The Blackangel

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD I’ve seen a lot of speculation online about the series, and hopes in articles about what the next entry into the series will be. Some want a sequel to the first Red Dead where we would be playing as Jack Marston and hunting down everyone who killed John and caused the death of Abigail. Others are thinking that it will be a prequel to RDR2. Showing how everyone ended up in Blackwater and what happened on the boat. Also showing how the newer members of the gang joined up. Maybe even delving into the long past and showing how Arthur and Dutch met and became closer than blood. Personally, I like the prequel idea. I would love to know what the hell exactly went down in Blackwater, and how they ended up in that situation to begin with. Playing as adult Jack avenging his family could do well in the series, but I think RDR2 left too many “How” kind of questions unanswered. Don’t get me wrong, I’m obsessed with the game, and always willing to talk about it, and help out if I can. The same way the rest of the forum feels about Skyrim and TLOU. I also want to know what the hell kind of path they had to take to end up north of everything so that they would have to head south to go away from where they were running from which is south of them. Either I forgot how to read a compass, someone decided it was time directions were changed, teleportation existed, or that damn UFO got ahold of them.

That’s one hell of a deal. I would be interested in the trip, but being that I’m a classic gamer with a slight handful of exceptions, the gaming part of the prize would be more or less wasted on me. But my girl might be interested, as she is on FF14 all the time. I’ll give her the link here and have her come to the forum to check it out. She’s not the biggest poster on forums. Including the ones I’ve built and run. But I’m thinking she would see a lot of rewards by joining VGR. I know the returns were immediate for me.

All too often, the game I can’t get my mind off of is RDR2. Especially if I’ve just started a new campaign. I can’t get off the game whether I want to or not. I’m a woman obsessed. I relate one way or another to all the girls in camp. I’m a cynic like Karen, a bitch like Susan, a dreamer like Mary-Beth, a clear world view like Tilly, and a loony if I’m in love like Molly. But in all honesty, if I was going for one of the guys in camp, it would be either Charles or Arthur.

I wouldn’t necessarily call them followers, but my favorite gang members in RDR2 are Lenny, Hosea, and Charles. You do several independent jobs where it’s just the 2 of you. And I wouldn’t want anyone else. They’re the best men in the gang, and the game as a whole. I still think Hosea should have been the head of the gang instead of Dutch, but that’s just me. They would have fared so much better if they were the Matthews gang instead of the van der Linde gang.

RDR2 has some in it. The Pinkertons were a real government agency to hunt down outlaws and other major criminals. There is also mention of the president all around. They also drew inspiration for some of the legendary outlaws from real life. The goofy guy in Valentine that is writing the book about Jim “Boy” Calloway that asks you for pics and stories from other gunslingers gives you names of several outlaws. Some were real, like Black Belle. Others I’m not sure about. I’d have to look into it. There’s also a lot of Army involvement in the game, and a lot of references to the American civil war. Some of the language they use in the game didn’t carry the same connotation then that it does now. There’s a lot of propaganda in the game if you just take the time to look for it.

I've never played the game, but it sounds awesome as hell. Are the expansions going to be available for all platforms, or just for PC?

The only time I play a game on Easy is if I'm a complete n00b, and want to play it and need to learn the mechanics of the game. Things like how the controller is set up, how interaction with NPC's is scripted, and in general how the game runs. After I get all that down, I tend to quit the game and start a new one on a higher difficulty setting. But I can probably count the number of games I have with a difficulty option on one hand. Most everything else is just a linear game that is one setting and has no option in the game code. The only ones in my library (minus the previously mentioned few) that have a difficulty option are fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Killer Instinct.

I don't touch it once I go up to harder difficulties, unless I'm raising the difficulty. It's why I use a game genie on a lot of my old games. I put in codes that put me at a disadvantage to make the games more challenging because after playing some for 30+ years I've just gotten too good at them to the point that they're just boring as hell. So I put in some codes to tweak the program, put myself under some new settings that leave me weaker and my enemies stronger, and the games run anew.

To be honest, the first time I saw my girl playing it, I asked her what movie she was watching.

I can't think of any specific titles off the top of my head at the moment, but a lot of the old stuff had this problem. Games from the Atari 2600, NES, and SNES are the main culprits. They started fixing it around the N64 era, but before then the contrast was a bitch.

RDR2 holds up with this. When you're cleaning your guns, you can get a look at them up close and personal. Or if you go to a gun shop, you can get an even closer look in the customization option.

The skies in RDR2 are absolutely beautiful, and so realistic and appropriate for the weather of the moment. There are times I like to sit back on my horse and just watch the day go by. or take a seat at the edge of camp and watch the clouds move through.

Would this post that I made back in May be a pass as a review? I went over several Zelda games and gave my thoughts on them.

My pick goes to RDR2. There are so many options for outfits, and you can mix and match anything you have as much as you want. You can also shave Arthur or let his beard grow. You can use pomade on his hair to make it a little more presentable. You can let his hair grow to the point that it's as long as that of the girls' hair. If you choose to use hair tonic at least. I've never thought to try it, but thinking about it now, I just might. You can also go to a barber and do anything from shaving his head to just changing the style. You can also customize all your weapons, unless they're one of the unique weapons. You can pick the grip, varnish, metals, carvings, engravings, and upgrades. You can also customize your horse's mane and tail. When I get the white Arabian, I always go to a stable and have her tail braided and colored black. My reasoning for that is because Dutch rides a white Arabian as well, and it just makes it easier to tell our horses apart, until I go for one of the other wild Arabians. Then there's the tack. You can customize it as well. I always ride the upgraded Gerden Vaquero saddle. I also buy the hooded stirrups. They're the best in the game. I'm not saying that from opinion, I'm saying that from fact and how they affect your horse. You have several colors for your saddle to choose from, and I tend to buy them also that I can mix it up whenever the urge strikes me. There's so much that you can customize in this game, that it's almost literally just mind blowing. But that statement is coming from someone who still plays Zelda on the NES.

I had been wondering if I was getting more into walkthrough territory, than review. I’ll try to do another article and try aligning it more as a review, but I’m also going to continue with this one as a walkthrough. There may never be anyone interested in using it, but I’ve had fun writing it. So I’m going to continue it. Thanks. I appreciate all the constructive feedback I can get from everyone willing to offer it.

The GBASP really went above and beyond for such a small handheld. Their design, screen, and CPU capabilities really raised the bar. And the fact that it was able to play the older Game Boy games was the best. It's kinda a backwards compatible ability, if you will.

Ok, here we go, this is my first ever review so bear with me. I'm reviewing The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past on SNES. The game has a lot of interesting traits for a 16 bit game, and some serious differences from other entries in the series. Prologue To start with it is the first one where Zelda calls out telepathically for a hero. Your uncle, (whom you apparently live with despite there only being one bed in your house) is heading out, sword and shield in hand expecting to save her telling you to wait at home and that he will be back in the morning. You instead head out, having all paths blocked by castle soldiers except your path to the castle. Along the eastern side of the castle, all the way to the north there is a bush you can pull up to reveal a way in. You find your uncle there, defeated. He gives you his sword and shield, and thus begins the story. As you enter the castle, you need to start making your way down through the lower levels. You will encounter a lot of guards down there, but they are not particularly hard to defeat. The blue boomerang is down there, which is a very helpful item at least at this point in the game, and one of my personal favorites in the game as a whole. There are floors on the way down that are a single room that will make you think the scripters were drunk when writing the game. They have absolutely no logical purpose, but I digress. At the bottom floor, you will see Zelda locked in a cell being guarded by a gray ball and chain trooper. Stunning him with the boomerang is pointless as he instantly starts waking up. So wait for him to swing his chain then go in for a strike and back out before he starts swinging again. If I remember correctly it takes eight hits to kill him. He drops the big key which unlocks the cell so you can get Zelda out. On the way here you will have encountered 3 chests. One in your house, one in the room right after you got your sword from your uncle, and one in Zelda's cell. The first one you open will have the lamp, the others a blue rupee. If you didn't get the lamp you will not be able to go any further from here. The two of you must then make it to the throne room on the main floor, to escape the castle to get to what Zelda calls "sanctuary", but is simply a church. It takes the two of you pushing the shelf behind the throne from the left to open the secret passage. You enter a darkened room with only your lamp to guide you. There are a lot of rats and keese on your way so you'll have to deal with that. The good thing is that for some reason that even I can't figure out, rats tend to have a lot of money on them. Once you make it through the lower rooms and sewers, you will come through a sliding display in the sanctuary. The priest is there. After a bit of discussion you can open the chest there and get a heart container. You can then continue on with your quest. Part One The game is very straight forward in its objectives, like pretty much any other Zelda game, not counting some of the spinoffs and ROM-Hacks. Your objective as always is to save Zelda and defeat Ganon. If you have never played the game before, the map is your best friend. It always has something marked on it, telling you where you need to go. So there's that. Another good thing, is that once you know your path, you don't have to follow the map if you don't want to. There are a few things you can do prior to attacking your first dungeon. I would recommend collecting some heart pieces to give yourself a little more life. These are easy to find. There is one in the cave on the east side of Kakariko village. Another is in the hedge maze just to the southwest of the village. South of Link's house, there is a ruin. If you go inside of it and pull the lever to let the water through you will reveal a heart piece in the dry waterbed outside with a few fish flopping around. If you pick up a fish and go one screen up and throw it in the water it will give you 20 rupees. Or you can carry the fish to town and sell it to the bottle guy for a lot of goodies. There is another in the Lost Woods in the thieves hideout. You need to drop down from the bushes just above the entrance. One more that you can get now, is in the desert. If you go north just after entering the desert you will find a small cave. Follow it into the room with the old man. Most would easily miss this, but the bottom wall is bombable, and inside is a chest with a heart piece. Another item you should pick up is the mushroom in the Lost Woods. If you take it east, to the witches hut and give it to her, then leave the screen and come back in, her assistant will have the magic powder for you. It has no real use, except for one time later in the game, but it is comical if you sprinkle it on Buzz Blobs. Doing so will turn it into a Cukeman. You can talk to them, but they will still hurt Link if you touch them. If you freeze them with the ice rod or Ether, then hit them with the hammer, they will turn int regular Buzz Blobs again.

Try to get hired as a reviewer for a magazine or something like Game Informer. My girl has a subscription, and always goes straight to the reviews first. That's not an easy task to attempt though. As more games move towards open world, it would take a hell of a lot to give a game a whole and fair review, with as little bias as possible. You could talk to @DC about possible freelance contributions to VGR and see if he would be willing to give you your start.

I have 2 GBASP's. I play on them quite a bit. Mainly older Game Boy games. I don't play many GB Advance games, despite having a hell of a lot. At the moment mine are dead, and I'm not 100% sure where i put the charge cords, so I'm kinda SOL, and JWF.

I'd go with whispering also. I don't like a lot of noise, unless I'm driving. Then I crank my music up loud enough to make @Shagger and @Crazycrab cover their ears. Also pitbulls are afraid of loud noises, and my baby girl is no exception. Then I have the rats and birds. It would stress them out as well.

The best therapists have 4 legs and fur. Mine have gotten me through my roughest times. All I have to do is hold my pitbull and the whole world is right again.

I have several copies of Benny & Joon. The reasoning behind that is because they all have different covers. I have virtually everything he has ever done, which includes his more obscure stuff, and the few movies that weren't even released in North America. Some of his more obscure movies include Dead Man, Chocolat, Tusk, Lost in La Mancha, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, The Source, Arizona Dream, Before Night Falls, Ed Wood, and Private Resort just to name a few. I've said it before and I'm saying it again. When he teams up with the greatest director in Hollywood history, Tim Burton, pure masterpieces are created.

I like the game. I still hate Xbox. If you want to converse with me, you will want to stop putting words in my mouth and telling me what I think or feel about something. Otherwise, piss off.

By far my favorite series would always be The Legend Of Zelda. It's been a staple for me since I was a child playing it on the NES. I still have it today, and get so much out of playing it.