Blogs

Turning Back Time Again - More Ruminations About Old Magazines

Presumably at some point Phillyman will find a better blog entry to feature on the front page than mine about why I care about old magazines and it will no longer be featured so prominantly. Since this is a sort of follow-up to the original entry, I thought I'd better make sure that I pointed to the original which can be found right under this rock here. While it is a follow-up, it's not a direct sequel, and you can easily read this entry without having read the other. I just love shameless s

February 28, 2010

The Slowdown

Robots In This, Guys

Like a certain caped crusader up until very recently, the Transformers IP hasn’t had much luck in the gaming space, with generally mediocre attempts over the years despite the no-brainer concept. That could change, though, if the new game from High Moon Studios delivers on its potential. Transformers: War For Cybertron was announced at the end of last year with a teaser trailer, showing pre-rendered carnage taking place on Cybertron. Details were scant at the time; Game Informer had the exclus

vrap

February 27, 2010

Blu-Ray Review ? Justice League Season 1

If you’ve been following my reviews on Bureau42, you may know that I enjoy superhero comics, particularly judging by my reviews of DC: The New Frontier and similar works, as well as allusions to superhero comics in other reviews I’ve written. So, I missed Justice League when it first aired on TV. I missed it when it came out on DVD. However, now it’s finally out on Blu-Ray, and I’ve finally seen it. I’m pleased by what I’ve seen. My mind was not blown, but I did enjoy what I saw. The series doe

February 26, 2010

Before They Were Games - The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

November of 2009 saw the release of a new roleplaying game on the Nintendo DS (at least here in the US) entitled "Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain", developed by Big Blue Bubble Inc. and published by Aspyre. In it, you take on the persona of an adventurer who is very interested in getting his (or her) hands on the loot inside the previously-abandoned Dwarven mountainhome of Firetop. Legend speaks of treasure troves of gold coins, sparkling gemstones, and magical trinkets galor

February 21, 2010

DVD Review ? Bones: Season 1

Get Bones: Season 1 from Amazon.com I enjoy mysteries. I read Sherlock Holmes novels as a kid. I read pulp detective novels and Agatha Christie novels as a teen. As a grown up I’ve found myself drawn to the current trend of forensic detective TV series, like CSI on CBS. After missing the boat early on, I’ve picked up the first season of Bones, and have given it a watch. The show focuses on Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (played by Emily Deschanel), a woman with a doctorate in Forensic Anthropo

February 19, 2010

Phillyman's Blog

New Wii Remote Colors Sucker Us For Another $150

Back on November 16th 2006 I stood in line outside my local Bestbuy waiting for a chance to buy a Nintendo Wii. I cared nothing about the PS3 launch that was happening the same week, and years earlier I ignored the launch of the Xbox 360. All I knew is that I would own a Nintendo Wii on launch day, and thats what I set out to accomplish. I believe that I ended up with two controllers, two nunchucks, two classic controllers, and 4 games. Within a week I was the most popular house for people to v

Phillyman

February 18, 2010

Video Game Review ? Battlefield: Bad Company

Get Battlefield: Bad Company from Amazon.com Well, it’s a new year, and with the new year comes more opportunities to clear more titles off my Pile of Shame. First up is the spinoff of EA’s Battlefield series, aimed for the Consoles – Battlefield: Bad Company. The Premise: Private Preston Marlowe has screwed up. After going in a joyride in a helicopter, destroying a General’s limo in the process (along with the helicopter), Marlowe is assigned to B Company of the 222nd regiment, also known as

February 12, 2010

The SaGa of Final Fantasy Legend II (GB)

Quick: when is a Final Fantasy game not a Final Fantasy game? Answer: when Nintendo decides to rename a different Squaresoft RPG in the hopes of capitalizing on the fame of the Final Fantasy name. This was the case with a series of games released in the US on the Game Boy. In the US, we know them as Final Fantasy Legend I, II and III, and Final Fantasy Adventure. In Japan, however, they're two completely different series. Final Fantasy Adventure is actually Seiken Densetsu, the precursor to

February 7, 2010

Video Game Review ? Burnout: Paradise (PS3)

Get Burnout Paradise from Amazon.com So, I’ve previously reviewed Need for Speed: ProStreet and Carbon. Both were pretty decent racing racing games, putting aside the very significant and major flaws I pointed out in my reviews of both games. Well, in my review of ProStreet, I said I’d give GRID a try. As you can tell from the title of the review, I haven’t. What I have tried is Criterion’s more arcade style, open world street racing game Burnout: Paradise. I’ve basically made it through career

February 5, 2010

tinman's Blog

good news!

Hell Yeah!! I go back to work as a Machinist Monday after a 11 month layoff whew it sure feels good to be amongst the employed again

tinman

February 3, 2010

DVD Review ? Shawn Michaels: From The Vault

Get "Shawn Michaels: From the Vault" from Amazon.com Now, once again I have another wrestling DVD review this week, though this one takes a different tack from my other reviews, because I’m not doing a match-by-match recap this time. Why? Well, the review will explain. The Premise: The DVDs recap some of Shawn Michaels’ wrestling career, from his tag career, to the beginnings of his solo run, to his return to the WWE. The Good: Most of the matches on here are classics. Shawn Michaels’ ladde

January 29, 2010

Let The Hate Flow Through You - The Worst Star Wars Games To Date

I will level with you by starting this blog with the caveat that I am in an incredibly foul mood at the moment. But rather than doing something constructive with my rage, like tossing small children into deep wells or drugging really ugly men at the bar and leaving them in my neighbor's front yard without their clothing again, I decided I might be better served (and avoid inconveniences like court dates and prison sentences) to compile a list of horrible Star Wars games. I'm aware that this is

January 28, 2010

Movie Semi-Review ? The Devil Came On Horseback.

Get "The Devil Came on Horseback" at Amazon.com This review is going to differ from my usual review format, mainly because in this case, the film I’m reviewing, which is a documentary about the Genocide in Darfur, asks a few questions, and I’m going to try to give some opinion based answers. The Premise: Brian Steidle was a captain in the US Marine Corps who, after his term of service was up, left the Corps and became an unarmed monitor for the African Union, tasked with monitoring the cease-

January 23, 2010

A Cold Day In Hell - Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

"Anxious" does not even begin to describe my feelings when I discover that there is a new survival horror game coming out. As you've no doubt figured out by now if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, horror games are something I simply cannot get enough of. And while there are a number of franchises that compete for my attention, none is more apt to receive my gamer girl bucks than the perversely fascinating titles in the Silent Hill series. Having played through every entry i

January 20, 2010

Phillyman's Blog

CompTIA reneges over 800,000 lifetime A+ Certifications!

Anyone who works in the computer industry has heard of CompTIA. Basically CompTIA is a company that provides vendor neutral computer certifications. One of the most popular certifications that CompTIA offers is the A+ certification. The A+ certification is two tests that cover PC hardware and software. The cost of getting this certification is about $220 USD but once acquired...lasts a lifetime Or so we thought! I myself am a CompTIA A+ certified technician. I studied for months, ponied up t

Phillyman

January 20, 2010

Movie Review ? Miami Vice (2006)

Get Miami Vice from Amazon.com on Blu-Ray I’m a fan of the Miami Vice TV series, or at least the first two seasons of the show. So, when I heard that a movie was being made of the TV series, one directed by Michael Mann, who helped create and set the tone for the series, I knew that I had to see it – but I missed in theaters. So, for almost a year it had been sitting in my Netflix queue, and was meaning to bump it to the top and watch it. Well, now I’ve finally watched it. The film follows Jam

January 15, 2010

Night In The Lonesome January - Happy Birthday, Richard Laymon

I'm awakened by the sound Of rain against my window It's getting harder to ignore But these tired eyes need rest. -- "Flourescent Skies", Assemblage 23 I read a lot. I know this will make some of you wonder "when?" given the amount of time I spend going on and on about games, either playing them or writing about them, but despite the fun of interactive entertainment, there's nothing quite like a good book. Also, I make my living working in a used bookstore,

Areala in Books

January 15, 2010

Phillyman's Blog

Stupidest Starbucks Employee Ruins My Iced Caramel Macchiato

Today I went to my local Starbucks which happens to be located inside of a Safeway grocery store. I proceeded to order an Iced Caramel Macchiato to relieve the stresses of my workday. Now I deal with stupidity on a daily basis with my IT job, everything from forgotten passwords to explaining why a computer will not work in a power outage. The last place I expect to deal with stupidity is at Starbucks....but today I was not so fortunate. After ordering my Caramel Macchiato, I got back in my car

Phillyman

January 14, 2010

If I Could Turn Back Time - Why Care About Old Magazines At All?

I've attempted to introduce a few real-life friends to Retromags, both through visits to the site in general and trips to my blog in particular. Several of them were quite excited by the prospect of leafing through old Nintendo Powers, especially those who are, like me, now in their early to mid thirties and remember trading cheats out of the Classified Information column on the playground or trying to figure out a way to beat Warmech in Final Fantasy. Others, though, scoffed at the idea of a

January 13, 2010

Movie Review ? Wisconsin Death Trip

Get Wisconsin Death Trip from Amazon.com I’m back from my little vacation from blogging, and I’m returning with a review of another documentary – and not one from Frontline or another episode of a PBS program (not that there’s anything wrong with that). With historical documentaries these days, film-makers tend to go either the History Channel route (scenes with reenactors inter-cut with talking heads), or the Ken Burns route (narration and readings of writings from the time with possible scene

January 9, 2010

Survival Horror Without the Horror - Disaster Report (PS2)

Yes, you read the title correctly: 'Survival Horror without the horror.' "What the hell are you talking about, Areala?" Glad you asked. You'll note that if you remove 'horror' from 'survival horror' you are left with just one thing: survival. And while this description could apply to a great many games since nearly every video game has "not dying" as one of its prerequisites for winning, there's something to be said for a game that tries to take a different approach to things. Disaster Repo

January 4, 2010

Movie Review ? For All Mankind

Get "For All Mankind" from Amazon.com The space program has always fascinated me, particularly because my interest in Science Fiction, particularly through series like Star Trek – which in turn lead me to an interest in the space sciences and some terrestrial sciences as well. So, when I heard about a documentary about the space program that I hadn’t seen before, and one that was coming out from the Criterion Collection, I had to check it out. The Premise: Using footage from all the Apollo mi