I don't use monetization on YouTube. I use AdBlock on my laptop to avoid the same five to ten advertisers. When I did have to use a computer outside of my home, it's bombarded with phone ads, car insurance, and other stuff like McDonalds and Burger King. Recently, advertisers are pulling themselves out of YouTube advertising because of some of their stuff being on videos that shouldn't exist.
The list is staggering how many have decided to leave. Some big companies like Wal-Mart and Pepsi have made the decision to pull out. YouTube exploded on the scene in 2006 and has been a huge thing for advertising. How do they not know about all the content being made, even back to when the site first started in 2005? Way before I used AdBlock, I typically saw the same ads over and over. It was for stuff like T-Mobile with the red dress girl and whatever movies were hitting theaters at the time. And this was on videos for video games like Doom for example. On one of the college campuses, I watched some older NFL stuff and I kept getting the same Burger King ad for french fries. You can put AdBlock on there, but on vacations, they reset those computers.
Here's a hypothetical situation on what I think advertisers don't want to see. Let's say I want to talk about seeing Tom Brady and the New England Patriots organization die in a plane crash in a video. It's gets a couple hundred thousand views. Maybe I might want ads on it. That's what they don't want to see in this hypothetical. They don't want their stuff on videos that have hatred in them or sensitive material like domestic violence or rape. It doesn't make sense considering all the crime shows that depict violence like NCIS, The Blacklist, and so forth getting ads for car commercials and other things. Even for stuff on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. It doesn't add up.
I'm not sure if Google really has a choice. Their responses are very poor and robotic when it comes to certain things. They don't really listen to others. With the advertisers pulling away, this might be the one time they actually will do something. It's a long road ahead. Several articles on this matter have said per minute that 400 hours of content get uploaded. Millions upon millions put up all sorts of videos. It's up to Google to look at all the videos and judge them on their content. They need a large chunk of people to look at them and satisfy the advertisers. Otherwise, it's going to be next to impossible. Whether users go somewhere else is a problem. If some of them can't monetize, they might try a different site (if it's as big as Google) and upload their stuff there. Certain users have left YouTube and come back to it following a certain amount of time on another video sharing site.
Google has to handle this very delicately towards the video creators and advertisers. They can't rush this. If they do, it's going to piss off quite a bit of people who aren't in the top 1000 for video views and creations. Let's hope they find a way to fix this. I really doubt they will.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Arcades, Part II: Beyond Home
This blog now will be about arcades I went to, whether vacation or other reasons. In the early 2000s, arcades were still a place to go to. A place we stayed at had a handful of games. It had Crusi'n USA, The Simpsons, X-Men, Thunder Blade. There was a police training game. Even one of those NES PlayChoice 10 systems, where I played NES games for the first time since 1994. That was long before getting an actual NES in 2009. We went back there in 2006 and they were gone. A motel had a few arcade games. There was the 1989 Ninja Turtle game and that same police training game.
In the town where we stayed, there was an arcade area, and it was a combination of an arcade and a fair. There was a target shooting game. Skee ball was in this location. I don't really remember much for the actual games, but they did have The Simpsons and some Sega driving games, mostly Daytona USA. A couple towns away was an indoor arcade with an outdoor kart racing area. It had some driving games, a couple shooting games. One example was Silent Scope. We haven't been up in that area in a decade, but it wouldn't surprise me if most of that stuff is gone. Arcades are dead everywhere in the world except maybe in Japan. There are exceptions like that place in Illinois called the Galloping Ghost, but the odds of finding something like that is very slim and will require a lot of gas to go to these places if you're not close to them.
My family has a camp area and that's where they spend their vacation time in the summer there. There is a pool, playground type stuff around the vicinity, a place to fish. You can buy stuff, rent films. One thing they have is a little arcade area. It's changed a lot in the last few years and for the worst. Early on it was some racing, a couple other games and maybe a pinball machine. It had at times throughout the years Frogger, X-Men, Revolution X, Cruis'n USA, Outrunners, Die Hard Arcade, a RUSH racing game, a Tekken game and a couple other Sega racing games. I've seen 1942 and 1943 in recent years, but it's become kind of like the generic stuff you see at a mall or place that gives out tickets. I get they are trying to adapt to different things, but they have done a pretty poor job of taking care of the machines. Unfortunately, it's a sign of the times. People are more interested in playing Bingo and getting drunk.
When you're in school, you'll have a trip somewhere if you are in something like with your band for example. I went on a few of these trips and one of these was an indoor skating rink. It also had mini-golf, a water slide, and arcade games. There wasn't much, but it had The Simpsons and Crazy Taxi along with a maybe a few other racing games. One of the trips a couple years later was to a water park, and they had quite a bit of arcade games around the area. It had a RUSH: Alcatraz Edition game, The Simpsons, and X-Men. They also had Frogger, Thunder Blade, and Altered Beast. They had a decent combo of older and newer arcade games. That was one of the better experiences, especially trying to beat the Frogger high score that was seen on Seinfeld and failing miserably. Another park had some arcade stuff, but all I saw was Daytona USA.
A casino that is about 70-80 miles away from where I am has arcade games, but similar to the baseball park I worked at, it has mostly Raw Thrills games. Games like Terminator, Jurassic Park, and one or two others. At one point, it had Time Crisis 2 or 3, a Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga combo machine. It also had some pinball from time to time such as Indiana Jones. There was also a hotel that had I think a laundry area with one or two arcade games around 2000. It was Clutch Hitter, an arcade baseball game from Sega and I remember playing maybe half an inning or a full inning and not wanting to continue putting quarters in.
Going to Disney World when you're a teenager, you will remember a lot of things at around that age frame than you would at 5 years old around that age frame. They had rides, attractions, little stuff that goes on at certain points of the day and evenings. It really was a nice place when going there in 2009 on vacation. The arcade stuff was all around the place but it was a little different. There was a mix of stuff that related to the park and stuff that you would see at an actual arcade. One game I got a chance to try was the original Space Invaders. I knew about it a little bit from a game parody sequence in Futurama. It's tough as nails, I'll give it that. Other games there included Centipede, Millipede, Star Wars Trilogy from Sega, Crazy Taxi, Tekken 6, and F355 Challenge. Being able to play some of them is an experience that can never be replicated.
Then there's PAX East, which I'll end the blog with this. Going there for two years in 2011 and 2012, it was a nice place. Some of the food was expensive, but overall, a good place. It covered a lot of stuff was gaming, Lots of consoles from Atari up until at the time the original Xbox were in one room. Modern systems were in another. The same is said for PC gaming. Then there is the arcade room. If you grew up in the 80s during the big arcade boom (I didn't. By the time I was 8 years old arcades were on its deathbed and dying very quickly), this would be a major nostalgia overload. They had Dragon's Lair playing on a projector. A lot of Atari games like Food Fight. Some of the Nintendo games like Donkey Kong and Punch-Out!! were represented. A number of Pac-Man franchise machines saw a bit of love. Racing games like Turbo were a lot of fun. They tried to cover all of the big name games and the convention did an excellent job of bringing those titles that were enjoyed by many. It would have been nice if 90s games were represented. Stuff like Turtles in Time, Mortal Kombat, and some other arcade. Still though, they did well.
That's it for arcade experiences. Maybe sometime down the road, I'll talk about the experience of playing older games at PAX and what they have you do. In the mean time, check out the Part I blog of arcades. I hope it brings back memories for some people of their arcade experiences.
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/arcades-part-i-local-places.html
In the town where we stayed, there was an arcade area, and it was a combination of an arcade and a fair. There was a target shooting game. Skee ball was in this location. I don't really remember much for the actual games, but they did have The Simpsons and some Sega driving games, mostly Daytona USA. A couple towns away was an indoor arcade with an outdoor kart racing area. It had some driving games, a couple shooting games. One example was Silent Scope. We haven't been up in that area in a decade, but it wouldn't surprise me if most of that stuff is gone. Arcades are dead everywhere in the world except maybe in Japan. There are exceptions like that place in Illinois called the Galloping Ghost, but the odds of finding something like that is very slim and will require a lot of gas to go to these places if you're not close to them.
My family has a camp area and that's where they spend their vacation time in the summer there. There is a pool, playground type stuff around the vicinity, a place to fish. You can buy stuff, rent films. One thing they have is a little arcade area. It's changed a lot in the last few years and for the worst. Early on it was some racing, a couple other games and maybe a pinball machine. It had at times throughout the years Frogger, X-Men, Revolution X, Cruis'n USA, Outrunners, Die Hard Arcade, a RUSH racing game, a Tekken game and a couple other Sega racing games. I've seen 1942 and 1943 in recent years, but it's become kind of like the generic stuff you see at a mall or place that gives out tickets. I get they are trying to adapt to different things, but they have done a pretty poor job of taking care of the machines. Unfortunately, it's a sign of the times. People are more interested in playing Bingo and getting drunk.
When you're in school, you'll have a trip somewhere if you are in something like with your band for example. I went on a few of these trips and one of these was an indoor skating rink. It also had mini-golf, a water slide, and arcade games. There wasn't much, but it had The Simpsons and Crazy Taxi along with a maybe a few other racing games. One of the trips a couple years later was to a water park, and they had quite a bit of arcade games around the area. It had a RUSH: Alcatraz Edition game, The Simpsons, and X-Men. They also had Frogger, Thunder Blade, and Altered Beast. They had a decent combo of older and newer arcade games. That was one of the better experiences, especially trying to beat the Frogger high score that was seen on Seinfeld and failing miserably. Another park had some arcade stuff, but all I saw was Daytona USA.
A casino that is about 70-80 miles away from where I am has arcade games, but similar to the baseball park I worked at, it has mostly Raw Thrills games. Games like Terminator, Jurassic Park, and one or two others. At one point, it had Time Crisis 2 or 3, a Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga combo machine. It also had some pinball from time to time such as Indiana Jones. There was also a hotel that had I think a laundry area with one or two arcade games around 2000. It was Clutch Hitter, an arcade baseball game from Sega and I remember playing maybe half an inning or a full inning and not wanting to continue putting quarters in.
Going to Disney World when you're a teenager, you will remember a lot of things at around that age frame than you would at 5 years old around that age frame. They had rides, attractions, little stuff that goes on at certain points of the day and evenings. It really was a nice place when going there in 2009 on vacation. The arcade stuff was all around the place but it was a little different. There was a mix of stuff that related to the park and stuff that you would see at an actual arcade. One game I got a chance to try was the original Space Invaders. I knew about it a little bit from a game parody sequence in Futurama. It's tough as nails, I'll give it that. Other games there included Centipede, Millipede, Star Wars Trilogy from Sega, Crazy Taxi, Tekken 6, and F355 Challenge. Being able to play some of them is an experience that can never be replicated.
Then there's PAX East, which I'll end the blog with this. Going there for two years in 2011 and 2012, it was a nice place. Some of the food was expensive, but overall, a good place. It covered a lot of stuff was gaming, Lots of consoles from Atari up until at the time the original Xbox were in one room. Modern systems were in another. The same is said for PC gaming. Then there is the arcade room. If you grew up in the 80s during the big arcade boom (I didn't. By the time I was 8 years old arcades were on its deathbed and dying very quickly), this would be a major nostalgia overload. They had Dragon's Lair playing on a projector. A lot of Atari games like Food Fight. Some of the Nintendo games like Donkey Kong and Punch-Out!! were represented. A number of Pac-Man franchise machines saw a bit of love. Racing games like Turbo were a lot of fun. They tried to cover all of the big name games and the convention did an excellent job of bringing those titles that were enjoyed by many. It would have been nice if 90s games were represented. Stuff like Turtles in Time, Mortal Kombat, and some other arcade. Still though, they did well.
That's it for arcade experiences. Maybe sometime down the road, I'll talk about the experience of playing older games at PAX and what they have you do. In the mean time, check out the Part I blog of arcades. I hope it brings back memories for some people of their arcade experiences.
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/arcades-part-i-local-places.html
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Kentucky Wildcats: 2017's Worst Fanbase (For Now)
There are bandwagon fanbases like the New England Patriots (Cheatriots). You got fanbases with nut jobs like the Alabama Crimson Tide guy who poisoned trees that Auburn University had for a very, very long time. Then there is the Kentucky Wildcats for basketball. Ever since John Calipari took over, they have had a good run under his tenure despite one and done players who go into the NBA very quickly like Anthony Davis. Like any teams in the North Carolina area (Duke, UNC, NC State), they have a very ravenous fanbase that is ultra excited. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean much now in the wake of what is going on with referee John Higgins.
This past weekend, Higgins refereed the Kentucky game against North Carolina. It was a nail biter, and both teams were down a bit and came back a number of times. Less than 10 seconds in the game, the Wildcats put up a three and tie the game 73 to 73. The Tar Heels go on to the other side of the court, shoot a jumper and take the lead 75 to 73 with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. Ultimately they won, and whatever comebacks Kentucky had was all for nothing. You would think we wouldn't stop talking about the game, but in the eyes of the Wildcat fanbase, it pretty much stunned them and then turned into anger.
I've just learned of the constant death threats that Higgins was getting. I wish I could tell you that I've never done that, but that would be a lie. Usually 99 percent of the time, I have second thoughts and get rid of whatever I said. It's not worth it. What is going on with the referee goes beyond e-mail and phone calls to his home. He has a business and the "fans" are putting up negative reviews not even related to what Higgins does and putting up very bad threats that I will not show. It doesn't stop there. His business was getting called called constantly. Friends and family were getting some of the threats. The fact that he had to go to the cops and the FBI really shows how dangerous and bad the situation is.
It reminds me of something I read about a few years ago regarding a nut job feminist's views on video games.I pretty much don't care what Anita Sarkeesian has to say since most of what she says is pathetic and anybody mentioning her is just adding fuel to the fire. She found herself in the crosshairs of many gaming fans who harassed her and wanting to kill her. She went to I think the FBI for some convention that she was she going to speak at and someone was thinking about killing her at wherever that place was. That really was a black eye for video games.
Back to Kentucky, this is not the first time, nor will it be the last time someone in college sports gets threatened with deaths. There was a field goal kicker for Boise State who missed some critical field goals around 2010. Because of that, fans were putting up death threats over those misses. I think people go into these games expecting players to be exactly like professionals. They got yips just like everybody else, especially if you're on television. With money involved with fantasy sports, it's hard to know if some are actually fans or if they are just hoping for the team in fantasy they want to win and make 100 dollars.
Two games come to mind in professional sports in a pre-Internet era. The 1985 World Series for MLB featured one of the biggest missed calls with Don Denkinger calling a guy safe instead of being out.It ended up with the Kansas City Royals winning the rest of the series and the title. That really hurt his rep and the death threats were were very high. Denkinger shrugged it off and continued umpiring for at least another decade, but that's his legacy. The other one was in 2001 with the Cleveland Browns, long before social media was a big thing. While I'm not sure if this one had death threats, the amount of stuff thrown could have seriously hurt not just the referees, but players, too. Long story short, the Browns convert on fourth down. They try to get a first down play done immediately. As they start that, the refs looked at the previous play. This was just when instant replay was back following a playoff incident in the 1999 season. They reverse it, and Browns fans start throwing bottles as the discussion was being made.
Higgins is not the only person that makes the calls. He's not the one who makes every decision. There are a few other referees who have to make those choices on whether there is a turnover and whether someone was fouled. Calipari complained about the game being called, which shows how much of a loser he is. That's his M.O. going back to his days of UMass with the infamous fight with then Temple coach John Chaney in early 1994. Even though UMass won, Calpari still whined about the referees and Chaney had enough, going to the other side and saying he'll kill him and beat him up. You would think for a guy that has been sanctioned at two colleges that there would be a little showmanship for officials, but it's stuff that older people know about more than me that will shake their head at this situation.
I have this belief that one day, refs and umpires will be replaced by robots, more so with the NFL considering how awful some of their referees were this year. A lot of judgment has to be made and whether or not to make a call or keep the game going. Unless you're a buffoon like Joe West, a lot of those officials are human. Some mistakes you can easily ignore, but some of the blatantly obvious ones are not gonna fly in today's world. I just worry that one day comes and a referee gets hurt or killed by a "fan". I hope that never happens, but the lengths some people take, that could be something to comes to reality and precedence will be made to protect the people who make sure a game goes smoothly.
For other basketball related blogs, check out other blogs I have here:
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/rest-sports-ultimate-decision.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/uconn-womens-basketball-boring.html
This past weekend, Higgins refereed the Kentucky game against North Carolina. It was a nail biter, and both teams were down a bit and came back a number of times. Less than 10 seconds in the game, the Wildcats put up a three and tie the game 73 to 73. The Tar Heels go on to the other side of the court, shoot a jumper and take the lead 75 to 73 with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. Ultimately they won, and whatever comebacks Kentucky had was all for nothing. You would think we wouldn't stop talking about the game, but in the eyes of the Wildcat fanbase, it pretty much stunned them and then turned into anger.
I've just learned of the constant death threats that Higgins was getting. I wish I could tell you that I've never done that, but that would be a lie. Usually 99 percent of the time, I have second thoughts and get rid of whatever I said. It's not worth it. What is going on with the referee goes beyond e-mail and phone calls to his home. He has a business and the "fans" are putting up negative reviews not even related to what Higgins does and putting up very bad threats that I will not show. It doesn't stop there. His business was getting called called constantly. Friends and family were getting some of the threats. The fact that he had to go to the cops and the FBI really shows how dangerous and bad the situation is.
It reminds me of something I read about a few years ago regarding a nut job feminist's views on video games.I pretty much don't care what Anita Sarkeesian has to say since most of what she says is pathetic and anybody mentioning her is just adding fuel to the fire. She found herself in the crosshairs of many gaming fans who harassed her and wanting to kill her. She went to I think the FBI for some convention that she was she going to speak at and someone was thinking about killing her at wherever that place was. That really was a black eye for video games.
Back to Kentucky, this is not the first time, nor will it be the last time someone in college sports gets threatened with deaths. There was a field goal kicker for Boise State who missed some critical field goals around 2010. Because of that, fans were putting up death threats over those misses. I think people go into these games expecting players to be exactly like professionals. They got yips just like everybody else, especially if you're on television. With money involved with fantasy sports, it's hard to know if some are actually fans or if they are just hoping for the team in fantasy they want to win and make 100 dollars.
Two games come to mind in professional sports in a pre-Internet era. The 1985 World Series for MLB featured one of the biggest missed calls with Don Denkinger calling a guy safe instead of being out.It ended up with the Kansas City Royals winning the rest of the series and the title. That really hurt his rep and the death threats were were very high. Denkinger shrugged it off and continued umpiring for at least another decade, but that's his legacy. The other one was in 2001 with the Cleveland Browns, long before social media was a big thing. While I'm not sure if this one had death threats, the amount of stuff thrown could have seriously hurt not just the referees, but players, too. Long story short, the Browns convert on fourth down. They try to get a first down play done immediately. As they start that, the refs looked at the previous play. This was just when instant replay was back following a playoff incident in the 1999 season. They reverse it, and Browns fans start throwing bottles as the discussion was being made.
Higgins is not the only person that makes the calls. He's not the one who makes every decision. There are a few other referees who have to make those choices on whether there is a turnover and whether someone was fouled. Calipari complained about the game being called, which shows how much of a loser he is. That's his M.O. going back to his days of UMass with the infamous fight with then Temple coach John Chaney in early 1994. Even though UMass won, Calpari still whined about the referees and Chaney had enough, going to the other side and saying he'll kill him and beat him up. You would think for a guy that has been sanctioned at two colleges that there would be a little showmanship for officials, but it's stuff that older people know about more than me that will shake their head at this situation.
I have this belief that one day, refs and umpires will be replaced by robots, more so with the NFL considering how awful some of their referees were this year. A lot of judgment has to be made and whether or not to make a call or keep the game going. Unless you're a buffoon like Joe West, a lot of those officials are human. Some mistakes you can easily ignore, but some of the blatantly obvious ones are not gonna fly in today's world. I just worry that one day comes and a referee gets hurt or killed by a "fan". I hope that never happens, but the lengths some people take, that could be something to comes to reality and precedence will be made to protect the people who make sure a game goes smoothly.
For other basketball related blogs, check out other blogs I have here:
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/rest-sports-ultimate-decision.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/uconn-womens-basketball-boring.html
Arcades, Part I: Local places
I am part of an era of video games where the arcade scene was experiencing a small boost in the early 90s due to the fighting game craze. By the time I was five in 1997, it was well into decline and today, the closest arcade to me is 50-60 miles from where I live. I've seen a good handful of arcades at points in my life, it all has to start from the beginning, starting with my local mall's arcade.
King's Castle Arcade was a mainstay for a while in the 90s where I lived. To be honest, I don't really remember going there too often, but around 1996 or 97, I can think of a few games that were there. OutRun was there with the movable car. The latest Midway NBA game (Hang Time) was there. One of the Mortal Kombat games and maybe a pinball game are the last things I can think of since my memory is a little fuzzy since it shut down around the late 90s. The mall did bring it back for a short while in a different location, but really had nothing. It had an NFL Blitz game (either the original of 99), a fighting game, and a couple pinball machines. A few places also had some arcade machines. The used game store had a Cruis'n USA for a while and most of the time one of those deer hunting games. The movie theater had racing games from time to time in the 2000s (Cruis'n, one of the Rush games). Overall, it was pretty sad to see not much of an arcade that still goes on to this day.
Not too far from the mall were a local roller skating rink and bowling alley. Most kids would have their birthday parties there or the school would have a day where the kids go to the rink. For most of the time I went there, it had essentially the same arcade games about every time. One of most interesting was the Battletoads game. Until Rare Replay came out a few years ago, the arcades were your only way to play it unless you used MAME. I think I got as far as the second stage before losing the last of my lives. There wasn't else much. It had Pac-Mania but that never worked. Cruis'n USA was pretty common for people to use. So was Off-Road Challenge. At one time, Sega's Lost World: Jurassic Park was something people played from time to time. There was an FMV type light gun game for a short period in the late 90s and early 2000s. Another rink from another town also had some arcade games, one of them being Donkey Kong and I failed at that game considering it was in the late 90s and was very young to handle 80s difficulty.
I really can't say much with the bowling alley. When I was very young, it had a cocktail version of Ms. Pac-Man. What that meant was it was like a table but with a monitor and buttons. A number of late 70s and early 80s games had that as a design before most went with standard arcade cabinets. It was something where you could put your drink on top of the arcade without fearing it would spill. My younger brother was there one time in the late 2000s or early 2010s and they had The Simpsons for arcade machines. At some point in the late 90s, a laundromat had a stand up version of OutRun.
In a different town not too far, either, there was a local bar. Just about everybody one year was either at the local pizzeria or getting their drink on. The high school football team won a sectional title and a few towns were celebrating that. For my parents, they went to the bar just to hang out for a little while as the celebrations were underway. Not too long, I leave the pizzeria and head into the bar. One of the things I noticed was an Atari Tetris machine, with the thought of maybe playing it sometime in the future. I never did and the place went under renovation, so the odds of it ever happening are gone compared to ten years ago.
Back in the summer this past year, I got to work at a baseball park. Since a lot of kids had plenty of cash on them, they would spend on all sorts of stuff. One of these was a small arcade area. You would think there would be a bit of baseball related stuff, but nope. Most of it was a bunch of those generic Raw Thrills arcade games. Games like Fast and Furious for example. It had a few baseball games like World Series Baseball and a pinball game called Slugfest, but that was it. There was basketball shooting, a WWE pinball game and a few machines where you can win toys or candy that you can easily get at a Walmart or grocery store.
Keep your eyes peeled for Part II when I talk about places beyond home and local places. Here's a couple of other game related blogs to check out.
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/experiencing-sega-saturn.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/02/retroblox-potential-future.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/02/nintendo-switch-last-hurrah-or-comeback.html
King's Castle Arcade was a mainstay for a while in the 90s where I lived. To be honest, I don't really remember going there too often, but around 1996 or 97, I can think of a few games that were there. OutRun was there with the movable car. The latest Midway NBA game (Hang Time) was there. One of the Mortal Kombat games and maybe a pinball game are the last things I can think of since my memory is a little fuzzy since it shut down around the late 90s. The mall did bring it back for a short while in a different location, but really had nothing. It had an NFL Blitz game (either the original of 99), a fighting game, and a couple pinball machines. A few places also had some arcade machines. The used game store had a Cruis'n USA for a while and most of the time one of those deer hunting games. The movie theater had racing games from time to time in the 2000s (Cruis'n, one of the Rush games). Overall, it was pretty sad to see not much of an arcade that still goes on to this day.
Not too far from the mall were a local roller skating rink and bowling alley. Most kids would have their birthday parties there or the school would have a day where the kids go to the rink. For most of the time I went there, it had essentially the same arcade games about every time. One of most interesting was the Battletoads game. Until Rare Replay came out a few years ago, the arcades were your only way to play it unless you used MAME. I think I got as far as the second stage before losing the last of my lives. There wasn't else much. It had Pac-Mania but that never worked. Cruis'n USA was pretty common for people to use. So was Off-Road Challenge. At one time, Sega's Lost World: Jurassic Park was something people played from time to time. There was an FMV type light gun game for a short period in the late 90s and early 2000s. Another rink from another town also had some arcade games, one of them being Donkey Kong and I failed at that game considering it was in the late 90s and was very young to handle 80s difficulty.
I really can't say much with the bowling alley. When I was very young, it had a cocktail version of Ms. Pac-Man. What that meant was it was like a table but with a monitor and buttons. A number of late 70s and early 80s games had that as a design before most went with standard arcade cabinets. It was something where you could put your drink on top of the arcade without fearing it would spill. My younger brother was there one time in the late 2000s or early 2010s and they had The Simpsons for arcade machines. At some point in the late 90s, a laundromat had a stand up version of OutRun.
In a different town not too far, either, there was a local bar. Just about everybody one year was either at the local pizzeria or getting their drink on. The high school football team won a sectional title and a few towns were celebrating that. For my parents, they went to the bar just to hang out for a little while as the celebrations were underway. Not too long, I leave the pizzeria and head into the bar. One of the things I noticed was an Atari Tetris machine, with the thought of maybe playing it sometime in the future. I never did and the place went under renovation, so the odds of it ever happening are gone compared to ten years ago.
Back in the summer this past year, I got to work at a baseball park. Since a lot of kids had plenty of cash on them, they would spend on all sorts of stuff. One of these was a small arcade area. You would think there would be a bit of baseball related stuff, but nope. Most of it was a bunch of those generic Raw Thrills arcade games. Games like Fast and Furious for example. It had a few baseball games like World Series Baseball and a pinball game called Slugfest, but that was it. There was basketball shooting, a WWE pinball game and a few machines where you can win toys or candy that you can easily get at a Walmart or grocery store.
Keep your eyes peeled for Part II when I talk about places beyond home and local places. Here's a couple of other game related blogs to check out.
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/03/experiencing-sega-saturn.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/02/retroblox-potential-future.html
http://sullivanentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/02/nintendo-switch-last-hurrah-or-comeback.html
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Losing Stores
Change is a double edged sword. Sometimes, certain things happen at particular places that you will enjoy. Other times however, it would be annoying as well since you can't replace it, no matter what. My local mall has Radio Shack and like many other parts of the United States and maybe the world, the decision has been made to close off a number of stores due to bankruptcy. You find it a little hard to believe and then it's gone. Who knows when exactly they will shut down in the one near me. It seems like maybe another few weeks.
It says a lot about my local mall. When I was very young, they had a lot of stuff. Big named stuff with a few local stores. Around 1996, there was JCPenney, KB Toys, Fashion Bug, Foot Locker, GNC, Payless ShoeSource, and K-Mart. The rest off the top of my head was the movie theater, a local pizzeria, and an arcade. Now these days, a lot of changes have been made. Unfortunately, they have a hard time selling space to people who may be open for only a few months on end. Most of the big named stores are gone with JCPenney, Payless, and GNC still existing. There has been expansions around that area since at least 1995 and not just the mall.
Now, one place I really wanted to go to in that mall was a used game store. It had been around for quite a bit of time before I started going there a little often around 2009. I found it a bit surprising that they were shutting down in 2014 due to the owners going for retirement. A few weeks before they closed up, I managed to get quite a bit of stuff that was 30 percent off. After that, the closest used game store that isn't GameStop (not a bad place) is 50 to 60 miles away. There was a point where you could get everything at your local mall. To be fair, they are trying to get back to what they were about 20 years ago.
A place my mother really liked going to was Ames. It was an outlet store. They sold all sorts of stuff there for reduced prices. It was a place both my parents went to quite a bit. Probably the last time going there was 2003 after the company filed for bankruptcy a few years prior. In that particular area, there was Napa Auto (which is still there), a couple gas stations and a Burger King. (which shut down around the same time as Ames) There was a Grand Union that shut down around the mid to late 90s with Wal-Mart and a few other grocery stores coming around and overtaking where people would go to. Sometimes, those competitors can cause a huge decline.
Speaking of decline, I do believe people will still go to a store and buy things that they need that isn't food. There are still people who are not willing to go online to an Amazon or Ebay to buy stuff like clothes or garden supplies. Concern is always a big factor. Some people may not be willing to sell stuff or take a long time get. The product could be broken or ruined. It's not simple like in the movies or television. I'm not saying don't shop online, but take it with caution. That being said, going to a store, that product you are looking for may not be there at all. Options could be going to another store that is similar to the one you were at, or taking the online route. Either way, retail is not going to disappear anytime soon. They are still important in today's society.
It sucks to lose a store.
It says a lot about my local mall. When I was very young, they had a lot of stuff. Big named stuff with a few local stores. Around 1996, there was JCPenney, KB Toys, Fashion Bug, Foot Locker, GNC, Payless ShoeSource, and K-Mart. The rest off the top of my head was the movie theater, a local pizzeria, and an arcade. Now these days, a lot of changes have been made. Unfortunately, they have a hard time selling space to people who may be open for only a few months on end. Most of the big named stores are gone with JCPenney, Payless, and GNC still existing. There has been expansions around that area since at least 1995 and not just the mall.
Now, one place I really wanted to go to in that mall was a used game store. It had been around for quite a bit of time before I started going there a little often around 2009. I found it a bit surprising that they were shutting down in 2014 due to the owners going for retirement. A few weeks before they closed up, I managed to get quite a bit of stuff that was 30 percent off. After that, the closest used game store that isn't GameStop (not a bad place) is 50 to 60 miles away. There was a point where you could get everything at your local mall. To be fair, they are trying to get back to what they were about 20 years ago.
A place my mother really liked going to was Ames. It was an outlet store. They sold all sorts of stuff there for reduced prices. It was a place both my parents went to quite a bit. Probably the last time going there was 2003 after the company filed for bankruptcy a few years prior. In that particular area, there was Napa Auto (which is still there), a couple gas stations and a Burger King. (which shut down around the same time as Ames) There was a Grand Union that shut down around the mid to late 90s with Wal-Mart and a few other grocery stores coming around and overtaking where people would go to. Sometimes, those competitors can cause a huge decline.
Speaking of decline, I do believe people will still go to a store and buy things that they need that isn't food. There are still people who are not willing to go online to an Amazon or Ebay to buy stuff like clothes or garden supplies. Concern is always a big factor. Some people may not be willing to sell stuff or take a long time get. The product could be broken or ruined. It's not simple like in the movies or television. I'm not saying don't shop online, but take it with caution. That being said, going to a store, that product you are looking for may not be there at all. Options could be going to another store that is similar to the one you were at, or taking the online route. Either way, retail is not going to disappear anytime soon. They are still important in today's society.
It sucks to lose a store.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Insurance commercials: Overused
In today's world of television, you will constantly be seeing car insurance ads or any insurance ad. No matter the channel, it's that, car commercials, health, doctors, whatever. There was a time where the point of an ad was to show the rates of the insurance you might want to go to or switch to. Or even show that certain things can happen, and that your insurance company will be there for you at any time. Now these days, it's to do a fucking skit and then mention the company at the last second. Whatever happened to just explaining things?
Really, one of the worst offenders is Geico. For a company that has been around for 80 years, it's a travesty they can't get the point across. Even with their gecko ads which aren't horrible, they go overboard. I think it goes back to their days of the Cavemen in the mid 2000s. Unfortunately, it got popular to the point where they even got a TV show 10 years ago which was a big disaster. The last four to five years, it's been these "It's what you do" ads, "what's not surprising" commercials, and a couple other garbage ads. It's these overdone commercials that have nothing to do with car insurance. These are a huge waste of money, but legions of idiots will watch the commercials no matter what.
They get the point across a little more than Geico, but Progressive is a group that only has one advertising campaign. I don't even know when the last time they did an ad that didn't feature their spokeswoman, Flo. As far as the ads go, they do a decent job of showing rates and explaining their insurance depending on its ad. However, they go overboard with their campaign, which has gone on for a very, very long time. Even to the point where they try to put Flo in the real world stuff with family, TMZ parodies, and old TV show endings. They make as much sense as continuity in a sketch comedy show. Unless it's different anywhere else, I see no other ads that don't involve her. They are a little simple depending on the ad, but the over excessive use. Down the road, something new has to come and replace it. Or at the very least, try to do more than Flo ads.
State Farm's main thing is sports. You're bound to see an Aaron Rodgers or Chris Paul commercial where something bad happens to their house and/or car as the commercial explains for every good thing, there's a bad thing. It is to the point. If I were to make a point on that, it's that no matter what kind of person you are, you will have those highs and lows as seen in the ads. They haven't gone too overboard, but my big complaint is the fat Packers fan ads, which I think they stopped the last year or so. Still, State Farm knows it's not just sports ads. They show normal people through all parts of live and saying they will be there for the disasters and big moments for individuals. Whatever the case, they put up a better effort than Geico and Progressive.
The first time I really heard about Liberty Mutual was through their "Humans" commercials where people are in a bad situation and it gets worse. For example, a guy throwing a football, hitting someone's grill and setting a van on fire. I thought it got its point across pretty well. Then, they ditched it for people standing and explaining some bad situation with the Statue of Liberty in the background. It wouldn't be so bothersome if they didn't overuse some of the same ads. It's in the same boat as Progressive. I don't want to hear for the thousandth time the same black lady complaining about getting three quarters compensation for damages. They've done that with a few other people. Now they are trying to feel a little more down to earth with some of their latest commercials. They still got a way to go before they get incompetent.
There's not much to complain about regarding Nationwide, Farmers, MetLife, or even Allstate. Allstate has the right sense of not abusing the same ad over and over. They've done well at keeping the Mayhem commercials fresh. Still having Dennis Haysbert (Major League) is a huge plus. To be honest, I honestly haven't heard any MetLife stuff since last year when they used the Peanuts gang. Outside of NASCAR ads, I don't see much with Nationwide other than a few song ads (Brad Paisley as one example) Farmers commercials do seem overproduced, but the fact these are based on true incidents shows the point that even the weirdest can lead to talking to your insurance company. Something like a dog setting a house on fire. The ad was getting a pizza slice on a kitchen stove and turning a knob. The actual claim was for wanting a birthday cake that was set on the stove. It happens and it seems they would believe most stories, even if they feel wacky.
I'm looking to expand further with other blogs regarding commercials. This is something I hope to continue with other kinds of ads. (fast food for example like those Sonic morons) If you got anything else that would fit for a blog like this in terms of commercial overuse, let me know. I'll end by saying thank goodness for things like DVR and recording on your box. Without them, it would grow tiresome hearing the same robbery Geico ad. Five (or seven) minutes of commercials are gone with the power of fast forward.
Really, one of the worst offenders is Geico. For a company that has been around for 80 years, it's a travesty they can't get the point across. Even with their gecko ads which aren't horrible, they go overboard. I think it goes back to their days of the Cavemen in the mid 2000s. Unfortunately, it got popular to the point where they even got a TV show 10 years ago which was a big disaster. The last four to five years, it's been these "It's what you do" ads, "what's not surprising" commercials, and a couple other garbage ads. It's these overdone commercials that have nothing to do with car insurance. These are a huge waste of money, but legions of idiots will watch the commercials no matter what.
They get the point across a little more than Geico, but Progressive is a group that only has one advertising campaign. I don't even know when the last time they did an ad that didn't feature their spokeswoman, Flo. As far as the ads go, they do a decent job of showing rates and explaining their insurance depending on its ad. However, they go overboard with their campaign, which has gone on for a very, very long time. Even to the point where they try to put Flo in the real world stuff with family, TMZ parodies, and old TV show endings. They make as much sense as continuity in a sketch comedy show. Unless it's different anywhere else, I see no other ads that don't involve her. They are a little simple depending on the ad, but the over excessive use. Down the road, something new has to come and replace it. Or at the very least, try to do more than Flo ads.
State Farm's main thing is sports. You're bound to see an Aaron Rodgers or Chris Paul commercial where something bad happens to their house and/or car as the commercial explains for every good thing, there's a bad thing. It is to the point. If I were to make a point on that, it's that no matter what kind of person you are, you will have those highs and lows as seen in the ads. They haven't gone too overboard, but my big complaint is the fat Packers fan ads, which I think they stopped the last year or so. Still, State Farm knows it's not just sports ads. They show normal people through all parts of live and saying they will be there for the disasters and big moments for individuals. Whatever the case, they put up a better effort than Geico and Progressive.
The first time I really heard about Liberty Mutual was through their "Humans" commercials where people are in a bad situation and it gets worse. For example, a guy throwing a football, hitting someone's grill and setting a van on fire. I thought it got its point across pretty well. Then, they ditched it for people standing and explaining some bad situation with the Statue of Liberty in the background. It wouldn't be so bothersome if they didn't overuse some of the same ads. It's in the same boat as Progressive. I don't want to hear for the thousandth time the same black lady complaining about getting three quarters compensation for damages. They've done that with a few other people. Now they are trying to feel a little more down to earth with some of their latest commercials. They still got a way to go before they get incompetent.
There's not much to complain about regarding Nationwide, Farmers, MetLife, or even Allstate. Allstate has the right sense of not abusing the same ad over and over. They've done well at keeping the Mayhem commercials fresh. Still having Dennis Haysbert (Major League) is a huge plus. To be honest, I honestly haven't heard any MetLife stuff since last year when they used the Peanuts gang. Outside of NASCAR ads, I don't see much with Nationwide other than a few song ads (Brad Paisley as one example) Farmers commercials do seem overproduced, but the fact these are based on true incidents shows the point that even the weirdest can lead to talking to your insurance company. Something like a dog setting a house on fire. The ad was getting a pizza slice on a kitchen stove and turning a knob. The actual claim was for wanting a birthday cake that was set on the stove. It happens and it seems they would believe most stories, even if they feel wacky.
I'm looking to expand further with other blogs regarding commercials. This is something I hope to continue with other kinds of ads. (fast food for example like those Sonic morons) If you got anything else that would fit for a blog like this in terms of commercial overuse, let me know. I'll end by saying thank goodness for things like DVR and recording on your box. Without them, it would grow tiresome hearing the same robbery Geico ad. Five (or seven) minutes of commercials are gone with the power of fast forward.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
NASCAR's Image
Another week, another incident for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. This time, it was in their XFINITY series in Phoenix. Late in the race this past Saturday, Austin Dillon got hit by Cole Custer and the car suffered some bad damage. Dillon would retaliate and wreck him. Following that, both guys had to meet with officials regarding it. As far as I understand, there's not going to be any punishments issued. This comes almost two weeks ago following the Las Vegas Monster Energy Cup race with Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. Long story short, Logano got a tiny bit loose and hit Busch on the final lap. Busch thought it was deliberate and threw a punch, sparking a little brawl between him and Logano's pit crew.
Every sport has it's issues regarding certain people that are involved. Most of the time, it's just between players. A few times have had fans involved. Some examples include Ron Artest and a few other Indiana Pacer players in 2004 when a Detroit Piston fan threw a beer at him (the fan was under probation for DUI incidents. He was banned for life from going to Piston games 10 years ago). You got in hockey the incident with Tie Domi squirting water at Philadelphia Flyer fans. One of which actually fell into the penalty box. The way NASCAR has handled these two incidents is pretty bad.
Here's how I view throwing a punch in a sport. You do that, you get ejected and the possibility of fines and suspensions are imminent. The same thing can be said for doing something deliberate. Really, both Logano and Busch should have been fined for the fight. Despite my disdain for Busch, he should have suspended at least one race. Some of Logano's pit crew should have been punished as. This past weekend, Fox really promoted the incident to get people to tune in. As far as Dillon goes, there should have been at least a fine. It almost comes off as bush league.
Unfortunately, it's the heat of the battle. For these drivers, they are competing for points. Whatever place you're in makes a huge difference as the year goes on in the chances of winning a championship. It's sending a wrong message that you should be doing this whenever things don't go your way. Luckily, there's still enough drivers from the late 90s and early 2000s to know that stuff doesn't fly with them. However, as the older group ages, who is going to be that big leader to lead the way for the younger generations and beyond?
In the end, it's going to frustrate fans. Not in the sense of wanting conflict. That's never going to disappear. It's more so getting away with things scot-free. NASCAR needs to start taking some of these incidents very seriously. Otherwise, that message is going be wrong and someone will wind up needing stitches or fixing a broken arm. Stop it before it gets worse.
Every sport has it's issues regarding certain people that are involved. Most of the time, it's just between players. A few times have had fans involved. Some examples include Ron Artest and a few other Indiana Pacer players in 2004 when a Detroit Piston fan threw a beer at him (the fan was under probation for DUI incidents. He was banned for life from going to Piston games 10 years ago). You got in hockey the incident with Tie Domi squirting water at Philadelphia Flyer fans. One of which actually fell into the penalty box. The way NASCAR has handled these two incidents is pretty bad.
Here's how I view throwing a punch in a sport. You do that, you get ejected and the possibility of fines and suspensions are imminent. The same thing can be said for doing something deliberate. Really, both Logano and Busch should have been fined for the fight. Despite my disdain for Busch, he should have suspended at least one race. Some of Logano's pit crew should have been punished as. This past weekend, Fox really promoted the incident to get people to tune in. As far as Dillon goes, there should have been at least a fine. It almost comes off as bush league.
Unfortunately, it's the heat of the battle. For these drivers, they are competing for points. Whatever place you're in makes a huge difference as the year goes on in the chances of winning a championship. It's sending a wrong message that you should be doing this whenever things don't go your way. Luckily, there's still enough drivers from the late 90s and early 2000s to know that stuff doesn't fly with them. However, as the older group ages, who is going to be that big leader to lead the way for the younger generations and beyond?
In the end, it's going to frustrate fans. Not in the sense of wanting conflict. That's never going to disappear. It's more so getting away with things scot-free. NASCAR needs to start taking some of these incidents very seriously. Otherwise, that message is going be wrong and someone will wind up needing stitches or fixing a broken arm. Stop it before it gets worse.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
South Park: The Stick of Truth Review (Xbox 360)
I've never been a huge fan of South Park. I find it funny but not as great as most people do. Yet, in it's 20 years since debuting in 1997, it has only had a handful of video games, starting with the original on the Nintendo 64. After two years with three titles, the series didn't see anything until 2009 with Microsoft publishing Let's Go Tower Defense with huge involvement from creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone under their South Park Digital Studios label and Doublesix. While that and Tenorman's Revenge from 2012 were being made, Parker and Stone began work on another game for the then current generation of PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
South Park: The Stick of Truth went through a lengthy development run. It started in 2009 with Obsidian Entertainment making it. Originally, the publisher involved was THQ, who had their hands on various licensed games since the 90s going back to NES. The list goes on for the movies and TV shows they had. Home Alone, Wayne's World, Ren and Stimpy, Rugrats, Power Rangers, SpongeBob SquarePants, WWF/WWE, and various Disney and Scooby Doo games. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, they went bankrupt in late 2012 and a little battle for the IP came into play when game assets were being sold. The game would get picked up by Ubisoft and endured a lengthy delay that included some changes before releasing in March 2014.
The idea of this game is done really well. If you're familiar with the Paper Mario games on the N64 and GameCube, you will feel right at home with Stick of Truth. You are a new kid who has moved from somewhere to South Park. Something happened that caused the move, and your parents want to keep that a secret from you. They tell you to make friends, and so you are put onto the front lines of a battle that the town's boys are doing to protect or get the Stick of Truth. With the script penned by Parker and Stone, it is like a lengthy three episode airing, only much longer. It feels very faithful to the show.
What was seen with The Simpsons and Family Guy on this kind of hardware, the people involved with those programs have made the games on 360 look like the actual shows. (more so The Simpsons. Family Guy is too cel shaded) Stick of Truth sticks to the cheap paper looking approach of the show. The animations, backgrounds and areas all breathe faithfulness. There are a few special effects, but otherwise, it looks the same as watching an episode on Comedy Central. A little warning, though. This is a pretty graphic game, and I'm talking beyond the violence and cursing. There are some graphic nudity that seems out of place, even for the show.
This brings up one of the things regarding Stick of Truth. A lot of areas faced severe censorship Anybody in Europe (particularly Germany, but the entire continent) and Australia will know that their copies have censored scenes with stuff written by Parker and Stone explaining the scenes in their own way. Some of the material was done on the show, but there was no crusade from the European rating board, PEGI. It had no problems with the content, but Ubisoft brought in a censored version. You can't be too careful, especially when other games in the past like Manhunt 2 were banned until changes were made.
Getting past that and creating what you envision the new kid, how does it play? As I said, Stick of Truth will make you feel right at home if you've played Paper Mario. There is not as much space compared to that style of game, but you do get to explore all of South Park. From the other side of the tracks where Kenny is to Jimbo's Guns, you will be visiting every place at least once. Outside of the combat battles, the controls are a little complex but easy to grasp You can interact with stuff, hit things with a weapon and run. There is the ability to fart and you are give special fart moves and a few non-fart specialties once you get through certain parts.
Like any role playing game, you will have a number of things to do as you take care of things for Cartman and many others. The quests and side quests take you to various places in South Park following some training tutorials. Most places can be entered through their doors. It is very similar to The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, which helped Obsidian since they helped Bethesda in making New Vegas. You loot through various houses and locations looking for a lot of things in places like drawers and cupboards. Most of the time, it's junk, but there will be stuff that will help out in the adventures like weapons and equipment. There's bound to be money in places since some of the stuff you'll be needing is required to survive those battles that wage between the humans and elves. You don't want to be seen empty handed or without something more powerful.
Despite the fantasy type approach, the game plays in tune with the use of modern technology. This is where the Internet menu comes in. It keeps track of a lot things. Case in point is the friends aspect. While you make friends with literally most, if not, all the named characters, it may seem worthless, but it is not. You can customize the new kid with any weapon and costume and choose some upgrades and perks. There was also the ability to use a map, check out the various collectibles you've obtained, and choose a buddy to help out. Even some of the cut scenes mention stuff like Twitter.
Leveling up means getting into battles and completing quests. The battles are fought against many adversaries. They range from one to six bad guys. You and a buddy take a turn as do the others. Depending on who attacked first, the one who started the first hit gets the first attack. Your weapons are in the form of melee and ranged attacks. Everybody has one to nine opportunities to attack depending on the weapon and deliver simple or powerful attacks. Farts can also be used with weapons or magic. Then there is the ability method. You pick a class and are given a unique set of abilities. Defeating enemies gives you experience points and leveling up gives you upgrades to make the abilities more powerful and punishing.
The enemies are not forgiving. Most battles are usually fought in groups. and have their own stuff like what the new kid has to emerge victorious. They have their own special abilities, magic, and weapons. Both sides will have armor depending on the equipment that is being used at the moment. It helps ease the worry of getting killed or how tough the battle is going to be. Various amounts of damage vary on the armor and whether they are immune or show weakness to certain attacks via the examine feature. An item feature allows you and your buddy to heal, refill power points, or fill magic via mana to use farts as the new kid. After a winning battle, you can loot whatever the enemies have.
Another way of battling is using stuff in the environment to avoid a turn based battle. Let's say I don't want to waste any items or power points. Someone is standing with a lighting fixture above them. You can shoot at the wiring to have the fixture crash onto them. Depending on how many, you might still have to go into a turned base fight to get the experience points. When looting, you might be full on some items. Stick of Truth keeps track of where they are, regardless of how into the game you are, similar to Fallout and Elder Scrolls.
Quests, for the most part, are pretty simple objectives. Typically they involve getting something for someone, battling someone that has an important item for a person, or taking care of a few things for others who are busy doing something else. Some of them can't be completed until certain events occur. Completing these give experience points, money, and possibly friends. You can also interact with the named characters, but some of them can only be talked to at certain points. This is where the perks system comes in. The amount of friends needed is small, but increases as you get more of them. It's like the ability upgrades. Choices for perks are for the battles, mostly with how you deal attacks to and items. Overall, they give you just enough for perks and quests so that it doesn't get monotonous.
Very early in the game, you will have a buddy accompany you through various quests and fights. As the story progresses, more will be given and the choice is up to individual anytime they go to the party section of the Internet menu. They vary on what they can do depending on the ability, attacks, and experience level. An example is having Butters help you. He can heal non-playable characters and provoke more enemies to attack him in battle. There is a command feature where you can instruct whoever you have beside you to perform a task when there is a command icon to keep the quest going. Who you have may help or detract from certain battles, especially against some of the bosses that have much stronger abilities.
Not much can be said for the cash flow you will receive. Other than the quests, you can earn some money by breaking parking meters and newspaper boxes in the city limits. You can buy certain things at certain locations. Some places will also allow you to sell anything from your weapons to the various junk that is collected throughout the game. The design of Stick of Truth is phenomenally well made. Parker and Stone along with the developers do a good job of making the progression go smoothly and show off and use the abilities that are given as the plot thickens.
Options are limited. It's down to audio toggling and the difficulty. There is a help a meter in the pause menu in-game. Really, I don't have too many complaints. It is a bit on the short side with 13 to 17 hours of a playthrough the first time. However, the classes will make you wonder what you can do with the other choices if given the chance to play again, so it's a minor nitpick. Another nitpick is the load and save feature. The autosave is a little weird since it saves in specific areas, but it's not much and doesn't ruin the game. My only big complaint is the audio, mostly the music. Parker and Stone did a great job of making the script funny and staying in tune with an actual episode of South Park. However, there isn't too many tracks in the game and the main track only lasts a few minutes. Outside of it, it's a well made game that will entertain the fans since there are so many callbacks and references to the show. From it's early roots to the modern day episodes, it will feel spectacular. People that may grow weary of the severely outdated references will still get enjoyment out of it.
Definitely check out Stick of Truth. It's still somewhat common and shouldn't be too expensive. You're getting a 1st class package if you are a big fan of South Park. A lot of thought was put into it and showed. This will be hard to top whenever The Fractured But Whole comes. Whatever Parker and Stone have up their sleeves will be well worth the wait.
Score: 8 out of 10
South Park: The Stick of Truth went through a lengthy development run. It started in 2009 with Obsidian Entertainment making it. Originally, the publisher involved was THQ, who had their hands on various licensed games since the 90s going back to NES. The list goes on for the movies and TV shows they had. Home Alone, Wayne's World, Ren and Stimpy, Rugrats, Power Rangers, SpongeBob SquarePants, WWF/WWE, and various Disney and Scooby Doo games. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, they went bankrupt in late 2012 and a little battle for the IP came into play when game assets were being sold. The game would get picked up by Ubisoft and endured a lengthy delay that included some changes before releasing in March 2014.
The idea of this game is done really well. If you're familiar with the Paper Mario games on the N64 and GameCube, you will feel right at home with Stick of Truth. You are a new kid who has moved from somewhere to South Park. Something happened that caused the move, and your parents want to keep that a secret from you. They tell you to make friends, and so you are put onto the front lines of a battle that the town's boys are doing to protect or get the Stick of Truth. With the script penned by Parker and Stone, it is like a lengthy three episode airing, only much longer. It feels very faithful to the show.
What was seen with The Simpsons and Family Guy on this kind of hardware, the people involved with those programs have made the games on 360 look like the actual shows. (more so The Simpsons. Family Guy is too cel shaded) Stick of Truth sticks to the cheap paper looking approach of the show. The animations, backgrounds and areas all breathe faithfulness. There are a few special effects, but otherwise, it looks the same as watching an episode on Comedy Central. A little warning, though. This is a pretty graphic game, and I'm talking beyond the violence and cursing. There are some graphic nudity that seems out of place, even for the show.
This brings up one of the things regarding Stick of Truth. A lot of areas faced severe censorship Anybody in Europe (particularly Germany, but the entire continent) and Australia will know that their copies have censored scenes with stuff written by Parker and Stone explaining the scenes in their own way. Some of the material was done on the show, but there was no crusade from the European rating board, PEGI. It had no problems with the content, but Ubisoft brought in a censored version. You can't be too careful, especially when other games in the past like Manhunt 2 were banned until changes were made.
Getting past that and creating what you envision the new kid, how does it play? As I said, Stick of Truth will make you feel right at home if you've played Paper Mario. There is not as much space compared to that style of game, but you do get to explore all of South Park. From the other side of the tracks where Kenny is to Jimbo's Guns, you will be visiting every place at least once. Outside of the combat battles, the controls are a little complex but easy to grasp You can interact with stuff, hit things with a weapon and run. There is the ability to fart and you are give special fart moves and a few non-fart specialties once you get through certain parts.
Like any role playing game, you will have a number of things to do as you take care of things for Cartman and many others. The quests and side quests take you to various places in South Park following some training tutorials. Most places can be entered through their doors. It is very similar to The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, which helped Obsidian since they helped Bethesda in making New Vegas. You loot through various houses and locations looking for a lot of things in places like drawers and cupboards. Most of the time, it's junk, but there will be stuff that will help out in the adventures like weapons and equipment. There's bound to be money in places since some of the stuff you'll be needing is required to survive those battles that wage between the humans and elves. You don't want to be seen empty handed or without something more powerful.
Despite the fantasy type approach, the game plays in tune with the use of modern technology. This is where the Internet menu comes in. It keeps track of a lot things. Case in point is the friends aspect. While you make friends with literally most, if not, all the named characters, it may seem worthless, but it is not. You can customize the new kid with any weapon and costume and choose some upgrades and perks. There was also the ability to use a map, check out the various collectibles you've obtained, and choose a buddy to help out. Even some of the cut scenes mention stuff like Twitter.
Leveling up means getting into battles and completing quests. The battles are fought against many adversaries. They range from one to six bad guys. You and a buddy take a turn as do the others. Depending on who attacked first, the one who started the first hit gets the first attack. Your weapons are in the form of melee and ranged attacks. Everybody has one to nine opportunities to attack depending on the weapon and deliver simple or powerful attacks. Farts can also be used with weapons or magic. Then there is the ability method. You pick a class and are given a unique set of abilities. Defeating enemies gives you experience points and leveling up gives you upgrades to make the abilities more powerful and punishing.
The enemies are not forgiving. Most battles are usually fought in groups. and have their own stuff like what the new kid has to emerge victorious. They have their own special abilities, magic, and weapons. Both sides will have armor depending on the equipment that is being used at the moment. It helps ease the worry of getting killed or how tough the battle is going to be. Various amounts of damage vary on the armor and whether they are immune or show weakness to certain attacks via the examine feature. An item feature allows you and your buddy to heal, refill power points, or fill magic via mana to use farts as the new kid. After a winning battle, you can loot whatever the enemies have.
Another way of battling is using stuff in the environment to avoid a turn based battle. Let's say I don't want to waste any items or power points. Someone is standing with a lighting fixture above them. You can shoot at the wiring to have the fixture crash onto them. Depending on how many, you might still have to go into a turned base fight to get the experience points. When looting, you might be full on some items. Stick of Truth keeps track of where they are, regardless of how into the game you are, similar to Fallout and Elder Scrolls.
Quests, for the most part, are pretty simple objectives. Typically they involve getting something for someone, battling someone that has an important item for a person, or taking care of a few things for others who are busy doing something else. Some of them can't be completed until certain events occur. Completing these give experience points, money, and possibly friends. You can also interact with the named characters, but some of them can only be talked to at certain points. This is where the perks system comes in. The amount of friends needed is small, but increases as you get more of them. It's like the ability upgrades. Choices for perks are for the battles, mostly with how you deal attacks to and items. Overall, they give you just enough for perks and quests so that it doesn't get monotonous.
Very early in the game, you will have a buddy accompany you through various quests and fights. As the story progresses, more will be given and the choice is up to individual anytime they go to the party section of the Internet menu. They vary on what they can do depending on the ability, attacks, and experience level. An example is having Butters help you. He can heal non-playable characters and provoke more enemies to attack him in battle. There is a command feature where you can instruct whoever you have beside you to perform a task when there is a command icon to keep the quest going. Who you have may help or detract from certain battles, especially against some of the bosses that have much stronger abilities.
Not much can be said for the cash flow you will receive. Other than the quests, you can earn some money by breaking parking meters and newspaper boxes in the city limits. You can buy certain things at certain locations. Some places will also allow you to sell anything from your weapons to the various junk that is collected throughout the game. The design of Stick of Truth is phenomenally well made. Parker and Stone along with the developers do a good job of making the progression go smoothly and show off and use the abilities that are given as the plot thickens.
Options are limited. It's down to audio toggling and the difficulty. There is a help a meter in the pause menu in-game. Really, I don't have too many complaints. It is a bit on the short side with 13 to 17 hours of a playthrough the first time. However, the classes will make you wonder what you can do with the other choices if given the chance to play again, so it's a minor nitpick. Another nitpick is the load and save feature. The autosave is a little weird since it saves in specific areas, but it's not much and doesn't ruin the game. My only big complaint is the audio, mostly the music. Parker and Stone did a great job of making the script funny and staying in tune with an actual episode of South Park. However, there isn't too many tracks in the game and the main track only lasts a few minutes. Outside of it, it's a well made game that will entertain the fans since there are so many callbacks and references to the show. From it's early roots to the modern day episodes, it will feel spectacular. People that may grow weary of the severely outdated references will still get enjoyment out of it.
Definitely check out Stick of Truth. It's still somewhat common and shouldn't be too expensive. You're getting a 1st class package if you are a big fan of South Park. A lot of thought was put into it and showed. This will be hard to top whenever The Fractured But Whole comes. Whatever Parker and Stone have up their sleeves will be well worth the wait.
Score: 8 out of 10
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Rest, A Sports Ultimate Decision
I am reminded of a line that actor James Gammon said in the movie Major League. The scene is his character, manager Lou Brown whining to the Cleveland Indians owner about not having proper equipment to keep his players 100 percent and saying even the best players get wear and tear. That popped into my head following another NBA resting on national television. Once again, the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to rest it's main three. It's LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin and Love. Facing the Los Angeles Clippers, they got blown out, losing by 30 points.
Just like other times, complaints have been made. Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone and Clippers coach Doc Rivers have chimed in on it and believe this shouldn't be happening even though he has done it to give some of his best players rest. It all goes back to when San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did that on a televised game. It did not sit well with then NBA commissioner David Stern. That and getting fined quite a bit of money. Since then, it has happened a number of times with various teams. Golden State, Miami, and several others. Ultimately, commissioner Adam Silver has to do something before things get worse.
Rivers suggested that the league try to do something with back to back games, which is what the Cavaliers had facing the Lakers on Sunday night after the Clippers. That being said, I'm not sure if that will fix the problem. If it was one or two of these guys, that would be understandable. People pay for expensive tickets to watch them or settle for a game on ABC, ESPN, or TNT to see their favorite team squabble with their opponent. That's where leagues get their money and their ratings. You want to see James play. You want to see Irving or Klay Thompson or Russell Westbrook or whatever big star on those nights. Unfortunately, the best teams are usually the ones getting the night games on those networks. I would say at least 10 to 12 teams are going to regularly be seen with a few stragglers if they are in contention for a spot in the playoffs.
I think we're in a new era of sports where starting in every game is pretty much forgotten in the four major sports except for the NFL with some quarterbacks being the Cal Ripken's of their sport. They have the right to complain, but people need to realize basketball is a lot more physically demanding than you think. One wrong move and you can possibly twist an ankle or have a severe injury. The NHL may start a few weeks earlier than the NBA, but it's roughly the same scheduling period. Wear and tear gets the best of all the players. Even the goalies. By the end of a game, they're hoping to get into an ice tub or try to relieve any pain from getting checked into the walls. Major League Baseball is trying to give teams more days off as they go on with their 162 game schedule. Wear and tear and overuse of players is pretty common before a few days of rest are given before getting back to their duties.
I'm not sure if there is a viable solution that can be fixed. Maybe if the NBA could lessen their focus on Cleveland, San Antonio, and a few others for ABC and TNT games, then there wouldn't be all his hoopla on resting players. There's no easy suggestion and solution to this whole thing. You got the fans on one side and the players on the other. One would hope of a way to listen to the fans and figure a way to show it to the players so that both sides can be happy without any aggravation.
Long story short, it's going to take some time. Not to mention some of the big name players are in the late stretches of their careers. Adam Silver has to be very careful with how he plans it out if he is involved.
Just like other times, complaints have been made. Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone and Clippers coach Doc Rivers have chimed in on it and believe this shouldn't be happening even though he has done it to give some of his best players rest. It all goes back to when San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich did that on a televised game. It did not sit well with then NBA commissioner David Stern. That and getting fined quite a bit of money. Since then, it has happened a number of times with various teams. Golden State, Miami, and several others. Ultimately, commissioner Adam Silver has to do something before things get worse.
Rivers suggested that the league try to do something with back to back games, which is what the Cavaliers had facing the Lakers on Sunday night after the Clippers. That being said, I'm not sure if that will fix the problem. If it was one or two of these guys, that would be understandable. People pay for expensive tickets to watch them or settle for a game on ABC, ESPN, or TNT to see their favorite team squabble with their opponent. That's where leagues get their money and their ratings. You want to see James play. You want to see Irving or Klay Thompson or Russell Westbrook or whatever big star on those nights. Unfortunately, the best teams are usually the ones getting the night games on those networks. I would say at least 10 to 12 teams are going to regularly be seen with a few stragglers if they are in contention for a spot in the playoffs.
I think we're in a new era of sports where starting in every game is pretty much forgotten in the four major sports except for the NFL with some quarterbacks being the Cal Ripken's of their sport. They have the right to complain, but people need to realize basketball is a lot more physically demanding than you think. One wrong move and you can possibly twist an ankle or have a severe injury. The NHL may start a few weeks earlier than the NBA, but it's roughly the same scheduling period. Wear and tear gets the best of all the players. Even the goalies. By the end of a game, they're hoping to get into an ice tub or try to relieve any pain from getting checked into the walls. Major League Baseball is trying to give teams more days off as they go on with their 162 game schedule. Wear and tear and overuse of players is pretty common before a few days of rest are given before getting back to their duties.
I'm not sure if there is a viable solution that can be fixed. Maybe if the NBA could lessen their focus on Cleveland, San Antonio, and a few others for ABC and TNT games, then there wouldn't be all his hoopla on resting players. There's no easy suggestion and solution to this whole thing. You got the fans on one side and the players on the other. One would hope of a way to listen to the fans and figure a way to show it to the players so that both sides can be happy without any aggravation.
Long story short, it's going to take some time. Not to mention some of the big name players are in the late stretches of their careers. Adam Silver has to be very careful with how he plans it out if he is involved.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Netflix Review Changes: A Big Deal?
For a long time, Netflix had a five star rating system. If you thought it was very good, a five or four will be doable. A three would fit as decent. Two was a cautionary rating, and one was unwatchable or very poor quality. Within this past week, the digital company that has thousands of movies and televisions shows has changed the format to a thumbs up and thumbs down format. Their vice president of product went on to say it was in the planning stages and given a test run. Ultimately, he would say that it was old news with the five star rating system.
Even though I never used the rating system for a short time on Netflix, my impression was everybody liked everything. It seemed like most of the stuff in the selections were very well liked or had a good reception. Unlike most people, I don't see the fuss. The five star system is not really a strong way to rate things unless you go half a star with whatever stars you think is worth putting up. Really, the only complaint I would have with the thumbs thing is whether people thought something was okay but wasn't awful. There's no middle ground. Personally, I would rather see a rating between one and ten with the ability to have a zero score and half star ratings.
I really wonder if Netflix was still in the beta test run and rushed it, though. For anyone living under a rock, there was a new stand up special this month featuring comedian Amy Schumer as part of an effort to get more stand ups to put their work on a streaming service. One of those examples is Dave Chappelle, which he has two specials coming out March 21st. For Schumer, her special was panned. When I mean panned, I mean very severe one star ratings. Adding more fuel to the fire was her going after alt-right people which she blames for the poor ratings. I have no doubt that while Netflix was probably planning to phase out their five star system, this seems like a big rush to fix any damage.
It's not alt-right people to fully. A lot of people, regardless of political orientation, don't like Schumer. Then again, most of the big end comedians that have shows on Comedy Central are not special. There are exceptions like Chappelle, but when you have idiots like her and Daniel Tosh, who is really unfunny, they wonder why there's an audience that doesn't laugh outside of the cable realm. Her TV show wasn't horrible, but it wasn't must see cable television. She's become a loud, fat, nut job ever since the summer of 2015 when a shooter killed a few people in a movie theater while they watched her film Trainwreck. A lot of her jokes fall flat to many. It's the same routine every time. There's accusations of her stealing jokes from other comedians, dead or alive. If she didn't go into this political tirade and rant, I really believe that Netflix wouldn't hurry with the thumbs up system in a damage controlling attempt despite the panning.
Controversy aside, is it the end of the world they changed their ratings system? No. It was flawed, and I really don't feel like people were sincere in their ratings. Other than Schumer's whining about how she was treated, it shouldn't be a huge deal. I would take it with a grain of salt and say there are better ways to do ratings. That being said, how long they go with the thumbs system is uncertain. In the end, it's something over nothing. There are worst things in the world than Netflix changing the way you rate movies.
Even though I never used the rating system for a short time on Netflix, my impression was everybody liked everything. It seemed like most of the stuff in the selections were very well liked or had a good reception. Unlike most people, I don't see the fuss. The five star system is not really a strong way to rate things unless you go half a star with whatever stars you think is worth putting up. Really, the only complaint I would have with the thumbs thing is whether people thought something was okay but wasn't awful. There's no middle ground. Personally, I would rather see a rating between one and ten with the ability to have a zero score and half star ratings.
I really wonder if Netflix was still in the beta test run and rushed it, though. For anyone living under a rock, there was a new stand up special this month featuring comedian Amy Schumer as part of an effort to get more stand ups to put their work on a streaming service. One of those examples is Dave Chappelle, which he has two specials coming out March 21st. For Schumer, her special was panned. When I mean panned, I mean very severe one star ratings. Adding more fuel to the fire was her going after alt-right people which she blames for the poor ratings. I have no doubt that while Netflix was probably planning to phase out their five star system, this seems like a big rush to fix any damage.
It's not alt-right people to fully. A lot of people, regardless of political orientation, don't like Schumer. Then again, most of the big end comedians that have shows on Comedy Central are not special. There are exceptions like Chappelle, but when you have idiots like her and Daniel Tosh, who is really unfunny, they wonder why there's an audience that doesn't laugh outside of the cable realm. Her TV show wasn't horrible, but it wasn't must see cable television. She's become a loud, fat, nut job ever since the summer of 2015 when a shooter killed a few people in a movie theater while they watched her film Trainwreck. A lot of her jokes fall flat to many. It's the same routine every time. There's accusations of her stealing jokes from other comedians, dead or alive. If she didn't go into this political tirade and rant, I really believe that Netflix wouldn't hurry with the thumbs up system in a damage controlling attempt despite the panning.
Controversy aside, is it the end of the world they changed their ratings system? No. It was flawed, and I really don't feel like people were sincere in their ratings. Other than Schumer's whining about how she was treated, it shouldn't be a huge deal. I would take it with a grain of salt and say there are better ways to do ratings. That being said, how long they go with the thumbs system is uncertain. In the end, it's something over nothing. There are worst things in the world than Netflix changing the way you rate movies.
Saturday, March 18, 2017
UConn Women's Basketball: Boring Embarrassing Games
As we venture through yet another season of March Madness tournaments for college basketball, there is always a constant. That constant is UConn Women's Basketball putting up another extreme blowout victory over Albany. It has been the storyline for almost a decade and as of now, a current streak of being undefeated for three, four straight years. While their win streak is an impressive feat in itself, it is also something that makes them a very unwatchable team.
For the record, I am not misogynistic. There are great games for women's basketball. Other tournament games have shown to yield close and exciting match ups where the effort is seen from the start until the final buzzer. In the case of UConn, they don't bring anything exciting to the table unless you are loyal to that college or are a huge fan of them. It's blowout after blowout of teams that they face. By the time half time comes, you're searching for something else to watch because they are up by 30 points. That's what drives people away. People want to see games come down to the wire. Not games that you see from this team. It goes beyond college basketball.
I was a waterboy for my high school football team. We had a two game period where the total points was over 100. One game was 49 points. The other was 80. In the case of the latter, the scoring was so huge in the first quarter, the back ups were in by the time the end of it and the start of the second quarter occurred. Even with that, they were still scoring. While the opponents did score a few times, it was one of the most lopsided games I had ever seen. It was quite embarrassing. You feel bad for opponents. An example was my younger brother and his modified basketball team. They were scoring and the opponent couldn't even make a single lay up. You know you're in a bizarre world when both team's crowds want to see some points from the one that hasn't scored.
You hear these stories about shutouts and blowouts and even some of the consequences that occur. There's that story back in 2009 of a Texas high school girls basketball team shutting out their opponent 100 to nothing. Sometime after that, the administration called for a forfeit and fired the coach. You hear coaches getting suspended for high point differentials. Sometimes, the quality of the games are so poor, you wonder how some of these teams live with it. Whether it comes down to competition or something else, who knows?
Getting back to Uconn, their coach, Geno Auriemma had the audacity a few years ago to say men's college basketball was awful. I understand that both men and women's basketball are different. There are different ways of playing the game on each side, but Auriemma has got to be the biggest idiot and really shouldn't be complaining about what the other side of the sport. Yeah, there is the debate on whether to take your foot off the gas during a game for any sport, the fact that he doesn't really shows off his arrogance. I bet he wouldn't last five years on a men's basketball team. The competition is lot fiercer throughout the United States. Obviously, the North Carolina teams, Ohio State, the Michigan teams, Syracuse, Oregon, Florida, the list goes on.
Auriemma simply doesn't get it. People are getting sick and tired of the constant blowout victories. I don't think any team is ever going to break their record of wins whenever it does end, but it gets frustrating. Why should viewers tune in to Uconn games unless you are a die hard or loyal fan? I'm not saying to boycott women's sports overall, but when it's comes to shit games, you are looking for that remote control. A dumbed down kids film would be exciting than UConn, and that's not saying much.
I'll reiterate again that I'm not misogynistic. However, until Auriemma retires, I don't know what will be seen from women's college basketball. It's a borefest when UConn faces opponents. Unfortunately, a lot of people, including myself, have to face the music and wait patiently for that retirement or some other team or teams to take the throne and make women's basketball more exciting and interesting.
For the record, I am not misogynistic. There are great games for women's basketball. Other tournament games have shown to yield close and exciting match ups where the effort is seen from the start until the final buzzer. In the case of UConn, they don't bring anything exciting to the table unless you are loyal to that college or are a huge fan of them. It's blowout after blowout of teams that they face. By the time half time comes, you're searching for something else to watch because they are up by 30 points. That's what drives people away. People want to see games come down to the wire. Not games that you see from this team. It goes beyond college basketball.
I was a waterboy for my high school football team. We had a two game period where the total points was over 100. One game was 49 points. The other was 80. In the case of the latter, the scoring was so huge in the first quarter, the back ups were in by the time the end of it and the start of the second quarter occurred. Even with that, they were still scoring. While the opponents did score a few times, it was one of the most lopsided games I had ever seen. It was quite embarrassing. You feel bad for opponents. An example was my younger brother and his modified basketball team. They were scoring and the opponent couldn't even make a single lay up. You know you're in a bizarre world when both team's crowds want to see some points from the one that hasn't scored.
You hear these stories about shutouts and blowouts and even some of the consequences that occur. There's that story back in 2009 of a Texas high school girls basketball team shutting out their opponent 100 to nothing. Sometime after that, the administration called for a forfeit and fired the coach. You hear coaches getting suspended for high point differentials. Sometimes, the quality of the games are so poor, you wonder how some of these teams live with it. Whether it comes down to competition or something else, who knows?
Getting back to Uconn, their coach, Geno Auriemma had the audacity a few years ago to say men's college basketball was awful. I understand that both men and women's basketball are different. There are different ways of playing the game on each side, but Auriemma has got to be the biggest idiot and really shouldn't be complaining about what the other side of the sport. Yeah, there is the debate on whether to take your foot off the gas during a game for any sport, the fact that he doesn't really shows off his arrogance. I bet he wouldn't last five years on a men's basketball team. The competition is lot fiercer throughout the United States. Obviously, the North Carolina teams, Ohio State, the Michigan teams, Syracuse, Oregon, Florida, the list goes on.
Auriemma simply doesn't get it. People are getting sick and tired of the constant blowout victories. I don't think any team is ever going to break their record of wins whenever it does end, but it gets frustrating. Why should viewers tune in to Uconn games unless you are a die hard or loyal fan? I'm not saying to boycott women's sports overall, but when it's comes to shit games, you are looking for that remote control. A dumbed down kids film would be exciting than UConn, and that's not saying much.
I'll reiterate again that I'm not misogynistic. However, until Auriemma retires, I don't know what will be seen from women's college basketball. It's a borefest when UConn faces opponents. Unfortunately, a lot of people, including myself, have to face the music and wait patiently for that retirement or some other team or teams to take the throne and make women's basketball more exciting and interesting.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Snow Stories and Buffoonish Schools
Within this week, the entire Northeast of the United States got hit pretty bad by a snowstorm that dumped a few feet of snow in certain parts. Certain states declared emergencies and travel bans were put up as the storm raged on. It's calmed following the last 48 hours. Stuff like that reminds me of some times when I was younger of snow related storms, particularly school and a few things at home.
One year, it was pretty bad during the winter. There was so much snow from the end of December to early January. It was few feet like this recent once, but it wasn't too bad. Another time was having the temperature so cold in the severe negatives, the school district I went to closed down for the day. That's something to expect in something like North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana. Elementary school wasn't bad with how they handled snow storms. They took action pretty well at times. You didn't have to worry too much regarding the schedules. If they thought it was going to be bad, everyone would get out of the school before the snow got worse. Looking back, I thought they did a pretty good job.
High school, on the other hand, was a nightmare. I'm sure other high schools had issues, but mine was beyond stupidity with how the staff handled things. If it ran on delays, the schedule would be followed but it was less time. The hour ones weren't bad, but the two hour delays were a huge waste of time. Maybe there are a few things that can be done in 20 minutes, but usually that was picked up the next day wherever we left off. Unfortunately, the bells had to be rung manually, but 80 percent of the time, they were always off on delays. The worst was when they decided to shut the school down when the weather was not what they expected. You had maybe five to seven minutes per period, which was very stupid. There was really no point. When it came to that, they were usually horrible. It wasn't just my generation. I had older siblings who had to deal with the same bullshit.
The judgment of my high school was pretty bad. Late into my time there, we had a bad ice storm around February or March one year. In hindsight, you would think everybody would make sure no one winds up getting hurt or killed, right? Wrong. My school along with one other stayed open. It's probably the only time my father refused to take me to school because of weather. I don't blame him. 95 percent of the school stayed in their homes. There was like 20 students that did go and homework was issued, which was very pathetic. I look at safety as an important, and it's a miracle that where I live, nobody gets killed on the road during the winter or a bus flips and has students injured badly. There's a lot of back roads in my neck of the woods, and that's very dangerous for a bus driver for that time. If some of the higher ups could think about safety, then they would think twice about keeping a school delayed or open.
There's not much to say regarding the first college I went to. Applying in person, there was some snow on the ground in May, so there was a little concern. Truth be told, it wasn't too bad. I probably had a couple snow days the first year and didn't see much the second year. The second year was a little more warmer and didn't see as much snow as before. However, the location was a prime target for more than just snow storms. There was bad thunderstorms during my time there and flooding that second year. The TV studio on campus had leaks in the control room. It would get cold at times, and the wind made it hell on your face. You tear up and it freezes whatever is left. It was mostly during the first few weeks of December and mid January up until mid-March.
My second college, on the other hand, was horrible with handling snow storms. While a good majority of the students were living in dorms or within city limits, there was always the commuters, which is common for any college. I went to classes every day, but one day, it was not worth getting into a car accident. I live 10 miles from the college, but with the roads covered and poor visibility, I went back home. I feel safety is at the bottom of their priorities. Some days, it felt like everything should have been shut down, but it wasn't. Even on campus, they didn't bother to salt the sidewalks. You had to hope you didn't fall and hit your head or back. Or worse, break an arm or leg. It was like high school, only worse.
While there's not much outside of those experiences, I've had friends who have been injured pretty badly by winter weather or near injuries. One example was a few people my family knew that were a few years younger than me. They parked on what they thought was a ditch. Instead it was a snowbank and they almost got hurt. Luckily, there was no damage to the car they were in or themselves. Another was a guy four, five years older than me. About 10 or so years ago, he wound up in a bad car accident and had to re-learn how to do basic stuff again. Since then, he made a full recovery and does stuff like any normal person.
That's all to say regarding winter weather. If you have any stories regarding winter, schools, etc... post in the comments.
One year, it was pretty bad during the winter. There was so much snow from the end of December to early January. It was few feet like this recent once, but it wasn't too bad. Another time was having the temperature so cold in the severe negatives, the school district I went to closed down for the day. That's something to expect in something like North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana. Elementary school wasn't bad with how they handled snow storms. They took action pretty well at times. You didn't have to worry too much regarding the schedules. If they thought it was going to be bad, everyone would get out of the school before the snow got worse. Looking back, I thought they did a pretty good job.
High school, on the other hand, was a nightmare. I'm sure other high schools had issues, but mine was beyond stupidity with how the staff handled things. If it ran on delays, the schedule would be followed but it was less time. The hour ones weren't bad, but the two hour delays were a huge waste of time. Maybe there are a few things that can be done in 20 minutes, but usually that was picked up the next day wherever we left off. Unfortunately, the bells had to be rung manually, but 80 percent of the time, they were always off on delays. The worst was when they decided to shut the school down when the weather was not what they expected. You had maybe five to seven minutes per period, which was very stupid. There was really no point. When it came to that, they were usually horrible. It wasn't just my generation. I had older siblings who had to deal with the same bullshit.
The judgment of my high school was pretty bad. Late into my time there, we had a bad ice storm around February or March one year. In hindsight, you would think everybody would make sure no one winds up getting hurt or killed, right? Wrong. My school along with one other stayed open. It's probably the only time my father refused to take me to school because of weather. I don't blame him. 95 percent of the school stayed in their homes. There was like 20 students that did go and homework was issued, which was very pathetic. I look at safety as an important, and it's a miracle that where I live, nobody gets killed on the road during the winter or a bus flips and has students injured badly. There's a lot of back roads in my neck of the woods, and that's very dangerous for a bus driver for that time. If some of the higher ups could think about safety, then they would think twice about keeping a school delayed or open.
There's not much to say regarding the first college I went to. Applying in person, there was some snow on the ground in May, so there was a little concern. Truth be told, it wasn't too bad. I probably had a couple snow days the first year and didn't see much the second year. The second year was a little more warmer and didn't see as much snow as before. However, the location was a prime target for more than just snow storms. There was bad thunderstorms during my time there and flooding that second year. The TV studio on campus had leaks in the control room. It would get cold at times, and the wind made it hell on your face. You tear up and it freezes whatever is left. It was mostly during the first few weeks of December and mid January up until mid-March.
My second college, on the other hand, was horrible with handling snow storms. While a good majority of the students were living in dorms or within city limits, there was always the commuters, which is common for any college. I went to classes every day, but one day, it was not worth getting into a car accident. I live 10 miles from the college, but with the roads covered and poor visibility, I went back home. I feel safety is at the bottom of their priorities. Some days, it felt like everything should have been shut down, but it wasn't. Even on campus, they didn't bother to salt the sidewalks. You had to hope you didn't fall and hit your head or back. Or worse, break an arm or leg. It was like high school, only worse.
While there's not much outside of those experiences, I've had friends who have been injured pretty badly by winter weather or near injuries. One example was a few people my family knew that were a few years younger than me. They parked on what they thought was a ditch. Instead it was a snowbank and they almost got hurt. Luckily, there was no damage to the car they were in or themselves. Another was a guy four, five years older than me. About 10 or so years ago, he wound up in a bad car accident and had to re-learn how to do basic stuff again. Since then, he made a full recovery and does stuff like any normal person.
That's all to say regarding winter weather. If you have any stories regarding winter, schools, etc... post in the comments.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Reviews: Taking them too seriously
Practically everything and anything will be reviewed. We judge mainstream stuff to see if people think there is a quality film, show, etc... or mediocre product. Sometimes, both sides will mostly agree or have different opinions and have a big number differential in the like/hate ratio. However, there are some people who take the reviews very seriously that they will be outraged about some change or how the majority felt about it.
When it comes to the movies, there will be that one reviewer that ruins it for people. That example is critic Armond White. He came to my attention back in the summer of 2010 when Toy Story 3 hit theaters. Like the first two films, it was unanimously well received and enjoyed a big run from mid-June until the end of the year. Not too long, White put up a negative review which dropped the percentage at Rotten Tomatoes from 100 to 99. Obviously it really angered people. To my understanding as time has gone on, he is one of those people who reviews bad films positively, and good films negatively. Around the same time with the new Toy Story, Jonah Hex hit theaters. White would give it a positive review as the film was panned and bombed at the box office.
Now, I don't mind liking a film that is considered bad. Everybody has their guilty pleasures, and the films that they enjoy despite their hatred from almost everyone. White is constantly doing that gimmick for a very long time and he gets the people right where he wants them. Right now, it's the film, Get Out. It has been a huge hit in its three weeks in theaters, making over 100 million dollars. Not only that, but it's gotten critical acclaim. Like Toy Story 3, White gave it a negative review and it dropped from 100 to 99. I simply don't get it. What is he trying to accomplish? Being different for the sake of being different is not always the best decision. I think he knows what he's doing and he's going to stick with it to keep getting people to berate him. Essentially, he's an old fart troll who will keep ruining things.
Recently, there has been some buzz going around with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. So far, it has been given a lot of praise and has one of the highest scores ever on Metacritic. That number was at 98. Now it's at 97. To keep this in mind, Zelda is a Nintendo franchise, and the on the internet, it is obsessively loved. A YouTube reviewer, Jim Sterling, gave the game a 7 out of 10. That is not a bad score. Unfortunately, it has not been the case for anyone that loves it. The fact that he got DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) on his website and petitions to cause harm shows the bad side of fanboys, especially Nintendo ones.
Personally, every company has its share of psycho and extremist fanboys. As far as video games go, every developer and publisher has those. I find the worse to be Nintendo and PC fanboys. Maybe RPG fanboys as well. However, I've never seen anyone go beyond obsession of a review until the last 24 hours. I visited a website that will remain unnamed. A user was really flipping out over the score and was creating topic after topic and posting anything regarding Sterling. I've never watched the guy and probably never will, but the amount of hate that was being put, you would of thought there was money at stake. Most of the user's posts and topics have since been deleted, and has been put on probation from the site for only a few days.
If it were any other franchise, it would have been a shrug from the shoulders. The thing is, there is a deep love religiously for Zelda and Nintendo. Anything that is shrouded in negativity and the rabid fanboys will go on a full front attack and say things that don't make sense. To be fair, it happens with a lot of other companies, but I feel it is way more common with the ones interested in this Japanese company. It's just a damn review. If you can justify your score and give your exact reasons, then most people will understand. Especially if it's a score that most will definitely not agree on and go after you for.
This age of Internet, social media, and other things have been pretty toxic. I'm guilty of saying certain things like everyone else has. However, I have never seen anything like this. All this over a review. As far as something like a movie, I think it's justified when it comes to someone like Armond White. For games, it's going to keep continuing with whatever the next universally praised game gets those same marks as Zelda. Maybe in a different generation, things will get better, but right now, it's as explosive as you can get and it's going to get more dangerous to be a reviewer.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Experiencing Sega Saturn
Although it did a lot of things wrong from it's launch in May 1995 to its death in 1998, the Sega Saturn is one of the most high regarded systems today due to the library it had, especially in Japan. Like millions of others, I never owned one. I was too busy playing Genesis and eventually PlayStation. Probably nobody I knew outside of family had one. The funny thing is my only times before finding one in 2015 were as a kid and in college.
My memory is a little fuzzy on playing the system as a kid. I want to say it was around the spring or summer of 98. My family went to visit my older sister and her boyfriend. It was one of those visits that was being there for a few hours. One of the things they had was a Saturn and it would be the first time I ever played it. They didn't have too many titles. There was Mortal Kombat, College Slam, Daytona USA and a few others. My eye was set on Sonic 3D Blast, which I had for the Genesis for a year and half at the time. I remember getting pretty far and making it about halfway through the game. I might have also played Daytona and Mortal Kombat (Ultimate 3 to be exact), and that was really the only time I tried the system as a kid. Visits after that, I think they wound up getting a PlayStation, which my family had for half a year.
I then went to college in 2010. Like most people, you meet new ones and you get acquainted with them. My first college had a game club and within the first two months, they were planning on a convention of their own on a Saturday. To keep people occupied when they were waiting on tournaments on PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360, a few others including myself brought up older systems. I brought up my Sega Genesis and SNES. Another brought PS2 and to my surprise, Sega Saturn. Unfortunately, the thing is Saturn is probably the last thing people remember when it comes to the big mainstream companies.
Because of that, I was the only one that really played the Saturn. The friend that brought it played it a few times and with that, he didn't bring it up the next year. One game that intrigued me was Die Hard Trilogy. The action felt very frantic and controlling John McClane was a breeze. Only thing I didn't really care for was Vengeance and its driving. Nevertheless I loved it and I would a year later buy the PlayStation version. I wound up playing Daytona USA a few times and playing real well. A game that got me curious was Black Fire. A helicopter game developed by NovaLogic, I had a little difficulty figuring out what to do. I probably played it for 10 minutes and then stopped.
After that, I didn't play Saturn again until 2015. Going through a yard sale vendor, a person was selling various game systems, accessories and controllers. Unlike the ones you find on Ebay, this was pretty cheap and getting one with a Model 1 Genesis really made it worth while. I've picked up almost 20 games. Some of the notables are Sega Rally, Daytona USA, Gex, Panzer Dragoon, and Dragon Force. I do think it is one of the more underrated systems. The main controllers are good and I feel comfortable when I play each game.
That being said, I would be careful with how much you spend on the system. A number of their heavy hitters cost quite a bit of money. Some of which is near or above 100 dollars. Unless you got a trust fund or are very rich, take a bit of caution when going after them online. If you can find a Saturn, you're in for a treat with a library that has that Sega flair and brings out the strength of being a 2D powerhouse. Happy hunting.
My memory is a little fuzzy on playing the system as a kid. I want to say it was around the spring or summer of 98. My family went to visit my older sister and her boyfriend. It was one of those visits that was being there for a few hours. One of the things they had was a Saturn and it would be the first time I ever played it. They didn't have too many titles. There was Mortal Kombat, College Slam, Daytona USA and a few others. My eye was set on Sonic 3D Blast, which I had for the Genesis for a year and half at the time. I remember getting pretty far and making it about halfway through the game. I might have also played Daytona and Mortal Kombat (Ultimate 3 to be exact), and that was really the only time I tried the system as a kid. Visits after that, I think they wound up getting a PlayStation, which my family had for half a year.
I then went to college in 2010. Like most people, you meet new ones and you get acquainted with them. My first college had a game club and within the first two months, they were planning on a convention of their own on a Saturday. To keep people occupied when they were waiting on tournaments on PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360, a few others including myself brought up older systems. I brought up my Sega Genesis and SNES. Another brought PS2 and to my surprise, Sega Saturn. Unfortunately, the thing is Saturn is probably the last thing people remember when it comes to the big mainstream companies.
Because of that, I was the only one that really played the Saturn. The friend that brought it played it a few times and with that, he didn't bring it up the next year. One game that intrigued me was Die Hard Trilogy. The action felt very frantic and controlling John McClane was a breeze. Only thing I didn't really care for was Vengeance and its driving. Nevertheless I loved it and I would a year later buy the PlayStation version. I wound up playing Daytona USA a few times and playing real well. A game that got me curious was Black Fire. A helicopter game developed by NovaLogic, I had a little difficulty figuring out what to do. I probably played it for 10 minutes and then stopped.
After that, I didn't play Saturn again until 2015. Going through a yard sale vendor, a person was selling various game systems, accessories and controllers. Unlike the ones you find on Ebay, this was pretty cheap and getting one with a Model 1 Genesis really made it worth while. I've picked up almost 20 games. Some of the notables are Sega Rally, Daytona USA, Gex, Panzer Dragoon, and Dragon Force. I do think it is one of the more underrated systems. The main controllers are good and I feel comfortable when I play each game.
That being said, I would be careful with how much you spend on the system. A number of their heavy hitters cost quite a bit of money. Some of which is near or above 100 dollars. Unless you got a trust fund or are very rich, take a bit of caution when going after them online. If you can find a Saturn, you're in for a treat with a library that has that Sega flair and brings out the strength of being a 2D powerhouse. Happy hunting.
Friday, March 10, 2017
Tecmo Super NBA Basketball (Sega Genesis)
The NBA season is dwindling down with less than 20 games to go for just about every team. Let's take a look at Tecmo Super NBA Basketball. Originally, it was released for the NES in the fall of 1992. During 1993, 16-bit versions with Super added in it were brought in. For the SNES, it was early in the year while the Sega Genesis received their version in the fall. It stands out among a line up of basketball titles and has a smoother and fun playability compared to the early EA Sports efforts. It's not going to replace NBA Live, but it holds its own.
All three versions were not made in house by Tecmo. Instead, it went to Sculptured Software, who had a hand with other licensed games such as Tecmo Bowl on Game Boy, The Simpsons, and Super Star Wars. What is given is a lower difficulty compared to Super Bowl, but retains a lot of the things that made the NFL offering have a lot of depth. Three modes of play are given to the player. Rumble with a pre-season match-up against any team you want. Second is the season mode, where you have the choice to do anything, which will be explained very soon. Last is the All-Star mode, which features the best of both conferences.
In Tecmo Super Bowl, one could play in many ways. Super NBA retained that idea. If you wanted to coach in any mode, you could. Watching a game was something to do, especially when it was on the NES back then as well. Or you can play a four quarter game. In the season, you can play as multiple teams and you can affect the outcome of a season. It is based on the 1993-94 season rather than 92-93 or the Nintendo versions of 91-92. You want someone to lose, you can pick that team and make sure they don't smell playoffs. Overall they played to the strengths of previous Tecmo sports games.
Heading onto a new territory of 16-bit, the graphics are good. The models of the players are fair, but provide a bit smoother animation compared to early Genesis sports games. Cut scenes and crowds are of the typical Tecmo flair. Still images of players are a nice bonus and the court is passable. With the audio, it's music is not something I'd associate with basketball, but the vibe makes it feel like you should put in the extra effort to beat other teams. There isn't too many sound effects and the crowd is a step up from other sports offerings. Voicing is a bit clearer as you can hear the pronunciations considering the Genesis sound chips.
At it's disposal, there are 27 teams to choose from and both All-Star teams. You get 12 players per team, and the rosters reflect who was around for the 1992-93 season. In the 90s, deadlines were strict on cartridge systems, so a few players have been changed to position and team such as the late Reggie Lewis. It will be obvious that it doesn't have very player on it as they did not put in rookies from for the 1993-94 season. Like Super Bowl, they all have varying features that they either excel at or struggle badly in.
Controlling players on the Genesis is simple. With the ball, you can shoot with the B button and pass with A. You can call plays with C and the directional pad. Passing is giving the ball to a player that has an arrow indicator above him. Without the ball, A is like passing, but with switching players. Jumping is used with B, and C attempts to steal the ball from the opponents. There is a feature by using B and C to intentionally foul a player.
The tip-off is very hard, but the match-ups play mostly like an actual NBA game. Rules are relegated to clock violations and whether the ball goes out of bounds. Fouls are given for things like charging or shoving one to the ground. Six fouls on one guy and he is done. Foul in the act of shooting and free throws are given. Goal tending can also occur, though that is pretty rare. Fatigue is a given. You will be constantly putting in fresher players off the bench, so picking the best strategy of players may be vital against some of those tougher teams like the Chicago Bulls.
Getting deeper into the season mode, you can play a full 82 game season that is directly based on the 1993-94 season as mentioned earlier. There are two other schedules that shortened to either 41 or 26 games. Similar to Super Bowl, you can skip the season and head directly into the playoffs. However, not everything is fine and dandy. Injuries can happen to anybody at any time. On the bright side, it does play to the idea that they will be healthy in short time.
Options are a little slim, but there is enough. On the court, you can pause to call time outs, substitute players and watch a small replay of the game in action. In the menus, you can pick a speed selection to move very fast or slow. Pre-season mode allows a difficulty mode. Season mode doesn't have that, but it seems to be on the hardest. To be fair it depends on the team you play during the season. Also included are turning music on and off and picking minutes per quarter. The team data allows one to pick their starters, check out their stats, and look at the playbook. Each team is offered a variety of plays and you have to choose a select few before playing a game.
I would say there's only a few flaws with Super NBA Basketball. The animations are nice, but it is difficult to notice whether you still have the ball and get stolen and vice versa. There is barely any time to react, especially if you wind up going out of bounds or have a backcourt violation. At times, there is slowdown, but it doesn't ruin the game. It is noticeable, though. Typically, it comes when all the players get up close together.
Would I recommend this game? Yes. It is uncommon, but shouldn't set you back much. Tecmo Super NBA Basketball gives you that playability that wasn't seen until NBA Live and moves at a good place. Check it out. You're not going to be sorely disappointed.
Final Score: 7 out of 10
All three versions were not made in house by Tecmo. Instead, it went to Sculptured Software, who had a hand with other licensed games such as Tecmo Bowl on Game Boy, The Simpsons, and Super Star Wars. What is given is a lower difficulty compared to Super Bowl, but retains a lot of the things that made the NFL offering have a lot of depth. Three modes of play are given to the player. Rumble with a pre-season match-up against any team you want. Second is the season mode, where you have the choice to do anything, which will be explained very soon. Last is the All-Star mode, which features the best of both conferences.
In Tecmo Super Bowl, one could play in many ways. Super NBA retained that idea. If you wanted to coach in any mode, you could. Watching a game was something to do, especially when it was on the NES back then as well. Or you can play a four quarter game. In the season, you can play as multiple teams and you can affect the outcome of a season. It is based on the 1993-94 season rather than 92-93 or the Nintendo versions of 91-92. You want someone to lose, you can pick that team and make sure they don't smell playoffs. Overall they played to the strengths of previous Tecmo sports games.
Heading onto a new territory of 16-bit, the graphics are good. The models of the players are fair, but provide a bit smoother animation compared to early Genesis sports games. Cut scenes and crowds are of the typical Tecmo flair. Still images of players are a nice bonus and the court is passable. With the audio, it's music is not something I'd associate with basketball, but the vibe makes it feel like you should put in the extra effort to beat other teams. There isn't too many sound effects and the crowd is a step up from other sports offerings. Voicing is a bit clearer as you can hear the pronunciations considering the Genesis sound chips.
At it's disposal, there are 27 teams to choose from and both All-Star teams. You get 12 players per team, and the rosters reflect who was around for the 1992-93 season. In the 90s, deadlines were strict on cartridge systems, so a few players have been changed to position and team such as the late Reggie Lewis. It will be obvious that it doesn't have very player on it as they did not put in rookies from for the 1993-94 season. Like Super Bowl, they all have varying features that they either excel at or struggle badly in.
Controlling players on the Genesis is simple. With the ball, you can shoot with the B button and pass with A. You can call plays with C and the directional pad. Passing is giving the ball to a player that has an arrow indicator above him. Without the ball, A is like passing, but with switching players. Jumping is used with B, and C attempts to steal the ball from the opponents. There is a feature by using B and C to intentionally foul a player.
The tip-off is very hard, but the match-ups play mostly like an actual NBA game. Rules are relegated to clock violations and whether the ball goes out of bounds. Fouls are given for things like charging or shoving one to the ground. Six fouls on one guy and he is done. Foul in the act of shooting and free throws are given. Goal tending can also occur, though that is pretty rare. Fatigue is a given. You will be constantly putting in fresher players off the bench, so picking the best strategy of players may be vital against some of those tougher teams like the Chicago Bulls.
Getting deeper into the season mode, you can play a full 82 game season that is directly based on the 1993-94 season as mentioned earlier. There are two other schedules that shortened to either 41 or 26 games. Similar to Super Bowl, you can skip the season and head directly into the playoffs. However, not everything is fine and dandy. Injuries can happen to anybody at any time. On the bright side, it does play to the idea that they will be healthy in short time.
Options are a little slim, but there is enough. On the court, you can pause to call time outs, substitute players and watch a small replay of the game in action. In the menus, you can pick a speed selection to move very fast or slow. Pre-season mode allows a difficulty mode. Season mode doesn't have that, but it seems to be on the hardest. To be fair it depends on the team you play during the season. Also included are turning music on and off and picking minutes per quarter. The team data allows one to pick their starters, check out their stats, and look at the playbook. Each team is offered a variety of plays and you have to choose a select few before playing a game.
I would say there's only a few flaws with Super NBA Basketball. The animations are nice, but it is difficult to notice whether you still have the ball and get stolen and vice versa. There is barely any time to react, especially if you wind up going out of bounds or have a backcourt violation. At times, there is slowdown, but it doesn't ruin the game. It is noticeable, though. Typically, it comes when all the players get up close together.
Would I recommend this game? Yes. It is uncommon, but shouldn't set you back much. Tecmo Super NBA Basketball gives you that playability that wasn't seen until NBA Live and moves at a good place. Check it out. You're not going to be sorely disappointed.
Final Score: 7 out of 10
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Securing a Romo
For the 2006 NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys started with Drew Bledsoe as their quarterback. Heading into mid-October they were at 3-3 following a poor performance against the New York Giants. In the midst of that game, Bledsoe, who had certain issues in games (accuracy, yards, and turnovers mostly), would be benched in favor of third year backup Tony Romo. Though Romo struggled coming in that game, he would put up some good numbers in ten and a half games. He would end the season with almost 3000 yards, 19 touchdowns, and earned a trip to the Pro Bowl.
With a young player under center, the Cowboys were a team to fear. In Romo's first three years as the full time starter, they had postseason berths in two of them. Their 2009 season got them a playoff win, something that wasn't seen since the 1996 season when they beat the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite the numbers he was putting up, there was Romo's infamous chokes. Long story short, there was the 2006 playoffs where he botched a field goal snap and tried to run for the endzone against the Seattle Seahawks. He threw the game ending interception against the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants a year later. The label has stuck ever since, even with a win against the Eagles in 09 and the Detroit Lions in 2014.
Heading into the 2010 season, the Cowboys saw a mediocre year where nothing worked early on and Romo getting injured on national television in mid-October with a broken clavicle. He would rebound and have very strong seasons statistically but saw major chokes in the last game of the season in 2011 and 2012. The team would rebound in 2014 and put themselves back in the playoff race and win another game. Though 2015 started off well, Romo would suffer injuries twice in the same body part like in 2010. Dallas faltered without him. With this past pre-season, he would injure his back and lose his starting job to Dak Prescott, who put up a good rookie season.
With the question that begs to be answered, where does Tony Romo go? The Houston Texans just traded Brock Osweiler away to the Cleveland Browns. He could fit in there with a decent ground game and some young talented receivers. There is questions on whether he goes to the Denver Broncos. As far as that team goes, they have some good receivers, but the ground game is a little concerning. That being said, Trevor Siemian didn't have that bad of a season. It was something that didn't become a huge problem.
If Romo were to go to one of those two teams, they are going to need to be sure there is a competent backup in place in order to avoid like what happened in 2015. Dallas caught a huge break with Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott propelling them to success. Whoever gets him has to know the injuries that have been there for the last two years. Romo may be turning 37 in April, but Denver and Houston may only have a few years with him if they want a championship immediately, especially Houston. They have that strong defense and decent ground game, but Tom Savage is not a proven strong backup. Siemian might help in a pinch in case of any injuries in Denver,
My personal thought is Romo stays in Texas and goes to the Texans. They have more than enough talent to have at least a 10 win season. Combined when you healthy players like JJ Watt in a strong defense, the opportunity and expectations to win a Super Bowl increases if the trade goes through. Other than the Houston Rockets in basketball, there hasn't been many championships in Houston sports, with the most recent being their soccer team in 2006 and 07. Whether it pans out in a conference where the biggest threat is Brady until he retires is up to how the Texans manage the next few seasons. The timetable is extremely tight and they better hope everything fits into place come September. Otherwise, it could be a potentially long year if injuries occur again if the trade goes through.
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
The Future of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
FX didn't know what they were getting themselves into when they started airing It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in August 2005. The network was being known for airing some very serious shows like The Shield and Rescue Me. A concept about four idiots running a bar didn't wow viewers, but it did garner a decent reception. With a few changes, the second season flew by and the show has continued in stride to be the show that beats to its own tune.
After running for eight seasons, it made the move to FXX when the new network launched in 2013. I have watched these last four seasons and it shows how crazy the cast can get and the stuff they are able to get away with. Yet, it's still funny. The dynamic has not changed. Whether it's pointless arguments to getting revenge on a guest star or themselves, the original intentions have not gotten away from creator Rob McElhenney. Despite these last four years, it has not been huge with ratings. However, there hasn't been any concern for Fox. Last year, It's Always Sunny was renewed for at least two more seasons following this season. Despite 130 plus episodes, it will be one of the longest running live action comedies in the United States.
In the realm of cable, a few million viewers is good enough to keep continuing. Always Sunny doesn't have the numbers despite its ratings being pretty consistent now these days, but it has that cult following and people looking to keep watching through streaming. Netflix has had the show on there for a long time. Hulu has it as well. The FXNow app lets you watch their latest episodes along with the FX Networks website. The fact it's still going without much concern as mentioned earlier shows they have strong faith in a show that really doesn't get accolades compared to awful stuff like The Big Bang Theory. Odds are there are probably still people who have not heard of Always Sunny. It slips through the cracks and is considered by some one of television's underrated programs.
That being said, eventually those ratings are not going to be enough or the episodes may not be put in high regard. I'm not wishing for the show to be cancelled, but most shows start to struggle late in their runs. Always Sunny is one of the few exceptions. It has managed to push the envelope even further and does so in a manner where it keeps it fresh without going overboard. You can see the evolution of it since it's first episode. The first few seasons feel like they were deranged but able to handle themselves somewhat in society. These last few years go towards the crazier route to where all bets are off.
As long as the quality is still there and no real changes are made, Always Sunny is going to keep airing until they feel it's time to give it the curtain call. That might come up quicker because of the age of Danny DeVito, who joined in its second season. Not to mention some of the other cast members doing their own films and appearances on television. Either way, they still have quite a bit of time before filming a new season whenever that comes. Even though they are signed on for a few more year, anything could happen.
Down the road years from now, Always Sunny will be held in high regard compared to some of the mainstream shows of today. It has the checklist marked with the all stuff that is needed to run for a long time and become a modern classic. May this show continue to get all the respect it deserves.
As long as the quality is still there and no real changes are made, Always Sunny is going to keep airing until they feel it's time to give it the curtain call. That might come up quicker because of the age of Danny DeVito, who joined in its second season. Not to mention some of the other cast members doing their own films and appearances on television. Either way, they still have quite a bit of time before filming a new season whenever that comes. Even though they are signed on for a few more year, anything could happen.
Down the road years from now, Always Sunny will be held in high regard compared to some of the mainstream shows of today. It has the checklist marked with the all stuff that is needed to run for a long time and become a modern classic. May this show continue to get all the respect it deserves.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Why Super Troopers 2 is Important for Film
While some people will think of other big name people for alumni that went Colgate University, there are five that you will see pop up every once in a while. They are the group known as Broken Lizard, who have been around since 1990, and have been doing full length films since 1996. Consisting of Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske, their beginning days were pretty rough with their first film Puddle Cruiser, which went to film festivals. They achieved a big following with their next film. Despite a meager 1.2 million dollars after many rejections from a lot of people, they shot Super Troopers, and brought it to Sundance. It would be bought by 20th Century Fox and found a little success in theaters and much bigger success on DVD.
Even with doing other films either together or on their own, there has always been the idea of doing a new Super Troopers film. It was a development hell one, unfortunately. While there is a loyal fanbase, none of their films have been well received or made mad amounts of money. (Dukes of Hazzard doesn't really count, but it was instrumental in green lighting Beerfest) Film companies are always out to make revenue, and possibly see the group as one that can not make it in Hollywood's eyes. Individually, they have carved out their own stuff. Stand up is something they have all done. Chandrasekhar has directed a number of TV shows (Arrested Development, Psych, Community) Heffernan has been on several shows in a guest starring spot (Workaholics, Agent Carter) along with doing a podcast with Lemme. Soter has made a few films of his own. Stolhanske is part of his home state's film board in Minnesota. I'm not going to claim myself to be a super fan of Broken Lizard, but they are people who may not be A-listers but the ones who slip through the cracks and find their audience.
That being said, in an era of Netflix and streaming, DVD has become somewhat of an afterthought. It is stuff that is addressed by some of the group. As talking about the performance of their films, that is what the studios will look at. It seemed like they had a hard time convincing Fox (where Super Troopers was bought under their Searchlight Pictures division) to have a new Super Troopers film. With that in mind and after struggles, the company got the film, but wouldn't give them money. That's where they did Indiegogo in 2015. They managed to get 4.5 million dollars and as of now, they have the film completed with a few small things to adjust and to hear about the release date. That money was not only for the filming. It is also for the advertising.
While it is a little down from the crowdfunding of the Veronica Mars film, Super Troopers 2 has a lot bigger crowd anticipating their release than a generic crime show that couldn't make it's budget back in movie form. That's why this is really important for film. If it were to do well, it could potentially change how films are made. It would also show people still have a hunger for seeing low budget films that may not get the recognition or success compared to a vanilla Marvel film until the Oscars and Academy Awards if it's nominated. (I'm talking films in general, not Super Troopers) There's that horror film, Get Out, which has made back it's 4.5 million budget 15 plus times already in two weeks. Even something in the 20 to 30 million range could be considered cheap, but not overly expensive by today's standards. At least it's not a huge risk compared to the ones that have 100-200 million dollar budgets. Unless you know it's guaranteed to make money, it's hard to know if audiences will go for it. It is a little ridiculous seeing certain comedies have these very bloated budgets, though I think some of them are being brought back down to earth a little bit in recent years.
This article from Chandrasekhar himself pretty much describes his feelings regarding today's film industry and crowdfunding. (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/27/why-we-re-making-super-troopers-2.html) One of Super Troopers 2's perks is getting a ticket to see the film whenever it does hit theaters. Broken Lizard is putting a lot on the line to give people something they've wanted for a very long time. They are not like Matt Damon or Jennifer Lawrence where they demand 20 plus million paychecks. There is such a high bar for it because the original had so many memorable scenes and lines that it stands along other films like Anchorman and Dumb and Dumber for being very quotable. The characters are so ingrained into your head, you're hoping for more evil shenanigans out of Farva, Foster and Mac trying new games on drivers, and Ramathorn and Rabbit working on a new prank.
Broken Lizard may not be a big deal to Hollywood, but they are one of the backbones like many others trying to show they can stand out in the midst of comic book popcorn flicks, and many other bloated films. Personally, I think this will do better than all the other films they have done. If successful, there could be films that could do the same thing Super Troopers 2 has going. I'm expecting 30 million dollars at the box office. Let's hope that the film gets a release date soon.
Monday, March 6, 2017
Sonic and Knuckles Collection (PC)- 20 years later
Around 1995, Sega started tinkering with some of their games and putting them onto computers. Their first few games were ones that were on the Genesis and Sega CD like Comix Zone and Tomcat Alley. After that, it was mostly arcade ports, Saturn ports, and original titles to boot. With their feet planted into that market, they continued in stride when they released Sonic and Knuckles Collection in early 1997. It is a very unique game considering it was for Windows 95, the current operating system at the time. With that in mind, has the game changed at all and does it hold up after 20 years?
This is one of those games that I would log a lot of hours in. Whether it was from Windows 95 in 1998 to mainly XP, this and Doom II kept me very busy during the 2000s. Until getting the Genesis version of Sonic and Knuckles in December 2011, this was my only way of playing Sonic 3 and Knuckles. I never realized that the game would not work on newer computers like Windows 7. With Windows 10, someone has made a program a few years ago that allows a few Sega PC games to work on modern computers titled Sega PC Reloaded. With that, it felt like the 2000s all over again playing it on Windows Millennium Edition and XP.
The overall package is you get Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles, both coming out originally in 1994 on the Genesis. They can be played individually or combined together for Sonic 3 and Knuckles. While that seems ludicrous today, the idea of having more than just one game on a medium was a novel concept in the mid 90s. At that time, there was Super Mario All-Stars on SNES, Namco Museum on the PlayStation, and Midway doing compilations of games from Atari, Williams, and themselves. Sega did a few with 6-Pak in 1995, and Sonic Classics in 97. Also included was the entire Blue Sphere game, which on the Genesis, had to be using the original Sonic 1 cartridge on top of the Sonic and Knuckles cart. Computers were getting in on this with Microsft having an arcade compilation of Namco arcade releases as a big example.
Graphically, nothing was changed for the compilation. Windows 95 was more than capable of doing Sonic 3 and Knuckles. Even Windows 3.1/ DOS was doing ports of Mortal Kombat really well. The only thing I noticed was the colors looking a little sharper. Otherwise, all the same backgrounds, areas, and animations are intact. I did notice on a few Special Stages that the floor glitched while playing on Windows 10, but it was only two stages. I don't know how many are affected by this, but it's probably quite a bit if you include the Blue Sphere game. Nevertheless, it still looked as amazing as it was on the Genesis.
Unlike most games today where it can be emulated, Sonic and Knuckles Collection was from an era where Sega re-tooled certain parts. The audio went through a change to MIDI formats, which really stands out compared to modern re-releases of it. Sound effects are a bit clearer, but the same. Most of the soundtrack came through intact, but a good chunk of Sonic 3's music was replaced with original tracks. Some of which sounded really good, while a few others sounding out of place. Like what a few others have said on the Internet, there are two possible scenarios.
The first one is the sound cards. Windows 95 was capable of doing real music, but most companies were still using MIDI formats at the time. Possibly some of those tracks from the Genesis version would not have survived on the PC style music. The other one is because of fearing musician Michael Jackson. Jackson was hired to work on Sonic 3's soundtrack in 1993, but news of his molestation scandal late that summer forced Sega to drop him. Whatever music he did was kept on the Genesis version while others scrambled to get undone parts finished. Jackson would later go on to do Stranger in Moscow around the same time Sonic and Knuckles Collection came out, based a little bit on the instrumental part of the Sonic 3 credits. Whether he would have put up a lawsuit, who knows what he would have done. Whatever the case, Sega took it with extreme caution and put in original music to replace the ones that Jackson did.
Getting into the games, they are as if you were playing them on the Genesis. Every bug, secret, and ways of playing are here. The levels and their designs are left intact. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all play like they were back in 94. They use the same features, like Tails flying to get to certain areas that are inaccessible to the others. It's vice versa for the others as well. Every TV box is here. The Special Stages and Bonus Stages are all here. This was a port that showed that computers meant business and could handle the 16-bit games very well, if not, maybe better.
This game does allow two player co-op as Sonic and Tails. It means it also allows stuff like Gravis controllers, joysticks, etc to be used along with the keyboard. Whether there is enough room near your computer is up to the individual. Competition is still here in Sonic 3 and Sonic 3 and Knuckles, All the stages and the power ups are the same as you do five laps in one of the areas. When it's all said and done, this is the kind of compilation one would want, even with it being a straight port.
Not much can really be said on the Blue Spheres game. It's like an extended version of the Special Stages, except with thousands upon thousands of stages. One can do each stage individually or collect all the rings in one so they can go ten stages ahead. Thankfully, there is the password feature when finishing a stage like in the Genesis version when you have Sonic 1 put on top of Sonic and Knuckles. This is a nice bonus to have.
With it being on a computer, here's what Sonic and Knuckles Collection does. You can reset any time you want. You can go to the Blue Sphere game whenever or switch to another game of the three. Screen sizes are here and depending on the computer, it can go faster than you think due to what I've read as the refresh rate. I remember Millenium Edition and XP running it pretty fast in full screen and going extremely fast in the smallest screen. I think that problem might be fixed with modern computers though whether that is using Sega PC Reloaded or on it's own on other modern Windows systems like 7, I don't know. Other PC stuff includes a sound test, changing the controls, allowing a menu bar, and allowing a joystick. There is a help section, but I would not use it on any post XP computers. With Windows 10, it takes you to the Microsoft Edge website.
To answer the original question, it still holds up after 20 years. Outside of how you feel about the music, nothing changed. This is one of the greatest platformers ever, and one of the great compilations of its time. Try to get your hands on this version. The disc shouldn't cost that much. This is 90s gaming perfection.
Score: 10 out of 10
This is one of those games that I would log a lot of hours in. Whether it was from Windows 95 in 1998 to mainly XP, this and Doom II kept me very busy during the 2000s. Until getting the Genesis version of Sonic and Knuckles in December 2011, this was my only way of playing Sonic 3 and Knuckles. I never realized that the game would not work on newer computers like Windows 7. With Windows 10, someone has made a program a few years ago that allows a few Sega PC games to work on modern computers titled Sega PC Reloaded. With that, it felt like the 2000s all over again playing it on Windows Millennium Edition and XP.
The overall package is you get Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles, both coming out originally in 1994 on the Genesis. They can be played individually or combined together for Sonic 3 and Knuckles. While that seems ludicrous today, the idea of having more than just one game on a medium was a novel concept in the mid 90s. At that time, there was Super Mario All-Stars on SNES, Namco Museum on the PlayStation, and Midway doing compilations of games from Atari, Williams, and themselves. Sega did a few with 6-Pak in 1995, and Sonic Classics in 97. Also included was the entire Blue Sphere game, which on the Genesis, had to be using the original Sonic 1 cartridge on top of the Sonic and Knuckles cart. Computers were getting in on this with Microsft having an arcade compilation of Namco arcade releases as a big example.
Graphically, nothing was changed for the compilation. Windows 95 was more than capable of doing Sonic 3 and Knuckles. Even Windows 3.1/ DOS was doing ports of Mortal Kombat really well. The only thing I noticed was the colors looking a little sharper. Otherwise, all the same backgrounds, areas, and animations are intact. I did notice on a few Special Stages that the floor glitched while playing on Windows 10, but it was only two stages. I don't know how many are affected by this, but it's probably quite a bit if you include the Blue Sphere game. Nevertheless, it still looked as amazing as it was on the Genesis.
Unlike most games today where it can be emulated, Sonic and Knuckles Collection was from an era where Sega re-tooled certain parts. The audio went through a change to MIDI formats, which really stands out compared to modern re-releases of it. Sound effects are a bit clearer, but the same. Most of the soundtrack came through intact, but a good chunk of Sonic 3's music was replaced with original tracks. Some of which sounded really good, while a few others sounding out of place. Like what a few others have said on the Internet, there are two possible scenarios.
The first one is the sound cards. Windows 95 was capable of doing real music, but most companies were still using MIDI formats at the time. Possibly some of those tracks from the Genesis version would not have survived on the PC style music. The other one is because of fearing musician Michael Jackson. Jackson was hired to work on Sonic 3's soundtrack in 1993, but news of his molestation scandal late that summer forced Sega to drop him. Whatever music he did was kept on the Genesis version while others scrambled to get undone parts finished. Jackson would later go on to do Stranger in Moscow around the same time Sonic and Knuckles Collection came out, based a little bit on the instrumental part of the Sonic 3 credits. Whether he would have put up a lawsuit, who knows what he would have done. Whatever the case, Sega took it with extreme caution and put in original music to replace the ones that Jackson did.
Getting into the games, they are as if you were playing them on the Genesis. Every bug, secret, and ways of playing are here. The levels and their designs are left intact. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all play like they were back in 94. They use the same features, like Tails flying to get to certain areas that are inaccessible to the others. It's vice versa for the others as well. Every TV box is here. The Special Stages and Bonus Stages are all here. This was a port that showed that computers meant business and could handle the 16-bit games very well, if not, maybe better.
This game does allow two player co-op as Sonic and Tails. It means it also allows stuff like Gravis controllers, joysticks, etc to be used along with the keyboard. Whether there is enough room near your computer is up to the individual. Competition is still here in Sonic 3 and Sonic 3 and Knuckles, All the stages and the power ups are the same as you do five laps in one of the areas. When it's all said and done, this is the kind of compilation one would want, even with it being a straight port.
Not much can really be said on the Blue Spheres game. It's like an extended version of the Special Stages, except with thousands upon thousands of stages. One can do each stage individually or collect all the rings in one so they can go ten stages ahead. Thankfully, there is the password feature when finishing a stage like in the Genesis version when you have Sonic 1 put on top of Sonic and Knuckles. This is a nice bonus to have.
With it being on a computer, here's what Sonic and Knuckles Collection does. You can reset any time you want. You can go to the Blue Sphere game whenever or switch to another game of the three. Screen sizes are here and depending on the computer, it can go faster than you think due to what I've read as the refresh rate. I remember Millenium Edition and XP running it pretty fast in full screen and going extremely fast in the smallest screen. I think that problem might be fixed with modern computers though whether that is using Sega PC Reloaded or on it's own on other modern Windows systems like 7, I don't know. Other PC stuff includes a sound test, changing the controls, allowing a menu bar, and allowing a joystick. There is a help section, but I would not use it on any post XP computers. With Windows 10, it takes you to the Microsoft Edge website.
To answer the original question, it still holds up after 20 years. Outside of how you feel about the music, nothing changed. This is one of the greatest platformers ever, and one of the great compilations of its time. Try to get your hands on this version. The disc shouldn't cost that much. This is 90s gaming perfection.
Score: 10 out of 10
Saturday, March 4, 2017
The shock of death, Part 3
As far as other sports go, I'm at that age where it will always be a surprise when someone passes away. There is somewhat of a huge shock factor, but it depends on the person and how they did in their sport.
I was pretty young when there was a number of 90s deaths in auto racing and seeing some of the improvements in NASCAR cars following the sudden death of Dale Earnhardt. With all the safety improvements in the cars and tracks, the reduction in fatalities has been very noticeable. The last time I thought was very shocking was Formula 1 racing. While I don't follow it, it was still a surprise to hear about a 2011 race and driver Dan Wheldon passing from injuries he sustained. However, that doesn't mean that the number of deaths in auto racing will be reduced to zero any time soon. Looking up the lists, there is bound to be either something freakish or something that you wouldn't think would end with someone not being able to get out of their car.
Airplane travel is pretty much standard for all sports, no matter what. Similar to auto racing, improvements have been made to ensure safety of all passengers, including any sports team. It doesn't however mean that everything will be perfect. There was the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team in 2011 in which the entire group was killed in a crash. You want extreme shock, there's the 1972 plane crash carrying a Uruguay rugby team. While not everybody passed, some of them resorted to cannibalism just to stay alive in the Andes mountains along with finding any warmth in the cold mountains for over two months. We're a far cry from years past, and hope others make sure pilot error or technical issues decrease more.
American football is an interesting tale of the tape. Some of the stories include what happens to former players and ones when they were on active rosters. The 1994 San Diego Chargers had big sufferings, losing a few of their players from their Super Bowl team in a four year span. The shocking one involved linebacker Junior Seau in 2012. He was only a few years into retirement when he decided to commit suicide. Unfortunately, he was far from the first player to contemplate this. Lots of analysis have looked at concussions and head issues which the NFL has tried to address. While it's a step in the right direction, there are times where their intentions are not executed well. For ones that were active at the time, it's things like Jerome Brown, Derrick Thomas, and a few others that make it hard to believe they were gone and were people that meant something to their teams.
I'll end this by saying we're going to still be shocked by a death, whether we know someone or not. Seeing someone go away will always bring out a wave of emotions. You simply have to live life to the fullest and to enjoy a fruitful one. There will always be ups and downs, but it shouldn't let you down, even in the darkest hours. Make the greatest moments through all of your life and not just through one period of time.
American football is an interesting tale of the tape. Some of the stories include what happens to former players and ones when they were on active rosters. The 1994 San Diego Chargers had big sufferings, losing a few of their players from their Super Bowl team in a four year span. The shocking one involved linebacker Junior Seau in 2012. He was only a few years into retirement when he decided to commit suicide. Unfortunately, he was far from the first player to contemplate this. Lots of analysis have looked at concussions and head issues which the NFL has tried to address. While it's a step in the right direction, there are times where their intentions are not executed well. For ones that were active at the time, it's things like Jerome Brown, Derrick Thomas, and a few others that make it hard to believe they were gone and were people that meant something to their teams.
I'll end this by saying we're going to still be shocked by a death, whether we know someone or not. Seeing someone go away will always bring out a wave of emotions. You simply have to live life to the fullest and to enjoy a fruitful one. There will always be ups and downs, but it shouldn't let you down, even in the darkest hours. Make the greatest moments through all of your life and not just through one period of time.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
The shock of death, Part 2
In the world of sports, there are quite a bit of players who go into the realms of possible can't miss guys that could potentially net a championship. In basketball, there is that heartbreak of hearing what happens and that story has occurred a few times with the Boston Celtics. However, college basketball suffered a huge loss in 1990 with Hank Gathers. Despite a heart condition problem, he was a big deal for Loyola Marymount and the team was a wrecking crew that year. However, during a game in the West Coast Conference Tournament, he would collapse on the court and never regain consciousness again.
There is always that concern. You see it with not just sports, but things that issue warnings about having a heart problem. A big example is roller coasters. Going at a high rate of speed and screaming, that's obvious. The risk of playing with a condition goes beyond heart stuff. Current Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, playing for the Portland Pilots the night Gathers collapsed, has had the dilemma the last few years with Chris Bosh. Bosh has been one of the big players since coming into the league in 2003. Since 2014, he has had issues with blood clots, and the Heat have been very cautious with him not playing. No doubt in my mind, Spoelstra is scared of what could happen to Bosh. The last thing he would want is something that was similar to what he saw in 1990. That stuff could bring back a lot of bad memories.
If you want the textbook definition of pure bad luck, the Boston Celtics can say they've had things go south. During their hey day in the early to mid 80s, their first choice in the 1986 draft was a Maryland player by the name of Len Bias. Some were saying he was just as good, if not better, than Michael Jordan. A few days after being drafted, he wound up overdosing on cocaine. This was not just a shock to the NBA and basketball. Politicians were getting in on this, leading to various laws targeting cocaine and drug users, cracking down on it and sending many to jail for a long time. It had a big effect that is still there to this day. You see it in shows like Cops where people try to smuggle stuff with various ways and failing.
The 90s saw a change in the Celtics. A number of 80s superstars were on their way out the door. Larry Bird retired following the 1991-92 season. Guys like Robert Parish and Kevin McHale were in their twilight years. Their leading man was Reggie Lewis, who had been with the team since being drafted in 1987. Lewis had some of the same issues that Gathers had, but started showing these problems in the 1993 playoffs. The first game they had, he wound up collapsing and didn't play for the rest of the series (Boston would lose the series). After a few months, Lewis would eventually pass away from heart issues. I don't know if it had anything to do with what happened to Bias, but the suspicion was cocaine or some other drugs killed him, but there was no evidence to say there was anything inside him. Lewis was their future. Despite the honors and tributes, Boston would struggle for almost a decade before achieving success in the early 2000s.
Lewis' death was not the only shocking thing. Prior to that, the New Jersey Nets suffered a big shock with Drazen Petrovic. A Croatian who spent a few years in European basketball, he would make his debut in 1989 with Portland and be traded to the Nets during the 90-91 season. The next season, the team would improve to getting 40 wins and a quick playoff appearance, losing in the first round. For the 1992-93 campaign, they had a new coach in Detroit Piston legend Chuck Daly. With the younger players of Kenny Anderson and Derrick Coleman combined with some big veterans such as Petrovic and Sam Bowie, the Nets put up a winning record. It was enough to get in the playoffs, but exited again in the first round.
Petrovic would spend time in Croatia with their basketball team, wondering what he could potentially do for the 1993-94 season. He had given thought about leaving the Nets and going back to playing in Europe, where he had been given some offers from teams in Greece. On the Autobahn in Germany, he would unfortunately meet his demise. A semi-truck heading in the opposite direction on a rainy afternoon swerved to avoid a car. It would wind up in the other lane, and the driver got out. He attempted to warn cars of stopping, but it was too late. The car that carried Petrovic and two women, one who was starting to know him, crashed into that truck. He was sleeping at the time and was instantly killed, due to not wearing a seatbelt. Much like Lewis, this was such an utter shock. He was a worldwide phenom who excelled in both Europe and the NBA. The Nets looked like they were on the up and up. It's that kind of story where you realize that life can be taken without warning, regardless of age. The world lost a player in June 1993 that meant something to several regions and his legacy still lives on today.
With basketball heartbreak, this warrants a part 3, focusing on a couple more sports. Stop by Saturday for more on the deaths I consider the most shocking.
There is always that concern. You see it with not just sports, but things that issue warnings about having a heart problem. A big example is roller coasters. Going at a high rate of speed and screaming, that's obvious. The risk of playing with a condition goes beyond heart stuff. Current Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, playing for the Portland Pilots the night Gathers collapsed, has had the dilemma the last few years with Chris Bosh. Bosh has been one of the big players since coming into the league in 2003. Since 2014, he has had issues with blood clots, and the Heat have been very cautious with him not playing. No doubt in my mind, Spoelstra is scared of what could happen to Bosh. The last thing he would want is something that was similar to what he saw in 1990. That stuff could bring back a lot of bad memories.
If you want the textbook definition of pure bad luck, the Boston Celtics can say they've had things go south. During their hey day in the early to mid 80s, their first choice in the 1986 draft was a Maryland player by the name of Len Bias. Some were saying he was just as good, if not better, than Michael Jordan. A few days after being drafted, he wound up overdosing on cocaine. This was not just a shock to the NBA and basketball. Politicians were getting in on this, leading to various laws targeting cocaine and drug users, cracking down on it and sending many to jail for a long time. It had a big effect that is still there to this day. You see it in shows like Cops where people try to smuggle stuff with various ways and failing.
The 90s saw a change in the Celtics. A number of 80s superstars were on their way out the door. Larry Bird retired following the 1991-92 season. Guys like Robert Parish and Kevin McHale were in their twilight years. Their leading man was Reggie Lewis, who had been with the team since being drafted in 1987. Lewis had some of the same issues that Gathers had, but started showing these problems in the 1993 playoffs. The first game they had, he wound up collapsing and didn't play for the rest of the series (Boston would lose the series). After a few months, Lewis would eventually pass away from heart issues. I don't know if it had anything to do with what happened to Bias, but the suspicion was cocaine or some other drugs killed him, but there was no evidence to say there was anything inside him. Lewis was their future. Despite the honors and tributes, Boston would struggle for almost a decade before achieving success in the early 2000s.
Lewis' death was not the only shocking thing. Prior to that, the New Jersey Nets suffered a big shock with Drazen Petrovic. A Croatian who spent a few years in European basketball, he would make his debut in 1989 with Portland and be traded to the Nets during the 90-91 season. The next season, the team would improve to getting 40 wins and a quick playoff appearance, losing in the first round. For the 1992-93 campaign, they had a new coach in Detroit Piston legend Chuck Daly. With the younger players of Kenny Anderson and Derrick Coleman combined with some big veterans such as Petrovic and Sam Bowie, the Nets put up a winning record. It was enough to get in the playoffs, but exited again in the first round.
Petrovic would spend time in Croatia with their basketball team, wondering what he could potentially do for the 1993-94 season. He had given thought about leaving the Nets and going back to playing in Europe, where he had been given some offers from teams in Greece. On the Autobahn in Germany, he would unfortunately meet his demise. A semi-truck heading in the opposite direction on a rainy afternoon swerved to avoid a car. It would wind up in the other lane, and the driver got out. He attempted to warn cars of stopping, but it was too late. The car that carried Petrovic and two women, one who was starting to know him, crashed into that truck. He was sleeping at the time and was instantly killed, due to not wearing a seatbelt. Much like Lewis, this was such an utter shock. He was a worldwide phenom who excelled in both Europe and the NBA. The Nets looked like they were on the up and up. It's that kind of story where you realize that life can be taken without warning, regardless of age. The world lost a player in June 1993 that meant something to several regions and his legacy still lives on today.
With basketball heartbreak, this warrants a part 3, focusing on a couple more sports. Stop by Saturday for more on the deaths I consider the most shocking.
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