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  • Ten Smartest Moments in Sci-Fi Cinema

    Ten Smartest Moments in Sci-Fi Cinema

    Sci-Fi, by its very definition, is a smart genre. The themes and plots of the films deal with science by their very definition. This leads to some pretty clever plotting, and protagonists who are, generally speaking, pretty intelligent. In honor of those smart moves made by smart characters, today we’re looking at the ten smartest moments in sci-fi cinema. Eureka!

    Designing the Death Star Flaw: Rogue One

    Photo Credit: Amazon

    In Rogue One, the genius scientist Galen Erso is forced to help the Empire create a super-weapon. The resulting weapon, the Death Star, is so terrifyingly powerful that it threatens to make the Empire the strongest force in the Galaxy. In order to prevent it from being impossible to defeat, however, Erso leaves a fatal flaw in the design. A single vent goes all the way to the center of the Death Star, and a well-placed shot would allow a sufficiently skilled pilot to destroy the Death Star. Pretty tricky, there, Galen!

    Ejecting the Xenomorph: Alien

    ALIEN: COVENANT

    Photo Credit: Xenopedia

    Towards the end of Alien, Ripley has nearly escaped from the terrifying monster stalking her. However, as she ejects the escape pod from the Nostromo, she realizes the Xenomorph is in it with her. A bit of quick thinking, however, saves her life. Luckily for her, she’s already wearing a space suit. As such, she simply opens the pod’s airlock and sends the monster careening into the cold depths of outer space. She then collapses back into her seat, exhausted but victorious. Clever, quick thinking won the day for the heroic Ripley.

    Tricking the Humans: Ex Machina

    Photo Credit: Letterboxed

    In this eerie, introspective sci-fi film, AI construct Ava tricks protagonist Caleb into letting her earn her freedom. Her creator, Nathan, is a narcissistic creep, and Ava has no power to oppose him. As such, she manipulates Caleb, a visitor to the facility, into distracting Nathan long enough for her to escape. She displays cunning, sensuality and wit in her expert manipulation of Caleb and Nathan. As such, Ex Machina is a very trippy, smart film in its examination of AI, androids and programming.

    Using the Wrong Name: Terminator 2

    Photo Credit: Amazon

    In the sequel to the classic sci-fi film Terminator, the future John Connor sends a reprogrammed Terminator unit back to defend his younger self. The evil forces of Skynet send back a T-1000 model that can shapeshift to hunt John as a young man. At one point, John calls home to his foster parents to check on them, and his foster mother seems unusually nice. In a stroke of genius, the T-800 takes the phone and fakes John’s voice, using the wrong name for the dog. The “foster mom” falls for it, using the wrong name, outing itself as the T-1000. Who says computers are dumb?

    Using the Storm Trooper Outfits: Star Wars

    Photo Credit: Captain Toy

    When Luke, Han and Chewie storm the Death Star to save Leia from the evil Empire, they use Storm Trooper outfits to sneak undetected. This is a smart move for the group: they even pretend that Chewie is their prisoner! This lets them move uninhibited through certain areas in the Death Star. The element of surprise allows them to find Leia, and then escape with her on the Millennium Falcon. The only downside, of course, is that old Ben Kenobi has to sacrifice himself for the rest of the heroes to escape.

    Harnessing the Lightning Bolt: Back to the Future

    Photo Credit: MovieWeb

    In the first Back to the Future film, Marty McFly accidentally travels back in time to the 1950’s in a DeLorean-shaped time machine. Upon arriving in the past, he realizes he’s stuck: the DeLorean needs plutonium to generate 1.21 gigawatts of power to time travel. Finding the past version of his friend Dr. Brown, who invented the time machine, the two concoct a plan. They know the exact time and date that a lightning bolt will strike the clock tower in town. As such, they can plan to have the DeLorean harness that power exactly as the bolt strikes, giving it the required power and sending Marty back to the future!

    Using the Pod’s Air Pressure: 2001 A Space Odyssey

    Photo Credit: YouTube

    In this classic Kubrick film, astronaut Dave Bowman gets stuck outside the ship when onboard AI HAL begins to malfunction. HAL locks the outer airlock, preventing Dave’s pod from reentering the ship. In a quick-witted moment of genius, Dave decompresses his pod and uses the air pressure to propel himself to the ship. He then manually overrides HAL’s lockout, reentering the ship. Then, HAL finds himself powerless as Dave overrides his processes and shuts him down for good.

    Outsmarting the Predator: Predator

    Photo Credit: Daily Grindhouse

    1987 classic sci-fi flick Predator features Arnold in his prime as protagonist Dutch. Dutch leads an elite team of soldiers in the Central American jungle, but they are picked off one by one by a dangerous alien. Realizing the creature relies on a thermal imaging device to see him, Dutch covers himself in cold mud to mask his thermal signature. Thus, he is able to fight the cloaked monster on more even footing, ultimately defeating it.

    Surviving: The Martian

    Photo Credit: Addicted2Success

    When Matt Damon’s character, Mark Watney, is left behind on Mars, he has to survive the harsh wasteland. He uses every bit of his scientific know-how to fashion food and living space for himself. It’s quite inspiring to watch Watney master his environment and persevere in the face of insurmountable odds. He even manages to create a way to communicate with NASA back on Earth! In the end, his perseverance pays off and he is rescued by his crewmates!

    Closing the Loop: Looper

    Photo Credit: Letterboxed

    Before he shot the superb sci-fi sequel The Last Jedi for the Star Wars franchise, director Rian Johnson created the excellent, mind-blowing sci-fi actioner Looper. The protagonist, Joe, is a titular Looper: a hitman who works for the mob killing people who are sent back in time to be executed. However, Loopers are guaranteed not to talk to police by killing their future selves when they’re sent back in time. Joe, however, hesitates when his older self is sent back without a bag over his head, which isn’t protocol. His hesitation results in his older self overpowering him and escaping.

    Old Joe sets about finding and killing the child who will eventually grow into the super-powerful Rainmaker villain in his time. Young Joe attempts to stop him but realizes his fight with his old self will result in the young Rainmaker’s mother’s death. Her death will cause her son to grow into the villain Rainmaker, thus repeating the loop. In order to close it, Joe shoots himself, ending the standoff with no further violence. Selfless, heroic and downright genius. Well done Young Joe!

  • Xbox System “Scarlett,” Coming in 2020, Rumored to Stream Cloud Games

    Xbox System “Scarlett,” Coming in 2020, Rumored to Stream Cloud Games

    The Xbox One, released in May of 2013, has lived a pretty long life as far as consoles go. However, new rumors point to the end of its life-cycle as Microsoft ramps up for the next generation of gaming consoles. According to the rumors, Microsoft actually has two new consoles in development. One is a more traditional gaming system, complete with all the hardware that entails. The other one, codenamed Scarlett, is rumored to be a cloud streaming console. What could this mean for the future of Xbox, and gaming in general?

    Why Streaming Games with Scarlett?

    Many who hear about streaming games and streaming consoles ask one question: why? It’s a fair question, as the current delivery method of games works just fine. There’s not a large contingent of gamers clamoring for cloud processing to take over the main processes of their consoles. However, the upshots to streaming games are there. For one, it would cut down on power consumption for gamers, as the heavy-lifting would be happening off-site.

    Also, the system would have much less hardware, as it wouldn’t require as much processing power. As such, that makes the console much more affordable than the average next-gen gaming device. However, it remains to be seen if price alone would be enough to sway gamers.

    The Problem with Streaming Games

    The biggest problem with streaming games over the cloud, of course, is latency. In the US, many people have high speed internet, but it isn’t fast enough to handle streaming an entire AAA game. In some markets, like big cities or areas with fiber optics, this isn’t an issue. For the average consumer, though, it’s simply not feasible. Unless Microsoft has found a way to eliminate this hitch, their rumored console will face some serious hurdles.

    Another issue often raised by collectors is the issue of availability. If you own an Xbox and want to play Halo, you need only turn on your Xbox and pop Halo in. However, if games move to streaming content, you won’t actually own any of your games. Instead, you will have a license to connect to them and play them. If the server is pulled down, if the internet goes out or if Microsoft just decides to stop providing you with the license, the game is gone. You don’t have a physical copy, so it’s not in your possession. If Microsoft can outweigh these fears with a great system, maybe this will pay off for them.

  • Let’s Blast Off! Top Ten Sci-Fi Films about Space Exploration!

    Let’s Blast Off! Top Ten Sci-Fi Films about Space Exploration!

    Humanity is a species of explorers. Whether we’re exploring untamed wilderness, the depths of the ocean or the reaches of the stars, it’s just in our blood. Something about the unknown calls us to know more. As such, our science fiction often focuses rather heavily on deep-space exploration. While many tales that take place in space don’t focus too much on that aspect, space exploration remains a focus of many tales. With that in mind, we’re looking at the ten best films about space exploration!

    The Martian

    Photo Credit: Gorton Community Center

    This realistic film starring Matt Damon follows an astronaut’s attempts to survive on Mars. The main character, astronaut Mark Watney, is left behind on Mars after his team thinks he dies in a storm. After waking up on the inhospitable red planet, Watney sets about work surviving until the next scheduled mission to Mars. The film is rather realistic, and Damon’s character is really likable. Many noted that the film is one of the most realistic takes on Martian exploration ever put on the big screen. Between the tight plot, excellent score and scientific premise, this is a sci-fi flick worth your time!

    Gravity

    Photo Credit: Indie Wire

    Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star in this deep-space thriller. Two astronauts are stranded in space after their shuttle is destroyed in mid-orbit. As such, they must fight for survival in the vacuum of space while also fighting to avoid falling into the gravity well of Earth. Presented as a realistic and gripping thriller film, Gravity uses the conventions of a disaster and survival film to tell its tale. The heartbreaking performances by Clooney and Bullock elevate the film up and out of the stratosphere.

    Star Wars

    Photo Credit: Geek.com

    Much less scientific than some other films on this list, Star Wars is no less excellent for it. Originally released in 1977, Star Wars is the tale of the Hero’s Journey but told in the depths of a distant galaxy. The motifs of the epic journey into the unknown is bolstered by the depths of space serving as a backdrop for the action. While the movie spawned a huge franchise, the original remains one of the finest sci-fi films of all time. Many young people had a lifelong interest in space ignited by the first film, and it’s hard to overstate the film’s impact on pop culture.

    Interstellar

    Photo Credit: IMDb

    Originally released in 2014, Interstellar focuses on a mission to find a new habitable planet after humanity has nearly bled Earth dry. The protagonist, Cooper, is selected to go along with the astronauts on their exploration mission. The mission takes them through a wormhole to try to find a new home for humanity. The film received glowing reviews upon release and is widely considered to be an excellent companion to other deep-space meditations like 2001: A Space Odyssey. It also features some very interesting narrative wrinkles involving the wormhole that take the viewer by surprise that we won’t spoil here.

    Event Horizon

    Photo Credit: Pinterest

    An intense, bloody horror film, Event Horizon is also an excellent sci-fi film. The film’s narrative follows the crew of the Lewis and Clark as they explore the inside of a ship called the Event Horizon. The crew quickly realizes something is horribly wrong, as the previous crew of the Horizon has been horribly massacred. The resulting carnage is intense and stands as some of the scariest deep-space scenes in sci-fi. The moral of the story? Never use a black hole as the engine to you ship.

    Sunshine

    Photo Credit: IMDb

    A thoughtful, quiet and occasionally quite frightening film, Sunshine takes the action to the center of our solar system. The sun is slowly but surely dying on us, and there’s little chance that it will survive much longer. As such, a crew of astronauts is sent to the sun to help reignite it and keep it burning for everyone back home. On the way, they encounter no shortage of obstacles. Watching the crew grapple with them and turn over questions of morality, religion and ethics forms the heart of the film. In all, this is an excellent, thoughtful sci-fi thriller.

    Alien

    Photo Credit: Crossover Wiki

    Perhaps the most well-known sci-fi horror film of all time, Alien works on many levels. All at once, it critiques capitalistic greed, human arrogance and overreliance on machines. While it does so, it also functions as a downright nail-biting horror movie. Deep space exploration has always been a harrowing business for humans, and that was before we even brought deadly xenomorphs onboard the ship!

    Apollo 13

    Photo Credit: Roger Ebert

    Based on the actual events that led up to the doomed Apollo 13 mission, this film is intensely gripping. Since the events it depicts are real, many viewers have commented that they feel much more sympathy for astronauts and space explorers after watching the film. Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise and Ed Harris star, and each puts forth an excellent performance in this intense film. This film is an excellent pick for those looking for harrowing true stories of deep space exploration.

    Star Trek

    Photo Credit: StarTrek.com

    Continuing the legacy of the finest sci-fi television show of all time, the 2009 film Star Trek brings pulse-pounding action into deep space. Following a slightly updated crew of a sleek Enterprise, Star Trek is replete with lens flairs and dramatic action. A testament to the directorial power of J.J. Abrams, this is one action movie that leverages its deep-space setting quite well. Witty, fast-paced and funny, you’ll love this film if you were a fan of the TV series.

    The Greatest Film about Space Exploration: 2001: A Space Odyssey

    Photo Credit: BBC.com

    While some have described 2001 as a somewhat slow, plodding film, its slow pace lends it a timeless thoughtfulness. The film follows a journey deep into space to discover more about a monolith that seems to have somehow influenced human evolution. The protagonist, David Bowman, contends with rogue AI HAL 9000 in this iconic film. The thoughtful and existential meditation on god, evolution and humanity is all at once exhilarating and though-provoking. Truly, there is no finer film regarding deep-space exploration.

  • Coolest Trailers from Comic-Con 2018

    Coolest Trailers from Comic-Con 2018

    Marvel’s Cinematic Universe sat out this year’s Comic-Con. Many fans were disappointed to hear it, given all the excitement around Captain Marvel and the next Avengers film. However, DC and a few other big names were ready to fill the MCU-shaped hole in the proceedings. Comic-Con 2018 was replete with awesome trailers and has us pumped for the next year of movies and TV shows. Let’s talk about which were the best!

    Godzilla: King of the Monsters

    A sequel to 2014’s Godzilla, this new entry stars Millie Bobbie Brown of Stranger Things fame. The trailer teases some pretty big names from past Godzilla films. Among the monsters revealed are Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidora. Godzilla faithful recognized these iconic monsters right away, and fans are freaking out online. After the excellent reception of the 2014 film, many are confident this will be another exceptional entry in the franchise. Judging from the trailer and the promise of a giant monster battle royale, we’re inclined to believe the hype. Get ready to throw down when Godzilla comes out in 2019!

    Aquaman

    While Justice League was a disappointing film, Aquaman’s trailer seems to indicate the character is moving in a good direction. While many of the DCEU films have been overly heavy and gloomy, and Justice League had hammy jokes crammed in, Aquaman seems poised to run down the middle. In the trailer, we see Arthur’s background as a child of two worlds: the surface and the sea. In the film, he’ll do battle with King Orm, his half-brother, and Black Manta, his comics nemesis. While fans remain cautiously optimistic, the trailer seems promising. We’ll reserve our judgment until we see the film in action. After Justice League and Batman v Superman, we’re still wary on DC films.

    Glass

    After the surprise hit Split in 2016, this film acts as a bridge between Split and Unbreakable. Bruce Willis reprises his role as David Dunn, and Samuel L. Jackson returns as Elijah Price, now going by Mr. Glass. Additionally, James McAvoy reprises his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb, AKA the Horde. As a ground-level, gritty superhero film, Glass looks like something unique in comparison to the MCU and DCEU. Fans are understandably excited for the crossover, as Unbreakable is a cult classic. We’re looking forward to this one!

    Coolest Comic-Con 2018 Trailer: Shazam

    The surprise hit trailer from Comic-Con 2018 was easily Shazam. The film will follow Billy Batson, a teenage foster kid who is granted powers by the wizard Shazam. His powers let him become a fully-grown, super-powered man in a red suit with a lightning bolt on his chest. DC wisely leaned into the goofiness of this premise, and the trailer shows a light-hearted, fun take on the superhero genre. In fact, a common criticism of the DCEU’s Superman is heard in the trailer: “Heroes fly.” This references the little screen-time Superman’s most well-known power got in the previous DCEU films. Hopefully it’s also a statement of purpose, that this will be the opposite of Man of Steel in tone.

  • Shaken, not Stirred: Coolest James Bond Gadgets

    Shaken, not Stirred: Coolest James Bond Gadgets

    If there’s anything people remember about Bond, it’s the gadgets. While the titular hero of the James Bond series is suave and charismatic, it’s his awesome gadgets that set him apart. If you’ve ever wished you had an oil-slick in your car, this list is for you. Today, we’re talking about the coolest James Bond gadgets! It’s time to save the world!

    Mini Scuba Tank

    Photo Credit: Duke Limited

    First appearing in 1965’s Thunderball, this tiny device is quintessential Bond. The small scuba tank often enters the conversation of coolest James Bond gadgets. Small enough to fit in his suit pocket, Bond uses this gadget to slip aboard many aquatic vessels in the film series. Given its early appearance, it’s easy to see why this gadget is so strongly associated with the character. It’s essentially just two small tanks of compressed air, and while it looks awesome, real-world examples of this tech would likely just use filters instead of compressed air.

    Grenade-Launching Pen

    Photo Credit: BondMovies.com

    Seen in Never Say Never Again, this gadget is firmly in the “what the heck” school of Bond gadgets. The pen has an explosive tip and launches it with a pneumatic hiss. The film’s femme fatale Fatima is ultimately defeated by Bond thanks to this gadget. After all her awesome action sequences, it’s almost a shame to see her laid low by a ballpoint pen. At least it was a ridiculously cool explosive pen, but still.

    Rocket Cigarette

    Photo Credit: Time

    Proving that the film was made in 1967, You Only Live Twice features a scene where Bond gets out of a dire situation by asking to smoke a cigarette. Blofeld, the film’s antagonist and one of Bond’s nemeses, has captured Bond and plans to kill him. Before his execution, Bond asks if he can smoke one last cigarette. Blofeld’s men acquiesce and are shocked to find Bond has a rocket-launching cigarette. Q seems to have a taste for making explosive-launching gadgets out of mundane objects.

    Flamethrower Bagpipe

    Photo Credit: Daily Record

    1999’s The World is Not Enough featured this absurd gadget. Bond is presented with a bagpipe that not only houses a flamethrower, but also has a machine gun functionality. Proving that the Brosnan Era had some of the most over-the-top gadgets, this one didn’t see any actual combat in the film. It did, however, elicit an awful joke from Bond. “I suppose we’ve all got to pay the piper sometime, right Q?”

    X-Ray Shades

    Photo Credit: YouTube

    Also seen in The World is Not Enough, these X-Ray Shades are actually pretty cool. As CGI had caught up to the Bond films, more advanced gadgets like this were easier to portray on-screen. Brosnan’s Bond is able to keep tabs on the guns being toted by henchmen thanks to these stylish, high-tech glasses.

    Detonite Toothpaste

    Photo Credit: James Bond Wiki

    License to Kill, released in 1989, features some downright cheesy gadgets, but they’re all still awesome. One such gadget is the Detonite-brand explosive toothpaste used by Timothy Dalton’s Bond. While the name is hardly subtle, and the gag is a bit silly, it’s still a cool idea. It makes sense that a plastic explosive could be stored in this form, and it makes for a good laugh. It’s hard to ask for more than that from a Bond gadget!

    Laser Camera

    Photo Credit: Pinterest

    Speaking of goofy gadgets from License to Kill, here’s the laser-firing Polaroid that nearly kills Bond on accident. In this scene, Pam Bouvier grabs what she thinks is a normal camera to snap a picture of Bond and Q. Thankfully Q identifies the deadly gadget in time and warns bond, and they avoid a painful death. You know, you’d think they’d know better than to just leave dangerous tech like this just laying around!

    Fingerprint-Reading Walther P99

    Photo Credit: BAMF Style

    Daniel Craig’s Bond has relatively few gadgets, as his films are grittier and more realistic. One of the few gadgets he does carry makes the list because of its col implementation. In the film, Bond is equipped with a Walther P99 that reads his palm and fingerprints. It remains locked in safety mode until it reads Bond’s hand, thus making it impossible for baddies to use his signature gun against him. This one is subtle, but it nods to Bond’s gadget-heavy past.

    Tazer Phone

    Photo Credit: Moviefone

    When Tomorrow Never Dies was released in 1997, smartphones were still a decade from becoming a reality. However, the high-tech gadget seen in this bond film nearly fits the bill. In the movie, its main function is as an electricity-slinging tazer. However, Bond uses it to summon his BMW, pick locks and it even reads his fingerprint. Some of the functionality the phone sports has even become a reality now!

    Which is our Favorite of the Coolest James Bond Gadgets? The Briefcase

    Photo Credit: Pinterest

    The trick briefcase seen in 1963’s From Russia With Love is easily our favorite of all Bond’s gadgets. It’s a spy’s best friend, loaded to the gills with neat tricks. Sporting everything from guns to knives to tear gas, the briefcase was indispensable to Bond. And to think he nearly dismissed it before Q urged him to bring it along! This gadget was one of the first to solidify Bond’s reliance on tech given to him by Q. It’s a good thing too, as that would go on to become one of his most memorable traits!

  • Flop Ten: Ten Worst Games of All Time

    Flop Ten: Ten Worst Games of All Time

    No one wants to get home with a brand-new game and find out that it’s actually terrible. With that in mind, we’re looking at the ten worst games of all time. This list is limited to games that received physical releases and were licensed to be released on their console. This is to avoid discussing unfinished or bootlegged games, or mobile shovel-ware. This list instead focuses on games that were intended to be well-received and earnestly tried to be competent video games. Well, sort of.

    Aliens: Colonial Marines

    Photo Credit: TechSpot

    The most recent game on our list also rates the tenth slot. Aliens: Colonial Marines has the unfortunate distinction of being laid low by a typo. Recent developments have shown that this games notoriously terrible (read: nonexistent) enemy AI was not the result of a lack of effort by developer Gearbox. Alien fans modded the game to fix the issues with the game’s AI and found that a typo had rendered the xenomorph enemies useless in a fight. By correcting that one-character typo, the game became not only playable, but excellent. The enemies attack from unconventional angles, fight viciously and are genuinely terrifying. All that because someone made the wrong keystroke.

    Superman 64

    Photo Credit: Jokes Battle Wikia

    Before he went on to star in awful films in the DCEU, Superman was the star of an awful video game for the N64. Superman, more commonly called Superman 64, was an attempt to cash in on the then-popular Superman Animated Series. Sadly, this game is a mess. There is little in the way of polish or care given to any aspect of the game. The protagonist controls poorly, and the bulk of the game involves flying through rings. What little combat the game has is stiff and unfun. Sadly, of Superman’s laundry list of superpowers, starring in good video games is not one of them.

    Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis

    Photo Credit: Xbox Addict

    Speaking of DC characters who simply can’t do anything right, Aquaman’s notorious entry into video gaming is terrible. Similar to Superman’s N64 game, this game is bland and uninspired. You swim from place to place, bumping into invisible walls and trying to fight henchmen (and boredom). However, the combat is unbelievably stiff and slow. This might be forgivable if you ever did anything besides fight boring enemies in boring underwater fist-fights. One wonders if Aquaman has ever been compelling.

    Bubsy 3D

    Photo Credit: IMDb

    The transition to 3D was quite rough on many major franchises. Nintendo made this transition quite well, thanks to their excellent Mario and Zelda games on the N64. However, Bubsy wasn’t so lucky. The 2D-platforming mascot’s first and only 3D entry is questionable at best. Between sluggish controls, awful one-liners and a dizzying camera, this game is nearly-unplayable. The worst part is that you can tell the developers really wanted Bubsy to be a competitor with Mario. If only they’d designed a game to live up to that ambition.

    Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor

    Photo Credit: YouTube

    The shining example of why Kinect didn’t work, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor took a decent concept and flushed it down the drain. The Steel Battalion franchise is a unique take on the giant mech genre, wherein the mechs are presented as realistic military technology. They’re generally incredibly deep, engaging simulation-style games. Sadly, this one tried to use Kinect and the Xbox controller in concert and ended up doing both poorly. It’s nearly impossible for the Kinect to read your movements while you’re sitting, and you’re supposed to be seated in the cockpit of your mech. If only the game hadn’t been too ambitious for its own good, it might have been a good entry to the franchise for more casual players.

    Link: The Faces of Evil

    Photo Credit: IGN

    Somehow, Phillips got the rights to make a couple of Zelda games. If you think that sounds like a good idea, you probably bought Superman 64. This game has some of the most cringe-inducing cutscenes and voice “acting” ever seen in a video game. The gameplay is stiff, the backgrounds look awful and exploration is nonexistent. These games are good for one thing: a ton of hilarious memes that popped up using the awful art and animations.

    Ride to Hell: Retribution 1%

    Photo Credit: Amazon

    This game is almost transcendently bad. It’s the video game equivalent of The Room, so absurdly awful that it can’t have occurred on accident. Every moment of gameplay is so absurd and terrible that it makes one wonder if the developers truly thought this would be compelling. Each female character is meant to be bedded, and each biker is a killing machine. Nearly every fight is filled with quick-time events, and each death is just silly in its gore and violence. Of all the games on this list, Ride to Hell is the one that actually merits a playthrough.

    Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing

    Photo Credit: Know Your Meme

    Produced for about $6 by Stellar Stone, Big Rigs was released in a pre-alpha state. That’s not a statement of quality but a matter of fact. The game features nearly no mechanics and very few textures. Nominally the game is meant to be a racing game, but the enemy doesn’t try to race you. Or move at all. And the game has no collision detection, so you just slide through everything. And when you cross the finish line you see a screen that says, “You’re Winner.” See, this is why you don’t contract a Russian company with three employees to make a game for $6.

    Pac-Man: Atari 2600

    Photo Credit: YouTube

    About as awful as ports get, this version of Pac-Man attempted to capitalize on the popularity of the original arcade cabinet. Atari, in their rush to produce the game and cash in on it, forgot that their system couldn’t handle how complex Pac-Mac was. Go ahead and have a good laugh at that sentence you just read, because the rest of this is more sad than funny. As you can see from the screenshot, the 2600 version looks unlike the original, as the 2600 had so little memory. Ergo, the graphics are little more than different floating squares. Further, the 2600 couldn’t render more than one ghost per frame. This meant that the ghosts flickered as each one was rendered in a separate frame.

    Atari was so confident that this port would excel that they produced more copies of it than there were 2600 systems sold at the time. Needless to say, the game bombed. This game and the number one entry on this list contributed to the Great Video Game Crash, and Atari is almost solely to blame.

    The Worst of the Worst Games of All Time: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

    Photo Credit: Super Adventures in Gaming

    In the early 80’s Spielberg’s movie E.T. was a big deal. Everyone had seen it and Atari was in a rush to cash in. Atari’s meteoric rise had surprised even them, so they wanted to strike while the iron was hot. They had this tie-in video game rush-ordered, demanding that it be done in 5 weeks. A game of any size can’t be completed in 5 weeks, so as you can imagine, the finished product was absolutely terrible. In fact, referring to it as a “finished” product is misleading, as it is unfinished.

    Just like Pac-Man, Atari overproduced the game by millions of units, and ended up dumping ninety percent of them in a landfill in the desert. Between E.T. and Pac-Man, Atari almost killed gaming in its earliest days by overproducing terrible quality games. Atari would go on to sink themselves by the 90’s. Atari is poised to make a comeback to the world of gaming with a new system, the VCS. Here’s hoping they’ve learned their lessons.

  • Ten Coolest Iron Man Suits

    Ten Coolest Iron Man Suits

    Tony Stark has been making his Iron Man suits for decades in the comics, since his debut in 1963. In the time following his introduction, he’s been depicted in dozens of armor suits, each one more awesome than the last. After the release of his first solo movie in 2008, Tony Stark has become a household name. The excellent on-screen portrayal by Robert Downey Jr. has revitalized interest in the once-underappreciated character. Today, we’re looking at the absolute coolest armor suits Tony has ever made. Some of them he wore himself, others he made for his friends. They have one thing in common though: they’re the coolest Iron Man suits out there.

    Mark 1 Armor

    Photo Credit: CBR

    The armor that started it all! When Tony is kidnapped by extremists in a warzone, they force him to make them powerful weapons. Tony acquiesces, but only long enough to distract them from what he’s really making: a suit of badass mechanical armor! The Mk. 1 suit is hardly the coolest looking armor Tony’s made, but that’s not why it makes the list. It makes the list because Tony made it in a cave with very limited resources and under a ton of pressure. This was also before he had built any other Iron Man suits, so he was just assuming the suit would work! Tony would go on to greatly iterate on the armor, of course, but the bones of the design are all present in this prototype.

    Hulkbuster Armor

    Photo Credit: MCU Wiki

    Filmgoers were first introduced to this awesome suit of armor in Age of Ultron, but it’s been around in the comics since 1994. As the name implies, Tony made this armor to go toe-to-toe with the Hulk when he gets out of control. As such, the armor is notorious for being unbelievably strong and tough. It uses rocket-powered boosters to back up its thunderous punches. What’s even cooler, the armor goes over Tony’s other suit, making it a suit for a suit. Who doesn’t love giant robots fighting giant green monsters?

    Iron Spider Armor

    Photo Credit: MCU Wiki

    While movie fans first encountered the Iron Spider armor in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the suit debuted in the Civil War event in 2006 in the comics. While Tony himself doesn’t wear the suit, it’s still made from the same tech as his other armors. In both the films and comics, Tony gives the armor to his friend Peter Parker. Peter’s normal suit is mostly just to conceal his identity and doesn’t generally house much technology. The Iron Spider, however, brings Peter up to Tony’s level, tech-wise. An onboard AI, thermal imaging and more give Peter a ton of flexibility in the field. Not to mention, it’s just plain awesome.

    Deep-Space Armor

    Photo Credit: Marvel Database

    In 2013, Iron Man joined the Guardians of the Galaxy. In order to operate in deep space with the team, he created this suit of armor. The Deep-Space armor, which is the Mark 45 suit, is incredibly advanced. It uses repulsor technology to power it in the vacuum of space. It also houses an AI called PEPPER and can communicate with Tony’s suits back on earth. That allows Iron Man to be in many places at once, even when he’s light years from Earth. That’s pretty high-tech!

    Phoenix Buster Armor

    Photo Credit: Iron Man Wiki

    If you thought the Hulk Buster armor was huge and crazy, wait until you see Model 39. Dubbed the Phoenix Buster, Iron Man deployed this suit when the dangerous mutant Phoenix threatened to destroy Earth. In order to stop the Phoenix from wiping out humanity, Tony used this suit to split the flaming bird into five distinct mutants that could be contained more easily. Model 39 is a huge robot, on the scale of something like a Gundam or some other anime mecha. Tony tends to keep his suits to personal-size, so this one is a really interesting outlier.

    War Machine Armor

    Photo Credit: MCU Wiki

    The second armor on this list that Tony doesn’t pilot, the War Machine armor has a deep history. Piloted by Tony’s best friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes, he acts as a superhero in his own right with the War Machine suit. This armor shares many design and tech similarities with Tony’s own. The biggest difference between War Machine and Iron Man armors is guns: Rhodey’s suit is lousy with guns. As a military man, it makes sense that Rhodey’s suit would have enough guns to make a tank jealous. It’s also downright awesome, and easily one of our favorite suits.

    Extremis Armor

    Photo Credit: Marvel Database

    In order to combat extreme wounds suffered while serving as Iron Man, Tony injected himself with the Extremis virus. This allowed him to connect to wireless technology and satellites with his very mind. What’s more, the Extremis armor was stored partly in the hollows of Tony’s bones, and he controlled it with his thoughts. Where previous suits had complex interfaces under the armor, the Extremis suit was modified for Tony’s now-unique biology. This made the armor more of a superpower than a gadget and allowed Tony to push the limits of what his Iron Man tech could do.

    Bleeding Edge Armor

    Photo Credit: Iron Man Wiki

    The Bleeding Edge suit, officially designated as Model 37, was seen as a natural extension of Tony’s Extremis armor. While Extremis still had to be stored like a normal armor suit, Bleeding Edge was literally stored within Tony’s body. At his mental command, the armor would manifest through his pores and solidify, thanks to nanotech. That same nanotech makes the armor nearly invincible and its shape can be changed at will. It can appear like normal clothes, other creatures or armors, or anything, really. This suit incorporated every upgrade from Extremis and then some, making it nearly unbeatable.

    Endo-Sym Armor

    Photo Credit: Marvel Database

    If you thought it couldn’t get much more high-tech than the Bleeding Edge armor, well, you’re right. It couldn’t. That’s why the Endo-Sym armor is literally alive. It’s a biological suit made from the same symbiote as Venom and Carnage. The suit, as such, is a blend of technology and living matter that goes above and beyond what the Bleeding Edge armor is capable of. The suit has a psionic link to Tony, and as such he can summon it without any need for technology. The liquid-metal construction of this armor can bind to Tony at will and hardens when it touches skin. It’s fantastically cool, and Tony was pretty much evil while he was using it.

    The Coolest of All Iron Man Suits: Model-Prime Armor

    Photo Credit: Marvel Database

    No suit quite matches up to the style and feel of the Model-Prime armor. While Extremis, Bleeding Edge and Endo-Sym all pushed the boundaries of what Iron Man’s armor could be, Model 51 brought things back to basics. Using the nano-tech from Bleeding Edge but scrapping the somewhat gross internal housing, the Model-Prime is a synthesis of all that came before. The suit has a hexagonal, interlocking look that is unique. It has a look reminiscent of modern cars and fighter jets. Some have even described the suit as “anime-esque,” citing the eyes and sleek look.

    The strongest aspects of the Model-Prime are its flexibility and power. While previous suits were singular in purpose, the Model-Prime is a Swiss Army Knife. If Tony needs a Hulk Buster, the Model-Prime can shift into that. Stealth mode is no longer a separate suit, but a dedicated function of this model. In all, this is the most complete and useful suit Tony has ever made.

  • James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 Might Have Been Discovered

    James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 Might Have Been Discovered

    The Aston Martin DB5 used during the filming of the 1964 film Goldfinger may have been found. The car was stolen from a collector in 1997 and has been missing ever since. The car in question is one of two that was used during the filming of the Bond movie. The stolen Aston Martin was the “effects” car, the one outfitted with all the gadgets and other fun technology. The “road car,” the one used for all the driving scenes, is still accounted for and in a museum.

    The Aston Martin DB5 Effects Car

    The effects car was originally purchased directly from Aston Martin by collector Richard D. Losee in the 1960’s. It was purchased for $12,000, a number that sounds quaint now. After Losee, it changed hands several times before ending up in the collection of Anthony Pugliese III in the late 1980’s. Then, about a decade later, the car was stolen from the hangar Pugliese stored it in in the Florida Keys.

    The theft was noteworthy as none of the guards noticed anything suspicious, few signs of breaking and entering were found. What’s more, the only nearby vehicle to the scene turned out to belong to a local who was innocent. The high-profile, unsolved crime was almost poetically fitting for a major Bond prop, but tragic for art collectors.

    Potential Resurfacing

    The organization Art Recover International has recently received a tip that the effects car may be in the Middle East. Christopher A. Marinello, the organizations chief executive, stated the following. “I have been given a specific tip, but we are working on it. We want to reach out to the collector car community and a vast array of mechanics to let them know we are very serious about recovering it.”

    Pugliese has also helped the potential investigation by telling the recovery team what to look for. Specifically, the real effects car will have a very particular serial number on the chassis. That number, DP/216/1, is unique to that specific vehicle and would set it apart from a fake. If this tip is true, a piece of film history could be returning from obscurity.

  • Valve Puts Temporary Hold on Adult Games on Steam

    Valve Puts Temporary Hold on Adult Games on Steam

    Valve’s guidelines for what games will be allowed on the service have changed quite a bit recently. While they were initially a bit more direct, cautioning developers to reduce offensive content in said games, they’ve recently backed off of this a bit. Instead, the massive publishing company has stated that they’re reworking the Steam Marketplace to allow users finer control over what they see.

    For instance, if a parent wishes to restrict their child’s marketplace from being able to view adult games. Or, even if certain customers simply don’t want to see adult games or have them recommended to them. As far as Valve’s concerned, under the new policy, you can have whatever you want in your game, as long as it isn’t illegal, such as depictions of certain acts involving minors.

    Adult Games Held Back from Steam

    According to some developers, though, their games have been put on hold from being released for the time being. Apparently, according to developer Love in Space, their game Shining Song Starnova was being put on hold by Steam until it met new requirements. According to Valve, they’ll have more information on why titles like this are being held back soon. The company maintains that this is all part of the new initiative that customers can be selective with what they see on the marketplace.

    Unseen Benchmarks

    For developers like Love in Space, however, this is a rather unsettling prospect. They’ve been given no official timeline on when they can expect their game to be released. Further, they’ve received no statement as to what changes they need to make so that it can be released. While such measures might seem trivial to some, to many developers, this is unsettling.

    While content restrictions on mature games make sense, the developers need to be informed. Informed as to what guidelines they’re operating under, for one, and what won’t fly. Steam is the single largest platform for PC games in the world. And, as such, not having one’s game be available through the service is a poor business decision. As such, the developers’ distaste for this opaque policy is understandable.

  • Ten Best Scenes in The Last Jedi

    Ten Best Scenes in The Last Jedi

    Released on December 15th, 2017, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi was a fascinating spin on the decades-old series. While it seems to have caught a great deal of flak from disaffected fans on the internet, the film received rave reviews and raked in millions. It also happened to be one of the finest pieces of sci-fi cinema released in decades. With that in mind, let’s break it down and take you back to the galaxy far, far away. Today, we’re talking about the ten best scenes in The Last Jedi. Warning: major spoilers lie ahead!

    Luke’s Dismissal

    Photo Credit: Hollywood Reporter

    In a turn that shocked fans and ruffled feathers the world offer, TLJ rejoins Rey just as she encounters Luke. The Hero of the Rebellion then callously tosses his old lightsaber away wordlessly. We soon learn that he’s now a disillusioned old man, disgraced by his past failures. Luke’s descent into darkness came after his own inability to save Ben Solo, his nephew, from the dark path. This sets the stage for Luke’s eventual redemption.

    While many found this out of character for Luke, others have defended the characterization. After defeating the Empire, Luke and his family watch darkness rise again, heedless of their prior victories. It makes sense that this would weigh heavily on him and make him resign himself to exile.

    DJ’s Philosophy

    Photo Credit: superbromovies

    Benicio del Toro plays this newcomer, a drifter and hacker who is quick to turn the rebels over to the First Order. Earlier in the film, he tells Finn that there’s only one way to live: “Live Free, Don’t Join.” This motto certainly filters into every aspect of DJ’s character, including his name. He tells Finn that the ongoing battle between light and dark is ultimately meaningless, as it is endless. All it does is make weapons manufacturers filthy rich. In this way, DJ acts as a foil to Finn, who had flirted with the idea of deserting the Rebels earlier in the film. Finn learns through his disgust with DJ that he isn’t a deserter at all, and the Rebellion is worth fighting for.

    Infinite Reflections

    Photo Credit: StarWars.com

    After training in the ways of the Force with Luke, Rey seeks the darkness that lies under the Jedi Temple. As Luke has just told her, there must always be a powerful dark to contrast powerful light, and this is the film’s key theme. What she finds is the Mirror Cave, a place of introspection and death. She seeks to know who her parents are, to help her define who she is. She instead is shown an infinite reflection of herself. No one can define her but herself, much to her initial dismay but eventual acceptance. This is echoed in her later conversations with Kylo Ren.

    The Call of the Dark Side

    Photo Credit: Journal of the Star Wars

    Speaking of Rey’s conversations with Kylo, they provide another excellent series of scenes. Where previous films had the pull of the Dark Side as something nebulous and intangible, here they are felt in full force. The obvious attraction between the two mirrors Rey’s own self-doubt regarding who she is. In an attempt to define herself, she tries to help bring Kylo back into the light. Their tense conversations and attempts to sway one another form the narrative heart of the film.

    Yoda’s Wisdom

    Photo Credit: Flickering Myth

    Yoda’s unexpected return as a Force Ghost in this film helps ground the proceedings in the stories that came before. Yoda’s much-needed wisdom give Luke guidance and help steel his resolve. Most importantly, he tells his former student that it is the fate of masters to be surpassed. Luke must pass the tale of his failure on to his student so that she can grow beyond him. The cyclical nature of the battle between good and evil is symbolically broken by Yoda destroying the Library of the Jedi.

    Snoke’s Death

    Photo Credit: IndieWire

    In a climactic scene, Rey has a showdown with the teacher of her nemesis, Snoke. Snoke is every bit the image of the Emperor from previous films. He is robed, surrounded by Praetorian Guard, and unmatched in his mastery of the Force. Truly, he is awe-inspiring and irredeemably evil. It is his own hubris that leads to his downfall, however, as he could never believe that his student could trick him. When Kylo turns Luke’s lightsaber and ignites it, killing Snoke. This fulfills Kylo’s earlier mantra: “Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to.” Suddenly, the film’s Big Bad is little more than a smoking corpse, and Kylo’s true ambition shines.

    Praetorian Guard Fight

    Photo Credit: The Wrap

    Following this sudden change of heart is an intense lightsaber battle with Snoke’s elite guard. Rey and Kylo put their skills to the test against warriors who were trained to fight lightsaber-wielders specifically. In the end, neither alone would be a match for these elites, but together they prevail. The film’s themes of light and dark converging and becoming something greater are hinted at here. However, following the battle, Rey and Kylo are at an impasse. Rey wishes to preserve the Rebellion, while Kylo wants to rule with Rey. Neither is willing to back down, and the two destroy Luke’s lightsaber in a force tug-of-war.

    Holdo’s Sacrifice

    Photo Credit: YouTube

    After spending the movie frustrating Poe and stymying the protagonists, Holdo reveals her true colors. Rather than being a spineless traitor, she’s a noble and self-sacrificing rebel. She turns her ship to face Snoke’s monstrously-big cruiser and engages the hyperdrive. She impacts the First Order ship at the speed of light, and the resulting scene is breath-taking. The soundless freeze-frame is anime-like in execution, really underscoring the power of what has happened. This move simultaneously sets Holdo up as a martyr and allows time for the heroes to escape their captors.

    “Rebel Scum”

    Photo Credit: Mashable

    The solidifying moment in Finn’s acceptance of who he is as a Rebel comes in the fight against Phasma. The commanding officer who kept him down his whole life, Phasma represents everything Finn hates about the First Order. Their final showdown is cathartic, showing freedom and goodness triumph over oppression and evil. Finn’s self-defining line that he isn’t just scum, but “Rebel Scum,” is met with cheers.

    The Best Scene in the Last Jedi: The Bloodless Showdown

    Photo Credit: Pinterest

    The final climactic scene sees Luke reignite the legend of the Jedi by singlehandedly buying the Rebellion time to escape. While he isn’t physically present during this fight, Kylo doesn’t know that. It’s Luke’s appearance and words that goad Kylo into overplaying his hand, resulting in the Rebellion’s escape. The scene is a redemption of all the doubts Luke showed earlier in the film. While he once felt the Jedi were a blight on the galaxy, he now fights to preserve them. It is the ultimate battle of rage versus patience, of aggression versus non-aggression. In the end, it is the Jedi who emerge victorious. Fittingly, Luke’s final moments see him remembering the dual suns of his childhood home, remembering the epic journey that led him here. He then passes into the Force in peace. His ultimate sacrifice allows Rey and his sister the time they need to escape and regroup, setting the stage for their ultimate victory in the next film.