Things I Like and Don’t Like! :D

I have been writing blog post, after blog post and I never had the chance to tell much about myself! I guess if you count my About the Author page, but that doesn’t tell too much about me. So, I have decided to take a break from my normal blog posts and come up with a list of my likes and dislikes! I put my top 10 of each in bold, caps and underline, not in any particular order. It’s really hard to make a top 10, because some of my likes and dislikes are sillier than others, but I tried!(:

Likes

• Pizza, bacon, bacon pizza(:, PENGUINS, ladybugs, HEY ARNOLD, spaghetti, helping other people, Rob and Big, anything blue, Lupe Fiasco, Daffy Duck, late night snacks, CHRISTMAS!, bubble gum, cartoons, glasses, ketchup, looking at stars, Mario and Luigi, acoustic guitars, FAMILY & FRIENDS, glow in the dark stickers, SNOW, chap stick (more of an addiction), shyness, sleep, big cities, Kit-Kats, loud music (at times), writing, arcades, air conditioners, MAKING PEOPLE SMILE, late night talk shows, libraries, Yoshi, Nintendo, Monsters Inc. (Mike, Sulley, Boo, I know too much about this movie, I swear :P), songs with meaning, VIDEO GAMES, dollar stores, Owl City, lol’s, dorks, geeks, nerds, pumpkin flavored things, wheat thins, SPORTS, open roads, comics, fantasy sports, politeness, skylines, Ne-Yo, windy days, the smell of new shoes xD, sweatpants, Elf (the movie), caramel, chop sticks, country accents, Space Jam, eBay, blue eyes, late night car trips, action figures, super heroes, oceans, spaghetti, ninja turtles, pillows, smiley faces: some of those guys are over there —> (: :D :P :O xD, ROLLIE-POLLIE-OLLIE BUGS, nighttime, rain, the New York Jets, city lights, lazy Sundays, COTTON CANDY ANYTHING, Italian ice, Mountain Dew Code Red

Dislikes

• BUMBLEBEES (I pretty much run away when I see one :/ I really don’t like them), peanuts, WAR, tomatoes, super hot days, fame, money, NEEDLES :O, heights, SELF-CENTERED PEOPLE, Game Stop, doctors offices, cucumbers, caves, BRIDGES, spicy food, getting older, people who are sad, yelling, having too much free time, spiders /:, mornings, stop signs, CURSING,  when my mom cleans my room, the day after Christmas .__., perfection, breakfast, piercings, airplanes, popular trends,  home work, red lights, train tracks, my eyes are super sensitive, the last gummy bear in a pack, contacts, fashion, Tom Brady, loud people, the need for attention, mirrors, not having gas in my car, overly fuzzy things, sunburn, busy Mondays, time, BEING SICK, liars, mad and sad smiley faces >:/ :(, fairy tale endings that never happen, social media, girls that wear makeup, celebrities, tigers, lions and bears, oh my D: people who take easy ways out, BEING SELF CONSCIOUS, roller coasters, things that are too bright, STEREOTYPES, walking in the street at nighttime, really scary movies, I’M WAY TOO NICE TO PEOPLE,  promises, relying on someone else, ladders, pollen

There you go! A bunch of amazing things about me. Some of which your probably like, what the heck o.O, Oh well, that’s me! I’m probably going to update this throughout life, I am sure I will always find something new to add-on here! :D

Super Powers, I Want One!

Wouldn’t life be so much better if you had super powers?

I mean come on, the ability to fly, shoot lasers from your eyes or run at the speed of light would be pretty epic. What if one day you had the ability to chose one super power that you could have for the rest of your life?

So you wake up and check your mail for your daily bills and you see this mysterious letter. This is not any ordinary letter, it is in a blue envelope and is stamped with a yellow S-shaped logo. You look at it from all angles just to make sure it’s safe and finally get the courage to open this mysterious letter. Reading through the letter, you can’t believe what you have just read. It was from Superman himself and he has selected you to be his new sidekick. He said that you could have one super power of your choice, any one you could think of.  He also said that he is flying over to your house tomorrow to pick you up!

What are the chances that both of the them happen to use their laser beams at the same time. Gosh!

Here it is, the ultimate decision. You thought choosing what to eat for breakfast was a tough decision, but how about this one. One super power that you can have for the rest of your life. If it was me I would have to sit down and think about this one.

Let’s start with flying, this one would be a popular choice of many. It would be cool, but there are already other things that fly, like planes and birds. I fear that I would hit into a bird on my way to beat down some evil villain. Next on my list would be laser beams, the kind that Cyclops from X-Men has. Laser beams are pretty awesome and would definitely be useful if you would have to fight some evil villains. What if an evil villain had non-breakable metal suit? Never thought of that did you, exactly. I don’t think that would be the best choice.

I think I have it. The ultimate super power of all-time and it is… wait for it… wait for it… invisibility! That has to be the winner, right? You could walk through walls, sneak behind villains and attack them or even sneak into the White House to see what the president really does on a day-to-day basis. Invisibility would definitely be my choice. You could even go to the super market, switch on the invisibility mode, take the candy bar you wanted and head on out. Invisibility would not only help against fighting villains, but it would also help you in many other ways as well.

When it comes down to it and the choice of any super power to choose for life, give me my invisibility!

No Love for the Sidekick

Why is it that whenever there is a heroic accomplishment by a group of people one gets remembered and the other doesn’t? It has happened multiple times over hundreds of years and no one has said anything. I am going to take a stand and announce that the sidekick never gets enough credit. Yup I said it, someone had to do it. The little guy never gets any of the fame or the respect compared to the main protagonist of any book, movie, game or anything!

Take someone like Michael Jordan, everyone knows who he is. People who don’t even watch the sport of basketball know who the best basketball player of all time is and that is Michael Jordan. What about his right hand men Scottie Pippin and Dennis Rodman? If you say those names to the average person they would say, who the heck is that? Sure, Jordan was the arguably the greatest of all time, but if he didn’t have Pippin and Rodman, he would have not been the same legendary player without them.

Jordan just has to be in the middle! Why can’t Pippin or Rodman be in the middle?

How about Luigi from Mario, he is always there for Mario every step of the way, but all he gets is a pat on the back while Mario gets the princess and all of the attention. How about Batman and Robin? Batman gets his own movies and stardom while Robin just sits back being the nice guy who gets none of that spotlight. The list can go on and on, I am talking lists and lists of duos where one always outshines the other.

Every music band has a main singer, drummer and a guitarist. Guess who gets all of the credit, fame and attention from all of the fans? You named it, the lead singer of course. What fan would brag about that them getting an autograph from the drummer or the back up guitarist, not many. The drummer and the guitarist are the ones who work the hardest and are probably the most talented. Yet the main singer gets all of the credit because they in the front and center of the stage.

Ever hear of the famous phrase it takes two to tango? I am sure you have, it pretty much means that without one there would not be the other. Say a pitcher throws a perfect game in baseball, that means that he doesn’t allow a single hit or walk the whole entire game. The only person who ever gets credit for the perfect game is the pitcher, but what about the eight other players on the field? The catcher is the one who calls what pitch the pitcher throws and there are also seven fielders who have to make sure they do their part and field any ball put into play, so that the pitcher could achieve a perfect game.

It is time that Robin, Luigi, Scottie Pippin, Dennis Rodman, all the other sidekicks and back ups take a stand. They need to stand up and say, hey you know that Michael Jordan guy? He was good and all, but without me he wouldn’t be the star he is today. Luigi needs to stop helping Mario all of the time and Robin needs to get his own movie, Robin the Green Knight. Let’s make it happen!

Power to the Payers

It’s release day! The day that you have been waiting for. The game that will change your life forever comes out today. I know that feeling, the same feeling you get as a kid when you see all of the presents under the Christmas tree. Today is your day and nothing can go wrong. The only thing that you want to do is get your game and go play!

You finally arrive at your local Game Stop, walk to the register and ask for your game. All of the signs are on the door promoting the new release, posters and all. The cashier says to you, “Hey what can I do for you?” and you respond, “Obviously I want the new game that just came out! Here is my $60, now give me the game!” The cashier responds back, “Did you reserve it?” and you reply “Heck yeah, of course I paid my $5 to reserve it, give me the game!” The cashier goes to get the game from the back, before he hands it to you he says, “Do you want to pre-order this new game coming out next month? or how about sign up for our reward system that you can get points and discounts? It will save you money on this purchase and future purchases. I really recommend it.” At this point you are furious, but the cashier still has your game in his hands and wont hand it over. You just want to go home and play! Giving in, you agree to sign up for the $15 reward program and pay $5 for a future reserve of a game that you will probably never buy. You then take your game, run out of the store and run home. Time to play right?

Finally you start-up the game and sign online. You get prompted that there is a new downloadable content  pack with all of the new maps and new characters that you just have to get. This is another $20 that you just have to spend in order to get the full experience, so you just purchase the extra content. Finally, its time to play! About $100 spent on a trip to the game store.

Now I know how Sonic and Tails feel to lose all of their rings!

Between the price of the game and all of the add-ons, it is becoming a ripoff for the gamer. It is coming to a point where it is just about the money and not about the consumer. When a new game is released now, you can automatically count on their being a sequel and even a prequel. The video game company tries and to every possible penny out of a game that is released. There are rumors surfacing that there will no longer be used games for the release of the Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4. That all but insures that game companies only care about money.

When you walk into a store like a Game Stop, they pressure you into buying every possible add-on for a game. This includes a strategy guide, a custom controller for them game, custom faceplate and so on. It is insane how people pressure you whenever you walk inside of a Game Stop. Just guess who plays most of their video games? If you said young teens and kids you would be correct! It is so easy to show a kid a new shiny extra to a game so they could run to their parents and beg them for them to buy it. Going to a game store is just like trying to buy a new car. They will keep on pressuring you to buy something until you finally say no and leave.

What ever happened to the good days of gaming? Going to the store and getting a game, knowing that it will be a complete game from start to finish is a thing of the past. There are no extra characters, or maps that you need, everything is right there in the brand new game that you have just purchased. I wish I could say one day it will get better, but as new systems and games are released this problem is going to continue. Realize how much money your going to spend on a game the next time you buy one. Your probably only buying about sixty percent of the game with the other forty percent to come at a later time by spending extra money. Its just getting to a point now where its not fair for the consumer, but as Game Stop likes to say Power to the Player.

Two Lives to Live

Imagine not having only one life to live, but now you have two.

When you see a yellow box with a question mark. You have to jump and hit it, obviously!

Another day just walking through the park. All of a sudden, you find a box floating in the air with a question mark on it. Playing Mario multiple times before, you know exactly what you have to do. Of course your going to jump up and hit the block! That is exactly what you do and out comes a green mushroom. It falls to the ground, starts moving to the right and you chase after it. Finally catching up to it, you touch it and it disappears.

Days goes by, even months and you go to the doctor for your yearly checkup. He tells you that he has discovered something that has given you another life, meaning if you would happen to die you have another chance to live. All of a sudden you freak out, well obviously, it’s crazy that you have another life. Thinking to yourself, you remember the trip to the park, finally it all comes together. Mario, a yellow question mark block, a green mushroom and another life, It was a 1-up mushroom!

What would you do? Now you have another life!

Let’s lay down some rules. This extra live is exactly how it is used in Mario, if you would fall off a cliff or run into a goomba you would be dead. Well in our world if you would run into a bus, but you get the idea.

I don’t know what I would do, should I just go to the top of a mountain, jump off and see what happens? I think I would have to do something like that, right? I need to utilize this 1-up, it’s not every day you find these kind of things lying around.

On the other hand, it would pretty scary. I’m not sure if I would want to kick the bucket and come back, even if it was for only a few seconds. It would be pretty crazy, because who knows what actually happens to you in those few seconds when your gone. I know when Mario falls of the edge of a platform, he just gets right back up and continues on his journey. I’m not too sure that I would be able to get up like that and go on like nothing ever happened!

Now that I think about it, I’m not too sure that I want that 1-up. Maybe I should just stay away from yellow question mark boxes if I ever see one. They are pretty suspicious now that I think about it!

Please Not Another Call of Duty Remake

So you just got the new Call of Duty game, pretty exciting stuff. Go to your local store, grab your game, put it in your system and your ready to roll. After playing for about ten minutes a question pops into your head, is this Call of Duty 4 or Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 because honestly all of them look and feel the same.

That is the problem and that is also the solution. Let me explain a little more, as a gamer that is the problem. As the company CEO that is the solution. It is the commonly used phrase of, if it is not broken then don’t fix it. If I was the CEO of the Call of Duty franchise I would continue to do exactly what they are doing. That is releasing a Call of Duty game every year and watching the millions of dollars come on in.

A game so easy and simple even Kobe Bryant can pick up and play. As seen in the Call of Duty Black Ops commercial.

Call of Duty is a fun game don’t get me wrong. If you want to play a quick game, just hop online, shoot some enemies and then on with the rest of your day. The game play when playing Call of Duty is so simple. You chose your gun, you find your enemy and you shoot him. There is no learning curve or move set that you need to learn compared to a game like Dark Souls or Street Fighter. It makes it easy for anyone, of any age group, to just jump in and play.

When Call of Duty first came out it was fun and exciting because it was something new. As the years went on, all that was added included, a new map here, some new guns there and some progression from the past year’s storyline. To some that is all that they wanted, they wanted to keep the same formula because they were use to it, but wanted a few changes here and there. To most it got really boring and repetitive, pretty much playing the same game, but in a different time period and environment.

As a gamer, when your pay $60 for a game you want something worth your money. The new Call of Duty 25 is pretty much going to be the same game as Call of Duty 3. As a the company owner, keep producing a Call of Duty every year, if the fans continue to buy it, then why not keep making it? If your tired of the same Call of Duty over and over again the only thing to do is not buy a game. If the sales decrease then there would not be a new game every year. For now, people will keep on buying and the Call of Duty franchise will keep on producing and I honestly can’t blame them at all.

The Best Mario Spin-Off Game!

Everyone knows Mario. Let’s face it, the guy is pretty much a global icon. He has kept us up many nights past our bedtime, just for so we can step on some goombas and jump on some turtles. Super Mario Bros on the classic Nintendo is where he really took off. Then came Super Mario Bros 2 and 3. Mario just doesn’t like to save Princess Peach from castles, he enjoys other activities as well. He is pretty versatile believe it or not. Some Mario games have been swept under the rug that have been released after Super Mario Bros. I am going to bring back the memories and list the top Mario spin-off games of all time.

#3 Mario Party

Take all of the Mario characters that we have loved over the years and throw them on a virtual board game. Throw in dice to roll, some coins and a star to collect and you have Mario Party. This is the ultimate, quick, fun, sit down and play Mario game. There have been 9 Mario Party games so far and I think the can make 100 of them. The basis of the game is to win mini-games and collect coins. In Monopoly when you pass Go, you get $200. Instead of gaining $200 in Mario Party, if you have enough coins you can exchange them for stars. Whoever has the most stars when the game is over, wins! This game is a lot of fun especially when playing with a lot of friends. Definitely worth of a spot in the top Mario spin-off games.

#2 Mario Tennis

Mario loves his sports. There have been games such as Mario Golf, Mario Baseball, Mario Basketball and Mario Soccer. I would not be surprised to see Mario Volleyball. Let’s not forget about Mario Tennis either which makes #2 on my list. Mario Tennis is not like regular tennis. Sorry to say but, tennis on television is pretty boring. Two people hit a little, green ball back and forth over a net until someone misses. That is not very exciting at all, but when you add Mario and his gang to the mix, it is a lot of fun. Mario Tennis has backhands and even drop shots. It still stays true to the game of tennis, but for some reason it is a lot more fun than real tennis. It is faster paced and playing doubles with a friend makes it even more exciting. Mario Tennis for the N64 was fun, but Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube is a lot better. In the GameCube version, players have a special shot that adds a whole new element to the game. Take Diddy Kong for instance. When you use his special shot he will automatically go to the ball and hit is back. It is not your normal return though, he puts a crazy banana shaped curve on the ball, making it hard to hit back. This game takes tennis to the next level. I sometimes wish real life tennis was exciting like it is in Mario Tennis.

#1 Mario Kart

Who even knew that Mario was old enough to drive? I honestly never knew he was able to. I also didn’t know that a dinosaur and a monkey were capable of operating a vehicle. I have no clue who passed them for their drivers licenses. Whoever it was, I would have to thank them.

Mario Kart is the hands down #1Mario spin-off.

There have been Mario Kart games released for handheld systems like the Game boy Advance and Nintendo 3DS. The classic Mario Kart’s on the N64 and GameCube is where it is at. Mario Kart puts Mario and his crew behind the wheel of go karts and lets them race to the finish. It is no simple three lap race though. There are items that you can pick up along the way. Some of them include, shells that you can throw at other divers and bananas that you can place down, in hope that your opponent drives over it and spins off the track. Mario Kart first started off as one person behind the wheel. Then Mario Kart Double Dash was released on the GameCube that featured two drivers on one cart. One driver would throw the items and the other would drive the cart, you could switch back and forth between drivers as well. Each character has a special item, similar to special shots in Mario Tennis. The courses are awesome as well. Courses take place in deserts, jungles and even on top of Daisy’s Cruiser. Yes, you get to drive on a yacht in the middle of the ocean.

Mario Kart is a classic and is my #1 Mario spin-off game!

Old School Gaming vs. New School Gaming

Many fear change while others embrace it.

When it comes to video games, gamers often want the new system with the high-tech flashy graphics. But that doesn’t always guarantee that it is going to be better than the system you already have.

The way gaming is now is totally different then the way that it use to be. Let’s face it, gaming now is cooler and has changed drastically from the way it use to be. Gamers can now take games on the go, interact with the games themselves and literally put themselves in the game, cool right?

As an old school gamer, I don’t think so. I think that it is getting away from the way games were meant to be played.

When you play a game you want to sit down with your controller and run through a bunch of levels and beat down the boss at the end, it was pretty easy. You don’t want to get up and move your arms around in order to interact with the game, it is too much work. It also never works either, you end up trying to position yourself perfectly and the game never even detects your movements. Sorry Microsoft Kinect, PlayStation Move and Wii, it’s the truth.

The original PlayStation and Super Nintendo got it right. Their games were simple, easy to understand and fun to play. There was no need for a strategy guide or any of that. You go from point A to point B and that is why those games were simple, but still so much fun to play. Mario, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Sonic, Pac-Man and Street Fighter all revolutionized the video game world. That is why these popular titles are still around today. They had the easy, fun concept that gamers loved.

Don’t get me wrong, some of my favorite games that I play today are on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I think the graphics and the online game-play definitely make gaming so much better. It brings people together, you can play and talk with a friend from halfway across that world, that is amazing! All those feature are cool though, but that is not actual gaming, those are features.

Imagine if the original PlayStation and Nintendo had online play now. It would be awesome, playing the original Mario games on-line with a friend, that would be so much fun, not going to lie.

Think about the time era’s that these systems came out in. I am not surprised that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have the kind of graphics and game-play features that they have now. Imagine if those old school systems had the same kind of technology benefit that we have now, it would be crazy!

Change may be good to some degree, but just remember where it all originated from.

Who is the Best Mario Character of All Time?

It comes down to this, a bunch of classic characters, but only one can be the best!

It is an epic showdown of, who is the greatest character out of the classic Mario characters from back in the day. I call them the classic “Mario” characters because they were never creative enough to come up with an amazing group name. I’m going to narrow it down to the top 3 then pick a winner.

Mario

Mario is an Italian plumber, no seriously he is. Mario could be called the leader of this group and he obviously is the most popular and the most known worldwide. I get the outfit and all, but one must think that it would get a little uncomfortable running around in suspenders all day.  This guys life mission is to save Princess Peach from Bowser, the giant evil bad guy. I just don’t get this dude though. So Princess Peach runs off and Mario saves her, then she runs off again and once again Mario is there for the save. Just give it up already Mario, you already saved her once you really don’t need to every single time.

Yoshi

What more is there to say. This little green guy has a giant tongue and can fly, well not for a long time, but I count it as flying. He even lets Mario jump on his back and ride him, making him by far the nicest dinosaur I have ever seen. Yoshi actually saved Mario back on Yoshi’s Island for the Super Nintendo. So without Yoshi there would be no Mario or Luigi. He is just the perfect sidekick and is always there for Mario. What other dinosaur would let you sit on their back, as you go on a crazy adventures to save a princess. Exactly, there is no other.

Donkey Kong

The king of the jungle himself. Back in the old days Mario and Donkey Kong use to be rivals. Donkey Kong was always throwing barrels at Mario as he tried to climb some ladders to save Princess Peach. Over time Donkey Kong turned to the good side, eventually leading to him and Mario putting aside their differences. Donkey Kong with his side kick Diddy Kong were a dynamic one, two punch. Donkey and Diddy ran through Donkey Kong Country together stepping on alligators and riding on frogs. Donkey Kong aka DK is also known for his DK rap, if you don’t know what it is, I recommend you check it out, its pretty epic.

Three classic characters, but only one can win.

The winner is…

Yoshi!

Let’s face it without Yoshi there would never be a Mario game. If he would’ve never delivered Mario and Luigi to their parents, Mario would never have been anywhere near as popular as he was today. Who knows what would’ve happened to him, I know I don’t want to know. I guess that it kind of helps that Yoshi is my favorite character, so I’m a little biased.

Honorable Mention:

• Toad
• Bowser
• Luigi

The Xbox 720 and PS4 Will Fail

There are rumors coming out that may change the video game world forever. But not in a good way. Microsoft and Sony are both considering banning the use of used games.

Yup I said it, no more used games.

This may be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. As a common gamer, used games are what save us gamers from struggling to scrap out sixty dollars when ever we want a new game. Don’t even get me started on how ridiculous sixty dollars for a game is already.

Microsoft and Sony’s plan is to make as much money as possible, money is all it is ever about.

So the big businesses Microsoft and Sony get richer and stores like Game Stop and Play N Trade get poorer. Most of Game Stop and Play N Trade’s business is from buying used games for cheap and over selling them, so without used game they would loose a lot of profit. Also, don’t forget about the consumer, the common gamer will get poorer as well. So it’s a win for Sony and Microsoft and a loss everyone else.

I just don’t get it. The Xbox 360 and the PS3 already have over the top graphics and lightning fast performance right now. I don’t see how much they can really improve on.

Let’s not even get started about how these game industries are making consumers obtain an “online pass” in order to play online. This makes gamers who want to play online, have to buy the online pass in order to play online, it’s crazy.

I really hope that this is just a rumor and is not going to turn into reality. If so the world of gaming will never be the same. It would finally show that it is all about the money, not about the gamer.

E3 2012 is taking place in June. We will see if any new details emerge.