Christmas on Runescape... Where?

Well this is our first Runescape Christmas event we have attended. And was it disappointing?... I'll get to that. But first I have to get there.

The greatest criticism against the event is one so incredibly insulting I have to say it first. Jagex, (the creators of Runescape) DID NOT DECORATE anywhere outside of the event. Nothing! Not one tree! Not one trace of Christmas to be seen. Still the same old dull, dark, green, rather ugly Runescape. Now they did decorate the event somewhat, but not anywhere near the way they should have. But I'll tell you all about it in a sec....

Again, you have to find where the event portal thingy is. Which is a magic wardrobe. Unrelated to Christmas, I know. You go through it and are met with snow, which is perfect to do, yet the snowflakes look odd. Christmasy fences, other Christmasy decor I can't really seem to find the words to title, and.... well that's it. Oh, and hundreds of friggin' little blue imps everywhere.... EVERYWHERE! Which is perfectly ridiculous and totally confusing. They often, hell, way too often cover up a person you are looking for, and just stand there. The whole area was really unthought-out looking. A fence everywhere you go, a dead end, a "you can't go there" type message, an imp, an imp, ANOTHER IMP! To be honest, it all just seemed, miss-placed, unorganised, uncategorized, and seemingly randomly placed. And that's just the first thing you'll notice.

Go a little ways and you run into two large "feasting" tables. Which is fine I guess, but wouldn't that fit Thanksgiving more? Hell, much more. Well, we started doing the quest. And I'll sum it up very fast. To the best of my memory.

You get an imp.
You talk to people.
You find out someone stole Santa. And Christmas. Or something. :\
You find out that someone was "Ebeneezer Scourge".
You go to his house.
In the house you find Santa in a cage. Now, I know Santa is supposed to be big, but damn... not BIG. He looks like a giant. What the heck is up with that?
You talk to Scourge's invisible self in a living room.
You later find out he is afraid of ghosts.
You need to look around his house to find some stuff to make a ghost outfit.
And then we noticed something... This is turning out to be like the '09 Halloween event... and the house therein... THIS IS THE HOUSE! Well, not exactly, but it's the same walls just colored different. Which is just plain lazy of them.
So you search around, find the stuff, make the suit, and go upstairs to the embodied version of Scourge.
You try to scare him a time or two. After random, ignorant, jabbering.
That don't work and it makes him mad.
He puts Christmas fire around the people at the feasting table.
You gotta help of-course.
You put 'em out with buckets of icy water.
You go back with Tiny Thom, who is "seflish". - You'll see why that is misspelled later.
He tells scourge he's mean and want his Christmas presents.

Scourge don't care.

You try one last time.

You show him his future. The grave.

He is struck with horror.

He lets go of Santa.

You go back to the feast table which is filled with four different types of food.

You talk to giant Santa. He says thanks, go to the tree, there is a present for you and your imp under it.

Your imp gets a scarf. Unimportant I know. You get two old emotes, and one new one. And a cool candy-cane to hold and flip around... but it's not worth a coin.

Christmas over.

Yeah, a lot I know. But if you play it just do what we did and skip through the novel sized dialogue intervals. Trust us, you won't miss a thing.

Oh, and you can get snow balls from a mound of snow located here and there to throw at people. Which honestly is the best thing this event has going for it.

So with all that said and done. Here is something we have been planning to do for a good while. Because we knew this event would turn out this way...

Here are some pictures of some of the stuff we have been talking about...

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- What I was talking about earlier. Their laziness shows up in their spelling of selfish. I guess Jagex doesn't have spell check. If so, they're too lazy to use it.

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- They didn't show any tales whatsoever. This shows the random, useless, confusing, parts of dialogue and fillers that are so common in that event. It's like they wanted to try and make the event seem bigger than it really was. Well, it didn't work. We saw right through it. It's scrawny.

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- That's the best they could do when making a Christmas tree?!... It looks like a five year old made it over night... with play-dough. Oh and by the way, that's the only Christmas tree in the game. Yeah, they are that boring.

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- Here is a picture of our drop. So you can look at it with more clarity than the video. :]

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So that was Christmas on Runescape... Well, sort of. Thanks Jagex, but no thanks.

- Stefan and Joey

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

It's been quite a long time since we've done a review, I believe. And that has mostly been because there honestly has not been any movie or game recently worth a crap. Well, I think I may feel up to doing a review on this game. So here it goes...

CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 / for the X-box 360

We had bought and played the first Call of Duty: Modern warfare when it came out... But was ultimately unsatisfied with it for reasons that would take to long to get into. Therefore, we ended up giving it away to our young cousin for Christmas. Without regret I might add. This was quite some time before we got X-box live so there really was no reason to play it any longer. I'm not saying we would have kept it if we had X-box live, because the sequel is almost the same... Ok, I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll just talk about the new game.

Alrighty... First off we played the campaign. Solo of-course. (and I'll level the first criticism on the game right off) You can't play the campaign co-operative! Yeah, with me and Joey that is unexceptable. Especially since you couldn't in the first COD: MW. So, unfortunately, we had to trade off controllers now and then and complete it that way. The game was impressive at first, as you might expect, but eventually our excitement wore off and we realized the game really is nothing new. We beat it in I think six hours. This allowed us to play Spec-Ops and were finally able to play together. I'll go ahead and say that Spec-Ops is the best part of the game... but that's only because the rest is so regular.

We took a break for an hour or so, and moved on to online. This we found pretty fun but just so chaotic. There are quite a few game modes but blank out the titles and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. They are all brainless. We would have loved to have seen a more campaign-like online, and challenging game modes that test your brain along with the rest. We played online, off and on, for a couple of weeks. We unlocked most of the weapons, perks, and challenges we cared for until it just got useless to do it any longer. It just becomes "same old, same old". We haven't played online for probably a week now. And don't intend to pick it back up any time soon. It's just not worth our time.

So I'll summarize. And cover a few things I haven't discussed yet.

Solo only campaign, no split-screen co-op, no online co-op.

Spec-Ops is good for two player co-op. But once you beat most of all of the missions, you don't want to play them much anymore. Also, you have to have and invite a friend to play it online with anyone.

Online is semi-fun, but repetitive and no brain power required. Which we despise.

Oh, and here is the worst criticism of all... You can't cut off the constantly playing music. Which we loathe in any game indescribably.

Oh well. It's still a pretty good game. Just not great.

Ruling: 7.0 out of 10
Replay Value: Decent

- Stefan

Filthy Poor

I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. I've got to get this out of me.

It's about the Falador drop party... and people, poor or ignorant people, that put in junk items into the chest, and then complain when they get junk instead of a valuable item. And then, as hard as this is to believe... they drop it on the floor, to be picked up by another, and put back into the drop. Or they put it back themselves! Is that not the stupidest thing or what?

If me or joey get something valueless, or near to it... we just drop it somewhere hidden. A place where it can sit there for a while, unseen, and then disappear from Runescape forever. Which is exactly what needs to happen with all that junk. So no one can ever put that crap into a drop party again.

What I'm trying to say is this: Don't put anything in the chest that you wouldn't want to get back. Not only is that called courtesy, it's called common sense.

I mean look at all that garbage they put in there...

Come-on people, are you really that desperate to disappoint somebody else who gets that filth? If not, then I can think of two other reasons why you would such a thing... You're just immature, or ignorant... which really all three are the same thing.

- Stefan

My Halloween Drop

This is a video of what I got at an over one million drop party on Halloween Day... on the MMORPG game "Runescape". For those that don't know how this feature works, I'll explain quickly. It is held in a building in Falador. Players put whatever they want in a chest and pull a lever. The items drop shortly there after in balloons and players pop them as they fall and see what's inside to pick up as their own. And occasionally someone (or some people) put in rare items, or a lot of coins which adds up to millions... This is advertised throughout Runescape by bankers on that specific world/server, and players flock to it to try their luck at getting an expensive item, money, or whatever. This one happened on Halloween day where players, well most players (including Me and Joey), were dressed up. So I wanted to document this unique experience. Enjoy.




- Stefan

The Indolent

Runescape is an "MMORPG"- massively multi-player online role playing game. It's a rather fun and challenging game in which players level-up various skills, earn gold pieces, collect things, barter with others what you have earned, or whatever. There are quite a good amount of skills to try and increase in order to become more efficient at whatever is it they do, and most importantly, make a profit. There is a Mining Skill, Cooking, Smithing, Runecrafting, Fishing, and more; though us free users are restricted to only about a 4th of them.
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Anyway, this post is a kind of rant on players who sit at the side-lines of the game's hard-workers and beg for whatever it is the others are earning. It's so annoying and confusing. I'll explain why..
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Example: Let's say I was fishing at a pier in "Kamarja". Or rather, I was harpooning swordfish and tuna! I had been there for a while, and along came a player. He walked over, stood beside me (and other workers) and said this--

"Takin free lobs or swordies" (lobsters and swordfish). To which I replied: "And I'm taking them right out of the water." He replied with the most expected and worn out excuse. He didn't have a lobster cage, or Harpoon. I told him I'm using my only harpoon and that was the end of it.
Okay, so my point is this. Why on earth, or Runescape, do you just stand there and beg for something that is right in front of your nose? It's not just fish they want. They beg for coins, armor, weapons, everything! Ugh, the stuff is all around you guys!
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Stefan and I have worked our way into millions of dollars, and with tons of other goodies just sitting in our banks. The beggars plead for something as small as 3000 coins while all the time they could be getting 35 times that amount in a couple of hours; which flies by as you play that game, just like most other fun activities.
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My mining level as of now is 71 out of 99. That's my main money-making skill. Stefan's kind of a chef, with a cooking skill of 57. Among other foods, he makes anchovy pizzas and sells them for more than a grand a pop!
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Now don't think I'm all selfish on that game. I usually give to whoever asks, and even some that don't ask. I regularly donate them 5k at a time and befriend them. I even have 66 rubies waiting in my bank to hand out to people. It's just when the items are right beside you and you ask others to hand their loads to you, it's a little dumb. Just go buy a 20 dollar fishing rod and some bait, or a 10 dollar bronze pick-axe and start getting all the free stuff your little helpless heart desires.
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I think I'm satisfied now.
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- Joey

Automatic Weapons Take Skill To Use In WW2 Video Games?... We Don't Think So.

We have been playing World War 2 games for probably around a decade, so we know our way around them. We've bought and played many, many of them over the years and one thing we have grown to love about playing them is to challenge ourselves, always, and use bolt-action rifles as much as possible. But one thing we really don't like to do is use machine-guns on them, especially online.

Why?
Glad you asked...

We strongly believe (along with years of experience to back that belief up) that you need hardly ANY skill to use automatic weapons and be good with them.

How?
I'll tell you...

What weapon would you choose if you had hardly ever played a "shooter" game before?... It would be the easiest one you could find to use, right? That would be a machine-gun. One pull of the trigger and you send round after round out of the barrel; with what... ONE finger movement? That's all you have to do. Barley any aiming necessary. Spray and pray. At least one bullet is going to hit the target whether you were aiming or not. And if it doesn't, just reload and spray some more.

And it angers us, so badly, when players think, and say they are skilled yet they use automatic weapons! That doesn't require skill! Obviously. Machine-guns are beginner's weapons! Prove yourself and face me with a rifle! Now that takes skill. Which is why me and Joey use them. Preferably the German KAR 98k bolt-action rifle with no optics attached (scopes, etc...). We love to use that gun. And it requires tons of skill, and patience, to use right.

Which leads me to...

Why bolt-action rifles?
Here's why...

You only have five shots in the weapon, (10 shots of you use the british Enfield rifle) as opposed to twenty, or thirty, or even over seventy! You have to aim, and aim well... and once the sights are lined up, squeeze the trigger. BANG! One shot rings out! Alright, if you missed, or you didn't kill them (which happens way to often) let your character actuate the bolt, sending the used cartridge out of the chamber and pushing in a fresh one. Aim again, line the sights up again, squeeze... BANG! Okay, two shots! And if that didn't do it the process starts again.

See, pretty challenging, huh? And very fair.

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So with that said, I'll just sum this up like this...

Machine-guns = An unskilled player's, or beginner's easy way out to play a WW2 shooter game and do good.

Bolt-action Rifles = A truly skilled, challenging player's way to play WW2 shooters if they can handle it.

- Stefan

Something cool we noticed

Stefan and I just found this picture of Heath Ledger as the Joker dressed as a cop, and it kind of struck us of how similar it was to the first comic with the Joker. Take a look.

That comparison just goes to prove that Heath Ledger's Joker is the closest to the original Joker by far. (As talked about 2 posts down.)

- JandS

Next Grand Theft Auto Idea (Continuation)

After a while of watching a few more episodes of the "Streets Of San Francisco", we are convinced, the next GTA game has to be like that or me and Joey really are probably not going to buy it. The 70's super cop thing would just be plan freaking AWESOME!

After some thought and inspiration this is the way it should most definitely be: If they do it, (by hopefully reading these posts or someone with half a brain thinks of the same thing.), it should be, of course, much more realistic... even more realistic than GTA 4, which wasn't bad. For example: The character's movements and actions should be different almost every time. As in if he jumps away from something he should do it different every time. One time he dives, rolls, and gets back up... another time he dives, outstretches his hands which support his landing, lands, and gets up. See what I mean? Why not, it would just make it that much better. Oh and onto the character...

All the other GTA's that I'm aware of have had you play as a dark haired guy. So it would be perfect for this character to have sort of shaggy, sandy blond hair, maybe with a little gray in it. Around 5' 11", slender, tough, and in his mid forties. It would be awesome to play as an older, experienced, hard edged, tough guy. I would love that. And it would add to his character. He would, or should, be the sergeant or something of the police department. Lets call him Danny Malcolm. Nickname "Mac". Sounds cool. Maybe he's mostly undercover. That would be cool.

Ok, on to other elements.

Guns: In previous GTA games, including GTA 4, the weapons can all be stored on your character, and very unrealistically. And frankly, it angers us how stupid it is that you can't even tell you have a gun until you get it out... Which used to be it would just appear there in the characters hands... They changed that however for GTA 4, now they all can be stored in and come out of his shirt. That's right, pistols, grenades, machine pistols, assault rifles, sniper rifles, and an RPG all in his shirt. OH MY GOD! I can't believe that is acceptable. Anyway... So, with that said, this is the way it should be done: How you get and choose a gun would be of course at a police station. And no, no RPG's in this game, come-on. Anyway, you choose a simple standard sidearm, like any cop. Once you have done that he puts it in a holster attached to his belt or in his pants, (you would choose), and it would always be there. That simple. And wouldn't that make it so much more realistic and intense in a way? Saying to yourself "Hey, I chose that gun, he put it on him, I see it there still, oh my, I have a gun! It's there under his coat, literally!" It might even be kind of scary. Knowing that that is there and it will kill realistically when you use it. You probably wouldn't want to. And when you did, it would be much more intense. For example when he got it out he wouldn't just calmly pull it out of his shirt like Niko does in GTA 4. He would quickly fling back his open coat, (if he had one), grab the handle, and jerk it out of it's holster. Now that would just ROCK!
And that's it. Just a pistol. That's all Mac would need. No need for big high powered guns. He's just a cop. He solves crimes and talks to people. And no one hardly uses things like grenades and AK-47's. Come-on. And if things got rough he would just shoot them, or beat the person. Which takes me to my next element....

Combat: Shooting first... I'll sum this up quickly and simply. To achieve the greatest possible realism and intensity for gun combat here is what should, and must be done: When Mac fires the sound should be powerfully loud, quick, and reverberating. (trust me, gun shots are louder than you think), the gun should recoil quickly in Mac's hand causing him to readjust his aim. The impact of the bullet on a wall for say should be fragmented and smokey. The impact on a person should cause them, normally to jerk toward the spot of collision and fall to the ground. And that's it. Simple, but highly effective.
Now on to hand-to-hand combat... We believe just to retain that cool, fun feel of 1970's type fights that in this game they should sort of be like that but, of course, realistically. Here's what I mean: When you engage in combat it should be intense and brutal, but still have that somewhat funny feel of 70's type fights. But the characters should grunt and stumble and scream, maybe even bite and spit if they're crazy enough. Mostly Mac having the advantage being probably the more experienced fighter. A few punches and kicks, but mostly grabbing and wrestling type stuff, ending up on the ground.

Cop cars: In the Streets Of San Francisco series I think the cop cars were brown with a light on top. That's perfect with me. We've always loved big 70's metal cars. That would be fun.

Stopping cars: Instead of opening a door that happens to always be unlocked if someone is in it, and jerking the driver out. Mac would simply pull out his badge, hold it out, and maybe say something like: "Stop! Police!", and the car would stop. Now wouldn't that look and be cool?

Missions: No 100 random tedious stupid tiny missions for this game. Again I'll refer to the Streets of San Fransisco. In that series each episode was divided up into a few sections. And each one started like this: ACT I, or, ACT II and a name for the act. That's it. This game should be like that! A few big cases divided up into sections called "Acts". You choose how to solve them. And that's it. A lot of a little. No tediousness there. Just a few big, enveloping stories that you figure out... or participate in if Mac's undercover. Ended in arresting the bad guy's or solving whatever needed to be.

Environment: Like I said on the previous "Next Grand Theft Auto Idea" post... San Fierro in the 1970's. The thought is really growing on me and I think it would work. I just hope there wouldn't be people fussing about it being to similar to the "Streets of San Fransisco". So if not any city like that would do.

And that's about it. Well at-least all I feel like talking about right now. I could go on for a long time probably. If I think of more stuff I'll just do another continuation post. Anyway, we strongly believe that this is the way to go. And we really hope they are smart enough to realize the potential of this setting.

- Stefan

The Joker and his face-paint

Like most people, I knew, (or though I knew) that the Joker of DC comics had an origin. I knew that this origin was about a man who took big fall into a chemical tank, caused by the Batman. Later on this guy emptied out from a sewer pipe and looked in the water at his reflection. What he saw was that his skin had turned deadly white! His hair, green! His lips, red!(?) His mouth, changed into a grin! The Joker was born.

I had accepted this story and kind-of liked it. Though, in all honesty, I was never really intrigued by it. Jack Nicholson's Joker was stupid to me, and too comical, goofy you could say. I never cared to watch a minute of it. And don't get me started on Ceaser Romero's take.

After seeing Batman begins in theaters, and the cool joker-card at the end I was slightly exited. Yet like I said, the Joker never truly interested me. Later I heard of Heath Ledger being cast as the Joker. I didn't agree with that choice, yet I didn't disagree either.

Now lets skip forward a year or so. The Batman Begins sequel far from my thoughts. In the theater I am now, with my family. Sitting through the previews before I am Legend. Up comes the logos of DC comics and Warner Brothers. Then an intriguing, quite awesome voice says: "You've changed things... forever." My father then whispers to my brother and I that this is the new batman movie. I see Christian Bale, so now I am very exited. "There's no goin' back." that cool voice says. I start to remember the Joker being in this, but who is that guy speaking? "You see to them, you're just a freak... like me!" It shows a quick shot of him. It hits me. Holy hell I think I just saw the Joker. And then the laugh. The long raspy exhale at the beginning was just frightening. I didn't know Heath was capable of such a voice, I was thinking.

After a bit it showed his face; like up close.

Now just to let you know, I've always been a bit coulrophobic. So I looked away from the screen for a second. The rest of the trailer kind of confirmed to me that Heath had actually showed me who the Joker really was. He doesn't want a hair cut, or to brush his teeth. He doesn't want the take a bath, or clip his nails, (Really, look at his fingernails). I really couldn't see the actor in there. I was just watching a psycho.

So after a few more images of him were released, I noticed his face was the only thing that was "bleached" I thought. And that it seemed to change slightly. I found out later that it was make-up, and, truthfully, I was disappointed. Why not go with who the Joker originally was? I thought. But this new sweating clown face was growing on me. My fear of clowns always kicked in a little as I looked at it.

I did some research later and found that this "origin" I had known wasn't quite what it was made up to be. I found that in Batman #1 (when the Joker first appeared) he had NO back-story; no origin. He was only a demented terrorist. No funny palm-zappers, or water-squirts. A clown who is not. A clown that only wants chaos and to kill. This first appearance was used as a reference for the the Dark Knight movie. One of the creators of Joker was even a consultant on set.

I'll explain (and show you) why the first Joker is most likely wearing make up.

As in the scene in the dark knight, Joker is a dressed as a cop here.

This is the end of the comic, and he(like the movie) has removed his make up and disguised himself. He is wearing a grey mustache, and I think is wearing a grey wig. Maybe he's just older. Maybe it's dyed. That's whats so darn creepy about it. Who is this psycho?... But there's your answer: He's just a psycho. An absolute.

Notice that in the third and fourth picture he isn't smiling. No chemical face tightening here.

Now he may be wearing flesh-colored face paint, I know. But that is as much, if not, more speculative than what I have already said.

I read somewhere where the creators of the Joker said: "The make up is what made the Joker." Or something like that. I may find it sometime and link you to it.

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Now I'm going to talk about what exactly changed me and Stefan into loving this make up Joker over the Clorox Joker.

He should not when asked "Why are you crazy"? say: "Because I took a bath."

In other words the Joker should not have a definite excuse for his insanity. Now he may enjoy telling different stories of how he came to be, but that's just cause he is a liar.

All comic-stories aside this comes down to what would the Joker be like in real life?

Well The Dark Knight answered that. A criminal master-mind that likes to scare people with his painted face. He chose to become the Joker.

He looks the way he does because he is insane.

Not: He is insane because of the way he looks.

Now, I give you the real Joker:

- Joey

Magic the gathering evil? Oh come-on.

Me and Joey are bible believing Christians. We love the Lord and read the bible quite often. We are very strong in our faith and are nice people. And as just about every person I'm sure on this earth we have hobbies and pastimes.

And one of the many things we like to do is play Magic The Gathering card game. Well today we were listening to a Christian radio show and someone sent an e-mail to the hosts asking if kids should play games like Dungeons and Dragons, or... Magic The Gathering. And one of the hosts said something like this: "Well Magic the Gathering was a popular card game when I was like 10 years old. And it's about black magic, and witchcraft and evil!"

Uhh... WHAT?! That guy obviously jumped at the chance to ridicule a game that people play without hardly the first clue of what he was talking about. So, curious, we looked up if Christians in general think the same. And supposedly many people feel that it is wrong to play, or bad. These are the type of people that we like to call: "Overly Religious". They are so caught up in there stance as a Christian that they jump at the first sign of anything that might have to do with evil, and beat it down. Well since they are doing that why don't they jump at the Bible and try to ban it? Huh? It mentions evil all the time. The real evil.

So I'll start this off... IT IS NOT TRUE that Magic The Gathering is evil! It's not at all! IT'S FICTION! FAKE! NOT REAL! A GAME! And maybe if those type of people would actually do a little research before they label something "evil" they would find out that it is a harmless fun game. In-fact it's really quite nice. Yeah I'll agree, it does have black magic... LITERALLY BLACK! The color! It's got RED magic in it also. And white and green and blue! OH MY! COLORS AHHH!!!! God made colors! Even..... dah dah DAHHHH.. BLACK! And I (Stefan) play as black in game of Magic. And Joey plays as red. The two most chaotic colors in the game. Why? Because it's harmless. And it's not real. It's for fun. Like hopscotch, or frisbee.

I think there are three main reasons why people get freaked out about this game.
1 - Because the word "magic" is in the title.
2 - Because it has the color "black" in some of the cards.
3 - Because they don't know how to play.
So because of the third reason, they take the first two thoughts and combine them, and assume it's "Black Magic!" This is the critical ignorant error in their thinking.

Do you get what I'm saying? I'll explain the game for you to show you it's just a game.

Lets first look at the color BLACK in this game.

It uses swamps to pay for it's cards. Quiet elderly trees drooping over still waters. Singing birds in the limbs and the ever elusive crocodile silently making it's way through it's life.

And yeah there's a skull on the card. Just like there's a skull under your skin huh?

I (Stefan) play as black. And black magic in the game of magic is really only called that because that is the color of the background is black. Though Magic the Gathering rules and such state that "black" magic is the color of "death and decay".

"DACAY?! DEATH?!" you may say. Well hold on here. They may say that is the color of those things in the game but by no means do I think that I am causing anything to die or decay whilst I lay a "black" card down on a table. Nor do I want anything to die or decay. It's fantasy. I know very well it's just a piece of cardboard just like any other card in the world.

And if you don't see that then you may need psychological help frankly.

Here is a black creature card below. One people might find "evil"....

It's called Childhood Horror. Yep, just like the stories you may have been told by your parents. Are your parents evil? Is the story evil? No, it's just a story isn't it? If you say yes then how about Santa Claus? Were you told that he was real? If you say he's not a horror well he may not have been to you but he certainly frightened me to the point of tears when I was young. But you know what Santa and the thing on that card have in common?... There fake.

It is a creature, (like an animal) and no I do not think that there is a real horror on that card that's about to leap out, nor does anyone else that plays this game. That is just artwork. Just like that doodle you probably did while you were on the phone, just shaped different. That's all it is, and that's all it ever will be. And in-fact that is the reason me and Joey took interest in this game, it had a lot of really good, cool artwork on the cards. There is nothing wrong with that. Me and Joey produce a lot of artwork. Because art is fun and enjoyable. You would most likley agree.

Anyway, That card costs four mana (like dollars) to play. The skull symbol in the top right corner means you use a swamp mana (money) to play this card. And the 3 means you may use three extra of any color to pay for this card.

And as for the rest of the card... "Flying" means when it attacks it "Flies" over other creatures without "flying". Like a bird. And in no way do I think that that creature, or I, am actually flying over anything and attacking someone. It's imaginary. Just like the last dream you had. Was that dream "evil"? Did you wake up wanting to do what you did in that dream. If so did you? And I'll assure you dreams are more influential and lifelike that a piece of cardboard. "And how do you attack with a card?!" You may ask. You turn it sideways.... yeah.

And if they don't "block" the "attacking" creature with a creature they control and it hits them (the player), no one really thinks it actually hit the person. They simply mark their life total down. Just like the last time you did a math subtraction problem like "10 - 2 = 8". Actually it's exactly like that.

"How do you block a creature?!" You may ask. You pick up a creature card, and lay it on top of an "attacking" card.... yeah.

And "Threshold" is explained on the card. The "graveyard" mentioned in the text is simply where your cards go when they engage in battle and "die". So basically all magic the gathering is is a battle game made cool. But don't forget... It's fake. A PIECE OF CARDBOARD! Like a poker card for say.

The "2/2" in the bottom right corner is the cards power (2) and toughness (2). for example if this card battles a card with lets say 2/3 power and toughness, it dies and the 2/3 card survives. So it's basically like chess but more complicated. And in no way do I think that those cards are actually battling one another. No more than the time you played chess and said "Check Mate!" did you think that the king was really in battle and incapable of getting out of the deadly situation. And those opposing pieces really had weapons and if your opponent decided to he would order one to jump off the table and kill you, that it would, or that they even could.

And if evil is mentioned in a card so what? Like I said earlier, evil is mentioned in the Bible. And I certainly am not thinking of evil when I play black cards. I'm just playing.

And I really dislike that they even call it the color of death and decay. Look closer in the texts of and about black and you'll find that it is really the color of gain and winning at all costs. And that's exactly the reason why I play as black. It's the preferred color of choice I want to strategize with to win the game. That's right... the GAME.

Next up... White.

It uses plains to pay for it's cards. Peaceful wind caressing soft grass. Up in the heavens, the distant caw of the wild fowl.

White magic is the "holiest" of the colors. It is the color of order and protection. See... not bad is it?

In-fact it even has angels that you can play with. And a card called wrath of God. Don't believe me? Well here it is next...









Now even if you say it may be influential to peoples minds I say this: I have never, NEVER heard of anyone causing any harm to anybody because of a card game, or any type of game for that matter. Heck even real games like football let the kids actually tackle the other on purpose and they don't get blasphemed. Those are dangerous games and people let there kids play them all the time. But you know why they don't blaspheme football and such?... Because they are just games. And for some reason some people can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality.

If you are still not convinced I ask you this: Who is the most evil human you can think of that ever existed? Hitler? Saddam? Were any of those two men influenced by a game? Probably not. They were influenced by what they were taught and the way they were raised, not by what they did or did not play.

Yes you do destroy things in this games (so to speak) but as simple as saying "I destroy that card", and that's all you do. And if you say destroying is bad then think of this. God destroys things. Not because he is evil, but because he is just. "And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." - Genesis 3:16

Now look at the card above, that's all that's happening in that art. A just god ending evil. Now I don't actually think that is God and no I don't really think anything is being destroyed in that card. I was just saying that's what the artist is depicting. I, and everyone else that plays this game knows that is just artwork. Paint! And if people use that card it's only because it helps them when the game. Period, end of story. GAME. G-A-M-E. NOT REAL. FUN. Are we clear?

Now lets take a look at the RED color of this game.

It uses mountain cards to pay for it's cards. Beautiful mountains. They bring to my mind high, shining peaks reaching to the heavens. Sometimes capped with freshly fallen snow. Where noisy sounds are far below, and unheard. I live in the mountains of North Carolina, so I really enjoy them.


Now I'll talk a bit about what the cards are like that these cool mountains pay for...They are fiery (notice the fire-ball symbol). "FIRE!!" you may be thinking as of now. "That's like Hell!" Well, if you have that strong of an aggressive stance against fire then I suggest throwing your stove out of your house as quickly as possible.I'm not the one actually using the flames here. I simply hold a piece of cardboard in my hand.

I'll show you a card that may tickle your anti-fire fancy then...

This card "Destroys target land".

Now what that means is that I pay for this card, put it on the table, choose a land-card that my opponent controls, and he or she moves that card into the "graveyard".

Now I did not an any way actually think that I was actually, magically casting a sorcery intending to annihilate hundreds of town-folk with falling rocks. I only made my opponent (and friend) move a card."It looks like Armageddon" you say? I, (and hopefully you) intend to be outta' here when that happens. And let me make extra clear that I did not bring about an Armageddon by sitting this card down on a table.So with that said, red "magic" is about (fantasy) fire, destruction, and chaos.


I use these cards while playing this game, and I stumbled upon this on a web site against these pieces of cardboard:


"Part of the game's appeal comes from 'the ability to develop a character -- you get to be somebody else. In Magic the deck you put together reflects your character -- your persona."


This statement is quite contradictory from the point they are trying to make. Think about it...


If you construct your deck based upon your "character, and persona" then how did the cards have any influence upon it? It had to have started with a fiery temper within yourself before you built the fiery deck, right? And it's not as if we come into this game with an empty character, like a robot anyway.

Even with that said, that statement is untrue. I (Joey) use this chaotic, destructive color, yet I myself am very quiet, and peaceful. I only use this color because I think it works best with the strategies I can use to win the GAME.And no I do not believe I am "somebody else" while playing this. Nor does anyone else I've seen playing this game.

That is just nonsense.Let's look at Chess- A great family game, that brings about cheers and smiles... Are you sure?!

But you control a king! He thinks only of power and domination over the weak! He is greedy and self-indulged. With his mouth he controls armies of barbarians to attack and eliminate villages and innocents. I hope you agree that that's ridiculous.

Same point goes here. I do not think I am a sorcerer when I play a "sorcery". Just as you do not think you are a king, or controlling a king as a god, while playing Chess.

The next color, BLUE.


It uses Islands to pay for it's cards.

Gorgeous, sparkling waves lapping upon white sands. The ever-aware seagull may be heard calling from the sky. A sudden breeze you feel now; cool and gentle. I don't use this color, but I can tell you what it does in the game. It's about trickery and deception. Now don't freak out here... Chances are you tricked your last opponent into losing a game of Chess you played right? Now did they actually become infected with a tricked mind because of that? Of course not.


I'll try to find the most tricky card I can in blue "magic".



Ok. To play this card, you lay it on the table while someone else is playing a card of their own. Then both cards are moved into the "graveyard".


Well that's it guys and gals: "Trickery!"


Now this may make your opponent aggravated. But trust me, they are not going to freeze you into a ball of ice, or even think about doing it.






Green.

It uses forests to pay for it's cards. Smells of pine remind you of good times past, and more to come. The mother squirrel building it's nest. Leaves wave around like a thousand greetings.


In this game green is about lots of powerful creatures. That's it.




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So if you think games like monopoly are good compared to Magic The Gathering then I have to say your wrong. What is Monopoly about? Greed, Money, Buying as much as you can. But our point is this, they are all just games. For fun and really educational. For example: me and Joey grew up playing monopoly and that's how we learned basic math. Same with this game. There's a lot of math in it. And a lot of brain exercise because of it's complexity and challenges.

And we have seen plenty of Christian people that like playing this game.

And with that said who was that person you last played a game with? A loved one? Maybe a wife or husband, a father or mother, a best friend, your beloved child? Were you in any way wanting to cause harm to them when you said lets play a game? Did you want to hurt them when they won? If so did you? When you say you are moving a knight to a space on the board do you really think that that is a knight? Does it make you want to become a knight and wield a sword? You are not controlled by a games images or the feelings they bring up are you? You are in control of yourself. And if you are not that what they make jails for.

All you have to do is teach your kids to be good and don't do evil. It's that simple. Just like our parents taught us. And the bible teaches us. And we are very happy, thankful, peaceful guys.

And trust me, the game is really fun to play and people are really happy playing it. It's very customizable and allows you to use your imagination when building a deck. We play it quite often and even make our own cards because it's just a cool game. Just like your favorite fiction book was a cool story, and that's all it was. You don't actually believe that your book really happened, nor do you intend to recreate anything that happened in it do you? And trust me, books are much MUCH more engaging than a piece of cardboard with ink on it that you put down on a table.

How about instead of hiding games like this from your children, you teach them to get the shield of God. "The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence." - 2 Samual 22:3

What I'm trying to say by that bible verse is this. If you or your children have the Lord and savior in their heart they shouldn't worry about anything. "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." - 1 John 5:12 You see what that verse means? If you or your children or anyone else has Jesus in their heart, they HAVE everlasting life. They HAVE it. It doesn't say they will get it. They have it. They will go to heaven. And what they do in their spare time is just passing the time and having a little fun while they do it. Some obscure card game is not going to cause them any harm. It's just ridiculous if people attack something as pointless as the "Magic the Gathering" card game and call it evil. Now that is just a plain waste of time. So just make sure kids know the difference from right and wrong. And that they have Christ in their heart, and they love and trust in the Lord God. And they'll be fine.

Anyway, if there is something that's influencing children today I guarantee it's what they are being taught in public schools. Like evolution for example. And what's going on in public schools. Like pier pressure.

Ok. We'll simply sum all of this up by putting it this way: Magic the Gathering is a game. Me, Joey, and millions of other people like to play it. That's it. That's all.

Let us end with a quote from a famous book that some people call evil:

"...the gray rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise." - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The Gray Havens.

- Joey and Stefan

Next Grand Theft Auto Idea

We have been a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series since GTA: Vice City. And now since GTA 4 has been out for a while, we got to thinking about the next GTA game. And recently an idea came to us... Every GTA game so far has been you playing a criminal. Game after game and all the stupid police harassment's. And honestly, we are sick of it.

I bet you know where I'm headed....

Yep! We strongly believe that the next big GTA release you should play as a tough, bad ass cop. We really liked the concept but weren't sure what time period it would be in. That was until our dad was watching an old TV series he used to watch when he was young called "The Streets of San Francisco" from the 1970's. We walked in the living room, watched a little bit and it hit us. That was it! A tough cop set in the 1970's maybe San Fierro.

Think about it. How cool would that be?! It would be the perfect change for the series in our opinion.

So I looked up 70's cop in the google image search engine and found art of a 70's cop that looks straight out of a GTA game. Maybe it is, I don't know. But here it is to the left <-.

You know that this concept would make such a cool style and feel for the game. Just imagine the awesome 70's cop type music they could come up with and stuff. If they went with that idea it could maybe be called, of course: Grand Theft Auto: San Fierro.

We really think this would be an awesome change to go the other side of the law... the right side.

Now I know that it may come off as a little comical, but it won't if they do it right. Make it hard edged and gritty. And much more realistic that previous GTA games. And so what if it's a little funny?... Rockstar has a lot of comedy in there games. And plus it wouldn't hurt the game, it would probably make it cooler.

But we'll see what they do.