Written by: William G Chandler Jr. March 10, 2016, at 7:00 p.m.
Nintendo has a number of platform games. Sometimes, you need a change. This is what they offer with Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream. The game for the Nintendo Wii U Virtual Console represents diversity in game play. It is the Nintendo Entertainment System’s finest from 1987. As Ron DelVillano comments, of Nintendo Life, it is about “learning your opponent and using his weaknesses to your advantage.” In his review of the game, it highlights its connection to boxing, its puzzle aspects, and the inclusion of Mister Dream, as Nintendo lost the license to use Mike Tyson in the game.
Glass Joe is your first opponent. His simple, hesitant, style begs you for an encounter. Little Mac has jabs, hooks, and a sweet, massive uppercut. You can also evade and duck opponents’ attacks. Glass Joe is easy, but as you elevate through the ranks, the opponents get more complex. I personally have had my issues with Soda Popinski. It is not that the character is not beatable. His style requires a precise tactic, every time. If you do not feel like fighting him, this character can play with you for hours.
Mike Tyson and Mister Dream are the same character with different intentions. You can regard Mike Tyson, at the time as the best fighter in the world, as a terror. Mister Dream earns your respect. The beat down remains the same, as quick jabs and cold uppercuts lay you out.
This game, in my opinion, allowed me to explore video game sports fighting. Punch-Out!! is a very niche boxing title. It made me want to explore other games in order to get a similar winning feel. Punch-Out!! made me search for Best of the Best: Championship Karate for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Gamefaqs classifies the title, by Loriciels and Electrobrain, as a boxing, and martial arts, title, simply. In 1992, the game required you to build a fighter and train them to become a true champion. You customize the character and their move sets.
When you win, it is accomplishment and a worthwhile feat. Punch-Out!! would direct me to its predecessor for the Nintendo Wii. In 1992, this title, by Next Level Games and Nintendo, provides a strong look and feel that calls back to the classic. The twist is the title defense as champion. This next step in the game’s evolution beats you. Glass Joe after he loses, initially, carries headgear, and a slight change in his in ring tactics. The game also can require you to use the Wii’s motion controls to play. It is natural change and development.
This all starts with Punch-Out!! on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The cartoon-style, great sounds, and vicious, but fun opponents immerse you in the game. Everyone remembers when The Great Tiger turned the game around on him or her. Piston Honda always improves, but relies on speed. The Bald Bull and Mister Sandman remain nasty. Nintendo knows how to create experiences.
Written by: Josh Riley March 8, 2016, 5:00 p.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
The Call of Duty series has definitely taken a series of interesting turns throughout its existence. From its initial release as a World War 2 first person shooter that followed the likes of Medal Of Honor, all the way up to its current futuristic warfare style. Black Ops II was the first Call of Duty to really take a leap into the idea of futuristic warfare and very obviously not the final installment in the series to do so, given the release of Advanced Warfare and Black Ops III. Black Ops II may not be the most recent Call of Duty, but it may be the most creative.
Upon its release, there were many new additions to the game that gave it a whole new feel when compared to the previous game, Black Ops, while still sharing some beloved traits. From the new variants of the Zombies mode, to the insanely enveloping story-line, new weaponry, and even to the multiplayer map options offered. Blacks Ops II really set the bar high for the series, and reflects well on Treyarch. At nearly four years old, the game is still one worth picking up to play if you haven’t yet.
Zombies has been a staple in the Call of Duty world since its debut on Call of Duty: World At War, which, as of current, is the last installment of the game to take place during World War 2. Humbly beginning as a mini game unlocked after completing the story mode on any difficulty, and then becoming a story-line all in its own. Black Ops 2 took the zombie game to a whole new level by introducing three new modes outside of the traditional wave based survival. Firstly, tranzit. Tranzit was the first thing about Black Ops 2 that retained my love for zombies, it added a transportation system in the form of a public bus. On top of that, the map is larger than most of the zombies maps previously had been and contains hidden easter eggs throughout the map.
Like the ode to Nacht Der Untoten (the first CoD Zombies map ever) from World at War hidden out in the corn fields after the Farm section of the map. Secondly, the Grief mode was a fun way to add competition to the survival mode by splitting the lobby into teams with the last team standing as the winner. Admittedly, I don’t frequently play the grief mode, but I cannot deny its engenuity. Lastly as far as the Zombies portion goes, Turned. Turned allows players to become the zombies for once and fight it out against a team of people. Relatively similar to Left 4 Dead 2‘s online.
I could go on and on about the Zombies portion of Black Ops II, but let’s move on to the other factors that make Black Ops II stand out. Again, it was the first game in the Call if Duty franchise to jump into the future, which has become a redundant theme with the last two games. However, Black Ops II did it right and it did first. Very perfectly, Black Ops II went back to the story-line of Black Ops and even has Campaign missions that take place in the 1980s, where you play as the previous heroes, Mason and Woods, while Mason’s son David is the protagonist of Black Ops II‘s modern 2025 story-line.
I know games have gone back and forth from time periods with flashbacks before, but Call of Duty has never made it work so smoothly until Black Ops II. New updated weapons and even a really annoying mission mode where you take command of bases to fend off enemies that seem to be damn near impossible to beat. That may be my only actual complaint about Black Ops II, the difficulty of those particular missions. Even that wasn’t s big enough of a deal to make me dislike the game.
Written by: James Garibay, March 7, 2016, 4:00 a.m. Tweet to: @Slickster_Mag
A classic Stephen King book about a girl with telekinesis bullied and pushed too far by her peers. It’s been remade a couple of times, once as a cheesy T.V. movie and again a few years ago with Julianne Moore and Chloe Grace Moretz. It even spawned a dumb sequel in the late 90s, The Rage: Carrie 2. But for today, let’s just focus on the original, Sissy Spacek version in the 1970s.
Sissy Spacek portrays Carrie White in the original 1976 horror film.
We start off coming up on high school girls’ gym class playing volleyball, and we meet the girl in which the movie gets its name, Carrie White (Sissy Spacek). It would actually make a fun drinking game, take a shot every time anyone says “Carrie White.” So she tries to be involved only to be shunned, and we meet the main villain, Kris Hargensen (Nancy Allen). As she’s passing by she tells Carrie, “You eat shit!!” Why are some girls extremely bitchy for no reason?
Now we actually start the movie in the locker room and Carrie begins to shower trying to find some solace. Then horror of horrors for any teenage girl, I imagine, she gets her first period and has no idea what is happening. She cries for help only to be laughed at, have tampons thrown at her while the girls chant “plug it up! plug it up!” Amidst the commotion the gym teacher, Miss Collins (Betty Buckley) comes in and slaps Carrie to calm her down.
Here is one thing I don’t understand. They are adapting a King book, why did they change the gym teacher’s name from Miss Desjardan to Collins? That always bugged me. Anyway, Carrie gets sent home to rest and on the way she gets made fun of again by a little boy riding his bike. He chants “Creepy Carrie! Creepy Carrie!” and she knocks him off his bike with her developing powers. It’s at this moment she starts to realize that she has this ability.
When Carrie gets home, she has to confront her mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie). Mrs. White is a crazed, religious nut, who thinks almost everything in the world is evil, and goes against God. Carrie questions her mother why she didn’t tell her about the changing of a woman’s body. Margaret blames Carrie for her getting her period drags, and locks her into a tiny closet and tells her to pray. It’s no wonder Carrie has no social skills.
Back at school, all the girls from the gym class are going to be punished for what they did to Carrie, and if they don’t participate, they lose their privilege to go to prom. Here we get to know a bit more about Sue Snell (Amy Irving). Sue is actually the only one who feels badly about what they did to Carrie in the locker room. So as a way to make it up to Carrie, she asks her boyfriend, Tommy Ross (William Katt), to ask Carrie to the prom. Why doesn’t she just befriend Carrie and help her through the tough time of every teenager’s life?! Tommy agrees and upon much reluctance, Carrie finally accepts his offer. This doesn’t go over well with Mrs. White.
The night of prom, Carrie has made her own dress and has shown her powers to her mother. Margaret truly believes that the devil is inside of Carrie, and therefore must be vanquished. Carrie’s dress is a pale pink, and her mother says “Red, I might have known.” Margaret has such a warped view of the outside world, that in her mind she does see red. Now we get the prom, the scene that the entire movie leads up to.
And things seem to be looking up for Carrie. She’s there having a good time with the boy she likes, and to top it off, she has been named the Prom Queen, unknowing to her and Tommy, that it’s another prank brought on by Kris Hargensen and her boyfriend, Billy Nolan (John Travolta before Saturday Night Fever). The two are hiding underneath the stage waiting for Tommy and Carrie to get in place. Once in place, Kris pulls the rope dropping a bucket of pigs’ blood right on top of Carrie. The bucket falls on Tommy’s head cracking his skull, killing him almost instantly. Thus, Carrie’s powers completely take her over.
This prom is going to hell. Carrie, 1976.
As everyone is now laughing at her, she locks everyone inside, Billy and Kris get out just before, and Carrie begins reeking havoc with her telekinesis, electrocuting some and burning down the building. As the gym burns down, Carrie exits and starts to head home in her powerful haze. On the way, Kris and Billy chase her down and they meet their demise. She gets home and cleans off all the blood. Which is very symbolic, because not only is it the pigs’ blood, but she also now has all the blood of the people she just killed on her hands.
After her bath, she tries to find comfort in her mother’s embrace. Her mother then decides to give Carrie, what she believes is the ultimate gift, death. She is of course unsuccessful and Carrie kills her mother with a bunch of kitchen utensils. Margaret, upon meeting her own death, finds some kind of orgasmic comfort in it. Completely distraught over EVERYTHING, has this sort of “Frakenstein’s Monster” motif, where she realizes that she does not belong in this world. So she uses her power to crash the house down bringing an end to her own life.
It really is a classic movie. I love the low budget aspect and the simplicity of it all. It got made with only $1.8 million, and they knew where they had to put the money. The performances are wonderful. Sissy Spacek really owned this role. The blood dump had to suck because it was so low budget, they used corn syrup and food coloring. They would warm the “blood” first but once it cooled, it was extremely sticky. She had some someone following her around with a little spray bottle so her arms wouldn’t stick to her sides. To get out of the dress, Sissy would just have to get into shower and go from there. And she was very adamant about doing her own hand and foot shots. So at the very end when Carrie’s hand reaches for Sue Snell, that’s actually Sissy Spacek buried under there.
For many of the actors, it was their first big movie. This little film got John Travolta noticed, and he is barley in it. I think he has collected seven minutes of screen time, but he made such an impact as Billy Nolan, giving him the start of his long-lasting career. Nancy Allen went on to be in the Robocop films and many others. What’s funny is that these two had no idea that they were playing such villains in the film.
They would come to set and mostly be laughing. Except the shower chanting scene, Nancy was kind of disturbed by that because of the hysterical frenzy they all had to work themselves into. And when Betty Buckley (Miss Collins) slaps her, she REALLY slaps her. Brian De Palma shot that slap over and over again. Back in the 70s, they did what they needed to do to get the reaction from the actors. P.J. Soles was great and funny in this and went to make two more classics: Halloween and Rock & Roll High School. It’s funny how many actors get their start from horror movies.
There are quite a few changes from the book, but that’s Hollywood for you. Like the death of Mrs. White, in the book Carrie uses her powers to stop her heart because she is trying to drown her in the bath tub. And when the house caves in, Carrie’s power was so great that she that she could make boulders rain from the sky. They were actually going to film it that way, but the conveyer belt they were going to use broke down.
What would happen if someone with telekinesis was pushed too far? Maybe something like this: the 2013 remake was a great updated version of the story. I have talked to a lot of people about what they thought, and most had the same problem with it. And they said, “Chloe Grace Moretz is just too pretty of a girl to be bullied.” And to that I have this to say, yes, Chloe Grace Moretz is a very pretty girl, but back in the 70s, it was the odd looking kids that were being bullied. And Sissy Spacek is a very unique looking woman, so it worked for that time. Where as nowadays, it doesn’t matter what you look like. Kids are bullied because they are poor, or don’t have new fancy cars, or have the up-to-date cell phones. So to take this beautiful girl and make her the new Carrie, I think it works for today’s generation.
Movie that scared you the most: The Shining when I was a kid ! Haven’t watched many scary movies since!
Truth or dare? Dare!
Tell us about your hobbies or the worst date you ever went on: My hobbies are going on adventures. I can’t sit still so I travel a lot. Love seeing new places and meeting new people all the time .
Written by: Scott Beers
March 5, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
Tweet to: @skottbeers
Conor McGregor C (FTW) @ WW (170) vs. Nate Diaz #5 (LW) @ WW (170)
This is the first time in UFC history that a fighter has moved up TWO weight classes for a bout. Not because he planned to, but because he thought it would break yet another UFC record after RDA bowed out of their 155 lb. super fight. Diaz has always been off and on, but when he’s on he’s a beast. We’re likely to see the taller and rangier Diaz stand and strictly box with Conor; but is that enough? Conor isn’t going for a takedown, this fight will be contested on the feet for all five rounds if necessary. Although I do believe Diaz is the more technical boxer, Conor is a more well rounded striker with considerably more power. As soon as McGregor finds his range, expect wheel kicks, hook kicks, roundhouse kicks, powerful straight lefts, and more. Despite Diaz absorbing a lot of punishment I don’t see him going for a takedown. Diaz is great on the ground, but has trouble taking it there. At the weigh ins McGregor said about Diaz that he couldn’t understand how a skinny guy could be fat at the same time; I partially agree and believe Diaz is not in ideal shape for a fight this soon. I’m also highly concerned that he will fail his drug test for marijuana as ten days notice generally isn’t enough for a daily smoker to get the THC out of their system. If Diaz wins… expect a no contest. I’ll choose McGregor to get inside of Diaz’s range and crack him hard and often. This fight will be over by round two.
McGregor wins via TKO round 2
Holly Holm C vs. Miesha Tate #2
It’s ridiculous that Tate is ranked #2. That goes to show you how shallow the women’s bantamweight division is. Her technique is equivalent to that of janitor who took two karate classes 23 years ago. She should retire before she gets embarrassed from the elite once again. The female divisions are a decade away from being truly competitive. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the fights, it’s that their technique is generally flawed. Holly Holm is a true combat sports athlete. Miesha on the other hand is a bum who has won four closely contested bouts in a row. Miesha will engage in a clinch and constantly try for a takedown against the cage. She will fail again and again. Holly will slowly pick her apart, expect Miesha’s big polish nose to be pouring blood before the referee calls it off. If we’re lucky we might get to see Holm side kick Miesha’s old saggy boobs as well.
Holm wins via TKO round 4
Gian Villante #13 vs. Ilri Latifi
This is your typical mid-PPV filler fight. Latifi doesn’t pass the eye test but his genetics certainly appear to favor his powerful style. Villante is best known for being close friends with Chris Weidman.I sense Latifi maybe coming into his own as the next Swedish headliner. The filter fight does however have some implications if Latifi can win impressively.
Latifi via KO round 1
Corey Anderson #12 vs. Tom Lawlor
Lawlor is an entertaining individual, he’s simply not a top ten fighter. Anderson will control this fight on route to an easy grappling base victory. It seems when PPVs have two large fights at the top of the card, the rest of the card suffers. This is your first filler fight with minimal implications.
Anderson wins via decision
Amanda Nunes #4 vs. Valentina Shevchenko #11
Nunes is certainly next in line for the title. If it was up to me she would be fighting Holm instead of Miesha “The Trash Can” Tate. Shevchenko certainly has the ability to win, she’s good, better than Tate for sure. Nunes might possibly be better than Ronda Rousey on the ground, and unlike Rousey she can actually take someone down with wrestling opposed to Judo throws. Nunes should out grapple Valentina and land a submission.
By Tanner Banks 3/5/2016, 7:15 a.m. Tweet to: @SirJamtrousers
Oh, sweet baby Jesus. When I first saw Nelo, I was thinking, “Great, another crappy sci-fi game…” I need to go back in time to punch myself in the teeth, because this game looks freakin’ sweet! It’s crazy when you see all the games being made by these super small teams, because this dynamic (and engaged) duo of Kevin Bryant and Michelle Morger have made a truly visually impressive game.
Set on an alien world decimated by his people’s creations, the Nightsithe, with nobody at your side and time running out to escape, you take the role of the titular character Nelo, a cybernetically enhanced badass who looks like a cross between Spawn and Dead Space‘s Isaac Clarke. Nelo is coming armed to the teeth as well, packing his super suit and the Hands of Aphelion. His super suit lets him zip around on the ground and air dash of the ground as well. The Nightsithe better hope to not catch his hands, because the Hands of Aphelion are four floating hands that can either rip apart the enemies in melee or blow them away with four guns at the same time. Suck it, Call of Duty.
The most exciting thing for me is the gameplay. There’s a lot going on with this game. Not only is it a run-and-gun third-person shooter, but at any time you can switch it to a top-down twin-stick shooter for a better lay of the land. Throw in the explorations mechanics for the levels, platforming sections, dog fighting in space as Nelo’s brother, and fighting as a cannon wielding mech suit. Throw in a combo system that lets you set off EMPs, go into bullet time, and set up a shield to either get out of dodge, or blow dodge the fuck up. There is so much going on with this game that it looks more like a game being led by someone like Riot or Blizzard (but not Ubisoft). It’s still waiting for the greenlight on Steam, but it won’t be long before it’s rocking the charts.
Seriously, this game looks absolutely bonkers! Fifteen minutes of gameplay footage and my heart is still racing after watching Nelo dart around the air and blowing up everything to kingdom come. I’m not the only one to be giving this game praise either, Nelo earned a spot on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine Booth at the 2015 Game Developers Conference and got tons of tips and positive feedback from gamers and industry giants alike. The game itself is in Pre-Alpha right now, so the game is a bit of a ways off, but this looks like it’s going to be a blast to play. The Kickstarter still has $20k to go and all I can say is go out and SUPPORT. THIS. GAME. If you want, check out the demo on IndieDB as well.
STREETBEEFS is a backyard fighting channel on YouTube. Started in 2008, it is has recently been featured in the New York Times and on PBS. With major news outlets talking about the fight club, their star is rising. So, if you want some ground and pound Virginia-style on Sunday, check out their channel. They have three brand new beefs that are going to get settled the old fashioned way.
From the STREETBEEF website:
“After years of watching people in our area severely hurt each other over various disputes, we decided to offer a solution. Come to SATANS BACKYARD and put gloves on to settle your dispute. No guns. No knives. No gang of friends jumping in. Just you, your foe, the referee, and a group of spectators. We’ve settled hundreds of disputes in our area with this method, and hope to settle THOUSANDS more, all while entertaining our viewers. Some of our fighters are just 2 guys who wanna fight for sport, or to test themselves. So occasionally you’ll see sporting fights mixed in with our beef fights. Streetbeefs fighters form a bond with each other, and develop lasting friendships, and we take pride in providing a safer outlet for aggressive young men and women.”
Slickster Magazine will be publishing a full-length article on Streetbeefs soon. In the meantime, check out their channel on March 6, 2016, for three new arguments settled without guns. Just gloves.
By Tanner Banks 3/4/2016, 8:00 a.m. Tweet to: @SirJamtrousers
Tell me what these things have in common: Surgeon, Trucking, Goat, Farming, Tabletop. Answer? These are all examples of successful “Simulator” games that did something right. Alright, same question. Tank Dating, Rage Parking, Construction Machines, Mining Industry, Roadside Assistance, Grass, Yohjo. Answer? These were bad simulator games that failed to do anything beyond try to cash in on the recent influx of games that put their marketing into the name “Simulator.”
Simulation games have been popular for a long time. The Sims, Tropico, Football Manager, and Black and White are examples of classic simulation-based games where you take the role of another person and live their life in some form or another. However, there has been an influx of games where “_____ Simulator” is out and you gotta check it out because it’s so crazy, or so life-like, or so… So, what?
The emergence of “Simulator” games has been a pretty recent, and the number of these games are growing. In my recent rant on Street Fighter V and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5, I talked about how lazy big-name developers are because they think that if it has a familiar name we’ll buy it. It seems like the same thing can be said for independent game developers and “Simulator” games. Now, I’m not saying that all of these games are bad, quite the contrary. Goat Simulator is a guilty pleasure of mine, and I’ve been following Bear Simulator since its Kickstarter was announced. But for every good/great “Simulator,” there are plenty of trash ones as well.
The issue is that these small development teams are trying to recreate the magic of games like Surgeon Simulator and Goat Simulator. With Surgeon Simulator, the controls were bothersome and frustrating, but it made sense, and was one of the first to do it. With Goat Simulator, there wasn’t much like it when it came out. It was new, weird, and original. There are still updates that bloat my download queue for Goat Simulator, and Coffee Stain Studios has continued to add to the game.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but that doesn’t excuse these game makers from being lazy and trying to make a cheap and easy game and pretend it’s art. Games like Yohjo Simulator and Grass Simulator try to get away with having extremely little to actually do, but having quirky mechanics like dubstep cows, or flying pig tails. Construction Machines and Roadside Assistance try to be like Euro Truck Simulator, but fail to do anything truly noteworthy.
And then there’s Train Simulator 2. This game has the audacity to have, as of March 2, 2016, over five thousand dollars’ worth of DLC on Steam. And I gave EA a hard time for DLC…
The problem with these small development teams is that they’re trying to make buggy games that are meta, pseudo-surreal, or stupid for the sake of stupid games. Now, stupid can be great if done right. Saints Row and Goat Simulator are proof of that. But the difference is that they did something new and original. They knew what they were doing. It’s like making abstract art. Before you can really break the rules, you have to know the rules.
When I peruse the crowdfunding websites looking for the next Kickass Kickstarter, every other week a new “Simulator” of some kind will pop up. Most don’t even get $100. Some do incredibly well and prove they were worth the investment. It’s looking like Bear Simulator is the next success story. But if small developers keep stunting their growth and releasing buggy, unfinished games, they won’t amount to much more than a pathetic cash grab. The difference between indie games and big names is supposed to be about how indie games are for the love of it. Not because they haven’t sold out yet.
Team Ripset Mortal Kombat Live Twitch Stream – Sponsored by Slickster Magazine
Slickster Magazine is proud to be sponsoring Team Ripsets Mortal Kombat Live Twitch Stream. Set to air this Saturday night (March 5th) at 10pm eastern time. We are happy to announce that motion capture actor Chris McClure will be in the house! Chris played the likes of Alien and Bo Rai Cho in the new Mortal Kombat XL He will be answering questions on how it was playing the infamous Alien and also how it was acting out Bo Rai Cho’s random “bowel movements”.
Chris McClure in the mo-cap studio.
Chris McClure and Carlos Pesina
Chris McClure
Chris McClure behind the scenes.
Team Ripset founder, Ryan Bush, takes time out his busy schedule to pose with Mortal Kombat mo-cap actors. Daniel Pesina (Johnny Cage, Mortal Kombat 1 and 2), Carlos Pesina (Raiden, Mortal Kombat 1 and 2), and Tony Marquez (Mortal Kombat 2 and 3).
The Shape is Orange County, CA based duo, Dance With The Dead (DWTD), newest full length album. This is their third record and their fifth release. Two EP’s snuck in between the trio of full albums. Released in early February 2016, The Shape features their signature blend of high fidelity programed synths, drum beats and raging guitar. It is a sonic playground for your ear drum. DWTD consists of Justin Pointer and Tony Kim.
We caught up with Justin to talk about the new album.
I’ve never studied music formally. I started out as a drummer and picked up the guitar over the years. Tony is actually more of the guitar player in DWTD. I do more of the rhythm parts. When we play shows now, we’re trying to incorporate real creative DJ’ing with a mixture of live guitars. We’re experimenting and try to create something new. You know, we want to create a show! We don’t want to be just two dudes standing behind laptops. We just imagine ourselves out in the crowd think about what we would want to see…. like a Rob Zombie show, or something like that! Eventually we are planning on getting to a bunch of theatrics.
There are many ways to connect with DWTD and the best way to support any band or artist is to… Are you ready?…
However, with traditional music revenue streams crumbling under the sunlight of internet sharing, DWTD has published a lot of their music online for the fans to enjoy. We asked Justin about one such channel, NewRetroWave, on Youtube.
We are not affiliated with them. They just hit us up and asked permission to post some of our material. They have over a 150K+ subscribers and we were like, ‘Of course! Be our guest’. It has been some great exposure for us. The fans of that whole scene are so cool! There is not a lot snoob’s or snotty people. You know how some scenes are not open to…. well, you know. It’s a really cool scene.
DWTD sounds like a 80s synth pop nightmare on horse steroids to us. However that was never really the sound Justin and Tony have been going for.
As far as an 80’s sound, we’ve never really thought about that at all. I think people have labeled us as that at first because we used a lot of vintage synthesizer sound that was popular in the late 70’s and 80’s. So, people just kinda’ dubbed us as 80’s. But when I think of 80’s music, I think of Duran Duran and the Eurythmics. I don’t really see the 80’s stuff in what we do. Maybe more from the Sci-Fi or horror films, but I guess other people think we’re an 80’s band. I don’t know.
Original artwork for DWTD’s album, Out of Body, by Rueben Martinez.
Each of DWTD musical projects has a bad ass piece of artwork to go with it. I asked Justin about it.
Tony and I will come up with a concept, but neither of us can draw. We have a good friend, Rueben Martinez, and we give him the sketches. He’ll come back with something amazing. He always nails it.
Most of the guitars on The Shape were recorded with an ESP Viper. That is one of Tony’s main axes according to Justin. However, Travis Miguel of the heavy metal band Atrayu, occasionally loans out some of his ESP guitars. DWTD and Atrayu are tight like that. However, Justin’s Ibanez Jay Yuenger (White Zombie) signature model was also used extensively on this recording as well.
I tried to take on the Adventures of Bayou Billy. The game by Konami, and released in 1989, is a cornerstone of my gaming experiences. Those driving sequences, the light gun battles, and some of those boss fights deter me. The music is great, but I do not want to review it. Instead, River City Ransom, by Technos of Japan, is a game I never put my hands on. You want this title on your Nintendo Wii U’s Virtual Console, but understand its flaws.
Wikipedia highlights high school students, Alex and Ryan’s, trek across River City to save Ryan’s girlfriend and River City High from a villain, Slick, and gangs like the Generic Dudes, the Jocks, and the Squids.
The Nintendo Entertainment System had two buttons and an analog, D-pad for basic movement. This along with your health, knowledge, fight skill, and strategy get you to the final battle. It reminds me of before Yu Suzuki, and Sega’s Shenmue. You fight villains of various skills. It is important to read, important to eat smart, and dress with intention. In the end, you create a person capable of taking on most enemies well enough. However, everyone’s path is different.
Some individuals may eat more fudge, and egg rolls, while others look to collect meat and music. You create a unique fighter with ability, or sometimes without an ability, to finish this game. Every movement has a purpose. If you run away from an enemy and you hit a wall in the game, you can take damage. You can take all your enemies head on, but will lose at times. You have barriers, and cover you can use in the game. In a two-player game, friendly, or not, damage comes. Text in the game gives your enemies personality and it tells you how strong your brawler has become. Cash, received after beating your enemy, drives you to your goal. However, every enemy makes you work.
Two players can use Alex and Ryan to beat River City into shape, if you understand the Nintendo Wii U format. A two-player game on Nintendo Wii U must include two different controllers, other than the Wii U Gamepad. This adds an element of classic play as it reminds us of the days the dual Nintendo Entertainment System controllers. However, using a controller with the Wii U Gamepad introduces a particular issue.
The Wii U Gamepad, from what I have experienced, takes control, and only permits a one-player game, even in a two-player mode. You just have to remember the Wii U Pro Controller and Wii U mote will operate just fine for this game.
On the Nintendo Wii U, it is a natural evolution. If you look at this game, it is a game way ahead of its time. You have a fighter that can be uniquely powerful. The Kickstarter for River City Ransom: Underground explains why there is respect for this game. The hope is more games energize today’s market with similar, and past-inspired, expectations.
I don’t know what is more astonishing, the bizarre things that people will believe, or the made up stories people will come up with. These are some of the more inventive deceptions made in recent years:
Paul is Dead
Being an avid Beatles fan, this is one of my favorites. On January 7, 1967, Paul McCartney lent his Mini Cooper to a Mohammed Hadjij, and on his way to a party Hadjij got into a car crash. Although Paul McCartney was not in the car when this happened, the car was so recognizable that a rumor started to spread: that Paul McCartney was dead, and that a look-alike had replaced him.
To make matters worse, Beatles’ fans began to find clues in their artwork and songs that gave validity to their claim; one example is the song, “A Day in A Life.” The song is about a man that reads in the newspaper a story about a car crash and allegedly, if you play the end of the song backwards you can hear “Paul is dead, miss him, miss him.” Another clue was in the iconic Abbey Road photograph: supposedly, people aren’t buried wearing their shoes, and so, it is not a coincidence that Paul McCartney is barefoot when he is crossing the street.
The list goes on and on, and even after all this time, there are still people that believe that McCartney died in 1967 and we have been listening to an impostor for the last 49 years. Do you think the Beatles did it on purpose? I do.
The War of the Worlds
On October 30, 1968, an episode of the radio show the Mercury Theater on the Air narrated by Orson Welles caused a mass panic. After the show, thousands of people thought that Earth was being attacked by Martians and called newspapers, radios, and police stations asking how to evacuate the city and whether there was any risk of gas raids.
The episode was meant to be a retelling of the events of H. G. Well’s novel, The War of the Worlds. Since the story detailed an Alien Invasion as a contemporary news broadcast for the first 40 minutes, the people listening actually mistook it for the real thing. The show did mention at the beginning that it was fictional but only briefly, which is why the people that tuned in later took it seriously. The producers and writers of the show later said that it was never meant to be a prank, but years later, Welles contradicted the public statement and said that it was all done intentionally.
The Feejee Mermaid
Although the original exhibit of a mummified mermaid began in the 1840s by circus owner P.T. Barnum, the Feejee Mermaid has been featured many times and by many different people. The most recent exhibit is by Robert Ripley of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
The original mermaid’s unveiling however, made for a very elaborate hoax; in order to have the public’s curiosity, Barnum had one of his associates disguise himself as a “Dr. J. Griffin” of the Lyceum of Natural History, and sent the press letters about the doctor, who had in his possession a great discovery, and because Griffin was a “certified naturalist,” everyone believed it to be real.
Lastly, Barnum advertised that the mermaid was a beautiful woman, which was not true; the Mermaid was made using either papier-mâché, the tail of a fish and a torso of a baby orangutan, stitched together with the head of a monkey. Not necessarily my idea of pretty. Oh and not to mention is mentioned in one of Slickster’s favorite X-Files episodes. (Bonus points if you know what episode – leave your answer in the comments.)
J.T. Leroy Hoax
J.T. Leroy and Winona Ryder
In 1997, a Transgender male author published a series of graphic autobiographical books about his sexual and physical abuse… or so everyone thought! In 2005, it was revealed that J.T. Leroy was the fictional character created by writer Laura Albert and portrayed publicly by Savannah Knoop, an aspiring fashion designer.
The story was such a big deal because, before the truth came out, J.T. Leroy had become a celebrity author and was hanging out with Winona Ryder, Madonna, Courtney Love, etc. This story was so scandalous and notorious that there are now plans of making a movie out of it, and Kristen Stewart might play Savannah Knoop.
We swallow eight spiders a year in our sleep
With a little logic you might have realized that eating just one spider in a lifetime is very unlikely, but even today for a lot of people this is an undisputed truth. Arachnid experts say that in order for this to happen, too many unlikely circumstances would have to happen at once; for starters, you would have to sleep with your mouth open – which not everyone does – and a spider would have to just wonder near your body that rolls around throughout the night, and casually go near an orifice that exhales warm air. Not very smart of spiders if you ask me.
What is even more interesting is that nobody really knows where this myth comes from. Some claim that in 1993 a columnist named Lisa Holst made a list of “facts” in an effort to demonstrate how easily we accept facts on the Internet, but nobody has found a Lisa Holst. Where do you think it came from?
Richard Gere and his fondness for Gerbils
Celebrity fake deaths are one thing; this Richard Gere’s rumor is on a whole different level.
The story goes like this: Back in the mid 80s, Richard Gere went to the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in California in the middle of the night to remove a foreign object from his rectum… which turned out to be a gerbil. The story got even more attention when someone sent to everyone in Hollywood a fax of a press release by the Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – that never happened – denouncing Gere for abusing a gerbil.
The funny thing is that people would consider “gerbil stuffing” a real thing! How would that even work? Would the animal be alive? Dead? And more importantly: Why?!!
Sure, it is not uncommon for people to stuff things up their bums for pleasure, but there is no evidence of people having actually done it or any medical journals for that matter detailing how to remove a gerbil from a rectum. So don’t try it!
By Tanner Banks 3/3/2016, 4:00 p.m. Tweet to: @SirJamtrousers
Not DiCaprio! With the leader of the Ninja Turtles finally in ownership of one of those golden bastards it’s time to think about all the other great actors who haven’t gotten the Oscar yet. While this is by no means the ten best actors without an Oscar, these were ten, picked in no particular order, who deserve a second look for the award. Without further ado, the Oscar does not go to…
Ian McKellen
This was the first person I thought of. When you’ve got a Tony, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, membership as a Commander of the British Empire and a freaking knighting in 1991, I had to check. But lo and behold the Shakespearean turned wizard, turned super villain, turned sleuth has yet to receive an Oscar. He’s got two nominations for the gold statue and I’d bet the 76-year-old has one more nomination in him.
Patrick Stewart
He and Sir McKellen have a very famous bromance that seems to get better every year. Professor X has yet to actually be nominated for even a single Oscar, and despite his lengthy time on stage he’s only a single Tony nomination to his name as well. Although I doubt Stewart loses much sleep over the Oscar snub. When you’re able to be arguably the most famous captain in the Star Trek (Captain Kirk can suck it!), a golden statue doesn’t seem all that important. And yet the list goes on…
Sylvester Stallone
Up next is a guy most wouldn’t associate with the Oscars because of his preference for big explosions. But believe it or not he’s got three nominations to his name. Although, to be fair, there was a 39-year gap between his nominations. But hey, it ain’t over till it’s over. Yes, Sly Stallone was nominated as an actor and writer in 1977 for Rocky and got a supporting actor nomination for Creed this year, which got him a Golden Globe nod. While he might not be “The Lawwwww” anymore, or a one-man-army Rambo, this actor is anything but Expendable.
Glenn Close
People like to talk about DiCaprio’s give nominations before snagging it this year, well Glenn has gotten nominated six times without a win. So take that for what it’s worth because she proved in the live action 101 Dalmatians that she can turn chicken shit into chicken salad. From 1982-84 she received three straight nominations and her most recent romp at the Oscars was in 2011 for her role in Albert Nobbs. She’s still active with roles in Guardians of the Galaxy and the upcoming Bastards. With 70 in the not-too-distant future, Glenn is looking to add an Oscar to the three Tonys and three Emmys on the shelf before she hangs up the dog fur coat.
Bradley Cooper
2011’s Sexiest Man Alive might not have an Oscar but before this past series Brad rocked three straight years with nominations from 2013-15. Bradley Cooper seems to have a penchant for big bang films with The Hangover trilogy (dear God, why a trilogy), The A-Team, American Hustle, American Sniper, and the aforementioned Guardians of the Galaxy. (Hey, Glenn Close!) Every major role that he’s done recently has been golden, so I doubt that it will be long before he grabs a little golden man.
Helena Bonham Carter
I’ll be honest, this one miiiiight be because she was absolutely made for the role of Bellatrix Lestrange and I’m salty that Harry Potter didn’t get a single Oscar. But that doesn’t detract from her ability to command any role with absolute authority. Whether she’s the Queen of Hearts, a crazy witch with a hard on for Magic Hitler, or something more mundane like Queen Elizabeth, this Tim Burton fixture is an amazing actor who proves that movies can be magic.
Johnny Depp
Speaking of Tim Burton… It’s common thought that Johnny Depp’s parents didn’t believe in Halloween or something, because this guy plays anything and everything. The biggest testament to why he takes so many larger-than-life roles is because he steals the show any time he gets the chance. The roles that he got his nominations for? Sweeny Todd, Sir James Matthew Barrie, and Captain Jack Sparrow. While he may have a jar of dirt, he doesn’t have an Oscar. Yet.
Sigourney Weaver
Excuse me? Sigourney doesn’t have an Oscar? This is one of those really weird situations. Not every great actor has an Oscar; it’s impossible for all of them to get one. But it feels like Weaver has won an Academy Award before. Like she has to have won an award at some point. And yet the facts show that she didn’t get it for Aliens or Working Girl. In fact, she hasn’t gotten a nomination since 1989! I don’t think she’ll be getting the nod for her upcoming roles in Ghostbusters or Avatar 2, 3, or 4. (Jesus, James Cameron, really? 4?) Unrelated but fun fact: Sigourney Weaver is a solid six feet tall.
Will Smith
The. Pursuit. Of. Happyness. God dammit. I don’t care if people thought Will hammed it up. That was one of the best roles I’ve seen filled and every time I see it I truly believe the Fresh Prince is a struggling genius trying to make it selling outdated equipment. Will Smith is a supremely talented actor and while his nepotism may be his downfall (dammit, Jaden), his two nominations for Pursuit and Ali are proof that Will can and will knock it out of the park if given something beyond “relatable guy from the hood.” (Still love you, Men in Black.)
Robert Downey Jr.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he survived the ridiculous amount of drug abuse he put his body through, I’d say RDJ is an unlucky man. He was able to not only play a dude playin’ a dude disguised as another dude, but he rocked that role like a hurricane. BUT it was the year that would go to the late Heath Ledger in his amazing performance as the Joker. That. Sucks. However, it’s still a stretch to call him unlucky when he blurred the lines between playing Iron Man and basically being Iron Man. RDJ can do whatever the hell he wants (nothing new) so I’d be shocked if he doesn’t snag an Oscar.
By Joe Billi 3/1/2016, 7:15 a.m. Tweet to: @JoeBilli_
It’s been over a week since Bellator 149, the hearts have been restarted and the complaints filed. But this card that featured names such as Guillard, Shamrock, and Gracie, left an empty feeling in the stomachs of MMA fans that looked forward to this night of nostalgia.
In recent years, Bellator has made some solid moves when it came to bringing in well-known talent. They acquired Cheick Kongo, Tito Ortiz, Ken Shamrock, Royce Gracie, and Benson Henderson, to name a few. But the problem with these acquisitions is they are only a Band-Aide for a wound that needs stitches. As far as popularity, the UFC far surpasses Bellator, and although these fighters are names that UFC fans already know, it will probably only cause a temporary spike in ratings. The new Bellator fighters all have one thing in common; the time in winding down, some should have hung the gloves up years ago. That statement comes from a night of fights that were, for lack of a more accurate word, mediocre.
Daniel Pineda Vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
Let’s start with the first fight of the main card, Pineda versus Sanchez. In the beginning, Pineda came out of the corner explosive and looking to take the fight to the ground. He showed excellent take down skills and exposed Sanchez’s lack of take down defense. Things soon took a turn when Pineda found that he was too worn out to take the fight to the ground anymore, and this is where Sanchez showed off his superior striking ability that continued till the final bell. At the end of the bout Sanchez found himself the victor by split decision.
Linton Vassell Vs. Emanuel Newton
Similar to their last fight, that ended in a fifth round submission by Newton, Linton Vassell proved to the fight community that he is an outstanding grappler and his fists from the top are lethal. Vassell would make it a point to keep the fight on the ground mostly because overall dominance and desperate groin strikes by Newton that came while the fight was standing. Newton proved that Vassell was too much for him, leading to an easy win for Vassell by unanimous decision.
Derek Campos Vs. Melvin Guillard
Melvin Guillard is a well-known name for any fans of the UFC, so to see him fighting in Bellator really gives you a perspective on where his career has gone. Looking at a list of Guillard’s 52-fight career, you can see the sting of loses in his last 10 fights and they don’t end there. That being said, this fight said a lot about Campos. He is the only person other than “Cowboy” Cerrone to knockout Guillard in his 52-fight career. This was done by letting Melvin tire himself out with wild offense while allowing Campos to wait for the perfect time to counter the already depleted Guillard. Campos would use an exceptional kickboxing performance to bring this fight to a close in the second round by knock out.
Dada 5000 Vs. Kimbo Slice
This fight was something special. Two men with clubs for arms wore themselves out swinging, until one was lucky enough connect, and the other one died (temporarily). Kimbo connected with a slow motion hook that caused Dada 5000 to collapse and his heart to stop beating. Dada’s heart was restarted and he spent seven days in a Houston hospital, only being released a few days ago. This medical issue couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that even though Dada lost over 30 pounds for the fight he still looked wildly unhealthy for a professional fighter. Fat people have heart attacks sometimes, it’s science.
Ken Shamrock Vs. Royce Gracie
Much like their last two fights, this once also ended with Ken Shamrock bitching. Looking old and overly juiced, Shamrock managed to fall victim to Gracie’s clinch where he was hit with a lot of knees and a groin strike. Shamrock’s delayed, almost flop like, reaction to the strike, lead to the referee to missing the strike and a ground and pound finish for Gracie.
When asked about the controversial fight, Gracie stated that those moves were allowed back when he was fighting, whether the strike was intentional or not is still ambiguous. Shamrock has recently filed a complaint with Bellator about the fight, demanding the bout is declared a “no contest” and a rematch is scheduled. But honestly, for the sake of the sport and the health of these two fight legends, I would like to see this contest put to rest, no matter how much Ken Shamrock complains.
Bellator has made some moves in the right direction recently, but should really be looking to use these established fighters to generate more money from events and persuade young talent that may have went to the UFC. Overall, it was an eye opening night for most MMA fans. It showed the world that the fighters we grew up with are slowly fading out and that despite the familiar faces; Bellator still has a long way to go.
Hand of Fate is a 2015 action adventure game by Defiant Development.
Each level is made up of various event cards creating a “board.”
Hand of Fate pits the “hero” against a series of challenges in the form of cards set on the table before you. The cards are randomly selected from your deck, which is composed of cards you collect over the course of the game. Each card has a challenge which varies from battling monsters to making wagers with otherworldly forces. All of this is presided over by the mysterious dealer.
While the game seems like a dry concept on paper, every aspect of the game drives home the feeling of a fantastical tabletop game. The dealer speaks to you directly thought the entire game; he comments on your choices, shows disdain for your victories, brings up his thoughts about specific cards. He is a constant companion for conversation as well as your adversary. His constant dialogue gives you a real sense of purpose to finish the game, not only to finish your quest but to spite him. This paired with the well written descriptions of the challenges and quests on the cards, makes it easy to immerse yourself in the game as well as the “game.”
The combat is dynamic but pretty simple.
The enemy and level design is impressive and looks great at the game’s price around $15. There are four major enemy types – bandits, rats, skeletons, and lizard men – that make up the bulk of the game, with a few side bad guys that were added in the games many free updates. The actual combat plays very much like the Batman: Arkham games (press Triangle or Y to counter). The combat is solid and all the attacks and counters are very responsive but outside of a few magical spells and passive effects this can get fairly repetitive. As the game progresses, enemy attacks begin to vary more and more. But once you’ve gotten the hang of it, even the hard setting on the combat can feel like not much of a challenge for someone used to that sort of gameplay.
However, unlike the combat, the card system allows for much replayability. Throughout the course of the game, completing challenges the right way will earn you new cards that can be added to your deck. Before each stage, you can choose cards of various types gain, encounters, blessings, or reward to be added to the pool of things you can come across during that level so you can customize the way your adventure could go. With the freeplay mode, you can go on some truly unique adventures.
While it may not be very fast or flashy overall, Hand of Fate is a great and very unique experience outside of combat. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an atmospheric tabletop style experience. The dev support for this games early access was phenomenal and I eagerly await Defiant Development’s future games.
