Video Game Reviews #548 and #549: Crazy Taxi

Crazy Taxi

Sega Dreamcast and Arcade

Nostalgia Factor:

For today's review, I am reviewing Crazy Taxi for the arcade and Crazy Taxi for the Dreamcast both at the same time. I don't normally do this, but I have done it a few times in the past. The reasoning for this is that the two different versions of the game are essentially the same thing in my mind. The Dreamcast game has some added features, but the base game experience is pretty much the same thing.

I first played Crazy Taxi back in 2001 or 2002. I worked at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student union as someone who would run around and fill up supplies. I went unsupervised for long portions of my shift, so I would often sneak away and explore the union. I remember going down to the bowling alley one day and noticing it had an arcade. I went to check out the games, and the one that immediately jumped out to me was Crazy Taxi. I had heard of the game, but I had never played it before. I popped in some quarters and I played a round of the game. I had a blast with it. I loved the concept, the music, and the busy world of the game. I thought it was just so fun and unique. I ended up sneaking down to the bowling alley and the arcade quite often to play this.

I ended up buying the game for the Sega Dreamcast a short while later. I sunk so much time into the game, completing all the side challenges. My girlfriend at the time (Colleen) also really liked the game and would spend all night playing it with me. We had so much fun with this game, passing the controller back and forth and singing along to the Offspring music. Good times.

I haven't played much Crazy Taxi in the ensuing years. As much as I like the game and have fond memories of it, I know it is a relatively shallow experience and you can't actually "beat" the game. But it was only a matter of time before, one of these years, I would get around to revisiting it. I guess that time is now.

Crazy Taxi - has it held up after over 20 years? Let's find out!

Story:

This game does not have a storyline. You simply pick from one of four different cab drivers. You are given a designated time limit to pick up passengers and take them to their destinations. Once your timer runs out, your earnings are tallied and the game is over. Again, there is no real story to be found here. You're essentially just playing for a high score.

Gameplay:

As I said before, the Sega Dreamcast version of Crazy Taxi has some extra features that the arcade version does not. Before we dive into the extra features, I'll explain how the arcade game works. You put in some money. You pick your driver. You get about a minute on the clock. Your goal is to pick up customers that are waiting for a ride. You can tell they are waiting for a ride because they will be standing in the middle of a colored circle. Green circles indicate high paying customers who are going a long ways. Yellow and red circles indicate lower fair customers whose destinations are located closer to you.

It is your goal to take your customer to their location as quickly as possible. The faster you are, the more money you earn. You also earn bonus time so you can keep playing. Next, you pick up another customer and take them to their destination. And then again. And then again. You're basically doing the same thing over and over again. Eventually you will run out of time, and the game will end. Your total earnings will be tallied, and depending on how much you earned, you can enter your initials as a high score.

Each round only lasts a few minutes. It's a fun few minutes, though. I always wanted to put another quarter in right away and try to beat my previous score. That said, I was never very good at this game. Is anyone, though? It's a game that is designed to F you over and make things as hard for you as possible.

What makes the game fun is how "in your face" it is. The bright colors, the loud Offspring music, the busy city streets full of cars to crash into and objects to knock over. There are real life locations in the game, like KFC and Tower Records. You can drive on the highway, through parking garages, and you can even get airborne flying over ramps and steep hills. It's just a really fun and chaotic experience.

The Dreamcast version of Crazy Taxi includes both Arcade and Original mode. Arcade mode is the exact same thing you see in the arcades (except you can adjust how much time you have to work with.) Original mode is very similar to arcade mode, but has a new part of the city that you can play through. The goal of each of these modes is to simply get the high score. As I mentioned before, there is no "beating" this game.

The Dreamcast version also offers Crazy Box mode. This mode contains challenges like launching yourself off of a ramp in order to get the longest distance, popping balloons before the time limit runs out, and knocking down bowling pins before the time runs out. Essentially these are minigames designed to increase your skill at the game. As you play, you learn how drifting and the speed boost work. So it helps you become a better player in the long run.

These challenges are pretty hard. I remember it taking a long time to complete them when I was younger. Honestly, I didn't put too much time into them this time around. I gave them each a handful of attempts. If I couldn't pass a challenge, I'd just move onto the next one.

Graphics:

This game holds up very well. The game's cities are bright and full of details and things to interact with. When you crash into things like garbage cans and stop signs, they go flying across the screen. There are pedestrians diving out of the way and cars to avoid all over the place. The overall graphics are sharp and pleasing to the eye. This is not a game you look at and say "hmmm that hasn't aged very well." Some games from this era look ugly, or have certain deficiencies that plague them, like frame rate dippage, slowdown, or draw distance issues. Crazy Taxi has none of that stuff.

The cityscapes are inspired by San Francisco. I am not familiar with San Francisco, so I am curious to see how accurate this game is to the actual setting. But everything is so active and bursting with activity. I love it.

Sound:

Ah, the music. This is probably what comes to everyone's mind when they think of Crazy Taxi. Its sweet, sweet Offspring soundtrack. This game also features a few tracks from Bad Religion, too, but it is mainly the Offspring that everyone remembers. Most notably, the song that starts with "yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!" There's just something about the Offspring music that really captures the sprit of the game. It's great. I'll include a link to these songs below.

The sound effects are good, too. The voice acting, the car noises, the noises of crashing into things. It's all hectic, chaotic, and wonderful. It really is a great sounding game.

Crazy Taxi music

Overall:

All right, down to the nitty gritty. Which game is better? Clearly, it is the Dreamcast version. It includes everything you'd get in the arcade version, and more. There is much more replay value here and much more bang for your buck. The experience of the arcade is a bit more immersive, with the steering wheel and the foot pedals and everything. But the Dreamcast version is the more complete game.

As much as I love Crazy Taxi and as much as it means to me, I can't really give it a glowing, upper echelon review score. I'd like to give it something in the A range but I just can't. There is so little meat on these bones. Each playthrough is only a few minutes long. You can't beat the game. Plus, the game is designed to be difficult in order to make you lose. So there are a lot of frustrating moments. It's always annoying when you get stuck in a pile up of cars, or when you are hitting the gas and you are just sitting there spinning your wheels, or when the arrow points you in a misleading direction.

I like a game with a goal and a purpose. I like a good story. I like to feel like I'm accomplishing something when I play a video game. Unfortunately, Crazy Taxi is just one of those games you can only pick up and play for a few minutes at a time. I liken it to Pac-Man, Centipede, Donkey Kong, and all those old types of arcade games where you are only playing for a high score. You can't actually complete the game, you're just playing a little snippet of it over and over again. I've never been a big fan of that kind of game. I've made this point repeatedly. Just look at some of my old reviews. Crazy Taxi is not immune from this type of disdain coming from me. Would I rather sit down and play a longer game with a storyline or would I rather sit down and play a whole bunch of short rounds of Crazy Taxi? Give me the longer game, please.

It may sound like I'm being unnecessarily harsh on Crazy Taxi, but I am going to give both versions of this game a positive score. The Dreamcast version gets the slight nod, but really, both games are good for the same thing - quick and exciting short bursts of gameplay. It's not something you sit down and play for hours on end. It's just something you put on for a few minutes while trying to beat your high score. Then you get tired of it and you move on.

Luckily, this game does just enough to keep itself forever relevant in my mind. The graphics, the music, the fun locations, the crazy traffic, the silly voice acting, the overall chaos of the game. It's a game I find incredibly endearing, even if I do recognize how shallow it is. So this game gets an easy recommendation from me.

THE GRADE:

ARCADE: B-

DREAMCAST: B

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Video Game Review #547: Parasite Eve

Parasite Eve

PlayStation

Nostalgia Factor:

I first played Parasite Eve after it was initially released in the late 1990s. I was a big Resident Evil and Final Fantasy fan, and everything I had read about the game indicated that Parasite Eve was the perfect mix between the two. I'm not quite sure why I didn't buy the game. Monetary reasons? Maybe. But I ended up renting it from Blockbuster Video. I remember making it about halfway through the game before getting stuck and having to return it to the video store.

I rented it again a few weeks later, and made it all the way to the museum area, which is located near the end of the game. Again, I got stuck and was not able to beat the game. I returned it to Blockbuster and never picked it up again. After renting it twice, my initial impression was that the game was nowhere near as good as Final Fantasy or Resident Evil. In fact, I didn't really like the game at all, which sucked, because I had been looking forward to it with such anticipation.

Fast forward to the year 2011. I ended up downloading this on the PlayStation Network. I was finally able to give the game the time and dedication it deserved, and I ended up beating it for the first time ever. Yay. I still could not say I was a giant fan of the game though. There was just something about it that did not resonate with me. I was having a particularly hard time in battle, getting my ass handed to me over and over again. It felt like I spent days in the warehouse section, fighting enemies and grinding away.

That was the last time I had played Parasite Eve - about 13 years ago. I knew it was only a matter of time before I picked it up one last time, so I could play through it and review it for my blog. I was dragging my feet a little, because I was worried I was once again not going to have a good time with the game.

So, would I like it this time around? That's what we're all here to find out. Keep reading for my full thoughts.

By the way, here is a special guest review written by my friend Jeff back in 2013. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years after writing this.

Story:

The opening scene from this game is one of the best in video gaming history. You play as Aya, who is a New York City cop. She is attending a play at Carnegie Hall when all hell breaks lose, and the attendees start spontaneously combusting. Unaffected, Aya goes backstage where she encounters Eve, a parasitic entity that has commandeered the body of Melissa, the lead actress in the play.

Thus begins the game's adventure. As Aya, you must follow Eve around New York City, fighting her minions and discovering her origins. The game is a bit light on plot compared to most Square Enix games, but as you go along, you discover who she is, why she is doing this, and why Aya is the only one unaffected by Eve's powers. There's a lot of scientific gobbledygook about mitochondria and all that fun stuff.

Eve is tracked to the museum, where she has been helped by the evil Dr Klamp. Eve's goal is to birth the Ultimate Being, made of mitochondria. It can control anyone and manipulate all matter across the world. Freaky. Of course, at the end of the game you defeat Eve and save the world once and for all. Or do you? This game does have a sequel, which I also rented but never beat. But I don't really remember its story at all. Hopefully I can find the time to play it soon.

Gameplay:

I am not sure why I thought this game was so difficult the last time I played it. I made my way through the game with relative ease, only dying a handful of times. At no point did I have to stop and grind over and over again. Huh. I bet the last time I played I wasn't upgrading my weapons and armor. I probably was not assigning my bonus attribute points that you earn in battle either. D'oh!

Let me explain how things work. When you aren't in battle, you can freely walk through the game's environments. The look and feel of the game will probably remind you of Resident Evil at first glance, but that's where the similarities end. First, there are no tank controls. There is a run button, which you will find yourself using quite a bit. Aya moves quite slowly even when you are running, which is probably the most annoying thing I found about the game this time around. You use the action button to open chests and to check things in the environment. Many doors open just by walking into them. No need to use the action button here. Unfortunately, the collision detection is not very good in this game. Sometimes I'd encounter doors that I thought could not be opened, only to find out I was not approaching them from just the right angle.

Parasite Eve does battling a bit different from traditional RPGs. You walk around on the game map, avoiding enemy attacks while you wait for your ATB meter to charge. Once it is charged, you can attack, use an item, or use some of your special parasite powers. I enjoyed the battle system, as it is more than just picking things off of a menu. The ability to dodge attacks lends a more strategic aspect to the battles. Remember when I reviewed Quest 64? That battle system here is comparable to the system in that game, except WAY more refined.

As you fight, you gain experience and level up your character. The game often gives you a chance to return to the police station, which acts as the game's central headquarters. There, you can upgrade your items and weapons, and use the storage locker to store anything you don't need. You can (and will) quickly run out of storage space in this game. It is annoying having to constantly manage your inventory. You have to use items, even if you don't really need them, or discard them to clear up room for more items. I wish the game just let you pick up and store anything you wanted, but alas it is not to be. To make matters worse, the game often gives you "junk" which takes up inventory space. It serves no purpose other than to force you to go through your inventory and clear up more room.

The last thing I need to bring up before we move on is how it can be easy to get stuck while playing this. Some of the puzzles are a little obscure. Sometimes you don't know what you are supposed to do next, or where you are supposed to go. The environment often makes things harder, as certain items/switches/things you need to solve puzzles are often obscured or do not stand out from the background.

Luckily, I had the internet to help me when I would get stuck. As a kid in the 90s, I did not have that luxury. I can see why I rented this twice and was not able to beat it.

Graphics:

A lot of people will probably say that this game did not age well, but I freaking love how it looks. This era of gaming will always hold a special place in my heart. That said, I can see why people would not like it. The environments for the most part look good (although they are mainly just flat 2D images). It's the characters that do not look the best. They're comprised of blocky, chunky polygons that don't always look or feel quite right. I remember a few times, a character would walk in and I'd be like "where the fuck are his arms?" or "what is that supposed to be??" You really have to use your imagination when playing this.

Where the game excels the most visually is in its creepy atmosphere. I am not saying that the game is scary or anything, because it most definitely is not. But it definitely portrays a creepy atmosphere that can be unsettling at times. The scene in the park where a bunch of people melt and turn into a liquid mass is one that sticks out in my mind. 

Sound:

This game's music definitely contributes to its creepy atmosphere. It is perfect for this type of game. It's like opera mixed with Resident Evil music. I'll post a link below to a short playlist of a few of my favorite songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZbOOHhD-WI&list=PL8Sdr_u0PmxjGdRi9r3-V0IwS5Ic9zLzp

Aside from the music, not much else stands out. There is no voice acting. The sound effects are nothing to write home about. But the music, though. It's so good!

Overall:

I had a great time playing this game. I loved it. I can't believe I did not appreciate this game back when it was first released. Looking at it now, I can see it for how awesome it truly is. The gameplay is fun. I love the atmosphere and the music. It moved along quickly. It didn't drag at any point. I was fully invested the entire way through this. 

If you are a fan of PS1 era games like Dino Crisis, Resident Evil, and Final Fantasy VIII, you will love this. It is a must play. It's not a perfect game, but I have to say that it is the most fun I've had with a video game in a long time. I flew through it!

This game gets an emphatic yes from me.

THE GRADE:

A

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Video Game Review #546: Shining Force II

Shining Force II

Sega Genesis

Before playing:

I've always heard good things about Shining Force II. Many say it is the best Shining Force game of all time. I'm familiar with the series. I played through the first game when I was a kid, and then I recently played through the Sega CD game in 2021. I've also played a few related titles like Shining Wisdom and Shining in the Darkness. I never got around to Shining Force II, though, which is somewhat of a surprise considering how much I liked the original.

I've had the means to play this game since 2008, when I got the Sonic Mega Genesis Collection for the PS3. Even with the game right there at my fingertips, I never played it. 16 years later, and 31 years since the game's initial release, it was finally time to play the game. Since starting this blog, I made the decision to play through the Shining Force games in order. So, I played the original (in fact, it was one of my first ever reviews here). I also played the Sega CD version, and looking back, I was very hard on the game in my review. I gave it a C, which I consider dead average. Shining Force CD: average. Funny, because when I look back on the game, I look back on it favorably in my mind.

So here it is. The moment I've been waiting for. Is this truly the greatest Shining Force game of all time? Let's find out.

Story:

The Shining Force games never really have great stories, but I enjoyed this one well enough. It's a fun blend of high stakes adventure with some comedy. Just don't expect any character development. The main character is a generic do-gooder who is often propelled forward by the momentum of the narrative.

I am not going to dive into every little detail of the game's plot. Instead, I present to you a humble summary. A treasure hunter unearths a demonic presence inside an ancient tower. It awakens an evil force known as "the Devils" around the game's magical/medieval world. They begin terrorizing the people of the world. The head demon goes around possessing people and getting them to do his bidding against their will. The King's daughter is kidnapped. The Devils and the possessed humans ignite a war. It's your job as the main character, a young apprentice who has been "gifted" with the power of the dark and light jewels, to defeat the enemy forces, rescue the princess, free the possessed people, and banish the evil Zeon from the universe once and for all.

Gameplay:

This game takes the formula introduced in the original Shining Force and expands upon it. Everything feels larger and more open than it did before. The world feels more alive. There is much more exploration involved than previous games. That is not always a good thing, however, as this game is often extremely cryptic as to where you are supposed to go and what you are supposed to do next. If I had played this as a kid, I think it would have frustrated me because I would always be getting stuck. An example of this is early in the game when you find an item known as a wooden plank. There is no description of the item, you can't use it, and the game doesn't even give you a hint as to why you are picking it up or what you need to do with it. Turns out, you need to backtrack to an old village that has a tree in it, and place the plank into the opening. Why would I have to do that? Nothing in the game ever hints that this is something you need to do! Luckily, I had the internet to turn to for assistance. Like I said, this game probably would have irritated me as a kid, because I did not have the luxury of internet help. And this wasn't the only instance of me getting stuck. Oh no. It happened quite often.

What I do like about the game is that there is more exploration on the map. You move from screen to screen like in an old Zelda game. The map is big and there is a lot to check out. It's a stark difference from Shining Force CD, where you don't explore at all - you just jump from battle to battle. I like that they did this, but if only it was not so easy to get lost...

Most of the time you spend playing this game will be spent in battle. Whether or not you like turn based tactical RPGs that take place on a grid will determine if you like this game or not. If you don't you won't have a good time here. Luckily this game is very easy to pick up and play. It's not daunting or intimidating like Final Fantasy Tactics. It doesn't hold your hand, but it does make things easy for you to grind and level up. And the stakes are very low if you die. You just respawn at the nearest church. You have to pay to resurrect your fallen teammates, but I never really ran into money trouble until later in the game. The good thing about dying is you keep all experience and items you earned in battle. So if you are having a tough time with a particular battle, you can just keep going at it, dying, and then coming back again. Eventually you will level up enough to where you are strong enough to pass the fight.

This game is HARD. It may be the toughest Shining Force I've encountered. I had to redo so many battles. It started to become tiresome after a while. Especially some of those late game battles. Sheesh! I remember coming to the end of the game and thinking I could beat it in an hour or so. And then it took me two nights of playing the same battle over and over again, grinding away until I finally was able to squeak through by the slimmest of margins. If you are frustrated by difficulty and grinding, this game will not be for you.

The game is okay. Overall, I had a decent time with it. But I have to get to the elephant in the room: the game's speed! Oh. My. God. How did I play through the original Shining Force when I was younger? It moves sooooo slowly. I'm talking about in battle, when you have to wait for each of the computer characters to take a turn. You could just die of old age. It's absurd. And the fact that you have to replay so many battles and grind makes it even more frustrating. It's SO SLOW. Thank god I decided to play this through emulation rather than the actual copy of the game on my PS3 collection. I was able to use the fast forward button to make things go infinitely faster. Even then, the game was still frustratingly slow and repetitive at times. If I did not have this fast forward option, I would have had a serious problem with this game.

Just look at how long it took me to beat this. I started it in August, and I am just now finishing it in the middle of November. Four months to beat a Sega Genesis game that really is not that long. I dragged my feet playing through this game because of the slow battles and because I seemed to get lost or stuck at every turn. I can't in good faith give this game glowing praise, because of how frustrating it often was. I do have an overall favorable impression of the game, but all the warts keep it from being a truly great experience. Instead it is just okay.

Graphics:

This game looks pretty good. It is probably the best the Genesis could possibly do for a 16-bit RPG. I love the sprite work. The characters are very bright, colorful, and distinct looking. The world of the game feels a lot more alive than previous Shining Force games. 

Sound:

The original Shining Force had a much better soundtrack than this. You hear the same five songs over and over again. Some of them are okay, I guess, but they get to be tiresome after a while. Final Fantasy VI this is not.

Overall:

I am more conflicted with this review than I've been for any review in a very long time. The game is frustrating, with its challenging battles, slow pace, constant need to grind, and lack of direction as to where you are supposed to go next. That last one is probably my biggest complaint. I found myself looking online for help much more often than I would really like to. The slow pace would be my next biggest complaint. Thank the maker that I had the ability to speed up gameplay as I played through this. The slow speed would have been absolutely insufferable. So do I grade it based on the way I played it, or do I grade it how I would have liked it without being able to speed up battles? I have decided to grade it on the way I've played it.

The classic Shining Force battle system is a strength. I love positioning my players and figuring out strategies for tough situations. Having to wait for your enemies to fiddle around is a bit annoying. Hopefully you are able to speed it up. If so, this is going to be a pretty enjoyable game for you. Shining Force II also gives you a better story than previous Shining Force games, with better graphics and more interesting locales. And I have to give a shoutout to my homey Peter. That guy carried my team through most of the game.

So as you can see, it was a mix between frustration and a good time as I played through this. I definitely consider this an above average title. The only decision to be made would be if this was a C+ or a B-. I've decided on the latter. It took me several months to slog my way through this game. Sometimes I was really into it. Other times I was bored out of my mind. Or lost. Or bored and lost. But when it is all said and done, I look back on my time with the game favorably. I think that as the months and years go by, my memories of it will only improve.

If I was ranking Shining Force games, I would put this below the original Shining Force but above Shining Force CD.

THE GRADE:

B-

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Video Game Review #545: Heavy Barrel

Heavy Barrel

Arcade

Nostalgia Factor:

When I was a kid, I would occasionally play Heavy Barrel in an arcade at a local bowling alley. This was the late 80s, going into the early 90s. I was never very good at the game, and in fact, I did not pay it much attention. It was one of those games I'd only throw a quarter in every once in a while, when I was getting bored of all the other games to play. The main thing I remember from the game is how the demo that loops when no one is playing always shows a battle taking place on a moving elevator. As an adult, I had to Google the game using this vague description to get the name of the title. As soon as I saw the name "Heavy Barrel", it all came crashing back to me.

One of the great things about my Retropie is how I can go back and play games that I haven't even thought about in 30 years. And that's what I am doing here. Heavy Barrel. I haven't played this since I was about eight years old. And now here I am at 42, ready to finish this game off and file it away forever. Let's freaking go.

Story:

"Mission: Destroy enemy's underground artillery base."

This one sentence as you parachute in at the beginning of the game is all you get for a storyline.

Gameplay:

This is one of those games that can be easily beaten if you have an endless supply of quarters. There is no real strategy involved, aside from "blast away at your enemies and expect to die every few seconds". I'm not sure if the term bullet hell applies here, but I am saying it does. Everywhere you turn is something that kills you, and staying alive is for the most part a futile affair. But as long as you have enough quarters, you'll eventually make your way to the end.

In concept, the game is easy to pick up and play. You control your little soldier character. You can fire in eight directions. You can throw grenades. You march forward as the screen scrolls ahead, blasting all enemies in sight. You pick up weapon upgrades. You fight boss characters. And you die. Again and again and again. Like I said before, there is really no escaping it, unless you are some kind of Heavy Barrel fanatic that has played through the game thousands of times. Even trying my absolute hardest to stay alive, it never seems to happen for more than a few seconds at a time.

The game can be beaten in about 20 minutes, give or take. It is very short. While I enjoyed the game, I can't say it is something I was overjoyed with. There's little strategy aside from to just keep relentlessly attacking and keep dying. When you have an unlimited supply of quarters and there are no real consequences for dying, it really takes the fun out of things. But what other choice is there? Even when I focus on playing more conservatively and trying to stay alive, I just end up dying anyway. Might as well just bull rush every time. Again and again. How fun.

Graphics:

I don't think this game looks like anything special. I'm sure it looked decent for its time. But visually, it doesn't do much to draw players in. And that's even with me usually being able to be objective about this kind of thing. I just don't think the game looks great. Not that it looks bad. It's just very forgettable looking.

Sound:

There is nothing memorable about this game's music or sound effects. I just finished playing through this fifteen minutes ago and I can already remember nothing about how this game sounded. Nothing. I'm sure it does a good job. I would have noticed if it sounded terrible, right? I suppose. But part of my problem with the game is how drab the gameplay and graphics are. The music certainly isn't helping its case.

Overall:

Meh. That about sums up my entire attitude towards this game. Everything about it is just so forgettable. The music, story, graphics, and especially the gameplay. You just power through hordes of enemies, blasting as many as you can, before you eventually die. Pop in another quarter, pick up right where you left off, and keep going until you die again. Repeat this about twenty to thirty times. If you can keep pumping in quarters, eventually you'll beat the game. It must have taken a small fortune to beat this game!

I appreciate the game for what it was at the time it was released. But when I look at it now, the game really suffers. Especially considering the fact that I don't come in wearing rose-tinted nostalgia glasses. There is nothing here I haven't seen dozens of times already. The theme is not interesting. The graphics and production value don't really draw you in. There's no special gameplay mechanics that keep things interesting. The game just... is what it is. If you like this kind of game, you'll like Heavy Barrel. If you're indifferent towards them, like me, you will not find much to get excited about here.

I know this game is somewhat beloved, so I feel a bit like a heathen for giving it such a low score. But what can I say? I didn't hate the game, but I didn't really have fun with it either. And now that I've completed it, I do not see any reason to come back to it again, unless it is later on in life to play through it with my son in two-player mode. I guess if that ever happens, I'll give the game a re-review and see if my opinion has changed on it. Until then, I am filing this one away as below average and not worth your time.

THE GRADE:

D+

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Video Game Review #544: Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures

Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures

PlayStation 3

Nostalgia Factor:

I first played this game back in 2008 or 2009, which, to my shocking realization, is about 15 or 16 years ago now. I remember liking the game, but other than that, not giving it much of a second thought. Even back then, I was familiar with the Lego games and realized that all of them were pretty much the exact same thing.

I'm not sure why I am coming back to this game now, after all this time. I think it's more of a "why not?" than anything else. My goal is to play through and review as many games for this blog as I can, so why not make Lego Indiana Jones one of those games?

Story:

This game covers the original three movies in the Indiana Jones series: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade. If you are unfamiliar with Lego games, the events of these movies are told, but with a humorous spin to them. Everyone is made of Legos, and no one can speak. They sort of pantomime and grunt the events of the movie. Everything is exaggerated to great comic effect. It really is quite cute.

My only gripe is that for some reason the part from The Last Crusade with young Indiana Jones is oddly missing from this game. I was looking forward to getting to The Last Crusade only to discover it wasn't there. Hmm. The game also does away with Nazi imagery and makes the villains generic bad guys in nondescript military outfits. I suppose it makes sense. The swastika is not exactly a symbol that they'd probably want displayed on their Lego brand.

 

Gameplay:

This is the same as any other Lego game out there. You play through a series of stages inspired by the source material. You have an unlimited supply of lives. You punch enemies, destroy everything in the environment, put together Lego pieces, and use your characters' special abilities to solve puzzles. Each movie contains six stages. Once you make your way through all six stages (thus the events of one of the movies), the credits roll. When they are done, select the next movie and dive in.

In typical Lego fashion, the game is not very long. Instead, it tries to get you to play through the game multiple times, after you've unlocked new characters. These characters will come with special abilities you need to solve puzzles that you couldn't solve your first time through. I think I've made my stance on this pretty clear in past reviews, but if you are a new reader, I'll repeat myself. I never play through these Lego games a second time. Once I beat the story mode, I consider the game complete. All the extra stuff has never been worth it for me. I understand I may be missing out on a lot of the appeal of these games, for some gamers, but I do not care. I typically don't like any game enough to play through it more than one time after I've beaten it. And this game is certainly not good or interesting enough to make me want to play it again. Once is more than enough.

Graphics:

This game looks good enough. All the characters and locales from the Indiana Jones movies are faithfully recreated in Lego form. Part of the joy for me was playing through the game and seeing what they were going to do from one scene to the next, and how they were going to interpret it in Lego form.

I wouldn't say the game looks super amazing or anything like that. If you've played a Lego game, you know what to expect, and this game delivers exactly that.

Sound:

This game has a sensational soundtrack. It's hard to screw things up, considering they were allowed to pull music directly from the movies. The soundtrack really helps engross the player in the world of Indiana Jones. I know it really got me pumped and "into" the game. Each movie has their own little distinct tunes associated with them. I was a particular fan of some of the Temple of Doom music. And of course there is the main theme, which is always great.

As this is an early Lego game, there is no voice acting. And you know what? I kind of prefer things this way. The voice acting sometimes takes me out of a Lego game, with its poor quality. I think the fact that there is no dialogue makes many of the scenes so much funnier than they would have been otherwise.

Overall:

I had a better than expected time with this game. I certainly liked it a lot more than I did the first time I played it back in '08. Sure, it's just another Lego game. But if you like the theme of the Lego game, I often find it can mask the repetitive nature of the gameplay. And I love Indiana Jones. Not only that, but the stories and the action sequences of Indiana Jones really lend themselves well to the idea of a Lego game.

In typical Dan fashion, I only played through the story campaign before calling it quits. If you like to collect things and you like going back and replaying old areas, you may enjoy trying to collect 100% of everything in the game. I'm certain some fun stuff is unlocked, like extra missions, characters, and outfits. Again - if that's your thing: go for it. But me? I'm just a story mode kind of guy. I don't care about all that extra stuff.

I'm a little torn because I realize that this is just a typical Lego game, and there isn't much special about it. But at the same time, I enjoyed my time with this game. I enjoyed it more than I normally do a Lego game. So how do I grade it?

There is one particular score that I've had in my mind since I finished up this game. I guess I'm just going to go with that. It'll be a B-. Not necessarily a great score, but not low enough to fall in the C range either. I almost feel this is too high for a Lego game (in fact, only one Lego game has ever scored higher than a B-). But you know what? I liked the game. I really loved the theme and the music. I had fun. And that's all that matters. Will I ever play this game again, though? Probably not.

THE GRADE:

B-

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

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2024 Movie Rankings (October)

11 movies consumed in the month of October. As always, I will briefly run down these movies and pick which five of them will advance to my ultimate year end movie ranking. I ended up watching almost exclusively horror movies for the month of October - and not even because of Halloween. I watch horror year round. I don't need an excuse to watch them. It's just an interesting coincidence. Anyway, here are the 11 movies:

Halloween (2018)

Halloween Kills

Halloween Ends

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Joy Ride

The Sentinel

The Menendez Brothers

The Greatest Night in Pop

Eden Lake

The Purge

Unhinged

Not Moving On:

The Sentinel

A really bad old horror movie. I lost interest about five minutes in and started looking at my phone, so I ended up kind of zoning out for the rest of the movie. Maybe it is not as bad as I think it is. Maybe I didn't give it a chance. There seemed to be some legitimately creepy moments. I just couldn't get into it.

Unhinged

I read the synopsis on Netflix and thought it looked interesting, so I started watching it. About ten minutes into the movie I realized - hey, I have seen this before. And I didn't really like it. I ended up finishing the movie anyway. I only mildly liked it. I went back and searched my blog and my Facebook posts for "Unhinged" and I didn't find a single thing that matched. I know I watched this movie, probably within the last three years. I must have forgot to jot it down on my list though.

Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills, Halloween Ends

I suppose these movies are all right. While enjoyable (for the most part), they just aren't good enough to break my top 5. They have a lack of identity and don't have anything special about them that makes them stand out in my memory.

Joy Ride

I like this movie. I remember watching it with an ex-girlfriend back in the early 2000s and we always would imitate Ted Levine and say "Candy Caaaaaane" to each other. I probably haven't revisited the movie since then. Like I said, I liked it, but it just isn't good enough or deep enough (or believable enough) to move on.

Moving On:

The Purge

The movie that started the Purge franchise! This is probably the weakest movie to move on from October, but I don't care. I enjoyed it. It was either going to be this or Joy Ride - and to be honest, neither of them are winning my ranking. So I'll go with the one I had just a little bit more fun with.

Eden Lake

I discovered this film while reading through a list of "most disturbing movies." I thought it sounded good. I began watching and about 20 minutes into the movie, I realized I had seen it before. This came out in 2008, and I don't know who I would have seen this with or when I would have watched it, but I have definitely seen this before. It's pretty good, but probably is only going to move on because the movies I watched this month were pretty bad. I'd rank it a step or two about The Purge.

The Greatest Night in Pop

I started watching this on a whim and completely fell in love with it about five minutes into the movie. I thought this was going to be a "background" movie, but I paid close attention the whole way through and ended up watching it in one sitting, which is rare for me. It was fascinating seeing the whole project come together, and watching Lionel Richie deal with all the egos and personalities. It definitely makes me see and appreciate him in a new light. If you like classic music and you like the 80s, this is a must watch.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

This is not as good as the original Beetlejuice movie, but it is still better than I expected. A lot of these remakes and sequels these days are awful, but I had a fun time with this.

The Menendez Brothers

Admittedly I knew almost nothing about the Menendez case before watching this movie. But it made me see things in a whole new light. Those guys need to be released ASAP. This is a fast moving and informative documentary that has ignited my interest in the case. It really makes me want to see the new series about them as well.

With these 5 movies advancing, here is a look at the top 50. 10 months down, 2 to go! At the end, we'll have 60 movies - 5 from each month that move on. And then I will determine my favorite. In no particular order, here are the 50 that have moved on:

Last Night

The Help

The Greatest Night in Pop

Doctor Sleep

A Star is Born

Mystic River

Stephen King's IT miniseries

Stand By Me

Dune (1984)

Dune: Part One

Dune: Part Two

Legends of the Fall

Cloverfield

Grave of the Fireflies

Glass

The Shape of Water

The Menendez Brothers

Milo and Otis

Gerald's Game

Dr. Giggles

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition

Ghost

Milk

Forrest Gump

Platoon

Fried Green Tomatoes

The Four Falls of Buffalo

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Open Water

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Old

The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker

Bone Tomahawk

Deadpool & Wolverine

Grizzly Man

Manhunter

The Purge

Dumb and Dumber

The Skeleton Key

The Illusionist

The Prestige

Trauma (2017)

Rear Window

Martyrs (2008)

Transformers

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition

The Disaster Artist

Eden Lake

Saw

Halloween

Past 2024 rankings:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

>HERE<

Video Game review #543: Jersey Devil

Jersey Devil

PlayStation

Nostalgia Factor:

Back in the late 1990s, 3D platformers were probably my favorite video game genre. I was a giant fan of titles like Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro the Dragon, Gex: Enter the Gecko, Croc, etc. So of course I was drawn to Jersey Devil. I fondly remember renting the game from Blockbuster Video for a weekend and playing the absolute bejesus out of it. I don't remember if I actually beat the game or not, but I remember enjoying it. Of course, this was nearly 30 years ago. Looking back, I couldn't really remember many specific details about the game, other than there being a park area that I got lost in for a very long time. Aside from that? Not much else but vague memories of liking the game.

Ever since I learned how to emulate, I've been thinking of coming back and playing through Jersey Devil. Fast forward to 2024. That time has finally come. How does the game hold up in modern times? Let's find out!

Story:

This game does not have a very deep storyline. A mad scientist has been terrorizing a small Jersey town with the monsters he has created - most of which are hybrid creatures made out of fruits and vegetables. It is up to the legendary Jersey Devil to swoop in and save the day, defeating the evil scientist and freeing this small town from the clutches of his tyranny.

Gameplay:

I didn't realize this back when I first played it, but Jersey Devil handles a lot like Crash Bandicoot. The character movement, the jumping, even the spin attack is the same. I guess if you ever wondered what Crash Bandicoot would feel like in an open 3D world, this would be it. The only major difference is how Jersey Devil can glide. When you jump, you can hold the triangle button in mid-air to glide across long gaps. I'm sure you've encountered this mechanic in games before. Unfortunately, this is probably the worst glide I've ever seen in a video game. Jersey Devil's wings don't pop out until he's already on his way down. And he sinks really, really fast. So while it has its uses, it is not as helpful as you'd think it would be.

Action starts in a hub world. You can see several different areas of the game, but the only one immediately accessible is the museum. I was a little confused when I entered the museum stage at first. I didn't realize that there are hubs within hubs in this game. It's a little hard to explain, but when I entered the museum area, I thought I would be going directly to a series of museum based platforming stages. But no. Instead, I entered an area directly outside the museum, where you can pick which museum stage to play first. So you start the game in a hub and have to enter another hub before you actually start playing the platforming stages. Once I figured this out, the game became much easier for me to wrap my head around.

As you play through the game's stages, more areas unlock within the central hub. There's a park, a cemetery, a dump, and a sewer area to explore - in addition to the aforementioned museum area. Once you complete all these stages, the final area is unlocked. Unfortunately, you will not be able to beat the game until you have collected EVERY green nitro box in the game. There are hundreds of these things scattered across the game's levels. This might be why I can't specifically remember if I beat the game as a kid or not. I can't imagine being this patient combing through all the stages and collecting all these things when I was younger. In fact, I almost didn't do it here. Normally when I play a game and then discover I have to go back and replay old levels to find things I missed, I stop playing the game, because that shit irritates me. Look at Jet Force Gemini and Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins. I said hell no when the game pulled that on me. But it was a little more tolerable here, because I actually enjoyed playing this game. If I was having a bad time with it, as I was those other titles, I may have very well stopped before finishing this.

The game's stages are pretty straightforward. There's a lot of precision platforming action. The combat is pretty basic. Some enemies take a lot of hits to kill, which is annoying. Be prepared to take a lot of damage from enemies, although the game is more than generous with its health items and extra lives. In fact, I completely maxed out my lives at 99 about 75% into the game. I was never in any danger of running out. That does not mean this isn't a challenging game. It is. Some of the platform areas are tough as nails. And the bosses, while really fun to play, can drain your health quickly too. I guess it is more of an issue of trial and error and repeating yourself till you get it right than it is actual challenging gameplay.

The stages are large, and often filled with interesting puzzles. The game is at its best when things are clicking and you are moving from one area to the next with relative ease. Unfortunately, your objectives aren't always crystal clear, and I did find myself getting stuck from time to time. Luckily I had the good ol' internet to help me in times of need.

So yeah. The game is fun. I liked it. I have to say, though, that it felt a bit generic from time to time. Jersey Devil doesn't do anything I haven't seen dozens of times already. There were times where I was literally like: "This is Croc. This is Crash Bandicoot." And it doesn't always do these things as well as the game that clearly inspired it. But it was good enough for me back in 1998, and it is good enough for me in 2024. 

Graphics:

Jersey Devil looks primitive by today's standards, but in the 1990s this was about as good looking as you could get. Your enjoyment of the game solely depends on your perspective. If you grew up playing these types of games, you'll probably love the graphics and the look and feel of the game. I know I did. There's an undeniable charm coming back and playing games from this era, when they were just figuring out how to make games in 3D. If you are younger or a new gamer, you may not be able to see past the pixels and the draw distance, and the overall jagged look of things. I can totally see things either way.

Before we move on, I have to note that this is essentially a Halloween themed game. You control a devil with a tail and wings. Instead of coins, you collect pumpkins. The locales of the game, like the graveyard and the museum, are clearly Halloween inspired. You fight freakish monsters. Almost everything takes place at night. The whole game just has a really campy Halloween feel to it. Coincidentally, I played through most of this game in late October. I'm not someone who plays scary or Halloween themed games when they are in season. I play these types of games all year long. It just happened to fall on Halloween this time around.

Sound:

The Halloween feel of the game carries over to the sound, too. It's like the game's music is tailor made for Halloween season. Upbeat, jaunty, and spooky at the same time. Ultimately, however, it is forgettable in the long run.

Sound effects are decent. Many of them sound like they were pulled straight from Crash Bandicoot - like the sound of your spin attack and the sound of boxes breaking. Heck, they probably were pulled straight from Crash Bandicoot. They sound good though, so I won't complain.

Overall:

I had a good time with the game, but deciding a final score is where I am running into trouble. I liked the game; I think that my words have made this clear so far. But "like" is about as far as I'd go. I won't say I loved the game. I won't even say I'll ever come back and play this again in my lifetime. In fact, I am almost certain I won't.

The problem with this game is that despite its cool theme and fun Halloween atmosphere, it fails to do anything new or interesting with its gameplay. Mario 64 was way better. Banjo-Kazooie was way better. Spyro was way better. The list goes on and on. Like I said, I liked this game, but it failed to leave any kind of lasting impression on me whatsoever. It's just so tame and vanilla. We've "been there, done that" so many times before.

I almost compare it to the 2D beat 'em up games that were so popular in the arcades. So many of them are very similar in gameplay, and it boils down to the skin or the theme that makes each game interesting individually. Would you rather play Captain Command, or would you rather play something like The Simpsons or the X-Men? You'd take the Simpsons or the X-Men game 99% of the time. Of course. In this example, Jersey Devil is Captain Command, while games like Gex and Spyro are the Simpsons and the X-Men. Despite the game sharing many similarities as its counterparts, there is just something very generic and milquetoast about this version of it. Not to say it is a bad game. It's just something that is easily overlooked and forgotten.

That sounds like I am being mean, but I am really not trying to be. I'll say it for the millionth time - I liked this game. At the same time, I can't say I got a whole lot out of it. It doesn't have originality, creativity, or staying power. It's just a generically "nice" game that left little to no impact on the gaming world. You can completely skip over this game and you won't be missing a whole lot.

I can't in good faith give this anything in the B range. At the same time, I can most assuredly say in good faith that this is an above average title. So I'm giving it a C+, with the caveat that this is about as close to a B- as you can get without actually being a B-. If this game just had a little bit more originality, a little bit more nuance to its control system, just a little bit more something, it would have done a world of good.

THE GRADE:

C+

For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click

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2024 Things: October

January 2024

February 2024

March 2024

April 2024

May 2024

June 2024

July 2024

August 2024

September 2024

10.1: Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.34). Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.01). Listened to 1 episode of Worth it or Worthless (ep 2). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (2.06).

10.2: Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (36.03). Watched 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix (5.1). Watched 1 episode of Agatha All Along (1.04). Watched 1 episode of Invincible (2.05). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Off Balance). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (9.30.24 episode). Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.02).

10.3: Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.04 and 36.05). Watched movie: Halloween (2018). Watched 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix (5.3). Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club podcast (CC Weekly #75). 

10.4: Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (Recapping the Stand: Pocket Savior). Finished video game: Sonic Frontiers. Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.35). Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (2.07). Watched 2 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series (The Man Who Killed Batman, Mudslide).

10.5: Watched movie Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (AAPOD180). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (ep 46 pt 2). Listened to 2 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.2 and 10.3.24 episodes). Watched 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix (5.2). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.01). 

10.6: Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.02). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.01). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks: Citizen Ruth. Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde podcast (Syphon Filter). Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast podcast (Shadows of the Empire). Listened to 1 episode of the Losers Club (Stand Showrunner Benjamin Cavell). 

10.7: Watched 1 episode of Killing Eve (2.08). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E03). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.02). Listened to 1 episode of The 7th Rule (T7R #249). Listened to 1 episode of the Losers Club (Recapping The Stand: Blank Pages). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 243). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.7.24 ep). 

10.8: Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.36). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.03). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.03). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.4.24 ep). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema podcast (Top 5 Favorite Full Moon Movies +SXSW Review).

10.9: Watched 1 episode of Agatha All Along (1.05). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.06 and 36.07). Listened to 1 episode of Dynasty Happy Hour (ep 411). Finished video game: Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon.

10.10: Watched 1 episode of Invincible (2.06). Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Editor's Corner ep 5). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.04). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (36.08). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.03). Finished video game: Panzer Dragoon II Zwei.

10.11: Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.03). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries podcast (Fatal Fire). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.37). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.04). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (36.09). Watched 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix (5.4). Watched movie: Halloween Kills.

10.12: Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast podcast (Mortal Kombat I & II). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.38). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 244). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.10 and 36.11). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.05). Watched 1 episode of American Murder: Laci Peterson (1.01).

10.13: Watched 2 episodes of Invincible (2.07 and 2.08). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.06). Listened to 1 episode of the Losers Club (Recapping The Stand: The House of the Dead). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (ep 88). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Paging the Crime Doctor). 

10.14: Watched movie: Halloween Ends. Listened to 1 episode of Sega Saturn Shiro (Editor's Corner ep 6). Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club (CC Portable #7). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Super Mario Kart). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (AAPOD181). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema podcast (ep 37). Listened to 1 episode of the Losers Club (The Stand's Julie McNamara). Watched movie: The Sentinel.

10.15: Watched 1 episode of The Challenge (36.12). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother (25.39). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.04). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Zatanna). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.07). Watched 1 episode of American Murder: Laci Peterson (1.02).

10.16: Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.05). Watched 3 episodes of The Challenge (36.13, 36.14, and 36.15). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (The Mechanic). Listened to 1 episode of Ear Biscuits (ep 43). Watched 1 episode of American Murder: Laci Peterson (1.03).

10.17: Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.05).  Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 218). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.16.24 episode). Listened to 1 episode of The 7th Rule (T7R #250). Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.06).

10.18: Listened to 1 episode of Dynasty Happy Hour (ep 412). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.16 and 36.17). Finished video game: Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. Watched movie: The Menendez Brothers. Watched 1 episode of Agatha All Along (1.06). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E04). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.15.24 episode).

10.19: Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.18 and 36.19). Watched 1 episode of Invincible (202.01). Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast podcast (Doom 1993). Watched movie: The Greatest Night in Pop." Watched movie: Eden Lake.

10.20: Watched 1 episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.07). Listened to 1 episode of the Losers Club (Recapping The Stand: Fear and Loathing in New Vegas). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Joe and Mac). Listened to 1 episode of the Stephen Kingcast (ep 219). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks: Kentucky Fried Movie. Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (Game Launch Edition: Ace Attorney Investigations Collection). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (AAPOD182). Listened to 1 episode of How Did This Get Made? (Congo). 

10.21: Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.04). Listened to 1 episode of The Cartridge Club (CC Weekly #76). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries podcast (Demonic Possession). Listened to 2 episodes of Carrier (ep 1 and ep 2). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.08).

10.22: Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge (36.20 and 36.21). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde (Pokemon Legends: Arceus). Listened to 1 episode of The Losers Club (The Stand's Owen Teague). Finished video game: Jurassic Park: The Game. Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (13.01). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.09).

10.23: Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (13.02). Watched 2 episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (1.08 and 1.09). Watched movie: Unhinged. Watched 1 episode of The Challenge All Stars (1.01). Listened to 1 episode of The Retroblast (Resident Evil - The Lost Movie Script). Watched 1 episode of Agatha All Along (1.07).  Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Cinema (Top 5 Favorite Weed Smoking movies). Listened to 1 episode of Carrier (ep 3).

10.24: Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Harley and Ivy). Watched 1 episode of The Challenge All Stars (1.02). Watched 1 episode of Survivor (47.06). Finished video game: Wolverine.

10.25: Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge All Stars (1.03 and 1.04). Watched 1 episode of Star Trek Lower Decks (5.01). Listened to 1 episode of Unsolved Mysteries podcast (Three Dead at Blue Ridge Bank). Watched 1 episode of Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter (1.01). 

10.26: Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club (ep 133). Listened to 1 episode of Staff Picks: Rocky 2. Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge All Stars (1.05 and 1.06). Watched movie: Joy Ride. Watched 1 episode of Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter (1.02). 

10.27: Watched 1 episode of Star Trek Lower Decks (5.02). Watched 1 episode of Band of Brothers (1.05). Listened to 1 episode of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (10.24.24 episode). Listened to 1 episode of Dynasty Happy Hour (ep 19). Listened to 1 episode of The 7th Rule (T7R #251). Listened to 1 episode of Digging Six Feet Under (S05E05). Listened to 1 episode of Arcade Attack (AAPOD183). Listened to 1 episode of Carrier (ep 4).

10.28: Listened to 1 episode of How Did This Get Made? (Deep Blue Sea). Listened to 1 episode of the Retroblast podcast (Parasite Eve). Listened to 1 episode of Collateral Gaming (Game Launch Edition: Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom). Watched 1 episode of Batman: The Animated Series (Blind as a Bat).

10.29: Watched 1 episode of This is the Zodiac Speaking (1.01). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge All Stars (1.07 and 1.08). Listened to 1 episode of The Retrograde podcast (Jackass: The Game). Watched 1 episode of Only Murders in the Building (4.10). Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (13.03). Watched movie: The Purge.

10.30: Listened to 1 episode of the Cartridge Club podcast (CC Weekly #77). Watched 2 episodes of The Challenge All Stars (1.09 and 1.10).

10.31: Watched 1 episode of The Amazing Race (13.04). Watched 1 episode of Big Brother Canada (10.01). Watched 2 episodes of Agatha All Along (1.08 and 1.09). Watched 1 episode of This is the Zodiac Speaking (1.02).

19 episodes of The Challenge watched.

11 movies watched.

10 episodes of Only Murders in the Building watched. 

10 episodes The Challenge All Stars watched.

9 episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles watched. 

8 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series watched.

8 episodes of Fantasy Football Happy Hour played.

7 episodes of The Losers Club played.

6 episodes of Big Brother watched.

6 episodes of Agatha All along watched.

6 video games finished.