The New Ninja Turtles Will Be Awesome...Probably

We get in a lot of heated debates at Gaming Grounds. A lot of them revolve around comics and video games, and whenever I bring up something like politics the conversation always seems to steer back to if Superman is better than Batman.

For the record, SUPERMAN IS BETTER THAN BATMAN. Anyone who convinces himself that Batman could take Superman on in a one on fight better check their vitals. They very well may have OD'd on that Kool Aid.

A hot topic at ye olde gaming store right now is the upcoming Ninja Turtles movie. I'm of the personal belief that the movie is going to be a fun filled romp for the whole family, but more than a few of my friends have expressed concern that Michael Bay is going to "ruin another franchise."

Which is an odd statement, because I'm looking at the box office receipts for the Transformers series and everything is solid here. Has anyone actually watched the old Transformers cartoon? Yeah, it was really good when I was 10. So was the Mario Bros. cartoon, and Legend of Zelda's, and a plethora of old programs we remember through rose colored glasses. Go back and watch them now and tell me they still hold up.

I can hear at least half of you saying "they still hold up!" Shut up. You're too kind or too easy to impress.

There are some programs that are still solid. The 90's Batman cartoon is still amazing to watch. Darkwing Duck is still a favorite of mine to go back to. The Simpsons episodes of the 90's were the most entertaining of all animated programs in the history of animation, and that's a statement I will stand behind and defend until my dying breath.

And then there were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

WWE Responds to Lana-gate - It's Not Offensive, You're Just Ignorant

World Wrestling Entertainment finally responded to criticism lobbied against them because of Lana's anti-USA promo from Battleground. 

After the story began to make the rounds on some very big publications (and I'd like to think BZ85 had the most impact), Vince and company had no choice but to come out on the defense.

It's a pretty standard tactic with WWE. I've lost count of how many times they've done something stupid and tasteless, ignored criticism to it, then came out with a half assed apology to shut up the masses while still defending themselves. There was the Katie Vick thing, the Iraqi sympathizer angle, the RTC group, etc etc. 

Today's statement was no different.

I already covered how I feel about this turn of events in two previous articles here on the site, but I still feel like the majority fails to grasp just how despicable this situation is. Even if you buy the argument that WWE wasn't exploiting the MH17 tragedy, they're still exploiting the man responsible for some pretty heinous acts. They're glorifying him every time Lana and Rusev come to the ring, no matter how they try to spin it.

It's making my blood pressure spike again.

Archie - The Most Controversial Comic of All Time?

I talked about this a bit on my Facebook, but the more I think about it the more I feel the need to rant a bit. I never, ever, ever thought I would write an article on Archie.

Here we go.

Reading Lindsey's article on Barbie (right here!) got me thinking about classic characters, and there aren't many who are as beloved as good old Archie.

I mean, I guess he's beloved. I've honestly never cared much for the series, but I respect the fact that they dragged out a simple love triangle into a two hundred years story line. The fact that the guy is still going after four hundred and twenty (snicker) years is a testament to how important your grandparents are to comic sales today.

Well, meemaw and peepaw, I've got some bad news. Actually, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, even if the picture is of Archie.

Theme Parks Are Dead, Long Live the Sandbox!

If you know me, congratulations!

No, seriously, if you know me, I'm not doing my job very well.

Alright, for real this time!

If you know me, you know that out of all the great games I've played in my many years as a gaming enthusiast, none have changed my life as much as Ultima Online. We had J.P. Harrod on the site a couple of months ago talking about his time with Electronic Arts and the role he played on the Ultima Online dev team, and I found him to be both humble and amazing at the same time. To work on such a legendary game that shaped an entire genre must have been a daunting task, but J.P. is a Cadillac of a man.

You should all know by now that I spent almost all of my time from age 16 to 20 braving the wilds of Sosaria in a never ending quest for adventure and coin. I had a damn good time with it, too, as a lifetime of red eyes and all night Orc-a-thons will attest to.

It's not that I love Ultima Online because it is the single greatest game of all time. I mean, it is, but I suppose the argument could also be made that it was my first MMO and I see it through the rose colored glasses. I can definitely admit that the game has lost its luster over fifteen years later. I blame that more on EA's inability to keep alive what made UO so great in the first place, along with the inevitable passing of the player base that made the world feel alive. Gamers today aren't the same class of gamers that we had in "my day," and I might get in trouble for saying that but it's my column so go play Halo and don't fornicate yourself on your way out.

You know why I loved Ultima so much? Because it was a sandbox game, and until recently it felt like that term was a four letter word.

It's obviously seven!

In its original form, Ultima Online had no quests. It had no levels. It relied upon the player to make items to sell, create adventures for themselves, and it didn't hold your hand through any of it. You made your character, picked some skills, and it dropped you right in the middle of a city and said "fuck you, make your own destiny!"

And we did. Sandbox games are designed as entirely open experiences where you can do whatever you want. Imagine Skyrim, with its skill based system and freedom to go wherever you want, but as an MMO with less story and more social interactions.

It's not that games haven't attempted to recreate the sandbox feel that Ultima had. Mortal Online, Darkfall, and even something as different as Eve Online have all labeled themselves, or been labeled by others, to be the "next UO." They may be decent games in their own right, but all of them failed miserably as the next Ultima. They were more akin to massive online arenas where players could grief each other, or in Eve Online's case, it missed the Ultima mark but still grew into a classic title on its own.

But those were your choices for sandbox games. Sure, you could go back to UO, but why bother? It wasn't the same beast anymore. Returning players will find items with stats, gear grinding, and a very lonely world that barely resembles the sacred lands of our youth.

So we hung our heads and forced ourselves into the world of the theme park MMORPG, where games like World of Warcraft satisfied the craving while leaving us hungry for something more. Apparently, back when UO and Everquest were the big two, all of the game developers decided to clone EQ and leave UO to die a lonely death as the greatest that should have been. Guided adventures became the norm in both Eastern and Western MMO's, and the success of the juggernaut that is WoW cemented the theme parks domination in this industry we all love.

Companies attempted to copy the success of WoW year after year, but always failed to live up to the gargantuan numbers that Blizzard's beast brought to the table. Still, there was success to be had, so the MMO Machine churned out clone after clone that over saturated the market and would probably kill off the entire genre eventually. Warcraft's numbers have fallen hard over the past year, and recently they admitted to losing over 600,000 subscribers in a matter of months.

Just when it looked like the industry had reached its low point in terms of both creativity and popularity, a small beacon of hope appeared somewhere in the distance. Like a heroic knight rising up to destroy the darkness that has claimed these lands, he stands on the edge of the horizon waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Kingdom of MMORPG's, meet your unlikely savior - The Sandbox!

Everything that is old is new again. While the clones fight for scraps among themselves, the sandbox MMO is ready to make its presence felt once more in a slew of new games coming soon. Richard Garriott and his UO team has reunited to bring us quite possibly a very revolutionary title called Shroud of the Avatar, while team Everquest will finally show off EQ Next this friday.

That's right, the two games that started it all are coming back to reclaim their industry, and I couldn't be more excited. I've never been a huge EQ fan, but the hype behind Next is so incredible that even I feel like an anxious kid at Christmas waiting to see what's in the damn box.

As for Lord British and his Shroud of the Avatar, well... I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I would follow that man into hell and back.

And it's not just those two vying for your attention. Eve Online is still alive and kicking very well, while upstart titles like Revival, Archeage, and Salem are going to offer a wide range of sandboxy goodness for the MMO player who is sick and tired of this theme park nonsense!

I started Blogzilla 1985 years ago as an outlet for me to bitch about MMORPG's. Back then it was called "Blogs THEY Don't Want You to Know About," and I spent most of my time waxing poetic about Warcraft, Champions Online, and Aion, just to name a few. BZ85 evolved from that simple idea, but I've never lost my love or interest for the genre that has most impacted my life as a gamer.

I'm damn proud to say that we are going to bear witness the revival of the sandbox MMO, and I'd like to take some credit for that.

Somehow.

My next mission? Get AKI involved with WWE games again.

This might take a while.

A Quick Rant on George Zimmerman and the Media Monsters

If there is one thing that has united the mainstream media in presidential off season, it's George Zimmerman.

If you watch any of the major networks you'll see Zimmerman as they want you to see him portrayed - a crazy Klansman who routinely patrols the neighborhood in his all white battle tank, which is covered in the blood of innocent black children, in his never ending quest to quell the dark uprising. He's kind of like the Punisher, only instead of Frank Castle's family being murdered by gangsters, they were seen in the same neighborhood as African Americans and he swore an oath to right that injustice by murdering their kind.

Injustice. It's not just a fantastic game, it's a real thing, people. George Zimmerman is the poster boy of injustice now. He's a seven foot tall fire breathing negro killing racist machine designed to destroy anyone who isn't white. You know, despite the fact that he himself is not white. But that's a fact, why would the networks bother themselves with silly little things like that!

If you watch any of those networks and buy into the rhetoric they spit in their never ending quest for the almighty dollar, then you're an idiot. True journalism died decades ago and what we have now is nothing more than a new style of entertainment designed to scare and absorb you into their ratings stable. They're more akin to actors than newscasters, and the guys I grew up idolizing have either died or retired from this mockery of an institution they once proudly embodied.

In the initial "podcast" yesterday I touched on the fact that the Trayvon Martin story is still a major media event, and do you want to know want to know why it hasn't dissipated? Because the media found someone they could exploit, and they continue to exploit him thanks to people who can't more or think on their own. They need the puppeteer to guide them from one story to the next without the ability to see the world for themselves.

Trayvon Martin might as well be a character in reality TV. The whole case might as well be a Law & Order episode, and the mainstream media knows that they found a prime time story. This is up there on the level of who shot JR.

They will move on only when and if the public gets tired of Trayvon Martin, and then they move on to the next poor soul they can exploit. Maybe finally then that thirteen month old baby that was shot in the face will finally see justice. Unfortunately, until the ratings drop, neither will the exploitation of Trayvon's death, or the character assassination of George Zimmerman.

Trayvon was not an innocent angel, and George Zimmerman is not the devil. Neither of those facts make what happened to that seventeen year old any less tragic. However, we would be doing justice (remember that word?) a wrong by merely calling Zimmerman a racist devil that shot an innocent child, when none of that seems to be entirely true. He was in the neighborhood watch, he was well liked and helpful in his community, and by all accounts he was a damn decent guy. Trayvon was just a kid, but it saddens me that all of the negativity about Zimmerman was deemed crucial to the case, while all of the middle finger weaving and pot smoking from Martin was labeled a smear campaign to destroy this angelic icon of racial tension and injustice.

Injustice.

Within the past few days I read that Zimmerman was being praised as a hero for helping to save a family of four trapped under a car wreck. I then read on TMZ that the people under the car were white, and I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth. This was one of their top stories, like the fact that these people were white was the smoking gun in this story and that it taints any good he did by helping them.

Is that not injustice, as well?

Is TMZ insinuating that if they were black, he would have ignored them and kept driving?

Ridiculous. He would have pursued them nonetheless, even if the authorities had told him not to.

BZ85 Talky Picture Show for 7.22.13

You think it's easy writing for Blogzilla 1985?

Well, of course it is! Even an individual with no writing talent has an opinion, and if they can put that opinion into anything remotely similar to a coherent written thought they're welcome on this site. He'll, moist of us hear can barely talk English, much less wrote parigraphs.

But you know what's harder than writing something down? Talking about it when you've got a microphone in your face. Still, audio is the way of the future, and if BZ85 is to survive the coming blog apocalypse we have to adapt.

So, I've taken it upon myself to start adding audio and video segments to the site, and I'm both proud and terrified to bring the first attempt to you - the loyal Blogzilla fans.

Both of you.

So before we come up with some crazy cool name for these segments, and also get the kind of equipment that makes it sound professional or legible, I bring to you this "talky."

In it we explore a couple of random topics and end with some ranting and raving about Trayvon Martin.

Enjoy, if you can.

Why Can't We Be Friends?

The popular belief is that Shannon L. Young is one happening dude. Sure, I'm strong, charismatic, and ruggedly handsome amongst other excellent traits. It's only natural to think that I'm the center of the social circle and the glue that holds together entire societies. Getting the picture I'm painting for you? I'm a popular guy. I have a large circle of friends and easily win over most of the people I come across.

A week ago I would have agreed with you. I was definitely under the belief that I meant a hell of a lot to the world than I now realize. Thankfully a little bird, or harpy if you will, made me question the bonds between myself and my fellow man.

I did not like the answers I found.

What is friendship, anyway? Are there different levels or is it all black and white with no room for grey? At the most basic level of consideration I guess the argument could be made that I have quite a bit going for me in the friends department. My Facebook list, which I purposely only included people I know IRL, was nearing two hundred people and I considered each of them a real person. You see, I had convinced myself that because I had known them in person that somehow we were all closer than we really were. Just because you know someone personally doesn't mean you mean a damn thing to them.

Before social media came along, friendship used to be based on real emotions and togetherness. As a kid I had a handful of true friends that I would see often, and we would go bike riding and play video games. Sometimes we would just sit the fuck down and not do anything at all. We would just lounge around on each others furniture and talk about the dumbest shit until the morning sun came up.

Did I ever tell you about our idea for a flying carpet? Well, nevermind, I'm getting off topic here.

My point is that it was easier to gauge who was really your friend and who you were just friendly with back then. Nowadays you have friends lists, texting, extended circles, and a hundred other ways to make sure you never have to make any direct contact with another human being ever again.

I think back to an episode of King of the Hill, or as we call it around the office (aka my apartment) "the greatest animated program of all time." Strickland Propane joined the online community by putting their business on MySpace before the site became a giant ad for indie bands. Donna, from accounting, got a little bit nuts and fell back on her online friends when everything fell apart. It wasn't until Hank, who was always weary of an online community, talked some sense into her and made her realize who her real friends were that the situation was defused and life returned to normal. Sure, Donna is a woman and that can explain a lot of her insanity, but I think that social media is just as to blame.

We have tricked ourselves into thinking that just because you see a name on a list and that person likes something you say that you're friends. You're not. You're just names on a screen. That's all you are and that's all you'll ever be until you break the down that cyber wall and get back to actual humanizing.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that Facebook is a terrible thing. Social media sites can be very handy at helping people far away from each other keep in touch. As a tool it is harmless and helpful. As a basis of socializing it is the wool being pulled over all of our eyes, and it's just growing and growing every day.

I've seen entire groups of people standing together and every single one of them is texting away on a cell phone. I've been sitting on the couch with my roommate and we're both messaging other people and not interacting with each other or even watching the damn movie!

Why do we do this to ourselves? When did we become so dependent on being so lazy? We're all busy, for one. It's a well known fact that Americans especially are busier than we've ever been. Studies show that we're taking less vacation days at work, we're working longer hours, and we're spending more time in school or studying for it. We're filling the days of our lives with back and forth monotony and the prospect of keeping all of our social circles together with the mere click of a button liking someones dumbass status that they thought was hi-goddamn-larious or agreeing with their insane right wing views on gun control is very attractive. Minimal effort for what we conceive is a maximum payout.

But you're wrong, my friend...er...acquaintance. You're paying the price the moment you cut off your virtual ropes and see who actually reaches out for you before you fall. That's what I did. I deactivated my Facebook and, minus the initial "WE'LL MISS YOU BRO" comments from some genuinely nice people, I haven't had any contact with anyone except for my fiance, my roommate, and my coworkers.

I realized that when I'm not forcing people to pay attention to me, no one cares enough to do so of their own free will. That's a hard pill to swallow but I choked that fucker down.

I actually felt a little bad today when a coworker asked me if I was okay, as they often do when I'm not dancing a jig for their entertainment, and she made a reference to me being her friend. I told her we weren't friends, because we're not, and she had the same look on her face that I had on mine when I was hit with the truth. She's a sweet girl and all, but we don't hang out when we're not at work. We don't text each other to check up on each other. We don't make an effort. We never have and we never will.

I have few friends in this world, far less than the hundreds that I thought I did days ago. But, surprisingly enough, I'm okay with that. The only friends I have are the only friends I need. I'm a writer, a creator, and an imaginative mind. People like us work better without friends, anyway. They just get in the way and distract me from what's really important - the worlds I create for myself. It may sound odd to you, but that's okay. You wouldn't understand because you don't know me. We're not friends. See that? Full circle.

If you care about someone, care about them. Show them. Don't let your bonds become shackles and don't fool yourself into a false sense of security. Real friendship is great, after all, and much better than anything your phone has an app for.

It's true what they say - Friendship is magic.

MMO Ramblings From a Veteran

Let me start this one off by reminding you guys of how I came into this wacky industry we lovingly abbreviate as MMORPGs.

I was never much of an RPG player growing up. The first game I can remember playing was at a friends house, on a pre-NES Sega system that I can't for the life of me remember the name of right now. I begged my mother to get me one, but instead she went out and got me the brand spanking new Nintendo Entertainment System.

It wasn't what I asked for, but I forgave her. Quickly. Also, yeah, I'm feeling pretty old right now.

My gaming tastes ran the spectrum from Mario to TMNT to Contra and even one of those point and click detective games that, again, I can't remember right now - possibly because I am so old. However, I never played the RPG staples of the times. I never touched Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior, and to be honest I can't think of a single RPG I played during my much younger days. It wasn't until the SNES came along that I dipped into the Final Fantasy's, that awesome Mario RPG, and the like. I didn't dislike RPG's, I just preferred platformers and sports games at the time. I played a mean game of NBA Jam, let me tell you.

It was around this time period that a friend of my mother, who had also sold us our first computer in the form of a past its prime C64, filled my head with info about this game called Ultima Online. I had played the original Ultima's on that Commodore 64 he sold us and I didn't understand at the time just how influential and epic those games truly were. Ultima Online, though, sounded too good to be true. A completely open world with no levels and complete freedom? BOOMSHAKALAKA, indeed! I could be anything I wanted to be! I could be a warrior, a fisherman, or in my most random and useless personal quest ever - I became a grandmaster detective. I could tell you who opened chests and murdered other players, but not much. Still, it was pretty bad ass that you had that option. That was what UO was about - options.

Beginnings

I'm not going to go into my love for Ultima, again, but I just want to hammer home that point that my addiction to this genre started the first time I got to that starting screen while an MIDI version of the song "Stones" played in the background.

I've been as big a supporter and detractor of the industry as anyone since then. I cheered loudly for World of Warcraft when those gates open. I booed till my throat went sore when SOE turned Galaxies into the bastard child of poor decisions and uncaring greed. I've kicked and fought and screamed and laughed at the events that have shaped this business into what it is today, and make no mistake, it is thriving quite well. Just look at the influx of titles every year in the genre and you can see that we're apart of one of the most popular forms of entertainment going right now.

And that brings me to my point, one which makes me both sad and fearful for our beloved genres future as a whole -

As we grow, we can only grow apart.

Hands on with the Wii U

Remember that craziness when the original Wii hit the scene? Owning it, at first anyway, certainly gave you a special status. It was new and funky and fresh and the gimmick made people stab their own mothers just to get their hands on one.

To hell with your "common sense," get me my Nintendo!

I was working at Steve and Barry's when the Wii launched, and I wouldn't have even gotten one if it weren't for my good friends at EB Games. I got a call while I was working and they told me if I wanted one to get to their store immediately because they had one they could sell. I didn't even know I wanted a Wii until one became available, and then it was the only thing I had ever wanted in my life.

Of course there were the naysayers who claimed it was just a gimmick, but I managed to look past both facts and reality and buy a shiny new Wii anyway. I also picked up one or two games, although if my memory serves me correctly there wasn't a whole lot to be proud of at launch.

I enjoyed the Wii for what it was, but the image of what it could never be always lay in the back of my mind. Save for a few games it wasn't a very attractive system, and that motion control gimmick was either under utilized or poorly implemented in most games. I, like so many other Wii owners, waited and waited for our killer app to shut up everyone who called us morons for picking up the flavor of the week.

I'm still waiting.

Why Fast Food BUGS Me

Har har, see what I did there?

So it's no secret that BZ85 is my love, but it doesn't exactly pay the bills...yet. My indentured servitude to a certain gaming site takes up a lot of my time, so it's hard to give BZ85 the attention it truly deserves. We have a collection of interesting people here with interesting things to talk about, and sometimes they actually post it on the website for all to read. It could be, nay should be, a cultural icon.

"See you on Black Friday, you fucking animals!"

And someday it shall, but for now we all have other jobs to pay those pesky bills that Uncle Bam tells me I have to pay, unless I want to spend a weekend with the pain monster.

My own personal hell is retail management, a plight I'm sure many of you can relate to. I won't say where I work, as the last time I talked about my job I got fired from it. Something about death threats to a company official or something, to be honest I was so drunk on my own power I can hardly recall the exact reasoning.

Well, like a lot of retail workers, I like to save me some cash whenever I can, especially with the holidays coming up. So on my break the other day I decided to go to McDonald's to get some cheap food that would satisfy that craving for torture. Little did I know, this trip would change my life forever.

Well, at least until I'm broke as shit and can't afford anything else.

In Defense Of Lori

There’s a blog post I’ve been putting off for a while now that I just can’t anymore. I kept putting it off because honestly, it’s silly, but I feel it’s my duty at this point to finally avoid it no longer. I MUST do it. I must defend Lori Grimes.

What’s that you say? It’s stupid because she’s a fictional character in The Walking Dead? You’re right, of course it’s stupid that I feel the need to do this. But then again, most things I feel the need to share my thoughts about are stupid. 

Before you read on, I must warn you, there will be spoilers for all seasons of The Walking Dead incoming. So if you don’t want to be…you know…spoiled, move along.