London Film & Comic Con 2017 Review

Howdy ladies and gentlemen how’s it going? Well, today I’m doing another review, not of a film review (even though I really should have seen Dunkirk by now haha) but an event review as over the weekend I had the opportunity to revisit London Film & Comic Con for the first time in two years and I just had to talk about it on this blog. And while I was only at the convention for one day I have a fair amount to cover to so let’s get going!

Now for those unaware, this convention is to do with films, TV, comics and video games. But the big focus is primarily on the special guests who attend, most people who go are normally coming to meet the celebrities who are there for talks, photo sessions and autographs signings. Otherwise, you can buy a range of merchandise including, clothes, toys, anime and manga, DVDs, comics, artwork, posters and so on. In addition to that, you can play video games new and old, see writers and artists of comic books or take pictures of cosplayers. So now I shall talk about my experience.

Video Games

Firstly let me cover the games that I played which wasn’t much but it’s still worth mentioning. Can I just say that I was gutted to see how little representation the games side of things got at this convention, not to say that this convention has had a strong gaming presence, however, since 2014 it is like the people who have run the convention have made this element of the convention smaller with each passing year. And that sucks. I did appreciate the variety of games they had on display whether it was the Minecraft stuff, the retro side with stuff like Mario 3, Sonic 2, Mario Kart 64, Super Bomberman 2 and a few others, and they even had a section dedicated to virtual reality games which were cool too. I only played two games though, firstly there was Smash Bros for Wii U and you know I had to play it, so I got into a match with three exceptional players who all gave me a run for my money as we played on random stages with all the stage hazards which made for some proper tense and fun matches. I don’t get to play Smash in a competitive manner much since university so it was cool to do some local multiplayer and get that rush of excitement/adrenaline in my system again even if I won only one out of the four matches I played. So then there was the tournament which I signed up for just for jokes, and though there were only around 10 players, I somehow fought my way to the final and won. It was so surreal and wonderful to win a competition with a game I’m actually good at. 😛 Other than that I played Super Mario World and realised how out of touch I am with the game mechanics and the feel of a Super Nintendo controller haha, I still really love that game but good gravy I suck at it these days. Oh and I have to give mention to the Bomberman tournament, that was so intense stuff man! I have never seen such speed and strategy applied to Bomberman before and it was awesome to watch.

The Cosplayers

Now I LOVE cosplayers mainly because they are dedicated fans who dress up and show their fandom in an upfront manner and if they are the hardcore types then they normally create their costumes themselves and they look so accurate to the source material that it boggles the mind. Since about 2015 I’ve stopped taking pictures of cosplayers because I’m too lazy, that being said, this time around I made a conscious effort to take pictures as some of the costumes were so elaborate, creative and accurate to the source material that it was mental. From all of the Rey and Kylo Ren people to the Rick and Morty’s, I also saw numerous women dressed as Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn. There were plenty of Spider-Men and Deadpools and so much more. The one person that I wish I’d taken a picture of was a guy dressed as Spidey from Spider-Man: Homecoming and his stark Spidey suit were so accurate to the film that it almost hurt my eyes! 😛 Anyway check out my pictures below:

The People I Met

So yeah the main reason I came to this convention was to meet some famous people, like a lot of other people haha. But seriously some of these people are individuals I’ve hoped to see in the flesh for years. So firstly there were two people from the Power Rangers: Time Force series and they were Kevin Kleinberg and Michael Copon who played Trip and Lucas. They are two of my favourite rangers of any PR series and I got to meet them, get their autographs and talk to them too, and they were so nice and kind especially Kleinberg. But then right next door to them was Selwyn Ward who played T.J. in Power Rangers: Turbo and In Space, he’s one of my all-time favourites and getting to talk to him was the best!

Here’s me with Kevin Kleinberg and Selwyn Ward, such amazing dudes!

Next up I met Phil LaMarr and got his autograph and also got to gush about how much I loved his worth and also got to thank him for coming back for Samurai Jack season 5, and he was SO cool and nice and he even shouted “AKUUU!” for me as well which was the best. So much happiness. And later on after standing in many lines I got photos with not only Tricia Helfer but also the Benedict Cumberbatch!

I know I looked silly but I couldn’t help it, I was so happy. 😛

With Tricia Helfer, most people know of her from Battlestar Galactica, but I’ve come to love her from Lucifer and she was SO nice and kind, and I told her that I loved her work on Lucifer, ad she said they have a lot of fun on the show. Ahhhhh! I was so giddy. And then there’s Cumberbatch, my man, I’ve been such a big fan since 2012 when I watched Sherlock, then the second Hobbit film and obviously most recently Doctor Strange, he’s just amazing and getting to meet him in the flesh was a moment in time I’ll treasure forever. “Hey there buddy.” That’s what he said to me and I’ll never forget it. 😛 😀

My Overall Experience

My experience was solid, the lines to get into the building didn’t take nearly as long as they did in 2015, I was in line around 8.30am and was inside the main hall from around 9.15am and I was able to get a feel for the are, learn where certain people and stalls were set up. I also ran into an old friend I hadn’t seen for two years since the last convention we attended so that was great. I also had some cool conversation with some artists who were selling their comics and later on, I ran into two other friends later on who I had seen for ages, was such a nice surprise! For a lot of the day, I was just watching around trying to waste time until my photo sessions later on, whether I was playing games, talking to artists or taking pictures of cosplayers. I would say that the organisation of LFCC was far more efficient that the previous years that I went, lines and places for entry, autographs and photo sessions were much better than before. And the general placement of stuff was solid. That being said, like before I wish there was a better presence of video games with the variety of the games, consoles and bigger and better location for them. It also felt like the illustrators and authors got the short end of the stick as their location felt so separated from the action in the main halls both upstairs and downstairs, I wish there had been more people and a better location for them to stand out. And even though the lines were better than previous years, there was still some confusion and lack of organisation or help when it came to queues and knowing which batches you fell into.

 

In conclusion, London Film & Comic Con was pretty good. After two years it was good to be back in this convention, it has a different feel and vibe to it and thankfully there was so much more room to breathe and chill when compared to this year’s MCM London Expo. While there were certain things I would have changed, it was a solid convention for the one day that I attended, this is certainly a convention that needs a full weekend in order to experience everything on offer and I probably will be back next year hopefully. 🙂

So if you attended London Film & Comic Con this year what did you think? Did you go for one day or the full weekend? And if you didn’t go would you consider going next year? Whatever your thoughts are drop them in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review. Laters! 😀

 

London MCM Expo May 2015 Review

Howdy ladies and gents, today I am here to give you my review on the London MCM Expo. Now it has been AGES since my last review of this convention (the last one being in 2011), but I felt like I had to talk about it considering all the madness that’s took place. Now before I get started I just wanted to mention that I only did the one day because I just didn’t have the funds or the free time outside of work to attend all three days. But that’s about it. Okay, let’s get going!

So the London MCM Expo, the biggest UK convention for anime, manga, comic books, movies and video games held two times a year in May and October, it came back this weekend, and I attended for the first time in two years. Last year marked the first time I hadn’t attended since I started going in 2008 which was really random to me, but since I had a great time at the London Film and Comic-Con in July, that more than made up for it. That being said, this event, even though it has gotten absurdly huge and different in appearance over the years, I have such a heavy load of good nostalgia associated with this convention, so it was only a matter of time until I went back. And my Saturday experience was a combination of joy, extreme happiness, tiredness, frustration and confusion. Make no mistake, MCM is still a great place to go for a unique and joyful experience, but some of its pleasures come at a cost, and I’m not just talking about you wallet.

Now I’m going to talk about what I got up to and separate this review into two halves; what and I liked and what I didn’t.

What I liked

This year was all about seeing what’s new, what’s remained the same and enjoying myself, and there was plenty to enjoy. Going to the Expo this year I noticed how huge the hall space was, I feel like it’s doubled in size since my first time in 2008. Walking from one side to the other felt like a 5-10 minute walk, but if you weren’t walking straight, stuck in walking traffic or had to make certain turns at different spots, then it would be a slightly longer trip.

There was this nice wall of cat drawings and I contributed as well, the one cat with his eyes closed and arms crossed on the yellow paper was mine. 😀

In terms of what I got up to, well I didn’t play too many games, see too many talks or even see the Cosplay Masquerade, but I did get to talk to some great artists, play some games and get some photos with some guests. I took a fair few photos of cosplayers. After 2012 I really lost interest in taking photos because I stopped making YouTube videos and it felt more like work than something I liked doing, so I really wasn’t going to do much this year, but then I got a good few photos this year. And just in general there was a lot of great costumes on show, loads of Star Wars, Star Trek, Batman, Spider-Man, Final Fantasy and Nintendo-related characters among many others. I was surprised by the amount of Game of Thrones characters with a good few Margaery Tyrell and Daenerys Targaryen ladies walking about.

When it comes to games I viewed some cool matches from Dragon Ball Z: Xenoverse, enjoyed seeing J-Stars Victory VS in action and looking at all of the crazy attacks and multiple characters from different anime in one place. The only other game I checked out was One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, it looked a little more impressive than I thought, while the game looked just like your standard hack and slack with really dumbass CPU enemies that run around just to get beating up, but when I saw Fujitora in action with crazy attacks, combos and finishing moves it made me want to by the game. But when it comes to the games I actually played, it comes down to Splatoon and Super Smash Bros. Wii U.

Firstly, even though I’ve had no interest in Splatoon at all since its reveal at E3 last year because it wasn’t my kind of thing, I thought I should have at least given it a try. So with the demo on show I gave it a try and I found it to be pretty fun and much better than I expected. Running around, shooting ink, swimming and defending your territory, it was pretty fun. I even ended up getting the most ink covered for my team and didn’t die once, for a first-timer that was great. The controls felt a bit weird though with the use of the Wii U Gamepad to move the camera around and that threw me off when I trying to move around and defend myself from enemies.

But then I played some Smash Bros. and that’s when things got interesting. For me, this game series is my jam and this was the first time I got to play the game with a Gamecube controller (and it felt amazing), so we played a 6-player stock match, 5 humans and 1 Amiibo and 3 lives. The first match was hectic and it came down to me as Captain Falcon vs Ness, unfortunately I lost, but in the second match I came back with a vengeance as Lucina and schooled Ness as I sent him plummeting into the abyss! The final match I played as Fox, but was knocked out fairly early on because that tricky Mega Man Amiibo kept moving all over the place and giving me problems. 😛

Oh yeah you that where there’s an Expo there will be some Smash Bros. action for me!

But the highlights for me was three things:

• Meeting John Noble
• Meeting Iain De Caestecker
• Meeting Jon Schnepp and seeing “The Death of Superman Lives”: What Happened?

The main reasons I went to this convention was for those three points listed above. When it comes to the photo sessions, when I saw that John Noble, yes, the Walter Bishop from Fringe was gonna be there, I literally exploded in my mind at the chance to see him. So waiting to see him yesterday was insane, long and extremely tedious, but just getting there, meeting him, shaking his hand and being so humbled by his kindness, it was the best kind of overwhelming experience. It was a heartpounding and lovely moment. And then I got to meet Iain De Caestecker later on, I liked him in Filth, but I’ve mainly been invested in his performance as Leo Fitz from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the guy was SO nice and friendly, loved it.

Overwhelming happiness, that’s what it these photos were all about yo!

And the final part of my day was seeing a screening of The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened?, the documentary from Jon Schnepp looking into the cancelled Superman film from Tim Burton starring Nicholas Cage. Seeing this film was great, it was such an intriguing and informative look into a film that got so far into development but then got canned. All of the great guest contributors, archive footage, editing and humour all came together in such a fantastic and fascinating manner. This was definitely a story that needed to be told and I’m glad that Schnepp was able to get this documentary finish. And speaking of Schnepp, I just wanted to comment on how great it was to see the man in person. He introduced the film and then did a Q&A afterwards and he was just as hilarious, charming and humble as he is on AMC Movie Talk and getting to meet him after all of these years of watching the online show felt like a dream. Oh and shaking his hand was such a delightful feeling. 😀

Such a good film, one I would recommend to anyone who is curious about this project.

What I disliked

Firstly I have to address the LINES!

Now I know exactly how Cartman felt, it was enough to drive one to madness.

Now I’m no stranger to standing in lines at events like this and I’ve gotten used to it especially when it comes to playing games, watching the Cosplay Masquerade or getting autographs/photos with celebrity guests… That being said, usually there’s a system in place so that you know where to go when you start to queueing and avoid collisions with the general public just passing by, but NOPE, not this year. Those guys at the Excel really dun goofed this year. When it came to photo sessions specifically there was no order, everyone was everywhere, lines for certain people were spread across three different locations, some people skipped the queue altogether and the general public just trying to get by had to force their way through. There was SO much frustration and it was all because of miscommunication and lack or order.

And the staff, they had no clue. Really, you could have asked four or five staff members where you were meant to stand before you got the correct answer  and by that point you had probably wasted 30-45 minutes of your time. And only after allowing you to stand in the wrong places do the get organised and attempt to get a system in place for the different queues passing into each other, and even then, there was conflicting information and a lack clear instructions because no one had a bloody megaphone! I know I complained about the waiting periods at London Film and Comic-Con last year for their outside lines, however, at least their photo session tickets had clear sections to stand in and system in place for calling you up when it was your turn. This kind of thing can’t continue in the future as the fans I was standing with were ready to revolt out of anger, confusion and sore legs.

Now imagine these lines, but with 5 to 10 times as many people squashed in one spot. Chaos!

The only other thing I would complain about is more of a nostalgic nitpick, and it relates to the state of the Expo. A few years ago this convention was big, but it was controlled, fun and felt unique, but in recent times the convention has gotten a little too big. There’s so much going on with the stalls, events and guest stars, I feel like the event’s gotten too big and out of control. Sure making the Expo bigger to accommodate more stuff is always interesting for new and returning fans, but I feel like this isn’t the event I remember and some of the charm has been lost.

In conclusion the MCM Expo in London was a good time. After a little break from this convention it was nice to go back and revisit the place that exposed me to the madness of fans and the content on display. This even was pretty frustrating though, unorganised staff, loads of queues and lack of information really knocked this experience down a few pegs, if the Expo is to continue then it needs to get its act together. But other than those formalities I had a hella good time and should I find a reason to return in the future I may do so.

So did you go to the recent MCM Expo and if so what did you think? Please be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next blog post. Laters! 😀

 

When You Have a Gaming Addiction/Obsession

Howdy ladies and gents and welcome to another blog post. Today’s subject matter is one I wanted to write back December during the Christmas season, but I never got around to discussing it until now. Video games are one of my favourite forms of entertainment and at several points in my life I how found them consuming my life to the point of addiction and it took me til 2014 to realise that I’m totally obsessed with it all over again.

Now gaming addiction, anyone within the gaming community knows of it and has seen what it has done to certain gamers when there is no moderation or control. And while the media have tried to understand/show what it is through the news and documentaries, it is mainly just the dark/sad side of things shown and while some of it is true, it isn’t the only form of gaming addiction. To me I think that there are different levels and types of addiction and it also doesn’t have to be so much an addiction as an obsession that just needs to be fed.

So what’s my gaming addiction? Well I think it is just the need to play games and obtain more to extend my super fun time experiences.

You see gaming, it makes me feel like this.^^ Milhouse knows. 😛

But in all honesty my obsession comes from childhood. I’ve been gaming since around the mid to late 90’s with my Sega Mega Drive and Nintendo Game Boy Pocket, and then with my additional sessions with Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64 and Sony Playstation. From Sonic the Hedgehog to GoldenEye to Mortal Kombat, my life has been full of video games of all genres and sometimes it can just be like the best feeling ever. Just you and your games, it can be one of the most engaging experiences and people who haven’t played games can’t begin to comprehend how satisfying a good gaming session can be. But it doesn’t have to be alone, it can be done with friends and family. Besides having some of my favourite gaming memories with my friends, at the same I have shared a lot of my gaming experiences with my sister. We both played game franchises like Pokemon, Mario, Sonic, Kingdom Hearts and Zelda to name a few either together or individually. It is one of our major bonding points.

This was pretty much me and my sister in the late 90’s to early 00’s along with the sleeping father in the background too haha. 🙂

But growing up into my teenage years, I was able to full dive into the world of gaming and find myself getting lost in gaming for days/weeks/months/years on end. I think it was towards the end of my college years in 2010 when I started to move away from gaming and started getting more interested in films, this was mainly due to my only consoles being my Wii, PS2 and DS, so I was limited for choice when it came to new and varied games. But it wasn’t until late 2011 when there was a resurgence and again in 2013 when my gaming fire was relit. By 2014 I was back to being the gaming madman that I remembered from my youth and it was a gorgeous feeling. Going to uni definitely helped as it reminded me why I loved video games and how it really is the best thing for get together or solo activities. But what’s become clearer to me in recent years is that gaming experiences doesn’t end with one game, you need to have more. I mean sure you could play a really good game and you play it anywhere from a few days to a few years, but, once it is over you know you need to find the next best thing, whether it is the same genre or a different one. I’ve always had more than one game on the go, sometimes even leaving a game to play a new one, but the point is that I’m never locked into one game, I’m constantly looking for new experiences and that’s half the fun of gaming; find something new and becoming obsessed all over again. I even buy games when they’re on sale just because they’re games that I like or could want in the future.

Now I just want to talk about some of the games and franchises that have made me feel that insatiable need to play and find similar experiences:

Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II

In the summer of 2004 my friend lent me this game for the Gamecube and it left the biggest impression on me. PSO Ep  1 & 2 is one of those kind of games that hooks you and never let’s go. Once you get into the game mechanics you want to level grind, find better items, beat more enemies and just see how far you can get. Make no mistake the game is not easy and you’ll get beat a lot if you’re unprepared, however, even in defeat you jump back in because you want to do better and get stronger. This is one of the best RPG’s I’ve played as the combat is real-time, challenging and best experienced with others. I lost weeks of my life to this game and I am not ashamed, that was addiction.

Sonic Generations

I’ve always loved playing Sonic games especially the games on the Mega Drive and the Adventure re-releases on the Gamecube, but it wasn’t until Generations came out in 2011 that I found that I’m still just as obsessed with Sonic games as I was as a child. Generations was the best of both worlds; the classic gameplay from the 90’s mixed with the modern speed-based gameplay from more recent games like Rush, Unleashed and Colours. I bled through the demo, bled through main game in a few hours and played so many of the stages on repeat because I loved the music, gameplay and nostalgia.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

If you’re a regular on this blog then you would have seen my recent post on Skyward Sword, but for those who didn’t read it to put it bluntly, I really like this game. Sure it is not the best Zelda game when it comes to the difficulty, side quests and introduction to the game mechanics at the start of the game, at the same time the game was a very refreshing take on the series with motion-based combat, a different approach on dungeons and a more lively and character-based story. I think the game is charming, fun and interesting. The main things that keeps my coming back to the game is the combat, inventive boss battles, character interactions, item crafting and the presentation. I have spent an absurd amount of time just listening to the music, riding on the Loftwing and exploring the different locations below and above the clouds for treasure chests, that stuff is super addictive.

Terraria

Before Terraria, I’d played a few games on Steam like Microsoft Flight, Super Crate Boy and Fieldrunners, but this game was the first to change my opinion on games that could be fun on PC for me personally. This game is like the 2D equivalent of Minecraft, but for me it was way more interesting for me. What I like about the game is the crafting, exploring and fighting, it is simple and yet so gratifying, plus even you really get into the game then you can get lost in it for hours and that’s happened to me on many occasions.

Pokemon series (Pokemon X & Y)

It wasn’t until I started playing Pokemon X upon its release that I realised how closely I’ve been associated with this series since childhood. I spent the majority of my childhood and teenage years with the Pokemon series on my Game Boy Pocket, Colour and Advance. I mainly have love for the first two generations mainly because that was when the series was still new, special and crazy popular, and when you’re young, Pokemon just seemed so much more fun. Pokemon X brought me back to my childhood and gave me that same sense of discovery, mystery and fun that I felt was missing from previous entires. The graphics and music was incredible, the online features were awesome, the new region was fun and the game mechanics had changed just enough so that there was new things to experience for veteran characters. I wasted so much time listening to music and trading random Pokemon with people online, it was great while the fun lasted.

Super Smash Bros. series (3DS & Wii U games)

Then we have the Smash Bros. series, oh how I love it. Since the first game on N64, the SSB series has become more and more dense, inventive, fun and addictive. I have to say that the peak of my SSB obsession was with Melee due to the fact that I played it for so many years before the release of Brawl and still went back to it because of the faster and more chaotic gameplay. But with the release of SSB for the 3DS it felt like I was getting back to basics with the game, having fun and beating up characters with stylish attacks. Playing Smash on the go was something I wasn’t sure that I would love but I honestly couldn’t get enough and the Wii U version is no exception. With the HD graphics and 8-player fights, stage builder and additional music, I find myself getting lost in this madness.

Fire Emblem: Awakening

Now we move onto my most recent obsession. I first played this game in the early part of 2014 and I was addicted. Not since Pokemon X had I felt such a rush and a need to play a game nearly all of the time. I never played any FE games prior to this but since there was so much hype behind it I decided to give it a try and I can say that the hype was to be believed. This is one of the best games I have ever gotten into thanks to the game mechanics, leveling up, various weapons, character relationships and job classes. I spent 47 hours on my first playthrough, but then I had to get rid of it. However a few months ago I bought the game and fell in love with it all over again, my current playtime is around 54 hours. This game is the main reason I turn on my 3DS these days as I love to come back to the game mess around fighting the Risen or Streetpass players.

To conclude video games, they have become my jam again and while I still love my films and going to the cinema, I have really gotten back to gaming and am not satisfied with having one good experience. I need more. I’m constantly on the hunt for more games that will feed my obsession/addiction and I love it. Well that’s another blog post done, thanks for reading and I’ll catch ya later!

 

My Top 4 Characters For Super Smash Bros. 4!

Howdy ladies and gents, in the last Nintendo Direct, there was an announcement that the public could now submit pitches for characters to be included in the current iteration of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS. Naturally this sent the fans into a happy frenzy, and while there have been numerous suggestions, some good (Shovel Knight) and some unrealistic (Goku), I just thought I would give my top 4 suggestions for characters who should be added to the game. Now bare in mind this is just my opinion, but I do believe that these characters above all others should be considered.

So without further ado let’s do it!

Bomberman

Even though it was very hard for me to think of any specific characters that I considered to be “essential” to this new Smash Bros. game, at the same time I had to think of someone unique, fun, familiar with Nintendo and part of an older franchise, and Bomberman came to mind almost immediately. In fact he was the first character for me to suggest online and this is what I wrote in the 500-character description box:

Even though he primarily uses bombs, it would make for an interesting ranged character. His bombs could be thrown, planted, timed or stuck on enemies. If you look at games like Bomberman Hero, 64, Generations and Jetters, the character uses different types of bombs, abilities and aid-based characters (charaboms) to help him advance.

Back in the 1990’s/early 2000’s he was a fairly popular character with a substantial fan base and I feel like if he was included in this game it would give him some more notoriety and help the franchise return to the public eye (like what happened with Mega Man).

I stick by those words 100%, the Bomberman series is one that I really liked as a child and still enjoyed playing the games today. I feel gutted for old Bomberman, he hasn’t had a new game in years and has been forgotten by time for sure. But Smash Bros is the perfect place to resurrect the character and the game series. If characters like Duck Hunt Duo can get a place in the game, then surely someone cooler like Bomberman deserves a chance.

Rayman

This was actually my first choice before Bomberman. In a way it is a no-brainer. Rayman is a very popular character these days, he’s been around for a long time and he’s been associated with Nintendo through their games too. Then add on top of that he was a made into a fake DLC character online a little while ago and got a model from Ubisoft to turn the character into a trophy in SSB4. It seems like fans and fate what this to happen. And if you look at Rayman as a character traditionally and more recently he has moveset that is just perfect for Smash Bros., I just want it to happen so much.

Princess Daisy

Poor Princess Daisy, since Melee, some fans had hoped that she would make an appearance as a playable character, but unfortunately she was skipped in Brawl and then in SSB4 Princess Rosalina, a character who’s been in the Mario universe a much shorter time than Daisy, found her way in. And while it understandable why Rosalina would be a playable character over Daisy, it is a bit ridiculous that Daisy has been ignored for so long. While Daisy isn’t a significant character in the main Mario games, she does have a fan base and has been in every spin-off game since Mario Tennis on N64. And while she doesn’t really have much significance besides being a playable character in spin-off games, I feel like her tomboy-ish attitude could influence a less girly and more aggressive moveset. Plus, if clone characters like Falco, Lucina, Wolf, Lucas and Dr. Mario can exist, then room can be made for her.

Isaac

This character seems like another that is just crying to be done. I’ve seen in a lot of comment sections and numerous forums that people want Isaac from Golden Sun in SSB4 and I’d be inclined to agree. I liked him as an assist trophy in Brawl, but I believe that as a character with his abilities in the Golden Sun games, that he could be great and would make for a very versatile character. I feel like Isaac would left himself well to Robin’s play style where it would be a combination of magic and physical attacks, but make it a little more unique.

So there are my suggestions. Sure I would like to see Solid Snake come back or get to see characters like Proto Man, Zero, Viewtiful Joe and Midna make an appearance as new characters, however I know my suggestions don’t mean nothing until it is made official. But I hope that at least one of my choices makes the cut.

So what did you think of my choices? Also what characters would you like to see in the new game? Please be sure to leave your thoughts in comments below. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

It’s Birthday Time Once Again, Woo!

Howdy people of the internet, today I come back to the internet on a special day, my birthday! This is a random post just to talk about me and my transcendence of age once more.

Even though I’m not overly enthusiastic, in my perfect world I would like this to happen to me right now:

So today I turn 25, the next biggest milestone age in my life. At this age most people would be going off on holiday or going out to party or taking a day trip somewhere in the country. But not me. This year things are very different, my living and financial situation is totally random. I’m taking it slow this year. Even though I would like to make a big deal of my age, at the same time I’m not that fussed. I love birthdays, but at the same time if nothing happens on the specified day then I’ll be content with doing nothing. I believe it was on either my 20th birthday where I spent the day alone in my house listening to music and rolling around on the carpet in my living room, yeah I can amuse myself quite easily. On my 21st birthday, my last important milestone, I spent it at work in college, though I did have a radio take over playing a lot of my favourite music for around 3-5 hours. The last three years have been great as they were pretty much devoted to crazy house parties that took place in Sheffield during my time at university. Those were the best of times as I had never felt so much joy, love and chaos at once.

This year I wasn’t meant to have met up with some friends and have a quiet hang session in Milton Keynes, but since I’m short for cash at the moment I’ve called it off.

So today, instead of going outside I’ve had a chilled session inside. I was meant to watch several films, but in the end I only watched one and the one I decided to rewatch was Inception, as it is one of my all-time favourite films, I just had to check it out again. And man, that film, still gives me the same level of satisfaction each time, the weird thing is, I’ve seen the film so many times, I understand it, however each time I see it I pick up on new minor details but then it presents me with some more questions when someone questions something in the film and then it confuses me. Outside of that I’ve been playing Fire Emblem: Awakening and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, I’ve been having a killer time, getting lost in the chaos of battle and feeling the satisfaction of kicking computer ass. 🙂 And to end the night I’ll be watching the finale of The Walking Dead on TV which will be a nice way to finish the day. 🙂 As for presents I haven’t gotten much (probably because I’m too old for them haha), besides cards from my mum, sister and grandparents abroad, the main present I got was from my brilliant friend Craig (from uni) who got me Sonic Generations on Steam and that’s just made me so jolly because he knows how much I love me some crazy Sonic fun.

In conclusion birthday come and go, but I do like the love and attention that I get from people because it means that people still appreciate your existence. I’ve had birthday blogs for 2012, 2013 and 2014 and this is just another one to add to the blogging collection. At this point in time I’m partly backlogged in Facebook birthday comments, so I’m sorting through those and waiting for my fast food to arrive haha. Thanks for reading and I’ll see ya later peeps, and I’ll catch ya later! 😛

 

The Connections We Make Through Gaming

Howdy ladies and gents, how you been doing? So with my blog post about solo gaming, I just wanted to make another video game post and see if I could start up any more discussions, and the subject matter today is making friends through gaming basically.

So I decided to talk about this specific subject after watching Video Games: The Movie, a documentary about the history, technology and culture of the games industry. And while it skipped over a HECK of a lot of details when it came to the 90’s, Sega’s involvement in the games industry, the 8th generation of consoles, PC gaming and some of the failed gaming experiments, at the same time it did well to highlight some of the major accomplishments, failures and entertaining aspects of the industry. The one thing that it got me thinking about is the culture, how’s it changed and the bonds people make through gaming.

Now I’ve not been on this planet that long to see the crazy highs and lows of the video game industry, however, I feel like I grew up at a really great point in time. I got to experience the last moments of 16-bit gaming, got to transition into 3D games and got to experience the best days of offline gaming without heavy impact of the internet. You see I remember a time when gaming used to be shunned, if you played games you were a nerd or were considered unsociable or uncool. However these days everyone is doing it, obviously loads of things have changed since the 90’s and 80’s, but it is interesting to how people come together to game, whether it is online, offline, at conventions or tournaments. I feel like video games, more so than other forms of media, has a gravitational pull that is too strong to ignore. And it is just insane to see how many people check out gaming-based events and become friends, events like Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Pax East, Games Developers Conference, Tokyo Games Show, Evolution Championship Series (Evo) or tournaments for Counter-Strike and Starcraft, it’s like gaming events as big as the Grammy’s or Academy Awards.

As a gamer from the 90’s I can say that some of my best friends I have made through gaming or have had play games with me for extensive periods of time. For me playing games through local multiplayer has been some of the best gaming experiences of my life. I think things really came to high playing on the Nintendo 64, on that console I spent many days playing the FPS titles GoldenEye and Perfect Dark, both titles showed just how much of a crazy person I could be with rocket launchers and proxy mines. Then there’s the first three Mario Party games caused of the best and worst experiences with my friends (we pretty much broke up all the time when shit hit the fan). And obviously there is the first Super Smash Bros. which was some of the favourite four-player action in my childhood that wasn’t related to racing or shooting games. But when it comes to the good standard multiplayer action, the Mario Kart series is where life begins and ends. Whether it was in school, college or university, that racing series has always found a way to be part of local gaming experience. I played with friends, family and people I didn’t even know, it seems to be universally something that everyone can get down with and when you’re in a room together, things can get heated, electrify and crazy. Other games I’ve played with people and had killer times with is Halo 1-3, Call of Duty: World at War, Black Ops and Modern Warfare 2 and Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2.

Another aspect of gaming that I love is the fact that you can find friends is so many unexpected ways. Like when I’ve gone to conventions and had sessions with people I didn’t know or when I came to uni and found out one of the guys in my accommodation was a hardcore gamer (heaven!) or when joined a video game society at uni and found all of these beautiful people who were just as obsessed as I was. Best times ever. The only way I haven’t found friends through gaming is online, I know it has been done before, but I’ve not really played with unknown people that much online to point where we were friends, guess I wasn’t playing the right games lol. Going back to Video Games: The Movie, it just reminded me of how unifying gaming can be with people becoming friends online or getting married thanks to video games, it just makes me think of how beautiful this form of entertainment is and how some people will never understand the fun that comes from it.

So to conclude, gaming, it a great medium for gaming. Most people that I have met are just nuts about games and they can recognise their kind straight away and like to be in each others company. In the early days some gamers stuck together just because they could only find solace with their own kind, but times have changed and most people these days just like being around people who understand them. From an outsiders point of view us gamers can be a simple bunch of people, but there is so much more to us than that. Some are fairly complex, we can shy, a bit weird or have learning difficulties, so playing games and being around gamers can be the only way we can function. And thanks to groups, tournaments, conventions and your basic local and online multiplayer games, people have and will continue to find connections through gaming.

So now things move to you, have you found friends through video games and if so was it online or offline? Also what do you think of video game culture with tournaments, conventions or marriages? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Until next time peace out people! 😀

 

Changing Things Up On This Blog…

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to another blog post from your friendly internet blogger, the Hypersonic55. So yeah as you may have seen, in recent times I haven’t reviewed that many films or done nearly as much content as before and there is a reason for that, so in this post I’m going to explain the lack of posts and the changes that will happen to this blog effective immediately.

Film Reviews

As some of you UK film-goers know, there are a quite a few films that have come out in the last 4-6 weeks that I haven’t talked about on this blog. Currently films like Fury, The Book of Life, Nightcrawler, Horns and a few others that I have yet to see. And the main reasons for that is the following: 1) I haven’t had the time: at one point I did work in a warehouse and it really did eat away at my time. 2) I just didn’t haven’t the energy: Because of the long hours at work, it would leave me pretty much dead (mentally and my body wasn’t much better). So then I wouldn’t want to leave the house and would skip days on seeing certain films. 3) There’s not really much I want to see: Besides Gone Girl and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, there has hardly been anything that I’ve wanted to see in the cinema. Most of my anticipated films got covered in the summer, now everything pales in comparison besides my interest in Interstellar and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

It may be that I end up only reviewing these films (the ones above) only between now and the end of the year because they feel like the only ones that are a mandatory watch.

But the main reason I’m not watching too many films is because my interest isn’t really there for them any more. Something I released back in July during the coverage of E3 is that I still have a massive love for video games. Before films, video games were my first love and while my interest in them slowed down in 2010, it never truly left, it was just around that time when my love for film and going to the cinema really started to take off and take over. And since getting Super Smash Bros. on my 3DS I’ve been super happy and not really fussed about films at all and with the release of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, I don’t think it would matter if I missed anything in the cinema between now and the end of the year.

This is all I really care about, I have the 3DS version already and even though I may not even get the Wii U version this year, that’s all I could really want in my life right now.

That being said, I will still do film reviews, but only for major and important films, others may get mini reviews or will be compiled into a mini review collection post.

Other Stuff

As for everything else I do on this blog, I have a few things that need to be posted like:

• My review for Super Smash Bros. 3DS
• Film trailer reviews
• Mini TV reviews
• Some music reviews for songs and albums

In all honesty these days I am always physically exhausted, I have no energy to do anything except lazing around the house watching TV and playing video games (like the good old days lol), but I know that’s not the best way to operate so hopefully things will change with the lead up to Christmas. Okay, well that’s me done for now. Until the next blog post, later people. 🙂

 

My Impressions On Super Smash Bros. 3DS Demo

Howdy ladies and gents, today I’m gonna do something a little different when it comes to my blog posts as I am going to give you my impressions on the demo for Super Smash Bros. 3DS. Now wouldn’t usually do a review for a demo of a game, but this game in particular is pretty much one of the biggest games of 2014 especially for Nintendo fans and after several lucky punks got the demo early, I thought I would just give my thoughts.

Gameplay

When it comes to the gameplay, it is just the same as ever, anyone who has played a game in this series will be able to jump right in and play. When it comes to the demo you can only play 2-minute matches with 1-3 other CPU’s at level 1-9 and you’re limited to the Battlefield stage (with the option to play it normally or without platforms). As for characters, veterans Mario, Link and Pikachu return, while Villager and Mega Man join the fray as the newcomers. The old characters are pretty much the same (especially Mario), but there are subtle changes to Link and Pikachu’s movesets where some of their attacks have changed, either hitting harder, changing in range or having slightly different hitboxes than before. As for Villager, that guy is crazy. He’s good for close range combat and all of his moves are based off of the activities and items from the Animal Crossing series and to see him pulling weeds to swinging umbrellas to dropping bowling balls is a delight and his taunts are just the best thing ever. And then there’s Mega Man, his move set is more long distance and unconventional, all of his moves are based on the robot masters powers from Mega Man 2 and 3 (I believe) and they work better from a distance, that’s not to say that Mega Man doesn’t do well in close combat, it is just because he doesn’t have any strong A attacks or powerful special attacks. That being said, when you get the hang of him, he’s hella fun to play as.

Controls

For the most part the controls are fine as the 3DS button layout is very similar to that of a GameCube controller (the standard controller for a SSB game), the only thing that is missing is a C-stick. But even without that little convenience, the game controls well with your A and B buttons being used for standard and special attacks, Y and X are the jump buttons, R being your shield and L being a grab button. The 3DS Slider works for the most part, however, it isn’t as precise as your classic control stick and sometimes the Slider misreads a tap for a dash movement or an upward smash for a jump and it can mess with your flow a bit. And while the button layout is great, any veteran of this series may find that buttons are a bit too close together as well, but maybe that’s just me.

Presentation

One thing that SSB doesn’t skimp on is the presentation which is bloody impressive. Visually the game is incredible and the screenshots online do not do the game justice at all. While this is not the HD glory that is the Wii U version, the 3DS version sports a great cel-shaded look and the level of detail in the animation, character models, backgrounds and foregrounds is nothing short of incredible. In addition to that the game runs very smoothly at 60fps and the 3D in the game is great too with a nice level of depth. The only issues I found was when certain assist trophies, Pokemon or items would be used, there was a noticeable amount of lag and I think that’s mainly due to those items being limited to 30fps. But other than that snag everything works fine.

Summary

Pros

• Gameplay remains unchained for the most part
• The speed of battle is better than
• The new items and assist trophies are awesome
• Mega Man and Villager are great new additions
• Visual and audio presentation is excellent

Cons

• Some changes to veteran character moves feels off
• Hit boxes feel a bit off for certain attack
• The 3DS Slider misreads movements
• Button layout feels a bit cramped

In conclusion, while it definitely feels different Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS feels great and while I am still adjusting to the subtle changes to the basic game system, overall it looks awesome, sounds great and plays wonderfully. I’m still getting to grips with this game, but if this a taste of what’s to come with the Wii U version then I cannot wait at all! I really want it to be October 3rd so I can play the full version with all the other characters, stages and play online with other gamers.

 

E3 2014 Is Over… Boo! Here’s My Overall Highlights

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another blog post from me, Hypersonic55. Ah, woe is me. E3 2014 has been over for two days now and there is an emptiness in my soul that seriously can’t be filled right now. It sounds sad, but honestly when you spend the best part of four days sitting around with you best friend checking out all the awesome game announcements and then it all comes to an end, it really does feel like the end of a crazy roller coaster ride that you never wanted to end. After all the major games happenings had taken place on Thursday this week, me and my housemate really felt like there was nothing left for us to do except wait for E3 to happen again next year. Yeah THAT good of an event, well at least for games it is.

So with all this in mind, this is my overview of my favourite parts of E3 this year.

The Press Conferences

When it comes to the press conferences I think all of the major companies did very well, there was a lot to take in and appreciate and while it wasn’t all perfect and some companies did better than others, I can safely say that all of them gave gamers stuff to be excited about. As for who I thought won, well that’s a bit of a controversial one. While I liked the stuff that came from EA, Microsoft and especially Ubisoft because of their delightful, funny and beautiful presenter, Aisha Tyler, none of them held a candle to what Sony and Nintendo busted out.

Out of the press conferences I believe that Sony killed it. Sure they got bogged down with all the talk of this development for TV shows and boring stuff like that, but for me they had some of the best reveals of E3 even if not all of the games were their exclusives. But for most people, Nintendo were the clear winner and it is hard to argue with that. Their online presentation was one of precision, information and all round entertainment. Teaming up with Robot Chicken was incredible because it allowed Nintendo to have fun, joke around with their own shortcomings and provide something that was unlike what we have seen from them before. While I don’t believe that their digital event was enough to knock the wind out of me, I did love what they released to the public. But I think the reason they should be allowed to win is because of the Reggie vs. Iwata fight for the Smash Bros. Mii reveal, that alone is one of the best things ever in life. FACT.

Absolutely badman.

Favourite Games of E3

Now I’m going to talk about the games that stood out for me the most in order of interest.

Mortal Kombat X

I think it is safe to say that this was my favourite game from E3. I’ve played Mortal Kombat 9 and ever though I can’t play it very well, I loved it. But this new game looks SO good that it is impossible to ignore. The visual quality of this game is on a level so much higher than before. The character models and environments have received insane new levels of detail and intricate levels of animation. But it is the gameplay that really gets me super hyped, the faster combat, new moves, brutal new X-ray moves and the filthy new fatalities are on a level so much more hardcore than before. I need this game in my life now, end of.

No Man’s Sky

The core concept of this game looks like there is an endless amount of possibilities available for exploration and general fun if the execution is done well. When this game was revealed at E3 I literally freaked out at the beautiful worlds on the planet surfaces, but then was shocked at how seamless it was to jump in a ship fly out into space and then go off to another planet… With No Loading. Give me this game. I want it now.

The Legend of Zelda

This new Zelda game just has me in a bit of frenzy right now. The first time I saw the in-game graphics for the game I blew up! The game looks GORGEOUS! It’s like Hyrule Field from Ocarina of Time except on a Skyrim kind of level of size and scale, realised in HD and it looks bloody awesome. All the talk about taking the game back to the first Zelda game and making it all about exploration with no hand-holding just gets me giddy. It really seems like this could be the finest Zelda game ever if Nintendo are willing to break conventions and try something new and fresh while retaining the core elements that make a Zelda game good, just follow the path of A Link Between Worlds and I’ll be all over this game.

Super Smash Bros.

To be honest I wasn’t expecting to be too much more information to be released for this game beyond a release date and some playable demos. Oh how foolish I was. Not only did I get that, but there was the Smash Bros. tournament, a list of modes shown of, the new Amiibo figures that would be compatible with this game, but there was the announcement for 3 new characters which included the Mii fighters and Palutena from Kid Icarus, but the biggest news to happen related to Smash Bros was the announcement of Pac-Man. I think my world pretty much blew up after that news went viral. After I saw that trailer I knew that Nintendo had me, now and forever, they’re the company that keep giving. I love you Masahiro Sakurai! Give me the game now! 😀

Batman Arkham Knight

I don’t know how Rocksteady do it, but they continue to outdo themselves with each entry in this Batman series of games. This game looks beautiful, the visual style is dark and shiny, with amazing levels of detail in the art and animation. But the main thing is the gameplay and man it looks better than ever, Batman still moves the same as ever with his gliding, stealth movement and combat. But the addition of the Batmobile makes things so much cooler with the driving and weapons too. I can’t wait for this game.

Assassin’s Creed Unity

Ubisoft are crazy, they just up the ante in their games and know how to do it properly. Each new entry in the Assassin’s Creed series just gets more and more interesting with new types of gameplay and game mechanics that just make the previous entry look like yesterday’s news. The new graphics are super cool and the amount of things that the developers can make happen on-screen at one time is nothing short of amazing. But it is that gameplay that really gets me excited, to see the attacks and parkour on display is cool and to know that you can do co-op in story mode just makes me so happy.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

I know that this game only has a trailer out at the moment and there is no gameplay to show off at the moment, but the trailer alone gets me hyped for the next entry in this new set of Tomb Raider games. The trailer set a very specific tone for this new game where it feels darker, twisted and more melancholy than before with a dramatic and emotional center. I want to know what’s happened to Lara Croft since the last game, I can’t wait.

Far Cry 4

I have never played a Far Cry game before and have only paid attention to series from a distance, but this game looks cool and I want to play it. The graphics are insane and the gameplay looks very interesting and to hear there’s co-op play added just gives me and my mates an excuse to play this together at some point in the future.

Little Big Planet 3

I never played the first Little Big Planet but I enjoyed the hell out of the second game in the series. The best part was all the user generates levels as you could spend hours messing around on them and trying out all of their themes and puzzles. This new game looks graphically insane and the inclusion of new characters seems to be great from what I’ve seen so far, I just can’t wait to use my new favourite Toggle. He’s a don! 😀

Star Wars Battlefront

While I’ve never played been a massive fan of the Battlefront series, I remember playing Battlefront 2 and liked what I played and I was curious to see what a new game would look like on today’s technology. And even though we only got to see the game in the early stages of development, it looks INSANELY GOOD! I am just excited for how they will take the ideas and gameplay from the past and improve upon it with all of the cool multiplayer options and room for cool solo and co-op campaigns too.

Mirror’s Edge 2

I’m liking the way this game is looking. Like the upcoming Battlefront game it is still in the early stages of development, however if this is any indication as to what will happen in the final version oft he game then things will be very interesting for Faith in this sequel. The conceptual footage looks so fluid in its animation for the parkour movements and hand-to-hand combat segments too, I cannot wait to see how this game turns out.

Hyrule Warriors

This game does look a lot better than it did last year and so far is surpassing any expectations I’ve had of the game before seeing it at E3. The new characters announced like Zelda and Midna have me all giddy and the attacks that they have are totally crazy and very versatile. What I truly love is the amount of fan service there is for fans of the Zelda series as it is littered with references all over the place. The only thing that worries me is the fact that this is style a Dynasty Warriors style of game and I don’t want to play it for a short time and get bored like the DW games I’ve played in the past. But I guess we’ll see when the game drops in September.

Sunset Overdrive

This was a game that genuinely surprised me, it just looks like a lot of fun and the kinetic flow of movement mixed in the with the crazy choice of weaponry and choices of enemies makes this game very intriguing to me. The style and presentation are great and humorous but also has gameplay interesting and cool enough to match too and that doesn’t happen too often.

So what did you think of E3 this year and what games are you most looking forward to in the future? Be sure to comment below and let me know! 😀

 

How I Feel In Pictures #3

Good day to you ladies and gents and welcome to the 3rd edition of How I Feel In Pictures. In these posts I’ll upload a piece of art that I’ve drawn that basically represents how I feel at that current point in time. Its been bloody ages since the last time I did one of these posts, but I have had a lot of stuff to do and not much time to draw. But today I had a moment of inspiration and I got sketching.

So here’s my latest picture:

So yeah for those uninformed, this is Mario, Mega Man, Sonic and Pac-Man of the video game franchises Super Mario, Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog and Pac-Man.

Recently Nintendo did something amazing during this year’s E3 and revealed that gaming icon, Pac-Man, would be joining Super Smash Bros. on Wii U and 3DS. Loads of people hoped it would happen, many said it would happen and there were rumours aplenty suggesting he would eventually make it into the game, but to see it obviously confirmed from Nintendo just sent the gaming community into a frenzy. Smash Bros. was already gonna be one of the biggest games of the year and those people at Nintendo just keep finding ways to make the game better. For me it is just insane to see these four titans of gaming in one place, never would I have thought this would have happened when I saw a kid in the 90’s. Seems like Nintendo knows its fan base and knows how to treat these 3rd party characters better than the companies that own them. 😛

Anyways I knew once this became news I had to draw something. While the picture doesn’t look as badass as I had pictured it in my head, at the same time it looks better than I expected. I’ve never drawn Pac-Man or Mega Man before, so I’m happy with the way they turned out, especially Mega Man. Drawing this was actually pretty hard as I ended up redrawing the poses for Mario, Sonic and Mega Man a few types over, especially Mega Man, he was bloody hard to do properly.

In conclusion I’m in a good place right now, Smash Bros. has me in a good groove and I like the feeling haha. This will hopefully be the start of several picture dedicated to these icons because I’m in too good a mood about Pac-Man’s inclusion in Smash Bros. 4 to not draw more.