Opinion – Page 129 – Savior Gaming

Graveyard Shift

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If Pet Sematary was my first introduction to King’s work, Graveyard Shift- circa the short story collection Night Shift – would be my second. The story, while brief, is about a textile mill with an massive rat infestation. They practically pour out of the floors and walls, but what happens when you try to exterminate the pests? A freak of nature lurks in the catacombs under the dying mill, a creature half rat and half bat. After grisly deaths happen at the mill, a new guy in town, the girl he falls for, the bastard foreman, and a group of workers have to journey into the basement to clear the rats, only to find the beast underneath…

This is basically a B movie creature-feature from Stephen King and it’s pretty solid. The story is quick with some good atmosphere and it’s got a darker ending then the movie, though the movie ain’t exactly cheery by the end. As for the movie, it’s a decent horror movie. There is some fair kills of some pretty forgettable characters and the creature doesn’t look bad for the time. Brad Douriff is over the time and funny as hell as the exterminater but I’m kind of pissed his character doesn’t really go anywhere. If you are scared of rats, this movie will terrify the hell out of you but other than that, it ain’t a bad movie. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Supernatural season 7

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Season 7 of Supernatural brings us another big enemy with the Leviathans, the beings that were here before the Humans. Cass brought them out of Purgatory with him, and when the renegade angel turned god puts all the souls back into Purgatory they decide not to go, and they of course are not peaceful.

We will also see out dear brothers Sam and Dean dealing with the loss of their dear friend Bobby, tho he is a ghost. I don’t want to spoil much but at this point the series has hit a sort of pattern. That isn’t bad, but we basically see the same thing here as the last couple seasons. Sam and Dean fight, bad guys do stuff. Sam and Dean make up, bad guys die, this sets off a reaction freeing the next bad guy or incident that pushes the series along. You will see the same thing here with the defeat of the Leviathans and the consequences that follow. The season is still good and I enjoyed season 7, but that pattern can not be ignored. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Await further instructions trailer

Isn’t Christmas time magical? Well, this trailer looks like a tense meet and greet during the holidays turns into Saw on acid it seems. With all this heat and mugginess, a little Christmas horror is welcome so during the holiday it can be a cool watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mr Massagy (PS4)

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Mr Massagy is basically a dating game about getting massages. That isn’t code, it even tells you where to put your controller and each, well I won’t say woman, makes the controller vibrate different. The game is basically a dating sim, you will date a woman,a cow, a ghost the list is weird. The game is good for a chuckle, but honestly the only reason to play this game is the fact that in 15-30 minutes you can get a platinum trophy. Seriously, while the game looks nice and is good for a laugh the game is short and pointless. The trophies are its only selling point. So for trophy hunters its worth the $4, everyone else, don’t waste your time or money. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

5 long ass King reads

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I find that reading can be my little pleasure in life when things get shitty; my dad, Duke, always told me who cares how long a book is as long as it’s good. Stephen King is known for his massive books; I previously covered 5 short King reads so today we do the opposites. I’m going to focus on books that go past the 800 page mark, in no particular order, starting with..

tower 7 1. Dark Tower 5: Wolves of the Calla / Dark Tower 7: The Dark Tower – I’m giving the 5th and final entries in King’s Dark Tower series the first slot. The 5th book totals roughly at about 900 pages while the final book is just about 1,000. For a while it was the longest book I’d ever read.

2. Insomnia- I admit to have the book but not having read it. I know it’s considered one of his best and I can tell you it’s a massive book at almost 800 pages.

It2 3. It- whether you’re a fan of It (1990) or It (2017) and you decide to dive into the book, keep in mind it floats at around 1,260 some pages.

4. Under the dome- Ok, I have a hard love/hate relationship with this long ass King tale of a small town trapped under a mysterious dome but I can tell you it’s well over 1,100 pages. I’ll be getting to this someday…

the stand uncut 5. The Stand (uncut)- Besides the dark tower series, this maybe my favorite of King’s works. Standing at nearly 1,400 pages its a juggernaut but is well worth the time.

If I’m going to add a few honorable mentions I’d include Christine, Sleeping Beauties, 11/22/63, Dreamcatcher, and Talisman and Black House with Peter Straub. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Places From The Office I’ve Been

For awhile there The Office was a huge show, and some people still love it. I don’t really get it tho I have seen it. Being born and raised in Scranton Pennsylvania however there are a few things about the show I can appreciate. For example most of the characters saying the city name like a native of the city or that many of the places in the show are real places, many of which I have been. Here is just a short list of them.

Alfredo’s Pizza– Located in the South Side shopping center I have spent many of hours in this restaurant. Not as a customer, it was actually one of my first jobs. I was a dish washer when I was 17. The managers name by the way, no joke, William Riker. Had some good times here, including drinking beer on break with the 3 Mexican brothers I worked with out back. We would go get ice water and dump it out then fill it with beer they had in the trunk of their car. Made work much easier, I miss tho guys. Admittedly we didn’t talk much, they barely spoke English beyond “beer time” and a few phrases here and there included “fucking easy no my friend?”

Anthracite Heritage Museum This is honestly just a place about coal mines, North East PA was a coal mine area after all. There is also a tour you can take where you ride down into an actual mine, they tell you about it, pretty interesting stuff. Don’t do it if you are afraid of enclosed spaces tho. You will be far underground.

Boscov’s And the Steamtown Mall- Both Boscov’s and the Steamtown mall are mentioned in The Office, and if you live in Scranton you have been to both. I actually was a security guard at the mall. Had a lot of fun tossing smart ass kids out on Friday nights. Tho technically “The Steamtown mall” no longer exist, “It’s The Market Place at Steamtown” The Office sign actually was here for a while, still might be, I haven’t been here for awhile. People used to stop by all the time for pics.

This one is actually a list of places mentioned in The Office implied to be in Scranton, that are not. To start, Chilli’s. This is not in Scranton, depending on traffic it’s actually about half an hour away. Another example is Hooters. There is no Hooters anywhere near Scranton. I don’t even know where the nearest one is to be honest. No this isn’t a macho oh I wouldn’t go there sort of deal, I would. When I was in the Army we went to one in Oklahoma City. I just don’t know where one is near Scranton.

Every time this comes up there is an argument. Dunder Mifflin is not a real business. There is no Dunder Mifflin Paper Company you can go and visit. However, the building you see in the opening credits? That is a real place, it is called Pennsylvania Paper Supply Company and is located at 215 vine street. Yes I’ve been there, not because of the show there, if you live here long enough you just end up near it at some point honestly. Anyway if you guys enjoy this I may do more locations, maybe even go there myself and take real pics. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Jacksonville Madden Shooting

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I thought long and hard about writing this, or not even talking about the shooting in Jacksonville at all. That is actually why you are reading this days after the event. A lot of people took the chance to politicize the tragedy or as I pointed out on my Facebook page make memes and jokes, I even shared one particular meme because I wasn’t sure exactly who it was mocking, tho admittedly it was funny to me regardless. I won’t make any excuses for my dark sense of humor as many people use it as a defense mechanism and people I know read this. There are a few other things I won’t do. I won’t take this time to discuss changes in gun laws or to defend the 2nd amendment, nor will I engage in any conversation about it on this blog article. It isn’t that I don’t have an opinion because I do, it just isn’t the time or the place.

I also won’t be discussing the numerous people who have used this event to attack gamer as violent sociopaths and psychopaths that are getting more violent because of the games we play, tho I have written about my opinions on that as well. No, those people are equally bad because people lives have been taken by a coward that was upset because he lost a video game tournament. I won’t share his name or his likeness tho because that simply gives him the fame he desired from winning the tournament in the first place. Clearly he was a cowardly and sick person that deserves both or pity and scorn but most importantly he deserves to be forgotten forever. Normally I end this by hoping the gaming gods will bring you all glory, but this time all I ask that the gaming gods bring peace to the people of Florida, but most importantly bring the families of the this tragedy some peace and happiness.

5 short King reads

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So the other night during a “staff meeting” for Saviorgaming (we played Titan Fall 2 (PS4) ) and Savior told me a reason he doesn’t read much of King’s work because of the sheer size of most of his work and how sometimes they take a long time to really get into. This is a common complaint I hear. So I want to give a list of King books under 500 pages for those who don’t have the patience for giant novels, so in no particular order let’s begin with..

1. Carrie bk Carrie – King’s 1st major novel and a totally powerful first hit for the future legend. Around 200 pages, I couldn’t put it down.

Salems lot 2. Salem’s Lot – One of the better vampire stories out there, King’s 2nd major story is a little over 400 pages and it’s a slower read but suspenseful read.

tower1 3. The Gunslinger: the Dark Tower , The Drawing of the Three: Dark Tower 2 , Dark Tower 3: the Wastelands – I’m counting the first 3 books in the series in this slot. They are my favorites of the series; the first book is roughly 200 pages and books 2 and 3 are around 400 each. A must read for King fans.

4. Pet Sematary – My first intro to King and one of the rare movies that never stopped creeping me out. The book is somewhere 300 pages and is just as creepy as the movie.

cujo book 5. Cujo – Another one of my favorites, this story of a good dog gone bad stacks up with about 350 pages and moves pretty fast as the bloodthirsty fiend himself.

I hope you enjoyed my list. This time I do have a few honorable mentions including Misery , Dark Tower 6: Song of Susannah , Revival, and Cycle of the werewolf . May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Sextuplets with Marlon Wayans

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In possibly a record-setting performance to come, but definitely an impressive one in an upcoming film called Sextuplets, Marlon Wayans will play six roles. As Alan he will attempt to meet his birth mother and in this process he will meet his brother. One of the 4 other brothers he has. This will result in a road trip to bring the sextuplets together for the first time.

I don’t know if the movie itself will be good but if anyone can pull off this massive feat it will be Marlon Wayans. I don’t doubt he will do a great job, the movie just sounds a bit weird. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Cycle of the werewolf

cycle of the werewolf

Here’s a book many don’t really talk about; most of us are more familiar with it’s film counterpart, Silver Bullet, more. I can also say this right now, if you want to read King but you’re put off by the fact a majority of his work is so thick, this is probably the shortest book you’ll find from him. I read it in one day back when I hardly read. Cycle of the Werewolf is about a reign of terror a werewolf goes on over a year ( I believe), every chapter being a different month. About half through we meet our protagonist, a boy confined to a wheelchair who encounters the beast and survives and afterwards tries to discover who it really is.

I’ve got to be honest, while the shortest King book I’ve read, it’s one of my least favorites. The illustrations are great and actually pretty badass. The boy was a fair enough character and so’s the main antagonist, but I feel like more could’ve been done. That’s what I feel hurt the book the most to me, it feels like the skeleton of a what could be a good book. If you want anything other than a quick, bloody read I wouldn’t really recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.