Rewind Wednesday!

Hey all,

Welcome back to another exciting blog post. Today, I thought I might spice things up and introduce a new event which may end up becoming a recurring event later on in the future. Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce you to, 'Rewind Wednesday'. As the name suggests, 'Rewind Wednesday' will be held on Wednesday, and we will take a trip down memory lane as we recount the iconic or classic Films, TV shows or Video games of the past years. So let's start things off with a furry, orange creature who made his first debut on the Sony Playstation back in 1996, and has since appeared in a number of different games over a number of different consoles. Let's say hello, to Crash Bandicoot.

The classic menu title. Do you remember it?

Crash Bandicoot (going by his name) is a fictional marsupial living on the fictional Wumpa Islands, located off the not so fictional continent Australia. Ya with me so far? Anyway, Crash (for short) has debuted in different games, from side-scrolling platform games, to racing games, and even party games. He has been through ups ('Crash Bandicoot: Warped' (amazing must play game)). And he has been through some downs as well ('Wrath of Cortex', 'Mind over Mutant' just to name a few). But the one game that I would like to focus on right now, is his introductory game, where we first introduced to the wild bandicoot. 'Crash Bandicoot'.

'Crash Bandicoot' (the game, not the character) is the first installment game within the iconic series. Set off the Wumpa Islands near Australia, it follows the anthropomorphic marsupial and titular character, Crash Bandicoot, as he traverses across the 3 islands in order to save his girlfriend, Tawna, (another anthropomorphic bandicoot) from the evil Dr. Neo Cortex. Along the way, Crash will battle against other anthropomorphic animals (a koala, a kangaroo and a potoroo), escape from a tribal village, and stop the pollution caused by Cortex. During his travels, Crash is assisted by an ancient witch doctor spirit called Aku-Aku, who has scattered his various masks over the islands. Every time Crash collects one of these masks, he is guaranteed to be free from one attack. Crash is only able to carry a maximum of 3 masks, at which point he becomes invincible for a short period of time.

Maybe if I hide behind these crates, no-one will be able to see me.

The gameplay for 'Crash Bandicoot is fairly straight forward. A vast majority of the time, the view is located from behind Crash, as we control him by going forwards, deeper within the level. Along the way, there will be wooden crates that Crash can destroy, which contain fruit, called Wumpa fruit. Once he collects 100 fruit, he obtains an extra life. Destroy all the crates without dying in that level, and you will receive a gem, which can be very beneficial later on in the game. Within each level, there are a number of enemies who will try to attack you (of course). To counter these, Crash has two attack moves, jump on them (like Mario) or spin at them (resembling a blurry, orange tornado). When Crash spins into an enemy, they are flown away from into the distance. They will sometimes even hit distant crates if you're lucky enough.

One of the best levels in the game. Who's ready to ride this hog?

'Crash Bandicoot' was really a cornerstone in games to come. Having set the bar fairly low, in terms of content and ways to improve, it still made quite an impact on the general public. However, with it's lack of content, it more than made up for it, in terms of the lovable characters, the amazing scenery/detail, the catchy tunes (can still remember the opening soundtrack) and the general story setting. Despite a cliched story line (Oh no, person that I love is in danger. Must save her by defeating bad guy) it certainly set itself up for multiple sequels later on.

Overall I give 'Crash Bandicoot' a 9/10. 'Crash Bandicoot' is truly a mesmerizing type of game, that has certainly stood the tests of time. And compared to the new Crash Bandicoot games that we see today, let's just say that at the age of 17 years old, 'Crash Bandicoot' kicks them all out of the water. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed my very first 'Rewind Wednesday' blog post. It certainly is a long one, I must say that. But anyhow, stay tuned for more posts, as there may be more to come right after this. But for now, have a great day, and see you all next time.

David. Out 

30 Rocking

Hey all,

Well, after a long (very long) hiatus, I'm back. And boy has it been a long one. Over the past couple of weeks, University has finished for the year, which now means that I am no longer a second year, and now onto my third and final year (yay!!!). I have also moved back home for the next 4 months, (and currently seeking work). So during this time, I am hoping to post some more blog reviews, and maybe even practice my script-writing by churning out some scripts. Who knows. But for now, let's get onto our first review for the next 4 months, "30 Rock".

How have I not seen this show till now?! "30 Rock" revolves around the everyday life of Liz Lemon (played by Tina Fey), as she deals with being the head writer of a live variety program called "The Girly Show". However, her world is turned upside down when the new network executive Jack Donaghy (played by Alec Baldwin) decides to interfere with her show, and tweak it, a bit. One of the 'improvements' is introducing the very eccentric and unpredictable Tracy Jordan (played by Tracy Morgan) into the cast, which provides disastrous, but hilarious results.

I have been watching "30 Rock" over the past couple of days, and may I just say, I have been laughing non-stop. As I want to make it into the TV industry as a writer, this show really appeals to me, as it focuses mainly on the writers, and the many conflicts that can arise. I feel it also provides me with a first hand look into how they create different TV episodes in the industry.

Each episode mainly focuses on the lead character Liz Lemon, who is played by Tina Fey. Now, Tina Fey portrays the characters amazingly. The very mannerisms and habits that are associated with Liz, Tina flawlessly handles it, by never changing the way the character acts. Sure, she changes a little, as she learns more about life from Jack, but she still withholds her little clicks every single time. The same goes for Jack Donaghy, played by Alec Baldwin. Jack is a brash, rather cocky character who always seems to look down upon Liz Lemon and constantly interferes with her life, and Alec, like Tina, plays it amazingly. From his serious, quiet voice, to his rather condescending laughs, Alec's portrayal of Jack Donaghy just seems to good to be true. 

"30 Rock" is a wonderful view into the TV industry. Granted, I have never been in a real-life TV studio, however, upon viewing "30 Rock", I am beginning to have a fair understanding of what to expect. Each episode is crafted beautifully, with a different story, which provides a certain twist every time. The characters are each uniquely awesome and the actors who respectively portray them are superb. Overall, I give "30 Rock" an 8/10. Whilst it is amazing, some characters really peeve me off. And in some scenarios, it lacked a bit of comic relief. But all in all, it is a must see for those interested, studying, or working in the TV industry.

Well then, I hope you have all enjoyed my review of "30 Rock". Sorry about the very long absence, but I have been rather busy, and been lacking some content to write about. But don't worry, as there will be more to come over the next 4 months. I promise. So stay tuned. =)

David. Out.