Just an incoming thought: While my blog's main interest is video games and entertainment, I want to note that with it being my own personal blog, I do want and plan to post things not relating to the theme of this blog. This blog is an exploratory blog for myself and it's important for me that I post what I want. With that being said, I have some new types of posts to make.

Some background: As a manager of a coffee shop (Green Cove Springs), I was invited to the SCAA EXPO 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. I attended this event with my two bosses. It was a pleasant event and extremely insightful. I learned a lot and managed to snag a few [pretty exclusive] interviews with some of the top leaders/competitors in the coffee industry. Over the next few weeks, I plan to post some of these interviews and feature articles I've written during this event.

I hope my readers understand and appreciate the work I plan to do.

Thanks!

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Teaser Trailer Breakdown

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Teaser Trailer Thoughts and Impressions
-Something very familiar but very new

-Yesterday evening, seemingly random, Disney released an 11-second teaser of Rogue One. This teaser came with the reveal that tomorrow (which is now today), a full teaser trailer would be released on Good Morning America, a popular morning talk show. Well, today with the release of the long-awaited teaser trailer , fans and critics alike have taken to the internet to give their thoughts and impressions. With that being said, it's only right that I take part in the discussion. Here's my trailer breakdown:

Right from the get go, we come to one of my favorite parts of this trailer: the music. After getting past that screen letting us viewers know that the trailer is appropriate for all audiences, a soft and faint music begins playing. Sure enough, the music playing is that Star Wars theme we're all so familiar with. Yes, the one that plays when Luke stares off into the dual sunset of Tatooine. Yes, the one masterfully remixed for the first full-length Episode 7 trailer. That one. It's a beautiful rendition and takes cues from Jurassic World. Like in Jurassic World, the theme is being played softly on a piano. Obviously, there's no link there; just a recognition of a smart musical decision. This rendition of John William's classic sets the tone for the trailer. You know right off the bat that this isn't going to be a fun time. It's eerie and alarming, soft but loud and clear. This movie will not be heroic and light. This movie will be dark and grim.

The shot presented here is Felicity Jones' character being led through a door, passing by that weird rebel armor first seen in beginning Episode 4.

Next, we see Felicity Jones' character turn around to look at the camera (us). It's hear that we hear her mutter her name: Jyn Erso. As the scene continues on, we hear a man naming off charges against Jyn. Forgery, stealing, assault and resisting arrest. Jyn is not a good citizen of the galactic universe. She's a lawbreaker, through and through. It's a refreshing change of pace as we're used to following a lead who seemingly can only do good. Jyn stands as the complete opposite of that. 

After walking through what appears to be a base on Yavin IV (first seen in Episode 4), Jyn is brought to a table opposite Mon Mothma, played by Genevieve O'Reilly. It's important to note that while walking through this base hangar, we see a jungle outside and vines hanging over the garage door. If this is Yavin IV, then this base is actually an old temple. Anyway, as we arrive to the table with Jyn, Mothma declares Jyn "reckless, aggressive, and undisciplined." She continues on, stating that Jyn has been on her own since she was 15. Why? We don't know. Maybe she ran away from home or maybe her parents were killed. I'm sure we'll find out in December. 

The camera then shifts to our first look at Diego Luna's character. He's slyly listening in on Mothma and Jyn's meeting. He doesn't say anything and we aren't given a name but by the looks of it, his character is an experienced rebel with some form of authority.

Next up is something I completely missed in my viewings but credit to Jacob Hall of Slash Film for catching this. Behind Jyn is a tall and thin droid, clearly a droid that towers over any average human in height. As Hall pointed out, this could be Alan Tudyk's character. Rumors suggest that Tudyk is playing a character brought to life by motion capture that is a "reprogrammed, Imperial assault droid who towers over an average human." This might be a stretch but it is possible.

Following that scene, we get a taste of Jyn's capabilities. We learn that she is very capable at holding her own. She defeats with ease a group of Stormtroopers. It's quick and brutal. This is certainly new to us in that in previous Star Wars entries, we watch our female lead grow into the heroine she was destined to be. Here, Jyn has that part covered. She's kicking butts and taking names already.

After finishing off those Stormtroopers, we're brought back to Jyn's meeting with Mothma. Here, Jyn says something that's already taken off on social media: "This is a rebellion, isn't it? I rebel." Mothma yields a look that demonstrates this meeting isn't a session of reprimanding, but rather one of recruitment. If it wasn't obvious before, Jyn was brought to Mothma so Mothma could pitch her rebellious plans to Jyn.

Our next shot is the one that stands to serve as director Gareth Edwards' promise on Rogue One being a war movie. This shot here not only demonstrates the fear in Jyn but also the simultaneous determination she has for whatever mission she's on. It reminds me of war movie shots we've seen before (think soldier in a helicopter on his way to the battlefield). Sure, firefights and explosions sell us on the "war", but this shot is what really does it.

From here, we're brought to an all-too familiar image: A Starship Destroyer casually floating through space. This scene serves to establish the plot that we've all known about for some time now: Our heroes are on a mission to investigate the Imperial's newest weapon and return home safely with the plans of this weapon.

Soon after, we get this shot that sets the time period of this movie up for us. We've known it's a story that takes place before Episode 4 but by the looks of it, the Death Star has nearly reached completion in its construction, which places this story right before the events of Episode 4. Edwards uses the iconic symbol of destruction in the Star Wars universe to set the scale of this movie. The Death Star is an image of times past for us, but this shot serves to remind us that it's time to return. It looms over everything, eclipsing the mightiness of the Star Destroyers flying by. We know of its power which only raises the danger present in this film. Our heroes have no idea what they're getting into.

While we have no confirmation, this appears to be a character played by Alistair Petrie, who's appeared in Cloud Atlas and Rush among other movies. From the quick glimpse of him we get, we can gather that he's the hardened tough guy to Mothma's peaceful diplomat.

Here is your cliche hero shot featuring our heroes, or those who appear to be heroes aka Jyn and Luna's character, determinedly walking forward beside X-Wing pilots and soldiers, ready to take on a mission. Nothing too significant here but an exciting shot nonetheless.

Following that, we get our first look at Ben Mendelsohn's character, the main villain of the movie. We don't know his character's name or his title/ranking, but we do know that he's pretty high up. Star Wars lore dictates that those wearing white are of a higher ranking and those with a cape are even higher. We can only speculate for now but my guess is that this guy is the man in charge of the Death Star. Vader certainly answers to this guy when on board.

Sources and rumors alike indicate that Rogue One will come packed full of new weapons and Stormtroopers. While this shot has its standard Stormtroopers that we've seen before, a closer look reveals a new kind of Stormtrooper sitting atop the tank-like machine in the background. Not only does the vehicle appear to be something new, the Stormtrooper as well as his/her weapon are too.

The next shot is the money-shot (get out of the gutter...). Quite literally as it features the greatly awarded (Academy, etc.) Forest Whitaker. We have no idea who his character is in any way, shape, or form at all. Rumors suggest his character is a man who's been near destroyed by battle. Many have already suggested that he uses a cane to walk around and wears the armor he's in to remain alive (possible breathing tube of some sort on his neck?). Time will tell in the coming months.

The next shot is the one seen in yesterday's teaser for the teaser trailer. It's a black Stormtrooper (no confirmation as to what they're called yet...some think Shadow Trooper while others have dubbed it the Death Trooper) which is new to the movie universe of Star Wars. Whatever they are, they are certainly downright terrifying, imposing and definitely not somebody to mess with. They appear to be the worst of the worst. Running into them surely means death.

Up next, we have quite a revealing scene. First off, there appears to be a row of X-Wing pilots chained up together. X-Wing indicates the Rebellion so something tells me they've been captured by the Empire. This is a simple telling of the harshness that comes with this film. It's not a happy movie. These rebels are now prisoners of war with no guarantee of tomorrow. Secondly, as has been pointed by thousands online already, that Stormtrooper is wearing a black shoulder pad which, in Star Wars canon indicates an enlisted soldier (white=sergeant, orange=unit leaders). Finally, this scene indicates a setting of some kind of crowded market aka a scene where Edwards can show multiple types of aliens and species of the universe (ala Cantina ala Kanata's Castle).

Here, we have Jyn and Luna's character running through some kind of Imperial base corridor. More importantly, there's another shot of that mysterious droid that many believe Tudyk to be playing in this movie.

Quickly after, we're brought to this shot of Stormtroopers running through an Imperial base. It's important to note that this shot offers a glimpse at a new type of Stormtrooper. They're beige which is definitely new but as to why they're beige, we know nothing.

We have no idea who Donnie Yen is playing in this movie but we do know a bit more about his character than most. From the initial cast photo, we know his character is blind and utilizes a staff. He's definitely giving off the vibe that although he's blind, he can still kick some serious ass.

Following the debut of Yen's character, we get a quick montage of some big spaceship blowing up. It begins with another look at the black-armored Stormtroopers and our first glimpse at what appears to be a new planet. In the next shot, we see the ship actually exploding with a better look at the new planet. This planet appears to be tropical and beachy. I'm very excited for this as it's a setting we haven't seen before in Star Wars. Finally, the last shot is what appears to be a rebel soldier witnessing the ship exploding. His outfit is new and seems to be what ground soldiers wear.

We get another glimpse at Mendelsohn's villain character. With the sun setting, dead soldiers littered on the ground, and a ship glimmering with embers post-explosion, it appears his character is making an appearance after the battle. With that in mind, whatever goes down on this planet must be big. Why else would he leave the comfort of the Death Star to walk the ground of a tropical battlefield?

Here, we have one of the most interesting and conversation-starting scenes from the teaser trailer. There's those red figures, the Emperor's Royal Guard, which indicates that the cloaked figure menacingly walking forward might be Emperor Palpatine. It could be Vader (who's supposedly in this movie) but in my opinion, the outfit doesn't match that of Vader's. Any other possibilities?

Whitaker's character appears to be laying into Jyn. In some capacity, it reveals that his character has been through the ringer plenty of times; at least enough times that he feels he can scold Jyn on the possibilities of being caught, fighting the Empire, etc. 

Just like the majority of the cast, we get no name or dialogue from Jiang Wen's character but we do get a dope action scene that makes Wen look like a total badass. Rumors suggest he's a bounty hunter turned rebel fighter. His outfit follows that rumor but whether or not that's true, we won't find out for some time to come. 

Finally, this shot. We get another shot of that new tropical planet with some rebel soldiers racing along its' beaches, but more importantly, the freaking walkers. FOUR AT-AT's, yes FOUR! The rebels were always the underdogs but man, they are way way under this time around. To add to this, Edwards shoots the shot from ground up which gives the walkers an even more terrifying and menacing presence. If this trailer indicates anything, it's that Edwards totally understands what he's doing with this movie. 

The teaser trailer ends with this magnificent shot of Jyn clearly in an Imperial outfit. This is one of the shots that everyone is currently talking about. Here's my take: Okay, so with the announcement of Rogue One and the reveal that this movie will be about the crew that stole the Death Star plans, my mind immediately decided that "Rogue One" was the name of the squadron that completes the task. I still think this is true but I think the name of the title stands to have a double meaning. With Jyn in Imperial garb, it's reasonable to say that she infiltrates the Empire and then goes "rogue". She poses as an Imperial to gain understanding of the Death Star and then use that info to go "rogue" and let the rebellion know exactly what's going on in there. Jyn is essentially the "rogue one." Time will tell but I have a feeling that I'm right. 

Finally, we get our title reveal and the month that this movie will be released. Pretty standard stuff here but it makes for a cool wallpaper. 

-Welp folks, we did it. This was a frame-by-frame breakdown of the Rogue One teaser trailer. I, for one, am extremely stoked to see this story played out on the big screen, and if it's anything like this trailer, it seems that Edwards will knock it out of the park with this movie. 

Thanks for joining me readers!

Questions and Comments are always welcomed!

Final Fantasy 15 Uncovered: What We Learned

Before Greg Miller and Tim Gettys, of Kinda Funny fame, took the stage last night to begin what was called Final Fantasy XV: Uncovered, some announcements were unfortunately leaked before the show began by GameSpot. A sad occurrence but luckily for fans, many surprises were still to be told and boy oh boy (I might be a mega Final Fantasy fan...), were there surprises indeed. So, with that being said, let's get right to it.

-With Episode 1 being available now, a Final Fantasy XV anime series, titled Brotherhood, will slowly roll out up until the game's release. The series will consist of five episodes and will provide  backstory to the four main characters, Noctis, Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto.

-Later this year, before the release of the game, another entry into the Final Fantasy XV universe will debut. Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, a full-length feature film was announced during the show last night. The story will revolve around three characters: King Regis, Princess Luna, and Nyx, a member of the Kingsglaive. Even more surprising are the voices of these characters. Sean Bean will voice King Regis (which sadly means we might see Regis die since, well, you know...Sean Bean). Lena Headey will voice Princess Luna (hopefully Luna is nothing like Headey's usual powerful female roles...). Finally, Aaron Paul will play soldier of the Kingsglaive, Nyx (who ironically enough, is tasked with defending the last blue crystal in existence).

-Before the release of Final Fantasy XV, fans can download a mobile game titled Justice Monsters Five. The game is available for pre-registration/pre-load now and is coming to iOS and Android. The game seems to be a Final Fantasy variation of pinball.

-During the show, a new Final Fantasy XV demo was shown, titled Platinum Demo. This demo takes place in a dream of young Noctis' and follows his adventure during the dream. Players are joined by the ever-so-adorable Carbuncle, a strange cat-like creature that appears to be Noctis' pet. Upon completing the demo, players can rename Carbuncle and when Final Fantasy XV is released, transfer him/her over to their game. The demo is available for download now.

-While not necessarily announcements, the following were exciting pieces of the show certainly worth mentioning:

-Hironobu Sakaguchi, the man responsible for beginning the Final Fantasy series, took the stage to let players know that he's excited to see Final Fantasy XV become a "challenger" yet again.

-A brand-new trailer was release titled Reclaim Your Throne. This trailer showed off new combat, areas of exploration, cities, and much more. Florence + The Machine recorded a beautiful, Final Fantasy-like rendition of the classic song, Stand By Me, for this trailer and to serve as the game's theme song.

-The famed Final Fantasy artist, Yoshitaka Amano, created a brand-new animation titled Big Bang, which was shown for the first time during last night's show.

-Gameplay was shown featuring new battle mechanics, the summon Titan, magic and how it interacts with the environment and the monsters within, and of course, Chocobos.

-A new look at the world of Final Fantasy XV was shown. Titled World of Wonder: Environment Footage, this trailer utilized a soothing soar through the many locations featured in Final Fantasy XV. 

-Square Enix and Audi are partnering to design and create a one-of-a-king Audi R8, themed around the world of Kingsglaive.

-Two editions (beyond the standard edition) of Final Fantasy XV were announced: The $90 Deluxe Edition and the $270 Ultimate Collector's Edition. For more info on ordering and the contents within each edition, visit http://www.finalfantasyxv.com/en/buy.

-A final trailer was shown that debuted even more gameplay and another dive into the mysterious story of Final Fantasy XV. Oh yeah, it also showed us our first glimpse at our players' freaking flying car!

-Lastly but certainly not least, the release date for Final Fantasy XV was announced. *Drumroll* Final Fantasy XV will be released worldwide, on PS4 and Xbox One, SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2016!

For more info on Final Fantasy XV, make sure to follow Reallifegamingblog.

Maps Project

Batman v Superman v Itself

Batman v Superman Review
-Batman v Superman v Itself.

Three years ago, Snyder took the stage of the 2013 San Diego Comic Con to announce that the next movie in the DC Universe would be Batman v Superman. While the announcement attracted much excitement, it also invited in loads of skepticism. Many disliked Man of Steel and questioned whether that same director could not only fix his mistakes with Superman, but also juggle the introduction of arguably the biggest character in the DC Movie Universe, Batman. As the years went by, bits of details leaked, set photos were released, costumes were revealed and the hype continued growing. It was this hype that grew into such an extremity that BvS was never going to be what fans wanted and expected. Sadly, with the release of this movie, it is safe to say that it wasn't that hype that did this movie in; it was itself.

What was revealed as a Man of Steel sequel turned out to be more of a Justice League prequel. In Snyder's superhero epic, the early relationship between Batman and Superman is explored, allowing fans to watch as the two go head to head, both physically and symbolically, with an eventual conclusion of friendship.

On paper, that seems like the perfect Batman versus Superman movie but unfortunately, Snyder and his team never quite delivered on the promise of what could have been the greatest superhero movie of our generation.

Another unfortunate telling came straight from the marketing team. With arguably the most spoilery trailers ever seen for a superhero movie, anyone who made up their mind after watching these trailers, will have a hard time changing their mind via this movie. What you've seen is what you're getting.

The film utilizes the climactic battle between Superman and Zod that occurs during the tail end of Man of Steel to introduce us to, what I believe, the best Batman ever portrayed on the big screen. Played by Ben Affleck, this Batman (and subsequently SPOILER ALERT Bruce Wayne) is brooding, angry, destructive, and brutal. He's a Batman that's been through the ringer time and time again, and we see that through Batman's vicious physicality and Wayne's constant wariness. Batman sees Superman as a threat, an alien, worshiped on Earth as a God and as a figure of power that he cannot trust and, as a result, must take down.

Superman, on the other end of the bay, sees Batman as a threat that must be stopped too. In Superman's eyes, Batman is an outlaw. He defies the law-abiding morals of Superman by taking justice into his own hand, often in a relentless manner with no regard for the civil rights guaranteed to all, even criminals.

It is this relationship between the two that opens the door for the likes of alternate-universe Zuckerberg ala Lex Luthor, played by Jesse Eisenberg, to manipulate the playing field.

Meanwhile, Diana Prince, played by Gal Gadot, is playing her own game of cards. She hides under the guise of rich beauty, always there but hardly noticed. As the movie runs on, her motives are never quite revealed. The audience knows who she truly is (thanks again to the trailers) and when that moment comes, it is hard to plot the points that got her there.

This is how much of the story plays out. During the far-too-long two and a half hour run time, Batman, Superman, Diana Prince, and Lex Luthor are all doing things. Some of these things pan out and some come off as contrived but dropped story lines. The problem with all of these story points though is that after arriving, it's tough to say how you got there. Up until the third act, these story points largely consist of characters brooding or moping (you can guess who does what), talking with someone who's advice they probably won't take, and occasional bursts of action sequences that fall short only because we've seen them in trailers already. It's in the third act that you'll get what you want: a visual feast of action.

Leading up to this third act, BvS could easily be described as a character-driven drama more satisfying to the psyche, rather than your veins ready to release that sweet adrenaline movies like this have done before (shout out to Marvel and the Dark Knight trilogy). It's here that the movie might lose its standard fan-boys/girls, but those more invested in the characters rather than their fists, are in for a treat.

 It was Snyder's dive into the minds of Superman and Batman that I felt most satisfied by. Yes, his depictions are different but that's no reason to write them off. What Snyder has done with these characters is differentiate them from portrayals of the past. Cavill's Superman struggles, kills, and ultimately fails to maintain the image of perfection in the world's eye, something new to the silver screen Superman. Affleck's Batman punishes, crushes, brands, and destroys his enemies, a telling fortune of a seasoned Batman; also something new to the silver screen.

It's partly Snyder's fault that audiences expects the action the title guarantees (a more fitting title: Batman and Superman discuss directly and indirectly the problems they have with each other using menacing voices before fighting for a few minutes). With a name like Batman v Superman, it's tough not to imagine that this movie won't be a fisticuffs of the two greatest heroes. Instead, we get a psychological analysis of the characters, which is awesome in it's own right, but not what we were promised.

Speaking of characters, when we do arrive at a scene with Batman, he steals the show. As I've already said, this Batman is beautifully brutal and Affleck certainly proves that he deserves the title of this comic book champion. He's the perfect concoction of bachelor playboy and obsessed autocratic, culminating into the ultimate Bruce Wayne/Batman combination.

The amount of detail that went into the creation of this Batman almost indicates a secret desire in Snyder to create a Batman movie. From the suit, to the car, to the cave, to the voice, to the combat, to it all, this Batman is damn near perfection (by far the best Batman we've ever seen in a movie).

Batman for the most part drives the plot forward (this movie should have been a Batman movie), but Cavill's Superman is what allows the audience to be a part of the story. It's near impossible to sympathize with Batman, or even understand what drives a man to the point of acting as a hellish vigilante, but Superman is always the connection we as humans can make to superheros, and that's no different this time around. In BvS, Superman strives to be a force of good and change in the world, but every action comes with a reaction. Sadly, for Superman, some of the reaction is not in his favor. There's a sequence of action that occurs in Africa that is used to drive this negative reaction towards Superman forward, but what seems like a worthwhile subplot, ends up being a way to make a setting for the most surprising scene in the movie (I'll be honest...I jumped).

Cavill tries hard, really hard (have you seen those arms?), but ultimately fails to convince me that he is Superman. He's wooden and lacks true conviction like his counterpart Affleck does when he's in his suit. Maybe it's bad writing or maybe it's poor acting, but Cavill is not my Superman. He's good enough though so for the time being, he's what myself and the audience will have to work with.

Alongside Cavill is Amy Adams, back again as Lois Lane. She seemingly hasn't grown at all as a character since we last saw her in Man of Steel, but fortunately, bringing to the table the same dish as last time isn't always a bad thing. Like in Man of Steel, she's hardened but kind, determined and beautiful, and stands proudly by her man, or rather, Superman (I'm sorry...). She brings the "human" factor of this movie full circle, acting as a mere mortal forced to face the consequences of loving a God.

As I said earlier, Snyder nailed everything and anything Batman, even Alfred. Jeremy Irons uses his little screen time to shine and tease the capabilities this new take on Alfred has. He's certainly not a butler but a caretaker to Batman nonetheless. I'm excited to see him alongside the Caped Crusader years down the road when the inevitable Batman solo film is released.

Smack dab in the middle of Affleck and Cavill is Gal Gadot. She pans out to be an excellent choice as Wonder Woman but ultimately, fails to matter in the story that Snyder is trying to tell. Patty Jenkins is spearheading the coming Wonder Woman movie, and the little glimpse we got of Gadot's portrayal wet my appetite enough to guarantee that I'll be seeing that movie in theaters.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. While different, his take on Luthor is a memorable one and ultimately, a decisive choice. This Luthor is still a business mogul, but rather than relying on greed and power to drive his decisions, Eisenberg's Luthor might have a legitimate psychological disorder. It's a controversial decision for sure. Some will love it and some will hate it.

 It's during the third act that the audience will come to agree on one thing with this character: his motivations don't add up. At first, he's a powerful man who wants to prevent a potential threat from becoming an actual one. As the film rolls on though, he becomes a lunatic who's essentially adopting a dead alien (going so far as making sure they're "blood" family), resurrecting him into a frankenstein-like form, and unleashing him onto Metropolis. In simpler terms, what I just wrote is "a man scared of the damage an alien might cause, resurrects an exponentially-more dangerous alien and unleashes him to cause damage." Sure, maybe this creature will kill Superman, but does Luthor remember he wants Superman dead because of the threat he serves to possibly be? Superman has nothing on the threat Luthor's creation poses. It's here where I believe Luthor isn't a man set on saving mankind from Superman, but rather, a man who hates all that Superman is and stands for. It's here that I believe this Luthor suffers from some obsessive disorder, but unfortunately, all that was translated from Snyder to the audience was poor storytelling, so for now, we don't really know.

BvS does take a break or two from its psychoanalysis to finally (an hour and a half in) let Batman and Superman fight. This fight is what we were promised by the title. It's brutal, painful, hard-hitting, and nicely sourced straight from the pages of Miller's TDKR. Had the trailer kept this part of the movie a bit more secretive, it would've been even better.

BvS also slows down to pointlessly and forcibly introduce some future Justice League members. I won't say how it's done but it is lazy. Our glimpses at Ezra Miller's Flash are nice, but obvious and predictable, and Jason Mamoa's Aquaman falls somewhere in between awkward and intimidating. Ray Fisher's Cyborg takes the short end of the stick though as his cameo feels more YouTube than it does million dollar cinema. In the end, these introductions could have easily been cut from the film. They're there to create the "Dawn of Justice" subtitle but they serve to create a more "yeah, one day I bet something will happen with them of Justice" subtitle.

BvS is thankfully focused on Batman and Superman, which leaves me thinking that while Gadot crushed it has Wonder Woman, she could have easily been saved for a more proper introduction ala the upcoming 2017 Wonder Woman solo film. In fact, Snyder should have removed the Justice League cameos and the inclusion of Wonder Woman, and called this movie Batman v Superman.

While it is nice to see the DC Trinity on screen together, it is underwhelming to say the least. When you see that shot (yes, the one from the trailers), Superman at that point hasn't said a single word to Wonder Woman and Batman, although having spent adequate time talking to her, doesn't understand her arrival to the scene. Together, they fight as a cohesive unit, but only as cohesive as three heroes can be without having a relationship that makes fighting together meaningful. It's for this reason that the climax that should have fired on all cylinders, fails to get the engine started.

Overall, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has enough good in it to warrant seeing it in theaters. What's good is really good, and in Batman's case, near perfection. What hurts this movie most though is that what's bad, is really bad. The action sequences are great, the dialogue is well written, but it's Snyder's execution that ultimately fails this superhero epic. The story aimlessly wanders from point to point, and the lack of try demonstrates a laziness present throughout. The blueprint of this film is excellent; it's the step-by-step instructions that keep this movie from ever reaching greatness.

Final Score: 6 out of 10.
5 is the score for an average movie and this movie has enough going good for it to place it above average. It fails though to reach beyond good into anything great. For this reason, the movie doesn't reach 7 or anything above. It falls right in between 5 and 7 as a standard 6.

It's Time For A New Dimension
-Last Wednesday, March 16th, Playstation announced at it's GDC conference that Playstation VR will be released this October with a price of $399.99.

The long anticipated virtual reality machine from Playstation will finally reach the consumer market this fall. This news came by way of mouth straight from Sony at their GDC conference and came as no surprise. We've been told many times that this machine would come out this year, 2016, so when it was announced to come this October, it wasn't too big of a surprise, but still an exciting announcement nonetheless.

Many predicted the price tag of $399.99. Keep in mind though, that this price tag is for the headset and accompanying essential pieces only. You can expand your experience by purchasing a Playstation Camera and two Playstation Move controllers as well. The camera and two controllers are estimated to add an additional $100 to the total making the ultimate Playstation VR experience a $500 one.

Still though, with that price tag, it comes in as the most affordable virtual reality machine. The HTC Vive machine carries a hefty $800 price tag and the Oculus Rift packs a $600 price. Because of these differences in prices, many predict that the Playstation VR will sell the best, although nobody really knows.

Pokemon Alpha Sappire and Omega Ruby Review

Pokemon Alpha Sapphire & Omega Ruby Review

-Not the Alpha of Pokemon games, but still pretty legendary.

It's hard to play a Pokemon game without being transported back to a place in time where your life was easier. This makes it even harder to prevent nostalgia from making an appearance when judging games like Pokemon Alpha Sapphire & Omega Ruby critically. Fortunately, these two games are remakes, which means not only are they playing on your nostalgia (why else would you purchase a game you played 13 years ago?), but they are allowing it to run wild. Playing through these two games of the beloved Pokemon franchise allowed me to appreciate and understand the love I felt for them years ago, but it also showed me some problems that plagued the franchise in 2002.

For those who missed the game back in the day, or who are completely unaware of the existence of Pokemon games, Pokemon, at its core, is an RPG series. In these games, you're tasked with completing your Pokedex by collecting monsters known as Pokemon via Pokeballs, while obtaining 8 gyms badges throughout the region. You first must train your Pokemon team by battling wild Pokemon and trainers alike to obtain experience. This levels up your Pokemon and when you're ready, you can choose to take on a gym leader. Upon defeating these leaders, you will be given a gym badge. After obtaining all 8, you may challenge the Elite Four and become the Pokemon Champion (sounds awesome, right?). This is a formula followed in all main-line Pokemon games and like the rest of them, these games come with the story of either Team Magma (Omega Ruby) or Team Aqua (Alpha Sapphire) attempting to use the power of legendary Pokemon to completely change the region of Hoenn to align with their respective visions.

These two remakes stand as the first two of older games to receive the 3D remake treatment. We've played 3D Pokemon games before (Pokemon X and Y), but these are the first 3D remakes. When released originally as the third generation of Pokemon games, these two games made some large splashes in the by-and-by Pokemon formula. First, they added Abilities (essentially traits that add advantages, and sometimes disadvantages, to your Pokemon) and Natures (these dictate how a Pokemon's stats evolve as the Pokemon grows). These games also added Double Battles (which have now been overshadowed by Triple Battles) that allow for up to two Pokemon to battle on each side of the fight. With a story relying heavily on the topic of region land and sea, these games came with the addition of changing weather patterns and a unique layout of land, ranging from deserts, to beaches, to treetops, and more.

Playing these games as an excited 7-year-old back in 2002 granted me an extreme sense of wonder, awe, and a desperate need for continued exploration. Now, 13 years later in 2015, I can say that all those raw emotions are still there. With updated graphics and some layout changes, exploring Hoenn all over again felt like my first time. Meeting some of my favorite characters such as Wally or May in their new 3D character models, or encountering some of my favorite areas only to find that they had been completely over-hauled (for the better...wait til you get to Mauville), brought a warm and welcoming rush of happiness.

GameFreak also took care to utilize new features from recent additions to the franchise in these remakes. My personal favorite, Pokemon Amie, returns allowing you to pet, feed, and play games with all of your Hoenn favorites. With the return of features like Pokemon Amie comes the return of the incredibly useful Super Training and the Player Search System. All of this and more rests within your PokeNav Plus aka your menu screen on steroids, which sits tactically on the bottom screen of your 3DS. New features were added as well such as the DexNav application. This allows you to to see the level of nearby ears-popping-out-of-the-grass Pokemon as well as their ability and if you're lucky, rare moves. With this, collecting all the Pokemon and finding those ones perfect for breeding and EV training, has never been easier.

These remakes also come with an updated Berry system which includes berries that came in later entries in the series and with berries, one can't forget about Pokeblocks. Pokeblocks play into a section of the game that I usually dismiss which is the Beauty Contests. Although these aren't for me, I can see why they're present. Pokeblocks can be given to your Pokemon to raise it where it counts (in Beauty Contests), Coolness, Beauty, Cuteness, Cleverness and Toughness. While the original iterations of Sapphire and Ruby held their contests in a more standard manner, the remakes really embraced their Japanese roots by making each contest feel like a J-Pop concert, which might come off as odd for those not familiar with J-Pop. I will say, in a strange and unforeseen way, this change in contests compelled me to put a little more time into this section of the game than originally planned.

On the subject of changes, almost all changes were made to improve the game. What's unfortunate here is that some things that should've been tweaked, remain untouched. Made worse by the fact that recent Pokemon games have addressed these problems, it is a shame the developers overlooked some things. For example, even after dropping Flash as an HM (Hidden Machine, a move necessary to pass certain obstacles), these games still have 7 HMs. Compared to X and Y's 5 HMs, it's unfortunate that once again, players will have to waste a team slot on a Pokemon who only knows HMs. On top of that, the Hoenn region is filled with secret bases (cool, little bases that you can customize and invite other players into) that require you to use a move known as "Secret Power", aka another wasted move slot. With secret bases being such a fun side section of the game, you have to wonder why GameFreak didn't opt to remove the use of a move to reach your secret base.

You've heard this before but still, Hoenn remains imbalanced in terms of Pokemon types. This is noticeable especially with Water-Types which far outnumber every other type present in the game. To make matters worse, if you're playing Alpha Sapphire, Team Aqua (who you'll encounter often) almost exclusively uses Water-Types. Finding it tough to enter a battle without a water type on either side of the field, find an Electric-Type and love it deeply, because when your journey is over, it will certainly be your strongest and most experienced Pokemon. You must also get used to loving the open ocean because almost half the map is water, which means that quite often, you'll be surfing and diving (some HMs that will take up more move slots) throughout Hoenn's seas.

The only plus about all the water, is that it is beautiful. With these remakes comes the best main-line Pokemon graphics we've ever seen. The sky reflects on water puddles, the flowers sway, the waterfalls cascade, and the treetop bridges of Fortree City rumble with each step. It's easy to get lost in the gorgeous setting of Hoenn with Pokemon graphics this great.

Overall, Pokemon Alpha Sapphire & Omega Ruby might not be the greatest remakes, but they are certainly must-plays for any fan of the series. Being the most beautiful Pokemon games to date, with the most attention to in-world details, these are games I highly recommend to almost anyone who owns a 3DS. What GameFreak did well was re-introduce the series to any who put the cartridge in their 3DS, making it accessible to all. Unfortunately, what GameFreak didn't do well is even more apparent now that these games have been given the fresh remake treatment. Luckily, by some new additions to the game plus a post-game surprise, one can almost forgive them.

Final Score: 8 out 10.

This game isn't perfect but it is great and certainly worth your time.