Julian Cannon – Alternative Mindz

31 days of halloween: the last house on the left(1972 version) review

November 1, 2012Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Julian Cannon is back again for another post, this time it is a movie i checked on netflix on saturday. And it is called The last house on the left (1972 version). I have heard of this movie and my parents always told me to never look at this movie when i was 10 years old and i have just found out why

In the history of the horror genre, Wes Craven’s low-budget rape-revenge movie The Last House On The Left has long been notorious as one of the nastiest of the Video Nasties, a film so depraved and immoral that it remained at the top of the British Board of Film Classification’s banned list for 30 years.

Loosely styled on Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring – but with guns and chainsaws replacing Swedish angst – The Last House On The Left was originally conceived as an audience-grabbing mix of sex and violence entitled ‘Sex Crime Of The Century’. Somewhere along the way, though, the filmmakers set off down a different path and instead of the salacious exploitation picture that was planned, The Last House On The Left turned into a blistering indictment of American social mores, middle-class righteousness and the atrocities of the Vietnam War.
The story is deceptively simple: teenagers Mari (Cassel) and Phyllis (Grantham) are abducted by a gang of vicious criminal led by the psychopathic Krug (Hess). They are tortured, raped, mutilated and eventually killed in the pastoral woodlands near their hometown. This ordeal forms the basis of the movie’s chief horror. But then comes the twist: the killers stop off at Mari’s parents’ house after their car breaks down. Realising what’s happened, the complacent middle-class parents (St James and Carr) are transformed and take their bloody and brutal revenge.

It’s difficult to know what is more shocking: the harrowing rape scenes and mutilations, or Craven’s wild deviations in tone that frequently see the movie veer from sexploitation to social commentary, slapstick comedy, nihilistic despair and gallows humour in the space of just a few scenes. The result is a film that confronts its audience viscerally, emotionally and intellectually with a raw power rarely seen before or since.

“Can a movie go too far?” asked the original posters of this landmark horror classic in 1972. Finally re-released in 2008 in an uncut version, it’s a question which remains entirely valid in the twenty-first century.

Verdict:

This movie is twisted and demented and is one of those movies that you wonder what kind of sick mind came up with such a plot…and I LOVE horror movies but not ones like this. Being from the 70s makes it bad enough but the twisted side of it just puts it over the top for me.Also do not watch this movie with any children under ANY circumstances, For me watching this movie, if i was a parent in 1972, these would be things you will learn after watching this:

*do not let your daughter go out late at night

*do not talk to strangers

*the cops were very lazy that time

*when your kids are missing,do not wait an hour to call for help

*do not let a group of strangers into your home PERIOD!!

Above from all of that, i loved the movie but its way too much for anybody to handle. I can warn you, the movie will literally disturb you to the point that you would want to turn off the movie. But its still a classic in my eyes so i will give it a 8.5/10

31 days of Halloween: top 10 best wrestling gimmicks of all time

October 29, 2012Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

I am back with another post, this time, the sequel to the top 10 worst gimmicks of all time, This time it will be the top 10 best wrestling gimmicks of all time

10. The Boogeyman

Like many gimmicks on this list, the Boogeyman gimmick remains a cult favorite with a lot of fans. Marty Wright got booted from Tough Enough for lying about his age, but got what he wanted out of the deal anyway. WWE saw potential in him, and he ended up with the Boogeyman gimmick. Wright embraced the gimmick wholeheartedly. You really couldn’t have asked for more. His recitation of nursery rhymes, combined with his mannerisms made what should have been a ridiculous gimmick something not only believable, but occasionally creepy. The crawling, the fantastic makeup, and the mouthful of worms combined to make WWE’s version definitely creepier than the Boogeyman from The Ghostbusters cartoon. Wright lasted nearly four years off and on with WWE with this gimmick, and scored several high profile wins over talent such as JBL and Booker T. Boogeyman remains proof that any gimmick can be successful if talent is willing to sell out for it to make it work.

9.Gangrel

The Vampire Warrior gimmick began in Memphis in the USWA, which has been home to several outlandish gimmicks. He parlayed that into a job with the World Wrestling Federation, thanks to Bruce Pritchard and Vince Russo, who felt that a vampire gimmick had legs. The character was fleshed out a bit by giving it a gothic twist, similar to what fans had seen in the screen adaptation of Interview With A Vampire. However, the true influence for the character came from the game Vampire: The Masquerade. Much like The Boogeyman, the behind the gimmick (David Heath) embraced it wholeheartedly and made it work. He would be given a couple of lackeys – Edge and Christian – in a stable called The Brood. It could be argued that a big part of the success Heath enjoyed is due to the Brood’s intro, because this was the greatest entrance ever. Gangrel could deliver in the ring, though. Everything about this gimmick worked, from blood baths to the spitting of the blood to his participating in the Ministry with The Undertaker.

8.Latin American Exchange

These three men took the world of pro-wrestling by storm, in many ways. They were a very unique team with Konnan on board, as the revolution began in TNA. The team of Homicide and Hernandez would capture many championships, Have their own Commentator table, and along with many bloody battles along the way, with names such as The New Age Outlaws, The Dudleys, Beer Money, and AJ Styles and Daniels. It’s been prove true over the past few years, there is nothing like the original as The Latin American Xchange can never be duplicated.Clearly they were the best group in TNA until the Main Event Mafia in 2008.

7.Sting

ting is arguably the most popular wrestler of all-time. He was named “Most Popular Wrestler of the Year” four times by PWI, which is more than any other wrestler.

He became known as WCW’s “Franchise” and was its most important star from the late ’80s until the company folded in 2001.

Sting is currently the only wrestler to ever win the NWA, WCW and TNA world titles and is considered by many to be the best wrestler to never step foot in a WWE ring.

Sting was WCW’s brightest star in the ’90s along with his trademark blonde flattop and various face paints.

Sting feuded with many of the company’s biggest stars including Sid Vicious, Lex Luger, The Great Muta, Cactus Jack, Vader, Nikita Koloff, Rick Rude and most famously Ric Flair.

Flair and Sting feuded for years and it was Sting who would defeat Flair in the last WCW match ever.The most dramatic moment of Sting’s career happened in 1996. Sting traded in his bright blonde hair and carefree persona and transformed into a gloomy and dark Sting.The new Sting wore all black, covered his face in white paint and would often descend from the rafters during shows. Sting would not speak on WCW programming for over a year.It was during this time period that WCW held a distinct edge over the WWE in the Monday night ratings “war.”Some of WCW’s success had to be attributed to the presence of Sting. Many fans tuned into the WCW programming to find out if and when Sting would make his next appearance.In December of 1997, Sting captured the WCW title from Hulk Hogan in the main event of Starrcade.Sting continued with WCW until the company was bought out in 2001.Sting joined the TNA wrestling company in 2006 where he still competes under the same name.

The man they call Sting is one of the greatest professional wrestling stars ever.

6.Raven

Raven – yes raven this guy was deeply disturbed he wore all black and looked like he would kill you and in his mind he probably was.From Scotty Flamingo in WCW , to Johnny polo in WWF, Raven Would soon land in ECW on January 1995 . Raven IMO is singlely the most underrated, underutilized character ever! Raven was this character that could go in many different directions . He was an ECW hardcore legend he put on some of the most extreme matches in ecw history with Tommy dreamer,The Sandman and Justin credible . Look at the promo work he did to he was able to be well worded with his work to he was able to run with emotions that IMO I believe other wrestlers look back and look to feed on. The funny thing is this guy could work the heel so well his character was made for it but he was able to get the fans behind him. In WWE,TNA,WCW and ECW, this guy had a gift maybe because deep in our minds we understand him. He won quite a few titles but when he got into wwe it seemed like they were to scared to push him I would loved to see him and Kane or undertaker feud I really would

5.Goldust

Yes Goldust I agree with a comment Mean Gene or Mick Foley said Without Goldust you might have never seen an attitude era, But then again it was ECW involvement and Brian Pillman’s “Pillman got a gun” segment.But anyways, I mean he was the man that started it pushing the envelope you never saw anything like it I mean you didn’t know what he was gonna say or do next. He not only should be on there because of that but because he deiced to take himself out of bein dusty son. He was also very good in the ring and I always just wondered that if it wasn’t for back stage politics how far he could of gone. Goldust was able to draw heat and gain fans especially during his rivalry with Lawler and his team up with Booker t.Scott Hall even said in an interview one time that he did not want to work with that guy because of the gimmick. Goldust will never get the credit he deserves – Cody Rhodes. I agree with that he never will I honestly think he should be IMO in the Hall of fame.But we will never know

4.Kane

Kane has evolved through the years, becoming at times a comedic character. He’s been masked and unmasked, heel and face. Way back when, though, the character was inspired by one of the great horror icons. Glen Jacobs himself has said that his portrayal of Kane was heavily influenced by none other than Michael Myers, the antagonist of Halloween. Despite the obvious differences in color patterns, the similarities are there – a slighted brother hellbent on destruction, the mask, remaining silent for years. In his early days, and occasionally in the years since, Kane was an indestructible force that was constantly moving forward. As time has gone by, there have been layers added to the character. At its roots, though, the Kane figure remains a dominant monster in WWE. For me, the night he took of that mask in 2003 is the greatest moment in the history for the big red machine

3.Mankind

The original idea for this character was “Mason the Mutilator”, a name dreamed up by Vince McMahon. Foley himself suggested the change, and the rest is history. Long before Mankind was a lovable underdog, he was a monster. Mankind was originally a masochistic sort that lived in boiler rooms, tucked away from society. Once he was brought into society, he was a force of destruction. Seemingly incapable of controlling himself, Mankind was prone to acts of violence and screeching fits of masochism in the middle of the ring. Mick Foley has always been able to deliver on the microphone, and his eloquent monologues and understanding of the value of vocal inflections allowed Mankind to become a very unsettling character on WWF television in the mid-90’s. Even now, watching the interview segment that results in Jim Ross having the Mandible Claw applied to him by Mankind gives me an uneasy feeling. Mankind is one of the truly great characters in wrestling history.

2.John Cena (rapper)

I’m still in shock over this.

When he debuted in the WWE, John Cena was one of the bland, faceless blue chippers. The only thing that made him stand out were his pastel tights. And then, one day, Stephanie McMahon caught him free-style rapping. Thus, Cena ditched the colorful shorts and put on some jean shorts as he adopted a white rapper gimmick. “Well, that’s it for Cena,” I thought.

And a weird thing happened. Fans started to root for him. This totally blew my mind. A rap gimmick hardly works for black wrestlers. Does anyone remember the No Limit Soldiers? Me neither. It’s even worse for white wrestlers. I mean, when I think of white rappers, I think of pop culture jokes like Vanilla Ice and Snow… and of a barely remembered tag team known as PG-13. How is this black hole of a gimmick actually getting John Cena over?

Then Cena took it to the next level. He started wearing throwback jerseys and pump shoes. He blinged out the US Title. OK, I thought, maybe fans are OK with white rappers since the Eminem thing. But Eminem’s not the kind of guy you associate with the “bling.” And Cena was also starting to do stupid puns revolving around the words “deez nutz.” Fans are going to turn on him soon, aren’t they?

In less than a year, Cena would ride the “white rapper” gimmick all the way to the WWE Heavyweight Title.

Oh, sure, eventually some fans would get tired of the gimmick and start booing Cena. And Cena would gradually drop the more overt aspects of his persona (like the rap offs) to become a superstar reminscent of Hulk Hogan. But that doesn’t change the fact that Cena parlayed a “white rapper” gimmick into one of the longest title reigns in WWF/WWE history.

1. The Undertaker

When the Undertaker debuted, it was assumed that it would be just another cartoonish gimmick that faded away relatively quickly. Instead, the character gained a cult following even as a vicious heel, and survived longer than most gimmicks – cartoonish or not – do in professional wrestling. The Undertaker has become an iconic character, the “franchise” of WWE, and an attraction unto himself. The original look for the Undertaker was based on the morticians of the old west, and the close relationship with death was enough to make people uneasy. His affinity for locking people in caskets and undead appearance furthered the effectiveness of the gimmick. As the years went on, The Undertaker became a cult leader, a biker, returned to his undead persona before becoming something of an undefined supernatural force. No matter how often this topic is revisited, or how far into the future it goes, it’s going to be virtually impossible to knock The Undertaker off this perch.

31 days of Halloween:Top 10 worst pro wrestling gimmicks of all time

October 22, 2012Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

I am back for another post. This week i will be doing the top 10 worst gimmicks of all time. The reason is because Halloween is coming up and I know most people will dress up so lets put on our costumes and start the countdown

10. PN news

PN News was fat. He was a fatty fat fatso. But he was also…phat?

That’s right. Phat with a “PH,” mothereffers! This was the early ’90s and rap was fun, god dammit! We had Kid n’ Play. Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. Heavy D. Vanilla Ice in Ninja Turtles II. There were Pajama Jammy Jams every night! PN News was WCW’s lame attempt to try and do something “urban.” You can also lump the WWF’s Men on a Mission (Mabel and Mo) in this category of neon-colored, family-friendly old school rap n’ wrassle acts.

PN News actually had a somewhat high-profile feud with Paul E. Dangerously’s(Paul heyman)Dangerous Alliance. Before his matches, he’d get on the mic and rap a few lines that usually went a little something like “My name is PN News and I’m here to say, I’m going wrestle in a very special way…” Then he says, “Yo Baby, Yo Baby Yo” which was his way of trying to capture the magic of “Go Ninja Go Ninja Go.” Also, he looked like a giant alien potato covered in shame.

9.REPO MAN

Repo Man (Demolition’s Barry Darsow) wasn’t an utter failure. He’s one of those strange gimmicks, that I mentioned previously, that stuck around for a few years. He was a cackling, goofy 1960s-era Batman TV villain-type character that loved nothing more than just straight-up swiping other people’s shit. He was part Frank Gorshin, part Hamburglar.

I’m not sure if they were ever really trying to convince us that he held down a steady job as an actual “Repo Man,” because all he really did was swipe things. He was pretty much like Swiper from Dora the Explorer. He’d sneak around and hide, and wait for his opportunity to jack someone’s jewels. He’d really just get into feuds because he was a thief that liked to take things that didn’t belong to him. Macho Man’ s hat. Tatanka’s feathers. Hulk Hogan’s prayers and vitamins.

Why did he have tire tracks on him? Why did he wear an eye mask? Why did he use a leg-grapevine submission as a finisher? Actually, looking back at him – he might have been a genius.

8.Oklahoma

All is fair in love and war correct? Well, even though there was a Monday night ratings war between Nitro and RAW, it still didn’t seem right when the WCW created a character to serve as a personal attack on the WWF’s leading announcer Jim Ross.

Played by Ed Ferrara and co-created by Vince Russo, the character of Oklahoma was a not-so-subtle way for both Ferrara and Russo to air their grievances with their former co-worker Good Ol’ J.R. While many things were done between these two companies which seemed like exchanging blows in a fight, this would be the only punch that truly felt like it was under the belt. Making fun of J.R.’s announcing style and Bell’s Palsy, Ed Ferrara would do irreparable harm to his image within the industry by tastelessly poking fun at one of the most respected men in the business. Out of all the bad gimmicks on this list, Oklahoma serves as the only one that truly offended us.

7.THE DUNGEON OF DOOM

Hulk Hogan was new to WCW and needed some new bad guys to play with. Hey, how about a gaggle of moronic “dark” characters that he’ll just keep beating over and over again for a couple years? That sounds delightful. The Dungeon of Doom was supposed to be something to fear, but instead they were as laughable as they were inept. Erstwhile Satanist-caricature Kevin Sullivan, under the guidance of a wrinkled old “Master,” became the Taskmaster and set out to, one could only assume, embarrass the entire wrestling establishment top to bottom.

Among his minions were Kamala, Meng, The Shark (formerly Earthquake), The Loch Ness Monster (Haystacks Calhoun) and…the freaking Yeti. My god. The Yeti could have his own entry, but I decided to lump him in with this veritable “Island of Misfit Toys” of wrestling. See one of the videos below to behold the majestic Yeti in all his bandaged Hogan-humping glory.

Oh, and who could forget…Zodiac. Or is it The Butcher? Whatever. Ed “Zodiac/Butcher/Booty Man /Brutus Beefcake” Leslie takes our unofficial Gold Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Bad Gimmickry.

6.GLACIER, MORTIS and WRATH

Back in 1996 WCW had the phenomenally awesome idea of creating video game-inspired characters – reminiscent to those found in games such as “Mortal Kombat”. While there were three of them, Glacier (Ray Lloyd – aka Coach Buzz Stern), Mortis (Chris Kanyon) and Wrath (Bryan Clark – aka Adam Bomb), it would be Glacier who helped these three make their way onto our list. Spending a good amount of time feuding with each other, these three had extravagant outfits, mean attitudes and entrances which could make even multiple time world champions blush.

Glacier in particular was our favorite, as he was dressed up to look like ” Sub Zero” from the MK series – wearing a blue ninja outfit, white hair, strange contacts, a mask and occasionally a helmet (which we are told was a centuries old relic passed down by his karate instructor). While none of these guys were awful in the ring – Kanyon was actually very good – it would be the pandering to the younger gaming audience and the “trying too hard” look and feel that made these characters so embarrassing.

5.S7VEN

You may be asking: Why is Seven (or S7even, or 7even, or whatever) on this list? As, in the character’s first appearance he – being Dustin Rhodes (aka Goldust) – broke character and delivered a shoot interview on crappy gimmicks. Well, while we like the fact that the WCW was able to poke fun at itself for a gimmick which I’m sure they realized sucked in hindsight, the character had serious promos created in which Seven was built as a credible threat… or circus attraction.

After creating many promotional videos that had Seven in such menacing locations as outside a child’s window at night, Turner Broadcasting wisely put an end to the character stating that it might be construed that Seven was a child abductor, or something worse. Regardless, bad idea and all, Seven is one of the few characters on this list that created genuinely entertaining television… despite the atrocious gimmick.

4.MAX MOON

Look at those space rockets that he shoots out of his space hands! Look at those fantastical laser beams that he uses to delight the masses? But why does he look like a cross between The Michelin Man and agony? Why is he a rippled, rubber piñata? Why does it look like he can be taken apart like a game of Connect Four?

Max Moon (Konnan) was one of those awful gimmicks that was meant to give the kiddies someone to cheer on. A smiling colorful douchebag that we’d see again in the form of Aldo Montoya (Justin Credible) and that we’d seen before in the form of Koko B. Ware. Always smiling. Just happy to be there. Win or lose.

Max Moon was a cyborg soldier from The Future, apparently sent back in time to make us all sick to our stomachs. Konnan wound up leaving the WWF, claiming discrimination (sound familiar?) forcing the WWF to find a different wrestler to wear the absurdly priced $1,300 costume.

4.OZ

There is one thing you can count on in the pro wrestling industry, and that is no matter whom you are, you have done something which you don’t want anybody to remember. The good news for all of us is that pro wrestling is recorded and achieved. So with the help of fan videos and humiliating “remember when” pieces we can humble big names in the wrestling industry. For this list we have decided to dig up dirt on Big Sexy Kevin Nash… or should we say Oz? Yes, Oz – as in The Wizard of. Back in WCW in 1991 Kevin Nash dropped his mohawked Master Blaster Steel gimmick only to upgrade (?) to that of the mysterious Oz. Ushered to the ring by the Great Wizard (Kevin Sullivan), Oz spoke with a commanding voice, wore emerald colors, a turban and mask that looked more like The Sultan from Disney’s Aladdin than something from the book/film The Wizard of Oz. Still, you need to hand it to Big Kev, as even with the bad gimmick WCW continued to push him – whether that was due to Nash’s stature and charisma or WCW refusing to acknowledge that the character of Oz was ill-conceived is still up in the air.

Let this be a warning to all those attempting to get into the business: There are video cameras on you at all times, don’t do anything you will regret for the rest of your life.

3.THE GOON

Wow. The Goon. Yes. You know there were a handful of these “occupational wrestlers” that went on to find a lot of success. Like Mike Rotunda’s IRS and Jacques Rougeau’s Mountie, but after a while people just didn’t want to see that any more. The WWF definitely passed on more than they approved. My question is…if the Baseball Player (with his face painted up like he was a Fury from The Warriors) didn’t make the cut, then why did they think The Goon (“Wild” Bill Irwin) stood a chance?

A big, clumsy and fumbly Hockey Player? With hair like an unmade bed? And wearing full hockey gear? I know it was a few years ago, but people still actually liked to watch fluid wrestling matches back then. Who would ever want to see someone compete wearing a complete body sheath? And man, could people have cared less about Hockey?

Apparently The Goon had been kicked out of every league he’d been a part of. But they could never kick him out of our hearts.

2.Shark Boy

Again, you aren’t losing your mind, in fact you’re perfectly sane but I understand why you’re doubting yourself. You’re thinking how in the hell can someone have a shark-like gimmick, well the answer to your problem is: they can and they have. The worst moment in Shark Boy’s career was when he started taking on a Stone Cold gimmick saying things such as “Give me a shell yeah!” or “What?” and believe it or not but the shark actually drank beer at one stage! Ohhh, not to mention AND THAT’S THE FISHIN’ LINE COS SHARK BOY SAID SO!

1.THE SHOCKMASTER

For those that know their professional wrestling it will come as no surprise that we have chosen The Shockmaster as #1. Some wrestlers are given good gimmicks which can carry even the worst wrestler, some wrestlers are given mediocre gimmicks which they either make succeed or fail according to their ability, some wrestlers are saddled with bad gimmicks (as this list has shown) that will essentially bury a wrestler’s career, and then every once in a blue moon something so extraordinary happens that it will echo in the annals of wrestling history as a complete and utter embarrassment to the wrestler, the company and all those that are forced to share screen time with them… thus is THE SHOCKMASTER!!!

We’re not sure if we’re ultimately more offended by the fact that this witless meatball actually fell on his ass (actually making his mic’d teammates say out loud “He just fell on his ass!”) or by the fact that his costumed consisted of suspenders and a Storm Trooper helmet with blue glitter-glue all over it.

There you have it, my top 10 worst gimmicks of all time, my next will be the top 10 best gimmicks from the 80’s to the early 2000’s..Aslo follow me on twitter @julianexcalibur

31 days of Halloween: retro video game review:Zombies ate my neighbors

October 21, 2012Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

I am back again with another retro video game review. this time is one of my favorites and a cult classic, zombies ate my neighbors

also follow me on twitter on your thoughts @julianexcalibur

Who doesn’t love a good campy horror flick every now and then? With Lucas Art’s Zombies Ate My Neighbors, you may never have to watch another one!

Just look at the premise of the game: Monsters are running amok in the neighborhood and it is up to two kids armed with squirt guns to stop them! It may sound cliche’, but that feeling will soon be discarded once you begin playing and discovering what a triumph the game design is!

At the start of the game you can choose between two kids; a boy and a girl. Aside from the look of the character, there is no inherent advantage to picking either of them, so just go with want you want. From there you are dropped in the first neighborhood to begin your quest of saving as many neighbors as possible. The game controls marvelously, and you will never once have a problem doing what you want once you figure out how to sort items! They even give you a radar to help in locating the neighbors which you can toggle on and off by hitting your trigger buttons.

It’s a good thing too! Ten of your neighbors ranging from mean teachers to helpless babies are scattered throughout each level. Your goal is to get to them before the monsters do. This may sound simple until you realize that if a neighbor is killed then you lose that neighbor FOR THE REST OF THE GAME! That might be a problem since the game has over 50 levels to keep them alive through, and eventually you would be down to one. Except the game developers were way ahead of us on that one! The fix was to award an extra neighbor for every 40,000 points you score! And since you will be scoring a TON of points throughout the game most players will be fine as long as you don’t mess up TOO badly.

On the other hand, that doesn’t mean that the game is a cake walk, either. The monster horde is out for your blood (or the neighbors! They’re not picky)! There’s the titular zombies, the masked killer, the evil dolls, the vampires, the werewolves… put it this way: If its been in a horror film, it will be in this game! It is shocking how much content they managed to stuff in a game that is over 15 years old! Each monster acts differently than its brethren, with different patterns, aggressiveness, and weaknesses, and you’ll have to learn each one’s intricacies in order to survive!

That is what the weapons are for! Zombie’s myriad of weapons and items are pure bliss, adding yet another layer of content into an already stuffed game. I love how the game uses things typical of suburbia and turns them into a viable arsenal. Squirt guns filled with holy water act as a pistol. Shaken-up Cola cans act as grenades that can be hurled over walls. Bazookas (Yes, bazookas!) dropped by military can be used to blow down obstacles such as hedges and walls. Every weapon and item has a purpose and add strategy to the game, but it is the various ways that the weapons interact with the monsters that steal the show. Silverware one-shot werewolves! Weed-Whackers one-shot plant monsters! POPSICLES ONE-SHOT BLOBS!! If you are a horror aficionado, you will have a distinct advantage here since it is obvious that this was a labor of love from a development team that loved horror movies!

It all comes together beautifully. Levels are incredibly detailed, and as with the monsters and weapons, it’s the small things that make the difference. Need to get in a house? You can use a key. Or you could blow the door open with a bazooka! Or you could smash it down as a monster using a special potion!

Do you want to explore, or just rescue your neighbors and move on? It is in these moments that the game ceases to be good and becomes extraordinary. My favorite example is the hedge maze in level 3. Viable options include turning into a monster and killing all seven chainsaw maniacs or using a bazooka and blowing holes in both walls AND maniacs in order to fast-track to your neighbors. Or you could let the maniacs cut a path for you, luring them into making shortcuts for you before breaking out the fire extinguishers and decoy clowns to slow them down! The possibilities are endless!

Did I mention that you can do all of this WITH TWO PLAYERS? Bringing along a buddy makes for two times the fun, and makes it more likely that you can finish the game in one sitting. Make no mistake: THAT IS THE WAY IT IS MEANT TO BE PLAYED! Zombies features a password system that punishes you for using it by stripping you of your items. If you have to use a password then you start from the later levels with just a squirt gun and a first-aid kit! I would normally chalk this up to bad game design, but it almost seems deliberate as a way to challenge more advanced players. I think that they expected veterans to use the passwords to skip ahead and try their luck at some of the punishing later levels with a limited inventory.

As for graphics and sound… The game cannot stand toe-to toe with the SNES’ best, but I don’t think it’s supposed to. The graphics get the job done and do a great job of painting a varied landscape. Animation is great with unique animations for all neighbors and monsters, not to mention the kids which are very expressive. This may explain why the graphics are a little toned down, and I consider it a fair trade. Sound-wise the game is fantastic. The soundtrack may repeat too often, but the tracks that are there are all mood-setters with my personal favorites being Dr. Tongue’s Castle and the Baby Theme. Sound effects are also varied and used to great effect, from the roaring of a chainsaw to the screaming cries of the neighbors as they are spirited away to the next world.

Overall, I cannot praise this game enough! That is why I am always confused that more gamers have not heard of this game. It sold reasonably well but seems to be forgotten among modern gamers. It was only recently that it clicked into place! I was playing Dead Rising and bitching to a friend about how clunky it was when memories of this game came flooding back to me. Zombies was a game before its time, and nothing makes that clearer than the zombie-obsessed society of the modern age! Dead Rising, Left 4 Dead, The Walking Dead, The Zombie Survival Guide… Even Call of Duty has been invaded by the undead! This game combines EVERYTHING appealing about horror films, ties it to solid arcade action, and then throws in some trademark Lucas Arts humor. The final result is a fresh and addictive title that still holds up to this day! That is why I am officially using this platform to call for Konami to make the sequel that ZAMN deserves!!

They might as well do something while they are busy doing nothing…

Tommy Dreamer’s “House of Hardcore” review

October 8, 2012Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Last weekend one of my friends attended the House of Hardcore show and I asked if he can bring home some footage, when I saw the footage from the show and based on what my 2 friends told me more about,I quickly decided to do a review on the show.

My biggest concern about this show is that it was going to be another attempt to make money off of ECW’s legacy, and aside from Stephen DeAngelis being ring announcer and a few of the same stars this was NOTHING like ECW!

The opening match was Crowbar (Devon Storm) vs. Shawn Daivari.

This match was a really strong opening match and both guys worked very hard to please the crowd and oh, did they ever.

It was a back and fourth match that went outside the ring. Crowbar was impressive in this match and has made a bigger impact this year than he did his entire run in WCW thanks to his matches here and earlier in the year in Extreme Rising

Daivari took the victory in this one after landing a tornado DDT and following it with a top rope splash. The crowd really enjoyed the match and the efforts.

This match gets an 8 out of 10 in my opinion which is fantastic for an opening match. I hope Devon Storm keeps improving and that Daivari continues to impress.

The next match was FBI (Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke) vs Roadkill and Danny Doring.

The FBI had Big Sal E. Graziano as a corner man while Roadkill and Doring had some other Amish man as a corner man. It has been reported since that Smith James was the other Amish man but I cannot confirm this.

This match was pretty much what you would expect from these two teams and was just very good wrestling. Roadkill looked excellent seeing to how he has not wrestled a match since he left WWE/OVW in January of 2008.

When I watched this match it really felt like I was watching two teams of guys in their twenties or thirties. Everyone was so extremely impressive and it was a nice bit if nostalgia for old ECW fans as well.

The match was won by Danny Doring and RoadkIll when they hit their old ECW finisher on Mamaluke.

This match also gets an 8 out of 10 but I almost felt it needed more because of the classy moment that followed.

After the match Roadkill got a mic and asked all of the FBI to return to the ring. Roadkill said he respected all the work they did together in ECW as well as respecting The FBI themselves. This, of course, led to an “ECW” chant.

Roadkill then said that ECW was a thing of the past and HOH is going to be the future. He thanked everyone and then gave the mic to Danny Doring.

Doring said that it doesn’t matter where they are at, of if you chant ECW, HOH, or something else the fact is there would be no Doring/Roadkill team without The FBI. It was a top notch promo and a very classy moment.

Jazz vs Winter is up next.

This match was an OK match but really had a lot to follow after the first two matches and I really think this match should have opened the card to really get people into it.

Winter and Jazz both worked her and did the best they could with the time they were given. I am a huge fan of both ladies but this just felt out of place.

Good technical moves during this match including chops, sharpshooters, and more. The crowd seemed to enjoy the match just fine but not like the first two.

The match ended when Jazz reversed a slam into a Michinoku driver. I would give this match a 6 out of 10 despite efforts from both ladies.

Alex Reynolds vs Tony Nese with Mikey Whipwreck as special referee.

This was a fantastic match with a lot of back and fourth maneuvers. Lots of reverses and Nese landed a very impressive move off the top rope which resulted in “HOH” and “This is awesome. Chants.

Nese missed a 450 splash which resulted in Reynolds landing a forearm and a ‘lungblower’ but it was another two count. Reynolds had begin to grow frustrated with the two counts and eventually had words with Mikey Whipwreck

This match ended when Reynolds received a whippersnapper by Mikey and then a 450 splash by Nese. A lot of “This is awesome” chants and they were well deserved

This match gets a 9.5. This truly was an excellent match. I wish more matches would have had unestablished stars like this one.

Scott Steiner vs. Luke Gallows

Scott Steiner comes out next and cuts a promo about how Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff were pus$*es and when he told the truth about it he ended up in a lawsuit. He thanked all his followers for following him on twitter.

Luke Gallows and Eddie Kingston came out and Gallows and Steiner begin brawling. They battled outside the ring and Gallows took a chair shot to the head.

Later Steiner took a chair shot and Rick Steiner came to check on him. After Steiner recovered he went for a top rope move, Kingston interfered and was chased in the ring by Rick.

The match ended when Rick nd Scott hit Steinerlines on Gallows and Kingston. Good match. Everyone worked hard I give this match an 7.5 out 10. This match felt more like a fight than a wrestling match. Entertaining especially for old school wrestling fans.

Chris Mordetsky’s (Chris Masters) Masterlock Challenge

Mordetsky did his usual promo where he rips on Poughkeepsie (or whatever town he is in). He ripped the fans and picked some kid name Adam to attempt the Masterlock challenge.

The crowd was very upset over the person picked and a loud “bullshit” chant broke out. Hale Collins came out and wanted to accept the challenge. The crowd popped loud as Collins is from the area

Chris Mordestsky vs. Hale Collins

This started as a Masterlock challenge but when Collins was about to break the hold, Mordetsky hit him in the back and begin stomping in him.

Collins made a decent comeback and held his own and the fans were really really behind him through the whole thing.

The match ended when a masked man pushed Collins off the top and Mordetsky hit a spinebuster. This was not a bad match but not one of the best of the night either, but, to be fair, it had stiff competition with those opening matches.

I would give this match a 7 out of 10. The fans almost turned and got lost at the beginning but Collins helped win them back. Great effort, especially from Collins.

“War Machine” Rhino vs. “Death Machine” Sami Callihan

This was another excellent match and the crowd loved this one. This is the match I was looking most forward to of all the advertised ones.

Sami Callihan is an excellent wrestler and easily held his own against Rhino. This was a battle that went all over the place.

They fought all over ringside before finally making there way back inside the ring. Rhino landed everything he could but Callihan kicked out of the TKO, pile-driver and even the gore which really shocked the crowd.

Rhino took the victory with a Rhino-driver off the middle turnbuckle. This is another 8 out of 10 but with the Sami and Rhino involved it could have been so much better. Excellent match nevertheless!

Big Daddy V (Viscera) vs. ???

Big Daddy V had a manager named Nicky Benz (Nick Berk). They entered the ring and completely destroyed a “jobber” whose name I don’t know. This was a quick short match and Benz called out someone else got Big Daddy V.

Jobber #2 came out and landed some useless dropkicks on Big Daddy V. V did a chokeslam turned into a sit-down power bomb for the win. Benz called for a third guy and out came….SPIKE DUDLEY

This was a nice surprise for the crowd and they loved it. Spike delivered a kick and acid drop to V for the victory. After the match, Benz was mad and went after Spike. Spike delivered an acid drop on him as well.

This match gets a 6 out of 10 due to the match not being a real match but gets points for crowd reaction and it was typical Spike Dudley. As said was a nice surprise the crowd enjoyed!!!

Edge(Adam Copeland) Promo

Edge came out and cut a promo saying he was only here because of Tommy Dreamer and that this was first time he had done a show of this level since 1997. He said seeing Sami Callihan get piledrived by Rhino reminded him of Hulk Hogan getting piledrived by Paul Orndoff.

He said the teams in next match remind him of Edge and Christian vs The Hardy Boyz and that Young Bucks, Paul London and Brian Kendrick are going to do things now that The Hardys, Edge, and Christian couldn’t do in their prime.

The Young Bucks (Generation Me) vs. Brian Kendrick and Paul London

This was an absolute amazing match and nothing I write here will do this match justice.

Both teams worked very very hard and definitely impressed the live crowd. This match was fast paced and full of crazy high spots.

This match alone will be worth the price of the upcoming DVD. Double hiptoss’s, double planchas, and a whole lot of near falls.

Brian Kendrick and Paul London won this match after Kendrick nailed sliced bread and London landed a shooting star press. This match was insane and the crowd chanted “HOH” after.

This match easily gets a 10 out of 10 and was match of the night in my opinion,

Main Event: FWE Championship Match – Mike Knox vs. Carlito vs. Tommy Dreamer (Champion)

This was yet another good match with a lot of wrestling involved. There was a funny spot where Carlito ate part of his apple and spit it at Knox, Tommy then ate part of the apple.

Carlito took the victory after nailing Tommy with a backstabber. Knox went for flying leg drop but missed and Carlito covered Tommy.

After the match Tommy handed the belt to Carlito. This led to a “Thank You Tommy” and “HOH” chants.

Knox and Carlito shook hands and then Knox knocked Carlito out and Raven entered the ring and evenflo DDTd Tommy Dreamer. Raven continued to beat on Dreamer until “Enter Sandman” played.

Sandman did his usual long entrance and when he finally hit the ring he ducked an attempted Knox clothesline causing Knox to clothesline Raven.

Sandman then caned both Raven and Mike Knox which caused them to flee and run out of the ring. Tommy Dreamer grabbed a mic.

Before Tommy could speak the crowd erupted with “Thank You Sandman”, followed by “Thank You Tommy”, and finally “Thank You Both” chants.

Tommy finally spoke and said he wanted to thank everyone for making it a success and spoke about how he thought it was going to be a disaster. He spoke of how a short time ago his mother had a stroke and he thought she was going to die, but she is here selling merchandise for the show. He said Edge blew off neck surgery to be there. He also said his wife (Beulah) and kids were in the back and had been very supportive.

The closing match and segment was a lot of fun and very entertaining. I give the ending match and segments a 9 out of 10 as the crowd loved every bit of it.

My thoughts: The whole show was a lot of fun and definitely exceeded my expectations. For an opening event Tommy Dreamer and House Of Hardcore blew this one away. Dreamer has said there would be an HOH 2 and I highly recommend anyone who could go to go. I appreciated the fact that Tommy didn’t try to make money off the legacy of ECW. The show was original and definitely established itself as its own product. I hope and believe this company will go a long way if they keep this up.

The feedback at the show as well as online have been nothing but positive and believe me this is well deserved. Tommy has definitely sparked interest in this promotion and needs to keep delivering. People are interested and this could be a very successful thing.

Changes I would make: There really are not many changes to be made as it was an excellent first show, this could, of course change going forward but as it sits right now House Of Hardcore is on the right track to hang around and last for awhile. The ONLY change I would suggest is to have more unknown stars in the future as they did with Alex Reynolds and Tony Nese.

Overall Show: I would give the overall show a 9.5 out of 10 as it delivered everything and everyone as promised. Had a few surprises which is always a plus. When the DVD comes out I highly recommend everyone buy it and if you can attend the next show if possible, if it’s like this one it will be worth your time and money.

This show had the perfect mix of technical wrestling and fan reaction. It was better than anything I have seen put out in years. It had some cane shots, chair shots, and high flying insane spots so it would appeal to ECW fans. Also of the stars and wrestlers involved depending on what ECW meant to you and what you liked about it. Anyonen who appreciates wrestling would enjoy it.

If you are a wrestling fan and care about more than promos this is for you. If you want to see wrestling at its best, this is for you.

Tommy Dreamer is a well respected person within the wrestling community and has ties with WWE, TNA, and ECW. This level of respect maybe the reason people like Roadkill and Spike Dudley were on the card despite being retired for the last few years.

More info can be found http://www.houseofhardcore.net

Retro feud: Tommy Dreamer vs Raven

September 28, 2012Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

The number one way to make money in pro wrestling is with a great feud. Nothing draws bigger at the box office than a rivalry pitting good vs. evil. Today I spotlight one of professional wrestling’s greatest feuds.

Raven vs.Tommy Dreamer

In speaking of pro wrestling’s greatest feuds, one of the greatest from the last decade began locally in the city of Philadelphia, PA.

Extreme Championship Wrestling was in the early stages of a revolution in 1995 that arguably changed the industry forever. The days of boring matches, intelligence-insulting storylines, and characters you couldn’t relate to were over. ECW would bring their fans closer to their heroes and villains than any other company in the history of the business.

In walked Scott Levy. Levy, just out of the WWF under the name, “Johnny Polo” where he went from an in ring talent to an outside of the ring employee. Tape collectors who followed Scott Levy from his early days in Portland, to trips through Memphis, Global, and WCW were aware of his talents. At this stage in the game, it was truly a make or break career move for Levy to go from the WWF to ECW under a completely different gimmick.
Tommy Dreamer entered ECW as a muscle headed jock with overalls, and a pretty-boy smile. His in ring talents were never questioned, however the character became the antithesis of everything ECW fans hated about pro wrestling. Tommy would morph his character from smile to grunt as he became angry, took off the overalls, donned black pants and a black t-shirt, came back for beating after beating, and completely reinvented himself to something the fans could identify with.

The feud started when Stevie Richards began wearing some of Scott Levy’s old ring jackets to the ring. Richards and Dreamer had some altercations, and Levy would emerge as Raven.

Raven wore t-shirts, ripped jeans, and was anything but the “Scotty Flamingo” character Levy portrayed in WCW. Raven was dark, evil, manipulating, a cross between Jim Jones, Jim Morrison, and the scary kid who walked the school halls alone with little to no friends.

The back story to their rivalry was that the two were friends from summer camp. As kids, Dreamer got all of the girls and had all of the friends, while Raven was a loner. The two became rivals then, and this would continue into ECW. Raven hated Dreamer and Dreamer learned to hate Raven.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven turned into the longest running feud in ECW history. Starting in 1995 and continuing through 2000 when the two became a hostile team. Not enough credit is given to Dreamer, Levy, and booker Paul Heyman for sustaining fan interest over such a long period of time. On paper the storyline looks rather ridiculous. But the emotion, the intensity, the hate, the drama, the twists and turns in the story, and the tremendous abilities of Levy and Dreamer made it work.

The golden years of the feud were from 1995-1997. During this time period Dreamer and Raven had wrestled each other at least once just about every weekend, in every kind of match possible. Raven would include his crew of followers which included Beulah McGuillity, Mick Foley, the B.W.O, and others. In a business today where wins and losses are forgotten by the week, Dreamer was never able to beat Raven. During that time period the frustration and angst that Dreamer would carry with him into the ring against Raven made for wrestling heaven for ECW fans.

Their matches were the last of a dying breed of old-school brawls. The two would brawl all over the arena, come back to the ring, wrestle, brawl all over ringside, use chairs, ladders, tables, bleed buckets, and leave the fans standing on their feet yelling, “ECW” in unison.

In 1997 ECW took the company to a whole new level by entering the world of pay-per-view. WCW started to take them seriously, and raided ECW by signing then champion Raven. Raven and Dreamer had what was billed as their final encounter at Wrestlepalooza in an old-school “Loser Leaves Town” match.

This presented an interesting scenario to everyone involved in this at the time. The ECW fans read the Internet, read the newsletters, and were already aware of Raven’s signing with WCW. The news would obviously telegraph the result of the match. Behind the scenes up until the match, Raven had politicked hard to win the match, completely throwing off logic and the fans. Would Paul Heyman go the traditional route and do what was right for business or leave the fans stunned?

The two had one of the greatest ECW matches of all-time. The fans went nuts from start to finish. Unlike in the past where fans would split down the middle, this was bigger than Raven vs. Dreamer. This was now WCW vs. ECW and there was nothing more the ECW fans hated more than WCW.

The match itself was even more of a roller coaster ride than their previous wars. Dreamer, Raven and everyone involved wrestled this match as if they were in the main-event of WrestleMania. The match featured tons of interference, foreign objects, and twists and turns. Every time the fans expected the match to end, someone would kick out and the war would continue. This wasn’t about a championship it was about life to these two men.
Tommy Dreamer eventually won the match. The war was over, Raven was leaving for WCW, Dreamer theoretically represented ECW by killing off the (WCW) enemy, and the book on this feud was complete. Or so the fans had thought.

Just like great feuds of the past including Dundee-Lawler, Freebirds-Von Erichs, Flair-Steamboat, the feud would see new life several years later. Just like those great feuds of the past, the feud would never come close to reaching earlier proportions the second time around.

Raven would return to ECW three years later from WCW. A new twist of the feud saw Raven and Dreamer strike a small truce and win the ECW World Tag Team titles. The constant tension between the two provided for some great teases that never seemed to get off of the ground. Some things are better left untouched.

Also to note, they are the only two to have a feud in ECW,WWE and TNA

WWE: Retro feud/match: Kurt Angle VS Shane Mcmahon

September 25, 2012Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Background: In the early part of the summer of 2001, Shane McMahon was supposedly trying to acquire talent for his new vision of World Championship Wrestling. He was also trying to make an impact on the business and began a feud with former Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. As the defending King of the Ring, Angle was looking to repeat as KOTR and accomplish a feat no one had ever done.

McMahon and Angle were scheduled to fight the same night as Angle would be defending his crown. McMahon would play a pivotal role in both of Angle contests earlier in the night as he helped Angle advance to the finals against Edge, before causing Angle to lose his crown later in the night.

A fuming Angle took to the ring for his third match of the night (a street fight no less) and one the most memorable matches in WWE history.

The match: Angle enters the ring and immediately takes McMahon to the ground and begins to pound on him. The two would go back and forth momentarily, but McMahon was no match for a former WWE champion. Angle began to dominate the match with his technique and power advantage. But this being a street fight, McMahon took to using a variety of weapons including a kendo stick to inflict some damage on Angle. However McMahon never really had Angle on the ropes even after a suplex on the unprotected floor caused Angle to break his tailbone. The Olympic champion would eventually recover and brutalize McMahon in way we hadn’t seen before and haven’t seen since.

As the two battle near the impressive entrance way, Angle was in full control as he pulled McMahon in for an over head belly-to-belly suplex into the set. More specifically, the glass paneling with the letters “KOTR” on it. As McMahon ws launched towards the glass he didn’t make enough impact to bust through and so Angle tries again and is successful on this time around. Now inside the set, Angle attempts to suplex McMahon through another glass panel not once, but twice, but he was unable to generate enough momentum to force Shane through. Finally McMahon is just thrown face first through the glass and into aisle.

with McMahon out of it, Angle would place Shane’s prone body on a case and push it to the ringside area. After kicking out of a pin, McMahon would appear to be on the comeback trail until Angle would hit his signature Angle Slam off the top rope for the finish.

Thoughts: How anyone cannot enjoy this match is beyond me. McMahon held his own with one of the best in-ring competitors in WWE history and somehow helped get Angle over even more than he was before. Not to mention he continued the match after being dropped on his head three times when the suplex attempts failed to launch him through the glass.

Angle was spot on in this match doing everything he could to look like a crazed man, hell bent on ending Shane. The physicality of this match is very impressive as Angle holds nothing back on the inexperienced McMahon and vice versa.

One of the highlights in this match for me was commentary team of Jim Ross and Paul Heyman. While doing the classic face/heel banter, both men were on top of their game and added to the overall greatness of the match. I’m one of those believers that feels the men calling the match have enough power to make or break almost anything and these two helped make this match even better.

That being said, I watched this match with a couple friends today and we agreed that as great as this match is, it sucks that Shane McMahon was the guy who took the beating and gets all the respect for toughing it out. There was an entire locker room of guys that could have benefited more from the match than the boss’ son who wasn’t a regular in the ring.

But that doesn’t take away from what was a show stealer and to me one of the three best matches in the WWE that year.

Aftermath: Angle would go on to be a big part on the “Invasion” storyline and would even win the WWE title in September of 2001. McMahon would go on to help build “The Alliance” and try to take over the WWE throughout the summer and fall of 2001. The match itself is easily McMahon’s best effort as a wrestler and for Angle, is one of his best performances during his run with the WWE.

Retro video game review:the legend of Zelda, a link to the past

September 17, 2012Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

If you never experienced A Link to the Past, or if you didn’t experience it when it first came out over a decade ago, you might not get what the big deal is about this title. For those of you who were lucky enough to get the opportunity to play A Link to the Past, you probably would agree it is a wonderful game, especially considering when it came out.Also to point this out, according to the zelda timeline, this game takes place right after the ocarina of ime,in the timeline, it follows link in the path that branches to “the hero of time is defeated”

Gameplay

At heart, A Link to the Past is just a blend of the original Legend of Zelda with a dash of The Adventure of Link. You navigate Link through Hyrule and the dungeons via a top-down view and choose your equipment via an item sub-menu. You can initially explore much of Hyrule, but to progress on to later areas, you must aquire new items which you get from the dungeons. The Super Nintendo allowed for a much more complex game system, which can be seen in the vast amount of items Link can utilize, the enormous dungeons with multiple levels, the plethora of enemies on screen attacking Link and the challenge of tough puzzles.
Just start with Link’s primary weapon, the sword. Link can now use it in so many ways; he can swing it normally, he can charge it up to unleash a spin attack, he can hold it out to poke at things, he can dash with it and he can shoot out swirling lasers from it. Many of the classic items made a return, like the boomerang, bombs and bow and arrows, but some of the new ones became staples of the series. Who can forget the Hookshot, the Bombos Medallion, the Magic Cape or the Bug-Catching Net?

The overworld is laid out in a way where Link can initially peak around in every single area, but he can’t necessarily access all he sees. Boulders block his path in the mountains, while stone statues barricade the way into the Desert Palace. I wonder how many people got stuck trying to reach the Tower of Hera, a puzzle which forces the player to finally enter the Dark World for the first time. Besides the essentials of the overworld, there are tons of secrets hidden throughout the land. Heart containers, rupee caves and fairy fountains are aplenty in Hyrule.
However, the true beauty of the game comes from the dungeons. Masterfully designed, and probably unmatched even today, the dungeons in A Link to the Past were both challenging and numerous. More than just pushing blocks, killing all the enemies or bombing a wall like in the previous installment, A Link to the Past made the player truly think in order to progress. Items had to be used to their full potential in order to advance onward. Those lucky enough to survive the dungeons were rewarded with extremely awesome boss battles. You may have heard this already, but each boss truly feels unique.

The ease in which you control Link is the crux of this masterpiece. If you played the original installment, you already know how to operate the sword and your special item. Additionally, the extra buttons are put to good use. The A Button will later on allow you to utilize the Pegasus Shoes, an item which makes Link dash at full speed. Link could also access a graphic map instead of a plain and blocky grid-map. Bottles allowed Link to store items like magic potion or fairies. The hookshot could be used to pull Link across long distances, or pull distant things to him. Bombs could not only blast enemies and walls, they could blast Link and hurt him (which is actually a blessing if you know how to exploit it). All future Zelda games owe their gameplay to this installment.

Graphics

A Link to the Past was made relatively early on in the life cycle of the Super Nintendo, which many would label as a first-generation title. Even still, the graphical achievement in this game was superb. The SNES showed off its ability to render layers and scale objects. This is crucial for all of the dungeons and several areas of the overworld. The animations of Link as he traverses Hyrule makes it hard to believe how convincing he looked in the NES games. Enemies came to life; just knock a guard off the edge into a pit.
The overworld truly felt like it flowed together extremely well, as opposed to the blocky nature of the previous installments, in which the world radically changed at the advancement of a single screen. Players will also notice that even though the screen “scrolls over” at edges, that the screens themselves will actively scroll with Link to give the effect of a larger on-screen area. The graphical power of the SNES also allowed for NPCs to exist in the game, along with a sprawling town in the form of Kakariko. Hyrule felt alive.

In sharp contrast, the dungeons in the games were each very unique and had a very dark and grim feel. The Desert Palace had sand across much of the floor. The Swamp Ruins had water running through it. The Ice Palace gave our hero trouble as he slid across the slippery surfaces. The entire game just felt so massive and alive thanks to the excellent work the graphical design team did for A Link to the Past. Sure, by today’s standards, Four Swords Adventures and The Minish Cap make A Link to the Past look a bit dated. But not that dates. Even amongst next-generation two-dimensional games, A Link to the Past still holds its own.

Audio

Sure, The Legend of Zelda established the famous Zelda theme. But it was A Link to the Past that established nearly every other great Zelda tune fans have come to love. Would you like us to list off some of the great hits? How about the soothing melody of Kakariko Village, the powerful charge of the Light World theme (yes, it’s just another version of the original game’s overworld theme, but it still rocks), the elegance of the Fairy Fountain theme, the majesty of Hyrule Castle’s them or the power of the Dark World theme?
Just about every song in this game went on to become a fan favorite, and many of them have been used over, and over … and over again in later installments. But it’s not just the soundtrack. It’s the sound-scape. The sound effects in this game were pretty good. Though the sound of Link swinging his sword sounded a bit goofy, and the loud bang made when dashing into a wall is a bit overexaggerated, many of the other effects were nice. Take that sword and tap it against wall. Notice the ping it makes, especially when you do it to a weaker section of the wall with a crack. Blows against armored foes made a clang. Arrows impacting against a surface made the pop you would expect.

Alright, so maybe by today’s standards, the effects are a bit weird and unrealistic. But this is a fantasy game, and one that is over a decade old. I don’t think I’ve ever heard somebody tell me that the sounds in the game annoyed them or detracted from the game at all. It is just too bad that wit the re-release on GameBoy Advance a few years ago, Nintendo had to add in those horrific yells of Young Link from Ocarina of Time. Even still, the sounds give the game a fantasy tone, which is sufficient.

Challenge, Fun and Replay Value

A Link to the Past probably will frustrate gamers who grew up in the three-dimensional era, but those who somehow missed this gem the first time around who are familiar with two-dimensional adventure games should really find themselves at home with this title. Sure, some of the puzzles will make your brain hurt or cause you to check GameFAQs, but that’s pretty much a requisite (well, at least once in each game) of a Zelda title. The boss battles, should you actually find out the key to their weakness (cough, dungeon items, cough), become a bit more manageable.
But this isn’t like the newer titles, in which Link can withstand one-hundred blows before dying. Some bosses will take down Link in as little as two-to-three blows. So be prepared to try again frequently on most dungeons. However, the challenge never gets to the point of frustration, and most will find the challenge a welcoming element for those pampered by the built-in game aids in future installments. Also, unlike its three-dimensional brothers, doing everything in A Link to the Past won’t take up the rest of your lifetime.

Simply collecting the extra heart containers, finding all the upgrades and locating all the items is the only requisite of this title. No trophy or statue hunting. No excessive heart container collecting. No Skulltula or Mask collecting. Everything is very manageable and very rewarding for the time it takes to accomplish. The pace of play is very good, with the story developed very loosely in game to drive the player on.

Final Verdict

This is like the Bible of Zelda. If you haven’t played it, you don’t know Zelda. If you have, you get it. The graphics and two-dimensional gameplay may turn off fans who grew up on Ocarina of Time (or joined the bandwagon then). But if you liked The Minish Cap, you will love this game. If you can get over your graphic obsession, you will find that A Link to the Past is truly a great game, and you will finally understand why fans frequently call out its name when the discussion of best game ever is thrown around.

Gameplay: 10.0
Graphics: 9.5
Sound: 8.0
Challenge, Fun and Replay Value: 9.0
Final Score: 9.1

top 10 boss battles from square enix rpg series

September 15, 2012Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

here is my top boss battles from the square enix developer series.

10 Emerald / Ruby Weapon (FFVII)

Sure, those were the hardest optional boss fights I had ever done as a kid. Quite possibly the only really good hard hidden boss fights I could remember from back then too. But they definitely deserve a mention. I hate to say it, because this game was so amazing, but if you played, and beat FFVII, as many times as I did, with as many different combinations of sneaky tactics (7777), and (4-x Cut) (Phoenix – Final Attack) then you know you just simply had too many options to be “overly” amazing in those fights. I would love to see a remake of FFVII (only with better graphics, keep everything else the same, and add a few more challenging fights) They might want to take out the W-Item glitch though, 99 megalixers makes things wayyyy too easy.

Plus Vincents Death Warrant, and Cait Sith’s Limit Break Death, too many cheap alternatives.

9. son of sun (chrono trigger)

This will be a fairly gimmicky fight, you’ll only want to attack the flames surrounding the Son of Sun and hope you hit the right one, since it will counter-attack with Flare if you try to hit the center. The individual flames will also counter-attack with fire if you hit the “wrong” one. It’s advised that you equip the Red Mail to absorb fire, as many Ruby Armors as you bought, the Red Vest, and the Taban suit if you have Lucca and picked it up from Taban. If you hit the right flame, it will do damage to the center sphere, and keep attacking it until it shuffles, then try for another one. After you hit the correct flame enough times, the Son of Sun will lose its fire and turn into a moon stone. If you have fire resistant equipment this battle should be easy enough.

8. Omega MK-II(final fantasy 5 advance)

this version of omega is only in the GBA version of final fantasy 5 and it is very harder than the original.I say that because at the start of the battle, he will use barrier change(which is now known as shift change) to change its weakness so using magic straight forward is useless because it has auto reflect. another annoying attack other than wave cannon it does is “circle”. that will not only kill your character but it will remove them from the battle. it took me about 10 minutes to defeat him with the rapid fire/dual-wield combo, but the dragon kiss mix will work if you have the mix command. once he is defeated, he will drop the force shield so get ready for a battle

7.Sephiroth(kingdom hearts 2)

if you have played kingdom hearts 2 and went against sephiroth and kept loosing, then i was at the same spot until last week( 8/2/2012). when i finally beat him, i felt so relieved. even at level 99 you will still loose the battle depending on the equipment you are using. the first move he will always use will be flash(which was renamed oblivion in dissidia final fantasy), which means he will dash towards you with an slash from his sword.Also he is very fast and has other spells like meteor,stigma and shadow flare. his most dangerous attack is heartless angel which will reduce your hp to the 1 digit. i have spent years off and on trying to beat him and when i did,he dropped the 3rd strongest sword in the game which is the “one winged angel”. ign and other video game websites voted this battle as the hardest in the kingdom hearts series.

6.feral chaos(dissidia 012 final fantasy)

this is a fighting game with rpg elements so it counts. anyways, if you have played the 3rd part of the story up until the end, then you are going to have a brutal battle. its your 5 men vs a level 130(yes 130,no joke) feral chaos.Feral Chaos fights very much like his original counterpart: his melee Bravery combos are fast and difficult to avoid. He is equipped with the attacks Vicious, Erupt and Spew for Ground Bravery Attacks, and Destroy, Splinter and Raid for Midair Bravery Attacks. He has access to all his HP attacks. Feral Chaos mostly only uses Spew and Splinter from range, and Erupt or Raid when the player is directly above or below him. Feral Chaos most frequently uses Destroy to attack, and may use it several times in succession. He frequently Wall Rushes the player with either Destroy or Vicious, then follows up with Deus Iratus or Ventus Ire.The player should dodge as soon as possible to avoid being drawn into this combo. Feral Chaos will similarly call his Garland Assist to Wall Rush the player, then combo it with Deus Iratus or Ventus Ire. Because the player’s EX and Assist Gauges will be depleted if they are hit with an HP attack, the player may as well use EX Revenge or Assist Change to break Chaos’s HP attacks if they connect to avoid damage, as they will lose their EX/Assist charge either way. Fortunately, all of Feral Chaos’s HP attacks have considerable end lag, making it the optimal time to counterattack. The player can also block Destroy to stagger him, but this is risky since he may follow up Destroy with Deus Iratus or Ventus Ire instead of another Destroy.Also,Feral Chaos’ Shinryu Verus summon, like the original Shinryu, can be summoned multiple times in battle. It has four effects, all of which activate after a 20 second timer: the player and Feral Chaos swap Bravery, the player’s Bravery falls to 0, the player’s Bravery is locked, and Feral Chaos’ Bravery is tripled. Because they have 20 seconds warning to these effects, the player has a chance to plan for them.In battle, the 99.9x booster will all but ensure Iai Strike will activate, instantly doing 9999 Bravery damage. The player must then use an HP attack that inflicts Wall Rush. The damage will read “9999 + 9999”, but due to the Sniper Eye accessory and the booster level the Wall Rush damage will actually exceed the damage limit to do far more than ten thousand damage. Then, Exp to Bravery will instantly restore the player’s Bravery to many thousands of points again. The player repeats this strategy until Feral Chaos is defeated.also to note, his HP is over 130,000 so be prepared.

5. Lavos(chrono trigger final battle)

This battle is very complex, so you have to understand your enemy before attempting to kill it. It works like this: there are three bits, but the middle bit looks like a humanoid. This should make you believe that he’s the main target, but he isn’t. In fact, it’s the right bit that you need to focus on destroying. Once you take it out, you defeat Lavos. The only problem here is that the right bit’s physical and magic defense is maxed at the start of the fight. Also, the left bit constantly heals, while absorbing magic attacks (however it can’t withstand more than a few physical attacks).

A suggested minimum level for this fight is 45. With a lot of practice, it’s not hard to solo Lavos with any character at level 55+.

When one bit goes down, the right bit will shortly lower its defense to charge up “Active Life”. This move completely revives all destroyed bits. After that, the right bit’s defense will soon return to maximum, so you have to repeat the process. Sound simple enough? Well, it would be if it wasn’t for the MIDDLE bit. This main body likes to warp in time a lot, and each time it does it acquires a devastating new attack. These include the most powerful magic and physical attacks in the game, which can kill your entire full-HP party in one hit if you’re unlucky.

In spite of that, this can be an easy battle if you know what to do. Start with the bit on the left. Crono’s Confuse, Frog’s Leap Slash, Robo’s Uzzi Punch, or Ayla’s Triple Kick will take it out (or a combination of two). Don’t even worry about the Middle Bit unless you know it’s about to unleash an “Ultimate” attack (in which case you’ll want to prepare healing). The bit on the right is what you need to destroy. Use all of your most powerful attack once it lowers its defense. One thing to notice is that techniques that are amplified by low HP, such as Frog Squash and Dino Tail, will hit all bits for a lot of damage. Just after reviving a character, such as when he/she has 50 HP, you can deal out about 2000 physical damage.

Lavos can cough up some brutal attacks (both magic and physical), so make sure you have someone who can heal well, or have plenty of MegaElixirs handy in your inventory. Eventually the destroyed bits will be restored. The left bit can heal the middle bit, so destroy it and go back to the “Active Life” bit. Once you’ve destroyed the bit, you’ve beaten the game. Now sit back and enjoy the ending!!

4.safer Sephiroth(final fantasy 7)

i recommend that you do this battle with your party up to at least level 70 because his attacks will KO you.but whoever cheated to win this battle, well you better do it again..his HP depends on what have you done on the battle before this one..pretty much without meeting the requirements, his HP will be around 230,000.anyways, he has powerful attacks such as havoc wing,shadow flare, and pale horse.his well most known attack is supernova(i learned the planets that way when i was a kid lol) which has a long animation that shows the other planets that the meteor destroyed including the sun.when you do beat him, you will get one final battle between himself and cloud which is arguably the best final encounter scene in video game history(well to me the scene with big boss and the boss from metal gear solid 3 was the best haha).And this battle was memorable for the one winged angel theme in the background

3.neo shinryu(final fantasy 5 advance)

along with omega MK-II,this version of shinryu is on the advance version of final fantasy 5.neo shinryu starts the battle with mighty guard but if you dispel it, that will be a huge problem,it has attacks such as tidal wave,malestorm,doom, and many more and all are over 7000 damage.Neo Shinryu also has two hidden targets, responsible for his so-called “high miss rate”(which means that the attack shows but the damage wont display,therefore pretty much the attack just miss). These absorb multitarget attacks as well as Rapid Fire, and cannot be killed. That means the party should use single target attacks.A cheap method to beating Neo Shinryu(which i found on youtube) is to have a party of Master Dragoons Dual Wielding Dragon Lances, and have everyone Jump constantly. The dragon should go down in 4 jumps if they all hit. An alternative is to use the Apollo’s Harp, which will do 9,999 to Neo Shinryu if it successfully hits.

2.Goddess(final fantasy 6)

final fantasy 6 is my first final fantasy i have ever played and i have to say, the battle against the 3rd warring triad statue goddess is very tough, she has the lowest hp out of the other 2,but she is no joke at all..she will counter any regular attack with overture which forces the target to take all physical damage for the Goddess. Also She uses Thundaga, Thundara, Flash Rain and Quasar, a rare blue magic spell that does non-elemental damage to the party.when she is damaged in a total of 8 times, she will use a very dangerous spell called cloudy heaven. that will give your party a 20 sec timer above their head(which cannot be removed under any circumstances).When the number reaches “0” or if the target dies before then,the targets will become zombie and the effect will last until the end of the battle. the only way to counter this is if you equip your party with a safety bit because cloudy heaven is treated as an instant death rather than a status attack. she was a pain in the ass but yumalisca from final fantasy 10 is far worse

1.Ultimecia(final fantasy 8 final battle)

i have chosen this one because i broken 2 controllers trying to beat her and my parents got pretty mad at me for that, anyways she is the witch that controls time and the final battle will make you want to hate going against her in the first place.Ultimecia can cast Flare, Holy, Meteor, and Ultima, Dispel any positive statuses the party cast upon themselves, instantly kill GFs, remove an entire spellstock from any character’s inventory (even if it is junctioned to a stat), and reduce the entire team’s HP to 1 with her Hell’s Judgement spell. Once she reveals her lower half, she draws Apocalypse from it and begins to cast it upon the party. Apocalypse is a spell even more powerful than Ultima, and it can cause damage in the range of 8,000 HP or higher. If the party is not protected by Shell or invincibility, or have HP levels at 9,000 or above, the battle could end in an instant when Apocalypse is cast.When Ultimecia’s lower half is revealed, she will only use Hell’s Judgement, Destroy Stocked Magic, Absorbed Into Time,” Draw” Apocalypse,Shockwave pulse, and Apocalypse. She will often cast Draw Apocalypse after using Hell’s Judgement. During this time healing the entire party or use holy war, because she may cast Apocalypse instantly after drawing it, which could end the fight quickly.Also if one of your party members are dead and you do not revive them in time, they will be removed from the battle for good.the best way to beat her is use your strongest limit breaks. from squall’s rezokuken-lionheart. to irvine pulse ammo shot limit break..just go all out after you have max out your invertory because if you do not have enough magic/items, then you are pretty messed up for this battle.

send me some emails for your thoughts @ juliancannon70@yahoo.com

Wrestling: 5 tips for going to a wwe/tna or any wrestling event

September 10, 2012Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Hey Guys, I am back for another post. The last time I went to a WWE house show was in madison square garden back in march. It was worth my 90 bucks so here is some tips for attending an event.

5. Follow The Product

Did you know that Bret Hart will be on Raw this week?

Do you know that CM punk and Paul Heyman are teasing something for this monday?

How many fans know that a 95 pound girl – AJ – is running Raw now?

This is what I mean. Of course, the diehard fans will know what is going on. However, not everybody there keeps up with the story lines. Lots of them are just there to enjoy a show. By following the product, It will be much more engaging and an enjoyable show with knowing what’s going on.

4. Leave Your House Early

Trust me! I have been to well over 40 wrestling shows. From small shows from ECW when I was a kid, to WWE pay-per-views, you have to be ready to go.

Upon the doors to the arena opening, it is just pure chaos. I hope you are ready for thousands of fans all running to their seats. It may seem like I am exaggerating here, but I am not.

I have been to a lot of WWE events, and all but two have I been early and on time. The few that I was running late were not very fun to deal with. Not fun at all…Add scanning tickets, getting a drink, using the restroom, getting food (I usually don’t), and you have a lot more on your hands.That is not even considering the huge crowd around the merchandise stands! The newest (or best) shirts always sell out BEFORE the show even begins. It sounds redundant, but leave your house early and avoid all of this rush!

3. Signs/Posters

Who doesn’t love “Sign Guy?”

When going to a WWE show, make sure you have some creative ideas for signs. A poster can not only add some fun to the show, but it can land you on TV!

That is a very cool thing to think about. In front of millions of people, you could be replayed in video packages and in WWE Magazine photos for years to come.

Of all the events I have gone to, only a few times have I gone without a poster. More often that not, I make up a few nice “quotes” a few hours before the show and write them on a big poster. Very cool!

2. Pick Your Poison

When going to a WWE event, make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. The last thing you want to do is bring a “Negative Ned or Nelly” and be sitting next to him/her for over three hours.

That can’t be fun.

Every move creates a negative comment under their breath. Every rest hold brings out a loud “boring” chant. Every finish warrants a “cynical, insulting” response. As always, there is a fine line between freedom of speech and ruining a show for others around you.

How do these people EVER enjoy a Wrestling show?

I often wonder. In my case, I have a lot of positive energy surrounding me in life. Thus, I have no doubts the WWE show is going to be a great time!

1.Don’t forget your tickets!!

Every time I go to see a sporting, musical or any other entertainment event, there is only one concern. Just one to worry about!

“Do you have tickets?”

You can get into a show without a poster. You can get into a show if you are late. You can get into a show if you are alone. You can get into a show if you do not follow the product.

However, you NEED a proof of purchase (ticket). It may sound like the most obvious choice, but it is also the most important.

No ticket, no entry!