Gameday: Battletoads Double Dragon (NES)

This is probably one of the best original Nintendo system games that were created. It features everything a kid could want in a game, monsters, action, two player co-op, and giant frogs which girls found icky. We couldn't get enough of this back in the day.

Though most games can't stand the test of time, this game is one of the few that have both the nice warm retro feeling and also the feeling of a good game at the same time. Visually its not one of the best things I have ever seen, but I can't really complain about it all that much, it was good for its time and everything looks how it should even now.

The music is actually pretty fun to listen to during the game and it enhances your emotions during game-time which adds to the excitement. The sound effects are pretty awesome too.

Gameplay is very solid even with the very small amount of controls you'll need you can still pull off some pretty cool looking combos and pick up weapons and do battle like a champ. Overall its pretty fun and I find that playing this is actually better than playing some of the newer games out there these days.

My only real complaint about the game is that some of the enemies don't really make much sense. Hands that come out of fans on a spaceship that have balls for arms? Typical retro enemy that makes no sense at all. Thats more of a problem with the times than it is with the game itself though.

All together, I found this game to be a heck of alot of fun and I suggest you check it out.

Game Night: The Chronicles of Riddick Assault on Dark Athena

Sequel to what was a fairly popular game on the original Xbox.... I couldn't help but be fairly disappointed with this game. It looks and feels almost like a slightly better looking version of the original game. It is definitely not Next-Gen gaming at it's best.

The music and voice acting is a bit bland as with the graphics. This review will be fairly short if you can't tell. The story is the strong point of the game, but even that is fairly bland. I wasn't a large fan of the animated movie or the other two live action movies featuring Riddick, but those were far superior to this game. Overall, I believe that this game could have been done much better.

Game Night: Castle Crashers

Silly fun. That basically sums up this game in a nutshell. The plot and overall theme of the game is fairly silly and if you go into the ending, well... Its _very_ silly. The game is far better when you play with friends than when you play it alone, which is why it not only supports but encourages four player co-op campaign.

The main campaign itself is very short. You only get 4 characters at the start of the game as well, the four different colored but awesome knights. As you go you will unlock more and more characters, mostly enemies from the game, and as you do so you get many different and sometimes nonsensical powers. From throwing gas balls to acorns this game basically takes the cake when it comes to random powers.

The music is absolutely phenomenal, it may just be the game's strongest point. I couldn't help but love the score the second it started playing.

It is very similar to it's predecessor Alien Hominid. There isn't really all that much to say except try it if you're in for a good amount of fun with some friends without going for any deep plot or anything. Have fun guys.

Movie Night: The Watchmen

I assume that by now you've seen my previous review on this subject. Back then it was of the comic, now its of the live action movie. I attempted to go through this movie with a clear mind. I tried not to think back to watching the comic at all, but in a case like this it can prove to be very difficult. This review will be pretty short though since the movie does not differ very much from the comic. Even the costumes come out looking absolutely perfect.

Luckily, this movie was good enough that it easily stands alone. You need absolutely no prior knowledge of the comic to understand what is going on and to jump straight into the movie. A bit of American History knowledge may help make the movie go down a bit smoother, but even that is not absolutely necessary. This ability to stand alone makes it much easier to show to newer generations that have not had a chance to see the old comic or to really know much about the history of America in the first place. Though I would never suggest a child see this movie due to the graphic nature.

The movie follows the comic pretty well, to a certain point. It differs in the main plot though seeing as Ozymadias instead of making a huge hoax that looks like aliens are attacking the earth, makes it look like Doc Manhattan is attacking. It has the same desired effect of making the world work together to face this new threat instead of blowing each other apart. Other than that though, it stays very true to the original comic. I enjoyed the movie, though I must say that the ending still gets to me a little. My favorite character's death is still just as gruesome. Rest well Rorschach.

Dark Floors - The Lordi Motion Picture

I have to admit, I originally watched this movie not expecting it to be any good. Then again, I approach almost all horror movies with such skepticism, especially when they're on FearNet On Demand. In the end though, I was completely won over.Although produced in Finland, the movie is in English and the English is completely comprehensible, despite the accents of some of the people. The movie revolves around an autistic little girl, Sarah, and her father, Ben. From the beginning of the movie, the viewer can clearly see Sarah is severly disabled. Her vocabulary seems to consist entirely of "No, no, not again, not again" and "I want the red crayon" and she doesn't seem particularly in touch with the world around her. Just watching her and her poor father makes you want to cry. Ben struggles to decide whether he should take his daughter out of the hospital and eventually takes Sarah to the elevator, intent on taking her home. The nurse, Emily, follows them onto the elevator, trying to convince Ben that if there was a better place for Sarah, she would have taken Sarah there herself. Also on the elevator are Tobias, a beyond unusual man to say the least who is always complaining that he feels colder than death, Rick, the security guard, and Jon, who is just a complete jackass.
As the elevator starts to descend, it suddenly screeches to a halt. This is the second power outage in the movie - the first being when Sarah was in an MRI at the beginning. When the elevator starts to move again, they get off the elevator to discover the hospital is abandoned and in ruin. As they start to explore the hospital, things go from wierd to wierder. A photocopier with an open lid that is spitting out copies all on its own, communication systems kicking their own messages back to them, a woman in a wheelchair who has had her eyes ripped out, time skips and overlaps, loads of monsters, and oh did I mention that when they look out the window, they notice the surrounding landscape is frozen in time?
One by one, the monsters pick off all the group members, starting - true to the unofficial rules of horror movies - with the black guy. Despite being told that "The only logical solution is to give up the girl," Ben presses on. In the end, it's just Ben and Sarah. Ben leaves Sarah and goes to have a showdown with Mr. Lordi, who seems to be the monster of all monsters. However, in the end, it's actually Sarah who has the showdown with Mr. Lordi and she suddenly opens her eyes to find herself back in the MRI during the power outage. As the doctor, Emily and Ben try to pry her out, Sarah seems to have changed her tastes, because she starts screaming, "I want the blue crayon! I want the blue crayon!" At the very end, Tobias passes Sarah in the hall. He leans over her with a kind smile and whispers, "I'm not cold anymore, Sarah," and walks away.Dark Floors is not your standard horror film. That's probably why I like it so much. It's not just people running and screaming, attempting to flee from the monsters. It makes you think and it has an intelligent subplot of the human struggle with good versus evil. Oh, and did I mention that Lordi, a heavy metal band, made the film? Hats off to Lordi and the rest of the cast and crew for a job well done!