Time to Blame Games, Again.

It seems like every year this happens. We get a mass shooting and a politician blames video games. Ok, I live in America, we get a mass shooting every week or two. The blaming video games thing tho doesn’t quite happen every time. They break it out here and there like your mother breaks out the fine china to impress a house guest, usually right around election time. It makes things look better to the people they want to impress than they actually are. Most of them realize games don’t actually cause violence. There are dozens of studies that show it, here I will link a few.

University of Oxford

APA Review

Journal of Youth and Adolescence

Now if you don’t want to bother reading all three of those links, which I understand, the general idea is simple. There might be some link between increased aggression similar to how watching a football or hockey game will increase aggression, causing trash-talking or yelling and maybe the occasional fight, but they aren’t causing large scale violence or criminal activity. Hell, we have all seen fights at the grocery store, does that mean buying waffles causes mass shootings or crime? No, clearly not. So why are so many people willing to accept games cause mass shootings but not accuse movies of doing it or football games creating NFL players? Well, honestly it is easy.

People desperately want an answer to why these things happen and want to know how we make it end, but they don’t want to risk sacrificing anything that affects them. So what better scapegoat than video games? Many older people don’t play them, most don’t understand them and see no benefit to them and they sure as hell don’t respect the people that play or create them.

It is easy to cling on to faulty research from decades ago or beliefs that didn’t pan out, but it is hard to abandon those for new information. Video games don’t cause mass shootings, guns in the hands of psychos do. Guns in the hands of fanatics do. I’m not just picking on guns, giving psychos and fanatics knives or air places would have the same results. Video games, however, are not a cause. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Boundary gameplay trailer

I have to give a shout out to my pal Speedy for the heads up on this one. While games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and Borderlands: The Pre-sequel have a lot of space and futuristic stuff in them, Boundary looks to be like a standard FPS in the dead of space. Honestly this looks really cool and I see a lot of cool opportunities this game has for some insane Z-G gun fights and some cool multiplayer matches. I’m pretty pumped for it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Angel (Season 2)

As I continue to make my way through Angel, season 2 has a different tone than Angel (Season one)  We learn much about the past of Angel and how he became a vampire to begin with. We always knew he was pretty much one of the evilest vampires to ever live, but he and his creator Darla pretty much went through Europe and Asia killing men, women, and children until he was cursed by gypsies for killing one of their own.

This season will also introduce a new and loved character, Fred, she is a bit crazy and out of touch after spending 5 years in a hell dimension however who amongst us wouldn’t be?

Each episode does a great job of showcasing how the characters have changed since season one and continue to change during season 2. Lorne also really comes into his own with his club Caritas becoming a frequent place the crew will visit for much-needed advice and wisdom. Caritas is a karaoke bar and sanctuary where demons are incapable of violence. It is a really nice touch and a good way to explain how demons can interact without things going badly. It is also a nice addition to the show and worth checking out. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Junkyard Tycoon Business Simulator (mobile)

This is one of those games that looked pretty cool if you like tycoon games, had decent enough reviews to be worth checking out, and turned out to be horrible.

The general idea is you buy an old car, strip it for parts, and then sell them when the price is high to make your money back. This sounds easy and it techncially is, but it can be very time consuming. Many times I would spend more time waiting to sell parts than it took to get the parts in the first place.

The game starts off sloq as you can only have one car at a time, but as you get more money you can buy more space and more cars. This doesn’t really get you money faster so to speak, you still spens most of your time waiting. The more expensive cars are worth more money obviously but the waiting still sucks.

As with many mobile games I review, this one is best avoided. There are just better games out there that are far more fun. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Take Your Stinking Paws Off Me, You Damn Dirty Ape!

mastermixmovies's avatarMaster Mix Movies

Planet of the Apes is the classic tale of an upside down world where apes are the dominant species. It’s a concept that could have very easily been campy, but everything behind the scenes ensured that wouldn’t be the case. Respected actor Charlton Heston stars in what is perhaps the most iconic (non-biblical) role of his career. Ironically he’s the only major celebrity not wearing a monkey suit. Although the makeup may seem dated by today’s standards, it was groundbreaking at the time. Sure the mouths sometimes didn’t move properly. It didn’t stop the film from winning an honorary Oscar for Best makeup. Coupled with thought-provoking themes of class, humanity, war, and even faith, and Planet of the Apes became one of the most talked about movies of the late 60’s. My parents first introduced us to Planet of the Apes at a very young age. With all its profanity…

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Addams Family trailer 2

I grew up loving the Addams Family like many others and it hurts a little that after 2 trailers this movie still isn’t clicking with me. While I think the cast is great, the fact the movie is animated kinda bugs me. While a lot of the jokes didn’t resonate with me, I think younger kids will like it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Dragonball Z: Buu Saga (Tournament)

dbz 7

After the finale of Dragonball Z: Android Saga (Cell Games) there would be a time of peace for Gohan and the Z Fighters. In the Afterlife, Goku finds himself with a golden opportunity to train with Grand Kai by competing in a tournament against the champions of the other Kais, including King Kai’s nemesis West Kai. Goku faces off against a mysterious warrior named Pikkon in the finals, a fighter that’s more than a match for the Super Saiyan…Seven Years have passed and Gohan has become a scholar like his mother always wanted, living with his mom and little brother Goten in a quiet life. For fun Gohan became a super hero while going to high school and became friends with the girl he’d eventually marry, Videl, Hercule’s daughter  and small time hero in her own right. It isn’t long before Gohan and Vegeta, whose also living the quiet life, discover the power of Goten and young Trunks when they go Super Saiyan at ages 7 and 8. Goku earns the right to come back to Earth for one whole day so his friends get together and enter the World Martial Arts Tournament for old times sake but something devious maybe going on behind the scenes. Is this time of peace coming to an end?

For season 7 I have a lot to say. First, I think it’s the weakest season of the series and there is a shit ton of filler. My favorite part was the fight between Goku and Pikkon during the Other World Tournament. Goten and Trunks are have moments when they become annoying, and I can’t help but agree with Vegeta, something as awesome as the power of a Super Saiyan is now a child’s plaything. In fact, from here on out, if you ain’t Saiyan, you ain’t shit in this series. Characters like Piccolo and Krillin are pretty much rendered useless. While I understand why Gohan dedicated himself to his studies, I can’t buy that a mart kid like him would stop training altogether and would’ve kept preparing for the possibility bad times would come. Gohan’s superhero alter ego makes me cringe. In the end, if you can watch a recap somewhere, I’d recommend skipping this season and moving onto season 8. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Country Bear Jamboree — Master Mix Movies

The Country Bears is one of the earliest movies based on a Disney park attraction. Something that would become a bit of a trend moving forward. Why they thought making an entire movie centered around the “Country Bear Jamboree” was a good idea is beyond me. I didn’t see the movie until very recently. Despite […]

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Spider-man: Matters of Life and Death

spidey life and death

Spider-man is one of the most pure hearted superheroes of all time, but has also suffered some of the most too. This book deals with yet another loss for Peter Parker as well as his drive not to kill…

Things were starting to look up for Peter Parker at last. He had a good job where he could use his scientific genius, he found a new girl and still best friends with MJ, and Aunt May was happy with her new husband and daughter in law, even if her son in law was Peter’s ex boss/ mayor of New York, J. Jonah Jameson. Jameson’s sins rear there ugly head when a group of scorned villains try to sabotage his son John’s big space mission, led by Scorpion and Alistair Smythe. Spider-man puts up a hell of a fight but Jonah’s wife Marla gets caught in the crossfire and dies in his arms. Once again Peter is wrought with guilt, not just over the guilt but the feeling that he’s too soft on the villains he fights and if he killed, some people would still be alive. When a psycho named Massacre starts committing his namesake, Spider-man’s morals are put to the test…

This book is a good addition to any Spider-man fan’s collection. Besides the main story, we also get some stories from Agent Venom, The Fantastic Four, and Power Man which was really cool. The writing and art are really well done and the story I liked a lot, reminding me why I love Spider-man so much, being a perfect blend of pathos, action, and humor. There are a good amount of villains, both well known and lesser known. The only complaint I have is the last story feels tacked on and doesn’t fit so feel with the overlying theme but was a nice decent short. In the end, it’s a good book for any Spidey fan and I’d recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Angel (Season one)

Angel is one of those shows I watched when I was much younger that I enjoyed, tho it had a counterpart Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I didn’t really care for weirdly. I recently watched season 1 just for a break in my usual stuff while my daughter is running around and I have to say all these years later and David Boreanaz is still a joy to watch. He really nails the dark and brooding part of the show, but his sense of humor is still note worthy. A lot of people can pull of the dark and broody attitude or have a great sense of humor, most can’t do both as well as David. His chemistry with Charisma Carpenter is also pretty great who pulls off the ditzy rich chick role amazingly.

Both characters will slowly grow into people that are trying to improve themselves as they are far from perfect. Angel is on a quest for redemption as his previous life of evil landed him with a curse from gypsies that gave the vampire his soul back. They fight the good fight against other vampires, demons, and lawyers. The last one isn’t a joke by the way, there really is a law firm in the show called Wolfram and Hart. They are basically involved in helping the underworld stary out of jail and hide their activity. It is a pretty cool concept that works out well. Regardless if you haven’t seen the show before it is worth checking out. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.