Today I’m partaking in another new experience in running a blog site as I have been tagged for the Sunshine Blogger Award by Red Metal at Extra Life Reviews! If you’re not following already, I encourage you to do so as they post some of the most well thought out and thorough game and movie reviews I’ve read. As I’m still learning as I go, let’s just jump into the Red Metal’s questions first!
Have you ever been involved in an emergency?
– No, thank goodness
Worst film you’ve ever seen in the theater?
– I could probably list many, many comedies that I’ve gone to the theater to see only to think about later and say “that wasn’t that great…”, but the one movie that usually jumps to mind when I think of terrible movies that I’ve seen in the theater – Batman & Robin. The funny thing is that I saw that back in 1997 when I was 11 years old and remember saying immediately afterwards how awesome it was and how I wanted to go see it again, so while I don’t HATE the movie, it’s objectively one of the worst I’ve seen. I recently sat down and watched Batman and Robin and found myself laughing more than groaning, you know, when a movie enters ridiculously bad territory…there’s just SO many lame puns in the movie…”Freeze in Hell, Batman!”
Best film you’ve ever seen in the theater?
– This one seemed a bit tougher, as most of the movies I’ve seen in the theater usually fall into either category of “Really liked” or “Meh”. So the best answer I can come up with would have to be watching The Dark Knight in the theater, I went to see it a couple times with the second time being in an IMAX theater which was incredible and is definitely the way to watch any of Christopher Nolan’s movies. I really wish I lived closer to an IMAX theater as Dunkirk would have been amazing.
What is the strangest method by which you discovered a work you enjoy?
– I’ve been thinking about this one and I honestly can’t come up with anything too out of the ordinary, like hearing Bohemian Rhapsody while watching Wayne’s World as a kid and then going out and finding Queen albums. Another example would be discovering the writing of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe through playing Eternal Darkness on Gamecube.
What do you feel is the greatest compilation of collected works in your collection?
– Though it’s hard for me to say what I would consider the “greatest” compilation I own, a couple of my favorites would be the collections of Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft I bought at Barnes and Noble years ago. Both author’s were able to create such an ominous atmosphere, often dealing with death and one’s own teetering on the brink of insanity. As I mentioned in the previous question, I knew of their writing beforehand but it wasn’t until playing through Eternal Darkness that I went out to experience their writing on my own. I pull both collections off the shelf and read every year as we enter the spooky Halloween season.
Have you ever re-experienced a work you enjoyed a long time ago only to determine it has not aged well?
– This seems to happen pretty routinely in jumping around between enough different games, especially games released in the 90’s during the transition from 2D to fully 3D games; Playstation and N64 titles generally have a hard time holding up as a result. I usually find myself mentioning games like Goldeneye or Final Fantasy VII as games that are considered all-time greats(and rightfully so!), but playing them in the current year show even beloved games aren’t immune to the ravages of time.
Have you ever re-experienced a work you hated(or indifferent towards) a long time ago only to warm up to it?
– Two examples come to mind for this: The Beatles and RPG games. As a younger lad I remember asking my mom what was such a big deal about the Beatles, a band whose only real songs I had listened to until then were their earliest songs like “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” or “Twist and Shout”. It wasn’t until I decided to find a copy of the band’s later more-experimental efforts like Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band that I finally “got it”. RPGs also took me quite a few years to acquire a taste for, but once I finally understood the approach to the games and turn-based combat in particular, I really enjoy them now. I’m still terrible at actually completing them…but that’s another issue.
What is your favorite opening theme to a television show?
– If we’re talking specifically the intro/them song to a show, it would have to be The Simpsons, probably my all-time favorite tv show. If I think about it, pretty much all of the tv show theme songs that come to mind first are cartoons…I apologize if you’re reading these and expecting grown-up answers 😉 Another favorite opening to a tv show would be Mad Men, though not just for the opening theme song.
Excluding Western comic books, what series with a single, ongoing narrative do you feel has/had gone on for too long?
– This one I don’t have too much of a full answer for as everything I thought of I later realized was comic book or graphic novel based, like The Walking Dead. An example of a show that I always felt went on a bit longer than it should have was the American version of The Office where it went on for like 9 seasons and what would be the primary story arc would be Jim and Pam’s relationship, but this was more or less resolved only a few seasons in. Steve Carrell’s character of Michael Scott leaving the show several seasons before the end only added to the feeling the show went on for too long.
Have you ever been interested in a series only to be heartbroken when it was cut short with no resolution?
– After getting all caught up on episodes of Doctor Who, my wife and I began watching the spin-off show Torchwood. The show centers around Capt. Jack Harkness who appears throughout several seasons of Doctor Who and heads up the Torchwood Institue to investigate alien encounters around the UK. Torchwood has a much darker, more serious tone than the generally more light-hearted Doctor Who. The show first aired on BBC for the few seasons and then was bought by the Starz channel which aired seasons 3 and 4 as multi-episode specials. While the final season didn’t have a typical cliffhanger ending, it left many things unresolved as Starz at least intended to film more seasons but nothing has been created since. Another show that I loved, but ended too soon would be the show Hannibal which only went on for 3 seasons despite garnering much. The show was scheduled during NBC’s 9pm(CST) Thursday night slot and it was announced midway through the third season they would not be continuing the show. I absolutely loved Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal Lecter and was a bit disappointed to see it end as soon as it did.
Do you prefer hardcover or paperback books?
– I don’t have a huge preference honestly, but if I have the option of hardcover or paperback books I usually lean towards hardcover books if for no other reason than I like the nice, solid feeling of holding a hardcover book in the same way that if I buy a physical copy of a movie or game I try to get a steelbook copy.
And now for my questions we’ll start simple…
The video games are bigger than ever in terms of player base as well as industry. What do enjoy most about our current generation of games and/or consoles?
What do you dislike the most about current gen gaming?
What would a game have to have in terms of bugs, mechanics, or story that would make the game unplayable to you? What would it take for you to refuse to play a game?
Think of your absolute favorite series of book/game/tv show, now let’s say it was being made into a brand-new game, but it would be developed as your least favorite genre of game. What would it be?
The Internet Age has affected gaming in countless ways, and reached another level<rimshot> with the rise of platforms like YouTube or Twitch. In what ways do you think gaming has benefited the greatest as a result of video and streaming services?
What ways do you think gaming has been most negatively affected by YouTube and Twitch?
Indie games have been given exposure never thought possible prior to the age of online platforms like YouTube and Twitch, but more specifically, what do feel is the reason that indie games are able to make you feel something that AAA games are usually unable to do?
Video games and learning haven’t always been mentioned in the same universe, but games today are far more advanced than Mario Teaches Typing. What type of video game do you wish would have existed to help teach one of your weaker subjects?
How do you feel about the constant ports and remasters/remakes of games? Is it good exposure for newer players or just more cashing in on gamer nostalgia?
Name a video game character that you feel gets more criticism/hate than they deserve?
How about a character that gets less criticism than deserved?
Thanks again to Red Metal for the tag and for everyone reading! Now for the fun part! For my Sunshine Blogger Award nominees I choose…
Van Rockingham – Games Revisited
Michelle – A Geek Girl’s Guide
Astro Adam – Video Games Nebula
Gaming Omnivore 
I always liked Batman&Robin, and even as an adult I stand by this opinion. To me, it portrays what old comics are all about: crazy plots and environments, cheesy one-liners, and ridiculous outfits (bat-nipples).
Of course, it’s not a masterpiece or anything, but I think it was never meant to be taken seriously, but just as some innocent, stupid fun 🙂
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I haven’t sat through a movie in theaters where I’ve come out of it with a strong dislike, there were parts of The Last Jedi that I disliked but enjoyed the movie overall. Batman and Robin pretty clearly presented a shift in tone from the darker Burton movies. I still enjoy the movie today, just for different reasons than when I saw it as a kid. Arnold Schwarzenegger got a lot of criticism for playing Mr. Freeze in 1997, but after going back and watching some of the 60’s Batman episodes, he did seem to convey the same persona as Otto Preminger did. I guess I could have also included a few other movies I saw in theaters like The Phantom Menace or the Matrix sequels, movies that have gotten their “fair share” of criticism over the years.
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Thank you so much for the nomination! These are really good questions… one in particular has given me an idea for a post, so keep an eye out next month. 😉
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Looking forward to it! I tried to come up with at least a couple more open-ended questions to engage thought 👍🏻
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