Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Jamie Towell Cook (13 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Sonic Mania Plus in Video Games

Apr 6, 2020  
Sonic Mania Plus
Sonic Mania Plus
2018 | Action/Adventure, Platform
Finally a Sonic game that lives up to the reputation that the mega drive days left us all begging for.

Sonic Mania sees you take control of Sonic and his team mates, Tails and Knuckles as you revisit some very familiar stages from Sonics past to take on Dr. Eggman (or Robotnik if your old school) and his latest creations. In a race to collect the seven chaos emeralds and save the day.
Mania Plus also sees the return of two characters that have been locked away in the vaults for some time now. Mighty The Armadillo & Ray The Flying (Gliding) Squirrel. All characters are equipped with their own unique skill set to help you traverse the levels and discover new areas and secrets.

Mania ditches all the gimmicks that have been the sonic series' shortcomings and returns to simpler times of side scrolling fast paced action that are plucked straight from the early 90's. Familiar levels to any fan of the golden era and even more familiar soundtrack. This also brings back the dread of the underwater level and that inevitable countdown sound that has haunted your childhood dreams and will do once again.

The game isn't just for single players though, the main story is as much fun now with sonic and tails as it was for sonic 2 & 3. Where you will be constantly shouting at the player controlling sonic that they've left you behind and then using Tails as a meat shield to defeat the end of level bosses. There is a race mode for other players to join in on, time attack mode to keep besting your own personal score. An endless supply of blue sphere stages to unlock and even the return of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. There is plenty in this game to keep you entertained for a very long time.

Heres hoping that Mania 2 isn't too far away. Hopefully with even more character selection redeeming all those newer characters that have been unfortunate enough to be featured on some of the more questionable sonic titles. I personally would love to see Team Chaotix, Amy Rose, Cream & Chao, Big, Rouge, Shadow, Blaze and maybe even the babylon rogues. Maybe even a few blasts from the past like Johnny Lightfoot, Porker Lewis and Shortfuse from the sonic the comics.

All in all, a much better addition to the wounded Sonic series.
  
Cars 2 (2011)
Cars 2 (2011)
2011 | Action, Animation, Comedy
9
6.8 (26 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Producer Brad Lewis (Ratatouille)steps into the director’s chair for this sequel that follows racing legend Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and his trusty sidekick, Mater (Larry the Cable Guy).

Passports are secured and ready to take part in the biggest race on the planet, Lightning and his freinds prepare to take on the best racers in the world. As the first-ever World Grand Prix approaches, cars from every continent prepare for the ultimate competition. But who will have what it takes to become the fastest car on the planet? Just as Lightning McQueen edges up to the starting line, however, his old pal Mater gets sidetracked on a top-secret spy mission that takes him from Japan to Europe. Thankfully Mater’s friends are always willing to lend a helping wheel, and as the race gets under way, everyone shifts into high gear to help out an old friend.

“Cars 2” It’s James Bond meets “Fast and the Furious” and Full of ACTION! None of the characters from the first film are forgotten Of course Tow Mater stands out the most for his hilarious ways of a small town country tow truck who isn’t afraid to do or say anything! Mater is as FUNNY as can be and shares a range of emotions with Lightning . The bond between Lightning McQueen and Tow mater “Mater” are classic as for Mater he encounters a reality check when he’s able to understand how others view him for the first time out of Radiator Springs. When Mater is mistaken for someone else a whole new world of adventure is opened up for him which causes him to grow.

I saw the film with an all ages group in the theater and I observed that everybody was enjoying it as well.

Watching this movie in 3D really made you feel like you were there! It’s funny when computer graphics of animation are realistic enough to make you become part of the story. It is amazing how much technology has changed from when I first encountered Disney animation in the 1970’s.

If you enjoyed the first Cars movie your sure to enjoy this one too! It is a must see! Never a dull moment. A Wonderful start to the Summer of family Movies.
  
Skye Falling
Skye Falling
Mia McKenzie | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unique look at the complexities of family and race
Skye travels for a living--nearly a nomad at forty--touching down in her hometown of Philadelphia only occasionally and staying at her friend's bed and breakfast. It's on one of those visits home that a twelve-year-old girl approaches Skye and tells her that she's her "egg." Years ago, Skye donated eggs to a friend for money, and now Vicky is here as a result. Skye soon realizes that Vicky's aunt Faye is the woman she tried to pick up in a record store the other day. And, she's starting to come to the understanding that being responsible, even tangentially, for another human means she might have to finally grow up herself.

This book was lovely and took me by surprise: in all the good ways. I loved Skye--her anti-social ways, her awkwardness, and her cynicism. She's a true mess, with a mom and dad who left her hurting and afraid to love or trust--but McKenzie captures Skye's voice so perfectly that it's hard to resist her. This is an honest and emotional book, written in a way of addressing the reader directly. It's different at times and might take some getting used to, but I loved the whole thing.

The story here is so interesting and might sound off-putting: Vicky discovers Faye, who donated her eggs years ago to Vicky's mom. Skye has a crush on Vicky's aunt. In the background, Skye is floundering--she's a great businesswoman but she has a terrible relationship with her brother and her mother, who is ill. She also has tumultuous and dramatic friendships.

The city of Philly is a character in itself here too--it stands vibrant and buoyant in McKenzie's hands, as she pens an ode to the city and its black community. There are excellent and timely discussions of race, including a strong side plot featuring Vicky and Faye's neighbor. But best of all is the existence of Skye, Faye, and Vicky themselves--strong black women finding their way in the world. They completely grow on you as you read this outstanding book.

Overall, this is an excellent read. It's funny, heartfelt, and completely engaging. This authentic cast of characters will steal your heart.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group in return for an unbiased review. 4.5 stars.
  
    DEAD TARGET: Zombie

    DEAD TARGET: Zombie

    Games and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Kill virus infected zombies for survival. Shoot to survive the zombie frontier in DEAD TARGET. ...

    Quick Math+

    Quick Math+

    Education and Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Quick Math+ takes the math challenge to the next level and brings some fun, new surprises along the...

Dead Man's Steel
Dead Man's Steel
Luke Scull | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Outstanding conclusion to this trilogy. I was worried about the number of story threads and loose ends at the end of the Sword of the North and how these could satisfactorily be resolved in 400 pages. I was not disappointed.
The story not only starts to close off loose ends but new threads start up.
The one-time residents of the continent decide to return and Reckon the human race.
Meanwhile a horde of demons has started to break through a rift in the highlands and need to be stopped while they still can.
And there is a dragon.
There are a lot of sad endings for characters I had come to love/loathe and love reading about. Some of these are a long time coming (it seems almost every chapter involving Brodar Kayne has him on the verge of death at the end).
Quite simply an awesome ending to one of the best fantasy series I have read in a long time.
I am tempted to end with the words "better than Abercrombie" but I am not sure I can. Oh I have.
  
40x40

Connor Sheffield (293 KP) created a post

May 24, 2017  
Wonderland

Lost in a world of Hatters and Hares
Tea cups and tea pots
And different size chairs
Rabbits in waistcoats
Madness looms near
You're late young Alice
Sit down my dear
 
Curiouser and curiouser
And who would ever think
That a cake could make you grow
And a liquid could make you shrink!
 
Cats can smile
And vanish without a trace
Every creature can talk
Every flower has a face
This is the place
Where nothing is more exciting
Than a jolly caucus race!
 
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
They just want to have fun
They're two of a kind
Both have lost their minds
But then again...
We're all mad here
That's the way it should be
So come and join the party
Sit down and drink some tea!



- Connor J Sheffield


This is one of my happier poems. A lot of my poetry is dark and Gothic horror but I am trying to write more upbeat poetry and the first one I ever really wrote that wasn't horrifying or dark was this. Inspired, as if it isn't obvious, by Through The Looking Glass/Alice In Wonderland.