Youtube finds

I have just recently found out some great Youtube channels that I have started following. Today I will be sharing three of these channels with you.

#1. Captain 8-bit

I "stumbled upon" this channel by using Stumbleupon (see what I did there). There main video series is called "The Game Chasers". This series follows two guys (Billy and Jay) and they go around to different flea markets, thrifts stores, pawn shops, and retro game stores trying to find games for good prices. If you are interested in buying old games this is a good series to watch. I get really jealous when I see some deals they make. They also have a series called "That's the Way Game Playin' Go". In this series they look at memories from their childhood based on a specific category such as Zelda or a console like the NES.

 

#2. DYKGaming

If you are interested in random trivia about gaming, then this channel is for you. Their videos are short 3-5 minute videos that cover interesting trivia from all of your favorite video game franchises. They have videos on Mario, Final Fantasy, Portal, and other popular video games. They also have another series called Easter Egg Hunting where they play through a game trying to find all the Easter eggs or they find as many Easter eggs as they can that pertain to a certain topic like South Park.

#3. The Game Theorists

This is one of the most interesting channels I have ever came across. This guy, Matthew Patrick, looks at all of your favorite video games and tries to research real world qualities about them. Have you ever wanted to know what type of frog Frogger is? How about diagnosing all of Batman's villians? They also figure out exactly where Adventure Island is located. This guy puts a lot of research into his videos and they are all very interesting. The video I am including is my favorite one so far. He determines that (spoiler alert if you have lived under a rock) maybe Sephiroth wasn't the one that killed Aerith.

History of Pokemon (Generation 4)

 

Just like in previous generations, the public was introduced to the newest generation by the revealing of a new Pokemon. Munchlax was revealed in the game Pokemon Dash and also was in the seventh movie and in the anime. After that other Pokemon were revealed such as Lucario, Bonsly, Mime Jr, and Weavile in the eighth movie and Mantyke, Buizel, and Chatot were introduced in the ninth movie. 

Diamond and Pearl were eventually released for the Nintendo DS on September 28, 2006. Western audiences would not be able to play it until April 22, 2007. These games introduced 107 new Pokemon and a new region, Sinnoh. This was also the first handheld game to give a 3D rendering to the beloved Pokemon world. This generation brought back the time system and introduced new ideas such as gender differences between Pokemon, splitting physical and special moves, and a new villain team known as Team Galactic. 

The anime coincided with the release of the games and it introduced a new female protagonist, Dawn. There were also three movies for this generation that were a part of a trilogy. They are The Rise of Darkrai, Giratina and the Sky Warrior, and Arceus and the Jewel of Life. A new trading card set was also released. 

Just like in previous generations there were quite a few spin-off games that were released. They were Pokemon Battle Revolution, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, Pokemon Ranger: Shadow of Almia, and My Pokemon Ranch. A third version of the main Pokemon series, title Pokemon Platinum came out September 13, 2008 in Japan and March 22, 2009 in North America. Another Pokemon Mystery Dungeon game also came out titled Explorers of Sky.

Due to a high demand Nintendo revealed that it was releasing remakes of the favorite generation 2 games, Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver. They were released on September 12, 2009 in Japan and March 14, 2010 in North America. They were titled Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver. 

After four remakes of rehashing the same old Pokemon formula with modifications for each generation, Nintendo decided that they were going to completely revamp the Pokemon world for their next generation...

Cards Against Humanity is My Favorite Thing

In 1999 a new card game was invented. It was awarded a Mensa Select prizewinner and 1999 Party Game of the Year. This game was Apples to Apples. Now this game is considered a classic family board (card) game up there with Monopoly, The Game of Life, and Scrabble. An issue I have had with my group of friends is that Apples to Apples can get very stale very quickly. You start to notice certain things about the game like, "no matter when you play Helen Keller, it will always be a win." Here is a disclaimer: this game is not Apples to Apples!

Cards Against Humanity took the formula for Apples to Apples and made it fun again. You first start the game by separating the black and white cards. Everyone is then dealt ten white cards. The judge for the first round, in this game they are called the Card Czar, will then flip over a black card. Each player will then throw in what they think is the best white card that fits the black card. The Card Czar then picks the one they like best and the game moves on to the next person to be the Card Czar.

Now, I know that you are thinking, "Man, this is just like Apples to Apples" and in a lot of ways it is. The only difference is that it is geared largely towards adults and the cards are more fun and creative. In Apples to Apples the green cards you flip over are always adjectives and you must find the correct noun that matches the adjective. In Cards Against Humanity the black cards can be fill in the blank or ask a question. Examples are "What is that smell?" and "Sorry professor, I couldn't turn in my homework because of _________." The white cards also are not always kid friendly. Examples of white cards are "Incest", "Hope", and "The Virginia Tech Massacre".

There are also cards that may have you play two cards. An example of this is "Step One:__________, Step Two:__________, Step Three: Profit". There are also two cards in the deck that have you draw two cards at the start of the round, and then you must play three cards. One of those cards say, "Make a Haiku". When this card is played, you must use three of your cards to make a haiku. The haiku does not have to follow 5, 7, 5 format.

The game also has many other rules that you can add. One says that you can sacrifice one of the black cards you won to play two cards into the pile. If you win, you get your card back plus the black card that you won. If you lose, you lose the black card you sacrificed. You can also give up a black card to get rid of any number of white cards in your hand. Also the rules clearly state that you may get rid of a white card if you do not understand what is on the card. The only downfall is that all of your friends may ridicule you for being so naive.

This game may only be bought online at www.cardsagainsthumanity.com. If you do not want to spend the $25 price tag for it, you can also print off all of the cards from the game on their site because the game is in the public domain. Along with the original game there are three expansion packs that cost $10 each.

Half Brother is my Favorite Thing

When I wrote the last post I did not expect that there would be two posts back-to-back that had to do with apes or monkeys, but I just finished reading this book and it was amazing.

This book takes place in 1970s Canada. It is about a 13 year-old boy named Ben Tomlin who must cope with his family bringing home a new baby. The difference is that this baby is not human, but a chimpanzee. Ben's father works for a university and they are trying to see if chimps can learn sign language and communicate with people. Ben must learn to cope with the issues of having a new family member that they are told to treat like a human and not like a chimp. 

At first Ben does not like the fact that they have this new family member, but eventually he starts to feel like Zan (the chimpanzee) is his little brother. Along with the issues of dealing with Zan at home he must also deal with other problems of being a teenaged boy such as girls, classes, and who his real friends are. 

The reason that I really enjoyed this book is that it got me to be emotionally attached to the characters, especially Zan. When the father is thinking of getting rid of him, I felt sorry for Ben and Zan and did not want to see the two brothers ripped apart. This is a book that I could not put down. It is around 340 pages, but they go by really quickly. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science or just want to read a great coming-of-age story about a boy who must learn that the world does not revolve around him. This book has romance, comedy, and emotional scenes so everyone will enjoy it. If you want to read it, go check it out at your public library or buy it online. You can get it for around $5 on Amazon and I would definitely recommend it. I bought it at my school's book fair for $3 because it was on sale and I definitely do not regret it. 

Ape Escape is my Favorite Thing

Release Date: 1999

Developer: SCE Japan Studio

Genre: Platform

Ape Escape  is the first game that required the dual-analog controller for the Playstation. The premise of the game is that you run around as the human character, Spike, and try to collect all of the apes so that they cannot reshape history. The game uses a series of sneaking and gadgets to help collect the different monkeys that are located in the level. Each ape has light on his helmet that acknowledges how aware of you they are. 

One of the details that make Ape Escape one of my favorite games is how bright and colorful the graphics are. Some games have a bad habit of making bright games too childish, but Ape Escape is able to avoid that conflict. Since this game came out about five years after the Playstation's release, it utilizes it to the best of its abilities. 

Each level requires a specific amount of monkeys that need captured. There are always more monkeys in a level than you need to capture to complete the level. This is helpful so that if you are stuck on trying to capture a certain monkey, then you can look for another one. If fact, some cannot be captured until you receive a certain gadget later on in the game. This adds to the replayablitiy of the game. 

The gadgets also add some uniqueness to the game. They range from a remote-controlled car, a magic punch, and a sky flyer. After you receive each gadget, there is a practice level that you must complete to learn how to use the gadget. Ape Escape also has minigames that can be played. These are helpful for people who just want to get away from the main story of the game and wind down. After you have played the whole game and defeated the main boss, Specter, you must play the game again in order to capture all the monkeys. Even after you beat the game twice, you still must get a gold medal in all of the levels, plus beat each minigame. With all this, Ape Escape, can last a person a very long time, especially for those people who love to 100% games. 

Overall, I would recommend Ape Escape to anyone looking for something different. It is an innovative game that you can just relax to. It is a good way to get away from those mature rated games that seem to be all over the gaming community in this day in age. 

History of Pokemon (Generation 3)

Again, the introduction of a new generation of Pokemon came bout with the reveal of a new Pokemon in the anime. The Pokemon was introduced during episode 205, "The Kecleon Caper". Soon after Kecleon was revealed other Pokemon showed up in a Pikachu short. They were Wynaut, Azurill, Duskull, and Volbeat. Wailmer, Latios, and Latias had roles in the fifth Pokemon movie. During the Silver Conference at the end of the Johto season, Ash battles Harrison a trainer from Hoenn, the region from generation three. With all these introductions, fans started speculating about the new generation of Pokemon. 

Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire were released in Japan on November 21, 2002 on the Game Boy Advance system. There were more Pokemon revealed in this generation than there was in generation 2 with 135 new Pokemon added to the lineup. There were also many new features introduced on these games. They were contests, double battles, and that each Pokemon could have a specific ability and nature. Also, Team Rocket was not in this game. Instead two new teams were the antagonists for our main heroes. They were Team Aqua and Team Magma. This generation introduced specific weather conditions and it was the first set of games to not be compatible with the previous games due to the significant changes they made. 

The anime also started a new series. Instead of the show just being called Pokemon, it was called Pokemon: Advanced Generation. This series started in Japan on the same day that they released the games. This series introduced two new main characters, May and Max to Ash's journey. Brock also joined Ash, but Misty did not resume her role as a main character. Pokemon movies six and seven were released during this series of the anime. They were Jirachi: Wish Maker and Destiny Deoxys. 

Pokemon may have been popular in the United States, but it was not nearly as popular here as it was in Japan. A show called Weekly Pokemon Broadcasting Station debuted October 15, 2002. Its stories, instead of focusing on Ash would focus on other characters of the anime such as Misty, Brock, and Tracey. Parts of this show were eventually dubbed into English in May 2005. The newly titled show was called Pokemon Chronicles.

This generation of Pokemon also introduced many spin-off games. The first of these was Pokemon Box Ruby and Sapphire. This was not really a game, but additional storage to be used with your Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. It could store an additional 1,500 Pokemon. Other games that came out were Pokemon Channel and Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire. Finally, fans could also get a taste of Pokemon in a 3D environment. Pokemon Colosseum. This game introduced players to a new region, Orre, and introduced shadow Pokemon to the growing Pokemon universe. This was also the first game to allow you to use an evolved Pokemon as a starter (when Pikachu was a starter, Pichu wasn't revealed yet). You could choose either to start with Espeon or Umbreon. 

The creators of Pokemon decided that they wanted to give newer fans of Pokemon a chance to replay some of the older classics. They released Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on the Game Boy Advance. This game revisited the original games and the Kanto region. It also introduced the Sevii Islands. Also, just like in previous generations, they made a third game in the Hoenn saga. Pokemon Emerald was released on September 16, 2004 in Japan and May 1, 2005 in North America. This game introduced the Hoenn Battle Frontier, the chance to rebattle gym leaders, and different animations for all the Pokemon.

To go along with these new games, the television show also traveled back to Kanto. Ash battled the Battle Frontier there. During this season, two new movies were produced. They were Lucario and the Mystery of Mew and Pokemon Ranger and they Temple of the Sea. They then released new spin-offs like Pokemon Dash, Pokemon Trozei!, and a sequel to Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. Players also got their chance to play as a Pokemon for the first time ever when Pokemon Red Rescue Team and Pokemon Blue Rescue Team on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. Another new concept was introduced where players were Pokemon rangers instead of Pokemon trainers in the game Pokemon Ranger. 

In 2006, Pokemon celebrated its 10th anniversary. To celebrate, they released a CD titled Pokemon X: 10 Years of Pokemon and a traveling expo called Journey Across America. A special titled The Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon was introduced and the new Pokemon Trading Figure Game debuted. 

That is three generations down and two to go. Pokemon has lasted ten years and does not show any sign of stopping.

King of the Nerds is My Favorite Thing

With the series finale of King of the Nerds on TBS last Thursday I thought that I would weigh in on my thoughts on the show as a whole. I will not reveal the winner or the results of any competitions.

The premise of the show is for eleven nerds to duke it out and find out who is the nerdiest of them all and end the game sitting of the Throne of Games. The winner also receives $100,000. The show is hosted by Bobby Carradine and Curtis Armstrong, both made famous by the cult classic Revenge of the Nerds.

The contestants on the show range in their area of nerdy expertise and that is something I really enjoy about the show. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses. There is Virgil who is a master hacker, Moogega who works for NASA, and Ivan who creates his own tabletop roleplaying games. The other players range anywhere from a professional video game player to a young adult phantasy book writer. Then there is Alana, who just kind of sucks at everything. Seriously, I do not understand how she got on the show.

At the beginning of the series they split themselves into two teams by the way of every nerds worst nightmare. They are chosen dodge-ball style with each previously selected member of the team picking the next member of the team. Every week the teams compete in a Nerd War. There is also a theme of each weeks Nerd War. The competitions range from bowling with D20s to performing their own nerdy anthem in front of a panel of judges. After a winner is decided the teams get to decide who to send to a Nerd-Off. Each of the two teams get to send one member from the losing team of the Nerd War to the Nerd-Off.

After the two players are selected they are given a clue about what their Nerd-Off is about and then they get time to study for it. Usually the Nerd-Off has something to do with the Nerd War. For example, when they had to make their own nerd anthem during the Nerd War the Nerd-Off competition had the two players competing against each other in Dance Central. The losing player is then told that they are leaving Nerdvana.

I really love the premise of this show. The house they live in, Nerdvana, looks amazing. There are so many cool things in the house like statues of Batman, video game systems, and it even has a RadioShack room with many different gadgets. Each of the players is unique in their own ways and I love that they try to get all the different spectrums of what is considered nerdy. Right now I am making an audition tape for the second season, which was announced in February and will air in 2014. So I am announcing that I will be entering to be a contestant in the next season of King of the Nerds.