things happen before the trial and that they are needed to be explained in order to make you really get why Valjean and Javert are acting the way they are. But with the movie looking very grey and in a very depressive setting, it almost makes the movie feel monotonous. But it’s the performance of both Neeson and Rush that will still keep you entertained. Conclusion: Les Misérables is a very well executed book-to-movie adaptation. There is always that feeling that the book is better, which it is (how else did you think that it spawned the third longest running musical on Broadway?) and you’ll probably want to read the book or at least check a plot synopsis, which I was kind enough to include in this review. Since not an awfully lot is put on the table in the movie, it leaves you with drawing a lot of the conclusion of the movie on your own. Like when Valjean is sitting at the trial, he’s constantly looking troubled because he can’t let that accused man be punished for Valjean’s sins (even though he also looks like he needs to use the toilet as well). It’s not explained that he acted the way he did because he was “a new man” and had “sold his soul to God” and the movie leaves you drawing that conclusion yourself, even though it’s most apparent. I can’t really say that this is an action-packed film. Sure, there are some action-scenes in there, like when the students of Paris fight off the French soldiers (which includes a very sad death scene). But if you like diving in to the action, you won’t find this movie enjoyable. I have to say that you’ll have to know a bit about Les Misérables before spending 134 minutes with this film. But it’s still a wonderful movie, and if you want to see something beautiful and a very deep movie, you should definitely check this one out.

Bad for Good: + Great storytelling. + Great acting from the lead roles. + Very deep movie. - Slow pacing. - Reine Brynolfsson, just for laughs. - Leaves you drawing your own conclusions, which most of the time are pretty obvious. Score: 6.5/10 Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll find this review both enjoyable and informative. Have a great day! =)

- Tremendous Tom -

Top 5 Internet Celebrities

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:52:07 -0400

What would we be doing without our precious internet? Some people argue that we would be bored out of our minds while others say that the internet is the root to all evil in this world. I can safely say that the latter of those two statements are completely wrong, because were would the internet be without its celebrities? These are the people we log on to see every day, and the people that have inspired us to be creative and made us do the stuff that we do here on the World Wide Web. But now you might be thinking: “Well, because he posted the list here at ScrewAttack, the ScrewAttack crew or the Angry Video Game Nerd is obviously going to be number one on this list.” If you actually thought that (which you probably didn’t) you’d be very wrong, my friend. Truth is, I’m not going to add anyone associated with ScrewAttack on this list. So therefore – no brentalfloss, no Game OverThinker and no Angry Video Game Nerd. So without further ado – let’s roll out the red carpet and ready our cameras for the Top 5 Internet Celebreties!

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#5: Tim Buckley – author of Ctrl+Alt+Del

Ctrl+Alt+Del has gotten very mixed reactions within the gaming community. Some people, myself included, love this webcomic for its great video game-related jokes (like when the comic made fun of the guards from the Thief-series) and for its story that actually feels consistent throughout the many arcs of the story. Other people, however, have criticized it for it’s dialogue-heavy panels, the story being too slow and of course; the infamous “miscarriage arc” when the main characters girlfriend gets a miscarriage, as the title implies. A very disturbing arc in the story, which is more normal in real life than you think it is. Game critic Benjamin Croshaw made fun of the idea claiming that “you’d have to have several blood clots if you thought it would be a good idea”. It has even been called “the first horseman of the Apocalypse”, But for the #5 spot on this list, it was either “Penny Arcade”, or “Ctrl+Alt+Del”. And as you’ve already seen, Ctrl+Alt+Del took the #5 spot on this list, even though it had that little disturbing arc that we shouldn’t mention again. But you have to look at the comic as a whole, and not judge it by just one arc. And let’s hope that we’ll see a Darth MacManus in the future too.

#4: CollegeHumor – collegehumor.com

How does one describe Collgehumor? Well, it’s your one stop for hilarious sketches and obscure references on the internet. Collegehumor is known for both its original short movies like “Font Fight” and “ShamWow Guy in Jail” as well as their gaming related shows “Bleep Bloop” and their short sketch-show called “Hardly Working”. There’s just so much original work in by these guys that it makes your head explodes. Almost everyone is a good actor in there and they can make the smallest dilemmas, like a bug, into a matter of live or death. And of course, there’s this sketch that we all can relate to… except, not really.

And let’s not forget, the most addicting song that has ever been heard on the internetz; their song “We Didn’t Start the Flame War”. I liked the song at first, but when everyone started singing it, it lost its novelty. But CollegeHumor will never lose its novelty to me, not as long as they’re doing their phenomenal skits and hilarious short films. Now, let’s hope that “Minesweeper the Movie” becomes a reality. I have a feeling that if CH is in charge, it’s going to a bold success. I was obviously sarcastic.

#3: LittleKuriboh – Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series

I have never really gotten in to Yu-Gi-Oh! I’ve always seen the show as a lame rip-off of Pokémon (which I was a big fan of when this show came out in Sweden), and I really never understood why they played card games instead of, you know… fighting or anything. Luckily for us fans who just watched the show for giggles, Martin Billany (also known as LittleKuriboh) created the spoof show Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged series. Martin does a great job with these, and he is actually doing all the voices on the show. Now that’s awesome. He’s had a slew of imitators, most of them doing dubs for other shows (like TeamFourStar does Dragonball Z before they got banned from YouTube recently). LittleKuriboh is probably the best of the bunch when it comes to dubs because he’s a very (and I mean VERY) good voice actor and a great writer. When Seto Kaiba speaks for example, you don’t hear some 25-year old guy sitting in his apartment doing monotone voices for some random character – you hear Seto Kaiba! And for having one of the best internet shows in history (it’s ironically better than the show it’s making fun of), he earns the number #3 on this list!

#2: Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw – Zero Punctuation

Whenever I talk about Yahtzee with my friends, they never seem to like him because they can’t understand what the hell he’s saying (and I get to laugh them in their face because of my superior English-skills, which is real fun). Well, for some of you that actually can understand his rapid talking, you’d know that he’s one of the most entertaining personalities on the web. His reviews increased the popularity of the web magazine The Escapist with 400%. He also said in an interview that people in charge of Steam contacted Yahtzee and said that the sales of the game Painkiller had tripled after giving Yahtzee had given it positive feedback on his weekly review show Zero Punctuation, the show he’s most known for. Besides contributing with reviews for the Escapist every week, he also writes for the Australian magazine “Hyper” and also for “PC Gamer”. He’s also host of a show called Game Damage along with his two friends Matt and Yug. His reviews are like no others because they use no actual video game footage. Instead most of his ranting is illustrated by cartoon characters doing pretty much exactly what he says, literally. And even though his reviews are mostly negative and they might cause a lot of fanboy rage (his negative review of SSBB made him devote an entire episode of Zero Punctuation to just answering some of the “more valid arguments”), he always seem to make a very good point at the each of every review that almost forces you to agree with him and almost sympathize with him. And for is influential nature, he gets the title of the second biggest Internet Celebrity in my book.

#1: That Guy with the Glasses – TGWTG.com

The number one spot on this list is dedicated to the brain behind the website That Guy With The Glasses. Doug Darien Walker is the actor behind such characters as the Nostalgia Critic, who will rip a bad movie a new one every Tuesday/Wednesday (they’re released on Wednesdays for me in Sweden, so shup ut!), Bum Reviews who seems to be seeing the best movie he’s ever seen in his life every time he’s reviewing something new and several other memorable characters he made up for the sole purpose of entertaining you! He’s seems like an incredibly funny guy and it’s almost entertaining to watch him dissect another bad movie that I’ve never heard of. Even his recent review, when he did a Hunter S. Thompson-approach (who I do not of, by the way) managed to make me laugh a few times. And who could forget his legendary feud with The Angry Video Game Nerd, which was probably his rise to fame. Besides being a very funny guy with many personalities on the web, he also has a website dedicated to make your stuff seen. Without it, would we have ever heard of Benzaie or Linkara if TGWTG.com hadn’t exist? Well, you haven’t probably heard of them now either, but that’s not the point. The point is, That Guy With the Glasses sure helped many people get their material out there while providing some A+ material himself. And that is why he’s my favourite Internet Celebrity of all time.

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But where can I find these celebrities? - Ctrl+Alt+Del - CollegeHumor - LittleKuriboh - Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw - That Guy with the Glasses

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So that concludes my Top 5 celebrities list. I was going for a Top 10, actually, but I couldn’t even think of more than 7 people that I wanted to mention. But anyway, I’m pretty happy with the outcome of this list, and I’ll hope you’ll be so too. Maybe if I update this list, you’ll be in it too? =) Leave a comment, tell me what you liked and didn’t like! Remember that it’s you, the community, which keeps me going when it comes to stuff like this! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and have a good night. - Tremendous Tom

Top 10 Villains

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:52:48 -0400

Slayer – Disciple The perfect theme of any villain

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Any tale is incomplete without a credible villain. Whether you’re fighting for freedom, fame or just for some night-time action, there is sure as hell going to be some bad villain standing in your way. These villains can be seen as sophisticated and brutal, as well as just silly and out of place. But for me, all that matters is that the villain means something – not just to me, but to gaming itself and also to the gamers who’ve played the games they were in. It doesn’t really matter what you think, though – because this is my Top 10 Villains of all time!

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#10: Mike Tyson – Punch-Out!!

Everybody knows it: Punch-Out!! is not Punch-Out!! if Mike Tyson isn’t part of the title. Whether you like him in real life or not (what sane person tattoos his face?), you were sure to really hate him in “Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!” for the NES. It doesn’t matter how hard you trained against the other boxers like Glass Joe, King Hippo and Soda Popinski, Mike Tyson could knock you out in a second. And if you tried fighting for revenge, he’d bite your freaking ear off. Ok, not really, but still… Later, of course, at the end of the NES-era, Mike Tyson was replaced with everyone’s favourite boxer, sarcasm, Mr. Dream! Even though he’s an exact clone of Mike Tyson, you’d rather see Kid Dynamite knocking you into oblivion than some cheap knock-off. And of course, Mike Tyson isn’t in the remake… bummer...

#9: Ghosts – Pac-Man

I think it safe to say that everyone has played the arcade masterpiece that is Pac-Man. Whether if it’s in a standard arcane cabinet, a Game Boy port or even a cell phone, I’m sure you’ve all had to tamper against those devious ghosts that haunt the mazes of this great game. But is it really fair to put regular enemies on this list? For this game, I’m going to allow it. Why? Well, they’re the only bad guys in the game, and the only hindrance between you and your sweet, sweet balls. And second of all; it’s my list, dammit, I can do what I want with it! The only way to defeat these ghosts is if you actually manage to eat them; that is if you manage to get a hold of the Power Pellets, one of the best power-ups of all time. Hey, wouldn’t that put the Ghostbusters out of business?

#8: Arthas Menethil – Warcraft

So how do I introduce the Prince of Lordaeron himself, and the King of the Undead Scourge of Northrend (gee, that’s a hefty title, isn’t it?). Well, he’s most definitely one of the most violent entries on this list, just because he slaughtered an entire city – just because everyone was sick, and violence helps more than medicine, I guess. Be afraid, those of you with the swine flu, be very afraid… In all seriousness though, Arthas deserves this spot on this list because he’s the only villain here who has turned from a high authority, a prince no less, into one of the biggest fears of the whole world… of Warcraft and I guess that’s something to be admired. I was actually pretty stunned by shock when Arthas turned evil, even though I’d heard rumours about his turn to the “dark side” from various sources like my friends. And yes, he is the one and only Prince of Darkness. And yes, he is more deserving of the title than Ozzy Osbourne, as seen is the commercial. Or… well, let’s see you bite the head off a bat then, Arthas.

#7: M. Bison – Street Fighter

Ah yes, the only villain on this list who can wear red leather, be the leader of a criminal organization called Shadaloo (or Shadowlaw, depending on what name you like the most) and still both look and sound credible. Beating M. Bison in Street Fighter II can easily make up for every quarter we spent in the arcades. I remember how frustrated I got each time he’d jump on my head and attack me again, and of course fly directly towards you in high speed from the other side of the screen. But when you finally stand on his beaten corpse, it sure feels great to be alive! While M. Bison has been made into a mockery in the recent movie (you suck, Neal McDonough), he sure is a memorable character in the games – and that is what he should be remembered as; one of the greatest fighting game bad guys of all time. Screw you, Seth, you cheap bastard!

#6: Dr. Robotnik – Sonic the Hedgehog

How does a villain who’s trying to capture all the cute animals from the forest be one of the toughest villains of all time, all while losing to a blue hedgehog? I’ll tell you why; he’s… but… well… that’s kinda hard to answer (and it’s pretty pathetic in a way), but if you’ve played a Sonic-game (preferably one of the early ones) you’d know that the arsenal of Dr. Ivo Robotnik is huge. Remember the boss fights against him? It would always be something new and interesting like a ship that can go through lava (Sonic 3) or big monster with four legs (Sonic Adventure He even managed to build a duplicate of his arch-nemesis, Sonic. But even though he appears to have all the resources in the world and a IQ higher than most people, he still manages to lose to blue hedgehog. Here’s a fun fact: did you know that Robotnik is actually a polish word meaning “worker”, and that “Ivo”, Robotnik’s first name, is “Ovi” backwards meaning “Egg” in Latin. So Egg Worker is his real name, huh? I guess Eggman is a fitting name for him after all!

#5: Bowser – Super Mario Bros.

It’s probably no surprise to you that this two-legged beast entered pretty high on the list. We don’t know where he’s from, we don’t know what motives he really has with the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom is, all we know is that he’s going to do whatever it takes to get that Brooklyn-plumber Mario dead. He even spawned 7 children out of nowhere in order to obtain his goal. One thing I find pretty odd about Bowser is his relationship with Mario. Think about this, at their first encounter Mario stands head to head with a fire-breathing Bowser on a bridge with a flood of lava underneath. Then, some games later, they play tennis side by side or ride the same go-kart together. But hell, he’s one of the first guys you think of when you’re talking villains, and to think I would not include him here would probably make me a new ******* or something.

#4: Dr. Wily – Mega Man

Yes, this is the top “dr.” on the list, simply because he has in game after game still created dozens of robots to take his opposite, Dr. Light, down. Luckily for Dr. Light, the blue bomber is here to save the day! Yes, who could deny the master of the Robot Masters himself on this list? Not doing so would be blasphemy, or even madness! I could make a reference to a certain movie involving 300 spartans, but I won’t. After 6 glorious games on the NES, Dr. Wily made a phenomenal return last year with Mega Man 9. And thank God for that, otherwise he would be much lower on this list. Don’t get me wrong, I had a really tough time beating him in the other Mega Man games, but his wonderful return with Mega Man 9 proved that even the oldest of doctors can survive the test of time!

#3: Sephiroth – Final Fantasy VII

Even though he might look like a whiny little ***** for any given anime, Sephiroth of Final Fantasy VII can surely be nominated as one of the biggest a-holes in video game history. I mean *sniffle*, he caused one of the saddest moments in video game history! He killed Aeris Gainsborough! Oh my god, *sniffle*, I’ve got something in my eye… Besides my fake crying, Seph was sure to be one tough force to reckon with. All through your adventures in Final Fantasy VII he pesters you. He even summons a meteor to make control every living being on the planet (go play Final Fantasy VII, and it’ll make sense to you). And he’s probably the only one winged angel out there. Speaking of one winged angels, he has probably the coolest boss theme of all time called “One Winged Angel”. I don’t even think that I can make him justice by writing empty text here – go play the game and you’ll hate him as much as I do.

#2: Darth Vader – Star Wars

Oh come on, how could Darth Vader not be on this list? He’s one of the most awesome villains ever! He’s a very tragic character, as sadly the trilogy made him out to be, which I admire in a villain who flies around in a death star shaped like a grapefruit. Also, he is the father of both Luke Skywalker and probably the best plot twist of all time: ”No, Luke, I am your father! Darth Vader has left a huge impact on audiences everywhere. Whether people love or hate Anakin Skywalker, people can all agree on that he’s one impressive villain. Even though he turned evil in three movies (well of course, he was in fact Jake Lloyd as a kid), it took him three movies to understand the error of his ways and I think everyone shed a little nerdy-tear when Darth Vader died in the hands of his son. Rest in peace, Darth Vader – loved father and the #2 villain of all time…

#1: Ganondorf – Legend of Zelda

This guy, the King of the Gerudos, is my favourite villain of all time. Why? Well, because he’s just so damn powerful! I mean think about it, he has millions of creatures in his disposal, he is known as the Great King of Evil (suck on that one, Arthas), and he has the goddamn Triforce of Power! And the best thing about his great powers is that Ganon’s fully aware of them, and he uses them to whatever limit he can. He can transform himself into a giant beast, mind control one of the greatest sorcerers of Hyrule, the princess Zelda herself and numerous other things. Hell, Ganondorf Dragmire has only two weaknesses, the Master Sword and the Light Arrows – probably the most random weaknesses ever. But they are not random enough for Link to use them against his will. Whenever there’s a scene focusing on Ganondorf, you really know that he’s in focus that he’s one bad mother******. Hell even when Midna (Twilight Princess) transform to help Link and Zelda escape from Ganondorf’s beast form, she gets her ass handed to her. And when you see Ganondorf on his steed, rising on the horizon, you’re sure to tremble in fear for the greatest villain of all time!

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Phew, it’s finally done! You cannot imagine how much I’ve wanted to do a list like this. And finally, I got the motivation to do it! So remember boys and girls, leave comments, tell me what’s good and bad about the list and remember: You are the reason I’m doing stuff like this! =) By the way, I have a new review in production which I’m probably going to be released this weekend. And as you probably know, I really hate my accent, so I was thinking: how about I do the review after the one I’m releasing this weekend in Swedish, with English subtitles of course? Wouldn’t it be nice to hear the beautiful Swedish language instead of a fake American accent? You decide! Gee, I sure hope adding my name into the title will attract more readers?!?!?

Scars on Broadway (2008) - Music Review

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:42:14 -0400

From left to right – Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan. One of my favourite bands of all time has to be System of a Down. The band was founded in 1995 by Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian and they were later joined by Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan. System of a Down was undeniably one of the biggest alternative-metal bands of the 90’s and was probably (along with Rage Against the Machine) the most critical to society as well. Most of their songs are about injustices in our society, and some of them are about the Armenian Genocide (taking place in 1915). Every member of the band is actually a descendant of survivors of the genocide. System of a Down had released 5 studio albums, played live all around the globe and had gained millions of fans from China to Alaska, as well as reaching out with some political messages. But in 2006, System of a Down announced their hiatus. A lot fans, myself included, feared that they would be breaking up, but Daron comforted us by saying that they’ve decided to go their own way for now, just like KISS. And they all went their own way, like they’ve promised. In October 2007, Serj Tankian released his first solo album “Elect the Dead”, and he has announced a new album coming this summer! Shavo Odadjian, SOAD’s bassist, joined a band called Achozen with rapper RZA from Wu-Tang Clan (their first album is scheduled for release in September). And Daron and John formed a band together called Scars on Broadway. Scars on Broadway was a very short-lived band and it was only active for just over a year. And just because I am a HUGE fan of System of a Down, a just couldn’t turn my back on Scars on Broadway. I mean, I had already “bought” (yarr) Elect the Dead. So that’s why I’m reviewing all their albums they’ve ever released… and by that I mean one album – Scars on Broadway So let’s take a look at some of the songs. I won’t go through all the songs, but I will go through the more memorable songs on the album. This is also going to be a little review of the band, since this is their only album. Anyway – Enjoy! - They Say Just as the SoB’s website launched, it featured a countdown timer with the words “They say it’s all about to end” over it. And when the countdown was complete, on March 28 2008 15:00 PST, They Say, their first single was released on their website. It’s also the first song by Scars on Broadway to have its own music video. I think it’s a good song, and I think it sounds like something that would sum up Scars on Broadway as a whole. The biggest bummer about this song is that it isn’t a very memorable song – which is a shame, because this song is supposed to make people buy their album. I mean, aside from the riff in between the chorus and the verse, there isn’t much to the song. But hey, it’s still a great song, and you can clearly tell that this is from the mind of System of a Down. - 3005 I can safely say that this song is one of the best songs that Daron has ever sung. His bright voice is perfect for this song, and it surely goes to show. It’s also feels very relaxing, and it’s just one of those songs you listen to on a rainy day, when nothing ever happens. You know what this reminds me of; System of a Down’s song “Lonely Day”, which was also sung (and written, for that matter) by Daron. It was originally intended to be one of Daron’s solo projects, but the other members of System of a Down liked it, so they put in on Hypnotize (System of a Down’s fifth album, released in 2005) claiming that it had to be heard. Perhaps it could’ve replaced this song, I don’t really know. Overall, it’s one of the better songs on this album and it has one of the best written lyrics too. It leaves you with the feeling that we humans will never grasp what really goes on in the world – and that really leaves me inspired. - Babylon This song is definitely one of the more slow-paced songs on the album, and it’s definitely has the longest intro. I mean, it lasts for 1 minute and 30 seconds, and about half the song! But when the verse starts, you immediately stop thinking about the intro and you just listen to Daron’s brilliant voice. From what I can gather from the lyrics, it about love, and it’s the typical “I remember the good times we had and I’d do anything to relive them with you”. But that’s just my interpretation, and it’s anyone’s guess what the song is really about.

”I really don’t like explaining what I think it means, because it’s more valid of what you think it means. I feel like art and music come from the collective consciousness. And when we relate them at best we’re skilled presenters.”

-- Serj Tankian, lead singer of System of a Down trying to explain the significance of the name “Elect the Dead.” One of the better songs from the band, and it’s definitely one of the most original scores on the album. I feel like this should’ve been one of the singles – along with They Say and… our next song. - World Long Gone This song is the best song on this album, hands down, as well as the band’s second single. It’s always fun listening to it, because it always sounds new and refreshing. I can’t even find the appropriate words to describe this song, it’s just that great. It has a very likeable tempo throughout the whole song, and it makes the song go by very fast – making it easy to come back to the song and listen to it again. It also has an very good music video, with people holding signs with very questionable text. Go watch it, you’ll love it. Bonus track: Hungry Ghost This track was only was released in Japan, just like System of a Down did with the extended version of their song “P.L.U.C.K.” I have no idea why they chose to release it in Japan only. So what can be said about this song then? Well, as you can hear, it’s one of the more original tracks on the album. But it’s the song’s most fatal flaw is its lyrics. And you wouldn’t think it could be the lyrics, if you look at System of a Down’s songs. But the lyrics are very repetitive, and it sounds almost the same throughout the entire song. And with a guitar solo that isn’t very special, it’s easy to just forget about this song. Here are the rest of the songs that I didn’t review:

- Serious - Funny - Exploding/Reloading - Stoner-Hate - Insane - Kill Each Other/Live Forever - Chemicals - Enemy - Universe - Cute Machines - Whoring Streets Conclusion: can Scars on Broadway live up to System of a Down’s standards? I’m a die hard-System of a Down fan. I know all their songs by heart, I know all songs from Elect the Dead by heart, and now I know all the songs by Scars on Broadway by heart. And being a fan of System of a Down, I would feel ashamed to give Scars on Broadway anything but two thumbs up – because they sure as hell remind you of the good times, the SOAD-times. It would be wrong to say that SoB is the next SOAD, because it’s not what Scars on Broadway is intended to be (because if it was, then what was the point of taking hiatus?). It’s intended to be its own independent metal band, and that is how you have to look at it. The album, Scars on Broadway, is a great album, and it really shows that there is much more to Daron and John than just System of a Down. It’s also a very varied album with tracks for almost all tastes. If you already were a fan of System of a Down, you’re going to love this album – just like I do! Too bad we won’t be seeing any more albums by them, because they have officially broken up. Which leads me to a good question; will System of a Down ever come back? Fans have speculated that System of a Down will never tour again and that they’ve broken up. Both Serj and Daron have told us fans that they haven’t broken up, a statement which I like to stick by. And even though not much is happening between the members of the band – I’m sure that one day we’ll be blessed again with another great album from System of a Down, just like the older days. ======================================================== And yes, there’s a new video in production. It’s a review of a Dreamcast game. What Dreamcast game, you ask? Well, you just have to find out. =) Tremendous Tom - A winner is you!