The End Begins and All That Jazz

It’s 11:30 and no one’s posted yet, so here we go.

Battlestar Galactica
S04E01 –“He That Believeth In Me”

*Warning: Seasons 1-3 Spoilers Abound*

It’s been more than a year since the last time we got a new episode of Battlestar Galactica, so there was a lot of pressure on this episode not to disappoint. And thankfully, it didn’t.

Picking up right where we left off, Starbuck has reappeared months after her apparent death. But her and Apollo’s reunion is cut short but the massive Cylon attack fleet. As the recently outed Tigh, Tyrol, Anders and, uh, Roslin’s Bobby-replacement lady, deal with the realities of being one their greatest enemy.

The episode continues with plenty of interesting developments, some predictable and other not so much. It ends on a cliffhanger and unfortunately, unlike last season, we’ll have to wait next week to find out what happens (but I can guess). This was a satisfying return for the show and I know anyone who’s been loyally following can’t wait to watch the remaining 19 episodes unfold.

Rockenteurs

The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely

Well here we are well into Spring, with the flowers blooming, the bees, buzzing and a new Raconteurs album out on the shelves. Two years after The Raconteurs grammy award nominated debut album “Broken Boy Soldiers” we are now given a significantly longer and more complex album entitled “Consolers of the Lonely” Now though this new work from these Detroit rockers may not have the same punch or ingenuity as it’s predecessor, it still has a lot going for it with it’s attempt at a bigger, fuller and richer sound. With the addition of acoustic guitars, pianos, fiddles and even brass on many songs, this album is a much more advanced production. I as well get the feel that this new album almost has a bit of country western sound going on. Now for anybody who knows about Jack White, I think you’ve seen that he’s no stranger to Southern Blues Rock (Through his dabbling on several White Stripes songs and with his collaboration with Loretta Lynn) and this sound fits in quite nicely. For the most part the album is split up between Southern Blues Rock songs; “Top Yourself”, “The Switch and the Spur” and Pop/Punk songs; “Salute Your Solution”, “Five on Five.” Which The Raconteurs manage to pull off. Now one of my disappointments was that these new songs aren’t quite as catchy as some of the songs on the first album, but something that I think definitely makes up for this is the improved quality of musicianship. The longer song running times give the band more opportunities to show off their musical skills as all four members are very talented musicians. All in all I’m moderately satisfied with this followup, even though it wasn’t really the direction I wanted them to take their sound in, it still makes for a good listen.

Favorite Tracks: Many Shades Of Black, Salute Your Solution, Top Yourself

T3: SuperNES Games

As my personal favorite console of all time (save for maybe my PS2 or the Nintendo DS-GameBoy Pen and all) the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SuperNES (or SNES, but Nintendo doesn’t use that abbreviation) has enjoyed significant playtime years since games stopped coming out for it. The SuperNES represents, for me, the very pinnacle of video gaming: constant innovation, the peak of the Nintendo/Sega rivalry, and an unstoppable barrage of classic games. But nostalgia can get in the way and many of the games we loved in our youth seem dated and simplistic now (Uniracers). Nevertheless, these 10 games have proven to be timeless classics, as fun today as they were when they came out.

My only rules are that each franchise only gets one entry (sorry Yoshi’s Island).

Honorable Mentions: Uniracers (seriously, that game is ballin’), Battletoads & Double Dragon: The Ultimate Team, Super Mario RPG, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Gradius III, Mortal Kombat II, Earthbound and Super Metroid (I never got to buy them).

10. Killer Instinct
This game is all about being awesome. You play as awesome monsters, you fight really fast, and you can do ridiculously long combos. KI epitomizes the ideal SuperNES fighting game, and is just as enjoyable today as it was in 1995.

9. Aladdin/Super Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi
The best movie adaptation games. Aladdin is an incredibly solid platformer that lets you relive a bunch of scenes from the movie. Gameplay-wise, this is a pretty good game, but what puts it over the top is how much of the film made the transition over. Return of the Jedi is the third in the Super Star Wars series, and arguably the best, with more playable characters and a lessened difficulty. Both these games were great because they let you relieve movies with better visuals and music than previously possible. On top of that they are just quality games.

8. F-Zero
One of the SuperNES’ selling points was its (for the time) awe-inspiring 3D graphics. F-Zero was one of the titles to show just how incredibly important 3D could be to gaming. This game is responsible for many aspects of the modern console racer, and its damn fun too.

7. Star Fox
Another showcase for the SuperNES’s 3D capabilities, Star Fox brought us into a world where humanoid animals piloted space ships and waged galactic warfare. Sure it doesn’t look as good by today’s standards, but back then it was sweet. It is still a blast to play, and your comrades are the least annoying they’ve been in the series thus far.

6. Super Mario Kart
The very first in the Mario Kart series, Super Mario Kart was an instant hit do to its incredible multiplayer fun. Not only could you race, but you could battle your friends using items from the Mario universe. Most fans agree that the subsequent titles in the series have yet to improve upon this release.

5. Mega Man X
The Mega Man X spin-off series was born with this title. X is a prototype robot given the extraordinary ability to think. After years in stasis, X finally awakens to a war-torn world and goes after the evil Reploids responsible for global chaos, with only the help of his friend Zero. Much more story heavy than the original Mega Man games, and somewhat easier, Mega Man X’s gave the player plenty of upgrades to search for and locales to battle in. The remake on the PSP is worth buying if you’ve never experienced this sci-fi epic, or even if you have.

4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Some still argue to this day whether A Link to the Past is the best Zelda game ever made. While I believe that honor belongs to Ocarina of Time, playing second fiddle to that game is nothing to be ashamed of. A Link to the Past had our silent hero tread through not one, but two separate worlds, one Light and the other Dark. Responsible for many series staples and numerous rip-offs, A Link to the Past is one of the true icons in gaming history.

3. Super Mario World
One of the SuperNES launch titles, Super Mario World beats out Mario All Stars (which was a collection of all the NES Mario games with better graphics) and Yoshi’s Island as the best Mario game on the console. Refining the Mario 3 formula, Mario World is most notable for introducing the world to Yoshi. And for kicking ass.

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
My favorite game during the Nineties, Turtles in Time is, without a doubt, the best beat-’em-up game ever made. This game is awesome, especially with buddy. The multiplayer fun is hard to match, and we can only hope that some day it gets released on Xbox Live Arcade or something. Oh man, to play it four player…

1. Donkey Kong Country
With graphics that will blow your head up, a soundtrack that can make you rock out one moment and weep another, and gameplay that remains completely addictive, Donkey Kong Country is probably the best game ever made. Well no, it’s not. But it is really fantastic and the game to play when you go back to the SuperNES. Which is why it gets the number one spot. The sequels are great too.

Next Week: Top 10 SuperNES games that sucked? Hell yes, unless someone else wants to T3.

What If The Cobra Is Eating The Cat?

The title pretty much sums up my thought process here. Ideally I’d make the sidebar the same height as this main section, but I can’t seem to figure out how to make that happen.

So what were your favorite April Fools’ pranks? For me it was Google linking me to this video. Good times. IGN had a fake Zelda movie trailer, but it didn’t do much for me. Blizzard, as usual, had several pranks posted, but I don’t know how funny they are to non-gamers. I know I found them amusing. There were a bunch of others that I suffered through, like YouTube turning all of its video links into Rick Rolls, but overall nothing else that exciting.

Did you guys get any good ones?

C.A.T: (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?

(What’s The Story) Morning Glory? – Oasis (1995)

I wasn’t sure if anybody was gonna do one of these today, so I took some initiative and cooked one up real quick. With Oasis’ seventh studio album due out this year (Aiming for a release in September), I can’t help but get back into an Oasis kick in preparation. So for this week I thought I’d take a look back at one of the best albums from those mean boys from Manchester.

Now I remember growing up during Oasis’ glory days. I wasn’t a fan of Oasis until 2005 but I can still recall all those hits from back in the day like “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger” that over time have defined the “Brit Pop” genre of the 90s. (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, This being Oasis second album, was a smash hit critically and commercially when it was released in 1995 and I can see why. Filled with track after track of Heavy British Rock/Pop, Oasis showed us that they not only had a knack for rocking but also for writing catchy numbers. We definitely got a taste of this on their first album “Definitely Maybe” but here it was taken to another level. “(What’s the Story)” is one of those albums where you can take just about any track and release it as a single. Liam does his memorable Lennonesque singing, Noel brings the sweet licks, drummer Alan White shows off some competent drum work, and the other two guys are okay I guess. All in all this is a staple of the 90s and always gets me pumped.

Favorite Tracks: “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, “She’s Electric”, “Wonderwall”

P.S. For anyone who’s interested, Oasis will be playing at The Wamu Theater come round August 26th with opening act Ryan Adams. Tickets go on sale April 4th… I know I’ll be there.

RIP Cliff Robertson

Actor Cliff Robertson died today in a tragic airplane accident. The Spider-Man 3 star was an avid fan of flying and owned several aircraft. He was flying his Messerschmitt Bf 108 when a gaggle of geese got in his path, causing him to swerve out of the way. Robertson then miraculously flew through a barn before crashing into a combine harvester, instantly killing him.

Robertson was recently famous for his portrayl of “Uncle” Ben Parker in all three Spider-Man films, but his career spanned six decades. He was in many films that you probably have not heard of, such as Star 80 and PT 109. He is on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and won a best actor Oscar for his role in Charly.

Robertson has no living family, and is instead survived by his legions of devoted fans who mostly think he really was Uncle Ben and have been waiting for him to die for years now.