All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane is a horror, slasher, killer movie that starts out okay enough. It has some potential. Many was apparently some less than beautiful girl who suddenly became hot over a summer and got the attention of the all boys in school. After being invited to a party and insisting on bringing her long time friend. After one of the jocks hits on Mandy and gets a little to touchy her friend shots him with a squirt gun and a small fight follows.

Later her friend Emmett ends up on the roof with the Jock and convinces him to jump on an attempt to impress Mandy. He misses the pool, cracks his skull and dies. Yes I realize this chain of event makes very little sense that two high school guys that got into a fight over a girl would suddenly become friends, try to help each other get the girl. Only believable part is a drunk kid missing the pool.

The movie fast forwards a bit, Mandy and Emmett aren’t friends anymore because honestly who would stay friends with this psycho? This is when for some reason that is never actually explained there is a party at a ranch. This is where the death happens, which honestly is pretty underwhelming. Worse yet the story itself is essentially everyone is obsessed with one girl, the killer is exactly who you think it is with a small twist at the end and even that twist is essentially easy to see coming. The movie is entertaining, but far from good. Check it out, but don’t expect a life changing experience. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Truth or Dare (2017)

Truth or Dare is a movie that has a pretty cool premise. A group of teens around Halloween rent out a supposedly haunted house to have some fun. Back in the 1980’s a different group played truth or dare and all but one person died, and now these people decide to have a few drinks and play themselves. Sounds like good fun until it turns out the house really is haunted, and the ghost is using this normally harmless game to kill people.

In reality the movie isn’t very good. Sure the acting is fine and so are the effects, but the movie is just trying so damn hard to appeal to millennials. The story itself makes no real sense, with plot holes and contradictions. Towards the halfway point the find the original survivor ( yes they leave the house) and are told it in fact isn’t a ghost but an evil entity that isn’t limited to one place and that is why the game has continued. However, they have to go back to the house since that is where the game started and it has to end there.

The movie has moments of being fun and entertaining but for the most part the movie is simply a train wreck and it is sad because potentially the movie could have been great, it simply needed to stop trying to be cool for a certain age range and try to be the movie it needed to be. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

American Truck Simulator

This game actually has a funny story behind how I got it. See I didn’t buy it, but it isn’t a review copy. A guy in a Facebook group I am in was like “hey who wants it, post a funny gif, best one wins” and I won pretty much by default. Even better I am fairly sure he was from somewhere in Europe and I am an American, so I enjoyed that as well.

Also if you are curious about the other version of this, I did review that. Euro Truck Simulator 2

Now, on to American Truck Simulator. First you should know, I am not going to bash this game. Most people who played it do not. It has amazing scores on Steam and great reviews in other places, and rightfully so. The game looks good and its fun to watch the scenery fly buy as you drive across California and other west coast states.

The controls are also nice with them making the trucks control quite realistically without relying on simply making the controls unresponsive or sluggish. They are smooth and responsive without losing that feeling of driving a huge truck, and it does change based off your trailer. I also enjoy that you can put your own music into the radio and have it play in-game. It is a nice touch that adds to the immersion of it all.

The game however isn’t perfect, no game really is if we are being 100% honest. The game can get repetitive and if you aren’t into this style of game you will get bored really fast. Also if you are playing with a mouse and keyboard driving can be a tad weird at times because they aren’t are precise as driving a real car when it comes to controlling your speed. The game also does a poor job of teaching you things like how to turn your lights and windshield wipers on, two things you will obviously need. Thankfully its just a quick google search away.

That being said, I know I got the game for free but if I had paid for it, I would be quite happy with the purchase. If you are trying to decide between the two honestly go with what country you are from. My biggest issue with Euro Truck was having no clue about their traffic laws and kept driving down the wrong side of the road ( which would have been the correct side in America) and I don’t have that issue with American Truck Simulator and that makes the game far more enjoyable for me. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Final Fantasy 6, Why Its Only An Average Game.

As I promised this morning here is an opinion that will probably annoy a lot of people. Final Fantasy 6, is only an average game. The story is good yea. The first 3/4th of the game or so is really good, the traveling around, the war itself. Kefka is a pretty demented guy poisoning people and even managed to demolish the world and take it over. For more details on all that check here.

This is where many of my issues come into it tho. First Kefka taking over the world and all was 100% accidental. He had no intention of destroying half the surface of the place like this and clearly if that is true taking over the world this way was also not the plan. You can’t really claim this guy is a great villain when his plan wasn’t a plan but a happy mistake.

After this point in the game the entire rest of the game is negated and pointless. You wake up on an island, your party scattered. You will now spend this entire section of the game finding and recruiting people you already recruited. Maybe. Why maybe? Well many of them are now option characters, some of those important characters from the first part of the game you can now go beat the game without. There is no trick to this by the way or game glitching needed, they are simply optional.

This brings me to another issue I have. There are 14 characters in this game, 11 main characters and 3 optional. Sort of, as stated before after the world is destroyed you only need to recruit 3 characters. (Celes, Edgar and Setzer) That is it, after those 3 are back in your party it is actually possible to go finish the game. You can go collect the other 11 main characters and 3 optional characters (and Gogo and Umaro have 0 backstory by the way and Mog isn’t much better) so aside from being strong are pointless.

Hell even Shadow and the other characters aren’t exactly well made, tho some for their time are greatly done. Much of the game tho is busy work simply to add play time. Now the game isn’t by any means bad, but to say it is great or even one of the best is insane to me. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Anyone interested in checking this out and helping us out here is a link to Final Fantasy Anthology on Amazon.

Final Fantasy Anthology

5 Best Final Fantasy Games

Yesterday I did the 5 worst Final Fantasy games, today I am doing the 5 best. This is completely subjective  obviously, and admittedly the list is pretty much the same list most fans would make. There is one game that did not make the list and I will forever defend it as being simply a mediocre  game. That comes later on today tho when I upset a bunch of people by not praising Final Fantasy 6. But without further waiting, here you go, and in no real order.

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Final Fantasy Tactics (PlayStation One)

yup, Final Fantasy tactics. Of course the PSP version is also great, and arguably is even better than the PS1 version I reviewed. I haven’t reviewed that one but regardless the War of the Lions is an absolute amazing game. The story was far more adult than other games in the series and most people never seemed to realize it not only was full of social commentary on the typical haves vs the have not of society but also how many things in history just aren’t what they seem or we are even told. All in all, this game is worth playing one way or another. In fact this might be my favorite Final Fantasy game.

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Final Fantasy 9 (PS4)

Next up is FF9, an amazing game also from the PS1 era. It was a golden time for Final Fantasy, with 7 being a HUGE hit of unexpected proportions, most people don’t know they actually were working on FF8 and FF9 at the same time. The characters are great, the story magnificent and graphically it holds up well even now. Many people debate whether or not 7 or 9 is the better game, and truthfully I can’t choose.

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This one is a bit of an argument waiting to happen since people seem to love or hate this game. The story is much debated at times even with many people thinking Squall is dead for most of it. (He isn’t confirmed here) I mean he was hit in the damn shoulder. Tho the games junction and card game make the game very breakable, you can actually get Squalls ultimate weapon on disk 1. Regardless I love the game and like most people I still hold out hope we get an HD remaster, tho I doubt it happens.

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Final Fantasy 7 retro review

Look you knew this game would be here. By now if you don’t understand why this game is on the list nothing I say is going to make that happen. It brought the RPG and Final Fantasy games to the main stream and basically solidified them as a staple of the gaming  community. Also a fun fact, I was one of the first people in America to finish this game. My brothers friend worked at Wal-Mart when the game released and I got the game almost a week early and finished it in a weekend. By the time the game released I was halfway through my 2nd play through.

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Final Fantasy, the original. This game isn’t necessarily the best in the series so much as it is the first, and that is why it is here. Without Final Fantasy for the NES man of the favorite games of RPG fans everywhere may not even exist. I remember arguments of people discussing what was better this or Dragon Warrior (Now dragon Quest) Years later the 2 companies became one which is rather funny to me. Final Fantasy and the light warriors however were the first FF game, and many of the things within it became major parts of the series such as crystals, the characters becoming job classes and even Garland (the first boss) being used in FF9.

Before I go I should point out I made this list once before, so feel free to check that out and see how my opinion may have changed. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Top 5 Final Fantasy Games

 

She’s Out of My League (2010)

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We have all met people who were out of our league. But what would happen if you ended up dating that person? That is the story of Kirk(Jay Baruchel) and Molly (Alice Eve) Molly will end up dating Kirk. Molly is a 10 and he is a 5, tops. The story is as you would expect full of friends telling Kirk it won’t work and why and even Molly has a friend saying the same thing. Ex’s show up, both crazy and one even thinks Kirk is gay.

The movie is as you would expect for a romantic comedy quite funny considering he works for the TSA and she is a party planner. Admittedly if I ever found out that is how working for the TSA really was, I would apply that day. So if anyone reading this works for them and has seen this movie and can confirm, let me know.

All that being said while the movie is fun, the acting great and the soundtrack surprisingly well done the movie isn’t perfect. Kirks family and even every ex in the movie is nothing more than a stereotype and we all know how much of a pet peeve that is for me. Come on, put some effort into this guys.  That being said, if you like romantic comedies check this one out. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Our Favorite Movies Day 14: Poltergeist

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Here are on day 14, this is weirdly one of the few movies on the list we have never reviewed. This isn’t about truly reviewing the movies for me, but a real quick run down the little girl in this picture gets taken by a poltergeist and the family tries to save her.  The line most people know from this movie is “They’re here.” The movie itself is pretty great, as many 80’s movies were tho many were pretty horrible. This one is remembered fondly because of how great it was. That is actually why it’s on the list. I also remember this one fondly because I actually saw it for the first time with my mother, and as far as i remember is the first one I saw with her. So definitely check this one out, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

For those that are interested in picking this up, and of course helping us out. Poltergeist on Amazon

Our Favorite Movies Day 13: Hellraiser

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Hellraiser Movie review is our day 13 movie, and why? Well its got pinhead. This movie revolves around solving a puzzle. The movie itself is quite cliché but Clive Barker made it quite brutal and is an amazing 80’s movie. This classic is worthy of this spot on the list, tho sadly the later films in the series are less than good. If you are a horror fan tho there are very few must see films, but this is on the list. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

I found a box trilogy on Amazon for those that love the series and want to support us. Feel free to check that out.

Hellraiser on Amazon

Our Favorite Movies Day 12:Child’s Play

Day 12 brings us a class, Child’s Play. By now most of you know this story. Killer dies, uses Voodoo to toss his soul into a Chucky doll., kills people. The formula has worked for decades now. This is also the only horror movie I can honestly say I shared with my father and all of my kids.

It is also worth noting there My Buddy dolls when i was a kid and mine looked just like this creepy bastard. I once tied a knife to it and threw it at my brother. Yes it was a real knife, yes I got in a lot of trouble and yes he punched me. This movie however having released in 1988 has about 30 years of history with 7 movies in all, and no signs of stopping. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

For those that are interested in the movies and helping us out, here is a Child’s Play collection on Amazon. Child’s Play on Amazon

Pokemon Sun and Moon (The Series)

As a long time Pokemon fan I decided to check out Pokemon Sun and Moon. I have to admit at first the new art style kinda bummed me out. Ash looked weird and so did team rocket. The story is also a bit weird with Mr. Mime clearly cheating to win Ash and his mom tickets to the Alola region. Speaking of which I have some serious questions about the relationship between Ash’s mom and Mr. Mime.

All that aside the basic story isn’t bad. Ash attends a school for kids because we all know ash has been 12 for 20 years now. The issue is after 43 episodes he spent most of his time at the school. On occasion they would leave to check out a different island and he does get through a couple of the challenges. But the entire series is mostly just watching him go to school. The true greatness comes in episode 42 and 43 is when they return to the Kanto reason for those episodes.

This also brings the return of Misty and Brock to meet the new crew and hang out with Ash, where you will also see Ash and Misty battle with Misty having a Mega Evolution now. The series isn’t bad, it is just quite a bit different. Tho to me it did feel like the worst in the series. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.