In 2013, artist Dane Cozens envisioned a world where people would use cell phone-like devices to capture Pokémon. Flash forward a few years, and that's exactly what we are doing. The idea isn't that far of a leap from what Pokémon is, and I'm sure it's something many people thought about well in advance of Pokémon Go's release, but it is cool to see these illustrations capture the spirit of this game years before it was conceived.

"I think its kind of funny how some people think I added the cell-phones after Pokemon Go was released, but I always intended for them to be designed after smart phones," Cozens told me. "At the time, Apple was litigating against Samsung for patent infringement, which inspired me to draw a realistic Pokédex like a smart phone."

Cozens' first illustration was of the Venusaur (pictured below), which he made in October 2013. "I then decided to make it into a series the following year ,and they went viral. That was really exciting and encouraged me to pursue illustration as a career," he adds.

And yes, Cozens plays Pokémon Go, usually while walking his dog. His unique vision of Pokémon, which holds a realistic tone, is something he gives plenty of thought, and would love to see adapted into a movie.

"I’d love for it to be this sci-fi world where suburban heroes go on a wilderness adventure," he says. "In case the posters don’t show this already, I have possibly thought about a realistic Pokémon movie too much. When I think about the cinematography, I imagine a hybrid of Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are, Sean Penn’s Into The Wild, and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. To me, that would be really awesome. While I was working on the posters, I listened to a lot of Alt-J, so I think it would be cool for them to do the soundtrack. Of course, I’d love to do some of the concept art and promotional art myself."

Cozens created one other Pokémon Go-like illustration of the Blastoise. You can view it on his blog, along with several other awesome Pokémon pieces.

This article was originally published on Labor Day in 2010. I can't remember what possessed me to write an abbreviated history of the national holiday's origin, other than a few (and highly tenuous) comparisons to BioShock. So go ahead and get learning, and then enjoy a well-deserved day off!

For many gamers, Labor Day is a pleasant excuse to spend a three-day weekend playing video games. Little do they know that the events leading up to the creation of the national holiday contain enough political intrigue to form the backbone of the next BioShock. Join us now for your Labor Day history lesson.

George Pullman                                                                       Eugene V. Debs

George Pullman: America's Real Life Andrew Ryan

Our story begins with an American industrialist named George Pullman. Pullman owned a company that produced high-end railroad sleeping cars (train cars whose seats could be converted into bunks for sleeping). His sleeping car was called the Pullman Sleeper, and gained widespread popularity in 1865 when he arranged for one to be used to transport the body of Abraham Lincoln from Washington D.C. to Springfield.

In 1880, Pullman used his fortune to create his own town 14 miles south of Chicago, which he promptly named after himself. Pullman, Illinois, wasn't built at the bottom of sea, but the founder's vision of a Utopian city was as unnerving as the principles behind Rapture. George Pullman owned everything within his town's limits, giving him unprecedented control over how it was run. Only Pullman company workers were allowed to live in Pullman's town; their rent was automatically removed from their paychecks, drawn from Pullman's bank. The town's visitors, mainly salesmen looking to do business with Pullman, could stay at the luxurious Hotel Florence – Pullman's primary residence, named after his oldest daughter. The hotel was off limits to Pullman company workers.

Common vices were banned in the town, including alcohol (guests of the Hotel Florence were exempt). Independent newspapers were prohibited, as were town meetings, public speeches, and private charitable organizations. Pullman even had his own team of inspectors, who had the right to enter residents' homes without notice to check for cleanliness. If things weren't up to snuff, the worker's lease could be terminated on the spot, giving them 10 days to vacate the premises. Pullman's chokehold on the lives of his workers led to the following infamous quote of one of the town's residents:

"We are born in a Pullman house, fed from the Pullman shops, taught in the Pullman school, catechized in the Pullman Church, and when we die, we shall go to the Pullman Hell."

A view from Pullman, Illinois

The Death of a Utopian Future

For over a decade Pullman's tightly controlled town thrived. Then came the economic depression that has become known as the Panic of 1893. The railroad industry was hit hardest by the depression (and arguably caused it), including Pullman's company – and when the Pullman company suffered, so too did Pullman, Illinois. In order to survive the economic downturn, Pullman cut his workers' wages and increased their work hours, without adjusting the price of rent or the cost of items in the town's stores. When his employees formed a delegation to address the 12-hour workdays and reduced wages, Pullman refused to meet with them.

Enter Eugene V. Debs, a former Indiana senator, and a leader of the American Railway Union. Many of Pullman's workers were already members of the ARU, which began discussing a nationwide boycott of Pullman cars in response to the unfair work conditions. Debs was initially against the boycott, but after failing to change the ARU's mind, participated in the strike, and became the movement's poster boy. The boycott began on June 26, 1894. By June 30th, 125,000 railway workers were on strike, creating an instant national dilemma. The United States government responded with an injunction against the strike, on the grounds that it was obstructing the US Mail, which was being carried by Pullman cars. Debs and the rest of the workers ignored it.

The ARU strikes in support of Pullman's workers

Federal Strikebreakers and a Shattered Legacy

In early July, President Grover Cleveland ordered 12,000 US Army troops and US Marshals to break up the strike, which was being run out of Chicago and had peaked at more than 250,000 workers participating across the nation. The strike ended just a few days after troops arrived in Chicago, but not before 13 strikers were killed, and 57 more were wounded during the conflict. In the end, Debs was sent to prison for six months for disobeying the federal injunction, the American Railway Union was disbanded, and Pullman's workers had to pledge they would never unionize again.

But Pullman's legacy did not escape the strike unscathed. Pullman was strongly criticized for the handling of his workers, and his company town was condemned by critics like Richard T. Ely as being patently un-American. Four years after the strike, the Supreme Court of Illinois required the Pullman company to sell the town, and it became a neighborhood in Chicago. George Pullman was still so unpopular with laborers that when he died in 1897, he was buried in a lead-lined coffin under several tons of concrete and steel rails to prevent the desecration of his corpse. This caused journalist Ambrose Bierce to quip: "It is clear the [Pullman] family in their bereavement was making sure the sonofab*tch wasn't going to get up and come back."

A National Holiday is Born

George Pullman's reputation wasn't the only one tarnished by the 1894 strike. President Cleveland was falling under harsh scrutiny in the wake of the strikers' deaths, and questions were being raised as to whether he had the constitutional authority to order federal troops to break the strike in the first place. In an effort to appease the upset labor unions, congress quickly proposed and passed legislation to make Labor Day a national holiday, and it was signed into law by President Cleveland just six days after the strike ended.

President Cleveland ultimately lost his bid for reelection to Benjamin Harrison, but the new national holiday was happily embraced not only by laborers, but all of America's citizens. While elaborate street parades and fireworks displays may have faded over the 100+ years since its creation, Labor Day is still largely appreciated as a day for barbecuing, hanging out with friends, or even playing games in your living room. However you plan to spend Labor Day, enjoy the extra time off with the knowledge that you now know the full story behind the national holiday.

Information from this article can be found at: PBS NewsHour's Origins of Labor Day, the Pullman State Historical Site, and Richard T. Ely's "Pullman: A Social Study." Additional information was taken from Wikipedia.

Finding it hard to endure the wait until Final Fantasy XV? We hear you. Thankfully, Square Enix has been releasing free 15-minute anime episodes to help you get to know the party members better. The anime, called Brotherhood, was announced back at the March event, and so far four of the five episode arc have hit. You watch on them on Square Enix's YouTube channel). If you purchase the Ultimate Collector's edition, you get a bonus episode on Luna. As someone who loves learning about the cast, I've enjoyed watching these, but I bet you're wondering if they're worth your time. Here are my impressions so far. 

Updated: 9/5

What To Expect

The Brotherhood anime is meant to get your acquainted with the main characters, and its focus is on how they meet and become friends. Surprisingly enough, I've found a lot to like in these early episodes, especially seeing more of the party dynamic, such as Gladiolus telling Ignis to stop babying Noctis. Another takeaway is Noctis always seems so subdued, like the weight of being the prince is constantly on his shoulders. The interactions, while small, say a lot about the people you're about to encounter in the game. Every episode will focus on a different party member; so far we've seen stories devoted to Noctis and Prompto. It looks like this is all leading up to the beginning of the game when Noctis must deal with threats on his kingdom. Of course, it's more than he expects as it's not just a warring nations at play, but also something stranger causing the nights to grow longer and bringing with it the fear that perpetual darkness will envelope the land. 

Episode 1: Before The Storm

I wish this was a stronger opener. It focuses on a past monster encounter that almost killed Noctis. You see him as a child struggling against this foe, and then we're set to present day with the gang hanging out in the car and at a burger shop. This episode is meant to show Noctis' growth as a man; he's come a long way from being just a small, scared kid. The episode ends by showing the start of a battle with a vicious monster. I won't spoil anything, but I have a feeling the anime will end showing its conclusion. It's like the not-so-great episode that's required viewing just so you can see the payoff or understand what's going on if it comes into play later. 

Episode 2: Dogged Runner

I could take or leave the anime after the first episode, but this second one sold me on it. This episode digs into Prompto's childhood and how he met the prince. Prompto is interesting in that he's the only member of the party without royal ties. Dogged Runner does such a good job at showcasing what Prompto really is about and where his heart is. More importantly, how he becomes friends with the prince is really heartwarming, as we also see Luna in this episode and the part she plays in the two becoming friends. Prompto was an overweight kid and his parents aren't really around, forcing him to fend for himself, so you get to see the klutzy character in a different light. In addition, the episode depicts how Noctis was treated at school, allowing you to understand some of the difficulties he's had as prince. After watching Dogged Runner, I can't wait to see what other revelations Brotherhood makes about the cast. 

Episode 3: Sword & Shield

This episode centers on Gladiolus and the tough time he had accepting Noctis, whose laid-back attitude is frustrating. He calls him a “punk” and “stuck-up prince,” based on his interactions with him as his instructor in combat training. Sword & Shield features Gladiolus’ little sister, Iris, who he adores. This allows us to see his protective older brother side come out. I won’t spoil anything, but this episode shows that while Noctis can act indifferent to his duty as future prince, he has a good heart. More importantly, we see that even after Gladiolus becomes friends with Noctis, he still never gives him anything easy, as that would be a disservice to him. I enjoyed how this episode shows a little rivalry between the two, but also illustrates that they a good understanding of one another after all these years. Unfortunately, while it’s great to see Gladiolus care so much about his sister, this episode does little to make him that interesting of a character. Without his sister or Noctis around, he just seems like a hard-headed gladiator. I’m hoping there’s more to him than that. 

Episode 4: Bittersweet Memories

Bittersweet Memories is my second-favorite episode. It doesn’t surpass Dogged Runner, but this one makes more of an effort to give all the party members a spot, which I enjoyed. It’s focused on Ignis and his role in the prince’s life. Ignis works as a staff officer for King Regis, but acts more as butler to Noctis. In Bittersweet Memories, we see Noctis being more a slacker about his responsibilities. He’s moved away from the kingdom and lives on his own, attending school, but he’s hardly acting independent or responsible. His apartment is a mess, and he’s happy to blow off studying to hit the arcade with Prompto. Ignis comes and checks in on him every day, cleaning up and cooking for him. Ignis is trying to set an example for Noctis on what he needs to do to take care of himself and be mature, although Noctis takes this for granted. The episode takes an interesting turn when it explains more about Noctis’ fears about the kingdom and the life chosen for him. I like that it also sheds some light on King Regis and the sacrifices he’s been making to keep the kingdom safe. As this episode shows, tensions are rising over the potential of a war. Bittersweet Memories does a great job not only with Ignis’ arc, but also with showing Noctis’ growth as a man and future king. 

Will you like it?

This all comes down to how interested you are in the party members, or if you're looking for more to them than you've seen in the demos. The anime does a good job at setting up their personalities and providing some intriguing backstories. Watching it has also made me more excited for the game. It's like a preview to the people you'll be hanging out with, and this anime makes them more exciting than anything else Square has showcased at this point. The episodes are short, but that's not a bad thing, as they don't have any fluff and every scene has its own importance in establishing what these men are all about. If you're even remotely curious, it's worth watching. 

If you're still on the fence and would like to know more about the cast, check out my deep dive on the characters. 

It's been a long winding road, but the Summer 2016 intern train has finally left the station in this, our most final of videos. Follow us on a world tour for each joyful moment, all leading up to AJ's chilling final line.

We talked about the next videos we were gonna do but we never got the chance to record them! Visit my blog for all the other videos we did! Follow Haley, Blake, AJ, and Me on Twitter! And please, please remember: if you're going to buck, please knuck well in advance.

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At PAX West 2016, I hopped in my sweet ride with Noctis and the gang from Final Fantasy XV and played for almost two hours, from the start of the adventure to some off-road exploration. While I won’t get into story aspects here as there are some that could spoil your upcoming adventure, I’ll talk about combat, collecting, and some of the other systems that come into play. I will say one thing, though. If you’re interested in the story of Final Fantasy XV, do yourself a favor and make sure you check out Kingsglaive before you dive in – it will help things make a lot more sense and provide invaluable perspective on the events of the first few hours of gameplay.

Your main crew consists of Noctis, Ignis, Gladiolus, and Prompto. While I appreciated the banter between members of the gang as we took on the first few challenges and quests, Prompto’s character is likely to make me cringe over and over when the title fully releases. Prompto is a true product of Instagram and Snapchat insanity, featuring obsessive photo-taking and mind-shattering quips like “totes adorbs” that hurt me inside. With that notable exception, the rest of the characters offer reasonable input as you drive around or set up camp.

Setting up camp is actually pretty fun. Learning new cooking recipes and then using food to give your team significant buffs before a boss encounter is a nice diversion from zipping from battle to battle. You have to go around the map collecting berries and other essential foodstuffs if you want to keep your larder flush with available food options, but you can weave those collecting nodes in seamlessly to standard exploration around the map.

The world is mostly open, with quests guiding you to important areas, but with enough freedom to roam off the beaten path in search of resources, enemies, or hidden caches of treasure. In some ways they remind me of the structure of zones in Final Fantasy XII.

Combat itself takes some getting used to. The standard attacks are easy enough and intuitive, but calling upon your other team members to execute powerful attacks and exploit vulnerability windows feels a little unwieldy in the thick of combat, as you are already concentrating on dodging, blocking, hot-swapping conjured weapons, and using Noctis’s warp to fly around the field, setting up lethal blows. The first hour using the call-in system felt unintuitive, but after that it became second nature. So if you find yourself slightly intimidated by all the inputs and command-weaving at first, don’t fret too much as it does come together rather quickly.

Your characters acquire experience points which are obvious enough to understand, and also AP. AP all flows into a single pool from which points can be spent on any of the characters to give them new abilities or strengthen new ones, sort of an unlockable web grid. While obviously you may wish to focus throwing your AP points on Noctis as he’s the main character, there are some invaluable support skills and assists available on your other characters that shouldn’t be ignored.

One interesting thing I noticed as I hacked through the various denizens of the starting areas was that in addition to standard loot and goods from killing enemies there are also “break offs” that you can shoot for to get additional and sometimes valuable monster pieces to be used in recipes or crafting. So if you see a monster with a horn, try and focus on it in the hopes that you can get some extra bonus loot.

Let’s talk about the car! The Regalia is available early in the game and can be piloted in manual mode for custom travel and transportation, or autopilot via Ignis to take you to essential quest locations. You probably want to use manual mode at least a few times to collect treasures on the map. During travel, you can select from a huge variety of Final Fantasy tunes to listen to, including a bunch of amazing tracks from the original Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy VII. I tried repeatedly to crash into other cars on the road, but sadly the game wouldn’t let me. As you travel, your ride consumes gas, so you have to stop at gas stations or rest stops to fill up for longer voyages.

Almost 2 hours of gameplay left me hungry for more, and I’m looking forward to a more extensive look at all there is to offer in Final Fantasy XV when it arrives in November. Totes looking forward to it, as Prompto would say. Check out more on Final Fantasy XV at our cover story hub!

The NFL season is right around the corner, and with EA's Madden already out, you're probably looking for even more video game football. Today's Sports Desk features a title that you may not have heard of which could satisfy that need. Plus, if you're a fan of the other brand of football, soccer, I've got an analysis of Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 Advanced Instructions from the game's demo – a feature that should be invaluable out on the pitch.

PRO STRATEGY FOOTBALL 2016

Pro Strategy Football 2016 is made by one person – the dedicated Kerry Batts. Batts makes the game in his spare time, and it's packed with features that only a die-hard football fan would include.

The unlicensed game puts you in the role of both coach and GM of a pro team, and you call the shots from what plays to run (which you then see play out automatically via sweet old-school graphics) to whom to draft.

The game is very user friendly in both its menu systems and options. For instance, play calling can be automated (there are also suggested and favorite plays), you can sim the draft, or choose to see potential draftees' abilities or not. On the other hand, you can also choose your own defensive line shifts, instruct your players to try and get out of bounds as the clock winds down, and obsess over the player ratings and team tendencies to come up with a master gameplay from play to play.

The routes of individual receivers can be altered via the expert play calling option. Players can switch between beginner and expert every play.

While Pro Strategy Football isn't as expansive as soccer's Football Manager series, for instance (this is the creation of one person, after all), I was impressed with some of the touches Batts includes. You can see replays of simmed games and edit player names. Player are improved via drills and training camp. The draft day trading system features the well-known point system for draft picks. There's even local competitive multiplayer.

The offseason does not include key features like free agency and contracts due to the real-life complexity of that aspect of football, but Batts says he's considering adding a light version of free agency featuring contracts and franchise tags. Similarly, he might add a potential attribute for players in order to create gems and busts. Both features may come out post-launch depending on what the community thinks, or perhaps they'll be shelved for next year. Batts is being flexible with these post-launch possibilities. Online multiplayer and other potential additions to the Steam version of the game are also up in the air.

There's no such thing as too much football, and Pro Strategy Football 2016 presents a slightly different take on this familiar game.

Pro Strategy Football 2016 comes out in September 6 on PC. The Mac version should follow later in September, with those for the iOS and Android coming out later. Pricing among the different platforms varies, and there will be some slight differences between the desktop and mobile versions.

Check out the game's official website for more.

Missed some of the previous Sports Desk entries? Take a look at the past installments via our Hub page by clicking on the banner below.

Have a suggestion or comment? Put it in the comments section below, send me an email, or reach me on twitter at @mattkato.

DO PES 2017'S ADVANCED INSTRUCTIONS WORK?

The demo for Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 is out now in advance of the full release on (September 13), and one of the key features of this year's game is Advanced Instructions. These are offensive and defensive tactics above and beyond the usual set of strategic options that shape how your team plays. I tried out some of them in the demo and wanted to give you a quick overview of the difference they can make.

The optional instructions are activated via the Game Plan menu, and you can choose four total: two offensive and two defensive. During the game you can select between the different instructions by holding down the left trigger and pressing the d-pad in the appropriate direction. An icon at the bottom of the screen near the player name shows you which ones are currently turned on.

Offensive Instructions:

• Hug the Sidelines (Players spread out across the entire width of the field)
• Attacking Fullbacks (Fullbacks come forward with wingers moving into the middle)
• Wing Rotation (Forwards cycle along the wing to give the player with the ball options)
• Tiki-Taka (Teammates take up positions to maximize possession of the ball)
• False 9 (The striker drops back into the hole and other forwards fill the space)
• Centering Targets (Designed for lobbing lots of crosses into the box)
• False Fullbacks (The fullbacks tuck into the midfield ahead of the center backs)

Defensive Instructions:

• Tight Marking
• Deep Defensive Line
• Swarm the Box (Defenders bunch near the goal)
• Counter Target (Some forwards stay past the halfway line looking for a fast counter)
• Gegenpress (Multiple players aggressively try to win back the ball when possession is lost)

Not all of the instructions were available in the demo (such as False Fullbacks and Gegenpress), but I got a good idea of how useful overall the feature will be.

This is a shot of Atlético building an attack with all of the Advanced Instructions off. Contrast this with the screen below:

Here is a similar attack with Barcelona that uses the Hug the Sideline Advanced Instruction. As you can see, this changes your attacking options. Also, notice the other forward way at the top of the screen at the opposite touchline. Using Hug the Sideline, he'll stay there, giving you an option to switch fields and create width. However, this also takes away a possible defensive option in the midfield if the other team starts a counter-attack.

Here's the tiki-taka instruction, and appropriately ball carrier Alba has more teammates to pass to. They may not be bearing down on the defense as much, but they're making themselves available for more passing options.

On defense, the instructions aren't as complex, but they are undoubtably useful.

Above is the normal defensive back line without any special instructions. Below is that line playing with the Deep Defensive Line instructions.

It's not a massive difference, but it can be important. The trade off here is that the deeper the line you play the more space you open up between your defenders and your midfield. And when you give some opposing forwards time and space they can make you pay.

Below you can see the difference between the Swarm the Box instructions (the first screen) and without any defensive instructions (second screen). Playing more compact in the box naturally leaves you more exposed to passes out to the wing.

Since you can assign and select multiple instructions and change them on the fly, they will be very useful for unlocking your opponent and stymying their own plans (the CPU also uses instructions). I'm very interested to match instructions not only against what my opponent is trying to do, but to maximize my own players' skills and how I like to play the game. It should also help differentiate teams from each other and make them play more like they do in real life.

89 THINGS WE KNOW ABOUT NBA 2K17

Fellow editor Matt Bertz has put together a whopping preview covering just about everything you want and need to know about the latest installment of Visual Concepts' venerable hoops franchise.

From gameplay to MyCareer, MyGM, and beyond, Bertz thouroughly breaks down the September 20 title. Check it out here.

RELEASE LIST

NASCAR Heat Evolution (PS4, Xbox One, PC) September 13
NHL 17 (PS4, Xbox One) September 13
Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360, PC) September 13
NBA 2K 17 (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360, PC) September 20
FIFA 17 (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, 360, PC) September 27
Forza Horizon 3 (Xbox One, PC) September 27

THE TICKER
A quick rundown of some of the sports news from the week.

Infinite Air Gets a Release Date, New Riders & Release Date

Gran Turismo Sport Delayed Into 2017
You had to figure the game was due for its customary delay when Sony canceled the beta that they'd been advertising since the game was announced. If they did it becase it needs it, I've no problem with that. If they did it just to accomodate the Neo, I'm not going to be happy.

FIFA 17 Adds 23 Brazilian Clubs & PES 2017 Adds Chilean Teams
In FIFA, 18 of the teams are from the first division and the rest are from the second division. There were no Brazilian clubs in FIFA 16. Meanwhile, competitor PES 2017 is getting 16 Chilean teams. Neither of these deals are exclusive. As we near release, both franchises are still wheeling and dealing, trying to carve out what they can. It can get confusing – for instance, FIFA has added these Brazilian teams, but PES has an exclusive with Brazilian side Corinthians. Check both games' official websites (here for FIFA and here for PES) to see more.

NASCAR Heat Evolution Announces Its DLC Plans 

Every once in a while, a promoted tweet will pop up on my Twitter timeline clearly aimed at people who have talked about video games on social media. Promoted tweets are rarely fun to encounter on your timeline, but if done right, they can grab some attention for the brand employing the technique. Either way, the results are often pretty goofy.

Now, to be fair, the game industry isn't immune from trying to make crossover content, as you can see from the three tweets below.

Now you can fish for Froggy, anytime, anywhere. pic.twitter.com/FHGW1udZUQ

— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) July 25, 2016

Even from Mars, you can spot @Drake courtside #Views#NBAPlayoffs#FightLikeHellpic.twitter.com/m3riUCfKnt

— DOOM (@DOOM) May 5, 2016

✅Hitman GO
✅Lara Croft GO
✅Deus Ex GO
🤔Pokemon GO pic.twitter.com/n8AzFUIycH

— Square Enix Montréal (@SquareEnixMtl) July 6, 2016

It happens more frequently when a massive game hits, as it's more likely to be trending. For instance, we saw an influx of attempts to crossover promoted posts when Pokémon Go was all the rage. Some brands, like Arby's and Totino's, are constantly trying to stay on top of the latest releases, as you'll see below. Some of these tweets are downright stupid, while others are actually somewhat creative and humorous. Check out some of the crossover promoted tweets we've spotted over the course of 2016.

Time to fire up #DarkSouls3pic.twitter.com/3YLkmsJCoz

— Arby's (@Arbys) April 12, 2016

Well, this was a great way to start the day. #PokemonSunMoonpic.twitter.com/Cilm4uBpmG

— Arby's (@Arbys) May 10, 2016

Channeling our inner Drake and getting VERY excited for #Uncharted4! #CouchHardpic.twitter.com/sm60u2AHNR

— Pete Zaroll (@totinos) May 9, 2016

Don't #PokemonGO on the go. Be safe and use transit or get a designated driver if you want to #CatchEmAllpic.twitter.com/TGasHr8Tbo

— seattledot (@seattledot) July 8, 2016

Trying to #CatchEmAll can be draining. 😏 Recharge and refresh at your nearest Subway. pic.twitter.com/7I9TKEQzMq

— SUBWAY® (@SUBWAY) July 13, 2016

We measured Charmanders fire with the NeuLog wide range temperature sensor. #PokemonGopic.twitter.com/Q9HZcCc5Jb

— NeuLog (@NeuLog_Sensors) July 13, 2016

Geez, #NoMansSky, stop reading my mind. pic.twitter.com/rn4UDaBJjI

— Pete Zaroll (@totinos) August 6, 2016

The next step in Pizza Roll evolution. #DeusEx#MankindDividedpic.twitter.com/I0xSlCOO3K

— Pete Zaroll (@totinos) August 19, 2016

Gaming today? B-Dubs takeout is the perfect way to keep that marathon session going. https://t.co/sD2eRbRcHcpic.twitter.com/rtd1xEtdlQ

— Buffalo Wild Wings (@BWWings) August 23, 2016

It’s been confirmed? pic.twitter.com/groNieTTO0

— Arby's (@Arbys) August 26, 2016

@Arbys Go away, Arby’s.

— Ben Hanson (@yozetty) August 26, 2016

I’ve been having a blast in recent days returning to World of Warcraft after being away for some time, and taking several of my level 100 characters through the new content and on the road to 110. One of the most striking things about this expansion is its focus on storytelling, and on putting players in the driver’s seat as the most important characters in Azeroth during this pivotal invasion by the demons. Of particular note are the storied artifact weapons that every character can now acquire.

The following highlights some of the most epic and famous weapons that players can now acquire for themselves. Players are still trying out the many artifacts (36, in total) that can be won in Legion, so I wouldn’t hazard to guess which ones will end up being the most powerful or useful. Instead, here we’re examining some of the favorites that are exciting simply because of how they fit into the broader story of the Warcraft universe.

Doomhammer

Few weapons are as fondly remembered in Warcraft fiction as Doomhammer, largely thanks to its most recent wielder.  The massive warhammer was forged in the flowing lava of the orcish homeworld of Draenor, and passed from father to son for generations in the lineage of the Doomhammer orcs. The last of these mighty warriors was Orgrim Doomhammer, warchief of the Horde in countless battles against the Alliance. When this last of the Doomhammer sons breathed his last, he passed the weapon of his family to his chosen heir, Thrall. Thrall has wielded it ever since.

During the events of Legion, we see Thrall ready to pass the Doomhammer to a new wielder who can lead the shamans of the Earthen Ring in victory against the demons. After a fateful battle with one of those demons, the weapon is flung into the Maelstrom, where it comes to rest in the great elemental caverns of Deepholm. It is there that Enhancement Shamans must reclaim its power.    

Ashbringer

While it could be argued that other weapons might have had a more profound effect on the Warcraft universe, no single artifact has so captivated the attention of the game’s players, or had such an intricate and tortuous storyline. Originally forged by the dwarven king Magni Bronzebeard, and first wielded by the valiant paladin, Alexandros Mograine, the sword weaves in and out of Azeroth’s recent history. The weapon (and its first holder) won its appellation through its propensity for turning enemies to ash, especially the undead foes that make up the Scourge. It would at one point become corrupted, only to once again be purified and borne into battle by the Alliance hero, Tyrion Fordring. In his hands, Ashbringer was used to shatter the Lich King’s blade, Frostmourne, in a fateful conflict high atop Icecrown Citadel.

The Legion expansion gives Retribution Paladins the chance to take up Ashbringer for themselves, and grow its power to new levels in order to confront the demonic forces assailing Azeroth. In a desperate assault on a demonic prison where Tyrion Fordring might be held even after his apparent death, Ashbringer once again emerges into the forefront of the Warcraft story.

The Kingslayers (Anguish & Sorrow)

While the names of these assassin’s blades may be recently attained, the deaths they have wrought have shaped the course of kingdoms. The daggers were given by Gul’dan to his unwilling servant, Garona Halforcen, and with the weapons in hand, she enacted his dark will through one brutal murder after another. Garona strained against her servitude to the orcish warlock and his Shadow Council, but ultimately she was forced to murder the Kingdom of Stormwind’s monarch, Llane Wrynn, and in anguish and sorrow, she subsequently abandoned the blades.

For a rogue, few weapons have greater significance, and Legion provides the chance to set out on a new adventure with Garona at the side of Assassin Rogue players. Through stealth and investigation, players prove themselves the rightful heirs to these dark and deadly knives.

Scepter of Sargeras

Most of the other weapons listed here have shown up more frequently in the ongoing story of Azeroth, but none have more profoundly shaped the world. The Scepter of Sargeras has a literal earth-shaking history that makes it the envy of any but the Warlocks who can now wield it. One of the most powerful beings in the universe, and arguably the most important villain of the Warcraft saga, Sargeras is a fallen Titan who once carried the artifact, but it eventually came into the hands of the orc Warchief, Ner’zhul. He used it in combination with other dark relics to open the portal that allowed the Horde’s invasion of Azeroth, but in so doing, he mostly destroyed Draenor, transforming it into the broken landscape called Outland.

Destruction warlocks have the chance to track down the lost Scepter of Sargeras in a particularly momentous artifact quest. The mission brings players into the heart of Legion’s most dangerous site, and face to face with Gul’dan, and a chance to either save or ensure the destruction of Azeroth.  

Frostmourne (The Blades of the Fallen Prince)

The mighty and cursed runeblade called Frostmourne has a deep and tragic history, rooted in its horrific ability to drain the lives and souls of its victims. Early on, the sword and its accompanying armor were used to enslave the orcish shaman and warchief named Ner’zhul as he was transformed into the Lich King by the demon Kil’jaeden. Later, Ner’zhul used the blade to lure Prince Arthas into a similar trap, ensuring the future ruler’s eventual downfall. With sword in hand, Arthas murdered his own father, before returning to Northrend, where he would eventually ascend as Lich King himself. After inflicting untold devastation on the world, Frostmourne met its seeming end in a climactic conflict atop Icecrown Citadel, in which the paladin named Tyrion Fordring used Ashbringer to shatter Frostmourne, and defeat Arthas.

In Legion, Frost Death Knights make the harrowing journey to return to Icecrown in search of the broken shards of Frostmourne. Charged by the current Lich King to act in his name, Death Knight players have a chance to encounter the spirits of both Arthas and Ner’zhul, before recrafting the broken Frostmourne into two new weapons – the Blades of the Fallen Prince – Icebringer and Frostreaper.

Have you been playing World of Warcraft’s new expansion? Which artifact did you claim for your character? Are there other weapons in the Warcraft lore you’d suggest are even more epic? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

When it first released, No Man’s Sky ignited a firestorm of discussion and criticism due to the gulf between what players were expecting from the title and what Hello Games delivered. Regardless of your feelings on that subject, most of us can agree that No Man’s Sky isn’t perfect, which means it has room to improve.

Comprehensive redesigns and overhauls would be required to transform the game into the experience that some envisioned. However, even without making such large-scale alterations, Hello Games could make a variety of minor changes that would make the crafting, exploration, and combat easier to enjoy. These 10 suggestions are all about removing the frustrations in the current version of No Man’s Sky, not completely redefining its identity.

1. True photo mode
Not every planet in No Man’s Sky is gorgeous, but sometimes you touch down on a picturesque landscape with vibrant colors, varied terrain, and another planet majestically rising over the horizon. People can already pass around screenshots like this, but location markers and HUD elements tend to clutter up the view, and you can’t tweak your angles for the perfect shot. Finding strange and beautiful places is a major draw of the game, and a full-fledged photo mode would provide more control over the images and let players share the full glory of their discoveries.

2. Control mapping
The PC version allows players this option, but PS4 players are stuck with a weird placement of the scan/sprint commands on the left/right thumbsticks (which would be great to reverse). We still don’t understand why this isn’t a standard option with every game released. The global PS4 options allow you to swap those two, but that means they’re swapped for every game – not just No Man’s Sky.

3. One-press menus
Making players hold down a button to confirm actions can prevent disasters, like choosing unintended interaction options with aliens. However, for players who want to live dangerously (and get through things faster), the option to turn on one-press selection would make menu navigation smoother.

4. Easy travel to prior worlds
For most of No Man’s Sky, you’re focusing on moving forward. But what if you want to go back? Maybe you remember a trade depot that had a sweet price on Emeril, or maybe you just want another look at a weird species of alien you discovered. Unfortunately, unless you were thinking ahead (or are willing to sift through a bunch of stars), getting back to a system you’ve left is a huge pain. In the galaxy map, why can’t you see the path you’ve traveled in addition to the path ahead of you? In addition to being convenient, it would also give you the satisfaction of seeing how far you’ve come.

5. Manual marker placement
Let’s say you’ve found a giant pile of gold to mine, but your inventory is full. If you leave the area to sell off items and make space, finding that spot again is difficult – especially if you go off-planet. If the game allowed you to drop custom markers yourself, you could return to previous points of interest that you want to explore further. If nothing else, it would make the locations feel less disposable, because you wouldn’t be forced to leave them behind and never visit again. Dropping markers is something that the GPS capabilities of modern phones can do, so space-people in the distant future should probably have this figured out.

6. Inventory conveniences
Managing your stock of resources with limited space is one of the core mechanics of No Man’s Sky, like it or not. However, this system could use some serious refinement. For one thing, the option to mark certain items as “junk” would be nice, because then you could batch-sell them easily. On the flip side of that, an inventory lock would also be great, securing specific items in place so they can’t be accidentally sold, discarded, or dismantled. However, the biggest change needed on this front is a special compartment for Atlas Stones. These are critical items for players pursuing the story, but the further you get, the more inventory space is required for them. Players shouldn’t be punished for wanting to see the story; just make a special Atlas-Stone-only compartment so conventional inventory slots aren’t eaten up by these important objects.

7. Icon toggle
If you’re exploring a planet thoroughly, you probably have a wide array of icons showing up across the landscape. From outposts to beacons to shelters, it would be nice if you didn’t have to see every possible destination at once. If you’re on an optimization kick and only want to check out drop pods and crashed ships, you should be able to show only those icons and hide the others – especially the ones that are on entirely different planets in the system!

8. Flying freedom
It sure would be cool if you could fly right up to mountains or skim your ship just above the surface of a toxic ocean. Unfortunately, you’re locked to a particular height when flying, and can’t see the world up close unless you land, which makes everything feel distant. Mods for the PC version have removed this restriction, but PS4 players are stuck with a weird sense of auto-piloting that impedes the ability to fully enjoy flying over, around, and through strange and wondrous landscapes.

9. More efficient launch thrusters
The planets in No Man’s Sky are huge, so flying from one point to another in your ship is the only way to cover the distance in a reasonable amount of time. However, every time you take off, it eats up 25 percent of your launch thrusters. That means a full tank only lets you visit four locations, so you have to keep a steady supply of plutonium just to keep yourself airborne. It feels like trying to take a cross-country road trip in a car with a gas tank that only has the capacity to hold one gallon, since you always need to stop and take care of the fuel situation. That requirement doesn’t need to be removed entirely, but getting more exploration out of a single tank would just make the game more fun and less of a hassle.

10. Build a custom ship
Early in the game, finding a better starship is satisfying, especially when it looks cool. However, after trading up several times, frustration starts to set in. Once your ship is already pretty good, finding the right combination of form and function is increasingly rare. At that phase in the game, just give players the option to custom-order a ship. Not only would it provide a neat sense of ownership and be a good late-game reward, but it would also save players from having to settle for a high-functioning vehicle with a lame design. Ships with maximum inventory capacity already cost dozens of millions of units; if it’s the last ship you’re going to buy, why shouldn’t it look the way you want it to?

What minor changes to No Man's Sky do you think would have the largest impact? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

We take two world-class super soldiers and pit them against each other in a fictionalized scenario to see who will come out on top. Who would win in a fight? Metal Gear’s Solid Snake or Halo’s Master Chief?

Who They Are:
Master Chief: Genetically modified war hero and combat specialist who has saved the world from annihilation multiple times. Outfitted with a high-tech robotic cybersuit, advanced A.I., and the hottest technology of the 26th century.

Solid Snake: Genetically modified war hero and combat specialist who has saved the world from annihilation multiple times and has single-handedly destroyed more walking tanks than the entire U.S. Army.

Why They’re Fighting:
After retiring in a cabin in the Alaskan wilds, Solid Snake is mushing a pack of Huskies across the arctic when a shuddering rattles across the land. Instantly, the ground underneath Snake opens, and our hero falls into darkness.

More than five centuries later, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 gets a call to explore an anomalous radio frequency coming from somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness. The UNSC thinks it's discovered another precursor object, and it wants The Chief to make sure a bunch of weird alien crap isn’t about to destroy the Earth. However, when Master Chief arrives at the Alaskan base (codenamed Frontier Station), the scientists have a surprise for him: The signal buried under the ice wasn’t a precursor object, it was an ancient codec device. Under several centuries of ice, the scientists discovered the frozen body of a legendary super soldier named Solid Snake. They leave the body to thaw so they can perform an autopsy. 

Hours later, in a covert debrief bunker, Cortana is filling in The Chief on the details of Snake’s life. Before he “died,” Solid Snake was infected with a deadly virus called Foxdie II: Fox Die Harder. Snake superb skills in combat allowed him to develop an immunity to the disease, but anyone who comes in contact with him is in danger of becoming infected. The UNSC hopes to recover this virus to see if they can still use it as a super weapon. However, just then, Cortana loses contact with the security team down in the med bay.

The last screams they hear before the channel is cut completely are, “He’s still alive!”

Solid Snake – Master Chief's Worst Nightmare

How The Battle Goes Down:
Snake remembers falling into the darkness, but he isn’t aware of the missing centuries, so when he finds himself in a strange room, covered in ice and facing down powerful lights, he assumes the worst: Clearly a sleeper cell of patriot agents have kidnapped him and are trying to harvest his organs. Using a nearby bottle of ketchup, Snake fakes a medical emergency. As the science team runs over to check him out, Snake springs to life and uses the expert ninjutsu skills he picked up years ago on the battlefield to knock them out. It doesn’t take long for Snake to clean the clock of everyone in the room. Unfortunately, Snake soon hears reinforcements coming down the hall. With only seconds to plan for the attack, Snake looks across the room and spots the perfect weapon. A sly smile creeps across his face.

Meanwhile, The Chief is in a rush to get to the science team, but when he gets there it’s a complete disaster. The ancient super solider, Solid Snake is already gone. Behind several unconscious scientists is an unmarked cardboard box, but that clearly isn’t worth examining.

Except it is! Snake has secretly stashed himself inside the box – a perfect hiding place. From inside the box, Snake looks over at The Chief in his green MJOLNIR armor and believes that he must be another cybernetic Ninja that the Patriots have sent after him – a Greninja, if you will. This ninja looks a little bulkier that previous iterations – it's clearly a knockoff Russian version. Snake decides to deal with this ninja like he deals with most of life’s problems: punch it in the face.

Snake is fast, but The Chief is faster. Mere nanoseconds after Snake leaps from the box, The Chief’s motion sensors notice the change in the room’s airflow and his reactive metal liquid crystal kicks into gear. The Chief’s 72,000 RPM electric motors kick into overdrive and, with one fluid movement, he pivots in place to reach out and snatch his attacker out of the air. The Chief reflexively moves to punch his attacker in the chest when he remembers that Snake isn’t his enemy. The Chief pulls his punch; the MJOLNIR’s revolutionary crystalline neural network processes his commands within nanoseconds and The Chief’s arms immediately begin to slow down. Unfortunately, inertia sends The Chief’s fist flying into Snake chest at a speed that is still nearly 0.17 percent its full force. The blow is strong enough to shatter Snake’s sternum and send him flying across the room and through a medicine shelf. Vials of important medical things fall all over Snake and conveniently heal him.

Snake looks up from his mountain of pain medication, wipes a trickle of blood from his lips, and then smiles. “You’ve got an explosive personality,” he says fingering a pin from one of The Chief’s grenades.

The Chief looks down at the live grenade at his belt, but it’s already too late. The grenade goes off and The Chief disappears in an explosion that sends him flying through a nearby wall.

Snake stands up and walks though the rubble. “Looks like he had a blast.”

Just then, The Chief emerges from a pillar of smoke. He armor is badly damaged and sparking, but all that actually makes him look more badass. Chief dives forward, guns blazing. Snake grabs one of The Chief’s old guns up off the floor and dives forward too. In one epic slow-motion pan we see them both shooting at each other. Their bullets hit each other in the middle of the room and create a bunch of mini explosions than send them both flying backward. The Chief collides with another wall, but Snake ends up flying through a glass window. (By the way, this Alaskan base is 10 stories tall and they’re on the top floor.)

The Chief goes over to the window, but Snake is already gone – no one could survive a fall like that. Not even The Chief.

“Everything okay?” Cortana asks.

But The Chief just hangs his head. He might have survived the conflict, but he feels like he failed his mission.

The End?

Master Chief Looking Out Over The Sunset As He Thinks About His Mother...But Who's Really In That Suit?

Later that night, The Chief takes a shower, letting the hot water ripple gently over his firm pecs. He rubs away the tightness in his biceps with a firm but gentle touch. It’s been a long day, and he’s looking forward to hitting the hay. (He sleeps shirtless).

However, when he emerges from the stall his MJOLNIR suit is missing. He stares in shock for a minute, but then a smile creeps across his face. In that moment he realizes that Snake isn’t dead. Somewhere out over the frozen wastes, Snake is running toward civilization, wearing The Chief’s armor. Their next encounter will be explosive indeed. A thrill of excitement rushing through The Chief’s body. He’s never felt this alive before.

The End

Author's Note: I promised this a long time ago, but I want to separate this into parts because of how complex this was. I am still working on Amnesia, but I want to put that aside for now and I hope that isn't too much of a disappointment. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story that took me too long to put together with friends. 

The world is something to watch. You can never look away on it's actions. Not even it's mistakes and mishaps. This world, to me has been something rather interesting. Nothing has been more enticing to watch than this world's history. In this world, there a race of felines, Joraals as they call themselves. They are an equal race of peace and equality. Of course there are the humans. A race of war-enjoying beings of power wanting more and more of it to take as much as they want. 

Their king, Sir Karl Hamalton, saw the Joraals as a lower race. A race of no purpose. Soon, this mire opinion became fact to the humans. They wanted to give them a certain purpose of which they would be useful. This is when I met Jeramy. A simple infant he was. Of course, I only observed him. His parents could not see me even though I plainly standing in front of them. I was a ghost to them. To anyone. But some had the power to see me. Some ignore my presence or simply stare at me. Even though, Jeramy did not have this power, I still followed him. And he was more interesting than the world itself.

As soon as the humans decided the fate of the Joraal's and their primary purpose, they came to every tribe and village the humans could find and captured all who were old enough to be put into auction for slavery. I have seen false messages from gods that made havoc, but none could match how intriguing this was. I could not stop to looking away. 

I could see the mothers ripped away from their children, brothers and sisters saying goodbye to each other as they were all sold to the humans. I saw lives being torn apart within seconds. I thought families would be reunited again, however, I knew little of Jeramy's path. I tried to find him, but there was no trace. He seemed to be the core distress out of this entire village. I hear the mother call out to him. I looked and found two men with crossbows pointing them at the mother as she held her child, keeping him away from the humans. The father was held back with the other humans wanting to take him away to auction. He struggled as he tried to stop the crossbows from firing. He was too late. Although it hasn't happened, but as I watched I could feel her soul drifting into my own. 

The bowmen pulled their hair triggers and let the bolts flying. Luckily the bolts only hit the mother instead of Jeramy. Sinister thoughts to admit, but it was either the child or the mother at that point. The father wanted to attack them. I could feel his rage. In my eyes, still saw her standing there. I walked to her and simply told her to walk to the sun as it set. She listened and walked towards the sunset. I could see the sudden fear in her eyes, It was small, but I could see it. I looked to the father, but could not see them. The carriage that held them were miles away. The humans that were left in the village seemed to be ordered to burn it. 

As I went to came to the carriage, the Joraals were kept in such an enclosed space. Twenty were held in a ten man carriage as they were going to be sold into auction as slaves. It was a two day long ride for them. "Where do you think they are taking us, Khal`En?" the Joraal next to said to the father. 

"I do not know, Ji'Khar." he said as his eyes kept staring down to what was the floor. 

"I saw what happened Jera`Es... I am sorry for that..." The father's eyes started to fog as a tear fell down his cheek. 

The carriage grew to a stop and two men on the outside opened the wooden doors to let out the Joraal of the carriage. The light seemed like it was to harsh for the Joraal, as if they were stuck in darkness for months. "Get out!" the guard demanded. 

"What?" One of the Joraal questioned him. 

"I said get out you Khaja pieces of s**t!" he got out his crossbow and lit the bolt on fire. They rushed out as they were all placed on a wooden podium as if they were for display. The children were placed in cradle for the same purpose. Men began to flood the area as they started to place bids. Men on a stand was placing bids of the ones who wanted one, as men shouted which one they wanted. Many called them Khajas. An offensive term. To them it meant worthless or nothing, but to the humans it mean just another Joraal. 

The father was ignored as the rest were auctioned out of the area. I could see him eying the cradles, he knew where his son was, he just wanted to make sure he wasn't forever gone. As the place was almost at easy, an old man walked up in the podium and patted the father's furry back. "I could see you staring at those cradles." The father looked away from them and stared at the old man. "Which one is yours?" He almost bursted into tears as the man was going to reunite him and his son. 

"What is your name, sir?" the father said. 

"Mine? My family calls me Hannible Higgans. You can call me Hannible, Higgans or Ham. Which ever suits you." The old man smiled as the father stood their barely crying. "Now, which one is yours?" He took him to the the cradles and showed him to his son. 

"How beautiful." the old man said. "That mark on his forehead is so angelic." I looked and he was right. That mark was beautiful. It was in the shape of a flaming phoenix. It was like the All Maker's art plastered on a living vessel. 

"Thank you, sir. How may I repay you?" 

"By working on my farm like the rest I own. Your son is no longer yours, but mine." The father's smile faded as the man held his son like as if he was his  own. "I shall call you Jeramy." He said as the old man's guards pulled the father to his carriage to be dragged to another place of hatred. 

If you ever played the game New Vegas, you must have had a lot of questions. Most of them might have been minor, revolving around the story most likely. Me? I was wondering who my character was! Hello Wandering Traveler and welcome to another thought blog!

The game begins with your character getting shot in the head by a man in a checkered suit, because you had something precious to him and who ever knows about it. Somehow left breathing still with a bit of amnesia. You are picked up by a robot and find find out you need to finish your job.  A little bit of a predictable situation, but the same question lingered in my head as I found out where my Courier Job came from, which was basically in the area, and asked myself "Why doesn't anyone know me?"  An odd question indeed, but if you lived in the area before you got shot, then shouldn't someone say "What's up johnny!" to me? 

I mean, you can say, "Oh, the Courier was hired from another state!" but I must say that they never mention it! They say nothing about who you are or where you came from! If you aren't an over-thinker like me, then you might not have thought this was most brain wrenching question in your mind. 

What happens in the previous games is that you are a Vault Dweller, a person who has lived in a vault for most of his/her life (Obviously). And no one knows you naturally because of it. Now, New Vegas made a bigger step by having the player be a Courier, a person that knows the land's troubles and monsters in it's wastes, so some people should know you as "That Courier," but somehow no one knows your name or face, and most of all, know why you had that package!

So, how did Checkered D**che know you and how did he know where that was and who would have it!? I know that's a lot to question, but it's so confusing and has to be answered! As you progress in the game farther, you find where you took the job, which was in a town, and get some information on Checkered D**che, but barely any on you. I mean, you get something about a guy named Ulysses that might have known you. I don't know, but they were really vague about it. So questions how you even met him and even wonder if you were friends with him. 

When you play the DLC, Old World Blues, you find more about Ulysses and find out he's a hero... I guess... When you hear he's a political man that wants to make America into what it once was. And at last! We get the DLC, Lonesome Road, was released! Once we meet Ulysses, you find out one thing about you, that you are a person that cares for only money! He was the only one who put down the job offer to deliver the chip and finds out you took it. Apparently you were friends? I don't know. It's all confusing. Although, he is considered a fan favorite character, he was a bit more vague about the player's past life before he/she got shot. 

This got so many people like me confused! Some have started a theory that the reason why no one knows you is because your face is disfigured because of that shot in the head. Although the shot wasn't a normal shot, the shrapnel pierced your skin so severe that it made your face look deformed or worn, that no one could recognize you. That character customization was all to create what you thought you use to look like. I mean, the doc in the beginning makes it clear that he tried to make sure you looked the way you use to look like or what you thought you looked like. 

What do you think? Do you think I missed something? Something that might prove that the Courier had a good life? Give me something! I want to know! But I want you guys to know something....

And 'til next time...

Play More Games!

Shadow of the Colossus is one of the best games on the Playstation and is one of the most artistic game of the 5th generation. Although, when the game came to it's release, people were enraged because of how empty and lonesome the game really was. Most of the players came around while others still called this game an empty disaster. Hello Wandering Traveler and welcome to this little tip to devs and designers.

Although, the game is actually empty and the only thing you would fight are the Colossi you encounter, but this is what gives off the greatness of the game. Since each Colossus is only shown in a small scale statue when you are ordered to kill them and hardly any detail on how big they are and what they look like, this gives the player a sense of mystery and wonder. And gives the player the most time to think about what they might fight and how will they overcome their power and strength. The empty landscape is such a great feature in the game because you can have time to relax and contemplate on why you are in this temple and why are these Colossi are here and what is their purpose. 

It is very hard to make this feature a good one in any game, since most can be predictable or plain stupid to be honest. There are many games you can play that has this awesome feature, Ocarina of time marks it's beautiful landscape with some mystery and wonder while Dishonored gives off an unexplained beauty as you travel Dunwall and Fallout makes you want to piece together the lifestyle of the past, before the bombs fell. There isn't a name for this Mystery Method as far as I know, but I would like to call it The Colossus Method

Many people can label each other, but in terms of what devs do in different countries, I would say that the Europeans design their games with creativity and imagination, while the Americas design their games independently, but the Japanese love the hard work put in a creative game. Japan makes some of the best and bizarre game you can buy and most of them won't weird you out. Because of how imaginative they are and how hard working they can be in their jobs is amazing in my standards. If you look at it, most of the Japanese Developed games have done the Colossus Method. Final Fantasy has done it, Persona has done this, and even the Souls series has given some mystery and emptiness. They have given us some of the greatest games we could find and we have been thrown into the same type of theme without knowing. 

Mostly the method isn't just based on mystery, it also can be enhanced with a large beauty around it, it can even be an ugly type of beauty. If you have ever played a game with a large variety of pretty architecture and beautiful landscape, you tend to wonder how this was all made and who did such a beautiful thing. The scale of what you see and what you are told makes the player think and want to know more, and if sent into a purposeful confusion, the player will want to demand more from the developer or  writer who sculpted such a story and landscape. If you are about to fight a Colossus, you are both amazes and intimidates you because of how they were designed and built. 

What do you think of this method? Would this be a great method to use in the next game? Well, I would love to here, but 'til next time...

Play More Games!

There are good stories that are always shoved in our faces and we're always tired about that! But the best stories comes out with a surprise and always is hidden. From games with stories told in the environment to stories told so subtly, Hello Wandering Traveler and welcome to this top 5 games with good hidden stories!

5. Super Mario

This had a pretty simple plot in a strange world and somehow had everyone weirded out by it's odd story. The game, as we know it, is about Mario, a Plummer, saving Princess Peach, Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, from the villain Bowser, the Ruler of Koopa Palace. A large world for it's time and a very odd one. We all know it now, but before, we just thought this game was about a guy that ate mushrooms and killed turtles. 

4. Doom Classic

This game, believe it or not, had a really long and odd story. You are in a group of other super soldiers to stop whatever threat the scientists were facing on Mars. Once you got there, your men were slaughtered or gone mad and ran away. You were left in station E1M1, which began your journey into mars. The creators, however, didn't want to put this story in since John Carmack didn't like the idea of a story in a game. He said and I quote, "It's like a porn video, the story's there, it just doesn't matter." 

3. Team Fortress 2

This Free-To-Play game has an entire reason why you are fighting against the same foes and doing the objects you are assigned to. The game's lore says that back in the late 1800's, these two brothers are fighting over heritage from their dead father. The father wrote in his will that the brothers have to share this heritage money to finally get along. This failed largely. The fight began with the brothers hiring the same set of people with the same skills at the same time to kill other. This fight all the way to 1964, where the two brothers are kept alive with machines and wires. So you are leading an endless fight with two idiot brothers that want the money for themselves. 

2. Titanfall

As bad as the devs tricking us that there was a working campaign in this game, the game had a strange story. This rebel group called the Militia was trying to claim land back from the IMC that stole them. They fight to the point that their leaders are at least dead or captured to claim the planet's land back from either side. 

1. Black Ops Zombies

If you didn't know, the Zombies mode in CoD Black Ops has an actual story behind it, although a confusing one. In WWII times, scientist, Professor Richtofen, created a machine that could travel towards time and space, but lead to a time where Zombies were reality and created havoc in the Berlin.Richtofen went to save his daughter and traveled back in time to save themselves, but instead having his daughter lost in space and time, she took control of the zombies and led them to her own bidding, Richtofen was sent to a time where he hired three men to be his bodyguards, but instead having to kill his other self and the zombies that followed him. Although, I got all this from a Wiki page, but I'm not sure I got this story right. Did I? Please tell me in the comments.

What do you think of this list? Was I accurate enough to get all the stories right? You can tell me, but as usual...

Play More Games!

I have a lot of lovely family members. They are the nicest people you will know if you ever met any of them. The one that likes to be mentioned around the family get-togethers was my Great Abuela. They said she was the best person to be around and gives the best times in any of my family's lives. She bought my dad a Hacked Sega Genesis with Street Fighter and Sonic 2 with it and got my dad into gaming. She payed for my grandpa and Abuelita's trip to Vegas as she babysat my dad, aunt and uncle. And she even provided my Cousin the money and home to survive in Mexico when he got kicked out. She was such a nice person in the country of the savage! 

What was cool about her was that she loved technology and video games. Although, it was the 80's at the time, she loved playing the NES and the Sega Genesis from time to time. She loved gaming so much that she opened her own shop for it. She sold so many games ported from Japan and hacked consoles that were basically considered black market products. She sold merchandise of games, backpacks in Mario theme, and even stuff only sold in Japan! She was such an awesome person to the family. She played and lived all the way to the early 2000's and loved games like Halo and Dead Rising. She experienced 3 generations pass and loved them so much. 

As Mexico got worse, the shop got frequently robbed at gunpoint. She would lose hundred of dollars as people stole left and right. It wasn't long until she had to close shop since one guy almost shot her son, my Grampa. It was that time she wanted to visit the family she had in America and in 2007 was the year I met her in a Lazy-Boy chair playing CoD Multiplayer with my cousins. She was such a nice person when I met her. I was only 8 at the time and I thought she was a myth in the family, but everything they said was true. She was the nicest person in the world that I could name besides my Abuela.

I could hardly talk to her since I didn't speak spanish, but we communicated as much as we could. Most of the time we talked was in the middle of a match. She told me stories from what little english she knew about her life. She faced her brother's death when she was only a teenager, she jumped the wall with her best friend, and she even told me how she and her husband met. Many kids of that age of the time would have thought this was boring, but I thought she was the most interesting person. Sadly, that was the only day I would see her. She died in 2010 and everyone was devastated. I could not attend her wedding since the Border Crossing situation would be awful and the entry would have been a burden. I wish I could have. She was the best piece of family I knew. 

My second cousin, Ruben was not well with her death, she made most of his life and got him into computers and Quake. She made up most of his life. So, to honor her, he bought the abandoned shop that was once my Great Abuela's. It's still has it's name too, even though it's a Computer Repair shop. El Jugador. I hope to visit it soon. 

I hope you enjoyed this little story of mine! Do you have an elderly family member that plays as much as my Great Abuela? You can tell me, but as usual

Play More Games!

Author's Note: wrote this a long time ago in 8th grade. It was for a symbolism themed essay. I got B- on it and bumbed my grade in the class from an F to a F+... I guess this wasn't a big finals Essay!

Forever attuned. Forever on course. Forever on the same loop of which no one will appreciate. A distant crow of symbols and tales of which to tell and present, but this crow is one not amused with the torture of which he has to learn. He soars towards the graves, of which the dead lie, and the men give waste of their sorrow. This crow comes not to share his meanings, but to relieve them from his mind, to find peace and inspiration to tune instead of one in a constant loop of annoyance. 

He carries his claws to the statues of which he calls the damned. The women who lived and died in awful styles. He comes to take one's caring hand and closes his eyes. The crow clears his mind, no pictures, no thoughts, only an empty darkness of he endures. One speaks behind him,"You comes in spite of obsession of death?"

The crow lunges in the air and hovers, "Who speaks?" he screeches. "I do not favor those of tricks." 

"I am not one with tricks, but one with embrace." The statue he sat upon speaks, but her lips does not move. The crow lingers in the air as he contemplates who he talks to. 

"Embrace?" The crow spoke aloud. "What embraces of which you speak?" He flutters still in the air as the statue's stone hands clutch ever so softly. 

"Give her take. The embrace of which anyone longs for is the one I speak of." The crow is mesmerised as he watches the statue speak without a single jolt of her lips. 

"Can you speak you name?" The crow wonders.

"I can, that is if you want you soul to be mine." 

"My soul is my own, so leave you deal as it was." The crow gently settles on her clenched fist as another voice sobs in the corner of ear. 

"You speak you mouth as if it was something to show for!" the feminine voice began to whimper. "We do not need to heed your constant stories and your bragged legends!" 

The crow turned towards the seductive sobbing voice and saw a statue with plastered tears on her face, a robe covers her eyes, but her cheeks show as her arms and hands reach for her eyes under the robs. 

"And who might you be?" the crow asked. 

"What does my name matter? The simple mortal will shrug in disgust if they were to hear it." The statue's hands began to clench as well as she spoke her sorrow.

"Do not feel ashamed of your features and your gifts. They are your armor of which would protect you from the wars of life."

"You do not understand, we are not ones of this world."

The crow settles once more utop her kneeling leg and looks under her robe to see her face. A voice, again, interrupts him, but this time, the voice was not delicate, a voice of power and spite rushes to be heard. 

"Shut you god forsaken mouth. Your constant whining annoys us as we stand still in this field of sorrow and respect." 

The crow stares silently towards the statue to find a woman with a spear held in one hand and severed head of a roman man in the other. "You seem familiar, to me..." the crow spoke silently.

"I am but a forgotten goddess of time and war. My death is my shackles of my belief." the statue spoke, but still her lips stayed, unmoveable and still in it's place. 

"I do not mean to intrude, but who are you figures? Is this but my imagination? I have never encountered such a strange moment such as this. Even in a graveyard such as this."

The statues shutter a laugh as the crow stays on the knee of the sobbing statue. "What is so laughably funny?" 

"You are a crow!" the strong voice began to overpower the atmosphere. "You should have met us before hand?" The sobbing voice began to speak. 

"We have met so many crows pass by with so much to empty, so much to relieve from their mind and soul. You should have know us from the beginning!" The crow becomes annoyed. 

"I have no time for this, I must leave!"

"But your soul must relieve its stress, my dear," the soft voice cleanses the crow's anger. "You must submit to our cleansing touch." He does what the soothing voice said to him and closes his bright yellow eyes, clearing his soul of it's rambling and relaxes himself. "Your obsession of death..." her soothing voice was no longer peaceful, but loud and frightening. The crow, startled, jumps and in the air and has his mind flooded with thoughts. 

"Why are you figures so startling. And what do you mean my obsession of death?" 

"Oh, but do not fear, your obsession with it is but a love song in my ears."

"I carry no obsession of such a thing, nor shall I keep one such as that." the crow's words began to shutter one's of lies. 

"You do not see, but your blindness of which is common of those who deny the truth." The crow speaks with anger.

"Blindness? I carry no blindness of anything, I see all and believe all. No one has endured what I had," the eyes of the crow stare downwards, in show of his realisation of the truth. 

"Edgar, you need not panic of your past," the crow's eyes widen as his name was called. 

"How do you know my name, madam?" He turns as looks towards the other statues and finds they are not there. The spear wielding, forgotten goddess is not there to show her forgotten glory and the sobbing statue with the robes of the damned, and plastered tears of sorrow was there to let her feelings go to those who would help. "Where are the others? I demand answers!"

"Oh, your mind is full of questions," he lips morphed a skeleton grin. "You were chosen by me, Edger. And those who I choose are those I know."

"Who are you?" the crow asked. Her statue began to crumble with age and vegetation. 

"I am once was the single most embraced being as times ends for one's life." Her voice before was soothing, but there was the voice of devastation that sank in his mind. "I have met hardly any with this rare obsession, Edgar. But you are the most gifted of those I met." The crow is silent as the statue forms a shadowed robe covering herself as a scythe begins to form around her hands as her skeleton grin is all you see in the light that shines upon her. "Your writing is but a conjuring of one's creativity. Yet, you still wrote about me as I was of knew quality."

"Are you talking about my failed writings? I rather not speak of it. I had inspiration, but it was the fact I've seen you in my head so many times. I feared you, but came to love you."

"Yet, you do not want to embrace me?" her voice settles into a peaceful state. "Why do you come to see death and sorrow in this gravefield, but not come and embrace your own death and sorrow?" 

The crow's eyes began to linger to the ground as the lady's voice became heavy on his mind. "I do not want my stories, my poetry, my life to be forgotten. As long as I stay in this form and life style, I know my life's work will stay eternal."

Her voice starts to lift her wait as she begins to feel sorrow for the poor soul. "Eternal is what you want, but eternal needs always become an illusion." Her voice became a void. "You do not want to become an illusion do you?" The crow's thoughts were nothing, but what she spoke of. "Do not worry, Edgar. Take me hand and embrace the light." A light began to shine inside of her as her hand was freely presented in front of him. "Be engraved in history and be loved by loved by those who know your life." The grow hovers over her hand and lands gently on her as a free feeling fills the crow. "I will place you on this pedestal and your image will never be forgotten, forever attuned, forever on course, forever loved and inspired." As he was placed on the pedestal of pure marble and glorious white color, he forms to stone and embraces his own inspiration, as his name becomes engraved on the stone in the gravefield, Edgar Allan Poe.

There are a small count of good and powerful female characters that actually catch on to be known. A lot of the greats don't even need to be mentioned since they are just the best of the bests. That said, I count down the ten most badass women in gaming! (Note: this is not based on sexual appearance and/or sexual appeal)

10. Tomb Raider, Aka Lara Croft

She is an obvious pick in this category, but she deserves the pick of this list because of her 2013 reboot. I mean, who can resist a woman that can handle a bow so well? I mean really well, she can make a guy lose his balls in one pull of that bow. Besides that, she can handle herself with a horde of crazed men and leave with only a slightly ripped tank top and her entire body covered in their blood. I dare you to ask her out on a date!

9. Jill Valentine

She is basically the female Chris in Resident Evil! She stood against hordes of zombies and took down two Nemesis bosses! Who can top that? Besides that she is one of the most acrobatic characters in the game next to Ada (Which won't appear on the list, Sorry), and knows her way around almost any gun she can find. With her special training, who can take with a bruised face? Oh wait..

8. Alyx 

What is the first thing when you hear the word "Survivor?" A man up in the snowy mountains trying to live is life as a woodsmen? A guy that lives in a Zombie-Infested world? Well, if you thought of those things, then you couldn't get that word in a perfect sentence. Alyx is a Survivor and she has been living in places that could have gotten anybody killed on the first day, but somehow she has faced the odds head-on and never looked back after defeating them. 

7. Jack

What is more unexpected than a female villain? Well, she can be one of the first you may witness, but she is a criminal that has committed multiple crimes of murder and attacks on Sheperd and his group. She can become a companion later in Mass Effect 2, but she still appears as a villain. An awesome one at that. Imagine seeing a woman holding a rifle with tattoos covering her entire body, ready to shoot you without a second thought.

6. Elizabeth 

What do you call a woman that has world-shifting powers, a sense to dodge bullets, knows her way around any type of weaponry, and is badass? You guessed it! It's Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite! Somehow, people saw her as a helper in the main game, sense she mostly just stood there getting you ammo and money while you fought almost everyone you met. This was obviously changed in Burial at Sea where you get to play as her and kicked almost every guy's ass in the process. Oh, and just a little note...

Never...

Make her...

Angry...

Ever...

5. Bayoneta 

She is one to argue over whether or not she is just sexy or just weird, but we can all say that a woman that can take down Angels and Demons at the same time while dancing is pretty amazing. And don't get me started on how her hair is also a weapon, too. Actually, don't let me get started on that at all. I mean who wants to know that it's her clothes as well?

Anyways, she continuously kills angels and demons left and right with four pistols, two held in her hands (Obviously), and two attached to her shoes. No wonder she likes to dance while in a fight! 

4. Samus Aran 

As if it wasn't obvious enough, Samas has marked the hearts of the young players of the late 80's and early 90's. Once we heard a woman was Samus Aran, people freaked and thought this was a big step on characters in games. As we watch it now, we can see how much of a step this took with such little surprise to new players today got that revealed to them in the game. She is basically the mark of awesomeness in female gaming protagonists. 

3. Meryl 

One of the best MGS characters is Meryl and is one of the first females to ever appear as a badass in the game. She has taken out assassins and even helped the infamous Solid Snake in his missions. I mean besides her polygonal figure in Metal Gear, she has been one of the most beautiful characters yet. I mean some might argue that Quiet is more than Meryl, but I think there is something else that makes her beautiful besides her face. 

2. Elena Fisher

In a game that is basically a Tomb Raider clone, the game has it's fun with it's own characters. Elena is one of the best characters in the game and has the best romance with the protagonist, Nathan Drake. She can aid you in the game and in one cutscene, she empties the room with a freaking Gatling Mini-Gun! A freaking Mini-Gun!! Is she even the strong enough to lift it? Bro, does she even lift?

***Now for Some Honorable Mentions***

Ada Wong

One of the greats, but not one of the well know of the RE games. Although, she had her own campaign in Resident Evil 6, but wasn't in the right game to be loved and adored as much as Jill. This just my opinion, though.

Faith

Also one of the best characters, but with such a dull personality. I bet she is more different in the newest game, but I haven't played it, so because of a personal opinion and how her character was, she didn't quite make the list, but deserves a mention.

FemShep

She is one of the best characters in Mass Effect, but based on her personality, she is based on your decisions and actions, so she is basically a puppet to the player, but deserves this mention. 

***And Now for Our Number 1*** 

1. Ellie 

Name a small girl teenager that can take down a man twice her size. Ellie is the meaning of Teenage wrath and she can take anyone down with just a pocket knife. Without her being the gender politics of today's female character, she actually is the help for  the player when in a tight place. And to add to that, once Joel gets injured badly, Ellie takes care of him and hunts for food and protect herself on her own. Well, if that wasn't female pride, I don't know what to call an awesome gal!

Welp... That's it! I hope you enjoyed this little list. Before I go, who did I miss? Is there anyone that is better than the women on this list? You can tell me, but I'm busy taking a selfie with a pal...

And 'til next time...

Play More Games!