Game of the Week | Battle Run

Battle Run

Developer: Game Hive Corporation

Publisher: Game Hive Corporation

Size: 77.7 MB

Genre: Racing

Release Date: August 8th, 2013

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So this game has been out for a few years. In fact it was in 2013 that I went on a road trip to South Carolina with a group of friends and we literally played this game during the entire stay! I just recently picked it back up again to find my "Molly" character still there in full mustache glory! 

How can I describe this game... easy, it's like a Mario Kart Racer. Each race pits you against others around the world currently playing the game and requires you to complete a straight line race. No laps, No Karts, just a straight forward running game with obstacles and power ups along the way. Also, during each race you have the opportunity to collect stars and when you collect enough you can activate your mount. Each mount is different and this is where most of the Pay to Play comes into play. You can purchase Legendary eggs to hatch and get rare mounts. 

Here are some of items available for purchase: Hats, Accessories, Clothes, Mounts, Trails & Characters

 

Positives: 

- Free to Play. You can literally play this game as much as you want without spending a dime.

- Gameplay. Fast games, I'd say less than a minute per race, which makes for easy and fun games.

- Graphics. It may not be for everyone but I enjoy the cartoonish characters especially Molly and Spoon!

 

Negatives:

- Free to Play. Pay to Play. You get the idea.

- Lag/Freezing. This doesn't happen all the time and its hardly noticeable but when it happens seemingly for no reason its quite frustrating.

 

So what do you think? How do you like Battle Run?

Let me know in the comments below!

Netflix Movie of the Week | Atari: Game Over

Hey whats going on everybody? This weekend the Mrs and I joined some of our close friends for a weekend getaway in Branson Missouri. We had rented a cabin in the woods... (insert dark ominous music) The weekend has been great and I definitely don't mind having a couple of work days off! Anyways I figured I would watch some movies on Netflix and too my surprise they have added some documentaries that had been removed for a while.

The first movie I picked to watch again was Atari: Game Over. 

If you haven't seen this yet I would highly recommend it to you. This movie showcases the rise and fall of Atari. However the main reason for the movie is to discover the burial site for ET the game produced by Atari. 

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The landfill and search for the site and spot of the burial of these games to me was secondary. My main interest was listening to Howard Warshaw, Chief game Engineer for Atari, talk about the glory days and life as a game developer in the height of the gaming industry. Warshaw created many million copy sellers including Yars Revenge and Raiders of the Lost Ark. 

In the end it wasn't just ET that led to the downfall of Atari in fact there were a lot of terrible games out for the system. However ET with so much hype and media surrounding the release of the movie and the timing of all the events there had to be a scapegoat. ET was just that. SPOILER: the landfill was excavated, games were found and some of them were ET. It wasn't a burial ground for that game it was a dump site for a warehouse with many Atari games that closed due to the fall of Atari.

So what say you? Have you already seen this documentary?

What did you think?

Any other Netflix suggestions?

-Joe

The cover art in these old games make them worth picking up as a collector!

The cover art in these old games make them worth picking up as a collector!

NERD OFFICE ESSENTIALS | Dustin

Hey there nerds and nerdettes! Personal space is important, no matter your marriage status or how old you are. Man caves give you the freedom to express your true selves. They give you the space to enjoy football with the guys, a relaxing pool game or pure quietness to get extra work done. The benefits are endless. But what if your interests don't lye with sports or you don't have the money for a pool table? Well, fellow nerd, have I got the article for you! Here are some of the things YOU need to show your nerd colors.

The computer is the heart and soul of your nerd room. Doesn't matter what kind you have. Just so long as you have one! Get that blog done. Play those computer games. Watch those cat videos. Whatever it is you do on that computer! Just be sure that computer background really expresses your inner nerd.

You have some special comics? Display them! Show that you're proud of those limited edition comics. Let everyone know that what you have is better than what they have! 

Action figures. Action figures. Wait for it....ACTION FIGURES!!! Those badass toys need to be out on display in their full glory. And if you still have that 1990's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in his original box...I hate you and everything you stand for.

You have a mini library? Prove it. Get some sweet looking bookends, build an awesome bookshelf or, if you're poor like me, keep them on your desk with the Hulk holding them up. As long as they're out.....you're good!

 

This should help you on your way to putting together that fortress of solitude every nerd is dreaming of. Do you have yours set up already? What are some cool things you have displayed in your "nerditorium"?

The Forest | Review (SPOILERS)

So... the Forest. Let me just start out with the fact that the last time we went to see a scary movie was the original Paranormal Activity. Since then convincing my wife to see another scary movie has fallen on deaf ears. However, a while back we did just that forced with an abundant supply of peer pressure we went to see the Forest.  

 

SPOILERS BELOW

The story follows Sara Price who learns that her identical twin sister is missing and her last known whereabouts were in Aokigahara the forest at the base of Mount Fuji. The disheartening thing about this fact is that this forest is known to welcome hundreds if not thousands of suicides each year. Knowing this fact she knew she had to go help her sister. Sara had a habit of helping her sister. Jess, Sara's sister, always seemed to unknowingly need the help of her sister throughout her life. Sara explains how she differs from her sister when their parents died, a murder suicide, committed by their father. The difference was that her sister looked at their bodies while she didn't. Jess ended up in Tokyo Japan as an English teacher. Sara thought this was a good move for her knowing that she seemingly never had much responsibilty in the past. 

 So now that there is a bit of a background and intro to the movie we pick up with Sara traveling to Aokigahara because she knows that Jess is not dead she can feel her. The day before she goes out into the forest on her on to locate her sister she happens to run across a strapping young lad named Aiden in the bar/restaurant below the room she had reserved. Aiden, an Australian news reporter was there to tour the forest with his guide Michi a local who walks the forest to convince those contemplating suicide that they shouldn't as well as report suicides he wasn't able to stop. 

Although Michi discouraged Sara from going into the forest she tells him that she can still hear her sister. It's not something she can explain but since birth its a sound that she can never ignore. So that day the search for Jess begins and Michi warns Sara of two things.  First that she shouldn't go with them and second that all the bad she see's in the forest is only in her mind.  

Throughout the romp through the forest Sara deals with a lot of inner demons as Aiden and Michi look to help those in need. They even stumble upon a campsite that Michi explains as "If they bring a tent it means that they aren't sure." As they continue to look around Sara is pulled in a different direction which Aiden and Michi agree to follow. This direction seemingly pays off as they find Sara and Jess' childhood tent in the middle of the forest. Sara says that she is staying until her sister returns and even though Michi encourages her that they must turn back for the night and return the next day. Aiden also agrees to stay with Sara until her sister returns.

Again, this forest plays tricks on your mind and throughout the night Sara in confronted with different sounds and visions. She even gets to the point that she believes Aiden actually kidnapped her sister and brought her to a small cabin in the forest. This leads to her killing Aiden and when she goes to the basement of the cabin where she believes her sister is being help captive she sees her memory of her father killing her mother playing out. Her father crawls towards he grabbing her wrist where she desperately tries to cut his hand to free herself. Meanwhile we catch up with Jess who was running to escape the forest and Sara hears her from the cabin and begins to follow her. As Sara gets close the forest takes its grasp on her. Sara's spirit had followed her sister, Sara was stuck in the stairwell to the basement dead due to numerous lacerations to her wrist. At that point Jess knew she had lost Sara because she lost that feeling they both shared. 

MY THOUGHTS

Meh... definitely wasn't worth going to see it in theaters and not really scary which I was hoping for. Maybe a RedBox rental? But maybe not. 

 

We wanted to give a huge shout out to TJ & Stacey from Warrenton 8 Cinema for Sponsoring this post!


The Marvel Universe Just Keeps Expanding

Nowadays it is nearly impossible to get away from anything related to superheroes in pop culture. They are in every other movie, a number of TV shows, and they're even starting to creep into music videos. And if there is a clear winner in the comic saturation, it is Marvel. Sure, there are some good non-Marvel characters (notably Batman and Superman), but the vast majority of colorful crime fighters come from the Marvel universe. While familiar folks like Iron Man and the X-Men continue to be popular, it doesn't even seem to matter who Marvel puts out there; he (or she) will immediately become a sensation.

Take Deadpool, for example. While familiar to devout fans, most people probably had never heard of him before the marketing blitz that started last year. And it comes as little surprise that the recent movie has done very well, both at the box office and with critics. You know something is a hit when even Betty White endorses it. Of course, as is the norm in Hollywood, a sequel has already been announced. But here's something interesting: Although it's a long shot, if Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were to get their way, Inquisitr notes that another Marvel character would be in the second film to battle Deadpool.

"I would love to see the Hulk against Deadpool, because it would be really fun to see Deadpool having to use his agility and his silliness and skills to overcome just brute force," Reese said.

Although fans would probably jump at the chance to see this match-up, it is doubtful because although both of them are Marvel characters, 20th Century Fox owns Deadpool while Marvel Studios own the rights to the Hulk. Reese is hopeful that something else could be worked out, though. "Maybe we can figure out another way to do that with another character in the X-Men universe," he added. "But I would love to see him square up against the Hulk. It would be hilarious."

While movies are fun places to see these Marvel superheroes, they are limited. Whatever characters filmmakers have decided to use, that's all you are going to see. Fortunately, to see much more of these folks in an assortment of combinations, you can turn to video games.

There are now tons of video games that let you play superheroes in a variety of settings. While Wolverine and Spider-Man aren't in any movies together as friends or enemies (not yet anyway), they are in several games. For instance, you can find them side by side on Betfair's platform, where the two exist as part of a Marvel-themed roulette offering. The experience is just like the classic casino game, except it's made more enticing through the use of superhero imagery and, in this case, the pairing of iconic characters.

But the best part of these video games? It's that you get to play as a ton of characters who don't appear in movies (yet, at least). For example, in the recently released LEGO Marvel's Avengers, you can take on the role of Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, and Iron Spider. The game also lets you play as villains such as Sandman, Rhino, and Carnage. Plus, you get to control the action and team up with your buddies for several different adventures. Sounds more exciting than anything you would see in a movie, right?

It may not be long before all of entertainment has been Marvel-ized, but that might not be such a bad thing.