My return to dinner theatre!

Well, I'm back in dinner theatre once again! I'll be playing the character of Brett. The show opens June 15th and I'm very happy to be back with the group again. It's been way too long! For more information and how to get tickets please go to their web site at: http://murder-isserved.net/

San Diego scheming

So twice now I've tried to get tickets to the elusive comic con in San Diego this year and twice I've failed. Though disappointed I'm also relieved. I think the San Diego con has gotten to big and overblown now. I'm glad for the time I went in 2005. I think that was one of the last years it was actually decent. Last year I heard plenty of complaints about how the Con has changed and is not much fun anymore. Getting to go to smaller cons like the one in New Orleans or Dallas work out just fine with me! Don't get me wrong though! I still have a scheme to get me into the Comic Con, but if it doesn't work, I'll be at peace. Hmmmm.... now what's all this about Dragon Con I hear so much about.... Have a good weekend folks!

Comic Con (3)

Mountain Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt

I have to take a minute and let you go to Amazon today and check out the reviews for this t-shirt. Here's just a few to let you see how hilarious they are: Sample review #1 This item has wolves on it which makes it intrinsically sweet and worth 5 stars by itself, but once I tried it on, that's when the magic happened. After checking to ensure that the shirt would properly cover my girth, I walked from my trailer to Wal-mart with the shirt on and was immediately approached by women. The women knew from the wolves on my shirt that I, like a wolf, am a mysterious loner who knows how to 'howl at the moon' from time to time (if you catch my drift!). The women that approached me wanted to know if I would be their boyfriend and/or give them money for something they called mehth. I told them no, because they didn't have enough teeth, and frankly a man with a wolf-shirt shouldn't settle for the first thing that comes to him. I arrived at Wal-mart, mounted my courtesy-scooter (walking is such a drag!) sitting side saddle so that my wolves would show. While I was browsing tube socks, I could hear aroused asthmatic breathing behind me. I turned around to see a slightly sweaty dream in sweatpants and flip-flops standing there. She told me she liked the wolves on my shirt, I told her I wanted to howl at her moon. She offered me a swig from her mountain dew, and I drove my scooter, with her shuffling along side out the door and into the rest of our lives. Thank you wolf shirt. Pros: Fits my girthy frame, has wolves on it, attracts women Cons: Only 3 wolves (could probably use a few more on the 'guns'), cannot see wolves when sitting with arms crossed, wolves would have been better if they glowed in the dark. Sample review #2 I was surfing the internet while on break looking for a hat and a shirt with wolves on it. Typically most of my online shopping involves trying to find the perfect wolf shirt. I currently have a little over 40 wolf shirts and most of them have seen better days. My glow in the dark set only lasted maybe 50 washes before I had to start using them to clean the gutters and my 67 Ford Pickup. Needless to say I needed a new Thursday shirt and didn't want to buy another I already own. I did a google search and saw this pretty number as a top result on Amazon. "My God", I thought to myself. It looked simply breathtaking. Typically these websites try to fool you with image trickery and such so the wolves always look better online. Then you get the shirt and the wolf is missing an ear or it's not actually howling as shown in the picture. This was not the case. I ordered it last Friday and received it today. I took the day off so I could be home when the shirt came. All of a sudden I heard a loud thud at the door. The excitement grew as I knew it had to be my 3 wolves howling at the moon shirt. I went to the door and the delivery guy passed out at my doorstep. I woke him up and explained his brain malfunction was likely due to the 3 wolves' pheromones likely still left on the shirt from the factory. He looked at me in surprise and said, "How did you find a shirt with 3 wolves on it?" I told him I found it on Amazon and all 3 of them are howling at the Moon. He pulled up his smartphone and purchased it before he even left my front yard. THE UNBOXING I brought the box inside and used my teeth to open it. I was kind of in a rush to see these wolves. Sweet Mother of God was all I could say. This shirt looked better than on the website. This wasn't just a shirt with three wolves howling at the moon. Every wolf looked beautiful in his own way. The white wolf literally caused me to have a panic attack. This was the most glorious shirt I've ever seen. I was going to wash it but I was too anxious to put it on. Once I put the shirt on it felt like I just put on a suit of armor. Those wolves would protect me no matter what. It perfectly complimented my upper chest hair and street goatee. I began weeping when I saw myself in the mirror with it. My final thoughts on this product are that everyone except children and the elderly should own one. I plan on buying 2 more so I can wear one every day of the week. Pros: 3 Beautiful wolves howling at the moon curious musk Cons: May cause heart issues in elderly and young people The white wolf could be larger, possibly copying it to the back of the shirt and filling it.

Comic Con (2)

Comic Con (1)

Worst video games

Well I've been talking about good video games, so I wanted to spend one day talking about the stinkers.

And. Here. We. GO!

Zelda 2: Adventures of Link



I know I'm going to hear it about this, but it really was a let down after having such a marvelous predecessor before it. I bet it, tossed it aside and never gave it a 2nd thought ever again.

Where's Waldo



Great for books, bad for video games, as anyone who's played this game knows. It was horrible on all levels. You didn't even know where Waldo was even when you "found" him on the screen.

Just a mess!

King's Knight



The same year Jeremy got Dodgeball for Xmas, Bray drew the short end of the stick getting this.

King's Knight was a terrible game of which the first 4 levels could be played in under 20 minutes. The 5th (and final) level took about another 10 and was IMPOSSIBLE to beat! I finally saw online last week someone beating the game but believe me, it was NOT easy.

Dumb game, stupid objectives, no fun, nuff said!

ET



I know I didn't talk about Atari games last week but remember I never had one growing up. (Intellivision all the way baby!!) But I do remember HATING this game. And it wasn't only me it turns out. This game ranks up as one of the worst in history ever made!

Supposedly they were quickly produced with much anticipation to ride on the coat tails of it's theatrical success. The game was so bad it eventually led Atari to it's demise.

4 MILLION unsold games were dumped, crushed and buried in concrete. Yeah this was before the environmentalist went nuts. :)

Rogue Squadron 2



One of the reasons I bought a GameCube in the first place was for this very game! It was so bad I don't think I even finished it. Levels and objectives were so confusing, I even "won" a level without doing anything the entire time! My squad-mates (controlled by the computer)were able to beat it while I flew around lost the entire time!!

What a piece of junk!

The GameCube system



I know it's not an actual game but in my opinion, it was still the worst game system ever made. Poor games and NO memory led to my flight to Xbox after only a few months. I don't know what Nintendo was thinking when did this but it was a poor choice to go up against the Xbox and PS2 which were both available at the time.

Best Xbox games

I still have my Xbox and it's still operational and though it doesn't get much gameplay as it used to, there are still some classics from this series that I'll always love.

Halo (1&2)



Some of my best memories ever came from this game. I even made life long friends (like RedRonin) online that I still keep in contact with today. This will go down as one of my favorite games of all time. No question.

TNMT 2: Battle Nexus



Not only was the game mode super enjoyable, but the fact that it came with a version of the original arcade game! (which I sent many quarters to their doom)

No joke. I saw that it said that on the cover and bought it right then and there! I still play this game with my little nephews today!

Raw 2



(sigh) The perfect wrestling game. I hear smackdown vs raw is good but is it THIS good? I don't think I even care to find out. All the possible character creations and intros was enough to keep me inside for days!

All my friends (like the Hit clan) had their own characters and all my enemies did as well. It served as a great stress reliever against taking it out on the people you dislike.

Any others? You tell me!

Best Gamecube games

I bought a GameCube the day is came out, with high hopes of it having some great games. I was disappointed to find only 3.

Monkey Ball



This was a shocker. I never knew this game would end up being so much fun to play! I remember a friend of mine brought it over during one of my New Years parties and I went out and bought it the next day!

Mario Kart Double Dash



Though not as good as the other Mario Karts, it was still a fun game with a nice attempt at putting the "new" aspect into the game though it didn't work as well as they'd hope.

NCAA Football



Discovered it on the GameCube system first, which is why it's on this list. What a wonderful game and it's only gotten better over time!

Best N64 games

The N64 was the last of the classic cartridge systems and what incredible games did it have!

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron



This game is one of my favorite Star Wars games ever to play! I lost count of how many times I played this game thru. It had all the aspects that make a game good. Simple objectives, easy control handling and plenty of variety in the challenges for everyone!

Duke Nukem: Zero Hour



Believe it or not I never played the actual game mode before. Only the mutliplayer. And it was so much fun I never looked back! I used to have all the codes that unlocked all the other players you could be for the different levels...in fact, I STILL have this game in my closet right now!

I'll hook it up, any takers?

Mario Kart



Come on! You KNEW I was going to put this one in! Just looking at this screenshot again wants to me to have a "Mario Kart Challenge" night again!

No Mercy



Arguably one of the best wrestling games they ever made. I spent HOURS creating cool characters and intros and the game mode was just as fun!!

WCW/NWO Revenge



Made by the same team who created No Mercy, this was a precursor that helped make No Mercy a superior game. I did like this game though, very fun to play.

Besides Konker's Bad Fur Day, did I miss any other classics?

Best PS1 games

When the Playstation craze hit, I was just like everyone else who bought one right off the bat. But later on I repented of my ways and traded it off for an N64. But there were a few games I would've loved to keep with me:

Star Wars: Master's of the Teras Ki



How great it was to see Han Solo square off against Darth Vader, or Princess Liea against Boba Fett! The special combo moves were the best!!

Resident Evil



I only played the first one and I remember it being the scariest game I'd ever seen! The slow motion movement to the door when you went to another room? Terrifying!

Triply Play Baseball



The last true baseball game I ever enjoyed. In fact, I remember failing ALL my finals that semester because all I did that week was play this game instead of studying!

Twisted Metal



I miss this game so much! I remember playing (and loving) all 4 games! I heard they came out with a new one lately but I don't it'll touch the classic's of the first ones! (btw I'm not kidding, anyone have these games and a working playstation? I'd be interested!)

My time with the Playstation was short. Were there any other good games I missed?

How dare I forget Super Mario World!

Best Super NES games

Time to talk about the good ole SNES!

Mario Kart



Arguably one of the best games ever to come out of the SNES. We were so good at this game growing up, that we would play our friends while hanging upside down from the coffee table... AND STILL WIN!

Ken Griffey Jr Baseball



Being a baseball fan this was the game that had to replace RBI baseball for me. I remember the Home Run Derby being especially fun!

Killer Instinct



I was looking through screenshots trying to determine which one to use. There were SO many I loved! Plus, I wanted to play this game bad after seeing it again!

Zelda: Link to the Past



The BEST Zelda game they ever made! Period.

Super Mario All-Stars



All the Mario games in one game?! It was too good to believe and such a joy to play so many games all on one cartridge!

Super Star Wars (Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi)



Hours of unending entertainment were spent playing these games. All 3 offered fantastic gameplay!

Super Techno Bowl



Just like it's predecessor this game delivered on all levels. I can hear the TD music now...

Super Noah's Ark



Never played it, but it looked a lot like Wolfenstien. If I'd had known it was out there, I definitely would've gotten it by it's bad reputation alone!

Did I miss any others?

Best Nintendo Games

Time to talk about everyone's favorite gaming system and the best games they ever had!

Blades of Steel



The best hockey game of all time! I loved the intro and the game never got old. (which is saying something for a hockey game)

Contra



I don't know of anyone who didn't LOVE this game. Be honest, you all know the cheat code and you all played it at least a million times. In fact, if I put it before you right now you'd probably play it all over again.

Dodgeball



Not many folks will remember this game but it was a fantastic one to play. I remember Jeremy got it one year for xmas and didn't want it, but decided to play it the next morning...and it became one of his favorites.

Double Dribble



As Blades of Steel was to hockey so was Double Dribble to basketball. The never made a better bb game in my opinion.

Double Dragon



One of the few Nintendo games I never beat. I could always make it to the brother but was too nervous to take him down I guess. It was the ONE reason I wanted that dang Game Genie!

North vs South



I remember someone gave this game to dad as a gift and it ended up being one of our favorites over night! It's funny how the little unknown games would sometimes tend to be the best when it came to Nintendo.

Paperboy



I liked this game but I don't know why. It aggravated me so much I remember shutting the system off... then turning it back on to try again.

Punchout



Another game I could never beat but loved to play! I'd still play it today if I had it. Someday I may even beat the Sandman so I could face the man Mike Tyson himself... I hate the Sandman...

RBI



Have to mention a game for every sport in the NES and for baseball it was RBI. All 3 were some of the best baseball games I've ever played! Who didn't like hitting a homerun and seeing the electronic fireworks go off?!

Spyhunter



I seriously considered this one of my favorite games for the system, ever. Playing it later on in life it went down in status but would still be in my top 20.

Spy vs Spy



Many hours of my childhood went by playing this game. Though very simple it provided hours of entertainment to anyone who gave it a chance.

Super Mario 3



Sure all the Mario games were classics but when Super Mario 3 came out I almost believed they should've stopped making video games, cause to me this one was the best! It still ranks #1 on the most excited I've ever been about an Xmas present as a kid!

Techno Bowl



The cult following for this game is so big it's STILL being played today! With an updated roster given every year and the game being downloadable almost anywhere, this game speaks for itself in popularity among old school gamers.

Zelda



You didn't think I'd go the whole time without mentioning this gem did you? No question about it, one of the best things ever to come out of an NES game list. No question about it, great game.

Intellivision Hall of Fame

When we were kids our first game system was an Intellivision, look at that beautiful wood-grain finish! The controller was pretty simple, a set of buttons that you could insert a plastic sheet over to identify which buttons did what in the game and a disk at the bottom which was usually used for movement. It was very popular in the early 80's even set the template for future video games by being the first to add "speech" to a video game as well as downloadable content!!

These are some of the games I remember (and loved) the most:

Burger Time



You didn't have to have the Intellivision to remember this game. I've never been so afraid of eggs in sausage in my entire life!

Dig Dug



Another classic I found so dang cool! Honestly, who doesn't want to blow animals up with an air pump!

Pitfall



Endlessly fun game of jumping over things, swinging on vines, avoiding quicksand and hopping on alligator heads. Just what every perfect game needs! Plus, Jack Black made his first TV appearance as a kid in the commercial.

Donkey Kong



Another game we all knew and loved. Of course it would make my list.

Lock N Chase



I may be the only one who remembers playing this game but it was a whole lot of fun. It was basically a rip-off of Pac-man but with cops and robbers.

Locomotion



A fun train game that had you shuffling tracks around to keep your choo-choo going across the edges of the board.

Night Strider



I remember this being the last game I bought for the system. I loved it and don't know why. You fought 2 bats, a spider and a robot in the same level. I remember the graphic looked "cool"

Sea Battle



By looking at the screenshot, you wouldn't get it but believe me this game was fun. Each team was not only trying to destroy the other but take over the opponents base. Good stuff!

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons



It doesn't look like much but it was such an enjoyable game! Hearing the snake or a dragon before you saw it was extremely scary to me as a kid!

Space Invaders



If you never played this game in your life, you missed out on a wonderful experience in your life. This was my favorite game to play as a kid.

Do you remember Intellivision? Do you recall any other games you played?