We're now smack dab in the middle of the time of year when holidays come at us rapid fire! First with Halloween, then Thanksgiving after that, then the holiday season about a month after that, then New Year's a few days after that.
Second up is Thanksgiving: the one day of year when every American is highly encouraged to give thanks and dig in! In order to get the most out of this holiday, I have some tips to share with you.
1.) Be Thankful For All That You Don't Have
Often we give thanks to all of the people that we have in our lives: family members, shelter, material possessions, jobs, etc. But what we forget to do is give thanks to all of the things that we don't have and how these things make us a stronger person. For instance,
I'm thankful that I'm short because then I can complain about not being tall.
Or...
I'm thankful that my biological father ditched me because I have been forced to be independent at a young age and not have the capacity of showing love or affection to others.
Or...
I'm thankful that I have been laid off from my job because it has forced me to learn a lot about finding a new one.
So, be sure to give thanks to all of the things that the world refrains from giving you or has taken away. Everyone will really appreciate it.
2.) Watch Football All Day Long
Because that's something that you haven't been able to do every Sunday for the past three months.
3.) Stuff Your Face
It's not like someone who's living on the street needs that extra turkey leg.
4.) Be As Sarcastic as Possible
Like what I'm doing right now.
5.) Avoid Being the First Person to Grab a Slice of Pumpkin Pie
When the Pumpkin Pie is out of the oven and good to go, don't be the first to grab a slice. Why? Well, it's much more satisfying to watch someone else try to strategize and pincer that first piece out while breaking it into three different pieces. Then you can give them shit about it and make fun of them as they try to cover up the incident.
6.) Go To Bed Early
You don't want someone to stick the ass of the remaining turkey in your face because you, inevitably, fell asleep on the sofa or the floor. Though, I've never had turkey ass in my face. It could smell good. Maybe you should set yourself up for this likely event.
7.) Complain About the Lack of Mail Delivery.
Well, I would have gotten that Dancing Birthday Cake I ordered from Hallmark.com but there's no delivery on Thanksgiving! I will have to wait until Friday. What the hell...
8.) Be THAT Guy...
At Thanksgiving Dinner, basically be the biggest douche in history. Whenever someone tells a story, make sure that you can outdo it by telling a similar story that completely outdoes the story just told (your story is fictional but they don't have to know that).
For Example:
"Oh our vacation to the Bahamas was crazy! There was a huge storm that they say was the worst that they had in twenty years. I don't know if I ever want to go on vacation again. hahaha." your 2nd cousin says.
"Well, when I went to vacation in Hawaii, it was just gorgeous out. There were rainbows. LOTS of rainbows! There were also the prettiest hula dancers you'd ever seen! And then, to top off the whole vacation, every volcano in Hawaii all went of at the same time. I thought the apocalypse was happening, baby! Crazy times in Hawaii, I would do it again if I could. That's some crazy shit!"
...
Then tell everyone that they're a horrible person if they don't help out with the dishes.
What could potentially happen...
Everyone is swarming the kitchen like a bunch of animals (or rabid turkeys) fighting over the sink. Dishes are thrown everywhere with the continuous sound of shattering glass ringing through the house. People are getting into fistfights over the particular dishes. "I WANTED TO WASH THE GRAVY BOAT!" your burly cousin exclaims in a booming voice.
Your grandfather retorts, "Listen sonny, when I was your age, I had four Punji Sticks stuck into my pancreas. To this day it's still secreting enough digestive enzymes that I don't need to listen to my doctor when he says I need to take my vitamins. You think that you can take that gravy boat away from me, huh?"
"DAMN STRAIGHT! I TAKE HGH!" your cousin announces. He then sucker punches your grandfather out of his wheelchair; causing his Vietnam Veteran hat to fall off of his head and sit...silently.
There are a few, non-crazy, extended family members with their jaws hanging to the floor at the sight of the scene. Your cousin turns his head:
"WHAT!? I'M GIVING THANKS GOD DAMMIT!"
9.) Piece Together the History of Your In-Laws
Example:
Your Mother In-Law: So, my hip has been acting up lately. I think I'm going to have to visit the doctor again. He's been very nice about the whole thing; even though I have been visiting him a whole late lately with some pretty minor problems.
Your Father In-Law: Yes dear, I know. You have been seeing the doctor quite a lot. Maybe it's something more serious than you realize.
...Later on...
Your Father In-Law: Oh yeah, I just remembered that I have to raise the flag in the front yard. I had it half staff for Veteran's day.
Your Mind: Wait a second, bad hip, flag pole, frequent doctor visits. I know what's happening here. My mother in-law was a pole dancer. In fact, she probably still is a pole dancer. She probably goes to the doctor's office to give the doctor a lap dance.
Your Mind: I've got it all figured out!
You: Hm, I bet that your doctor has quite the stethoscope. hahaha.
Your Mother In-Law: um...sure?
10.) Overstay Your Welcome
What people hosting Thanksgiving dinners don't tell their relatives is that they like guests that stay for a long time. They put a lot of time and effort into that dinner and having everyone over just for a few hours can be a bit of a letdown.
So, bring a couple six packs, sit back and make yourself at home. Stay a day or two! Get obnoxious! Don't clean up your beer bottles. Leave your mark! They'll love it!
Make it a week or two even. Hell, make it a whole month! That way you will only have to make one trip for the Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings.
This way, you will have plenty of time to share the love this holiday season. Make the year count. Make it special. Oh boy, it will be special. That's definitely what they'll say...
Top 100 Favorite Bands
Every now and then, I'm asked where a certain band falls in my personal ranking of favorites. A lot of times, I have no idea where I would rank them, so that's how I respond. However, through this blog site, I have decided to challenge myself to list my top 100 favorite musical acts of all time. For those of you that know me well, if you notice any blatant omissions from this list, please let me know.
I have developed a very specific method for determining this list and have shared it with you here along with commentary on some of my choices.
Also, for this particular list, I decided not to include composers such as Andrew Lloyd Weber, Danny Elfman, Nobuo Uematsu, Mozart, Beethoven, and John Williams, to name a few.
Well, enough nonsense. Here is my top 100 favorite bands, singers, and instrumentalists of all time.
I have developed a very specific method for determining this list and have shared it with you here along with commentary on some of my choices.
Also, for this particular list, I decided not to include composers such as Andrew Lloyd Weber, Danny Elfman, Nobuo Uematsu, Mozart, Beethoven, and John Williams, to name a few.
Well, enough nonsense. Here is my top 100 favorite bands, singers, and instrumentalists of all time.
- My Chemical Romance
- Jimmy Eat World
- Rancid
- Green Day
- Pencey Prep
- The Clash
- Paramore
- blink-182
- Rise Against
- Smashing Pumpkins
- Nirvana
- Styx
- The Killers
- Weezer
- Coldplay
- The All-American Rejects
- She Wants Revenge
- Muse
- The New Minstrel Revue/The Minstrels of Mayhem
- Yellowcard
- Good Charlotte
- The Distillers
- VaNa MaZi
- Less Than Jake
- Jeff Beck
- Bowling For Soup
- Deep Purple
- Dashboard Confessional
- Foo Fighters
- Goldfinger
- North Mississippi All-stars
- Vampire Weekend
- Flogging Molly
- The Dead Kennedys
- The Who
- Bad Religion
- Boston
- Jefferson Airplane
- Pink Floyd
- Sum-41
- Hey Monday
- R.E.M.
- The Doors
- The Ramones
- Journey
- Van Halen
- New Politics
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- The Sex Pistols
- George Thorogood and the Destroyers
- Jimi Hendrix
- Steppenwolf
- Led Zeppelin
- The White Stripes
- The Grateful Dead
- Black Flag
- Black Sabbath
- Creedance Clearwater Revival
- Filter
- Robert Randolph
- Buddy Guy
- Chuck Berry
- Collective Soul
- Jet
- Sonny Landreth
- The Vandals
- The Explosion
- Eric Clapton
- Puddle of Mudd
- Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers
- The Runaways
- U2
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- Carlos Santana
- Guns 'N Roses
- Joe Bonamassa
- BB King
- Dropkick Murphys
- Muddy Waters
- The Wolf
- The Violent Femmes
- System of a Down
- Steve Miller Band
- Operation Ivy
- Metallica
- Iron Maiden
- Joe Satriani
- Alice Cooper
- Silversun Pickups
- AC/DC
- The Bravery
- The Doobie Brothers
- The xx
- Radiohead
- Amanda Kitchens
- Gary Clark Jr.
- Soundgarden
- The Yardbirds
- The Kinks
- Bruce Springsteen
Top 100 Favorite Bands (Method and Commentary)
Method:
I first started by brainstorming as many bands as I could without listing artists that I would never want on my top 100 list. For instance, you will notice the absence of bands like Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Britney Spears, etc. This is because I, personally, cannot stand these musical acts. Some of them I may respect as musicians but on a personal level, I can't stand their music. I could never have them on my Top 100.
After the brainstorm, I went through the brainstorm and chose all the bands that I decided would be a travesty if they WEREN'T on my Top 100 List. The number of bands that ended up on this elite list was 106.
So, in this case, I would either need to:
A: Eliminate 6 bands from the list and then rank them.
------------------Or-------------------
B: Rank the 106 bands and eliminate the last six.
I decided on approach B as it was a very small number of bands that I needed to eliminate from the elite list. This is, by far, the hardest and most challenging portion of the process. It was difficult and a bit disheartening at some of the bands that I had to leave out of the list.
For those of you that are curious, these were the bands that just barely didn't make the cut:
101. Capital Cities
102. CAKE
103. Tool
104. John Mayer
105. Johnny Winter
106. Buddy Rich
Commentary:
In ranking my favorite artists, I started to notice trends in my decision making. Most notably, the grouping of genres together in the middle and end of the list. You will notice clusters of 60s rock bands, blues guitarists, and miscellaneous pairings throughout the list.
When doing this ranking, I actually learned a bit about my musical tastes. What was most surprising to me was how high I had to rank Paramore. It wasn't until I did this ranking how much I realized I like that band. Even other bands like blink-182, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Rise Against: I like these bands a lot! However, I just couldn't justify ranking Paramore below these bands. Sometimes it takes a step back to truly see what your real interests are. And in taking a step back, I realized how much I really enjoy Paramore's music.
I suppose that one thing that someone will come to realize when making a list like this is that it always changes. When I say that these are my Top 100 favorite musicians/bands, these are my Top 100 at this point in time. These rankings are constantly changing depending on mood, season, life events, etc. For instance, for a long time, I considered The Clash as my favorite band. Now, they're all the way down at the number six spot. I just don't listen to them quite as much as I used to. The rankings that you see here are pretty set and won't change much from a day to day basis at this time.
With that being said, I will probably update this list every now and in the form of new posts. So if you're interested, stay tuned.
The main reason why I wanted to add this commentary is to talk a bit about some of the more obscure acts that appear on it. So, here they are.
Note: Half of the videos embedded cannot be watched here due to copyright/ownership reasons. You need to click on the YouTube button in the player to be redirected to YouTube in order to watch it.
However, the Gary Clark Jr., VaNa MaZi, The New Minstrel Revue, Operation Ivy, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Distillers, and The Vandals one can be watched on this webpage, FYI.
96. Gary Clark Jr.
Gary Clark Jr. is an up and coming blues guitarist from Texas. I was made aware of his existence when I saw him perform at the 2010 Crossroads Festival in Bridgeview (hosted by Eric Clapton). He mixes blues with elements of alternative, rock, r&b, and pop: drawing small portions of his fan-base from some of the least expected places. I really like the way some of these elements mix together. In fact, there are times when he will remind you a lot of The Black Keys. So, if you really like The Black Keys, you will probably love Gary Clark Jr. And I'll tell you what, I would take Gary Clark Jr. over The Black Keys any day of the week.
95. Amanda Kitchens
Amanda Kitchens is by far the most obscure artist that I have on this list. And when I say that she is the most obscure artist on this list, she literally has less page views and song plays on Reverbnation than my fictional band. I really couldn't comprehend this on the account that SHE ACTUALLY EXISTS!
She's actually the accordion player and co-lead vocalist of the group VaNa MaZi: a band that I will be talking about later on in this commentary. When not jamming out with VaNa MaZi, she does some jazz singing with a little bit of folk and blues thrown in. If you like jazz and blues, you should at least give her a listen. She deserves more attention.
I first started by brainstorming as many bands as I could without listing artists that I would never want on my top 100 list. For instance, you will notice the absence of bands like Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Britney Spears, etc. This is because I, personally, cannot stand these musical acts. Some of them I may respect as musicians but on a personal level, I can't stand their music. I could never have them on my Top 100.
After the brainstorm, I went through the brainstorm and chose all the bands that I decided would be a travesty if they WEREN'T on my Top 100 List. The number of bands that ended up on this elite list was 106.
So, in this case, I would either need to:
A: Eliminate 6 bands from the list and then rank them.
------------------Or-------------------
B: Rank the 106 bands and eliminate the last six.
I decided on approach B as it was a very small number of bands that I needed to eliminate from the elite list. This is, by far, the hardest and most challenging portion of the process. It was difficult and a bit disheartening at some of the bands that I had to leave out of the list.
For those of you that are curious, these were the bands that just barely didn't make the cut:
101. Capital Cities
102. CAKE
103. Tool
104. John Mayer
105. Johnny Winter
106. Buddy Rich
Commentary:
In ranking my favorite artists, I started to notice trends in my decision making. Most notably, the grouping of genres together in the middle and end of the list. You will notice clusters of 60s rock bands, blues guitarists, and miscellaneous pairings throughout the list.
When doing this ranking, I actually learned a bit about my musical tastes. What was most surprising to me was how high I had to rank Paramore. It wasn't until I did this ranking how much I realized I like that band. Even other bands like blink-182, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Rise Against: I like these bands a lot! However, I just couldn't justify ranking Paramore below these bands. Sometimes it takes a step back to truly see what your real interests are. And in taking a step back, I realized how much I really enjoy Paramore's music.
I suppose that one thing that someone will come to realize when making a list like this is that it always changes. When I say that these are my Top 100 favorite musicians/bands, these are my Top 100 at this point in time. These rankings are constantly changing depending on mood, season, life events, etc. For instance, for a long time, I considered The Clash as my favorite band. Now, they're all the way down at the number six spot. I just don't listen to them quite as much as I used to. The rankings that you see here are pretty set and won't change much from a day to day basis at this time.
With that being said, I will probably update this list every now and in the form of new posts. So if you're interested, stay tuned.
The main reason why I wanted to add this commentary is to talk a bit about some of the more obscure acts that appear on it. So, here they are.
Note: Half of the videos embedded cannot be watched here due to copyright/ownership reasons. You need to click on the YouTube button in the player to be redirected to YouTube in order to watch it.
However, the Gary Clark Jr., VaNa MaZi, The New Minstrel Revue, Operation Ivy, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Distillers, and The Vandals one can be watched on this webpage, FYI.
96. Gary Clark Jr.
Gary Clark Jr. is an up and coming blues guitarist from Texas. I was made aware of his existence when I saw him perform at the 2010 Crossroads Festival in Bridgeview (hosted by Eric Clapton). He mixes blues with elements of alternative, rock, r&b, and pop: drawing small portions of his fan-base from some of the least expected places. I really like the way some of these elements mix together. In fact, there are times when he will remind you a lot of The Black Keys. So, if you really like The Black Keys, you will probably love Gary Clark Jr. And I'll tell you what, I would take Gary Clark Jr. over The Black Keys any day of the week.
95. Amanda Kitchens
Amanda Kitchens is by far the most obscure artist that I have on this list. And when I say that she is the most obscure artist on this list, she literally has less page views and song plays on Reverbnation than my fictional band. I really couldn't comprehend this on the account that SHE ACTUALLY EXISTS!
She's actually the accordion player and co-lead vocalist of the group VaNa MaZi: a band that I will be talking about later on in this commentary. When not jamming out with VaNa MaZi, she does some jazz singing with a little bit of folk and blues thrown in. If you like jazz and blues, you should at least give her a listen. She deserves more attention.
Let's do her Reverbnation page a favor and click this link to visit her Reverbnation page and/or give her a listen via this music player I have embedded for you.
Top 100 Favorite Bands (Brainstorm)
Includes Solo Artists. does NOT include composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, Andrew Lloyd Weber, John Williams, Danny Elfman, etc.
These aren't in any particular order. I'm just writing them down as I think of them. I'm also brainstorming on the account that I come up with enough that a good number of them will be excluded. Of course, when this list is posted, we will know how many bands I will ultimately brainstorm. I also plan on writing a commentary about the finalized Top 100 list due to the few bands on here that are either local or obscure finds.
These aren't in any particular order. I'm just writing them down as I think of them. I'm also brainstorming on the account that I come up with enough that a good number of them will be excluded. Of course, when this list is posted, we will know how many bands I will ultimately brainstorm. I also plan on writing a commentary about the finalized Top 100 list due to the few bands on here that are either local or obscure finds.
- Lorde
- Fun.
- AWOLNATION
- Silversun Pickups
- Amy Winehouse
- Adele
- Capital Cities
- New Politics
- Twenty One Pilots
- Iron Maiden
- Judas Priest
- Motley Crue
- Black Sabbath
- AC/DC
- Black Flag
- Minor Threat
- Bad Religion
- The Sex Pistols
- The Dread Crew of Oddwood
- Bet the Levels
- VaNa Mazi
- Hey Monday
- Good Charlotte
- The New Minstrel Revue/The Minstrels of Mayhem
- Neon Trees
- The All-American Rejects
- Deep Purple
- Led Zeppelin
- The Ramones
- The Doors
- R.E.M.
- Green Day
- My Chemical Romance
- Jimmy Eat World
- Rancid
- Muse
- Coldplay
- Paramore
- Weezer
- Yellowcard
- blink-182
- Sum-41
- Less Than Jake
- Reel Big Fish
- The Fray
- Streetlight Manifesto
- The Distillers
- Rise Against
- Pink Floyd
- She Wants Revenge
- Kiss
- Nirvana
- Pencey Prep
- Smashing Pumpkins
- The Clash
- The Dead Kennedys
- Dashboard Confessional
- Cheap Trick
- The Who
- Steppenwolf
- Foo Fighters
- Jeff Beck
- Boston
- Chuck Berry
- Bowling For Soup
- The Bravery
- The Box Tops
- Linkin Park
- Collective Soul
- Creedance Clearwater Revival
- The Doobie Brothers
- Bob Dylan
- The Eagles
- The Explosion
- Filter
- Foster the People
- Foxboro Hot Tubs
- Peter Frampton
- George Thorogood and the Destroyers
- Goldfinger
- The Grateful Dead
- Guns 'N Roses
- Hawthorne Heights
- Jet
- Jethro Tull
- Jimi Hendrix
- Journey
- Kansas
- Kaiser Chiefs
- The Killers
- 30 Seconds to Mars
- Metallica
- Muddy Waters
- The Wolf
- John Mayer
- North Mississippi All-stars
- BB King
- Buddy Guy
- Buddy Rich
- Eric Clapton
- Steve Winwood
- Sonny Landreth
- Gary Clark Jr.
- Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers
- The Runaways
- Taking Back Sunday
- Frank Sinatra
- Johnny Cash
- Van Halen
- Flogging Molly
- Dropkick Murphys
- Radiohead
- Arctic Monkeys
- X
- GWAR
- Operation Ivy
- Florence and the Machine
- Alice Cooper
- Skee-Lo
- Outkast
- NWA
- Tupac
- The Beastie Boys
- Depeche Mode
- The Kinks
- The Buzzcocks
- Elvis Costello
- Iggy and the Stooges
- The Transplants
- Angels and Airwaves
- The Yardbirds
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Robert Randolph
- NOFX
- Rolling Stones
- Frank Zappa
- U2
- Styx
- Carlos Santana
- Bruce Springsteen
- ZZ Top
- Johnny Winter
- The Irresponsibles
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Local H
- The Hiss
- Ween
- Suicide Machines
- The Suicidal Tendencies
- Jefferson Airplane
- Jefferson Starship
- Evanescence
- Atlas Genius
- Kitten
- The Love Shots
- System of a Down
- Switchfoot
- Puddle of Mudd
- Harvey Danger
- Cage the Elephant
- The xx
- Lit
- Third Eye Blind
- The Moves
- Sublime
- Chronic Future
- Papa Roach
- Michael Jackson
- Pennywise
- Christina Perri
- Coolio
- Secondhand Serenade
- Ingrid Michaelson
- Vampire Weekend
- The Violent Femmes
- The White Stripes
- Joe Satriani
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- New Atlantic
- The Postal Service
- The Airborne Toxic Event
- Blind Melon
- Baumer
- The Vandals
- CAKE
- Tool
- Stone Temple Pilots
- Steve Miller Band
- Against Me!
- Elbow
- Soundgarden
- Queens of the Stone Age
- Amanda Kitchens
- Screeching Weasel
- Anti-Flag
- Big D
- Gaslight Anthem
- LeATHERMOUTH
- Joe Bonamassa
- The Black Keys
- The Offspring
- Mumford and Sons
PSP Reboot Epilogue: Valkyria Chronicles III???
So, if the second game was so good, when are they coming out with the third one? Well, they never came out with the third one...
Or so I thought.
I actually found out while typing the Valkyria Chronicles II Review that there was a third one released. In fact, it's been out for two years. HOW HAVE I NOT HEARD OF THIS!?!? Well, the reason is because the second Valkyria Chronicles did not sell enough copies for Sega's liking so they never had a North American release of the third game.
Well, this sucks...
The thing is, I'm such a slave to the series now that I just had to get my hands on a Japanese version of the game. So, I got a copy shipped to my house. I supposed the gorilla in the room through this whole process was, How am I supposed to play a game that is in Japanese? Well, a lot of the game mechanics are the same along with symbols, controls, indicators, etc. The things that had changed I was able to find quite a bit of information about via the internet and how those things worked. The main battle experience expenditure system changed from the first two games. Instead of leveling up the main soldier classes, you level up certain attributes for all of your soldiers at the same time (such as HP or AP).
What is probably the most vital Japanese for one to know when playing this game is the story. The stories in this series are very good and something you really don't want to miss out on.
Well, there's a whole project of devout Valkyria Chronicles players that use their spare time to make a version of the third game that is in English. Though this hasn't been finished and has no guarantee of being finished, it does seem to me that they are taking this seriously and that the project has not completely phased out yet. Their website is here if you are curious at all.
What I have been using to get through the bit of story I have made it through so far is a written out script of every major cut scene in the game. The guy goes by the pseudonyms Guerrilla Soldier and insanityofhell. Though he seems to have translated a lot of the game, he does cite other people throughout the 295 page translation for their contributions. He also includes the information given about mission objectives, number of turns for an S rank, and information on Ace soldier drops for every mission. I give a big shout out to this guy for doing this. It makes my experience of playing this game much more enjoyable that I actually know what is happening in the story and what people are saying in the cut scenes. Here you can find his Google doc that contains his translation.
So far, I've really been enjoying the story to this game. Depending on where it goes, it may be the best story of the series yet. I may write a review when I finish it.
PSP Reboot: Wait...oops
Is it good? Well, unfortunately, I haven't played it. I played a demo of it a couple years back around the time of its release date. I don't remember much about it. So, I can't review it. Perhaps I will review it at a later time...
Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b2/Lord_of_Arcana_Cover.jpg
PSP Reboot #22: Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
MASON!!! YOU CHEATED!!! WE READ ALL OF THOSE POSTS JUST FOR YOU TO CHEAT!!!
Well, yeah, I guess I did. But hear me out:
This game is basically a reboot of Final Fantasy Tactics.
I'm not kidding.
The gameplay is almost exactly the same. The art design IS exactly the same. The game developer is the same. Even the story has some oddly similar parallels (which would have been the easiest to change). Also, if I'm not mistaking, this game recycles some of the music from Final Fantasy Tactics. There's some subtle differences between leveling systems and magic, what certain jobs do, etc. Oh, and they changed the name of the White Mage to Cleric instead. Whatever.
I might be giving it the third degree. But, the thing is, all they had to do was call it Final Fantasy Tactics: *insert random jargon here* and it would have been fine. Why did they change the name? I have no idea...
Though, because of its similarity to Final Fantasy Tactics, it's actually a really good game. In fact, it's more difficult than Final Fantasy Tactics which makes it a hell of a game. I really like this game.
If you liked Final Fantasy Tactics, you will love this game. Give it a try.
Image: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51yB49yT7iL.jpg
PSP Reboot #21: Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
The gameplay is also similar to Ace Combat 4. I'm not sure if Ace Combat 5 or Ace Combat Zero came out before or after this reboot but I like the nostalgic feeling I get from playing this reboot. Like Ace Combat 4, you get lots and lots of missiles to rain destruction on everything you see and drastically change the tide of battle. The controls are good and are pretty well converted to the PSP.
There's also a multiplayer mode that has a plethora of interesting game modes (even more than the most recent Ace Combat: Assault Horizon). If you can find others who have bought this game, give the multiplayer a try. I don't know how good it is myself because I didn't have anyone to play it with.
If you ever see this game, I would definitely give it a try. It's not very often you find a PSP game that works this well.
Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/22/Acx_cover1.jpg
PSP Reboot #20: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus
The sneaking levels were fun but the action is impossible; kind of like Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. Although, it was pretty fun trying to 1v1 with a friend. In that, you're both equally inhibited so everyone sucks. YAY!!!
Oh, and, pass this one up.
Image: http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/box/1/5/5/942155_95891_front.jpg
PSP Reboot #19: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Oh dear...
Okay, to be fair, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, though technically not a part of the major series (hence not being a called Grand Theft Auto IV which we now know of as a different game), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is probably the best known game in the series and is one of the most ground-breaking games of all-time.
This game is pretty good. It plays about as well as its PS2 counterparts (lengthy loading times and all). The story is also about as forgettable as the original Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. What makes this game, and other GTA games, fun is the total carnage you can cause, all the time. Though, I hear that the stories in later games have drastically improved, I haven't played them though. The trademark of these games is hijacking cars, picking up hookers, beating them up for your money back, and then going on a shooting rampage. That's what these games are about.
If you want to cause carnage on the go, I would pick this one up. Otherwise, it's about the same as playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the PS2.
Images: http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060729164726/gtawiki/images/3/37/VCS_Boxart.jpg
PSP Reboot #18: Final Fantasy II
Also something to note: I never played Final Fantasy II for the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) but on this PSP reboot, I beat the game within 20 hours, making it the shortest Final Fantasy game that I have played (which I've played a lot of them). So this was a little disappointing. However, the story is definitely more involved than the first so it's not like it was completely disappointing or anything. In fact, I still had a lot of fun playing this game.
So, like the first one, if you haven't played this one and you're a hardcore Final Fantasy fan, I suggest you pick it up. Otherwise, don't bother.
Image: http://www.yourffs.com/games/ff2/images/boxartpsp.jpg
PSP Reboot #17: Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
Like the old school Castlevania games, it's a 2D platformer where you move around and whip the shit out of anyone or anything that stands in your way. It's been awhile since I have played this game but, if I remember correctly, walking is the default movement control (opposed to running). In order to run, you have to double tap the d-button in the direction you want to go. This is frustrating because half of the time, you still don't run when you do this. In fact, why the hell would you ever want to walk in the this game to begin with?
The story is also mundane. In a world that has vampires, demons, etc. you think that they could get a more interesting story than this. I was bored out of my mind getting through some of these text bubbles. This might have been acceptable back in 1989, but not now.
I got stuck on an early boss level and gave up because of the broken movement controls. I'm not sure if the game got better but I didn't feel like wasting more time to find out. If I were you, I would stick to the classics on the NES. No doubt about it.
Image: http://angryfreak.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/the-dracula-x-chronicles.jpg
PSP Reboot #16: Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
Anyways...the one single Final Fantasy game that has been most shamelessly, despicably, and mind-numbingly rehashed is without a doubt Final Fantasy IV. Originally, the game was released in Japan only for the Super Nintendo (called Super Famicom in Japan). The game was then re-released in North America as Final Fantasy II because the actual Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III were Japanese releases only. I can see that they didn't want people getting confused and asking what happened to two and three but now you've created a whole new confusion by having two completely different games titled Final Fantasy II. Fortunately, everyone now recognizes Final Fantasy IV as Final Fantasy IV internationally and only people who were kids at the time and/or are hard-core Final Fantasy fans even realize this confusion exists. Good save Square...good save *face palm*.
Beyond the original release, Final Fantasy IV has been re-released on the Super Famicon as an easier version, the Playstation version which was bundled with a re-release of Chrono Trigger, and the Playstation version which was bundled with a compilation with Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI in Japan. There was also the re-release for Gameboy Advance, Gameboy Micro, The Nintendo DS, and The Wii (download).
And, last but not least, this brings us to the remake for the PSP Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection.
Phew, finally. Like the re-release for the first Final Fantasy, the game uses clearer menus, an updated art design, and a breathtaking intro cutscene. However, this game also includes a sequel to the original titled Final Fantasy IV: The After Years. This game has only been previously released on mobile phones in Japan and then, later, downloadable on the Wii. I like the addition of The After Years. The story gets broken up into chapters focusing on specific characters and their ordeals. I like what they did with the story here and they do it without destroying the legacy of the original. They also include an interlude between the original and the sequel exclusively on Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection. It's okay. To me, it seemed more like a marketing ploy to get people to buy the newest remake of the game.
I haven't played the Nintendo DS version which I hear has 3D graphics throughout the whole game. So, that one might be good too. However, if you're interested in Final Fantasy at all, I would recommend playing Final Fantasy IV as it is one of the best. I would actually get it on the PSP as it has the addition of the sequel and the interlude. But, knowing Square Enix, they may re-release it again in an even more improved form. Or it may be worse. Who knows?
Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/FFIV_Complete_Collection.jpg
PSP Reboot #15: Medal of Honor: Heroes
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This game just kills me because it could have been good but.......it was on the PSP. There's no way you can enjoy the good qualities because the controls suck too bad. It seems that no one learned that 1st person shooters don't work on the PSP because there is a Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 on the PSP as well. I never played it. Why should I? That one is going to have the same issues as the first one. I can't aim at what I'm trying to shoot! I know I'm not the best at shooters but there is no reason that aiming should be this hard. I'm sure these games are better when you download them onto your PS Vita, but don't get them on the PSP. Trust me I know.
If you see this UMD sitting on a clearance table for 99 cents, I would still pass it up. You could have put that dollar towards a pack of gum or something more worthwhile.
Image: http://www.hkofferhouse.com/images/cover/psp/Medal%20of%20Honor%20Heroes%20-%20U.S%20Ver%20(PSP)%20cover%20front%201.jpg
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Why Are People Afraid of Passing Up a Police Car?
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| This was the first hit on google images when I searched this topic... |
So, I would like to ask, "Why are people afraid of passing up a cop car?"
I used to think that people are afraid of passing cop cars because they would have to speed in order to do so. But, this cop was going so slow that I passed them and another car in a reasonable amount of time (like 5 seconds) while still going ten under the speed limit.
Perhaps people are afraid of passing cops because they figure that they will gain the attention of the cop and be worried about getting pulled over for some ticky-tack offense.
Maybe they are subconsciously afraid that they will get pulled over anyways because they are passing the cop. Like, the cop will make up some kind of offense to pull them over for.
Or, maybe they just really don't feel like passing anyone and the fact that the slow moving vehicle is a cop reinforces the attitude of not wanting to pass anyone.
I'm not really sure so that's why I want to ask you! If you have any thoughts or beliefs on why you or others don't feel like passing up cop cars, put them down in the comments!
Cheers!
In other news: Man Throws Spear at Passing Police Car
Image: http://media.nbcbayarea.com/images/654*368/6-20-2013+sacramento+spear+thrower+jeffrey+allen+jones.jpg
PSP Reboot #14: Ape Escape: On the Loose
If you enjoyed playing the original, I suggest picking this up to relive those times when you were a kid throwing nets over monkeys in the cartoon, slap-happy world of Ape Escape.
Images: http://pspmedia.ign.com/psp/image/object/682/682949/Ape-Escape-ONL---PSPBOX20050210.jpg
PSP Reboot #13: Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters
I would probably take a pass on this one and stick to the Ratchet and Clank games for the major consoles.
Images: http://pspmedia.ign.com/psp/image/object/824/824315/ratchetsize_pspbox_usa_org_000.jpg
PSP Reboot #12: Phantasy Star Portable
I remember playing a demo for a sequel: Phantasy Star Portable 2. However, I have yet to see it anywhere. I would buy it if I saw it. However, it's not like I'm hunting it down or anything.
The battling can be a little mundane at times but the boss battles are usually pretty exciting. Overall, if you like RPGs, this one is probably worth picking up for ten bucks.
Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/95/Phantasy_star_portable_box.jpg
PSP Reboot #11: Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
It's really a shame too because this version of Star Wars Battlefront has some pretty cool features that would have been pretty enjoyable on the Xbox 360, PS3, or PC. Several of the levels in the game involve space combat and planet surface combat at the same time; letting the player choose between the two freely in real time. This is pretty cool considering that there is an overall respawn count for both of the theaters; making each battle relevant and important to win.
The game also includes custom soldier classes where you can equip power-ups, weapons, etc. as you choose. In previous games, you were only allowed to choose between predetermined soldier classes.
This game would have been really good if it came out on a platform that supports shooters. Unfortunately, the PSP does not. This is definitely a game that you should pass up.
Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Star_Wars_Battlefront_-_Renegade_Squadron_Coverart.png
PSP Reboot #10: Metal Gear Acid
The gameplay is about as boring as you think it is: slow going and tedious. It's ironic too because if you get spotted by an enemy sentry, the same music will play as if you got caught by the enemy in Metal Gear Solid 2; the difference here being that it's not nearly as suspenseful. In the main game series, your heart was pounding as you were hiding in a locker hoping that the guards wouldn't find you in their search. Here, it's really uneventful as you're drawing cards to get Snake to move around. This game might have actually worked if there was more strategy involved and if there were more options or choices for you to make. Final Fantasy Tactics works because there is so much going on. There are many different character classes, many different plans of attack, many different approaches. In Metal Gear Acid, it gets tedious pretty fast. It just makes you wish you were playing one of the Metal Gear Solid games. Those games involved timing, patience, strategy, skill, and positioning. Metal Gear Acid involves strategy...maybe.
Take a pass on this one. Another piece of litter in the Reboot Wasteland...
Images: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f4/Metal_Gear_Acid_Coverart.png
PSP Reboot #9: Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
Basically, the main game is still really good (seeing as it's all unchanged) but the multiplayer is a bit of a failure. There is really one main reason for this. This is because the game is broken and you cannot do anything after you clear the game. You're supposed to be able to, but for some reason, when you try to save your game after beating the final boss, it never works. When you go to load your game, it just loads wherever you saved last. "Well Mason, why is that an issue?" Well, the reason why that is an issue is because in order to do multiplayer, you need to be in a town (a tavern to be more specific). However, there is a point of no return when you enter the final dungeon. Once you enter, you can't go back to the main map; meaning that you can't go back to a town to do the multiplayer. So, if you save at any of the save points in the final dungeon, it means you will never be able to go to a town...ever. So, if you want to do some co-op missions with your buddy, you're fucked. All you can do is start a new game and start leveling your characters all over again. They picked a hell of a place to have a glitch in their game. I'm sure it's pissed off a lot of people...
As far as the multiplayer itself goes, it's unforgivingly difficult. My friend and I have gotten our butts kicked several times the few times we played it. The tradeoff is that if you actually win a round, you get pretty unique weapons, armor, etc. that are either not available in the main game or are pretty hard to obtain in the main game. So, I suppose it's difficult, but fair.
Overall, this game is exactly like the original plus a multiplayer mode (that can get taken away from you because of a glitch). If you like turn based, tactical games, this game is pretty great as Final Fantasy Tactics is a classic. It's involved, it's fun, it's basically a really complicated version of chess. If you already own Final Fantasy Tactics for the Playstation, I wouldn't bother buying this one. Otherwise, I would give it a try.
Images: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/Fftpsp3.jpg
1,000 Views!
Hello All! At some point today, this blog site broke the 1,000 view mark!
Though this doesn't seem like a lot, I will take every opportunity to celebrate small victories. In fact, I've learned to do this in life. If you never celebrate progress or never reward yourself, all you will ever do is live a life of disappointment. I've also found that no matter how dark a time can get, you can always find that little something to keep you going, even if it's something as basic as surviving another day.
Anyways, I apologize for my rambling and cliche life lessons. I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that are reading this blog site. Even though your numbers are small, 1000 views is a hell of a lot more views than the 10 (approximately) that I had expected out of this. It's far more rewarding to have a small audience that enjoys my true, unfiltered, opinions and personality than millions of people who don't know the real me.
Thank you all and let's make the next thousand a hell of a ride!
Though this doesn't seem like a lot, I will take every opportunity to celebrate small victories. In fact, I've learned to do this in life. If you never celebrate progress or never reward yourself, all you will ever do is live a life of disappointment. I've also found that no matter how dark a time can get, you can always find that little something to keep you going, even if it's something as basic as surviving another day.
Anyways, I apologize for my rambling and cliche life lessons. I just wanted to say thank you to all of you that are reading this blog site. Even though your numbers are small, 1000 views is a hell of a lot more views than the 10 (approximately) that I had expected out of this. It's far more rewarding to have a small audience that enjoys my true, unfiltered, opinions and personality than millions of people who don't know the real me.
Thank you all and let's make the next thousand a hell of a ride!
PSP Reboot #8: Final Fantasy
If you're a big Final Fantasy fan and haven't played this, it's worth picking up. Otherwise, you're not missing out on much.
Image: http://operationrainfall.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Final-Fantasy-Annivesary-Edition-boxart.jpg
PSP Reboot #7: Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip
Overall though, I really like this game. The core of the gameplay is pretty fun and easy to pick up. If you hit the ball in the right places, you can cause some cute, slapsticky, things to happen, out of bounds, which vary depending on what court you're playing on. As far as tennis games go, this is way better than Mario Tennis (Mario, do me a favor and stick to pipes and go-karts), and not as unforgivingly hard as Hard Hitter tennis.
If you happen upon this game for five bucks, it gives you quite a bit of fun for your money.
Image: http://media.ign.com/games/image/object/143/14354791/Hot-Shots-Tennis-Get-a-Grip_PSP_US_ESRB-E.jpg
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