Welcome back oh Readers of said
Rotten. I thought we would take a small break from Indie Horror and
Indie Action and go the franchise that many new and old fans are
enjoying this particular creation of Jon Favreau (Swingers,
Made, Zathura, Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Cowboys & Aliens)
as Disney carries on the galaxy far, far away.
This is The Mandalorian Season 2.
Well, this is another fine mess you have gotten us in, Mando.
Catching back with the Mando (Pedro
Pascal of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sisters, The Good Wife, Lights
Out, The Adjustment Bureau, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, Sweet
Little Lies, Red Widow, Game of Thrones and Graceland) as he
is now a clan or tribe of two. His mission is to watch over the
child and bring him to his own people. To do this, he will have to
find fellow Mandalorians and his best best is hitting the Outer Rim
systems. With hunters chasing the Razorcrest down, plus Remnants
of the Empire in full swing, the sky is getting crowded.
Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito
of Miami Vice, Sweet Lorraine, School Daze, Do the Right Thing,
Malcolm X, New York Undercover, Big City Blues, Homicide: Life on the
Street, The $treet, Girls Club, Chupacabra Terror, South Beach,
Breaking Bad and Payday 2) current commander of the former Imperial sector has need of the child as he has exhibited a high
degree of natural force control. Most likely another means to an
end.
Beskar's chafing my ass, Phil.
Mando can't always be the lone
gunfighter. He has made quite a few enemies but thankfully he also
has allies. Greef Karga (Carl Weathers of Rocky, Rocky II,
Death Hunt, Fortune Dane, Predator, Action Jackson, Tour of Duty,
Street Justice, In the Heat of the Night, Happy Gilmore, Assault on
Devil's Island, Brothers and Magnum P.I.) running the
township of Nevarro, alongside former Rebel ground trooper Cara Dune
(Gina Carano of Blood and Bone, Haywire, Almost Human, In the
Blood, Heist, Deadpool, Daughter of the Wolf, Mandness in the Method
and The Mandalorian) With the shadow of the Empire's end and
the light of the New Republic being formed, the galaxy is quite busy.
This season pushes the conventional
story telling bringing in new threats, new character and reprise
characters you have encountered before. Guaranteed to offer
something you may have or not seen before.
Mon Calmari's tough on drunk spacing.
Following a trail of bread crumbs,
Mando is trying his level best to watch over the child, contact those
that could instruct the boy in the Force and handle bounties as
always. Going from being a manhunter to being a guardian is a shift
in his character's dynamic and he wears it well, in spite of being
out of his element.
What makes this series highly
enjoyable, is the simplistic writing but complex characters. Almost
every facet of it feels like the proverbial Spaghetti Western. The
lone gunslinger helping the helpless, facing bandits, back shooters
and existing government men. All the while, it incorporates the Star
Wars legacy of stories yet to come. From effects, costumes and
vehicle set and planetary set designs, you cannot help but feel you
have sat through a Star Wars mini-movie. Heroes, villains and
everyone caught in-between, this is the Star Wars continuation that
you look forward to.
As a child of the original era, I can
say I have thoroughly enjoyed these two seasons and really look
forward to seeing the next adventures to come.
Good day my readers and welcome back.
So with the pandemic I have been asked to do a few
outbreak/plague/zombie movie reviews and...no. I will maybe partake
in a little of that click bait later but as of now, I would rather
talk about a decent series instead. With Disney behaving like Skynet
consolidating multiple companies under the Conglomerate of the Mouse,
it leaves us wondering how will the Disney Star Wars hold up. Well I
enjoyed Rogue One, The latter sequels have a varied effect (we
won't be going into that right this minute) and the Solo prequel
was...a film. So instead of that, the flavor of the last 5 months
has to be the lone hunter roaming the planetary systems...catching
bounties. This is The Mandalorian.
Better than Boba, baby!
As it was written following closer to
the Expanded Universe (Star Wars Novels) we have a tale of a
capable hunter (Pedro Pascal of Good vs Evil, Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, Without a Trace, The Good Wife, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam
Axe, Red Widow and The Mentalist) from the Mandalorian tribes
as the planetary system of Mandalore was long since attacked and
unified under the Empire during a military campaign simply known as
The Purge. Yeah I may have read a few Star War books. Our hunter
is hot on pursuit claiming bounties left and right as a true
Mandalorian does, the art of the hunt is very much part of his
culture, as is wearing and brandishing weapons a part of his religion.
They reveal themselves to no one as the helmet and armor is their
identity. They can chose to reveal their name but it is rare the
trust outside of the clan is warranted.
It's a living...
Head of the Bounty Hunter's Guild,Greef
Karga (Carl Weathers of Rocky, Force 10 from Navarone, Rocky
II, Death Hunt, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Predator, Action Jackson, Street
Justice and In the Heat of the Night) is doling out bounty
contracts left and right but pickings are slim. Not everyone in the
galaxy like paying Guild costs but a private customer wants a job
done and done right. The contract has been open to anyone thinking
they can do the job so Mando has quite a bit of competition to deal
with. Meeting with the Ugnaught tinkerer/farmer/ Blurrg rancher
Kuiil (Nick Nolte of Rich Man, Poor Man, 48 Hrs.,Under Fire,
Farewell to the King, Another 48 Hrs., The Prince of Tides, Blue
Chips, Mulholland Falls, Nightwatch, Affliction, Hulk and The
Beautiful Country) , Kuiil begins to warn Mando how many
strangers are on this rock of a moon he has claimed for his own.
Including one of those damn IG (Assassination Droid or Combat
Model) that operate on pure logic and no emotional or behavioral protocols. Nevertheless IG-11(voiced by
writer/director/actor Taika Waititi of Thor Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit
and What We Do in the Shadows)find the asset to find out it
is an infant. A species of slow gestation period and this puts Mando
on the spot.
The commission puts our gunslinger in a
moral quagmire. On one hand, he is honor bound to fulfill his
contract. With the other is the contract is an abduction and handing
it over to the Remnants of the Empire as his client. So what is a
well-armed, well-trained fella to do?
The prophecy spoke of this one. He who will save the franchise.
Mando feels a certain responsibility
for this young charge and cannot believe how much the little one's
bounty has gone up. With "fellow" hunters, cut throats,
raiders and the like are gunning for this child, Mando has to keep a
clear head, watch his alliances and hope his skills last.
On the run, he encounters a former
Heavy gunner Cara Dune (Gina Carano of Blood and Bone, Haywire,
Fast & Furious 6, Almost Human, In the Blood, Heist, Extraction,
Deadpool, Kickboxer: Vengeance and Scorched Earth) a woman
wearing her heart on her sleeve and haunted by her demons and loss of
friends in the war. Survivor's guilt for a warrior without a war.
What this show is ultimately is Space
Spaghetti Western. A lone gunslinger with his own code and honor.
Ruffians, back shooters and cowboy trash hate him because he is one of
the best at what he does. Clients are thrilled how effective and
thorough he is for each job and his liaison for the Guild loves how
much money this man rakes in for him.
Thinking of his own childhood and how
everything went pear shaped for Mando, he worries for the child and genuinely has feelings for him.
For those paying attention, our
conflicted gunfighter has a rapport with the master armorer (Emily
Swallow of Southland, The Good Wife, Monday Mornings, The Mentalist,
Adoptable, Timeless and Castlevania) while she makes him the
finest armor of Beskar Steel (strongest steel of Mandalore),
she asks him of his hunts and if they have been successful. There is
a distance between them but you almost feel as though she still
considers him a young charge and not the seasoned hunter he is.
For the more keen eyed Stars Wars buff,
you damn right we got Easter eggs. I will give only one spoiler
though. Salicious Crumb (Jabba the Hutt's little puppet friend
that attacked C-3PO in Return of the Jedi), one of his species is
roasting on a spit. Damn near choked on my drink.
With director/producer Jon Favreau
(Swingers, Made, The Big Empty, Dinner for Five, Iron Man Iron
Man 2, Cowboys &Aliens) along side writer Dave Filoni
(Star Wars Rebels, The Mandalorian, Star Wars Resistance and
Star Wars: The Clone Wars) basically reworking episodes of
Westerns worthy of Gunsmoke and the Virginian, the lawlessness of the
galaxy is shown, mercy is in rare amounts and people tend to not
stick their neck out, even for a worthy cause. But like the morals
of the first three films, there will always be dreamers, warriors and
adventurers in the strangest of settings, looking for a cause or an
out of their own lives and fight for what's right.
Plenty of references to the original
trilogy so nothing gone wrong there and saddle up cowboys, Season 2
has to be a go. They would be damn fools to let this potential
goldmine sail away. Between Cosplayers already building this armor,
Halloween costumes at the ready, action figures of the series and yes
more than a fair share of Baby Yoda prototypes in the mix, this
should do well for itself and gives us old fart Star Wars fans hope
that good writing will prevail.
Back again kiddies. I know you missed
me. It's okay to admit it. So I think this week felt needed some
more video games. Lego has been a staple in households for the last
30 years, and since 1997 64 video games Lego construction system have
been released by Mindscape to later Giant Interactive Entertainment
to show of Lego-themed video games. In 2006, bringing the original
trilogy bringing an action-adventure platform and bringing a
Lucasart/ Traveller's Tales Games hybrid that brought joy to many.
This is Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.
Oh dear, I am still overtly effeminate!
Based on the original story-line of the
Star Wars series, this particular creation sold over 8.2 million
copies since May 2009. Many of the critics love the game for its
adorable or jocose appearance of beloved heroes and villains of this
universe. 46 different characters from the films are available to
play, some require play-throughs leading up to a total of 114
playables. The lack of difficulty is the biggest complaint for most
critics with the platforms that Game Boy Advance, GameCube,
Microsoft, Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable,
Xbox and Xbox 360.
That's no moon...um..it's a spaceship you see.
The game plays various cut scenes
retelling the movies without any dialogue, the player takes on the
role of the films' characters each having specific weapons and
abilities with single-player and multiplayer option. Third-person
view giving puzzle genres and action-adventure allowing 20 bounty
hunter missions allowing all the available characters. Power-ups are
spread throughout all the levels of the game invulnerability, turbo
speed and power attack damage, the power is limited so use it
sparingly.
Most of the control
allowing training in Wii with the Jedi Lunge, Jedi Slam, Force Throw
and Force Push giving the Jedi moves to commit to memory. 2 bonus
levels considering 5 levels in Episode IV, 5 levels in Episode V and
6 levels in Episodes VI. I am told there are additional mini-games
in the portable game systems but I don't have any firsthand
knowledge. With the standard slapstick routine giving a lot of
tongue-in-cheek gags, this game gives any fan some fun takes on
spaceship battles, lightsaber combat, blaster fights and typical
sci-fi joy. It is not as hard to beat but I feel a sense of
nostalgia for the series.
Howdy folks. Sorry for the no show
yesterday. Had a migraine and those are always fun. I am back on the
ball and trying to get the blog to the love you have given back so
this time around we are headed back to video games and my favorite
console to dabble in. Yes, yes I know you are sick of the Nintendo
64 but may I remind you a just a few things. First of all, this is
the game system that brought us the top-selling and most beloved
games such as: Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye
007, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64,
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
and Donkey Kong 64.
hehe boobies.
With that in mind there of course are
the more obscure and unusual titles that only made way to the N64 and
never given another console again. Oh sure I can provide you with
the most rare and valuable games still out and about but the titles
that collected dust on shelves were also worthy of life. For example
a second Castlevania title was released in 1999 as an intended
prequel known as Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness.
Set in 1844, this man-beast known as Cornell is searching for his
sister Ada who has been chosen as a sacrifice to resurrect Dracula
once more. This prequel offers a different story than the Belmont
legacy of hunters and has a monster for the protagonist and more
development and press release would have occurred but it was scratched
before the game release. A finite number of copies are still out
there you just have to look.
So
while this week I will be focused on titles that you are already
aware of and collectors have sought after, keep in mind there is
always another week to tackle those obscure and forgotten titles.
Greetings gaming nerds and welcome back for another helping
of PC Games of 1997 and I think I found a title that we can all have memories
about. Good or bad, we have all had
some interaction with this next particular game. In 1995, Lucasarts put out a FPS with a bit
of puzzle solving called Dark Forces.
Following the story arc of one Kyle Katarn, a former Imperial turned
mercenary. This man is responsible for
laying hands on the Death Star blueprints as well as dispatching the prototype
Dark Trooper bots. So what could be
more impressive than that record…well let’s just say the force is strong in
this one. So grab your lightsaber, hone
your force powers and feel free to use a thermal detonator in the crowd. This is Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight.
Kyle undergoes "intense negotiations".
Jan Orr: What would you
do without me, Kyle?
Kyle: I’d be a content old
spoiler.
Continuing from its predecessor Dark Forces, we look into a
larger scope of the galaxy and what is to be come of it if Kyle does not get to
the main page. 5 years prior Kyle’s
father was dispatched off this mortal coil by a dark Jedi or Sith over the
location of a lost planet concealing the greatest concentration of the living
force known only as the Valley of the Jedi.
Legend has it that over a thousand years ago an army of Jedi (lightside
force users) and Sith (darkside force users) battled themselves near to
extinction leaving this embodiment of force presence. Force speed is of course one of the more fun
force powers to have. Light your saber and do run by slayings.
Worst Craigslist threesome offer...ever.
Inter spliced with the 3D graphics of the time is some cut
scenes of the voice actors of the characters in blue screen acting. The handing via keyboard is a standard WAS
and Mouse button 1 and 2. With the
single player story is where the fun began. Back in the day MSN Gaming Zone has
an exorbitant amount of puzzle, strategy games and FPS to be online and Dark
Forces 2 was beloved by many for the Multi-player fights had just begun to get
ugly with atrocious spelling, obscene comments and the odd force blinding.
The game’s storyline is set a year after the events of
Return of the Jedi and the controlling forces of most of the Star Destroyers is
a darksider name Jerec; an inspiring Sith Master that wants to claim the Valley
as a source of power and corrupt the galaxies to his every whim. Kyle, a now self-taught Jedi must battle
Jerec and his darkside warriors, stormtroopers, AT-STs and about every other
Imperial to stop Jerec’s mad plan. His
choices will determine what path of the force he will follow.
I have just a few comments about the game and its play. This is primarily a FPS game with some puzzle
work and impliementing the force for Kyle gives you more options to fight with
along with a barrage for weapons like Dark Forces, now even a lightsaber to
hack your opponents with. The expansion
pack for the further adventures Mysteries of the Sith continued more levels but
the story five years after Jedi Knight and follows Mara Jade, a mercenary and
former darksider.
Howdy gaming geeks and welcome back to Day 4 of N64
Week. Given how many different first
person shooter games have been established since the 1995 Castle Wolfenstein; I
thought it best to focus on Lucasarts growing collection of third person
shooter games. Third person means you
actually see your character interact around in his or her surroundings plus you
also see the character his or herself. First person is just from the character’s
POV. At the time PC CD-Rom games were
getting a wide variety in first and third person shooter but Lucasarts decided
to expand its existing Star Wars franchise into new player heroes. So strap on your blaster, keep your wits
about you and brush up on your swoop bike skills. This is Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire.
Trust me ladies!
Based on the novel written by Steve Perry (Shadow of the Empire: Evolution, MedStar I:
Battle Surgeons, MedStar II: Jedi Healer and Death Star) this game like
its same name titled book fell as a prequel between The Empire Strikes Back and
Return of the Jedi.
Our main protagonist Dash Rendar and his droid Leebo have
arrived on Hoth prior to the battle and are dropping off supplies for a tidy
sum. After chatting up with Han Solo he
convinces Solo to drop him in a Snowspeeder with Rogue Squadron to fight off
the AT-ATs (All Terrain Armored Transport) and provide cover for the
escaping ships.
Ew, Wampa breeding pens.
As the rest of the ships
are taking off the Snowstorm troopers have entered the base and have cut you
off from your ship the Outrider. You must
get past a small army of storm troopers, a few Wampas and oh yes an AT-ST (All
Terrain Scout Transport) armed with turbo lasers that could blast
through several feet of ice and concrete.
No sweat, right?
The game is done in true Lucasarts standard. Treating the game over a series of
interaction from Empire Strikes Back, Dash throws in his lot with the Rebels
and tries to assist them in 10 different levels ranging over a period of months
and chapters.
Stinking sewers...not getting paid enough for this.
Now I think it is time for some handy hints and tips on this
particular game.
Invincibility and Infinite Ammo: You know you love it, you know you
want it and here is how to get it. On
the Hard setting of the game you need to get all the challenge points before
the code works. Then you hold the
crouch button for 15 seconds on the first person levels and boom instant
invulnerability and unlimited ammo.
Mind you, if you fall off a cliff or scaffolding you are still gonna
die.
Infrared Vison: Seeing in
different spectrums of light comes in handy.
Press on Control buttons, the L, R and Z at the same time. Then while those buttons are pressed gently
move the Control stick around until the screen turns green. Technically this is Night Vision and you will
see yourself and all enemies easily.
Defeat Wampas Easy Peasy: Okay so you lack the Force, a
lightsaber and a crusty puppet to cheer you on to your fledgling abilities so I
too would be scared of a Wampa. Lucky
for you there are at least 4 on most of the Hoth levels. They however are in cages to be
released. Why the rebels needed Wampas
on standby? Oh who has time for these
questions? Release them both and run
like a bat out of Hell to the main door.
These critters will start wailing on each other. Then you can pick off the battered winner
with your blaster. Pretty Machiavellian,
wouldn't you say?
The levels vary from third person shooter, to racing down a
swarm of swoop bike scumbags trying to kill Skywalker to outer space
battles. Your only real pain is adapting
to the graphics of this older series. The
music is full orchestral and none of that synthesized crap from Rogue Squadron as it is also the first
3D incorporated game. So if you miss a
jet pack of less than controllable capabilities, blasters with explosive shells
and heat seekers and heck a jump that doesn’t go higher than 3 feet then
brothers and sisters welcome back to Shadows of the Empire!
