The Billionty-Oneth Geek: Older Than 8 Since 1991

I have a bevy of downloadable games on my Xbox, yet I don’t believe I’ve ever written up on any of them. Since I’ve recently fallen in love with this title, why not start here! Hard Corps: Uprising ! And not only is it a side scrolling shooter, but it’s another entry into the esteemed Contra series. HC:U is a prequel to the game Contra: Hard Corps released way back in 1994 for the Sega Genesis. The story isn’t one that’s too involved. You play as Bahamut or Crystal, two rebel soldiers hellbent on taking down the tyrannical Tiberius, the leader of an evil empire called The Commonwealth. You will traverse across different lands, taking down his subordinates, gaining freedom for the Resistance. If you’ve played Contra , then you’ve pretty much played this game. It doesn’t necessarily seek to reinvent the wheel so much as polish it. The staple weapons are there: heavy machine guns, spreader rifles and rocket launchers. They also merged together previous weapons; the laser gun i...

Welcome to the 3rd edition of of Gaming and God. A lot has happened between now and when we exchanged the below emails (which has approximately a 9 month gap... :). Since then, Matt has moved on from our church community ( here ) in Toronto to settle down more at home, in his hometown of Hamilton. He's living happily and finding new ways to serve God closer to home. Try as it may, but distance can't hamper the relationship of two gamers! I was telling a friend this past weekend about our continued correspondence, and how it's special for me because I have few friends that share a similar upbringing as Matt and I, who grew up gaming and respecting it to a point of discussion. We've continued to exchange our letters to each other on gaming and how it is in our lives. It's sort of interesting reading these emails in retrospect. It's only been a few months, yet so much has changed. If you want some context, you can find part 1 of the series ( here ) and part 2 ( he...

As is the norm for starting the new year, now is the time to reflect on the past year. On an overall basis, at least personally, I’d like to say that 2011 was pretty great. But on a movie basis, it sucked! I was talking to my friend Tyrone recently about this past year’s cinematic offerings. He offered sentiments that I agreed with: in the past year, there’s been a lot of entertaining movies, but not as many of those deep, layered, ”great” movies. So I’m filled with disappointment that I couldn’t produce an honest top 10 list. This year goes to 6. If I did try to fill out spots 7-10 it wouldn’t be fair, because I’ve seen so many that seemed to be within the same range as far as entertainment goes. The top 6 aren’t necessarily the best movies, but are the ones that I feel I’ll remember in the years to come. You can view my favourite lists for the years ( 2010 ), ( 2009 ), ( 2008 ), ( 2007 ), and ( 2006 ). 6. Shame – When friends asked me about this one, I described it in a simil...

The Artist is director Michael Hazanavicius ode to the silent films of yesteryear. Not only focus on a silent movie actor and movie making, but it in itself is also a silent movie. The movie follows a silent movie actor named George Valentin through the rise and fall of his career. At the start of the film, we see George as this superstar celebrity; he loves the glitz and glamour of being a famous actor and soaks in all the attention he can get. He loves having his photos taken and being adorned on the front pages of newspapers. He is THAT kind of celebrity. At the premiere event of his latest movie, he bumps into one Peppy Miller – a young woman with big ambitions and dreams in Hollywoodland. The lives of the two intersect and an attraction immediately blossoms. The romance could only go so far as Valentin is a (happily?) married man. George’s superstardom reaches its height at a precarious time. And as the 1920s are ushered out, so are silent movies. The new decade brings w...