Wulfsbane

12 hours ago, MoKat said:

Twitter's crap has really gotten out of hand >.<

It was deleted by the account.

It looks like it was a premature announcement. Maybe the deal was reached within the last few days. With the launch in 2022, it would be unwise for the official announcement to come now.

There's also a fake image on what it's about.

The issue when it comes to Animaniacs 2020 isn't the art necessarily, as the music, animation and voice acting are top-notch as they were back in the 90s. One of the main problems when it comes to Animaniacs 2020 is the air of uniqueness that surrounded it is mostly eroded away from the show as it has been done, in some cases better, than the original did.

Animaniacs became popular due to how it was one of the few shows at the time to take a jab or two at society, culture, etc. Having watched a few of the older episodes, while a few jokes have definitely poorly aged, there are several jokes that still are funny to this day. Now I'm not sure if most of the jokes in the new one will age well. Most of the jokes in the current one are politically charged that will probably poorly age within 3 months at worst and a year at best. Interestingly, in the original, there were a few jokes at then President Clinton (and was a part of the title sequence) but overall was treated rather well. And this was when he was rather  liked by the general population but now in the current one they act like Clinton is a little angel... ignoring a lot of the sins the man has committed.

But that's a small part of the problem. South Park, Family Guy (Seth McFarlane era), Rick & Morty, and BoJack Horseman all make jabs and lampoons modern society, culture, politics just like Animaniacs did. But now, those shows do a much better job at presenting such satire, South Park a notable example. Animaniacs would need to catch up and honestly need to change how they went about season one for season two. Also, most of the episodes were written in 2018 and Covid kinda caused problems. I think Variety said it best: it "focused too much on trying to lampoon current and political events instead of simply parodying the entertainment industry in general, and left the show "more of a sour aftertaste that keeps it from being as effervescent as it once was, and could be.""

Now having seen the new one too, there is something there but it did leave a bit of a sour aftertaste. The original was a kids cartoon that adults can watch (the Prince joke, anyone?) but this one felt like an adult cartoon that kids can watch. And I don't think kids now really care (nor should) about political stuff, especially when their parents are probably complaining 24/7, their teachers are, and whomever they follow online. Let them be kids.

It's a shame, really.

I'll do Beyond Light next week. But for now:

No Man's Sky: Revisited

Synopsis: Same as above, but, here's the story added in Atlas Rises:

Upon waking up and getting your spacecraft fixed, once you enter space for the first time you are contacted by an alien entity named Artemis, who tells them that they, like the player, are a Traveler and wished to meet others of their kind. They stepped through a strange, ancient portal, but they got trapped on a sunless world. After triangulating their position and talking with the local alien species, the Traveler discovers that Artemis's location does not exist. After telling Artemis the news, the transmission ends mysteriously and the Traveler learns of another Traveler named Apollo. Apollo know Artemis and after a bit of convincing, he agrees to help you out. What comes next, well... that'd be spoilers

What Changed: You know how I mentioned there really was no story in the beginning? Well with the Atlas Rises update, it added a story to get the game rolling that immediately adds 20-30 hours of content to the game. The same update added perma-death mode and creative modes to give players more gameplay options. Foundations and Path Finder, the first two updates, added base building, exo crafts (vehicles), and home planets as well as sharable planets and a step towards multiplayer.  Next added multiplayer, bases anywhere on a planet, underwater bases, fleets, multiple owned star-ships and missions players can go on solo or in a group. Abyss and Visions expanded the underwater bases, added a mini story to the underwater portion of the game,  more biomes, abnormal flora/fauna, and discover more interesting aspects like Storm Crystals and Fossils. Beyond  added expanded multiplayer, VR, and more customization options for bases (such as power, automations, etc. To showcase, HG recreated Rocket League in NMS.) Synthesis overhauled ships and inventory. Living Ships added... well... living ships and a story to boot. Origins effectively doubled the variation in flora and fauna and added new planetary features like binary and ternary star systems, volcanoes, and localized weather patterns and effects.

What I Liked: Massive overhauls to the game and added a ton of features that were promised in the beginning and others that weren't asked. Hello Games has gone above and beyond to  give us what we wanted in the game and vowed to make things right. There's a lot more to do in the game now and it's still a rather chill, relaxing game. Exploring the cosmos is much more fun with each update and the game has a ton of staying power now. Also the VR update was free, Hello Games could have easily charged for a VR update or a whole new game to buy (cough, Bethesda, cough). Has everything been added that was promised? Ehh, there's still a way to go but at least they're making good on it.

What I Didn't Like: Well, there's still no Corossaut-like planets, though the in game lore kinda gives a good reason as to why. While there's exponentially a lot more to do, the game still should be taken in spades as you can get bored and put it down for a time again.

Would I recommend: Yup. Fun exploration, a lot more to do, a decent story, and it scratches the exploration itch.

Now, if you're curious about the development of No Man's Sky, what happened, what went wrong, etc. Internet Historian has a great 1 hour video on the subject (Language and minor content warning). Here.

On 11/18/2020 at 9:33 PM, SGT Rock Vox said:

But anything by Chuck Dixon (writer) and Graham Nolan (artist) is good Batman. Watch the next Ask Chuck Dixon on YouTube, and you will catch a question from me to Chuck....

I'm curious what Chuck would have done if he was given the chance to write a Batman movie

Me being our resident Destiny player, I'll probably review New Light once Deep Stone Crypt raid comes out. Also I'm going to be a part of a streamer's team for World's First for DSC

I kinda dont like how they're doint it more or less just like "special episodes" now. I liked when they actually did motoring news and tests. All the episodes are on MotorTrend for streaming and I kinda want to get it so I can watch all the old/good Top Gear episodes.

Wish the BBC would make a Series 2-22 Blu-Ray collection.

I just want to see a Shuffle remaster/remake

On 11/5/2020 at 9:55 PM, Mike Arcade said:

Shark Boy and Lava Girl is a very odd movie, even from Robert Rodriguez filmography. Also the making of it is kinda sweet, as he made it based off of his kid's (being a toddler at the time) imagination. The concept itself isn't bad, but it's directing is the oddest thing I've ever seen in my life. The entire cast talk like they are little kids in their delivery, which I can't help but think that was completely intentional. It's bizarre, and it's worth at least a laugh or cringe with friends at least. Can't recommend it otherwise, unless you have real little ones I guess.

It also introduced Taylor Laughtner to the world so it's even worse

Interesting behind the scenes look at how Bungie developed the new Destiny expansion during the lockdown. (some language)

Find it funny how the first time Ed Sheeran drove a car it was on Top Gear

Imagine having The Stig as your driving instructor. @WarTraveller

Interesting Fact: Sean Connery was slated to play Gandalf in Lord of the Rings but he turned it down. He said this was his biggest regret in his career.

Because of this, he signed on for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

10 hours ago, MoKat said:

I remember seeing commercials for it, but I never saw the movie.

It was nothing to write home about.

Anyone remembers the Disney film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D? Did you guys know that was supposed to be a full fledged series in TV and film? Well the reason why it didn't happen was because of professional wrestler Dean Roll, who actually traded marked "Shark Boy" back in 1999, sued Disney and Miramax for infringement.

I put this in here because no one remembers that film.

On 8/24/2016 at 12:14 AM, Wulfsbane said:

Alright, time to do this.

Wulfsbane's review of No Man's Sky.

Synopsis: The player character, known as the Traveler, wakes up on a remote planet near their crashed spacecraft. They receive a message from an entity called "The Atlas" that offers its guidance, directing the character to make the necessary repairs to the spacecraft and collecting the resources needed to fuel a hyperspace jump to another solar system. En route, they encounter individual members of three alien species, the Gek, the Korvax, and the Vy'keen, that inhabit the galaxy.

As the Traveler moves towards other systems, they are alerted to a presence of a space anomaly in a nearby system. Traveling there they find a space station where two aliens wait for them, Priest Entity Nada and Specialist Polo. Nada and Polo have knowledge beyond what other aliens in the galaxy appear to possess, including being able to speak without translation to the Traveler. They are able to guide the Traveler towards meeting Atlas, either by directing them to the location of a nearby Atlas Interface, or to a black hole that can quickly take the Traveler closer to the center of the galaxy. The Traveler investigates the Interfaces to find themselves in direct communication with the Atlas which wants them to continue to explore and collect information all while moving towards the center, where the Atlas entity appears to be. The Atlas judges the Traveler's progress, and grants it an Atlas Stone if it deems the Traveler worthy.

(There's more but there's spoilers)

Like: With 18 Quintilian planets to discover and explore. While some planets are similar to one another there's a vast difference between them. Sometimes you can land on a lifeless rock of a planet, and I mean lifeless: No Flora or Fauna. There's times you can find an abundance of Flora and Fauna. Some planets have a lot of Sentinels (the guardians of sorts) that are hostile or peaceful, some planets are hotter than hell, cold as your ex's heart, or irradiated as much as the core of Chernobyl. There's definitely a lot of variety. It's also very relaxing in a way. I can explore all I want and I would feel alright, I can let my mind at ease and just relax. Space travel is also fun (GOING TO THE MOON! MOON RIDE x4!) and there's a lot of minerals to find. Learning the language of the species is kinda fun too.

Dislikes: A lot of planets do feel barren though. You would think you could stumble upon a planet with a massive city of sorts on it or a vast civilization but that's not the case unfortuantely. It's also full of "collect resources & craft" gameplay. There's just so much more that could be done but as of right now there's not a ton to do.

Would I recommend? Yes... and No. This game still has a lot of potential and with a bunch of free content updates to come and with a lot more expansion possible I would recommend the game. The game itself is fun and relaxing but it just needs more to it. It's still considered a technological masterpiece though for what it has done. Though a price drop could help.

I'm thinking of redoing this one. It's been a few years and the updates have absolutely changed the game for the better. Plus we now know more about development so I'll include a bit on that.

MCU films before the effects and CGI are added in

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2.

9.5/10

Synopsis: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 & 2 re-made and remastered for modern consoles. The entirety of the game re-textured and rescaled up to look just a great as any major game out today.

What I liked: Exact 1 for 1 remake of the first two games, with expanded goals for the Pro Skater 1 levels. All the original skaters are in the game, all the levels are in the game with some getting expanded, all but three of the original songs from the original games are in the game (Unsane – Committed from THPS1, BlackPlanetMusic (feat. Alleylife) - Out With the Old and The High and Mighty – B-Boy Document '99 from THPS2 if you're curious). There's even fun little extras like giant mode, tiny mode, etc., cheats like perfect balance, and other little goodies that you unlock as you progress through the game. Park editor and Create-a -Skater is massively expanded and has a ton of customization factors that rival all the previous games combines. There's also a setting where you can have the moveset be only what you could do in THPS 1 or in THPS 2 for added difficulty.

What I didn't like: While I don't like the fact they added new, modern skaters to the mix, I understand those guys and girls would be the skaters who would predominately be available if this is the launching point for a new generation of Tony Hawk games. The added songs in the soundtrack are mostly rap and hip-hop with little to no rock, punk, or metal added in and the ones that were are kinda ehh. Some of the goals can be rather painfully difficult for where they are in the game. Game is still slightly repetitive but the ld games were too

Would I recommend: If you've played the originals at any point I would absolutely recommend the game. The price tag is rather high right now but if it goes down and you're interested I would recommend. The repetitiveness might make you play the game in blocks but the replay value is there. The game is a perfect example of a 1 for 1 remaster.

On 10/11/2020 at 9:35 PM, TheRedStranger said:

1 -Quick question - Post Season Two, Interqual to Satam, or prequal?

Integral or Prequel. Either or

In honor of Eddie Van Halen's passing

Next charcter in Smash is Steve from Minecraft

Sakurai does not look happy about it.

Lengthy twitter thread about the recent court date between Apple v Epic

TL;DR:

• The judge blasted Epic for trying to force the courts to get special treatment over the 30% cut Apple takes. “The 30% of what you complain seems to be the industry rate, right? Steam charges 30%. Microsoft: 30% ... If you go to consoles: PlayStation, Xbox Nintendo all charged 30%. Physical stores: game shop, Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart all charge 30%. Apple and Google charged 30%. it's all 30%, and you just want to gloss over it. You don’t want to address it,” judge YGR says.
• Epic admitted they want to get an EGS installed onto Apple (which would have dire concequences)
• Most likely going to a jury (which would be beneficial to Apple)
• Epic argued Apple is a monopoly, judge disagrees by calling them the innovator
• “You were not forthright. You weren't. You were told, you couldn't do it. And you did." Sick burn by judge
• Apple says that "less than 500" games have been purchased more than 2 million different users, not a single one complained about the 30%. Epic is the only one.
• Judge did have minor issues with Apple over their practices but had more issues with how Epic is opperating.

Yeah I kinda figured it would have been fixed now.

I'll send a bug report

Unfortunately I believe KISS will be no longer touring as they had a farewell tour last year.

They're alright. The live albums are better than the studio ones strangely enough. IV is the best one with the Melbourne Sympathy Orchestra

Wanna know what Voldemort was supposed to look like in Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone?

It's some nightmare fuel

Beavis & Butt-Head are coming back to Comedy Central + Spin-Offs