Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988) - Movie Review

The changing of the guard?

Good news folks! Halloween is just around the corner... Are you excited? I know I am, and one of the things that I look forward to doing every year (at least till they run out,) is doing a review for one of the, 'Halloween' movies!

I mean let's be honest folks, these movies really do symbolize the haunting awesomeness that makes doing a horror movie marathon so awesome!

Wit that said, the next movie that I am doing in this lot is: Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988)!

A killer movie, that ushered in one of the great scream queens!

Directed by: Dwight H. Little (Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid), and starring: Danielle Harris (Halloween), Ellie Cornell (House Of The Dead), Donald Pleasence (Halloween 2), George P. Wilbur (Die Hard), Beau Starr (Goodfellas), Kathleen Kinmont (Bride Of Re-Animator) & Sasha Jenson (Buffy The Vampire Slayer).

Now before I continue on with the story, I should say this, when John Carpenter tried to take the Halloween series back to where he had originally wanted it to be (basically as an anthology series of movies with different stories,) and made Halloween 3: Season Of The Witches (1982) as it's own independent movie completely separate from the original story line... Well that concept pretty much didn't work, and so the studios brought us back to, 'Haddonfield', with Halloween: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988)!

"Why now? You waited ten years. I knew this day would come. Don't go to Haddonfield, If you want another victim, take me. But leave those people in peace. Please, Michael?" - Dr. Sam Loomis to Michael Myers (a quote from Donald Pleasence in, Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Myers (1988)!)

It looks like is niece is not to happy to see her uncle!

As for the story, this movie takes place about ten years after that fateful Halloween night of 1978... Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur) is in a coma, the scarred Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) has never really gotten over it, and Laurie Strode is dead... And the rest of the town has begun to forget about it... Including Laurie's daughter, 'Jamie Lloyd' (Daniel Harris), who seems to know nothing about it!

All seems to be quiet, eh?

Well when a team is sent in to bring the slumbering giant mass murderer, he learns something new about the family he likes to visit on Halloween... And that is that he has a niece living in his home town!

This of course wakes ole Mickey up, and takes out his jailers, and heads home to, 'meet' his young niece...

And as for the new family that Jamie is living with... Well they are about to discover the deadly secret of her family when they meet her uncle, and he tries to take them all out!

Jamie's new family after meeting Jamie's old family!

In the end, this movie I am gonna say is not quiet as good as the classic movie that John Carpenter (Halloween) made, but considering how young Danielle Harris was in this movie, she did an absolutely brilliant job portraying Jamie, and Ellie Cornell... Lets just put it this way, after seeing this movie and the element of scary realism that those two put in to this film... Well... Danielle Harris became my favorite actress after this, and when ever I get the chance, I do try to find any Ellie Cornell movie that I can, because she is just fantastic!

Two great actresses, that really brought this series 

And as for everyone else... Well lets just put it this way, they did a brilliant job!

And the story... Awesome! The only things I didn't like about this movie are as follows:

1. There are a ton of retconned story lines in this franchise, and when I found out that Laurie Strode was still alive, and faked her death so that she could go and live in California... Well let's just put it this way, it kind of destroyed a little bit of both story lines for the Jamie Lloyd Halloween films, and original series as well...

2. The last thing that I am I going to have to say that I really didn't like about this movie is the mask... I know it is a dumb thing, but this one in my opinion is the worst of the entire batch of movies!

Anyway, if you haven't seen this movie yet, check it out... It is a good, one and well worth it! I thought so, and I suspect you will to!

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Video Game Of The Month: Bionic Commando (2009)

Bionic Commando (2009)... The Video Game Of The Month For A Reason!

When I first got in to playing video games, the video game system that had been really popular had been the, 'NES'... (I know, practically the stone age compared to modern systems...)

Well, there was a lot of truly fun video games out there, rather you were an RPG fan, or a side  scrolling shoot 'em game fan (There wasn't really much in the way of first person shooter games then... with the obvious exception of, 'Duck Hunt'...)

Anyway, during that time, one of my favorite video games on the NES (and still is one of my favorite games of that era was,  Bionic Commando (1988)!

This game was so much fun... I am glad they made a sequel to it!

Well I recently discovered an updated version of this game, that as it turns out is a sequel to the classic NES game... That game being: Bionic Commando (2009)!

Now I do want to review this game eventually, so all I am gonna say, is this story is amazing, the graphics are kick ass, and the game play is easy enough... Ultimately it is just awesome!

For more information, check out this trailer for the game!

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Discovering The World Of Video Gamming And Their Consoles For The FirstTime... Again

Contra... A particularly violent game... Definitely one that boys enjoyed back in the day!

When I was a kid, one of the things that I discovered at a very young age (as a matter of fact, I think I may have been in either 3rd or 4th grade when I first discovered these, but till then I was still so young that I was still mostly playing with toys... That was till I discovered the world of video games!

The way this happened was... Well it was when I was in Elementary School or so... You see, one of the things that the Principle of the School let kids do on Fridays, was get off School a bit early and one of the kids would bring in one of their Video Game Consoles (back then we are talking, Nintendo... Sega Genesis... etc...) And all of us kids got to play...

Well in the end, this gave me the opportunity to dive in to the world of video games at a very young age... And I will say, that video games...  As a kid growing up, gave me loads and loads of fun, I got introduced to some very awesome video games, such as: Final Fantasy (1987), Contra (1987) as well as, Space Harrier 2 (1988), as well as so much more!

A truly classic game, and was one of the ones that I am happy to say helped me to truly enjoy the world of video games when I was a kid!

 Well... I hate to say it, but as time went on, I came to stop playing video games all together... Considering the fact that I developed a website that has to do with reviewing and blogging about video games that this might be a little odd... But it is true!

You see, I happened to be in Colorado with my wife a few years ago visiting the inlaws, and her brother (who fancies himself a bit of a, 'gammer',) introduced me to the world of the, 'XBox 360'... And well to say the least, I was hooked like I was back in the late 80s through the 90s!

Well when my wife and I got home, of course I wanted to get me an XBox 360... Couldn't do so at the time... (At the time, the XBox 360 was still a bit pricey...) The first system though I was able to dive in to was Microsoft's original, 'XBox' video game console, and the few games I was able to get my hands on when I bought the system and games from a friend of mine who was selling his!

The first, 'XBox' video game console that Microsoft released.

 The XBox 360... A video game console that was released by Microsoft, and is one of two of probably the most prolific video game consoles to have come in the 21st century!

In the end, I was able to get my XBox 360... And I have not looked backs since!

Now you might be wondering why I am writing this... Well if you are some one who has any doubt about the value of a kid's first video game system... Well let's put it this way, coming from a gammer of many years... Engaging in activities outside is important for everyone, no matter what age they are, and so... The reason that I write this, is that yes, it is a toy... But you never know... Some day your kids could do what I did, and turn their love of video games in to a worthwhile career!

Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) - Video Game Review

Official Score = 4 Devils

I am gonna call it... I think that Super Mario Bros. maybe the most prolific video game to have ever come out in the history of video games!

Don't get me wrong, there are certainly a lot of truly awesome video games out there, but this game... Which believe it or not, since, 'The first Mario game' actually came out for the. 'Atari 26000', and was just simply called, 'Mario Bros.'

This video game series has not only catapulted, 'Nintendo' and all of it's home video game consoles in to the stratosphere... And when all of Nintendo's competitors either went out of business, or stopped making video game system, since Nintendo started in the video game market (with the exception of Sony's 'Playstation series' or Microsoft's 'Xbox series'... But let's be honest here, both companies as far as video games go, are relatively recent arrivals, and shouldn't count.)

Well regardless, with Nintendo having maintained it's status as a major player in the world of video games, thanks to the, 'Mario Bros.', it is no wonder that when a lot of people think of video games, they think about, 'Super Mario Bros.'

Now where as I believe that the first, 'Super Mario Bros.' is probably the most prolific, I have to say that Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988), is probably my favorite!

Mario going through one of the levels in Super Mario Bros. 3!

The reason for this is simple... This game, which has been seeing various releases on various video game platforms since the late 80s, and all the way up to the present... A video game which tells the story about how Bowser, his children and their Koopatroopa army invade the Mushroom Kingdom and stole the wands of the various King's and using them to turn them in to animals, are one of the most inventive of the series to date!

Don't get me wrong, each Mario game in it's own right brings something to the table that just makes things better, but I found that I really liked the fact that Mario and Luigi can find various suits that give them special powers that most of the time looks like animals, (I especially like the, 'racoon' suit'!

But besides tha I also found that I really liked the fact that they also had the classics super power getting power ups (including the, 'flower' that lets you shoot fire, or the, 'star' that kills any enemy that you touch.)

Mario with one original power, and is about to grab the, 'Flower Power' in Super Mario Bros. 3!

Also I like the fact that this video game was the first video game to introduce a world map for each of the, 'zones' that you have to work your way through... It is fun, and it gives you some choices as to which level you do or don't want to play through!

The last thing that I wanted to mention here... And this may seem silly, but there are some extra games that you can play while going through the game that if you win can help you as you make your way through the game (or drive you nuts if you loose often enough!)

In the end, I have to tip my hat to the team that made this job, they did a fantastic job, and well... If by some stroke of a lack of luck, you ended up not trying this game... Do so, I doubt you will regret... I know that I don't!

Altered Beast (1988) - Video Game Review

Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils

I don't remember all of them, and to be honest with you, I have not bought all of the video game systems that are out there, but one of the things that video game companies have done since pretty much at the very least the, 'NES', is that video game companies have been adding in a game or 2 to the system itself when you buy it as incentive to keep people motivated when they buy their systems...

A couple of examples of this are:

1. The XBox 360 package that I got came with Halo Reach and Fable 3.

2. For the NES, it was (at least for a while anyway,) 'Super Mario Bros.'

Well for the Sega Genesis I heard that at least at one point that Sega was offering, 'Altered Beast' (1988) as part of their package!

A game definitely worth trying!

Initially developed and produced by: Sega and released as an Aracade game, this game told the story of a Greek Centurion who was resurrected by Zeus in an effort so that the centurion could rescue his daughter, 'Athena' from a demon god by the name of, 'Neff', who lives in the, 'Underworld'...

A fun Arcade/Home Console game that is worth playing!

This game was released during the days of the popular, 'side scrolling' fighting games that were still extremely popular, but this one I remember had a little bit of a twist with it... You see, in this game the character is given the ability to become various beasts when you got, 'power-ups'...

Also the basic graphics of the game could be said to be the direct ancestor of the type of graphics in video games that we see today... What I mean by that is the fact that where as older games... Being graphically fun, still had the strongly pixelated look that was the standard for a lot of the video games of the 1980s... In Altered Beast, it was significantly less pixelated, and starting to seriously come together...

Ultimately this game is not hard to figure out, and it is fun, if you have a chance to play it, I would say give it a try, it is well worth it, and you might find that to be the case as well... I know I did!

Ghouls N Ghosts (1988) - Video Game Review

Official Score = 3 Devils

The Nintendo... What can I say about this system that hasn't already been said? I mean I would say that this game console is to the world of video games, what the, 'VCR' was to movies! A truly memorable system that produced some truly amazing games that even by today are still truly awesome, and I would even say are on par with some of the more modern games!

I mean rather you are playing a horror game, or a science fiction game, I have found that there are just a ton of these really fun games that were created for the Nintendo! And you know what? Ghouls 'N Ghosts' (1988) Is definitely one of them!

A fun classic!

Developed & Published by: Capcom initially for the Arcade, but eventually for a ton of home consoles... In this game you play as a knight that has to go through a host of, 'scary' levels and you have to fight a whole host of undead baddies in an effort  to restore the souls that had been stolen by Lucifer!

Is that, 'Game Of Thrones'? Nah... But it is still fun!

Well the truth is, is if you are in to these fun side scrolling games, I think that you might really like it, I mean as far as game play goes, it is not hard to figure out... the music in this game is also a lot of fun as well!

As a matter of fact, I would say that the only real problem with this game is that it is just hard enough that if you get in to one of those runs where you keep dying, then you might get pissed and turn off the game (which is a problem because you can't save your progress!)

Ultimately guys, this game is fun, I recently picked it up for the mobile phone, and it is just as much fun as it was all those years ago! So if you get a chance to try it, I highly recommend doing so, it is well worth it!

Box Art For The First Five Mario Games Ever

Super Mario bros. is a classic series that helped make, 'Nintendo' what it is today!

Being a fan of art and a fan of video games, I have found that as time goes on, that rather it be in the form of music, or box art, or the like, that the art that has helped to create masterpieces in video games have always been great, and are just getting better! So how befitting it is to showcase some of the great box art that helped make the, 'Super Mario Bros.' The phenomena it is today!

At number 5: Donkey Kong (1981):

A truly classic game!

At number 4: Donkey Kong Jr. (1982):

A fun that probably helped cement, 'Donkey Kong' as a historic video game franchise!

At number 3: Mario Bros. (1983):

This video game saw the brothers working together for the first time!

At number 2: Super Mario Bros. (1985):

This maybe one of the most famous video games ever made!

At number 1: Super Mario Bros 2 (1988):

This game saw the first major update of the series.

Super Mario Bros 2 (1988) - Video Game Review

[caption id="attachment_557" align="alignright" width="307"] Official Score = 3 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Ok, so I know that this particular review is not exactly, 'horror' or, 'sci-fi' but since enough of the series fluctuates with elements of, 'sci-fi' in it, I thought that doing a review for, 'Super Mario Bros 2' (1988) would be fun!

Originally developed by Nintnedo's R&D for the NES, this game, which would be re-released at least 5 different times all over the world for video game systems that besides the, 'NES' would also include: the, 'Game Boy Advance', 'Wii', '3DS' & 'Wii U', and which also utilized the same, 'platform' format that tells the story of how, 'Mario' and his team went to a new, 'dreamland' to stop a new big bad for carrying out his nefarious deeds!

Where as it is true that the same basic 2D, 'platform' format was used in the creation of this game, this game also was the first... and as far as I know, only Mario game of it's type to utilize a system that allowed you to play as different characters (besides just Mario or Luigi...)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="618"] In, 'Super Mario Bros 2' (1988) one of the characters you got to play as is, 'Toad.'[/caption]

Another thing that this game did was that it introduced the concept of being able to not just pick things up in the game, but also to be able to pick things up and throw them at the enemy... This variation proved in my opinion to not only be a lot of fun, but with the expanded story line, I actually (and until I played this game for the first time, couldn't believe,) but all of this in my opinion had actually made this game a lot more entertaining then it's original game!

Now like most of the older games, I have to imagine that it is at least to some extent harder to find, but in the end, it is well worth trying out if you get the chance!

http://youtu.be/j_gmxAMUmV4

Child's Play (1988) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_385" align="alignright" width="353"] Official Score = 2 Devils[/caption]

When you are a kid one of the favorite things that kids like to do is to play with toys right? If you’re a boy, then oft times it would be to play with Action figures and video games of some sort (I don’t know what sort of toys are out there today, but when I was a kid it was all about Gi Joes and Transformers and the like.)

One of the things that I used to like to do when I was a kid was to watch TV Shows and Movies that were based on these Toys and Video Games that I used to like to play with when I was a kid, such TV shows as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (The animated TV series that was around in the 80s and the movies that were around in the early to mid 90’s) GI Joes (The 80s animated series), and others of the like…

The truth is though is that I found another type of movie that was based on toys when I was a kid that I also found to be rather interesting, and that is the horror movies that are based on toys!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] This killer doll from, 'Puppet Master' (1989) is one of the most famous killer toys in horror movie history![/caption]

When I was a kid, I have to admit that I really didn't like these movies (scared the hell out of me), but I re-discovered them here in the last decade or so, and I have to admit that they are a source of some awesome good times! Such movies as:

1. Dolls (1987)

2. Puppet Master (1989)

3. Hellraiser (1987)

And of course there is the more famous and universally recognized horror movie that has to do with demonic toys and the lot, and that is Child’s Play (1988)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] He will be your son or daughter's friend to the end... The only problem is, is that ending is brutal![/caption]

Now I did like this movie, but I do have to admit that I thought the sequel was better and I will tell you why… The direction from Director Tom Holland (Fright Night) was great, and even thought that writing by Don Mancini (Cellar Dweller) was great, and heck even the acting from Alex Vincent (My Family Treasure), Chris Sarandon (Fright Night), Brad Dourif (Halloween) and even for the most part from Catherine Hicks (Turbulence) was fun…

It was just lacking something which we will get in to in just a second…

You see this movie which tells the story of how after nearly dying, a criminal puts his soul in to the body of a heavily sought after doll that ends up falling in to the hands of the, ‘Barclay Family’ who then decides to terrorize the family until he can get himself out of the body of the doll and in to the body of little Andy Barclay (Vincent) and can continue his reign of terror!

[caption id="attachment_2667" align="aligncenter" width="450"] When a toy is trying to transfer his soul in to your body, you got to ask yourself... 'How did I get here?'[/caption]

Now the truth is, is that this movie was a fun one, but the formula was all wrong… What I mean by this, is that in Child’s Play 2 (1990) and Child’s Play 3 (1991) and began to get kind of convoluted for all of the future Child’s Play movies, is that the sequels all brought the element of more of the surrealistic slasher films that were so popular in the 80s, but Child’s Play felt more like it was a supernatural movie (which it really should not have been, and would have been better a surrealistic slasher flick!)

In the end, if you watch this movie you might find that you like it, but it is definitely not what you would expect!

http://youtu.be/p3zPevsovDE

Bring Blaster Master To The Big Screen

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="549"] Blaster Master was originally a video game, but would make for a great movie![/caption]

One of the biggest areas that Hollywood seems to have adequately neglected and replaceed with literally dozens upon dozens of remakes... are the movies that are based on video games... Don't get me wrong when I say that there truly are some impressive movies based on video games... There are some duds as well... But there are some truly fun ones that still need to be made!

So I am hopping that with this series, to bring awareness to Hollywood about the fact that it is not time yet for Hollywood to remake everything it has ever made... That time will come, but until then there are other avenues to exploit... And one of them being, 'movies based on video games!'

Another great example that I personally feel could be adapted to serve as both a great movie as well the classic NES video game that it already is, is the classic video game, 'Blaster Master' (1988).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="468"] Blaster Master... A great game, could be a great movie![/caption]

Now I will admit to the fact that unless you were born before about, '2000', then most people will have almost certain have forgotten about this killer game (the truth is, I hate to say it, but this game did not get a whole hell of a lot of recognition when it first came out either...)

Never the less, this video game would make an amazing movies... The reasons are as follow:

1. I think there are periods in general where, in Hollywood there is just not the right group of talent available to make a truly amazing Science Fiction movie (This may be the reason why there was literally, 'YEARS' between each of the early Alien movies...) But I think with the success of, Prometheus (2012), that, the time to strike for a Science Fiction movie, with a great cast, is now.

2. I think to really do this movie right, that up until recently the technology to make the special effects to the caliber necessary for such a great movie was not really available until recently.

3. And since the story is fairly well established in the video game, even with the usual, 'Hollywood' changes, it would be almost impossible to destroy the story for this story.

But don't take it from me, check out this clip from the video game, and lets get started with pre-production!

http://youtu.be/Wakyt-KtoBU

Space Harrier 2 (1988) - Video Game Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

When I first got in to Video Games, the main system that everyone that I knew, that would play video games on, was on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and well as the late 80s turned in to the early 90s and the technology that made the, 'Nintendo' became old and time to be replaced, they replaced it with the video game system, the, 'Super Nintendo Entertainment System' or, 'SNES'... And that is when things started to get interesting...

What I mean by that is the fact that during this time, Sega would go on to release a system that would not only rival the SNES, but would continue to do so through out most of the 1990s, and that system of course would be the, 'Sega Genesis'!

Now for me, I first got in to this system, like all video game systems that I played at the time, when I played it at a friends house! And you know what? One of the first games that I would go on to play when I was a kid... A game that is still to this day one of my favorite games of all time is, 'Space Harrier 2' (1988)!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Space Harrier 2... What can I say... It freakin rocks![/caption]

Originally developed by: Sega-AM2 and published for the Sega Genesis, this video game told of the year 6236, in which our hero, (Harrier), ends up getting a distress signal light years away from his current position, once he gets there, it looks like he is going to have to go on another one man war against an entire army to defeat the forces of evil that have overrun that area!

The truth is, is this game may seem extremely easy, but it isn't, you see essentially you are constantly moving forward killing enemies and dodging objects... And trust me when I say that it may sound easy... But it isn't... The truth is, is it is extremely difficult... But in the end, what does help is the fact that this games controls are pretty easy to get used to!

In the end, this game was the first that I ever played on the Sega Genesis, and in the end, it is still in my top 10 favorite video games of all time, and if you give it a chance I think you guys might like it as well!

http://youtu.be/OhbrS9tJlic

5 Classic Weird Al Parodies That Rock

I know this blog is is dedicated to, Heavy Metal, Rock 'N Roll and the various sub genres associated with this type of music, but I thought that I would take a change of pace this one time and talk about something a little bit off topic (not entirely... But a little...)

This topic being, '5 Classic Weird Al Parodies That Rock'.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="475"] Weird Al doin a parody of Michael Jackson's, 'Bad'[/caption]

Now I know this is a little bit of a switch from the norm, but with Christmas coming up, I thought that it would be fun to do a list with some great songs that Weird Al has done, that not only rock, but you will laugh your ass off!

At number 5 we have: Ride The Bus (1980), a parody of Queen's 1980 hit song, 'Another One Bites The Dust':

http://youtu.be/NeMrttj8Ucg

http://youtu.be/7Dmd1b-sfUw

At Number 4: Fat (1988), a parody of Michael Jackson's 1987 classic song, 'Bad':

http://youtu.be/dsUXAEzaC3Q

http://youtu.be/t2mU6USTBRE

At Number 3: Smells Like Nirvana (1992), a parody of Nirvana's 1991 hit song, 'Smells Like Teen Spirit':

http://youtu.be/hTWKbfoikeg

http://youtu.be/FklUAoZ6KxY

At Number 2: Gump (1996), a parody of The Presidents Of The United States Of America's 1995 hit song, 'Lump':

http://youtu.be/_sj_U6vObUA

http://youtu.be/hQwWaWFjd0Y

At Number 1: The Saga Begins (1999), a parody of Don McLean's classic 1971 song, 'American Pie':

http://youtu.be/ih7N9_VUU4U

http://youtu.be/hEcjgJSqSRU

In the end, I know this is a little turn in a different direction, but I found that Weird Al is not only absolutely hilarious, but he also rocks in the same time, please enjoy!

Queen Of The Damned (1988) - Anne Rice - Book Review

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignright" width="258"] Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils[/caption]

The truth is, is as a series, 'The Vampire Chronicles' is probably the most well rounded, thought up, entertaining and engrossing series I have seen to date that has been produced in the literary world, ever!

Almost one for one, just about every one of the novels that I have read from this series are not just entertaining, but engrossing and gave me the rare opportunity to actually root for the bad guy... (Because let's be honest, but a person, supernatural or not, who kills people, have always been or will always to some degree, an evil person!)

Unfortunately though, there is only one or two novels that are in this series that albeit were not bad... They were just boring as hell!

Unfortunately, 'Queen Of The Damned' (1988) is one of them!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="314"] Sad to report that this isn't one of the better books that Anne Rice has done...[/caption]

You see, this novel takes place not long after, 'The Vampire Lestat' and how these vampiric friends (the various loved ones, that have been introduced over the first 2 novels,)  and how after Lestat is taken by, 'Queem Akasha' to be her new consort, end up working to stop Akasha before she is able to kind of turn the world in to her own image of a sort of pseudo-sexual bizarre utopia!

In the end, where as this book is kind of dull (The concept of the story at first grabbed me, but the problem was, is that the story for this novel just was uninspiring to me!) One thing about this book that I did like is, how it explores the origins of vampirism in the world of, 'The Vampire Chronicles'.

So in the end, if you have been following this series, I would say read this one as well... It may not be the best of the series, but if you miss this one, then I truly think you will be missing a truly important piece of the overall story!

Mega Man 2 (1988) - Video Game Review

[caption id="attachment_557" align="alignright" width="307"] Official Score = 3 1/2 Devils[/caption]

One of the interests that was instilled in me at a very young age is an interest in the Science Fiction genre... And you know what? I am glad, because having grown up in a world that is still very turbulent, Science Fiction has in a way shown a very practical view of a future where Mankind has stopped trying to destroy each other for petty reasons... But not just that, but also have shown a very practical way of getting to that future (all wrapped up in exciting adventures...)

Then there is also the other side which is just fun escapism, and that is when that world of the future shows a time when a hero or a group of heroes need to overcome some truly overwhelming odds!

A fun example of this first side is stuff like, 'Star Trek', but a great example of the second side is the video game, 'Mega Man'... Or to be more direct, 'Mega Man 2'!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="273"] A truly classic video game![/caption]

Developed and Published by Capcom & originally released on the NES on December 24th 1988, this Sci-fi/Action platform (which would eventually be re-released for the various Playstation platforms, Wii & 3DS as well as iOS,) tells the story of how after his epic of defeat of the evil Doctor Wily in the first video game, Doctor Wily rebuilds his forces and creates a new fortress...

Because of this, Dr. Light sends his own robotic hero back out in to the world to destroy Dr. Wiley and his forces once again before Dr. Wiley can see his plans for world domination realized!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="256"] Dr. Wiley & Mega Man go head to head in, 'Mega Man 2'![/caption]

Now the truth is, is I found this game to actually be better... What I mean by this is the fact that I found the bad guys in this game to be a bit more fun (Don't get me wrong, the original bosses were fun, but these were just kind of cooler), Also this video game's controls were a little bit more refined... And also the last thing that I wanted to say is that in a lot of the old Nintendo Games, alot of the times you couldn't save these really long games that you would play... So you either had to play the game to completion... (Or you could do what I did, and pause the game and turn off the TV and go to sleep with the system still on and continuing playing in the morning...) But with Mega Man 2... Well they still didn't exactly allow you to save your game... but they did give you a code option so that when you came back to the game, that you could restart the game from where you left off.

The only problem that I had with this game is that the story was not terribly inventive, and thus even though there was a lot of cool additions to the new game, it was still packaged in the same basic wrapping from Mega Man...

Well despite that, this game is fun, and if you get a chance, then I would recommend checking it out. I found it well worth my time, and if you give it a chance, you might find the same thing as well!

http://youtu.be/3WnNS3TrlbE

In Remembrance Of Sega's Home Console Systems

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="685"] Sonic The Hedgehog... One of the most popular games that Sega ever released![/caption]

You know, if you have been playing video games for as long as I have, then I am sure that you have played on a fair amount of systems, everything from the old, 'Atari' systems all the way up to such systems as the, 'Nintendo DS', the, 'X-Box 360' and if you are lucky, the, 'X-Box 1.'

Well there is one video game system that when I was a kid that I found to be just a total blast, A video game system that helped me realize that there was more to gamming then just what was on the, 'Nintendo' a system that to this day I still believe is something that has helped to define my gamming interests, and that system is the, 'Sega Gensesis'!

Sadly, Sega would close down it's console development when they stopped making home consoles after the demise of the, 'Dreamcast.'

But before the death of Sega's video game consoles, they came out with a ton of truly amazing systems that played a lot of classic (and in some cases, 'historic') video games, including their flagship game,  'Sonic The Hedgehog' (1991). So I decided to a little memorial for those classic home console systems, that we all remember enjoying when we were kids was in order!

The first one of course being the. SG 1000 cartridge based home console system that Sega released back in 1983...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] An ad for Sega's first home console system the, 'SG-1000' a system that never saw the light of day in the United States.[/caption]

This one I will admit was a bit before my time, but this system, which was released on July 15, 1983, (Released the same day as, Nintendo's, 'Family Computer' (the forerunner of North America's NES).) This system was release to only moderate success, and was never actually launched in North America or in the UK...

In 1984 Sega would release an update to the SG-1000 called the, 'SG-1000 II'.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Sega's, 'SG-1000 II', while functioned essentially the same as the SG-1000 it really only looked newer...[/caption]

With primarily just cosmetic changes, (I,e. The place to plug in the SK-1100 keyboard being moved from the back to the front of the machine, and the shell being changed,) this console basically functioned the same as it's predecessor... The only other difference is that the Japanese version of the SG-1000 II had a game card reader called a, 'Game Catcher' that used Sega Card technology to read these cards (At the time, game cards were only utilized in systems in Japan.)

Sega would also go on to make a computer that was compatible with the SG-1000 video games... But in 1985 Sega would produce it's first system that would truly launch it in to the world of gaming... That system being the Sega Mark III or, 'Sega Master System'.

[caption id="attachment_2070" align="aligncenter" width="450"] The Sega Master System... One of the first truly remarkable video game systems that I believe made, 'Sega' a powerful force in the video game world![/caption]

Now this system was truly an amazing system... I mean I only had the opportunity to play a game on this system once some time around the late 80s - early 90s when I happen to be at my cousin's house (who happened to have one,) and I was so hooked that I believe I played it for almost the entire time I was there... needless to say this system was comparable to North America's, 'NES' and although I don't really remember what games were on here, I remember that I had just as much fun playing with that as I later would with my Nintendo!

At this point Sega's video game consoles were starting to get closer and closer to their, 'Sega Gensesis' console, and the next one here is, Sega Master System II.

[caption id="attachment_2072" align="aligncenter" width="450"] At this point in the game, not only had Sega become a direct competitor, but they had begun to out stripe Nintendo, due to the larger availability![/caption]

In the end, this system did so well, that due to it's larger availability, it had begun to out due Nintendo's, 'NES' due to it's wider availability!

Now for the next one on the list (and a personal favorite of mine), The, 'Sega Genesis'!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] The, 'Sega Genesis' probably one of the most memorable video game systems that was released in the 1990s![/caption]

Known as the, 'Sega Mega Drive' outside of the U.S., this video game system, which would be released in 1988 and later around the world, would become the most successful video game system that Sega ever produced. This video game system,  which released the world wide phenomena, 'Sonic The Hedgehog', would be released 2 years before Nintendo's, 'Super Nintendo', and was so popular that between the 2 systems, there would launch the first real fierce competition war between the 2 systems and companies that would really last through out the 16 bit era of video gamming!

In 1991 in Japan, Sega would go on to release the first real CD based console gaming system called the, 'Sega Mega Drive CD' and then later in 1992 would release it for North American distribution under the label: 'Sega CD'

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] This add on to the Sega Genesis would bring video gamming to an even higher level![/caption]

Personally I played this add on at a friends house in the mid 90s, and where as it did have it's usefulness, it was not one of those systems that had games that particularly jumped out at you... I personally fell like the best thing about this system is what the system brought to the history of, 'home console systems'.

The next one, and I will be honest with you guys, was another system I have only played a handful of times... Fun but not great... That was the, 'Sega 32X'.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="432"] The Sega 32X.[/caption]

I will be honest and say that this add on to the Sega Genesis was for me not particularly thrilling... I would say that probably the best thing about this system is that it brought the graphics level up to 32bit... But to me, the games weren't particularly memorable...

Sega Neptune... I will be honest with you guys and say that I personally never played it... (Hell I never heard of it till now...) And apparently not a lot of people would have heard about it... You see, this system was supposed to be the hybrid version of both the, 'Sega Genesis' and the, 'Sega 32X'... But after a delay, and the closing of the Sega 32X line... The Sega Neptune just became one of the systems that never was...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="390"] The Sega Neptune... A console that died before it had the chance to live.[/caption]

The Sega Saturn... Have you ever enjoyed something for so long that you just knew that there was no where left to go after this? Well the truth is, this system was that for me!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"] One of the last truly great systems to be released by, 'Sega' before it stopped making consoles...[/caption]

Released in 1995, and going in to direct competition with Nintendo again, and Sony, (who shortly would be releasing the first, 'Playstation',) this system never had the traction to keep up with the competition, and in all truth, like all great things, the dynasty that Sega had setup for itself was beginning to falter... Although I will be honest with you and say that I was a fan...

The next one up is the un-released, 'Sega Pluto'.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Supposedly this was to be the prototype for the new, 'Sega Pluto'.[/caption]

Not much is known about the systems or the games that would have come out... but supposedly this system was supposed to be a direct update to the, 'Sega Saturn' and if released, probably would have been the first system to offer internet access!

Sega Dreamcast... Now this truly was the last home console that Sega has released to date...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Released as precursor to the coming systems such as, 'Playstation 2' and the like that had taken a technological leap ahead of the rest... Sega's final system had been at first a success... That was until tragedy struck![/caption]

When the Sega Dreamcast had been released, it had started off doing well... But when the new systems such as the, 'Playstation 2', which could support, 'DVD's', Sega ended up realizing that they could no longer keep up and ended up discontinuing their home video game unit...

In the end folks, Sega's video game systems maybe gone but they are never forgotten!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] R.I.P. Sega's Home Video Game Consoles (1983 - 2001).[/caption]