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Andrew Rich (36 KP) rated Nintendo Wii in Tech

Jun 20, 2019  
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo Wii
Games Consoles > Games Consoles
9
7.9 (26 Ratings)
Tech Rating
Homebrew options including emulation (4 more)
Back compatibility
Good 3rd party hardware support
Intuitive user interface
Huge enthusiast base for support
No true HD output (1 more)
Fully deprecated by Nintendo as of January 2019
Better with age
Almost 13 years ago, Nintendo gave us the Wii, and if the enthusiast community is any measure, the Wii is still going strong. Even at its release, it wasn't the most powerful console - it wouldn't even do HD - and never had the game selection of the PS3 or XBox360, but it managed to chug along.

The motion controls are either fantastic - as in Wii Sports, Mario Kart and Skyward Sword, or just felt gimmicky, and even terrible - as in Mario Party 9, Ninjabread Man, and Chicken Shoot, and some didn't even use them, like my personal favorite @Muramasa: The Demon Blade. But the fact remains that it was, and is, still a good system.

These days, the original release games either look incredibly dated, or were designed around the system's limitations, and still manage to look good, but we're not seeing anymore new releases (except, of course, for Just Dance 2020. Thanks UbiSoft! ) so why is the Wii still good?

Well, between being back compatible to the GameCube, the Wii is also an absolute beast when it comes to emulating classic systems, from the Atari 2600 up to the original PlayStation. Add the Wii Classic Controller or Classic Controller Pro, and you've got a one-stop shop for every Nintendo Console - including handhelds - from the NES up to the Wii, as well as systems from Atari, Coleco, NEC, Sega, and Sony. It turns out the Wii is a great option for those of us who want to play the old classics, but aren't collectors; and might want games not on the NES, SNES, or PS classic mini consoles.

All this time later, that little box of tricks is still proving its use!
  
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!
2018 | Action, Action/Adventure, Fighting
I, like many people my age, spent a good chunk of their childhood playing through Pokémon Blue and Red on the Nintendo Game Boy, and then not long after, Pokémon Yellow.
These games took the world by storm and it was easy to see the way. An top down adventure game, with light RPG elements, and the satisfaction of collecting different creatures, whilst the games tag line urged you to 'catch 'em all', it was a set of games that were enjoyed by adults and children alike.

All these years later, Pokémon Yellow has been given a new lick of paint, and re released as Let's Go Pikachu (or Eevee if you prefer).
It's the same in nearly everyway, just with modern graphics, and it's just great.
Firstly, seeing all of these beloved characters in full shiny 3D graphics is pretty special.
The game retains all of the simple camera angles and vibrant colour palette, and it really works.
The game mechanics are identical as well. It's a simple game to get used to, and one that takes a lot longer to master.
The music is also given update, but all the classic score is intact. This 'if it ain't broke' approach that has been applied works wonders, much like the recent Crash Bandicoot and Spyro re releases.

The Nintendo Switch format allows the player to dock the console, meaning that you can play Let's Go through a TV and turns the controller into a Wii style remote, enabling you to 'throw' Pokéballs if that's your style, or you can opt for a classic handheld approach.
Another feature allows you to import Pokémon from the Pokémon Go app, which is a nice touch

With games like Breath of the Wild showing off just what the Switch can do in terms of huge beautiful looking maps, im longing for a proper open world Pokémon game at some point, but Let's Go is a nostalgia filled and fun stop gap that will steal hours and hours of your time.
  
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ClareR (5603 KP) rated The Fallout in Books

Dec 19, 2019  
The Fallout
The Fallout
Rebecca Thornton | 2019 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Fallout is a thriller that looks at whether it is ever acceptable to keep secrets from, and lie to, your friends. I think you can probably guess the answer to that one before you even open the front page, but there are those who would do just that.

Sarah and Liza are best friends. Their eldest children are the same age, at the same London school, and they met at NCT classes before they had the babies. They both go to a local gym together, and their children go to classes and play there whilst their mothers chat and socialise. Liza has a small baby as well, and is very tired. So she asks Sarah if she’ll check on her older son, Jack, as he’s playing outside and out of sight. However, Sarah is distracted by the appearance of one of the NCT mums that they haven’t seen in a while. And she forgets. Jack has an accident. He falls from a high post and is seriously injured. Sarah then starts the lie that she can’t seem to get herself out of: that she saw Jack playing, and that he was nowhere near the post.

I have to admit that this was a supremely frustrating book. The other school mums and their WhatsApp group would have had me reaching for the ‘Leave Group’ button. Social media isn’t put in a very good light, and accurately portrays the ‘keyboard warriors’ that always come out of the woodwork when something bad happens.

I enjoyed this, whilst at the same time wanting to throw my iPad at the wall. I wanted to tell these women to find something better to do with their time! Gossip and rumour are rife. It’s a great look at human nature and it held my attention throughout - I was desperate to know what was going to happen each day in my Pigeonhole instalment.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, HarperCollins and the author, Rebecca Thornton for reading along. It was a great experience!
  
Pudge & Prejudice
Pudge & Prejudice
A.K. Pittman | 2021 | Romance, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Do you like Pride and Prejudice? Well, I have a love/hate relationship with the story as I love Darcy but want to clobber him at the same time! However, this retelling of the story… is extraordinary. From the first chapter, I was fascinated by Elyse and the way Allison Pittman immersed me in her story. Elyse and Billy Fitz (how cool are their names?!) played off each other so well, I loved their conversations, the letter passing in class, and how both cared so much about the people around them. Allison Pittman also did a great job telling interweaving themes that are so prevalent and realistic into the characters’ thoughts and actions, such as body positivity and being careful who your friends are. Elyse’s older sister Jayne, and Billy’s best friend Charlie, plus the other beloved characters’ help make this story truly unique and engaging.

I loved the setting (Northenfield, TX), the 1980s drama, and the emphasis on music. Plus, all the 1980s references throughout the story helped to shape thing into a funny, realistic, and heart touching retelling of the original. Yet, it stands out as one of the most memorable renditions of Jane Austen’s works, that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It was also interesting to see how Allison Pittman took the 1800s classic and evolved it into a new classic.

Overall, I think any age group would enjoy this book especially if you enjoyed the original. I know it will be going down as one of my favorite stories this year. 5 out of 5 stars.

*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.

IF Y’ALL LOVE ’80S MUSIC BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE PLAY LIST THAT JENN FROM<a href="https://thatswhatshesreading.com/2021/02/05/pudge-and-prejudice-book-review/">THAT’S WHAT SHE’S READING</a> PUT TOGETHER!
  
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Rick Astley recommended Highway to Hell by AC/DC in Music (curated)

 
Highway to Hell by AC/DC
Highway to Hell by AC/DC
1979 | Rock
8.4 (5 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I was about fifteen-years-old and I had just started playing drums and somebody played this album in its entirety on the radio. My Dad had a garden centre at the time and I used to sit in the pickup truck listening to the radio – you know, in its own bizarre way [at that age], you just want to be on your own. So I remember being in that van and the radio DJ saying something about AC/DC and they put it on – I was nailed to my seat. And I'm a drummer, I've always liked rock bands and I've got a mid-life crisis band with some friends – we're called The Luddites. We just play three-piece punk or rock. We murder some of the classics for charity – that's how we get away with it. We go from Sex Pistols to Clash to Foo Fighters to Kings of Leon and so on. Really anthemic songs! Those last two bands have got an odd place in a lot of people's music world – certainly that very guitar heavy rock sound of the Foo Fighters – you would be shocked at some of the people who are into this heavy rock sound. Certain people – a mom with three kids for example – are really into this music! But it's all melodically very strong. Where were we? Oh yes, AC/DC. I made a cassette of this album. I used to drum to this album. Phil Rudd was a monster on the drums. He doesn't do anything – he's the rock Ringo. Whatever he's done needs to be done. People take the piss out of Ringo but everything he did was where it should be. How did I change from being a drummer to a singer? I borrowed a guitar from a guy in the band and fumbled through a few chords and tried to write songs and I became the singer because of that."

Source
  
Power Corruption &amp; Lies by New Order
Power Corruption & Lies by New Order
2009 | Rock
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I love Power, Corruption & Lies. I also love Movement and I play it all the time, as it was the first album after Joy Division. It still has a bit of that Joy Division darkness, almost with a sense of defeat about it, which is kind of how I felt when I was a teenager in the late fucking '70s. But I think Power, Corruption, the record after it, there's more light in it. It's more joyous, it's more lyrically lighter. And I think Bernard Sumner found his own voice, loosened up and just became Bernard when he came out of Ian Curtis's shadow. This album is a huge inspiration and I was fascinated at the time by the way that New Order would take electronics and the sequencer sound, which I loved from Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love', and they took it and applied it to rock & roll. They first did this with 'Temptation', which was released before 'Blue Monday'. I was previously in a band on Factory called The Wake and we'd opened for New Order. I'd had a tape recorder and I'd recorded some of their shows. They were playing 'Temptation' live, long before it was released as a single. I was obsessed by the way they took that tut-tut-tutut-tut-tut-tut sequence inspired by Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder's arpeggio sound. To this day, that's still a big influence on Primal Scream. I'm just saying thank you to Bernard, Hooky, Stephen and Gill because I remember buying that record when it came out with a beautiful Peter Saville sleeve. The reason there's no writing on the album cover of Screamedelica is in total homage to Saville and Factory Records. A lot of our albums have no writing on the cover either. I mean, 'Age Of Consent': What. The. Fuck. Is. That? Playing with New Order back in the early '80s was like a fucking dream at the height of their fucking power!"

Source
  
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Johnny Marr recommended Raw Power by The Stooges in Music (curated)

 
Raw Power by The Stooges
Raw Power by The Stooges
1973 | Punk, Rock
8.4 (9 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"When you inevitably are asked about your favourite record, you can scratch your head and go through a list, because your taste changes from year-to-year or through different periods of your life. However, I have always been able to say that Raw Power is my favourite from the moment I first heard it, and I don't think it has been equalled since. A couple of friends recommended it to me. At the age of 14, I was starting to play guitar in a certain way and the name [of Stooges' guitarist] James Williamson kept cropping up. A couple of guys I knew assumed I had been listening to Raw Power because of the way I was playing riffs. So I thought I had better investigate. I knew all about Iggy and The Stooges but I wasn't aware of Raw Power. I got the album in about 1976. I had heard so much about it that eventually I want into town to buy it and I picked up a copy for about three quid, which was all I had. The cover alone made me want to buy the record, and, when I heard it, I realised why my mates had been saying what they had. In particular, the song 'Gimme Danger' started off with a riff that was very much like one I was playing with the band I was in at the time. As a guitarist, James Williamson's playing struck me as having the technique of Jimmy Page but with the irreverence and attitude of Keith Richards. I have since become friends with James and have talked to him about what he was doing back then. He knew exactly what he was doing and it was very deliberate, which is always quite impressive. There is a lot more I could say about Raw Power. It gave me a path to follow as a guitar player. It was an opening into a world of rock & roll, sleaze, sexuality, drugs, violence and danger. That's a hard combination to beat."

Source
  
H(
Höstsonaten (Autumn Sonata) (1978)
1978 | International, Drama
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I have been familiar with Bergman for a long time, having seen Summer With Monika, Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal at a young age. They were more or less my first experience of foreign language art cinema that I sort of understood and liked. Something about the practical and economical way conversations happen in Bergman appeals to me. They tend to lack melodrama and romance, but are intellectually satisfying and often dramatically devastating. None more so than this mindbendingly sad tale of a mother and daughter in conflict. Bergman’s regular muses Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann go head to head in a masterclass of acting that left me in utter awe. It reminded me of the first time I saw Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence – such soul-wrenching honest of emotion, it is almost unbearable. In a good way.

The fact that something is bleak has never put me off, and Bergman too is completely unafraid of leaving you entirely depressed. In fact, I wish Hollywood wasn’t so afraid of it. Very few films with personal conflicts this strong spring to mind – perhaps Blue Valentine is as close as it gets. But on the scale of rhetorical blows to the emotional solar plexus, that would be a 4 and Autumn Sonata would be a 9. Truthfully, I have seen few things so brutal and painful played out in film form. Guilt, blame, regret, denial, shame and loss cut to the bone, making the key scenes at the crescendo very hard to watch, but also brilliant because of it. Visually it is warm and cosy enough, but quite static, like a stage play, but of course Bergman was aware of this. He wants us to focus on the people, and so we do. A blindingly strong work of art all round. Just not something you want to revisit too often.
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Sep 15, 2021  
Sneak a peek at The Last Trial of T. Boone Pickens, a biography, by Chrysta Castañeda and Loren Steffy on my blog. This book sure does look interesting!

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
T. Boone Pickens, legendary Texas oilman and infamous corporate raider from the 1980s, climbed the steps of the Reeves County courthouse in Pecos, Texas in early November 2016. He entered the solitary courtroom and settled into the witness stand for two days of testimony in what would be the final trial of his life.

Pickens, who was 88 by then, had made and lost billions over his long career, but he’d come to Pecos seeking justice from several other oil companies. He claimed they cut him out of what became the biggest oil play he’d ever invested in—in an oil-rich section of far West Texas that was primed for an unprecedented boom. After years of dealing with the media, shareholders and politicians, Pickens would need to win over a dozen West Texas jurors in one last battle.

To lead his legal fight, he chose an unlikely advocate—Chrysta Castañeda, a Dallas solo practitioner who had only recently returned to the practice of law after a hiatus borne of disillusionment with big firms. Pickens was a hardline Republican, while Castañeda had run for public office as a Democrat. But they shared an unwavering determination to win and formed a friendship that spanned their differences in age, politics, and gender.

In a town where frontier justice was once meted out by Judge Roy Bean—“The Law West of the Pecos”—Pickens would gird for one final courtroom showdown. Sitting through trial every day, he was determined to prevail, even at the cost of his health.

The Last Trial of T. Boone Pickens is a high-stakes courtroom drama told through the eyes of Castañeda. It’s the story of an American business legend still fighting in the twilight of his long career, and the lawyer determined to help him make one final stand for justice.
     
Onitama
Onitama
2014 | Abstract Strategy, Ancient
Who knew that a game, whose loose translation in English is “Ogre Ball” or “Demon Spirit, ” could pack such a 2-player punch, have a checkersesque simplicity, but also the depth in strategy that can be found only in its inspired creation. PPG encourages you to try, what we find to be anyway, the most inspiring Chess spin-off since Chess itself. If you are like us, you are super busy with everyday life and just can’t seem to find the chance to learn how to play the age old classic quintessential board game. Well, get your pawns ready because Onitama will suck you in, and 3 games later, you’ll still have another half hour free to play!

DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. Should we review them in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. -T

While at first glance, Onitama seems to be another little guy trying its darndest to bring down the classic giant. However, this is where the genius of this game really kicks in. It doesn’t try to take down the giant, but yet streamlines it in a way you would never expect. Onitama brilliantly finds a way to keep the grandeur and thick strategy you would expect from Chess, but eliminates the amount of time needed to craft your next move. Okay, so how is this possible you ask!? Well, in Onitama, you are provided 2 cards on each turn that include a set of possible paths that ANY pawn on the board can take. Seems limiting at first right? That’s the beauty. It’s not. You will be planning your moves quite quickly as the card you just used will trade hands around the table once played. So while a certain card may be your absolute best move in that moment, it may also be the key to your opponent winning the game if you pass it to them. Enter strategic bliss! While you don’t have to remember which way the Knight moves again, you do need to think on your feet potentially 2-3 turns ahead so that you don’t play into your opponent’s plans to victory!

A few other glowing graces this board game includes is its low price point, high quality cards, components (playmat included!), and visually beautiful artwork inside and out. While not imperative to the gameplay of Onitama, you will love the clever naming of the potential move cards. The shape of the move on the card plays a certain role in its naming. E.X. a longer squiggle type move on a card might have the name of “Snake.” Or, a card with the name “Dragon” let’s you leap across the board numerous spaces at a time as if in flight to exert your winged dominance.

We here at Purple Phoenix Games really love Onitama; it’s one of our highest rated 2-player board games! While it can act as a quick filler game between other heavier board games, it can also be played numerous times one after another without the loss of fun or strategic opportunities. I personally cannot think of a time I have ever sat down and played Onitama just once. This game keeps you coming back for more. We hope you will consider picking up a copy soon! As I write this, there are already a few expansions out there or in the works. Check back soon for some exciting updates to this already great board game! Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a calculated 19 / 24.

https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/04/12/onitama-review/