jeremys-blogs

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I've always loved T2 as a movie, but looking back, I feel that one of the things I really respect about it is it's willingness to commit to the ending it gave its title character. In so many stories I've seen where the robot is one of the man characters, the kind that learns to be more human and the like, they give you this sad moment where it looks like they're gone, only to cop out and keep them around somehow. And many of those films are great, make no mistake, but it's something that always bugs me about them. But this movie? No such luck. When the Terminator goes, he goes, and that just adds so much to this story :)

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As an old-school Sonic fan, it's likely no shock that I'm hyped that we get Metal in the live-action movies. And even if it's just a cameo so far, it's probably a teaser for him being the main baddie of the fourth movie, or at least a prominent part of it. Now, this raises an interesting point, as Metal has historically been a creation by Eggman, who has supposedly died by the end of the third film. If we discount the idea that this was just another fake-out death by old Robotnik, then the option exists for someone else to be involved in this. So yeah, fingers crossed this is just a prelude to a full-blown Neo Metal Sonic showdown in the future :)

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It goes without saying that Team Asobi are likely the most respected group working with Sony right now when it comes to the game content they make. Astro Bot was a worthy winner of Game of the Year, but the guys continue to prove that fun and enjoyment are at the centre of why they do what they do with this title. I mean, just look at this. A free DLC level centred around Christmas? One that's just as engaging and entertaining as their other vanilla levels? Who else can you think of who does that? These guys truly are the beating heart of Playstation at this point :)

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Okay, this could just be a me thing, but has anyone else ever been really bothered when they're watching a cereal advert on TV, and then we get that cliché shot of the milk being poured in? Does it ever get under your skin when it just gest dumped on and the milk flies off everywhere, probably making a big mess you'd have to clean up afterwards? I really hope I'm not the only one who just couldn't stand watching that kind of thing, because trust me, I seriously couldn't ^^;

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Something I like and appreciate about the IDW Sonic comics is how they delve into the aftermath of what happens in the world after the big threats of the story are resolved. It's something you can't really do in games as beating the bad guy is the usual endpoint. But in the comics, we actually get a good look as to what these characters need to do to get the world and its people back on their feet after Eggman and other baddies have been thwarted.

It's not a "happily ever after" for these characters, it's more along the lines of "the guy causing the mess is beaten, now let's clean up the mess". And it's even better when we see that they aren't always having an easy time of it, which is pretty realistic given that winning the peace can often be as much of a struggle as winning a war. Especially when you consider that characters like Sonic, who thrive on having a bad guy to fight, will often not know what to do with themselves when said bad guy isn't around at that particular moment.

It's a fascinating angle, and while IDW hasn't been perfect with this franchise, what it has done with Ian at the head of it has been pretty fascinating to see play out :)

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You know, Cream the Rabbit doesn't get anywhere near as much respect from Sega as she should. Back in the 2000s, she was quite prominent in both the games of the time and the Sonic X show, to the point where she could arguably be considered one of the main core Sonic cast members. But nowadays she's almost wholly absent from the games, with the IDW comics being the only time she's ever given any attention.

And yeah, the comics are nice, but as long as her presence is only felt in spin-off material like that, it really does feel like the poor girl is being deliberately side-lined :(

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A lot of things said by characters in the early Pokémon games were, of course, likely just intended to be throwaway bits of dialogue meant to flavour the characters. Things we're not meant to give too much thought to. But, one line in particular, when I went back to replay those older games, really stood out to me. The electric gym leader, Lt Surge, remarking about how he was involved in a war.

Now, the franchise is no stranger to such conflict, but they tend to be ancient affairs where only the legendary Pokémon have any real recollection of them. For someone like Surge, an ordinary human living here and now, to have apparently been involved in battle, suggests that the Pokémon world had a war relatively recently. Now, countries as we know them don't really happen in this world, but we do have the various regions, like Kanto and Hoenn. So the assumption has to be made that the war in question was between two or more of them.

And it's especially disturbing when you consider that the Pokémon themselves were likely involved, given Surge's comments about how one saved his life during that time. Being a war, it's unlikely that the typical rules of Pokémon battles were at play, knockouts and so on. And that's pretty terrifying to consider when you realise what these animals can do.

Imagine being struck by the horn of a Rhydon, or burned by the flames of a Charizard, or slammed with the full force of a Machamp. I don't want to go all Game Theory and focus on dark lore or anything, but assuming Surge's backstory hasn't been made non-canon in subsequent instalments, then we have to accept that this fun and colourful world had a pretty serious moment in its recent history :(

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Given that the main trait of these two guys here is to take the abilities of their enemies and turn them back on them, I wonder what a fight between them would look like? Or would it be like that one Metapod vs Metapod fight from the early Pokémon anime where they just stalemate each other for eternity? ^^;

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I'm not normally one to pay much attention to fan-made games of big franchises, but one of them absolutely caught my interest in the last few days. A game by the title of Pokémon Evolved, which basically gives us the Gen-1 game, but with the twist that the various Pokémon species keep evolving past their canon stopping points. Now, families have five stages as opposed to the usual three, even in the case of the legendaries.

I haven't kept up to date with the new Pokémon for quite some times, but making additions to the pre-existing lines? Now that definitely made me look closer. The game's not finished yet, but I'll certainly be keeping my eye on it :)

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Out of curiosity, I decided to look into what generational group I'd belong to. Turns out that I, a guy born in 1988, apparently get classified as a Millennial. Don't know what I was expecting, but that definitely wasn't it ^^;

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To anyone having a bad day, here's a picture of a puppy. Enjoy :)

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Did you guys know there's apparently a legit question mark out in space? Because I feel this is the kind of thing people should be discussing more ^^;

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When I was very young, my family went to Paris for a few days on holiday, and, of course, we had to visit the famous Eiffel Tower as part of it. And let me say, I was not ready for just how enormous the thing was. I knew it dominated the Parisian skyline from all the pictures I'd seen of the city growing up, but actually standing at the foot of the thing and looking up just left me utterly gobsmacked. The scale was unlike anything else I'd seen, and it unnerved me to the point of absolutely refusing to go up it.

It's a monumental creation, and Paris should 100% be proud of having it, but even so, structures like this have, in the years since, always left me uneasy ^^;

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Me: *Sets alarm so I can wake up early* :)

Also me: *Wakes up on the hour, every hour, because I know an alarm is coming* :(

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In any long-running video game franchise, there's always that one boss that's held up as the prime example of what final conflicts within those games should be like. Battles that the fans can point to and go "okay, this is it, this is the standard the rest of them have to live up to". I've played many games in my time and have several bosses that could qualify for that kind of standard. But, there are plenty of game franchises I've never touched, so if anyone has any peak-level bosses they'd like to talk about, I'm all ears :)

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I adore moments when I learn just how weird and wonderful nature can get. Case in point, this is a photo of Sorvagsvatn, a lake from the Faroe Island, situated right on the edge of a cliff that overlooks the sea. One more for the bucket list I guess :)

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To anyone out there who also has their birthday on this fine February 20th, I hope you all have a great day :)