Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Wednesday Night Ramblings - August 19 2015 - Why do I do this?



                As you may have noticed, there was no Wednesday Night Rambling last week. Truth is, I wasn’t feeling it that week. Rather than writing a crappy, half assed article, I felt it was better to not write one. 

                Without further ado, here’s the article 2 weeks in the making. Lately I’ve been asking myself, why do I do this? Why do I spend all this time every week writing this blog that quite frankly nobody reads? I’ve had a bit of an existential crisis, to the point where I was thinking maybe I should just drop the whole thing. But to do that would be depriving myself of something that could be very beneficial.

                When I started this initially over 5 years ago, it was just to start listing the achievements I’ve gained. I felt it was a good way to start talking about videogames and get some of my ideas out there. At the time, I was off school and working a part time job, so achievements were a big part of my life. As the years have gone by, achievements have still been important to me but they are not the main focus of everything that I do. I would love to spend more time adding to my Gamerscore, but there are just too many other responsibilities to deal with that I simply do not have the time do it. 

                There was a large gap, about 2 years, where I basically did not post anything on this blog. I lost interest and felt that what I was writing about did not matter. But then I thought to start adding reviews, which reinvigorated me. I could get my opinion out for various things like movies, TV and books. And in the last couple of months I’ve added the Wednesday Night Ramblings, where everything flies including the kitchen sink.

                The real reason I do this is that it gives me an outlet to talk about whatever I want. In real life, you have to deal with the fact that most people do not care about what you have to say. I’m not trying to be depressing or negative but it’s just the simple truth. Sometimes you get lucky and someone you know has a similar interest as you but that doesn’t work with everything. Nobody gives a shit when I talk about wrestling, for example, and it can get very lonely when you are the only person who follows something. I could always go on forums or other websites, but I’m not good at making friends online, it’s just a skill I don’t have. That is what this blog gives me. It’s somewhere I can talk about what’s on my mind, judgement free. And even though there may be nobody reading it, I feel like it is still an outlet about how I feel. So if there is anyone out there reading this, I thank you for your time and hope you find something that piques your interest. 

Batman: Arkham Knight












Blind Love - 10G - Destroy the third weapons cache in Gotham City












The Real Deal - 5G - Takedown 20 moving cars without using the Batmobile












Practice Run - 10G - Destroy the fourth weapons cache in Gotham City












Touch of Death - 20G - Apprehend the weapons dealer and lock him up in GCPD

Sunday, August 16, 2015

I took the week off, so sue me!

It's been a rough week, didn't really accomplish anything on either this blog or in life. Next week should be back on track, in the meantime here are this weeks achievements.

Batman: Arkham Knight












Angel in the Dark - 20G - Complete the trial and prove you are a worthy successor












Nine Lives - 10G - Obtain a key by completing the last Riddler trial












Cycle of Violence - 5G - Use 100 quick gadgets while in free flow combat

Rare Replay












Let the Games Begin - 15G - Slalom: Play the game for the first time












Getting your Sea Legs - 15G - Cobra Triangle: Play the game for the first time












Rising Star - 15G - Jetpac: Blast off from every single level over time












Eradic - 8 - 15G - Jetpac: Defeat 1500 enemies over time












Pac it away - 15G - Add 250 fuels pods to your rocket over time












Strange New Worlds - 15G - Lunar Jetman: Play the game for the first time












Force Feedback - 20G - Blast Corps: Play the game for the first time












Back in Atic - 15G - Atic Atac: Play the game for the first time












Sabre Rattling - 15G - Sabre Wulf: Play the game for the first time












A Whole New Wurlde - 15G - Under Wurld: Play the game for the first time












The explorer`s diary - 30G - Sampled every Sabreman game in the collection












Opening Knight - 15G - Knight Lore: Play the game for the first time

 
 









New Sheriff in Town - 15G - Gunfright: Play the game for the first time














Start Your Engines - 15G - RC Pro-Am: Play the game for the first time












Snakedown Cruise - 15G - Snake Rattle n Roll: Play the game for the first time












Lonely out in Space - 15G - Solar Jetman: Play the game for the first time












I can Dig it - 15G - Digger T Rock: Play the game for the first time












Distant points of light - 15G - Jetpac: Rack up 250 000 points over time












The Shoulder of Orion - 15G - Complete a Lunar Jetman Snapshot












No time for Diplomacy - 20G - Killer Instinct Gold: Play the game for the first time












Gate Review - 10G - Completed a Slalom snapshot












Mechanical Sandwich - 10G - Complete a RC Pro-Am snapshot












Take a look at the Lawman - 10G - Complete a Gunfright snapshot












Up in the Gods - 10G - Earn the player rank of follower

Monday, August 10, 2015

Movie Reviews #34 - Angels & Demons (2009)

Plot: (from imdb.com) Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon works to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican.

Review: Whenever you read a book and then watch the film adaptation of it, it’s impossible not to make comparisons. In rare cases, the movie is better then the book. However in most cases, the book is the superior source. Unfortunately, that is the case here with Angels & Demons. Right from the beginning, the movie makes some big changes that completely alter the story. There are important characters that don’t exist and new ones are inserted in. It’s all unsettling when you first watch it. Sometimes these changes are necessary due to certain constraints that occur with films, but they took it a little too far. Everything feels so rushed here. In the book, Robert Langdon takes time to reflect and think deeply when he solves the puzzles. Here they pop up instantly without much effort put into it. 

            Even without comparing book and film, there are some other things that are really bad in this film. Large parts of the movie feel real bad, almost Asylum bad. The green screen effects are terribly noticeable, I can tell that they are not actually in some of the locations. Luckily near the end they start going to actual locations but it’s too little too late. Read the book instead, it’s much better.

Score: 5.5/10