I saw the first Resident Evil and remember being somewhat entertained, but I wondered why it was called that, because it had nothing to do with the games. I haven't seen any of the others. Stop watching them so somebody else can make a good one :p
Ant Man and Spider-Man were two of the highlights of Civil War, and I think the Russos did a masterful job of balancing so many characters. I can't comment on the DC movies, as I have no desire to see them. I tried watching both Man of Steel and Batman V Superman and had to turn them off because I rolled my eyes so much during the scenes I watched I was afraid of them getting stuck permanently. Personally I think those movies should have been no minutes long, and I think movies should be long enough to effectively tell a story, whether it's an hour or three. I don't think there should be some arbitrary time limit just because they're based on comic book characters. I will say that Marvel's movies are in danger of becoming too bloated by the time Infinity War rolls around. Once that comes out, I think they need to dial it back a bit and not have so many guest appearances in the solo films. I love all the characters and the way they interact, but part of what made the Avengers special is that it brought the separate characters together. If they're together in every movie, why even have an Avengers franchise? Biggest mistake I see with DC (besides putting Zack Snyder in charge--he's only good when he's working with someone else's material) is that they put the cart before the horse and are trying to establish a universe before giving us reasons to care about individual characters.
I tried playing Lego Marvel and got frustrated a lot, but my now 4 year old son liked watching me play it. Maybe soon we can do co-op and I can stop switching between the characters (which is annoying, but not as annoying as trying to figure out what to do to get to the next part of the level). Portal makes me feel like a genius when I get solve a test chamber, but these Lego games make me feel dumb.
The most Gears I played was a little of 3, but the characters/story didn't appeal to me (maybe if I had started from the first game?). I only put about an hour into the Order, but from what I heard, that's most of the game :p.
Yeah, it's always difficult to create a list and rank them. I mean, Street Fighter II was one of my favorite games ever, but its sequels are technically better games. My most memorable games are Castlevanias I, III, IV, and SOTN (they're all so different but I loved them all), Tekken (series), Street Fighter II and Alpha series, Soul Calibur 1 and 2, Portal (series), Final Fantasy VII-X, Lunar, Resident Evil 1, 2, Code Veronica, REmake, Super Mario World, Gran Turismo, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid. I obviously grew up playing a lot of fighters. I really liked Bioshock Infinite, but I quit playing the first one near the beginning of the game, but I liked it enough to give Infinite a shot. Some day I'll go back (maybe when the collection releases on PS4, even though I still own the 360 version).
No, I feel like I hijacked your blog, so sorry for that. I'm just offering perspective from someone who put things off for years because I was in a comfort zone, and is now wishing I'd have done more sooner. On the bright side, if you ever start your own blog, you'll need this kind of debate to keep readers coming back. Those pageviews tho lol.
I respect your honesty/insight regarding the difficulty of starting one's own site. Going it alone isn't for everyone (or else everyone would do it). I'm still trying to figure out the best way, so maybe I'm talking our of my ass a bit. But I also don't believe in working for free for someone else's benefit, with the possible exceptions of internships/apprenticeships or if one is just doing it as a hobby (I like posting on here because I like the discourse, for example). I can also see if one is starting a new venture with other partners and everyone shares the risk/rewards. But if your end goal is to make a career out of something, you eventually need to get paid for your work. I used to manage a game store and got on average 40 free games plus systems a year and got to tell people why they should or shouldn't buy a particular game all the time. Would I have done it for free? Hell no! So why would I write reviews telling people why they should or shouldn't buy a particular game and only take the games as payment? Artists and writers are so often expected to work for free because we love doing it. But that doesn't mean it isn't work. I'm not saying he needs to quit immediately or even at all if he loves doing it. But if his end goal is to do it for a living and he's not making money right now, he owes it to himself to at least look at other options, even small ones like a blog, that allow him to learn new things and has some potential for growth. And it has been my experience that time for these pursuits only lessens as I get older.
Okay, sorry for not minding my own business, and yes everything is easier said than done (after 20 years in retail I'm trying to get a real art career going and it's slow and you make a lot of sacrifices), but nothing worth having is easy. Trust me, as you get older, it won't get any easier lol. Anyway, if you want an outsider's perspective/advice, first ask yourself, would you rather write for somebody else for free, or would you rather write for your own site (also for free, but with the potential of possibly making some money). If you'd rather stay in you comfort zone, that's understandable, but if you want to try doing this for yourself, I'd start by talking to your boss/editor about how to create a blog/site (he's not paying you, so at least he could mentor you). I'd still do research online and find a guide, but he obviously has experience, so you could maybe learn from his mistakes and look at ways to improve on what he does. He might feel threatened that you're going to compete with him or leave, so assure him that it'd be more like a partnership--you could hustle up traffic for your site and his, and vice versa. You could still write for him (or let him cross-publish the same stuff from your own site like you publish your GamerDad reviews here). Anyway, I know as an artist that you have an innate need to create (why else would you stick with it for so long?), so keep doing it however you feel is best for you. Cheers!
First of all, congratulations. 20 years is a long time doing anything and is to be commended. I'm glad you get to do what you like and work with someone who appreciates you. If you want my honest opinion however, you need to be getting paid, even if it's a relatively small amount. I understand loyalty, passion projects, and perks like trips to cons, but without knowing your specific situation and your relationship with the site owner, I still feel like you are being taken advantage of. If you're doing it for free, why not start your own site, put in all the work, and see if you can't create something bigger and better for yourself? Most game sites are glorified blogs now, and we all know you can do that, right? I don't mean to rain on your parade by any means, and believe me, I know what it's like to have a need to do something (in my case, draw) even if it doesn't always pay much. But I don't do things for other people for free anymore. I don't charge a lot based on the amount of time I work on a piece, but my time is valuable, and getting paid gives me confidence when looking for that next project. So sorry if I'm unintentionally killing the mood (this is meant as encouragement lol), but I can see that you are well-liked here. I also remember you from 1up, so you have made an impact on a lot of us. You've got a different take on things--less cynical, no hidden agendas, you truly love games--use that to your advantage. You've worked for a major news outlet, so I know you have what it takes, despite what that idiot editor told you (so he's dead, fuck him, he was a piece of trash for what he told you. I bet he couldn't have given you constructive feedback if you'd asked him, he was just trying to get you to quit for whatever reason, and made you feel bad in the process). Anyway, keep doing what you're doing. If you want to keep writing for GamerDad for free for your own personal reasons, more power to you, but most people work for free to get experience, and you already have that. Whatever you do in the future, good luck, and congratulations again on 20 years.
I enjoyed Jurassic World. I was a big fan of Jurassic Park, but Lost World wasn't very good, and I've never sat through 3, so I really wasn't expecting much. When it made so much money at the box office, I bought into the hype and asked my wife to get it for me for Christmas. She enjoyed it just as much as I did. It was pretty much Star Wars Episode 7, in that it paralleled the first movie, but it wasn't bad. Glad they didn't go with dinosaur/human hybrids like some of the concept art showed. That would have been terrible. I'm sure they'll be in the next one though. Hollywood just can't say no to bad ideas.
