Well, AGC is back!!! Take a look at the newest review, below!
Thanks for watching, let me know what you think!!!
-Adam E.
StrikerBlade Productions.
Adam’s Gaming Corner (Episode 8): King Kong (Atari 2600) Review
Filed under Adam's Gaming Corner Episode, Adamthegamer, Reviews
StrikerBlade’s E3 2013 Thoughts (Part 1)- “The Big Three”
Here’s a unique way to start a blog about this year’s E3. It’s 1:06 A.M., I’m in a ton of pain, currently on the leaning edge of an Oxycodone dose, sixteen hours after a (minor, but painful enough) surgery. I just got over the many effects that anesthesia a few hours ago, so I guess I’m in good enough condition to type a quick blog.
E3 this year is not quite over yet, but the big three companies have already revealed their big annoucements, so I will begin talking about the hardware, before the software (expect that blog next week).
With that said, let’s not waste any more time. Let’s begin with the first press conference I watched, Microsoft and the X-Box One.
MICROSOFT
Microsoft has disappointed me big time this year, especially with it’s X-Box One reveal, and it’s confirmation of several bad rumors. While it wasn’t as bad as first anticipated, the results were still enough to bum me out to the point of me deciding I will not be buying the system (I originally planned to buy all three on launch day).
However, I went into this conference with hopes that Microsoft would acknowledge the large amount of controversy, with the possibly of them changing some of these new restraints exclusive to the X-Box One. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen, in fact, the responce I found towards the feature of the twenty-four hour online check requirement was flat out disgusting. It went along the lines of, if you don’t like the rule, buy our old console. That felt like a punch to the gut from a good friend.
With the original X-Box (The real X-Box One), and the 360, Microsoft included many new and innovative features that changed the industry for the better. The original X-Box, in the short time I’ve owned one, allowed me the comfort of having a built in memory drive, and the ability to add custom soundtracks to games. Two very nice features that add to the experience. The 360 took that, added in the indie games market that allows many up-and-coming companies to publish their hard work (the main system I re-purchased the console). Both of Microsoft’s previous consoles were possibly two of the best of all time. Sure, they each had of their problems, but what console is perfect? Other than the Phillips CD-I, I can’t think of one to be honest.
With all that said. This conference, regarding the hardware, was very underwhelming. Two of the software annoucements caught my attention and really got me excited, but that’s for next blog. The price for the console was large, especially considering that it will only last until Microsoft decides to pull the plug.
In conclusion, I’m still not buying an X-Box One, and I really wanted to support them. To be honest, and I wouldn’t say this for any other console, I hope the X-Box One bombs, because if any company can support this mistake, it would be Microsoft. I want Microsoft to learn to respect their customers more, and know that gamers aren’t lemmings that will follow your every so-called “innovation.” I’m sure the system will be successful, which will be a shame to me, but I suppose not actually owning their own games isn’t a big deal to a lot of gamers.
SONY
Sony walked into E3 with it’s emphasis on the PS4, and I had big questions on my mind, that I hoped I would get clear and honest answers from. Would it have those same annoying restraints as the X-Box One? Would it be cheaper than the PS3′s crazy expensive launch price point? Would it reveal any big exclusives? The answer to all three of those questions turned out to be the ones I wanted, and as a result, Sony, to me, won E3 among the big three.
The moment of the year for me is when Sony announced that it would NOT be following in the steps of Microsoft with it’s new policies. The crowd was going nuts, Twitter was raving to the roof tops, and there was much rejoicing (Yay!).
After that, before Microsoft could answer the count of ten, the renouncement was made that the Playstation 4 would be $399 at launch. Boom! Knock Out! You’re the winner of E3 2013, Sony!
I have to say, I didn’t expect this from Sony. To be completely honest, I actually expected them to fail. The game announcements were great, the excitement in the crowd was contagious, and the internet exploded with publicity that nobody could buy. Sony did almost everything right, and even a reviewer I am a fan of who publicly claims to HATE them with a passion, congratulated them for a job well done.
NINTENDO
I had already admitted that Sony, in my opinion, won E3 in terms of best conference, I still have plenty to say about Nintendo. Nintendo this year did not hold a press conference, but instead reached out directly to the gamers with a Nintendo Direct broadcast over the internet and through the Wii U and 3DS eShop. I commend Nintendo for doing this. The insane amount of disrespect that Nintendo recieves from the so-called “Professional Gaming Press” is, well…insane! Even when Nintendo released the news that it would not hold a CONFERENCE at E3, many websites, including the bigger ones, just flat out reported that they wouldn’t be there. It was completely untrue, and had the reporters do any research or contact Nintendo for a comment, they would have found out for themselves. With information being so easy to find now-a-days, why do these guys just refuse to look for it? (That’s a whole different blog, though).
Anyways, the Nintendo Direct for E3 did not have as many surprises as I hoped. It was based entirely on software annoucements, which is good. The Wii U has been struggling, it’s no secret. Hell, most gaming conferences from third party developers didn’t even acknowledge the console as next gen, even though it’s been proven that it can run engines like CryTech. The games for Wii U looked great, in fact, I couldn’t really tell a difference between them and PS4/X-Box One graphics I saw.
Overall, Nintendo did the best with what they had, in an interesting and innovative way that saved them a lot of money and negative press. The news and demos not only went to the press, but also to the gamers through the Wii U eShop and select Best Buy locations. It shows that Nintendo has a lot of fight left in them, and care deeply about pleasing the people that matter to them most, their dedicated customers.
So with all that said, thanks for reading this blog by me. I hope you enjoyed it! I know it may be controversial, so let me please remind you, this is all my opinion. If you have a different one than I, please by all means, let me know in the comment section!
So long, and take care!
-Adam E.
StrikerBlade Productions.
Filed under Adam's Blogs, Adamthegamer, Blogs
Kick Ass 3 (Issue 1) – REVIEW
The Cover That I Bought (Because Dogs Are Cool)
-NO SPOILERS-
Now, let me say this first. This is my first actual comic book review. I’ve never done this kind of thing before, so please excuse any “rookie mistakes” I make.
With all that said, KICK-ASS 3, the finale to the KICK-ASS 3 comic book trilogy, released it’s first issue today, and I literally just got done reading it…
So what did I think?
Well…so far so good. Like the other two first issues in the other KICK-ASS 3 series, not much really happens right away. We’re reading through the “where are they now” section of the story, and not the “Here’s the plot, action, and resolution” part. Like a plant, a story needs the seeds first before growing into the final product, and that’s what you get with KICK-ASS 3 (Issue 1). By the end of it, the first bit of action begins, but only merely begins, which kind of was disappointing, but understandable. I’m sure by the end of the run, when I’m able to read the story cover-to-cover, I will probably look back at this issue a lot better, but as of now, all I want from is more, which is a sign of a good comic entry.
I know the action is coming in extreme doses, like the previous Kick-Ass series, so I suppose it’s good that it starts with the story and not with the bloody violence and gore. As I write this, I’m starting to think it could have been interesting to have a change of pace like that…but we got what we got, and I still think it’s good.
The art is good as always, nothing about that bothers me in the slightest. The dialogue is also really good, and has that personable quality to that. The characters sound like they’re having real (or more realistic) conversations than most movies/comics/TV shows suggest.
I recommend checking out KICK-ASS 3 (Issue 1), especially if you’re a KICK-ASS fan. Just keep in mind, if you’re a fan of the movie versions of KICK-ASS, there are some differences between the two. I’d recommend reading KICK ASS 1 & 2 before this, obviously, since the stories pick up where the last one left off.
With all that said, that’s my short review of KICK-ASS 3. I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know if you have any recommendations or criticisms, or what you thought of the comic if you have read it. I will be reviewing the rest of the issues of KICK ASS 3, so don’t worry about that.
Thanks!
-Adam Erickson
StrikerBlade Productions.
Filed under Adam's Blogs, Adamthegamer, Blogs
Action 52: The Search (Mirror)
This is a MIRROR of an article online.
Original Link:
http://www.neswarpzone.com/active.html
-By Andrew Harris-
Active Enterprises
Active Enterprises LTD… the very name strikes fear into the heart of any gamer that has ever heard of the company… and today I will reveal exactly who was behind the company, who it was who made these games. First, however, I shall give you a little back story into the search for Active Enterprises.
It all started on a pleasant summer afternoon, making my standard trips into the video game stores I obtained a cartridge of Action 52. Soon after I returned to my home I began playing the game, I realized how horrible it truly was, but for some reason I kept playing… months later, I was still playing… and now I was searching for the elusive Active Enterprises.
All information that was readily available to the public was from various NES sites, most filled with little information or non-information that was not too helpful in my quest to locate the company. It was at this point that I began contacting TRM of the popular NES site “The Warp Zone”, he was quite helpful and assisted in my search by providing any information that he had found.
However, that information did not lead to Active as I had hoped it would, so I was required to do some more searching… and search I did, this searching led me to FarSight Studios, the company who created the Genesis version of Action 52. After sending an e-mail to the company it was quickly responded to by the first person I located in my search.
Jay Obernolte
Obernolte contacted me back within several minutes of my initial e-mail giving me a phone number to call him at his work number. At the time this phone call could not be made for various reasons, one of which being that I had no idea what his connection was to Active or even if he worked on the game. I continued playing the e-mail game, throwing an excuse out as to why I could not phone him led to yet another e-mail saying that he was fine with answering any questions I might ask through e-mail. I asked a few short questions and was quickly given the response of “WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THIS?”, yes, in all capital letters. I explained my position and was anxious to receive another e-mail response from Mr. Obernolte but I received nothing, for several months following I would continue to send him a brief weekly e-mail hoping for a response but it never came. During this period I continued my work.
During this period of time I continued to investigate FarSight Studios, it was quite strange to see such a strange defensive response from a company that was thought to have no connection to Active Enterprises other than working on one game and to have had perfectly clean business practices… searching Google’s usenet archives I came across a post from the Summer of 1993 from the second person I located in my search.
Chris Ziomkowski
In his posting Ziomkowski stated that he knew “the guy” working on Action 52 for the Sega Genesis and claimed that he had played it and knew it was quality work. This posting made me fairly suspicious of Ziomkowski and I did more research on him, turning up that he in fact had worked for FarSight Studios and did during this period of time. I traced him down to a current e-mail address and sent a message… no response, after sending another message to him I received a response stating that “I am not the Chris Ziomkowski that posted this message to usenet in the summer of 1993, however I do know him. WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THIS?”… yes, he expected me to believe that he just happened to have a friend sharing the same exact and quite rare name, and also tossed in the old “WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THIS” for good measure. I sent him a response and as with Jay Obernolte it apparently indicated that I “knew too much” and I never received a response. I continued mailing the response to him weekly in hopes of receiving some information but never received anything.
With FarSight Studios electing to keep their lips tightly sealed I decided to move in a different direction. Knowing that the United States Government had a freely available patent and trademark server I decided to check for the things that Active claimed to have trademarked. What I found was that “Action 52″ and “Cheetahmen” were registered trademarks of Active Enterprises. With this information I was able to locate a warehouse address in Nassau, Bahamas [900 Warehouse (Newington)] this is where they were based shortly before they disappeared off the face of the earth, according to the U.S. Patent/Trademark office it was their address on 12/21/1993. From here I was ready to search for this warehouse, after a brief search I found that it is apparently currently used by Society Capital Management Limited and any connection it may have had to Active Enterprises is now gone…
Nearly ready to give up, I stumbled onto a nice little clue. That being the following wording on a page:
“Active Enterprises LTD :: voice technologies
Description: Active Enterprises LTD. is an international company based in Nassau Bahamas. We began developing innovative projects in 1991 when we released the worlds first multigame cartrage for the nintendo gaming system. Today we provide high-quality, offshore software development services and Web design solutions at excellent rates. We specialize in voice controlled applications that feature the latest in both speech recognition and text to speech technologies. Active Enterprises helps companies around the world to leverage the power of the Internet by placing highly qualified software programming specialists, project managers, and analysts at their fingertips.”
And guess what? That was as of 2001. Normally people have said that “Active went bankrupt and disappeared…”, people thought that they had put themselves out of business after releasing Action 52 for the Genesis and the NES, that was not the case at all. Active Enterprises is still kicking…
So… why weren’t there other games released? Why the sudden change? Simple, FarSight Studios signed an exclusive contract with Sega in 1994 to work on their NFL Football series for the next couple of years. FarSight knew how to program on the SNES and the Genesis, Active Enterprises didn’t, the NES was dead by early 1994 [when Cheetahmen II would have been released] and thus Active decided to forget the video game market and head somewhere else.
Back to the search… the link to their website was down so it was my responsibility to locate the site. I searched and searched hoping to finally locate something but I couldn’t, until I met my final search result… identifying not only the website, but a name, an address, and a fax number to go with it. So what did I find?
Drumroll please…
“Active Enterprises, LTD”,”P.O. Box N-8978″,”Nassau, New Providence n/a – BS”,””,””,”activenterprises.com”,”Perri, Vince”,”vince@ACTIVENTERPRISES.com”,”305-559-2900 305-554-9388 305″,””,”Perri, Vince”,”vince@ACTIVENTERPRISES.com”,”305-559-2900 305-554-9388″,””What does that mean?
Company Name: Active Enterprises LTD
Address: P.O. Box N-8978, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas
Website: ActivEnterprises.com
Name: Vince Perri
E-Mail: Vince@ActivEnterprises.com
Phone: 305-559-2900
Fax: 305-554-9388
Address: P.O. Box N-8978, Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas
Website: ActivEnterprises.com
Name: Vince Perri
E-Mail: Vince@ActivEnterprises.com
Phone: 305-559-2900
Fax: 305-554-9388
Then for some reason the phone and fax information repeats itself… don’t ask me why. So…
Vince Perri
The idea now was to locate Mr. Perri. I quickly found that the phone number and fax information was no longer pointing to Active Enterprises. Thus I attempted to use the great resource that is google’s usenet archives and see if Mr. Perri had ever posted. Did I find messages he had posted? Yes, yes I did. Here is the first:
From: Vince Perri (active@icanect.net)
Subject: H-E-L-P
View: Complete Thread (4 articles)
Original Format
Newsgroups: news.newusers.questions
Date: 1996/08/01
This is my first time sending a news message and I’m not really sure how it works.
I’m fairly computer literate having used computers from when the XT’s first came out and am familiar with a lot of various software programs (using DOS or Windows). But this is something new to me. I’m using Netscape Navigator 2.02 and trying to find out how to get to the following address: news.announce.newusers (Subj): “Publicly Accessable Mailing Lists” Can anyone help me either getting there, or trying to find various mailing lists. I sell CDR’s (recordable CD rom disks, for recording audio, video or computer info on CD rom) cheaper than anyone in the country and would like to find some kind of list so I can make people who are interested in this sort of thing aware of what I’m doing. Right now there’s a real shortage of these things and we have plenty, so in helping myself I can also help others who need these things. I can be reached at e-mail address: active@icanect.net
Thanks,
Vince
—–
How do I know it’s him? Simple, the e-mail address active@icanet.net not only says “Active” in it, but Icanect was a dial-up server in Miami, Florida at the time of this posting. Also notice the standard Active business plan of “Look how cheap this is!” when he advertises the CDRs. Also note that Mr. Perri stated that he used XT computers, that dates him back far prior to the creation of Active Enterprises LTD. and means that there is no question that he could have had the knowledge required to create games.
He also posted once more on 12/11/1996 in efforts of joining a Warez mailing list.
Another interesting note that I find hilarious considering it’s Active Enterprises related… is that several users claimed to be receiving spam e-mails regarding CDRs from active@icanect.net one user even pasted the e-mail which goes as following:
” I just wanted to let you know that even though there’s a real shortage of CD/R’s (Recordable CD’s) on the market I can get you all you need, and, at a realistic price. I can get 74 Minute 650 mb CD/R’s (OANTITY – 1)for $ 9.00 plus $ 1.00 for S&H. Larger quantities cheaper price.
If your looking for your own CD writer so you can record your own CD’s (or make copies of others) I have an “INTERNAL” JVC (model XR-W2010) Reader/Write that’s a 4x Read and 2x Write complete with multi-platform authoring software & Media included for only $ 549. The software is Mac/Win 3.x and Win95 compatable. It ALL comes ready to install.
There are QUANTITY DISCOUNTS on ALL of the above!!!!!
If your interested in any of the above contact me at:
E-MAIL address: active@icanect.net
Thanks,
Vince
PS: We also have “Hard Drives”, CPU’s & especially, RAM chips (4mb/8mb/16mb/32mb) at the lowest prices around. VISA, MC, DISCOVER & AMEX accepted, or will ship COD (Cash, Cashiers Chk or MO)”
—-
It’s also interesting to note that e-mail to the icanect.net address is not bounced nor is e-mail to the vince@activenterprises.com address. E-mail to both of these addresses has gone completely unanswered.
And essentially… that’s the story to date, I don’t know what else to state other than I hope Mr. Perri will choose to e-mail me at activefaq@blazemail.com if he sees this as I really want to talk to him.
An interesting addition to this story is that I have been receiving strange instant messages stating “Stop bothering Vinnie”. It’s hard to say whether that is Active Enterprises related or simply a coincidence from someone trying to freak me out for whatever reason. There is a Vinnie Perri listed in the Florida phone listings but this Mr. Perri lives several hours away from Miami where the Vince Perri I am looking for appears to be based.
With that said, if you have any information on Active Enterprises LTD. not featured here, worked at Active Enterprises, worked or work at FarSight Studios and wish to speak to me about Action 52, or just give feedback on this contact me at activefaq@blazemail.com
- Andrew Harris
Filed under Active Enterprises
The Aquabats Super Show! Review!!!
Adam Gets Animated- Episode 3.
Well, I cannot believe it, but Youtube has actually allowed me ad revenue on this video without any type of repeal process. I’m sure Hasbro will probably try to change that soon.
So, I guess I’m back!
This first video was actually kind of rough, to be honest. I feel like I need to get back into the swing of things, but at least I’ve got a good computer to make these videos happen.
Upcoming videos-
May 2013 Video Game Update (Coming either later today, or early tomorrow)
AGC (Episode 8)- Duke Nukem Forever (Coming Early June)
Adam Gets Animated (Episode 4) (2nd week of June)
StrikerBlade Radio (June)
Thank you for your support!
-Adam
Filed under Adam Gets Animated, Adam's Blogs, Adamthegamer
The BIG Update- April 2nd 2013!
Hey all!
First and foremost, the Youtube update.
My current computer is SHOT. It’s an old computer that is definitely outdated and just not good enough anymore. That’s not why there has been any videos as of late. However, I am using this time to prepare myself to make a big comeback with a lot of change to what I make.
Here’s what you can expect:- The return of “Adam’s Gaming Corner.”
-The return of the “Video Game Update” videos.
-New cartoon related videos.
-New content/series that break away from the “reviewing” genre.
I think I will get back on track in one or two months. So, please be patient with me!!
So what about the website?
Well, with the Youtube re-booting, StrikerBlade will have a lot more content featured. The films I want to make will be EXCLUSIVELY featured on Strikerblade(dot)com and those will be featured in the summer.
I will be posting more and more blogs as well about a variety of subjects that I do not want to make videos regarding. More AGC text editions will take place, and my views on more current subjects will be here as well.
Along with that, the “StrikerBlade Podcast” is actually FINALLY on it’s way. It will be featured on the site first, and then Youtube in a certain amount of time.
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With all that said, I want to assure all of you that I will return in video, text and audio form soon enough, whether you like it or not!
Thanks for reading,
-Adam E.StrikerBlade Productions.
Filed under Adam's Blogs, Adamthegamer
Movie Reviews-”21 And Over” and “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”
Hello!
Well, this weekend I went to two movies in theaters, and figured I might as well review them since I’m really bored. Here’s the rating system.
SEE IT- Go to it in theaters NOW!
RENT-Maybe worth watching in theaters, but it’s probably best you wait it out to watch it on TV or Netflix.
PASS- Don’t watch it. It’s bad. It’s pure evil.
“21 And Over”
21 And Over was your average party film. You have three characters, one is more outspoken and comfortable with making people uncomfortable, another character who is more conservative and feels out of place in their situation, and then we have the third mystery character who carries the plot by being in a troubled situation.
The movie tells the story of Jeff Chang, a college student whose friends are celebrating his 21st birthday by taking him out to a few bars for some alcohol. Shenanigans ensue, and things get out of control and crazy.
This film has it’s fair share of over-the-top moments. Violence, nudity, and obnoxious jokes are to be expected, much like The Hangover or Project X before it. Eventually, sincerity is brought into the flick to give the characters more personality, but it’s rather drab, and almost comedic (in the wrong way) and how drab it is.
I didn’t hate this movie, and found myself laughing now and then, but this movie was definitely nothing special. It’s a decent movie, it has it’s laughs and moments, but it isn’t anything special. It’s the kind of movie that you go into knowing what’s going to happen and just hope to god that there’s something special to it. Unfortunately, there really isn’t.
RENT (if interested)- PASS (if not)
“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, starring Steve Carrell, Jim Carrey, and the tremendously underrated Steve Buscemi, was actually somewhat of a surprise to me. At first, I was surprised that Carrey was even involved in this movie, since it seems his focus isn’t the goofy comedic roles he’s loved for anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a great actor, and his upcoming Kick Ass 2 portrayal looks amazing to me, I just cannot remember a goofy Jim Carrey movie like this since Bruce Almighty (which also starred Steve Carrel).
Wonderstone tells the story of two magicians (Carrell and Buscemi) who grew up unpopular but used the magic of…well, magic, to create a powerful friendship. However, over time, it’s apparent that their act has become old and what’s popular in magic is drastically changing with the influence with the new edgy magician in Steve Gray (Carrey), who is like a hybrid of Kris Angel and David Blane.
I laughed quite a bit in this one, however, the crowd I was with, didn’t. I wasn’t expecting anything oscar-worthy with this one, just a few laughs and a decent story, and that’s what I got. Buscemi’s acting once again made me ask the question of how he isn’t more successful, but Carrey was definitely the funniest character in the movie, his physical comedy talent stole the show, at least for me.
However, despite the title and my satisfaction with the movie, Burt Wonderstone wasn’t very incredible (see what I did there?). It had some laughs, a cameo or two, and a decent plot/story, but other than that, wasn’t very memorable. I recommend watching it, but I’m not quite sure about in theaters. This movie will probably be on TV a lot in the future, that or Netflix, and maybe it’s best to wait it out to see it there.
RENT
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Thanks for reading this post! Let me know if you enjoyed it, or want to see more movie reviews in this style. Thanks and have a great day!
-Adam E.
StrikerBlade Productions
Filed under Adam's Blogs, Adamthegamer, Movie Content, Reviews, Text Review
