Game of Thrones S.4 Ep.2

I'm gonna start by stating that George R.R. Martin wrote this episode for tv, it says so in the opening credits. 

"What's your name?" Ramsey Snow, bastard son of Roose Bolton yells at Theon Greyjoy who is tied to posts that served as instruments in his torture that have been occurring for several days now. Theon reels from the stinking warmth of the bastard's breath on the skin of his face as he shakes from pain and fatigue, he had been resistant up to a point but now he could feel himself breaking under the wrath of the North that he so justly deserves. 
    "Reek," Theon finally admits as he hoped that giving in to the name change would free him from his pain.

IT'S SO OBVIOUS, WHY DIDN'T I SEE THIS BEFORE? IT'S THE SCENE FROM ROOTS, HIS NEW NAME IS TOBY!

Does anyone remember season 3 of Avatar the Last Airbender when Zuko joined the group and they were hanging out on Ember Island and Zuko mentions the Ember Island Players that his mother used to take him and Azula to see when they were kids? Now do you remember the details of that episode, how the play was actually just a recap of the entire series up to that point? I always thought that was a clever way to do a recap episode, it was funny, fresh and new to have the characters watch parodies of themselves as the actors conveyed the story to refresh the audience's memories (us at home) of previous events. Recap episodes are dreadfully boring I find but Avatar found a way to make me enjoy it. I remember asking my friend why everyone couldn't do a recap episode in similar fashion and he gave me a very good reason.

Then George R.R. Martin did the same exact thing at the end of the episode when King Joffrey had the little people parody the War of The 5 Kings and I did not find it as amusing. The little parody with the little people in essence is a clever sneak in of a recap of the events of season 2. What I don't find amusing about it, is that Avatar the Last Airbender did a clever/parody/theater play recap. So my issue is, it's been done before, find another way to get that recap in the episode while insulting Sansa's family and Loras Tyrell's love for Renly. This is the second ATLA reference in the show, taking ideas from a kids show, really now? This episode was specifically written by the author for HBO in the year 2014 so Nickelodeon's got you beat with a copyright dated in 2005. Just saying.

What the fuck, Oberyn only gets one scene per episode, is that's how season 4 is going to be? These three things disappoint me and nearly ruins the entire feel of the show and the rest of the episode. Stop referencing other movies and cartoons so I can enjoy it again. 

Aww Theon thought he was hardcore until he met Ramsey Snow. He does deserve it, but Bolton thinks he's hardcore? Someone has to kill him whether it be Yara, Theon himself, Bran or hell even Osha. I see Bolton sending his man to find Bran and Rickon as a pointless endeavor and I have no interest in that turn of events. Oh man, the feels between Tyrion and Shae! It's hard to push away the only person who cares for you. I don't think that is the last time we'll be seeing her though.

Now what happened to Bran, I find very interesting and it has renewed my hope and faith in his character development. I'm counting on Bran turning into Itachi Uchiha, sharingan and all once he gets to that raven. Say what you want about Stannis, but he was able to sit down to dinner with his wife and mistress Melissandre and have a pleasant conversation without hostility nor violence. Ragnar Lothbrook couldn't do that. Stannis gets a point in my book but I've always liked Stannis. Now for the actual wedding of Joffrey and Margery. A lot of pleasant threats going on. I love how Oberyn reminded Cersei and Tywin how Marcella is in his country and practically at his mercy. I knew what was coming at the end of the episode but I was still a bit surprised to see it, all I have to say is poor Tyrion and if this doesn't push Sansa into being the wolf she was born to be, then I don't know what will. I hope Jaime defends his brother against Cersei's accusation. 

Game Of Thrones Season 4 Episode 1

UnBowed UnBent UnBroken bitches, long awaited House Martell makes their entrance.
don't read if you haven't watched the episode

Let's skip all the way back to season 1 when Catelyn Stark left Winterfell to deliver the knife that was supposed to have been used to kill Bran to her husband in King's Landing. Bran is outside watching Theon practice archery while the Maester has a map of terribly named Westeros (it's in the west, we got the fucking hint. Give it a real name) and is drilling Bran about the important Houses, their sigils and mottos. He points to Dorne and Bran recites their things flawlessly. Epically bad foreshadowing 101, the Houses Bran recited have come into play whether in a minor or major way so I've been waiting for the mysterious Martells to enter. The fact that their name kept being mentioned (when Tyrion shipped off Princess Marcella to Dorne) told me they would come in eventually, or else there would be no point in mentioning them. The actress with Oberyn has been in a lot of series and movies, and I am happy to see her again so there is a bit of ethnicity in Westeros so not all of them are European based. 

Moving on-----> the season starts as if it never stopped so I don't recommend starting the series from Season 4. Episode 1 actually seemed to be fast pace and with an exception of Stannis & co, Osha & Rickon, Bran & co., Gendry, Theon & Yara, everyone gets a scene which I enjoyed. It begins with Tywin having a blacksmith melt down a long Valyrian sword to make two new ones. Yay the art of smithery! I'm assuming that was Ned or Robb Stark's sword since Robert used a war hammer, right?

Jaime argues with his father which must be hard for Tywin, having his golden boy tell himno for a change. I'm going to go ahead and say it........Jaime is Darth Vader! A new golden hand similar to the Midas touch? I have to say, I miss his long hair and dirty beard. Jaime is becoming a better character and I don't want to like him, he started this mess and he deserves the worst of it for it. Jaime is the first to actually mention the Doom of Valyria, and I'm going to say it again and again, it's a Fantastic Four reference. Not even cleverly hidden, know what happened to Valeria in Fantastic Four? DOOM HAPPENED TO HER!! Joffrey disrespects his uncle/father while he discusses safety for the wedding with another knight. I bet he never realized what a real bastard he had. What disappoints me is that Brienne knows that Catelyn Stark is dead and is so bland about it, in the presence of the enemy, I understand that she can't rage the fuck out but I expected more emotion from her seeing how she respected Catelyn but she is pushing Jaime to keep his promise to protect the Stark girls. I can see Brienne and Jaime becoming strictly good platonic friends but if Cersei keeps pushing him away.....he may leave for another woman. 

Some people may have mixed feelings about the changing of Daario's actor, but I'm not one of them. I find the new actor more attractive. He was quite sweet to give her the three flowers while teaching her about them. You can tell that she doesn't want to like him but then again.....Khal Drogo never gave her flowers, no, he gave her a horse. Is that better? Does a horse trump flowers? She's on her way to Egypt version.fantasy with her troops and it seems like she's deviating from her true cause. I don't want to see Khaleesi as a tyrant but she seems to be heading in that direction. I still respect her though. 

Tyrion is having issues juggling his wife Sansa's discontent and his lover Shae's amorous attention. I hope he can work it out as much as I want Sansa to become the Stark she was meant to be. The man who's life she saved on Joffrey's Name Day gives her a gift, at first I thought he was upset that he was demoted from knight to fool but quite the opposite. I think if Sansa puts her mind to it, she could be like Daenerys, saving people from the Lannisters and gathering a cult following. Tyrion is the first to meet Prince Oberyn and they reveal information about the origin of the hate the Martells have for the lions. Reasonably understood. I wonder if he hates the Starks as well. To be of a different ethnicity from other people in Westeros, they have a really bland surname. 

While off on the Wall is the ever whiny Jon Snow just learning of Robb's death. He has no reason to feel sorry for Catelyn except that she was still the mother of his siblings. Georgie and HBO has failed in making me care about Jon as a character, he's whiny, he's emo, he's naive, Arya has been through worse and she is stronger than Jon emotionally. 
             "Something something the free folk-"
             "You talk like a wildling."
             "Of course I talk like a wildling! I lived with the wildlings, I ate with the wildlings, I laid with a wildlings girl."
That line was the only one I liked in all of Jon's scene. He reminded me of Robb when he said to Tyrion, "I'm not your boy Lannister." I'm waiting for Jon to man up and mature. Why is Janos Slint at the Wall? I forgot. Did Tyrion sentence him there? While Ygritte is being a bit emo herself over what happened to Jon. Her love for Jon Snow is ruining her character, she's a strong female character who doesn't need the help of a man yet she will be demoted to a Disney princess who will never be able to really hurt him. That disappoints me because she is capable of so much more then simply being his Westside Story love interest.

To the tiny magnificent Arya. Is everyone getting older but Maisie Williams? She still looks the same. Someone steal Arya some new clothes! The most mature of the Stark children, hanging out with the Hound. She gets her sword back! So I'm hoping this foreshadows the return of her wolf as well. Arya has killed four people now? In a lot of ways I respect her more than Daenerys because she doesn't need an army, all she needs is a Hound and a Baratheon bastard. I hope Gendry returns to her. I have high hopes of them restoring the Stark-Baratheon bond. I was disturbed by the implication that the Hound was fucking Arya, that was just disgusting but it works in this world. I don't think Arya was really concerned about the dangers lurking out there for her because she is female since she was always with boys and men that she trusted and simply had more honor until she saw the Lannister men harassing the woman in the tavern. In this regard, she reminds me a lot of Daenerys who stands up for slaves and mistreated women. Arya can easily slip into the role of a villain being blinded by vengeance but like Robb, her father's sense of justice is deeply ingrained in her so I doubt it. 

I'm looking forward to learning more about Oberyn and watching his scenes. We nee more people who don't give a fuck about the Lannisters. 

Oberyn Martell, I find him attractive. 

Old Game Strategy Guide

Before that old Naruto game review, I wrote an elaborate mini strategy guide for Final Fantasy XII for PlayStation 2 when it was relevant. I think that game had one of the best battle systems but a cheap plot and an uninteresting protagonist and for anyone crazy into voice acting like me, Nolan North (who's from my home state,yay) was also in FFXII as well as Naruto. I played this game for 3 straight days because it was snowing and mostly everything was closed down, back in '09 to write it. This is extremely long.

 Ohmeingott Kyoto Fried Chocobo!
                        A FINAL FANTASY XII STRATEGY

Focus: Hunts and Side Missions, some Esper Information

There's 13 (?) Espers hidden within the game, for old FF players, Espers are just the Aeons, like in this game, Shiva is called Mateus and can be found at the Shrine of Mariam which is located southwest of the Paramina Rift. Some Espers are storyline, like the first Esper, Belias (Ifrit), and Hasmal. Most others though, are all hidden.

- For anyone who has reached the Mospheran Highwaste, there is an Esper there on top a ridge that seems unreachable but fear not, this is my strategy and I have defeated the Esper hidden there called Exodus. You need to solve the puzzle of the floatweeds using the wind shrines, this is actually immensely easy. 
- To reach Exodus activate these shrines
- South Wind, West Wind and NorthEast Wind

Now once you activate the South wind and the Northeast wind, ride the wild chocobo after feeding it some g. greens, provided you have any, up a path where the Humbaba's are stalking around. Keep going until you reach the rocky mountain ridge where the flying birds are. There you will find a side path to the left, dismount from the chocobo and walk down that path until you come to the West wind shrine, activate that and head back to the path that you were just on. If you don't want to fight the birds there, just use Time Magick, Warp spell and warp them all out of battle. The floatweed now connects to the path to the top most ridge where Exodus the Esper awaits. If you're a high level then fighting him is very easy, just Dispel him then cast Slow and attack like there's no tomorrow. If you're at a low level, then I can't help you. Your reward is an Opal Ring which comes in handy in harder battles.

When you obtain 10 Espers, the village elders of Jahara will allow you deeper into the Henne Mines. 
I have 8 Espers myself. So I need just 2 more.

---------------------------------

Some Hunts and Side Missions play important roles in the storyline, most others are just for fun. I'll only cover a few and remember it is important to report back to Montblanc at Clan Centurio in the North End of Rabanastre, every time you gain a new Clan Rank or is in possession of a new Esper, Montblanc the moogle will reward you quite handsomely and some of those items will come in handy later. Also, speaking to Montblanc you will have the option of doing some of the Elite Marks that he has. 

And for the Side Missions such as the Seven Sisters Side Mission, the rewards are pretty good, especially for that one and if you want 100% completion of the game it's best that you complete all side missions.

Seven Sisters Mission

This mission starts in the flying village of Bhujerba, home of Ashe's uncle the Marquis and home of the Resistance against the Archadian Empire. 
- At the Aerodome, take the flight to Balfonheim and in the Sky Parlor you see the Chief Stewardess being harassed by a man. Walk up and speak to both of them to hear their conversation. At the end, Ann (the chief stewardess) asks you deliver a letter to her 6 sisters who all work the same position on different flights.

You're aero-hopping from flight to flight and aerodome to aerodome with this mission, it's fun and relaxing since there are no battles to be fought for once. However tickets to take the flights are expensive, price ranging from 180 to 250 gil so make sure you have enough gil to take all 6 flights to deliver the letter.

Here is the list of the flights you have to take

1.) Bhujerba to Balfonheim (where it starts)
2.) Bhujerba to Rabanastre
3.) Balfonheim to Archades
4.) Balfonheim to Nalbina
5.) Archades to Rabanastre
6.) Archades to Nalbina
7.) Nalbina to Rabanastre

after successfully taking these flights and delivering the letter, you receive the Ring of Renewal as a reward which equips Regan to the user. As a hint, while on the airships, they have 2 shops selling different items, take a look around and buy whatever you need or don't have. 2 notable items is the X-Potion for 650 gil and the Arcane Magick Syphon for 7000 gil.  *learn sumtin' new bitches, Regan is a German word and means Rain*

Another leisure side mission is this one:
  
Viera Randevous

A Viera at Rabanastre's South gate near the chocobo stable is seeking a soulmate, talk to her. Follow her into the Southern Plaza & look for a Lovestruck Man at the fountain, speak to him. She is at Yamoora's Gambits in North End, speak with her again.Travel to the SandSea in East End & look for her on the 2nd fl. (she's sitting on the railing), speak to her again. Return to Southern Plaza and speak to Lovestruck Man, agree to help him, return to SandSea & tell viera about his feelings. Return to Southern Plaza at the fountain and speak to them.

Your reward is a Luxley Bow and a Hi-Potion. Not much but it's fun.

A more important side mission is the one about the sandstorm that prevents movement through the Dalmasca Easter and Westersand.

The Sand Storm

Find a creature (bangaa) named Rimzat at Rabanastre's West gate.
Check the Southern Plaza for a man called Cotze who is sitting a top the fountain.
Locate Northon in the North Sprawl of Lowtown.
(In the WESTERSAND) the Dynast-Cactoids are found in the secluded sec. of the Windtrace Dunes which is accessible from Shimmering Horizons. Inspect them to find the Wind Globe.
Return to the West gate and speak to Northon, Cotze and Rimzat then travel to the Wyrm's nest in the Dalmasca Westersand to face the Earth Tyrant.

This battle is actually pretty hard, make sure that when the battle starts you cast Decoy on the party leader then use Slow immediately, this makes the battle easy and it helps to be at a high level. Using that strategy you shouldn't have much of a problem. Afterwards, the small section that connects the Westersand and Eastersand is available and you can travel through it. 

*Just as a small note, if you've yet to obtain the Time Magick Hastega, it can bought in the Eastersand at the South Bank Villiage, a merchant who is lounging on the beach sells it but beware, it is pretty expensive. *

It is possible to enter through the closed off parts of Lhusu Mines, speak to Monteblanc to do the mission  Antilion Infestation. This battle is easy if you're at a high level, if you're not then I wouldn't even think of doing it.

 A Dark Rumor  Hunt

This is a hunt posted by Montblanc himself, basically there's a giant bird that is creating sandstorms in the Nam-Yensa Sandsea but it's only a rumor, he wants you to investigate it, if you accept the hunt that is. 

What it is really, so you don't waste your time, is a trap to lure out the hunter-stalker, if you talked to the other clan members they will tell you that an unknown person is going around and is attacking hunters while they are on their hunts. 

Enter the Nam-Yensa Sandsea from the teleport crystal in the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea and make your way to the to the Zertinan Caverns, from there, take the path that will lead you to the Withering Shores of the Nam-Yensa Sandsea and if you cannot get through the Caverns without being killed or if you haven't explored the whole map of the place, then needless to say, don't attempt this mission. 

Once you are on top of the metal structure that is there, Ba'Gamnan the bangaa from Lhusu Mines (when visited with Larsa for inspection of the nethicite) appears and a scene rolls, a conversation between Ba'Gamnan and Baltheir. After the scene, the battle starts immediately. Ba'Gamnan has 2 other bangaa with him, one who only does physical attacks and the other only does magickal attacks. Dispatch them quickly so it only leaves Ba'Gamnan. He only does physical attacks and one magick. The battle is fast pace so use Slow on him. After that, you get a lot of gil as a reward and it ends what happened earlier with him in the mines, the confrontation is done. 

Another story-related mission is the Medallions of Nabudis, if you have explored the Nabreus Deadlands which is northwest of the Salikawood, you have seen an old man sitting on the edge of the cliff, talk to him if you haven't already. He tells you about a special item and how he sent his two apprentices to find this item.  Explore the Nabreus Deadlands, defeat the Cyrstal-bug which turns into a Teleport Crystal and even find the hidden area called The Fog Mutters which lead into the area called Overlooking Eternity, there is a small shrine there but don't worry about that now.

If you have done the Adding Insult to Injury hunt successfully than that's very good because even at a high level, that hunt is very hard. If you haven't done it yet, don't until you are at a high level. 

Now the 2 apprentices, Roh'Kenmou and Roh'Kemu are in different places. Roh'Kenmu is in Archades at the Magick Shop, speak to him to learn about the medallion. He is on the 2nd fl. of the shop but on the 1st fl. of the shop is a man and a woman, speak to them to learn about an Archades Gentry man who had fallen in love with a girl in Old Archades, which is a ghetto. Travel on foot to Old Archades and find the youg man, he eventually hands over the medallion with no problem, return that to Roh'Kenmu.

Now Roh'Kenmou is in Lowtown at Old Dalan's Place in Rabanastre. Go there and talk to Roh'Kenmou in which Old Dalan introduces you and asks you to assist in his mission to find the other missing medallion.  Agree to help. The medallion was broken into 4 peices, Roh'Kenmou already has one so you need to find the other 3. The first piece is in the Garamsythe Waterway, you can only do this if you have completed the Lost in the Pudding hunt.

If you have then proceed to the Central Waterway Control: open all gates so that the lights are off. Begin by closing gates # 11 and #4, then open gate # 11 and shut gate #3. Next open gate #4 then walk around to gate #3 and look on the ground to find a "shiny object".

The 2nd piece can only be obtained as a reward for completing the Crime and Punishment hunt which you can acquire from Montblanc.

The last piece you have to speak to several people in order to obtain. First find Filo in the southeast corner of the South Sprawl in Lowtown and speak to her. Go to the Southern Plaza and speak to the Curious Woman at the fountain. Then head to the Muthru Bazaar and speak to the "merchants", really it's a red Seeq. Visit Yugri's Magicks & speak to the Sotted Imperial by the door and tell him about the woman at the fountain. Go to Lowtown's North Sprawl and find Kytes, speak to him. Then find Filo at the location she was at before and ask to see the woman. Return to Yugri's Magicks and speak to the Sotted Imperial again, you obtain the 3rd piece from this ordeal.

Return all 3 pieces to Roh'Kenmou and if you are at a high level and want to, head over to the Nabreaus Deadlands where you saw the two's master. A scene occurs and he tells you about 3 legendary beasts trapped inside the Necrohol of Nabudis. You do NOT have to fight them after you learn about them, take all the time you want or need but for those who want to, I will tell you what happens.

There are 3 locked chambers inside Nabudis which in general is a pretty difficult area. You can take on the 3 beasts in any order but I think its better to take on the beasts' whose chambers are closer to the exit of the area than the one in the middle. 

Entering from the southwest of Salikawood you can flee all the way to the first chamber if you don't want to fight any of the monsters. Once you find the chamber, you will see a large door called the Door of Horrors, if you want to proceed, insert the Medallion of Bravery and enter. The boss here is a creature called the Humbaba Mistant, as soon as the battle starts, Dispel him and cast Slow, if you're high level then this particular battle is actually kinda easy. A good trick is to cast Scourge on him as it inflicts Sap. You gain nothing after defeating him though because he is only 1 out of 3.

Entering from the Nabreus Deadlands, travel to the 2nd chamber in which you will find the Door of Loathing, insert the Medallion of Love. The boss here is called Fury but is actually a purple dreamhare, it looks like a purple Evee from Pokemon but don't be distracted by its cuteness, it is vicious. Cast Dispel on it then Slow.  As the battle nears it ends and its life is low, it casts Beserk on itself, Dispel it every time it does that and use magick that causes a lot of damage to bring the battle to a swift end. A good trick is to cast Scourge on it as in inflicts Sap. 

Now the Chamber in the middle is the hardest battle to be fought here, thus the reason I say to do it last.  Once you get there and use the Medallion of Might to open the door you are faced with the Esper called Chaos. Chaos prohibits you from physical attacks, he is immune to them and items such as water mote, scathe mote, etc. You can only use magick. Dispel him, after you do that because he has cast Faith and Bravery on himself, he then casts, Shell and Protect so Dispel him as many times as you need to. 

He has 4 small elementals helping him, you can attack those. A good trick before entering this battle is to equip the entire part with Rose Corsage as it makes you immune from Silence, Chaos will cast Silence on you over and over again if you do not equip this accessory. However you cannot cast Silence on him, he's immune. The best way to take him out quickly is to first cast Scourge on him as it inflicts Sap. Then to either summon one of your Espers to the battle or use Quickenings. The longer the Quickening chain, the more damage dealt so aim to chain 10 or more Quickenings in a single setting to get the end move called Cataclysm. If you do that over and over, you are sure to win. Another good tip is to have a lot of Ethers or more preferably Hi-Ethers which are randomly found or handed out as rewards for successful hunts and to have a lot of X-Potions. And after you've defeated him, your MP will be completely used up so walk around the room until you have the first rank of the MP back for your party. Ethers are hard to find so I wouldn't waste them if I'm not in a dire battle. 

I defeated Chaos today but as fate would have it, died trying to get out of Nabudis, now I have to fight him again. It's soul shattering. And on a strange note, Chaos is rather fond of Ashe, without Ashe in the party, he slaughters everyone before I have time to even use a Quickening but once I put Ashe into the party, the battle rages on and on. Another good tip is to cast Bubble for a higher HP or have one character wear the Bubble Belt which for me is Ashe. Oh! and after defeating Humbaba and Fury, try to make it out alive and save your progress at the Salikawood and Nabreus Deadlands! It'll be a bitch to have to keep fighting the 3 bosses over and over again. 

end. I find Final Fantasy games are still fun to play even after you've defeated them.

Old Game Reviews

So I remembered I wrote a review for a beloved video game series adapted from a manga/anime and even though newer games has been released in the franchise, I don't own them yet. So I'm going to re-post my old game review. I don't aim to please, I aim to be honest.

NARUTO ULTIMATE NINJA STORM: GENERATIONS REVIEW

Received the game yesterday because it was preordered and I defeated Story Mode already, today. Short playing time if you're only playing Story Mode. There's 11 'tales' you can play through:

The Tale Of Young Naruto
The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki (Shippuden)
The Tale of Sasuke Uchiha (Shippuden)
The Tale of Zabuza and Haku
The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant
The Tale of Itachi Uchiha
The Tale of Kakashi Hatake
The Tale of Gaara
The Tale of Minato Namikaze
The Tale of Madara Uchiha (Tobi)
The Tale of Killer Bee (have to defeat Tobi's storyline to unlock)

Your choice with who to start with, I started with Young Naruto. The game play is easier yet harder at the same time. My problem with it is that you cannot Ninja Dash to your enemy, you literally just have to walk/run towards them in Story Mode although it's not much better in Free Fighting Mode. Now Substitution jutsu is a thousand times easier and sets up your battles to look awesome but it is so easy to get around people's Ultimate Jutsu which isn't welcomed if you're the one trying to use it. I also dislike the distance in this game, when you use Substitution jutsu, sometimes you appear close to them but other times you end up so far away from them and it's hard to close the gap, especially when fighting Deidara and Tobi.
       I don't know what they were thinking when they programmed that in. It sucks but the overall battle is pretty if you can pull off some wicked combos. Sasuke and Killer Bees are beasts in this game, their taijutsu are damn near impossible to block or substitute so be weary of that, they have some long, heavy hitting combos which get annoying real quick.
       Another problem with this game is the repetition of some of the battles, for some reason they thought it was fun to have Sasuke and Itachi fight one another 5 times throughout the game, it gets boring but the other fights are pretty cool. You can play as and against Tobi when he had the handcuffs as weapons, Tobi is one hard motherfucker to beat but it is possible.
      The anime scenes however are awesome although the dubbing is atrocious. Seriously the words do not match the mouth 80% of the time, given the time they had with this game, this is no excuse for that. I WANT TO BREAK VIC MIGNONA'S JAW SO HE CANNOT VOICE ACT FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS! Not only does he fail as Nagato but he also voices Obito which just does not fit. SOMEONE GET HIM THE FUCK OFF THIS SHOW!
      Tobi's voice has changed from Ulitmate Ninja 2, both as his childish personality and "Madara" personality. His new "Madara" voice makes him sound like he's 100, it's deep but it's also graveling, like the guy is chewing on rocks. Actually, he sounds a lot like Kakuzu which doesn't fit either. I prefer Nolan North as Tobi's "Madara's" personality, that guy had a cool voice. Also, only Gaara had good voice acting in this game which he is voiced by Liam O'Brien.
        A problem I have with the Shippuden cast is that all their characters still sound the same. This is a one in a million show where the characters grow and get older yet they still sound like they're 12, except for Gaara here. His voice is much deeper because Mr. O'Brien probably realized that his character is now 17 years old and is a respectable leader and not a 12 year old psychopath anymore. I salute you Mr. O'Brien, I salute you.
        For Free Fighting, there are several modes such as single or team battle, Survive, Tournement and the return of Training Mode which is awesome since the gameplay is slightly different. I haven't spent much time here except to test try Hashirama Senju because I'm a Madara Uchiha fan. Fuck you and your wood jutsu.
There are more collectibles here and you get to buy titles, yay. I defeated all 11 Storylines but that just doesn't get you half the collectibles. Not by a long shot which made me feel as if I played Story Mode for no freaking reason. Story Mode however is good for ryo. Anyone else notice that Zetsu is yet again forgotten in this game? Poor Zetsu.
         All in all, it is a fun game to play and the anime scenes that haven't come out in English yet are very good so I give this game 4 stars. I spent $59 on this game, I'm keeping it for that reason alone. You can defeat this game in a day.

Tell me your experience with the game and if you are stuck on a battle in story mode.

Caligula 1979

The movie by Gore Vidal and Tinto Brass. I never seen it in it's entirety but I have seen clips from it. I like Malcolm McDowell's voice, he kind of sounds like Dr. Muraki from Descendants of Darkness, and from what I have seen of it, I think he did well for playing a mad man. Like David Tennant as Doctor Who and Bartie Crouch Jr. I'd like to see the rest of it now. My only problem is that it looks more like a play than a movie, the Harem of Monsters and Imperial Bordello scenes....felt and looked like they were on a stage rather than a built set. Needless to say that the props looked completely fake but it's the performance that is important.

I know people have issues with the rampant sexuality in it but I have an issue with every movie I watch there is more naked women than men. So yeah....it's unfair and shut up about it. Hollywood isn't going to change. Sex is so natural and is actually healthy for you (still everyone should be safe) and it's a shame we now live in a world where we are demonized for our choice of partners and is made to feel ashamed for it.

I think people when watching this should try to actually educate themselves and learn a little bit more about who Caligula was because there's nothing an actor can do that can be captured on camera that will even come close to the atrocities he committed in real life. We all know the inaccurate/accurate history of Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Caligula and Nero (the Julian-Claudius Dynasty) through film (for everything the Romans accomplished, their eras aren't actually taught well in schools. Seeing how we use their alphabet, you'd think they'd get a little more credit) but I actually rather see something about Trajan, the Emperor from Hispania. He was brutal, bloody, fair and good. But I have a feeling that the monotheistic oppressive overlords don't want to admit that pagan leaders were good just as much as they were capable of evil.

Then, for some reason, Youtube recommended me the videos for Total War: Rome II. I don't play military games but I watched the live action trailer for the game anyway and it was done surprisingly well. You can watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKglskMfyWA
I wished there was some sort of narration to the trailer but the cinematography was done well nevertheless. Looked like it would have been a good movie, better than Pompeii anyway. So the trailer inspired me to write something while listening/watching random clips of Caligula because the full streams I found had terrible audio and the streams with good audio was either in Spanish or had actor commentary on it. So an excerpt from what I wrote, again no title.


 

It hadn't been going well since the younger Emperor's son met his Athenian relations. The men of his mother's family had been trying to fill his head with nonsense of Athenian pride. So much pride did them after Rome helped to crush them along with their allies. Not even the ever war hungry Spartans could be moved to help their fellow Grecians.
            Alecto didn't like what his maternal family had been telling him, they were conflicting the boy and he did not need that. Not when there were older heirs for the throne who would see Aries as a rival when he came into his manhood just the same they would see the child as a threat whenever Alecto died. He feared, that without his co-Emperor and elder brother, Saturn, his two nephews would turn feral on him.
            If they didn't fear him and Octavio, his paternal cousin, but then again, without Saturn, Octavio could become an enemy all too well. He was going to set things straight for his son as gently as the boy could understand, he was young still, only seven years old and had grown up living on Palatine in a villa, what did he know of betrayal?
           His own father had began his career in the Senate at a young age and spurred it in his youngest son, it was the Senate they were leaving now, walking in step with one another. Alecto was old, there was no denying that but his brother was older and there was no denying that either, while his brother had been favored in his youth, Alecto had come to power only a short decade ago when he returned from his own adventures outside the city and country.
           It was only noon, the sun reflected off the white buildings and stone, a trick of architecture to make the insides of said buildings cooler, a trick learned from the Grecians but ah well...he would give credit when credit was due. He wore his Senatorial robes, as he was also Consul, he had been elected by his peers inside the governing body before he made himself and his brother Emperors, naturally no one opposed the two dangerous men.
            If they did, they would only be silently removed.
            He stopped at the top of the stairs to look down upon the square teeming with the life that made this city great and glorious. "Where were you born?" He asked his son. Aries had been made to listen while inside the Senate but after the meticulous meeting of who would be his superior one day while he trained, Aries made an off comment about a democracy.
            A part of the boy wanted to understand the difference between the two governing sanctions but the voice that came out of his lips was condemning at best. Fortunately for him, his father knew that Aries didn't know enough to appreciate the reasons why a republic was better and since he was still a child, he was easily influenced by the adults in his life. Aries' grandfather was beginning to become a pain in his ass although he only met the older man twice.
            "Rome." Aries answered going no further than his own father.
            "And where was your father born?" He asked what seemed like a fruitless question to his son. Did he forget where he was born himself?
            "Rome." Aries answered automatically.
            "And his father and his father before him?" Alecto kept an eye on the square, following the moves of the guards meant to keep the peace.
            "Rome."
            "And what is a democracy? What is a republic?" Alecto asked.
            "I don't know." Aries admitted.
            "So you're equally ignorant of both of them. Have you ever been to Athens?" Finally he looked down at his son, his thick eyebrows pulled closely together but they were so often furrowed, Aries couldn't tell if he was angry. He didn't sound upset or offended but that meant nothing.
             "No."
             "Do you know anyone from Athens?" Alecto continued, hoping that Aries would draw the right conclusions as he baited the right answers from him.
              "You know I do." Aries huffed out a warm breath as he pulled on the front of his tunic, it was a warm day even in the shade.
              "What?" Alecto glared at him now but Aries was brave and stupid enough to ignore his expression. He'd chalked that up to youth but the boy needed to learn, he wouldn't be around forever and he had enemies in familiar and unfamiliar places.
              Aries choked down a response before listing his relatives that had been relocated to Herculaneum but only as a favor to his wife. He only knew her cousin and had no love for the Athenian merchant. He was more interested in saving the lives of his former quartermaster and the former hoplite who would become his personal assassin and ended up saving them from slavery by taking them as his own slaves during the triumvirate attack on the port city.
              It was a ruse of course, the families he had saved were now free in Herculaneum but people and friends they once knew........
              "And you've only just met them. They were not here when you were born, they were not here for any injury, sadness nor joy that befell you in your short years. Your loyalty is to your heritage and your heritage is here," he pointed to the square and to various well known landmarks and statues that stood erected testaments to what his heritage had accomplished.
              Aries frowned at the gist of his words, he liked his Athenian relatives and their food. He looked away from the glinting trophies of wars passed to look upward at his father. "Does that mean I can't wrestle?" Wrestling was a Greek sport and one not often practiced in Italy.
             Alecto rubbed the top of his head as he pulled him to his side. "Of course you can wrestle. You'll be a little Alexander but without blonde hair."



The ancient Romans were very family orientated and believe it or not, had excellent morals and values but all we ever see in fiction and film is the worst of them. All conquerors are brutal, if they weren't, they'd never win their wars but war is war and it doesn't make the soldiers evil in general or when they've return home. Anyone with family serving in the military knows that. I've included a link for anyone to read and or discover what ancient Roman virtues were. Don't demonize the past because without the past, you'd have no future.
Roman Virtues 

Catcher In The Rye

By J.D Salinger, some people hate it, some people love it. Either way it is considered a classic. I read it in school, I actually have no problem with the book, yes all it was was a whiny privileged kid complaining about nothing, cynical in his attitude and was the most false person in the entire book but how is that different from people's daily lives? Everyone complains about something. I don't think it's the greatest thing ever written but I didn't feel it was absolutely terrible, I think J.D Salinger was trying to show us the whiny, bitchy side in all of us, that most people don't want to admit is there. A lot of us scowl at society while secretly longing to be part of it.

Would people's opinion of the book change if it was re-written with a modern day aspect?
You know why they redid the Spider-Man movie after Tobey Maguire's run, don't you? I kid you not, the reason producers felt like Spider-Man had to be done over was because there was no mention of Facebook in it previously. They said that kids today couldn't relate to Tobey's Spider-Man because he didn't have Facebook. That's one of the most terrible reasons they could have come up with.
I think it can be pulled off with Catcher In The Rye as it would attract the teenage "emo" crowd.

So I was writing something and it began to remind me of Catcher In The Rye, I'm just going to scrap it altogether but I still found it hilarious in a way. So an excerpt, there's no title.


Darkness is a word with a double meaning, there's the literal sense as in, "hey, it's dark in here," and then there is the darkness where fear dwells within the body. It's that darkness that I'm referring to where the hairs on the back of your neck stands on end, that which makes every breath you draw painful as you run for your life.
            Darkness is a funny thing, we fear it and yet we're drawn towards it, we lie about it to our children, denying the fact that we ourselves are the monsters hiding in the closets and under the bed. We label it evil because we can't understand its thought patterns and demonize it while ravishing the rewards of misdeeds. 
            My father was called evil, he is the head of a corporation bent on owning the world, who perverted the senses and robbed humanity of its humanity, or so people say. What's humanity anyway? Loyalty? Dogs are loyal. Free will? Goats have free will, that's why they're so stubborn. Imposable thumbs and love? Monkeys have imposable thumbs and lionesses seemed to love their cubs. Humanity begins to sound a lot like mindless sheep ready for a slaughter when you really think about it.
             You see, humans aren't meant to be lambs, they're meant to eat them.
              Everyone wants to read about dark themes but when it comes down to it, they aren't too curious to tread into anything truly sinister where they can no longer deny it or maybe it's plain cowardice.
               No, it's definitely cowardice, why are people so afraid of the dark inside of themselves? If anything, doesn't it mean we are meant to be violent, self serving maniacs? We're all capable of it so why do we attach rules to ourselves that rules out our very nature?   
               What a hypocritical world.
               Those are my psychotic like thoughts as I pace in the dark room, this is my place. It's cramped in the small square I built around myself. Some people have cutting or drugs, I have darkness nearly robbing my sight of being able to handle light.
                The light is where mistakes are made and is where lies live. I want no part of that. It may seem crazy but just because those meaningless sheep can't understand my reasons doesn't make me insane. I sit in the corner with my hands on my head as if I'm in pain before deciding that my vision has become strong enough that I can see the items I've placed inside.
                My solitary room is located behind a secret panel within my father's office where he conducts all of his dirty dirty business.
                It is here that he sits in his leather chair with a phone in hand and a knife hidden behind his back as he makes life or death decisions for people he's never even met and yes I do mean life or death. Whether it be a worker, an accountant or some poor bloke on the street walking to his menial job to pay his rent, my father is up here above them like a deity ruling all.
                His back is turned as he watches the peons down below when I come out of the box. He has a slurpee on his desk waiting for me, a little generous token as he's come accustomed to my habits and my unconventional philosophy. I take it enjoying the cold rush past my teeth as I look away from my father's tailored back. "One day you'll learn Bryce," he says calmly, almost fatherly as he clenches his wrist a bit tighter behind his back.
                 I only snort turning away from the bright sunlight as it tears at my now sensitive eyes not that my father cares. I walk away as he continues to rumble on about how I need to see what could be in this urban wasteland that they call a city. They disgust me.


I dislike first person narrative. There's something very selfish and self centered about all the I's and me's. This won't be continued or finished. Originally the theme was supposed to be dark but people don't really want "dark" they want puppies and rainbows. All the heroes have been written and all their stories are the same, there's more character development in villains, it's high time we explore our fears. The absence of fear comes from understanding.

Beauty of the Beard

You see a lot of blogs about fashion and models, while I care not for fashion, I'm finding that I like the bearded (from light to full) male models. So these are my favorite bearded men just for fun. I like their appearance, nothing more, nothing obsessive

Chinese male model, his name is Zhang Lunshuo, I believe. I like the metal style he's sporting here although most of his work, he has short hair but I think he looks better with long hair. He could use a longer goatee though.

Takayuki Yamada, a Japanese actor, he was in Crows Zero although I never seen the movie. I think he needs a little more facial hair in this picture but he's one of the few Japanese men who lets it grow so kudos to him.

Stefano Masciolini, an Italian actor. I love his red hair and the color of his eyes. I wished he had more a defined chinstrap beard but it looks good on him. Red haired people get a bad rap but I like their hair color and for the record, real ginger is brown, not red.

Another glorious red head, Mr. Richard Madden, forever our King in the North, Rob Stark from Game of Thrones. I was so upset when he died, Jon Snow deserved to die a lot more than Rob ever did. He's also the voice of Trevor Belmont/Alucard in MercurySteam's Castlevania games.

Maximiliano Patane, the Argentinean male model in his furry glory. He is a very handsome man and I find his hairy chest to be very masculine. I think more men should have the courage to let it grow unless he himself dislikes his own body hair.

I don't know who this man is but I'm digging the grey beard and Roman like hairstyle, his profile looks great but I want to see the rest of his tattoo now. You can be older and still be attractive for both men and women.

I don't know who this guy is but he looks happy and seeing happy people makes me happy (sometimes).

Greek fashion model Paraskevas Boubourakas, has to say he's my favorite bearded model. I hear he's a really nice guy too.

Dimitri Alexandrou, another Greek fashion model. He has tattoos although they're covered by his clothes in this picture.

Justin Passmore, another fashion model. Love the shape of his beard.

I don't know who he is but I wanna find out! Anybody, what's his name?

Athenian fashion model, Yiorgos Karavas.

I don't know who he is either but I applaud that mustache and goatee combo of his, he has some  nice colored eyes as well.

Looks like a viking sword in his hand. Love his long beard, and I love those type of shirts he's wearing, I find them extremely masculine and love seeing men wear them. Wish I knew his name too.

Abbas Jafri, he's from somewhere in the Middle East, I don't remember where. I like the barbaric warrior theme here. He looks intimidating. He's a very popular model. I have thousands more but this will be it for now.