Fanboys Anonymous

The third volume of New Avengers has consistently been my favorite of mine since its initial release. Aside from the rich writing and beautiful artwork, New Avengers offers readers a look into the "darker" side of superhero-ing with characters that have classically been strictly "good." In the first six issues of the series, we see the Illuminati dealing with a world-crisis situation, throwing pieces of their morality to the wind in the process. Now, with New Avengers #7, Hickman begins painting a picture of the personal tolls that such actions have taken.

I've been a fan and follower of the US Big Brother since season 1, so naturally when season 15 was announced, I was excited. What new twists will they come up with? Who are the people that we'll be spending the summer getting to know?

#BB15 - Big Brother 15

DETAILS ABOUT THIS SEASON:

• THREE houseguests will be nominated this season instead of two. This is a huge change to the game and could really affect how it's played more than anything else.
• Viewers can vote on a "Big Brother MVP" that will be given special powers throughout the game
• All but two people are single. Hm...

MEET THE CAST:

Let's take a look at the people. Keep in mind that my first impressions are based on virtually nothing and they usually change throughout the season. Many times, the way these people come off in their interviews and on the first few episodes is nothing like the person they are for the remainder of the game, so don't hold me to these generalizations! For all I know, the people I run down could be the nicest and the ones I praise could be total assholes.



NAME: Aaryn Gries

OCCUPATION: Psychology College Student

MY THOUGHTS: She claims she won't compromise her morals and that people tend to judge her negatively from the start, thinking that she's stuck up. Could she be this season's crier? She's cute and she'll get hit on by the guys, but I don't think she'll be the woman this season that flirts her ass off in an attempt to get attention and votes. Aaryn will find a good friend in one of the girls in the house and one of the guys, but probably be closer to the guys in general, which will cause her to be an outcast to the women in some ways. I'll like her, but I won't care too much if she goes.

PREDICTION: Aaryn's game depends a lot on her physical ability. She should be fine in terms of a social game, particularly if she's smart enough to keep it cool and not try to act like the psychology student in her means she's overqualified. If she becomes too confident, she'll also second-guess herself and cause problems that she'll regret later on.


NAME: Amanda Zuckerman

OCCUPATION: Real Estate Agent

MY THOUGHTS: She's a charmer and a flirt. She knows that she's attractive and she's going to flaunt it. She claims that she's going to lie and say that she's not single. Why? Whenever people do this, it causes problems. Amanda has the potential to be full of herself, as evidenced by her flirtatious confidence and how she said "in real estate, you don't sell a house, you sell yourself". Amanda will be argumentative and have enemies.

PREDICTION: There is a very, very good chance that Amanda pisses enough people off that she lasts a long time in the house as everyone will say that "everyone will target her", leaving her for other fish to fry.


NAME: Andy Herren

OCCUPATION: Professor

MY THOUGHTS: Andy seems funny and likable, but he could also rub someone the wrong way and then possibly snap and cause a lot of problems. A cool head and maybe a sympathetic side that he brings out instead of an angry one are the strengths he could play to, but he also runs the risk of having too many friends and being a target because of that. Andy will be a swing vote for a lot of the game, and those are SO important, but he'll probably also become united with someone that he wants to take to the finals.

PREDICTION: Andy is a major, major threat to win the game. He's one of my top 5 finalists.


NAME: Candice Stewart

OCCUPATION: Pediatric Speech Therapist

MY THOUGHTS: Physical threat, for sure. Socially...hm. Candice will scheme, but not be the biggest backstabber of the bunch. Instead, she'll be the type of person that talks votes with all the alliance members on a regular basis and tries to get to know where the big votes go so she can follow the lead and not stir the pot.

PREDICTION: Mid-season release when her opposing alliance just needs to knock someone else out.


NAME: David Girton

OCCUPATION: Lifeguard

MY THOUGHTS: David is a mimbo (a male bimbo according to Seinfeld). He'll flirt with the girls, which will save him to an extent, as well as his physical prowess, but that will make him a target as well, and the superficial connection that he'll create with the women won't save him. David's biggest problem is going to puzzles and his biggest contribution to the show (other than being eye-candy for the female viewers) will be how people can make fun of him.

PREDICTION: David can last a long time if he's SO bad at the trivia and comes off ridiculously dumb, as they can keep him to hope that they can always outsmart him. This is risky. If David develops this reputation, he's golden to last until the jury time.


NAME: Elissa Slater (Rachel Riley's sister)

OCCUPATION: Nutritionist

MY THOUGHTS: No! NOOO! Why is Rachel still having a presence on this show?!?! I'll try not to hate her as much as I hate Rachel, since they're not the same person, but she has that DNA. Good God, please don't let her be anything like Rachel. I can see her being a big female physical threat.

PREDICTION: This depends. If she tells everyone that she's Rachel's sister, she'll paint a target on her back that will kill her. If she doesn't, she stands the chance to go a long way, particularly if she's a floater. Then again, Rachel tried to compete, so it's tough to say until we start seeing more from her.


NAME: GinaMarie Zimmerman

OCCUPATION: Pageant Coordinator

MY THOUGHTS: She is going to be a major part of this season and have a ton of time in the Diary Room as well as being a strong focal point of physical competitions (particularly races). She's not going to be the lovable one, but she's not going to be a total bitch, either. If any of the women tries to band all of the others together, it will be GinaMarie.

PREDICTION: She wants to lay low, but she'll only do that for a little bit of time before she unknowingly steps her game up and stops that from happening. Mid-season elimination. Also, let's be honest about her looks. GinaMarie's win for this show is going to be to promote herself more in the process. This is what most people are going to be looking for, shots of GinaMarie Zimmerman in a bathing suit, screen caps of of her sunbathing, in the shower, etc. You know it's true.



NAME: Helen Kim

OCCUPATION: Political Consultant

MY THOUGHTS: If Helen doesn't get her buttons pushed and she keeps a cool head, she is going to be a MASSIVE threat. She seems likable, smart, and not much of a physical threat (which is beneficial in lasting long enough to develop the proper relationships to forge alliances).

PREDICTION: Top 5, if not the winner.


NAME: Howard Overby

OCCUPATION: Youth Counselor

MY THOUGHTS: Howard is going to get into a fight with someone that he feels wronged someone else. Maybe he stands up for Jessie? Maybe he just fights with someone that voted the wrong way from the alliance? He's a physical threat and I don't think he'll have much of a social game.

PREDICTION: No chance. Howard goes in the first few weeks.


NAME: Jeremy McGuire

OCCUPATION: Boat Shop Associate

MY THOUGHTS: Jeremy doesn't seem to have a whole ton of personality in comparison to the more zany characters. Is he going to be boring the whole time or just in the Diary Room? He does say he's a sucker for ladies, so this is the guy to watch out for in terms of a showmance.

PREDICTION: Physical target #1 perhaps.


NAME: Jessie Kowalski

OCCUPATION: Unemployed

MY THOUGHTS: She's cute, emotional, and seems like a gullible pushover a bit. Jessie is going to latch onto an alliance and not make any big moves on her own. Because of this, Jessie won't make any big splashes unless someone upsets her by yelling or something like that.

PREDICTION: Jessie will be a floater, for sure.


NAME: Judd Daughtery

OCCUPATION: Property Appraiser

MY THOUGHTS: Judd is a dud. He has a rather monotone voice and doesn't come off as abrasive or interesting. He'll be a physical threat and he'll probably feud with a guy who is also a physical threat - unless he starts the game off wanting to shack up with the guys and steamroll through the game (but we all know this never works).

PREDICTION: Judd will be a stronghold of an alliance (possibly the same one that Jessie is on) but they'll sack him when they get a chance and turn on him if there aren't many options left. He'll be a jury member.


NAME: Kaitlin Barnaby

OCCUPATION: Bartender

MY THOUGHTS: They always have a bartender, don't they? Or, excuse me, a "mixologist" (*eye roll*). Kaitlin looks cute and she's got a bit of a tomboy in her. She's going to stand up for herself and get into arguments, but that could make her a fan favorite if she does it in the right way. Who is going to be her archenemy? Amanda. No showmance for her. She could be a good strategist who is willing to stab in the back and she'll also be one of the biggest physical threats out of the women.

PREDICTION: Kaitlin has a chance to win the game, but she'll probably make a move that will hurt her far too much to recover before she gets a chance to be in the finals. Mid-season elimination when she just can't pull out that veto win that she desperately needs.


NAME: McCrae Olson

OCCUPATION: Pizza Delivery Guy

MY THOUGHTS: (there's no interview for this guy)

PREDICTION: (there's no interview for this guy)


NAME: Nick Uhas

OCCUPATION: Entrepreneur

MY THOUGHTS: He has a lot of energy, seems to have an ego on him, is good looking and wants to flirt. There's a good chance that he'll be my favorite on the show, but there's also a good chance that I could hate his guts. It depends on if he ends up on the side of "annoying douchebag" or "lovable prick".

PREDICTION: Nick is the main person to watch this season. He could be voted off the first week for trying too hard, he could stay a few weeks and develop a reputation for being a threat that is targeted, or he could last until the end and possibly win the whole thing. Honestly, I don't think he's winning it. I think Nick will be gone by week 4.


NAME: Spencer Clawson

OCCUPATION: Railroad Conductor

MY THOUGHTS: The big ol' country boy. You would think that he's going to be a physical threat, but he's not going to do well with anything that deals with balance or speed. He says he doesn't like doing dishes and such, so I can see him causing problems from laziness that makes the rest of them look at him as a scapegoat.

PREDICTION: He gets picked off as a sacrificial lamb on a week where they need to knock someone out, but they can't decide on what to do. I could see Spencer turning out to be a bit of a sad sack and the guy who sticks around because he's NOT a big physical threat (and instead, is a bit of a bumbling fool), but this isn't going to win him the game by any means. Week 7, perhaps.

OVERALL FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THIS SEASON

For me, this season of Big Brother is already starting off with a handicap, but that's for a person reason. This was a show that my father and I used to watch together as one of the main things that we could bond over, talking about which people we liked and disliked, following the events and such. He recently passed away, so this will be the first season that I won't have that person that I always shared this experience with.

Still, I should have my regular group of people that I watch the live feeds with, that I've been talking it up with for years. Sitting up late at night, spying on these contestants and talking about what's transpired is a huge joy for me and I can't wait to start getting distracted from all my work with it.

This season has potential to go both ways. The cast could be really bland and boring or they could just be hiding a lot of the excitement to come.

At a quick glance to begin with, I would say the people that are going to make this season worth watching in terms of having most of the episodes revolve around them (good or bad) will be Amanda, Nick, Kaitlin, Andy and possibly Elissa and David as the two people to pick on.

My top 5 guesses for who could win are: Aaryn, Andy, Helen, Nick and possibly this McCrae guy because I don't know anything about him.

My guesses for who will be the 5 people that I'll personally be rooting for are: Amanda or Jessie (50/50 on that though), Andy, Helen, Kaitlin and Nick - but then again, in past seasons I thought I would hate Evel Dick and love April, so who knows!

What are your first impressions of this group? Who would you like to see win? Tell us in the comments below!

And if you're a fan of #BB15 and you'd like to chat it up with me during the season, send me a tweet @toekneemango.

Number 6 on my Top 7 List of the Hottest Cosplays of internet queen Jessica Nigri is Ash Ketcham. The original protagonist of the Pokemon franchise has never looked this good. While I'm not the biggest fan of Pokemon, note how I don't even bother to add the accent, I got a few pervy lines to shout out.

I love those Jigglypuffs.

I'll use my Master Ball to catch her!

My Metapod just used harden!

I wanna make her Squirtle!

Jessica Nigri, I choose you!

UPDATE: The images in this post were removed due to a stupid DMCA copyright takedown notice.

You can find them here (1 - 2 - 3 - 4)

The rest of the list:

• #7 - Nathan Drake
• #5 - Dovahkiin
• #4 - Connor Kenway
• #3 - Ironette (Iron Man)
• #2 - Juliet Sterling
• #1 - Coming Soon

See more of Jessica on her Official Facebook Fan Page.

Credits: 12 North Photography

For more by Mike Paden follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

Episode 8 of the monthly Fanboys Anonymous roundtable discussion meeting podcast revolves around reviewing the latest Superman film, Man of Steel, as well as talking about plot elements from the Superman series of the past with some general chit-chat.

Hosted by Tony Mango, the panel includes Michael Burhan, Mike Paden, and Shaun Walker with special guests Matt Press and Chris Locs.

Whatever happened to the podcast of tomorrow?

Some topics we address:

• Amy Adams as Lois Lane
• The death scenes - justified or not?
• Was Superman a caring enough person in the film?
• Why did they not use other characters from the comics in supporting roles?

You can watch all the parts of the podcast below. Make sure to subscribe!

Microsoft Released a statement on their website xbox.com recanting on their previous no DRM policy, the official announcement states:

So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:

• An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.
  
  

• Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.
  
  

In addition to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console -- there will be no regional restrictions.

These changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One. The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold. Also, similar to today, playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray.

We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity. While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.

These changes see the end to Microsoft's other perks including the alleged family plan which would see upto 9 members, with disc games not needing to be registered, you'd have to bring the disc with you to prove you had the rights to play the game on it.

Microsoft also announced that the region lock on the console is gone, leaving other countries to purchase the system and use it anywhere in the world.


So what do you guys think? Is Microsoft finally doing right by the fans, or is this just a ploy to get people buying into the Xbox One?

As always leave a comment and check back with www.fanboysanonymous.com for more gaming news.

The rest of the list:
#6 - Ash Ketchum
#5 - Dovahkiin
#4 - Connor Kenway
#3 - Ironette (Iron Man)
#2 - Juliet Sterling
#1 - Coming Soon

After years of user requests, Facebook has FINALLY included the ability to include a photo as part of your comment to a post. Starting soon, all Facebook users should notice a camera icon nestled along side the comment box that will allow you to insert a photo along with any text you wish to leave as a response on a post. This change will be implemented to both the desktop & mobile sites starting today and presumably to mobile apps in the near future, though app users will still be able to view the media-rich comments.

The bad news? Just like with regular Facebook photos, there is no animated GIF support.

Video game retail giant GameStop has ceased taking pre-orders for Microsoft's next gaming console, the Xbox One. Numerous GameStop locations have reported that they have reached their launch-day allocation over this weekend and will no longer accept pre-orders for the system.

Senior managers sent out a nationwide e-mail to store managers telling them to cease all pre-orders on the system due to nationwide allocation limits. Many stores had already stopped due to individual store-level allocations. Stores have been directed to send shoppers looking to pre-order the system to the GameStop online store where pre-orders are still available.

All stores, however, are continuing to take Playstation 4 pre-orders. At first glance, this may look like a bigger success story for Microsoft. That is, until you look at the numbers allocated by each company for pre-order sales. Each store has been allocated 60 Playstation 4's to sell in advance, as opposed to only 16 Xbox One's. Allocations are determined by the manufacturer.

GameStop began taking pre-orders for the Xbox One on June 10th by placing a $100 deposit. The system is slated for a November release. While physical retail stores will no longer accept orders, reservations can still be made at GameStop.com or on Amazon. In the meantime, the Xbox One wireless controller and top Xbox One games like: Ryse: Son of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5, and Kinect Sports Rivals are available for pre-order at all GameStop stores or online.

Ok, lets just get this out of the way. Here:

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about Dead or Alive. Before the series dove chest first into the realm of physics abuse, the original iteration of the series was a fairly well received 3D fighting game. Unfortunately in the early days of the PS1, not having the lineage of fighters like Mortal Kombat or Street fighter, nor being console front-runners like Virtua Fighter and Tekken, DOA never really stood out as a household name. That is, until the developers at Tecmo decided to expand on a unique gimmick of the first game, i.e being able to toggle the "bounce" of certain fighters in the game. This idea came to form in the Dead or Alive: Xtreme series. And thus, the series made a name for itself as a tongue in cheek punchline for fan-service in gaming.

This was the mindset I was in when I first bought Dead or Alive 2. I had never played a DOA game prior, and this was around the time that the first Xtreme Beach Volleyball came out. But I needed a fighting fix for my Dreamcast, and my local Gamestop was out of Virtua Fighter 3 and Soul Calibur, so I wasn't left with a choice. And honestly, i was glad i wasn't left with any other choice. Strip away all the breasts, and what you're left with is one of the best fighting games you can get for the Dreamcast. I'd be even so bold as to say its one of the best fighting games I have in my collection, with one major flaw.

The story of DOA 2 is........non-existent. Lets be honest, stories in fighting games are nothing more than filler to string matches together (more-so then than now). And the story of DOA is not even so much strung together, as flimsily glued together with the contents of a Dead or Alive branded love sock. I think there's a backstory that coincides with some ancient Japanese demon that you have to fight at the end of everyone's story mode, but hell if I can piece it together among all these characters. I hear that in later games they try to make a backstory to it all pertaining to the lives of mainstays Katsumi and Ayane, but to make sense of the game's "plot" is like trying to make sense of a Lady Gaga music video. And to think, someone in Hollywood actually thought this story needed to be told in a big budget feature film. Go Figure.

But you're not here for the story. No, you're here for all that hot, sexy....gameplay. Actually, there's lot of good that can be said about the actual fighting of Dead or Alive 2. In terms of other fighting games, this game falls right in the middle between Virtua Fighter and Tekken. On the one hand, the game move lightning fast, so its not as plodding as Virtua Fighter. however, it doesn't lend itself to air juggling either like Tekken. sure, you can get in a few high numbered combos here and there, but don't expect to be able to bicycle kick someone into a loop. That's not to say that the game has no depth. Among your collection of punches, kicks, throws, and combos to learn, you also have to master the counter system. Unique to Dead or Alive, you are given the ability to with a well timed push of a button, counter your opponents' attacks. This becomes key to beating many of the later enemies, especially the boss. A well-timed counter can turn the tide in a fight. Its this feature that puts DOA 2 above other fighting games that can turn into button mashers. At the same time, you don't have to master a laundry list of combos to succeed like in Virtua fighter. anyone new to the series and go in and button mash to their hearts content, and still have a solidly paced fight.

Graphically the game is gorgeous. A true step above most Dreamcast games at the time. I'm gonna have to get a bit more technical in this one. See, at the start of the Dreamcast's lifespan, most games were either just HD ports of PS1 games, or games were made to take advantage of the system's capabilities. Sadly, most of the early exclusives for the system didn't know how to take true advantage of what the console could do. So what you get are alot of overly smoothed out messes that have some of the worst character rigging I have ever seen. by character rigging, i mean the spots where the character skins bend just seems to bunch up in certain places. Look at the opening scene from Sonic Adventures, and look at Sonic's elbow. That's what I mean. Either that, or they still did animations like PS1 games and had separate pieces hinged together to give the illusion of wholeness. this game, aside from a handful of other DC games, takes full advantage of the hardware. Character models are greatly detailed, and perfectly rigged for the most part, which really lends to the solid animations in the fights. Cutscenes are rendered much more cinematic and feel less like PS1 era CGI renders. This game proves how ahead of the game the Sega Dreamcast was. Levels are fully fleshed out 3D landscapes, not a flat plane with a skybox around it like most 3D fighting games of the time. And as for the "bounce", surprisingly this game plays down the jiggle. Yes, there is a toggle that allows you to ramp it up or down, but even at its highest the game doesn't go over the top like in later titles. Its actually downplayed so much, I don't feel awkward playing this game, which was a huge surprise at the time.

Now, given all the hype, you are probably wondering what the one MAJOR flaw that this game has that keeps it from nirvana. Well, the version of the game that made it to the American Dreamcast is actually a straight port of the arcade version. which means absolutely NO unlockables. Other than one token costume you get for Katsumi, you don't get anything more. No extra levels or new characters. I hear that MIGHT not be the case, but its either a lie or its referring to a limited edition re-release of the game in Japan. The later PS2 version (dubbed DOA2: Hardcore) got more levels and new characters (although I hear that version is actually worse looking). This might be a dealbreaker for some as it doesn't lend itself to prolonged single player attention. this game is best enjoyed at its fullest with another person. But even still, i cant recommend this game enough. Among some of the more fan favorite Dreamcast fighting games (Soul Calibur and Marvel vs Capcom 2) this may seem like 3rd place, but make no mistake, Dead or Alive 2 is a must have for any Dreamcast owner.


Grade: A

TMZ broke the story and Yahoo News has picked it up that Selma Blair has been fired from Charlie Sheen vehicle Anger Management.

Selma Blair's shocking dismissal from the show was due to a prior conflict as Blair apparently voiced her opinion on Sheen's backstage behavior, attending work at the last minute and constant outbursts behind the scenes. Once Sheen found out about this, he pushed to have the actress fired, threatening to quit the show himself over her behavior if she didn't leave.

Sheen—who is executive producer on the show—prompted to fire Blair over text, allegedly reducing the conversation to childish name calling.

Blair has yet to comment on the situation and the show is said to go on as planned, retooling the series as sagging ratings had allegedly put the show on hiatus.


For more celebrity gossip and news as it happens stay tuned to www.fanboysanonymous.com

If you've turned on your Playstation 3 since Tuesday you may have noticed a prompt with an update for the software to version 4.45. If you haven't yet, don't do it! In the short time since the update was released almost 40 pages of complaints have been posted on the Playstation community boards. The most common problem seems to be a complete lockout of the system, leaving players frustrated and unable to even finish booting.

"If this doesn't get fixed and my system is shot I'm getting an Xbox." - Angry Playstation owner.

While it is not guaranteed that you will suffer these consequences for updating your PS3, since not everyone seems to have the problem, it may be best to hold off on doing so until Sony releases a statement that this has been resolved. This could not come at a worse time for Sony, who's been riding a wave of popularity since their presentation at E3.

Newest Feature in 4.45: World's Most Expensive Paperweight!

Update: Sony has since pulled the update from being live on servers. They are currently investigating the cause of the malfunctioning software. A Sony rep stated that the company is in the process of confirming the number of users affected. To those who currently have bricked systems, Sony issued the statement "We kindly ask PS3 users to wait for further details. We will announce when ready."

With Pokemon X and Y, it has been announced that there will be a brand new type of Pokemon to go along with the games: the FAIRY type.

Not much is known about this type yet, other than how it was made to help counteract the Dragon type and that Pokemon of past generations will be retconned into having this type to help expand the roster.

So far, there have only been a few confirmations of which Pokemon will be given the Fairy type, but let's just go ahead and start speculating on other ones that might make the cut, shall we?

NOTE: The Pokemon in bold pink have already been confirmed.

GENERATION I

1. Clefairy
2. Clefable
3. Jigglypuff
4. Wigglytuff
5. Chansey
6. Mr. Mime

GENERATION II

7. Cleffa
8. Igglybuff
9. Togepi
10. Togetic
11. Bellossom
12. Marill
13. Azumarill
14. Snubbull
15. Blissey
16. Celebi

GENERATION III

17. Gardevoir

18. Azurill
19. Mawile
20. Milotic
21. Gorebyss
22. Luvdisc

GENERATION IV

23. Mime Jr.
24. Happiny
25. Togekiss
26. Uxie
27. Mesprit
28. Azelf
29. Phione
30. Manaphy

GENERATION V

31. Audino
32. Petilil
33. Lilligant
34. Alomomola
35. Meloetta

GENERATION VI

36. Sylveon

Will all of these Pokemon end up being the Fairy type? I highly, HIGHLY doubt it. But if you take a look at that list, you'll see that they all are fairy-esque. It would be difficult to take something like Togekiss, which already has two types, and just eliminate the Flying or Normal type from it to fit Fairy in there, but it isn't outside of the realm of possibility for it to happen.

You might also be thinking that there are too many Normal types here that could be replaced...and I agree. Still, there are plenty of other Normal-type Pokemon out there in other forms that aren't being touched here, like Miltank, Raticate and the ridiculous amount of Normal/Flying birds.

Which Pokemon do you think will end up having the Fairy type added to them? Leave a comment below!

This is the conclusion of my last article "Is Man of Steel Going to Change my Opinion" and I shall tell you why it didn't.

Please note this is based on my opinion. If yours is different than mine and you actually enjoyed this movie, please let me know why in the comments.

As you may of read previously, I was a big fan of the first two Superman movies and Superman Returns. I enjoyed the storytelling and destruction of Krypton, but with this new film, I was skeptical about those things as well as the new suit.

The Bad Points (and there's a lot of these)

The plot of the story is that General Zod wants some sort of  DNA thing called the Codex so he can rebuild Krypton, but we later find out that Jor El has embedded it into Superman's own DNA. Zod attempts to turn Earth into Krypton, and I'm feeling a sense of deja vu for Superman and Superman Returns. Yawn.

The first 10-20 minutes of this movie, I thought I was watching Star Wars meets Avatar with all these flying bug things and laser beams in the background. They actually put the Star Wars Wilhelm Scream into the movie, too, but that comes later on. For a doomed planet, Krypton looks really healthy at first.

New Krypton Looks very Star Wars

Through snippets of flashbacks of Clark's childhood, we see the death of Jonathan Kent, which was handled so poorly it made me laugh.

On top of this, the whole movie felt like it was on fastforward.

Henry Cavill as Superman (even though he is only Clark Kent for about 10 minutes) and Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent were the only characters I enjoyed and the only actors I thought did their jobs well.

I thought Morpheus as Perry White was so distracting, especially when he's trying to save one of his employees from a collapsed building. I was thinking to myself "where is Neo"?

Whose bright idea was it to cast Amy Adams as Lois? I couldn't get past the red hair. Lois should always be a brunette.

What the hell were Zod and his goons wearing? It looked like something from Gears of War. Also, Zod's death was a big letdown.

I missed hearing the classic Superman theme as well.

                                                    Love this theme and should of been somewhere in the 

What did I actually like?

The Superman suit looked cool and very modern. I liked the one in Superman Returns, but this looked good even though there was hardly any yellow.

The action was superb and Superman ACTUALLY PUNCHES people, which was epic.

For the brief amount of time that Henry Cavill was Clark, he was really good, and it's a shame that we didn't get to see more of this side of the character (but as I said, fast-forward mode).

The cameo of Lexcorp made me smile, as did when Clark put on his glasses.

I like the new symbol of hope

Since Microsoft's big reveal, fans have been in an uproar about the new next-gen console, Xbox One. Fans have been vocal about Microsoft's practices, screaming that the company doesn't care about its fanbase.

So what's the problem? Why is everyone getting so angry about this?

It all spawned from Microsoft's big reveal and alleged rumors about the Xbox One's stance on preowned gaming. A pay wall would be introduced if you wanted to lay a loaned or second-hand game.

Microsoft quickly went on the defensive, stating that the story was pure speculation and that they would be releasing a statement on this matter in time, clarifying what you can and cannot do with the console.

As you can see, the console differs greatly from its predecessor, making Kinect and 24-hour internet authentication mandatory. This left gamers justified in their anger. Microsoft's answer to this? "Buy a 360".

This statement infuriated gamers as people wanted to know why Microsoft initiated these practices. A further statement was released, stating that Microsoft was not responsible for limiting pre-owned gaming and that it was up to the developers if they would allow it.
Microsoft have yet to clarify their stance on this, giving fans a runaround on the issue and even getting angry with interviewers such as Angry Joe.
Microsoft would follow this bad practice by allegedly having one of their employees attend a Nintendo Best Buy event in a rather ludicrous attempt to promote their console. This did not sit well with fans, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of hardcore gamers. The company has yet to comment on this, causing the rumors and speculation to continue.
With this and other mistakes being made, I would suggest that Microsoft fire the PR company involved in promoting the new Xbox One and speak with their fans about DRM and the Xbox One. Give the fans a choice. Allow them to be a part of the process. It will allow the company to save face and give fans a chance to feel more positively about the company. By reacting to the negative stigma with negative intervention, the company has done nothing more than infuriate fans further and thus increase the gap between itself and Sony by literally handing the company its once loyal followers. For more gaming news, check out the resident video game podcast for Fanboys Anonymous—I Got Gameplay—which will be debuting its new live show format Saturday at 8 p.m. on Mega Powers Radio.

Episode 29 of the I Got Gameplay podcast is now online. On this episode, Michael Burhan,Brandon Liggan, Sean Mitchell and Miguel Leon discuss E3 and the big anouncements coming from the event, a not to miss episode.

You can check out this episode and the previous two by using the following links:

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The Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman is set to debut on July 26th, and it looks like the movie has teamed up with Red Robin to provide patrons with a tasty treat that is sure to awaken the Weapon X within us all. I recently took a trip with my father to Red Robin and, being an avid fan of Wolverine, I was obligated to get the limited Berserker Burger.

I work at a super market. As a general rule, places like that have easy listening music playing in the background. That was also where I was when I first discovered the song. It starts off innocently enough. A man was walking down the street. A stranger approaches him, and asks said man the time. This is when the huge asshole opens his mouth.

"Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?"

Yeah asshole. You've got a watch. It says so in the lyrics before this bit. That dude might have an important meeting or something. Now is not the time to get all existential. Look at the fucking watch, and answer. Or just say "Nah man, sorry." Don't hold up the poor guy. No one wants to hear your off the cuff bullshit. You aren't deep, dude.

Look at them. Assholes.

Pfft. Chicago. Assholes.

Hello Fanboys it was a whole lot of fun for us gamers to build up to this past week's E3 even now wasn't it? This is an article (and video) on my favorite major announcements and moments from this years event.

Nintendo Direct was held on the morning of Tuesday, June 11th during which they showed off a multitude of different titles including but not limited to Pokemon X and Y, Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, etc.


They closed the presentation in the biggest way they could with the unveiling of "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U". In an epic trailer we seen newcomer the Villager from Animal Crossing getting his invitation to Smash in the mail. While many familiar faces come back for another round. The usual veterans like Mario, Link, Kirby, Pikachu, Fox, Samus, Donkey Kong, Bowser, and Pit make their return to the series as they combat with each other and a debuting Villager.


After the initial title card flashed by and year of release was shown, an alarm sounds off warning us that a "challenger is approaching" in which we see Mega Man light up atop of a mountain and enter battle. As true to original Mega Man as we could get everything they showed about him is what we all hoped he would play out in this franchise if we was to ever be included. In my opinion Mega Man has been given the best character reveal in Smash Brothers to date.


In another shocker on of E3 another video in regards to Smash Brothers was shown. During which they revealed the Wii Fit Trainer as a newcomer to the game as well. Quite a shock and she's surely this  generation's ROB or Game and Watch when it comes to bizarre character choice and play style.

In other big news Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy XV is well on it's way and due to this Kingdom Hearts III is also in development. A shocking revelation to the franchise's many adoring fans (including myself) who have been just begging for a direct second sequel to the franchise. A very brief teaser trailer was shown highlighting moments from past games and Sora discovering a Keyblade on Destiny Islands. In it's final moments the trailer appears to show a new battle system as Sora fends off an enormous horde of Heartless in Twilight Town.



For more on my over all thoughts and opinions on E3 and my favorites from the event please watch the video below!

I'm going to admit something to you all: As a young kid, I was scared to death of horror games. Franchises like Resident Evil and Silent Hill I completely avoided like the plague. Heck, I was even frightened by most FPS titles like Doom and later Turok (when you're 8, those types of games are scary to play). So when I saw the first commercial for a Nightmare Creatures game (this being for part 2, since the original didn't get a TV commercial)and all of the grainy live action imagery of people creepily spouting nursery rhymes interspersed with clips of screaming monster, I thought "Well, that's something I will never play. Hey, the new Pokemon Snap commercial!". Cut several years later, and I have grown not only a set of proverbial balls, but a love for horror games. So when the opportunity came for me to buy a copy of the original Nightmare Creatures for the N64, I thought back to the old commercial and decided to add it to my collection, thinking if the game was anywhere as interesting as its sequel was presented, this might be fun. And low and behold, it is fun, just not scary.

Nightmare Creatures seemingly sets up the basis for a unique Lovecraftian tale set in the 1600's. When you first boot up the game, after the company logos pass, you are treated to a scene of what looks like a turn of the century English alleyway, followed by several monsters from the game coming out of the fog screaming and beating the hell out of each other set to no music. All of this happens behind a text crawl at the bottom of the screen. You play as two separate characters(which the game lets you choose from the start to play as), Ignatius Blackward, a priest that kicks ass for the Lord, and Nadia Franciscus, the daughter of a colleague of Ignatius who vows revenge for the death of his father by the villain of the game, Adam Crowley. Crowley is a disgraced Frankenstein-like doctor who stumbled upon a book of black magic and uses it to conjure up evil demons in order to create a master race and rule the planet. The story set up is really really good, its too bad that the game tells it so poorly.

That opening sequence I mentioned earlier, that was done solely for the N64 version because of the problem the system has with playing full motion video. In the PS1 and PC version, you get an opening cutscene that explains some of what I just said, mostly the Adam Crowley bits. The rest of the game's story unwraps via a text crawl at the end of each level. This is a big problem, especially if you are trying to instill that sense of fear and intrigue that the game is gunning for. Show, don't tell. I know that most people's imagination can create a visual in their head that 1-ups the image presented, but for the sake of pacing and storytelling, having the thing play out to us really helps keep the fear going. And yes, I understand that most people skip the cut scenes anyhow in games, but you know what, I would have humored you on them if they told the story better. The text crawls kill the pacing of the game so much, that I usually just ended up scrolling through them just so I could get the the next level. Had they been cut scenes, I would have stopped to watch them. Supposedly the PS1 and PC versions have more cut scenes that tell the story, but I haven't found any of the footage online. The closest I have found is vague soundbytes at the end of each level by the villain, and captions of text and pictures masking the loading screens for each level. But beyond that, this really hampers what seems like an interesting tale. In fact, I had to go to Wikipedia just to get the backstory on our main characters for the review. From a narrative standpoint, the game cuts itself off at the knees.

But putting that aside, I'm sure you want to know how the gameplay is. And the answer is: really solid. The game is actually more akin to later hack-and-slash titles like Devil May Cry and Onimusha than to Resident Evil. you go around as one of our two main characters (both of which have different weapons, with Ignatius sporting a bo-staff while Nadia brandishes a sword) and brawl your way through areas of lower London against a myriad of demonic enemies that look like they were born The Call of Cthulhu. This game was made in late 1997, still in the pre-Dualshock era of gaming where two analog sticks were from from being a reality. As such, alot of action-adventure titles made due with the Resident Evil/Tomb Raider tank controls we have all been trained to scoff at. Having said that, the gameplay actually works quite well. Your turn radius is actual alot more forgiving than the former titles, allowing you more control in cases like running through tight corridors. Combat also gets the benefit of an auto-targeting feature that snaps you face to face with whatever enemy you are in proximity with, meaning you don't have to fight with the controls in one on one combat. Other useful features include dodge and block buttons as well as a 180 degree quick turn feature. The developers seemingly did all they could with the controls to make the experience as easy as possible. Finally you also get the help of items like mines, dynamite, and guns that can turn the tide of combat in a pinch.

Having said all THAT, there are still some issues. Firstly, while the auto-targeting works great in one-on-one fights, it has its issues when it comes to fights with more than one enemy. As such, sometimes you'll find yourself attacked by enemies off screen that you didn't see coming. Also, because the combat in this game is combo-based, you'll find yourself stuck in a combo animation while an enemy is jumping out of range, leaving you open to attack. And then because of the tech of the N64, there's slowdown issues within combat. All of these issues don't rear their ugly heads alot, but when they do, they can make fights in this game alot harder than necessary. The controls also show their flaws in situations where platforming is needed, although I've heard in this version the platforming was tweaked to be easier, but having not played the other versions, I don't know how or how much. Also worth mentioning is the adrenaline bar, a gameplay element where as you kill enemies, you fill said meter, and so long as you keep the kill rate steady, this meter stays full. Take too much time in a level, and the meter runs out and you die. Thankfully in the N64 version, you have the option to turn it off.

Graphically, the game looks really good, especially on the N64. Having seen gameplay from the PS1 version, that version suffers from pixelation and odd texture warping. this version looks noticeably smoother and doesn't have much if at all texture warping. There is that issue that most N64 games have with draw distance and "N64 fog" but judging by the footage I saw, the other versions didn't have strong draw distances. I actually like that, I think it adds to the creepiness and mood. The levels themselves are creepy and moody in design, with alot of them taking place on the streets that look like they were ripped right out of Jekyll and Hyde, only dirty and grungy. Monster designs are fine, although most of them do boil down to the same handful of enemies you see in that opening video. Levels themselves are fairly linear, with a few branching paths here and there, though not so far considering the adrenaline element would defeat the purpose.

Once again, we find ourselves in the "mind numbing yet satisfying" category of games. Even after all the faults I have listed, this is another game that I had alot of fun with. Its good old fashioned hack and slashing in a time when the genre really hadn't established itself. I think thats one of the reasons why I like it so much. It really does stand out as its own thing in the pre-Devil May Cry world. The overall experience may not leave you with much lasting sustenance in terms of gameplay or story depth unless you're willing to take the time to dig a little deeper. But for all its faults, its a fun game to pop in and pass the time. If you need more of an action fix for your N64, or really just want a game that will complement your copy of Resident Evil 2, you really cant go wrong with Nightmare Creatures.

Grade: B