Game Mechanix

Game Mechanix in Monroe and West Monroe is not only my favorite place to shop for retro games, systems and accessories, it is also a great place for repairs for all sorts of electronics. Steve, over at the West Monroe shop, recently replaced the cracked screen on my iPad Mini. Thanks!

It finally happened!

I was Masuda methoding in Omega Ruby and after the 316 eggs, this happened:

I hatched a shiny Skiddo! I have been doing this on and off for a few months and it was the first egg of the day! RNG is so nice to me sometimes. I don't know if I'll evolve it or keep it as an Skiddo. Either way, I'm a happy man.

Inside Out Movie Review

Pixar’s glorious return!

Back in 2014, Pixar had an unusual 1 year break releasing movies. Low and behold, we’re getting two Pixar movies this year - a first for Pixar! Their first production made it worth the wait…

Plot: Like with Big Hero 6, I’m not spoiling the plot. I will say this; it gets surprisingly deep and can feel sluggish at times IMO.

Characters: The characters are very well written and executed. They all fit their respective role perfectly.

Humor: Inside Out is, like other Pixar movies - very funny. There are jokes that adults and kids will laugh at.

Presentation: Technically, the movie looks fantastic. The voice acting is very well done and full of emotions. *Bud dum tsssh

Verdict: I’m glad Pixar has returned on a high note because Inside Out is amazing. It is a must see for Pixar and/or Disney fans.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Note: Written by Thomas and posted by his Dad per his instructions while he was at camp!

Satoru Iwata Passes Away at 55

Sad day for Nintendo fans. Yesterday, it was confirmed that president Satoru Iwata passed away of bile duct growth. He was only 55. He inspired many memes and looked like he was ageless.

He began work at Hal Laboratory in 1980's and became the 4th president of Nintendo in 2002.

Without him, HAL Laboratory wouldn't be so highly regarded. From creating Earthbound from scratch to adding Kanto to Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal, he kicked some serious programming butt. Without him, he'll no longer help with all the phenomenal Nintendo franchises. I send huge condolences to the Iwata family and Nintendo.

Rest in peace, Satoru Iwata. You were a great man.

Vacation Recap + Game Pickups

I'm back! I've been in Montana for the past two weeks and did go game hunting!
First place we went is Hastings in Helena, Montana. Hastings is an entertainment place that sells books, movies, comic books, and of course, video games. The one pickup was:

• Exit DS

The next place we went is Game Pods - also in Helena, Montana. Game Pods is based on an interesting concept - explained the owner, Jesse Hauer. For an hour or more, you can play games on PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U and try them out in store on the respective console. They had games for sale, but it was a small selection.

After a wild goose chase, we came across the largest video game store I've ever seen: Fun Trade. The owner, Gibby Carlascio, said that he closed down all his other locations (we had looked for one of them in Helena - it was closed...) and compiled the whole selection in one location making the store massive!

Seriously! You have to see this store for yourself if you are in Missoula, Montana.

My (hard-to-find) pickups included:

• Chibi Robo: Park Control (DS)
• Electroplankton (DS)
• Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits (DS)
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS)
• Super Dodgeball Brawlerts (DS) 

And one, very cool Pokemon Card!

• Blastoise Holo (Base Set)

I Studied the Classics!

A little vacation pick up!

Retro Gaming Tribute

The History Channel's show American Pickers has a new commercial. It is a tribute to the graphics and sounds of early video gaming - 8 bit style!

Check out this side by side comparison. Pretty cool, eh? Everything is better digitized!

Post via Dad

Miscellaneous Rambles- Silent Hills Cancellation

Since this won the strawpoll, I was waiting for a topic to cover and I found a good topic to cover.
Yesterday, rumor was going around that Konami cancelled Silent Hills for still unknown reasons. Today, that rumor was confirmed to be true. What's interesting is that Konami is going to pull P.T., which was very well received, off the PS Store eventually. It's unknown if people who downloaded the demo will still be able to play it. I get that Konami's doing it to get rid of any remnants of Silent Hills left, but come on! P.T. was well received by critics. Heck, it made to ProJared's and Caddicarus'  Top Ten Games of 2014! If you have a PS4 and are allowed to play M-Rated titles, go and download P.T. before Konami removes it  if they haven't already.

http://kotaku.com/its-official-silent-hills-is-cancelled-1700379816

I want your feedback!

Hello, everyone! I'm not sure what to post next and I want to hear from the viewers. I created a Straw poll and please go there and place your votes:  http://strawpoll.me/3977151

This is an experiment I'm trying out. I will check this on Sunday: let the games begin!

Edit - My Dad just showed me how to do this...

My Top 5 Favorite Pokemon!

As many of you know, I love Pokemon. And with that, I've fallen in love with some Pokemon. I've been playing Pokemon for a few years, so this is only a top 5. With all of that out of the way, welcome to my top 5 Favorite Pokemon!

#5- Gengar.

Ah, yeah: Gengar! I love Gengar for a multitude of reasons.The main reason I love Gengar is because of Mega Gengar. I love the badas* design and the amazing shiny. Granted, Mega Gengar is overpowered. I also love that it's misunderstood. Gengar doesn't want to kill you: Gengar's a goofball. If you've seen the episode, Tower of Terror, you know what I'm talking about. In conclusion, Gengar is awesome and a good edition to any team. 

#4- Lucario.

What a badas*! Lucario has a unique typing being the only Steel/Fighting type Pokemon. Mainly, I love the design of both normal and Mega Lucario. They both scream badas*. Lucario's slowly becoming a new face of Pokemon and for good reason. He's a good fighter in Super Smash Bros. and the Pokemon Company has treated Lucario very well. Lucario's awesome enough to make #4.

#3- Jirachi.

I can't really explain why I love Jirachi so much. It may be the cute design, how fun it is to use, or how generally awesome Jirachi is. Jirachi definitely became more frail when Gen 6 rolled around, but I still love Jirachi.

#2- Skiddo.

There's only one reason I love Skiddo so much- OMGosh, it's super kawaii! In all seriousness, Skiddo is adorable and I want to use it as a pillow. I'm actaully breeding for a shiny Skiddo and as of right now, I'm at 185 eggs. Hoping it shines soon!

We've already reached #1. What is my favorite Pokemon?

#1- Blastoise!

If anybody knows me, this should come as no surprise. Squirtle was my first partner and favorite starter of all time. Wartortle was my first shiny. I waited until Lvl, 36 to get a Tortoise with water cannons of doom. Blastoise is also fun to use. With moves like Dark Pulse, Ice Beam, and Hydro Pump in its aresenal, it can be a wall. While his stats aren't the best, I still love Blastoise to death, making him my number one pick on this list.

What's your favorite Pokémon? Leave your favorites down in the comment section below.

Rant on MineCraft being possibly banned in Turkey.

Recently, there was a story blowing up about MineCraft, a very popular face of gaming, being possibly banned in Turkey. It sounded like bull[bleep]! until the topic rose again recently. This time, Turkey was pretty serious about this ban.

What's the ban for, you may ask? The turkish government is calling MineCraft out for being too violent: TOO. VIOLENT. This is all sorts of stupidity and this is why.

MineCraft is rated E 10+ for exhibit A: Fantasy Violence. Do you see Blood, Sexual Content, Language, or anything of that sort in the normal game of MineCraft? No, no you don't.

Exhibit B: You can choose between two modes. There's creative mode,  where you don't have to kill anything or anyone. The mode that they're referring to as violent is Survival mode, where you have to acquire supplies by anyway you choose which includes killing animals. 

So, they call out MineCraft for survival mode? Yes, yes, they did. How did they not even look at creative mode? Logic, people. Urgh!

I hope this ban doesn't go through. I can't explain how stupid MineCraft being possibly banned in Turkey is. I'll have some links explaining this in better detail:

http://kotaku.com/calls-to-ban-minecraft-in-turkey-1690487386

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-ban-proposal-moving-forward-in-turkey/1100-6425828/

I've completely renovated the game room!

Over a few days, my dad and I have renovated the game room.  I wish I had some photos before the renovation, but we didn't know how fast the project evolved. :( Here are some after photos, though:

If you look really close, you can see me in the reflection: hello!

Big Hero 6 Movie Review

One small step for Disney, one giant leap for Marvel.
When you hear the title, you may wonder: what's Big Hero 6? It was a Marvel Comic series from the 90's. That means Disney is finally using the Marvel license to their advantage. If they keep bringing out movies like this, sign me up because this movie is awesome for their 1st attempt!

Plot

I will not spoil the plot for obvious reasons. Why is their a section dedicated to this then? This is a me problem. Anyways, the plot sometimes doesn't refresh itself and doesn't reveal the motive of some actions. I had to remind myself why they were doing what they were doing.

Characters

The entire cast of characters were very well-rounded. The best out of all of them in my opinion is the robot, Baymax. Baymax is hilarious and has some really quirky lines. Examples are "Fadaladala!" and "Flying makes me a better health companion."

Presentation

Like all Disney movies, the presentation is solid. The animation is well done and the music is really fitting. Voice acting is well done and riveting.

Verdict

Big Hero 6 was amazing. I cannot praise this movie enough. It came out on DVD and Blu Ray today- please go out and buy it.

Final Verdict:

9.25/10

Update + Announcements!

Wow. I have not posted in nearly a month. I have reviews and material to review ready to go, but I've been frankly quite busy to do so. I apologize for my drought.

On the positive side, I'm planning on expanding my reviews to game accessories and movies! I've had a review of an accessory for a while, but I haven't posted it. Later, I will post that review.

Now you know that I'm not dead! I'll manage some time to post more reviews and other cra"b". Get ready...

Nintendo Direct 1/14/15: My thoughts.

Today, the new Nintendo Direct was released. Many bold moves were made and hype has been built. In no particular order, these are my thoughts on the new Nintendo Direct.
New Fire Emblem game announcement
This was the first thing I heard about from the Direct. Holy cra*! After how amazing Awakening was, it's great to see another Fire Emblem game. As it stands, it's very similar to Awakening in terms of combat and cutscenes. In the trailer, I had my hopes set high. Awakening was amazing, and this further backs up many people's opinions.  It's still in development and no release date was announced; so, we'll see how the new Fire Emblem turns out.
Pokemon Shuffle
This was also one of the first things I heard about as well. I'd describe the game as the successor to the Pokemon Trozei (or Pokemon Link in Europe) series. The gameplay is similar to Battle Trozei where you battle Pokemon while solving puzzles. The sprites are adorable and it's free to play and will eventually hit the eShop.
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
They have revealed more about the remake of the darkest Zelda game. They showed off how it will work with the New Nintendo 3DS and showed more gameplay. This looks to be another great Zelda remake and it will launch when the New Nintendo 3DS launches: February 13th.
New Nintendo 3DS
Wrapping up this look at the new Nintendo Direct is the New Nintendo 3DS XL (what a stupid name). This has finally been revealed for North America. The console itself has some new features: Amiibo support, added buttons, faster processing, and better 3D. The console looks to be a solid upgrade and will launch on February 13th.
Conclusion
I am pretty excited about what they announced. Many wallets will be empty come February; so, be ready!