Review Time!!! Part One: Naruto

I realized something the other day. My favorite video game critics GameInformer and IGN write reviews (and previews) for literally every game out there. This is my 215th (or somewhere around that number) post and I almost never wrote a review based on personal experience.



So it's only fair to reveal my opinion on my blog. My first review is about a game I recently got (I bought on my birthday!!); Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 (Full burst edition!!!).




Now this game's primary focus is on story. Because they don't bother giving you a tutorial on basic combat I recommend playing with Free Battle mode before doing story mode.


The game has a LOT of cutscenes so I suggest this game for very patient gamers. For impatient speed runners there is a feature that lets you skip some cutscenes.



Also this game is not very difficult once you get the hang of basic combat (the secret optional boss is the only hard part for me. I died more times than I would like to admit on that level. But I beat the boss.). Another focus for this game is visual flair. When I first unlocked every character I tried to find the coolest looking finisher (Sasuke's Flame Control Sword wins).


Regular fights don't offer much variety sadly. The only truly unique fights are the boss battles (the fight between Naruto and Sasuke at the end of Chapter 2 was my favorite. I also like fighting the final boss).


Oddly enough they have a feature which lets you turn off blood in the game. Of course the amount of blood is very minor and can be easily ignored. Unless of course you just happen to be squeamish. In which I suggest you turn off blood in story mode but only if even the tiniest drop of the red stuff churns your stomach. Other than that, keep the blood. Also the only blood appears in cutscenes only. NOT in combat.



As far as humor goes, only a handful of characters are constantly funny. Naruto has his moments (his funniest moment was when he called Might Guy "Super Bushy Brow Sensei"). Killer Bee's rhyming is quite entertaining. Especially because everyone else thinks that his rhymes are bad.




All in all, this is a great game (I give a 9.0. If the cutscenes were shorter and you could have Naruto use Summoning Jutsu the game would be better). The cutscenes are surprisingly lengthy. The longest cutscenes are in chapter four. This game is probably not the best way to refresh Naruto knowledge. After all, the references to past events are vague. At least until you fill the Ninja World Timeline book. Then you can revisit famous events from the TV show. And no. You cannot do neither the written Chunin Exams or the survival drill in the Forest of Death. You CAN do the final exams however, but they are just normal one-on-one fights. Nothing special. Also, you can't summon a certain giant red frog with a attitude.

LEGO The Hobbit Time!!!

LEGO Lord of the Rings was a stroke of brilliance in it's own right. But what happens if you travel sixty (60) years before the first Lord of the Rings movie? You get LEGO the Hobbit!!!




This game sees the return of Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf and marks the video game debut of the Thirteen Dwarves. Unless of course you wrote a fan fiction about them in a video game, but seriously, who takes advice from fan fictions for video games? It worked for Adventure Time when someone submitted the idea for the "Jake vs Meemow" episode but with video games it's a whole other story.



Anyway, Oddly enough LEGO the Hobbit only covers the first two Hobbit movies. The third one is currently in development. So I guess that it makes sense that LEGO is not spoiling the plot of the third movie by keeping it out of the game altogether.


LEGO the Hobbit has pretty much the same story as the first two movies so I guess that there is no point in writing the story. Then again, one of the most important aspects of a video game is storytelling. Well, at least in games that actually HAVE a Story Mode (none of the Mario & Sonic games have story modes). Anyway, The Hobbit (like all LEGO games) take the best bits of previous games while improving the formula. EXAMPLE: Players can use Bombur's (he is one of the Thirteen Dwarves. He is the really fat one) stomach as a trampoline to enable other characters to reach otherwise unreachable platforms (or switches, depending on the puzzle).


Just like LEGO Lord of the Rings, this game has the Mithril crafting system that can make equipment that can enable one character to mimic the powers of another character without having to switch character. I can imagine that if this is available in the levels it ought to be available in Free Play Mode (Otherwise it would be cheating in Story Mode).



Also just like the more recent LEGO video games, LEGO the Hobbit has TALKING LEGO Minifigures. Instead of the random gibberish in LEGO Star Wars III, LEGO Indiana Jones, LEGO Harry Potter, and other past games. However, instead of original dialogue the dialogue in LEGO the Hobbit is almost identical to the dialogue in the movies.



This game will be released on April 22nd and Pre-Order for GameStop is live. If you Pre-Order they give you a GameStop exclusive Bilbo Baggins Minifigure. Even though I already have a Bilbo Baggins Minifigure. But this one has a unique design. GameStop.com nicknamed this particular Bilbo Baggins Minifigure "Good Morning" Bilbo Baggins. Which is actually a reference to the opening scene of the first Hobbit movie where Bilbo and Gandalf the Grey have a humorous conversation over the definition of the phrase "good morning" (Gandalf: "What do you mean by 'good morning'? Are you wishing me a good morning whether I want it or not, or do you feel good on this particular morning? Or are you saying this is a morning to be good on?" Bilbo: "All of them at once... I suppose.").


For video and screen shots, please go to GameStop.com. They got more videos than everyone else!! Ha ha!!!

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark time!!

They are coming out with a NEW Transformers game!!!!! It is not OFFICIALLY released but they got trailers, videos, etc. AND the game looks mighty impressive. I just hope that there are more Dino-bot levels and less stealth levels. I hate the stealth levels. Though I guess that is because whenever I play any game that lets you use laser guns (like Transformers Fall of Cybertron) I love gunning down everything in sight (Scrap-maker's my personal favorite gun in the game. Can't Beat Scrap-Maker!!! Ha ha!).



But seriously, my least favorite moment of Fall of Cybertron was when I was playing as Cliffjumper. His humorous quotes (especially when you blow your cover) and sarcastic jokes he trades with Jazz make up for sneaking around. Honestly I prefer shooting everybody in the face with a Thermo-Rocket Cannon. But that's just me. You may like sneaking around doing one-hit stealth kills to everybody, but to me, NOTHING beats blasting everybody's face off with weapons of mass destruction. Or punching them in the jaw, in the VERY likely event that you (or me) run out of ammo.



Enough about Fall of Cybertron. In Rise of the Dark Spark, The Autobots (who are goody little two shoes!) and the Decepticons (polar opposite of the Autobots who again, are goody little two shoes!) race all over Earth AND Cybertron for the titular Dark Spark, something that possesses crazy awesome power. Like the kind of power to blow up half the universe.


A new feature is that the Insecticons (Decepticons that transform into giant bugs/insects/arthropods) are now playable. The Dino-bots also (just like everyone else) have been redesigned. Grimlock's T. Rex form is now notably spikier in this game than it is in the previous game.



That is pretty much everything I know about Rise of the Dark Spark. For videos and screen shots, please go to GameStop.com Or Wikipedia.

Naruto Time!!!

This post is about a really awesome game known as Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst. Lengthy title, but no different from the video game Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon because I DON'T KNOW title. Anyway, I have the game (and completed story mode) AND unlocked pretty much everything (save for a handful of Ninja World Timeline pages. I am still working on that. and the secret boss battle, which is really, really difficult.)



The gameplay is pretty straightforward. Since this is a fighting game, your character (there is 84 playable characters, most of whom have Japanese names except for three) lock fists (or in some cases, clash knives) with each other. Each character has two special moves, the Ninjutsu and Ultimate Ninjutsu (even though Itachi's Ultimate Ninjutsu is technically genjutsu). The difference between these two varies from character to character. the biggest example of these characters is Kabuto. His original form uses Dead Soul as a Ultimate Ninjutsu, but his Snake Cape form uses the same technique as a Ninjutsu. His Snake Cape form's Ultimate Ninjutsu is Summoning: Reanimation (he uses this a lot in the story mode. Mostly to build an army of undead ninja warriors of notable skill).


Also, almost every character has a Awakened form. In most cases, Awakened forms offer either a completely different move-set, a Ninjutsu that can only be used in Awakened form, or in some cases (like the main hero and title character Naruto) both. Also, some Awakened forms are more notable than others. Like how Killer Bee turns into a giant octopus like creature (named Eight-Tails) is very notable, but Kakashi's Awakened form is a lot less notable. The only thing that is different is the fact that Kakashi lifts his headband, revealing the left eye he is almost always hiding.



The story of this game is pretty long so it take forever for me to tell it in full detail. A brief summary would be better.

I am going to start way in the beginning. Thousands of years before the events of the TV show there was this ninja named the Sage of the Six Paths who apparently saved the world from a creature called the Ten-Tails. He defeated it by sealing it inside himself and later split the Ten-Tails' power, or chakra, as it is called into nine seperate beings. All of whom strongly resemble real life animals but gigantic, like the kind of gigantic that says "I'm taller than most skyscrapers". Also they have bits of human in them (the ability to talk, humanoid hands, etc.). These creatures are collectively known the Tailed Beasts, because all of them had several tails (except for the raccoon, named Shukaku, who only has one tail.)


The Tailed Beasts weren't allowed to roam freely when the Sage of the Six Paths died, however and each one was sealed inside people. The main hero of the game (as well as the entire series), Naruto is the host for arguably the most powerful of the Tailed Beast, Kurama (who is a fox. With nine tails. Hence his nickname: Nine-Tails).


At the time of the game, Naruto's close friend Sasuke had been turned evil (walking the path of darkness, as he said it) and wants to avenge his dead brother by destroying Naruto's hometown: The Hidden Leaf Village.


Later on in the game a mysterious masked man named Tobi (who copied the name of the deadliest ninja ever.) starts a war using an army of undead ninja (given to him thanks to Kabuto's ability to use Summoning: Reanimation) and "pale monsters" as the hilarious rapper Killer Bee calls (they are actually called White Zetsu but only Kabuto calls them that. Everyone else gives them a nickname).


The final story detail I give away ultimately is a major spoiler. Every Tailed Beast (minus Shukaku. I don't know where he went because his host, Gaara of the Sand, no longer hosts him) faces off against each other in a lengthy, four part boss battle against Tobi. The first two stages you play as Naruto and Killer Bee (who is using a great-sword he looted from a certain have man half shark hybrid creature) gives support, the third stage lets you play as Kurama as he KO's his brethren one by one (minus the octopus Eight-Tails, who was sitting the fight out. I forgot his real name but I will remember. Eventually). The final stage is a one-on-one duel with Tobi which lets you play as a weakened Naruto.


The Full Burst version also has a side story/bonus chapter where Sasuke teams up with his brother Itachi (who was brought back to life by Kabuto's Summoning: Reanimation) to fight Kabuto, who has entered Sage Mode. I tried this bonus fight a thousand times but I lost because it is really, really, really hard. Super Hard even. This boss fight is hard for two reasons, First, Kabuto will almost always teleport behind the player if they use a melee attack (which is inevitable, because you can only use the Uchiha Brothers: Sasuke and Itachi, who are melee fighters by nature. Itachi can use Fire Style: Fire Ball as a ranged attack, but that is literally his ONLY long ranged attack). Second. Once the player put some meaningful impact, Sage Kabuto enters his Awakened state and sometimes hops on a pillar and sends out a barrage of long ranged projectiles (these range from massive boulders to ghosts) and as soon as he is done doing that,  he jumps off the pillar and tries to skewer the player's character with a lance made entirely out of bones. Assuming you are fast enough to dodge the initial charge, he turns around and goes for a second charge.


For more info please go to the Naruto Wiki. Also, if you have the Full Burst edition and have beaten the secret boss, please leave step by step instructions in the comments.

The LEGO Movie (and it's video game namesake!) Time!!!

This post is about two things. First and most important is the LEGO Movie!!!! LEGO's first ever full length feature film!!! With LEGO Bricks!!!! And second, is the video game based off the movie!



The LEGO Movie is a Action Comedy (mostly comedy) movie so it's got a lot of action-packed stunts, vehicular chases, fight scenes, etc. At the same time, it has very funny scenes (EXAMPLE: very late in the movie when Batman, yes Batman, tries to hit a switch with his batarangs but pathetically misses every time except when the last actually hits the switch, prompting Batman to say "First Try!")


Unlike most LEGO video games, the LEGO Movie Video Game is almost identical to the movie (previous games like LEGO Star Wars III has the characters speaking random gibberish instead of words, LEGO Lord of the Rings omitted Bilbo's birthday, etc.). It is so identical that if you want to watch the movie I recommend that you do NOT play the game until you watch it.




Here is the plot of the movie (I already know the story!!!!!!!). WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN STORY REVEAL.

Since this movie is made by LEGO, literally everything from visual effects to vehicles are made entirely out of LEGO bricks. Thus, almost the whole movie is stop motion. Anyway, at the beginning of the movie we see a wizard named Vitruvius try to protect a mega powerful relic called the "Kragle" (which is actually a bottle of glue) from the tyrannical Lord Business (he wears a weird hat AND is gigantic thanks to his size 40 shoes.). He fails however and is permanently blinded by a Lord Business' laser cannon. However before the tyrant leaves Vitruvius warns Lord Business about a prophecy, which goes something like:

One day a talented lass or fellow,
A Special one with a face o yellow,
Will make the Piece of Resistance found,
From it's hiding refuge deep underground,
With a noble army at the helm,
This Master Builder will thwart the Kragle and save the realm,
And be the greatest, most interesting, most important person of all time,
All of this is true because it ryhmes.

I like the last part the most. Anyway, in case you are wondering the Piece of Resistance is a LEGO Brick that can reverse the effects of the Kragle. Also, a Master Builder are LEGO Minifigures that love building things but hate using instruction manuals. Ironic because President Business (that is what Lord Business is called by civilians) made it against the law to build WITHOUT reading a instruction manual. Then again, there are turbo-dummies that rob banks and commit other crimes. Only Difference is that this president makes ridiculous laws (like it being mandatory that everyone loves the same song, among others) and building things with your imagination is the heart and soul of LEGO.


Anyway Eight (8) and a half years later we get to see the main hero of the movie: A normal, everyday minifigure who has a job as a construction worker. Ironic because he can not build anything without someone giving him step by step instructions. Anyway after a day of work this minifigure (named Emmet) tries to hang out with his coworkers, but the wind blows his "how to be popular and happy" booklet out of his tiny yellow hands. He then meets the Master Builder who calls herself "Wyldsytle" (her real name is Lucy) who is searching for something. As his "how to be popular and happy" booklet says so, Emmet originally was going to report Wyldstyle to the authorities, but he instead tries following her when she leaves the scene. Only to fall through a insanely large hole. And when  I say "large" I don't mean the "that is pretty big, bro" kind of large. I mean the "Look at the size of that thing! It's Huge!!" kind of large.


Anyway, when he finishes falling he finds the Piece of Resistance and decides to touch it (either because he heard the voice of the Piece or he was just plain curious). He passes out after experiencing a astral vision, and awakens to be interrogated by Good Cop/Bad Cop, a police officer with a split personality. Bad Cop simply assumes that Emmet is a Master Builder because the Piece of Resistance has glued itself to Emmet's back. When Bad Cop and Good Cop both fail at their interrogation methods (mostly because Emmet had a panic attack when he saw the Piece on his back) Bad/Good Cop orders a handful of robots to melt Emmet with LASERS!!!!!!


Before Emmet can be melted down, however, Wyldstyle rescues him (and kicks a robot right in the "space between the eyes and mouth" as Wyldstyle called it). Wyldstyle, like Good/Bad Cop, assumes that Emmet is Master Builder. However she learns the truth when Emmet pointing out that traveling to other worlds (they were about to escape the city by going to another world) is against the instructions. After Wyldstyle whacks Emmet in the head with a cactus, Emmet and Wyldstyle then go inside a hangout for cowboys (they were in the Old West) they meet the now blind Vitruvius, who explains that they must reunite with the remaining Master Builders (including but not limited to, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Lloyd the Green Ninja, Abraham Lincoln, a guy dressed as a clown, The 1980 something space guy, Michelangelo the artist, Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle, and the NBA Basketball All Stars) to save the universe from the Kragle (which will glue every brick in the universe together).


I gave enough spoilers for the movie so I am just going to summarize (it pains me to summarize. Rule #1 of the universe. NEVER make me summarize!) anyway after several more adventures Emmet and friends (one of which is a giant cat thing) along with a army of civilians turned Master Builder mount a final showdown on Lord Business (with Emmet unlocking his imagination and in turn, building a four armed construction vehicle themed robot to fight with), and before this Emmet is dumped off the edge of the universe and finds himself in a 12-year old kids bedroom who is actually causing EVERYTHING in the LEGO movie to happen by playing with his LEGO bricks. I would give spoilers but this is a very long movie and I need to summarize for once (I hate summarizing) to save time.


For trailers and pictures, please go to LEGO.com OR the LEGO wiki.

New Year, New Awesome Game! Monster Hunter Time!!!

This is both my first post in 2014 and my first post about Monster Hunter!!! Speaking of Monster Hunter, I have the game Monster Hunter 3 (Tri).



Monster Hunter is really, really fun. It's a series of A.R.P.G. (Action Role Play Game) games.


Monster Hunter games follow a similar, but vastly improving, style. First you create your own Hunter and you hunt down, fight, and slay (or capture, if you are playing a Capture Quest) monsters. The Monsters, upon defeat can be "carved" for materials needed to build armor and weapons to further customize your character. There are normally two gauges in the top left corner: Health Gauge and Stamina Gauge. Health Gauge shows how many hits you can take before "dying" (even though it's funny watching the cat-like NPC's known as Felynes carry your character to the Base Camp). Stamina determines how many times you can roll (or perform evasive maneuvers, for that matter) and/or how long you can keep sprinting, which dramatically increases running speed. Perfect if you are being chased by something out of your league.


You get a delightfully large arsenal of weapons to smite monsters with. Here is a list of the weapons I know of. NOTE: My experience with the weapons come from Third Generation weapons. And two Fourth Generation weapons. However the Fourth Generation is strictly Japan Only. How do I know about those Japan Only weapons? Wikipedia is the answer to any question you can think of. Figuratively speaking of course, not literally.

• Sword and Shield - This weapon is the weapon you start with in almost every Monster Hunter game (the only exception is Monster Hunter 4, exclusive to Japan). This weapon is fast, but most Sword and Shield weapons lack attack power. Unless properly upgraded, of course. It consists of a small sword in the left hand, and a small shield in the right hand. Both can be used for attacks.
• Great Sword - This weapon is my personal favorite. It's a large, heavy sword. Heavy, but slow. But what it lacks in speed it makes up for it's powerful attacks (some of the moves can be charged for additional damage!!!!). If properly upgraded, the Great sword can be the most powerful weapon in the game you are using it in.
• Hammer - A heavy hammer. It's faster than the Great Sword, but still a bit slow. This weapon can charge attacks, like the Great Sword, but unlike the Great Sword, you can still run around while charging. It also causes impact damage, which can stun monsters for a while if you hit them in the head enough times.
• Lance - A long heavy spear (or lance) AND a shield the size of a wall? That is the Lance. It's one of, if not the longest reaching close quarters weapon. It even has a stampede attack!!! Well, actually it's called the Dash, but anyway it cause your hunter to run straight ahead. Perfect for catching up the fleeing monsters or landing several hits. It drains Stamina though. It also has a uppercut for hitting airborne targets.
• Gun-Lance - Similar to the Lance, the Gun-Lance has the ability to cause explosions at the tip of the weapon. A lot of newcomers think that the Gun-Lance can fire projectiles when in reality it is incapable of doing so. Unless one count's the "Wyvern Fire" move to be a projectile, but it is simply an explosion four times the size of the normal explosions.
• Dual Sword - the fastest weapon in Monster Hunter. It looks cool and has a habit of attacking twice in one button press. It looks like it requires mashing the attack button over and over, but just press three times to get what you want. It can also power up for more moves.
• Long Sword - These swords look like Japanese Ninja Katana Swords!!!! They even come with a sheath. The sheath is cosmetic though and is simply for decorative purposes. Some of the moves it has are evasive. It also has a Spirit Combo where if press the "Block" button five times when the Spirit Gauge (only visible in the Long Sword is equipped) is full to pull off a awesome seven hit combo (the final hit causes a LOT of damage!)!
• Bowgun - These weapons can fire several kinds of ammo!!! From normal bullets to Pierce S rounds that can slice through a monster's hide as if it was nothing!!!! Or Para S bullets that paralyze monsters!!!! Or even elemental bullets that cause all sorts a weird things to happen!!! All Bowguns have three seperate components: Frame, which determines the weight and attack power of the round being fired, Barrel, which actually fires the rounds, and the Stock, which holds ammo. The Weight determines the type. Heavy Bowguns are perfect for snipers, Light is perfect for those who wish to "bring the hurt" with firepower while keeping a safe distance.
• Switch Axe - A Two in One weapon. In Axe Mode it has long reaching attacks but lacks impressive attack power. But with the press of a button, it transforms into Sword Mode!!! The Axe head is lowered and a medium length super sharp sword takes it's place. You want to stay in Sword Mode at all times, unless the vial on the sword needs to be recharge, in which case you want to be in Axe mode until it is fully recharged. Did I forget to mention that while in Sword mode you can cause elemental damage with each swing? It also has a overload attack where the tip of the blade causes a epic explosion!!!!
• Bow - This weapon is perfect for those who love archery. It can shoot arrows (which have coatings that cause various side effects in addition to damage), and you can use your next arrow as a dagger for close range attacks.
• Hunting Horn - Fight Monsters with the power of Music!!!! Every physical hit gives you a music note (which appears at the top left corner, just below the Stamina Gauge, the kind of attack determines the color of the note). Press a certain button when you have enough notes for a song and something cool happens (the color and combination of the notes determines what happens. Like two white notes equals a boost to your running speed.).
• Insect Rod - This weapon is Japan Exclusive. Basically a "bo" staff that causes cutting damage and impact damage, making it a cross between the Dual Swords and the Hammer. And true to the name, the Insect Rod gives you a giant beetle to command. You can send it to fight monsters for you!!!! Just mark the monster with a "pheromone bullet" and the beetle will strike the exact point of impact between the monster, and the bullet.
• Charge Axe - This is another Japan Only weapon. Basically a bigger, stronger, more effective version of the Switch Axe. This weapon is also a bit reversed. Instead of staying in Sword mode at all times with the Switch Axe, you want to be in Axe Mode at all times with the Charge Axe.

In addition to the weapons I listed above, there are also a few disposable items that can make fighting monsters (especially larger monsters) a bit easier. Here is a list.

• Flash Bombs - Hand thrown grenades that cause a blinding flash to appear. Throw it at monsters to blind them. WARNING: Does not work on monsters that do not have eyes, such as the Gigginox.
• Sonic Bomb - A hand thrown bomb that causes deafening sound-waves upon exploding. Use it to stun some monsters and make others monsters retreat.
• Dung Bomb - One of the weirdest bombs in the series, the Dung Bomb emits a foul odor when detonated. Monsters can't tolerate the smell for long and retreat to put some distance between it and the point of explosion. Use it to scare away unwanted attention.
• Pitfall Traps - perfect for Capture Quests. When a Large Monster steps on it, it gets trapped in a hole in the ground. It cannot do anything until it crawls out of said hole. WARNING: Does not work underwater. It also does not work on the Nibelsnarf monster. It also will not work on monsters categorized as Elder Dragon Class.
• Shock Traps - Similar to the Pitfall Trap, Shock Traps activate when a large monster steps on it. However, when activated, they cover the monster in electricity, paralyzing it in the process. When a Monster in wounded and in this trap or the Pitfall Trap, you can through a Tranq-Bomb to capture the monster, thus completing the Capture Quest.
• Potions - Restores a moderate amount of your Health Gauge. These are vital to success.
• Mega Potions - Restores twice as much health as the normal Potion. This is perhaps the most important disposable item in the franchise.
• Antidote - Cures Poison. I probably should have mention earlier that some monsters, such as the Gigginox can poison your character. Poison eats away at your Health Gauge until you drink the Antidote.
• Pickaxe, Bug Net, and Fish Bait - These three tools can be used to mine for ore (Pickaxe), Catch insects (Bug Net), and go fishing (Fish Bait. WARNING: Some Fish will only respond to certain kinds of bait).

Another reoccurring feat about Monster Hunter is that there are a several environments with different monsters, and different themes (complete with a different set of rules). Like Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate has the Tundra, which lowers your character's Stamina unless the bring a few Warm Drinks to raise his/her body temperature. Likewise, the Volcano in the same game will cause your character to overheat, losing Health in the process. This can be prevented by bringing, and consuming, Cold Drinks.


The series has several monsters, each with unique abilities. Here is a list of a few notable monsters. (NOTE: because full voice acting is absent in exchange for speech boxes, most of these monster's names have no pronunciation whatsoever. You are welcome to try pronouncing the names if you want).

• Lagiacrus - This is the first large monster you encounter if you are playing a Third Generation game. Leviathan class. In Monster Hunter 3 Tri/Ultimate's (they have the same story) story, Moga Village is plagued with earthquakes. Sadly the earthquakes are anything but natural as the tremors are thought to be caused by the Lagiacrus. It would make sense because the Lagiacrus is huge, happens to be and aquatic ambush predator, and Moga Village is literally built on top of the water. The Lagiacrus is first seen in the Quest "Guts: it's What's for Dinner", but the player is told to AVOID engaging the Lagiacrus at all costs, and continue with the objective.
• Alatreon - Monster Hunter Tri/Ultimate's "Final" Boss. Even though more Monsters are unlocked after defeating it for the first time. Elder Dragon Class. This Monster is a elementally unstable dragon. It looks like a giant black classic European Dragon. With the horns of a Bull. It has a Flame attack, Ice attack, Thunder attack, and even a Dragon attack. Projectiles launched from monsters are elemental and can cause Blights, which weakens you hunter in some way. Because of it's "muilti-element" nature, It would be VERY difficult to get a armor set that can easily withstand the punishment Alatreon brings with it's dangerously unpredictable moves.
• Gigginox - This monster is by far the weirdest looking. It looks like a cross between a bat and a leech. With the head of a leech, the everything else of a bat, no hair whatsoever, and a tail that looks identical to the head. It's movements are so alien and creepy not a single monster comes close to matching it's movements. It crawls around on the ceiling!!! Almost all of it's moves will poison your character. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate introduced a yellow subspecies that instead of poisoning your character, paralyzes your character. When you recover from the paralysis you get Thunder-Blight, which means that you might be stunned by the next attack.
• Nibelsnarf - This monster by far has the most funny sounding name. Despite the fact that it is Leviathan Class, it does not swim (Every other Leviathan Class Monster lives underwater). Well, at least not in water. It swims through it's sandy home in the desert as if the sand was water. It looks like a giant frog. Covered in sand. it even has the ability to shoot a tornado made of sand out of it's mouth. Not only does it send your character flying, it also infects your character with Water-Blight. Water-Blight drains the Stamina Gauge faster. This Monster is the only one with a uvula. They gave it a uvula because when fighting the Nibelsnarf, the only thing you see is it's mouth. Which takes up most of it's body.
• Rathalos - This monster is perhaps the most appearing monster in the franchise. It made it's debut in the very first Monster Hunter game and has appeared in EVERY game since. It looks like a dragon, but it is actually Flying Wyvern Class, not Elder Dragon Class. It has a tougher, rarer variation called the Azure Rathalos which is blue in color, and gives up the materials needed to make tougher and stronger armor.

There are plenty of monsters besides the ones I named, and Quests that involve slaying or capturing (or both) just about all of them. Also there are quests that involve collecting things such as plants. WARNING: All Quests have a Time Limit. Good news is there is a thing called Free Hunt which enables you to "Hunt at your own pace" by removing time limits. Free Hunt Mode also enables you to fights monster for the fun of it (after all, bashing monsters, slicing and dicing, and "laying the smack-down" on monsters twenty times the size of your character is fun. At least for me) Also you can fail a Quest by "dying" three times. Some Quests only allow one death. And other quests are failed as soon as you die.


for more info, videos, and screen shots, please go to GameStop.com or Nintendo.com (for Monster Hunter Tri and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate only.).

Plants vs Zombies Time!!!

This post is my first post covering Plants vs Zombies!!!!! And Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare!!!! Both games involve plants that beat up Zombies!!!!! Perfect for a guy that loves beating up defenseless Zombies!!!! Or in Garden Warfare, you play as Zombies that beat up Plants!!!!



The original Plants vs Zombies is a bit simple. There is a army of brain-munching, slightly sluggish Zombies heading straight for the player's house. The player plant plants on the front lawn, backyard, and even the roof to defend the house from these undead bullies.


There are so many Plants to choose from, too. Like Hypno-Shrooms, which hypnotize Zombies into fighting each other, or Chompers, which literally eat the Zombies. They spend exactly 42 seconds chewing up the Zombies though, and during those 42 seconds the other Zombies can attack it.



And then there is Garden Warfare, where things get a bit complex. In the original Plants vs Zombies, the plants automatically attack the zombies. Now, the player manually controls either the Chomper (new and improved!! It can now run around because BOOM!!! it uses it's roots as legs. Another new feat is the Chomper can use all sorts of new moves but it still eats it's hapless victim), The Cactus (the closest thing a Plant can get to becoming a sniper. Long range spikes!!! And it can call in air strikes), The Sunflower (revives wounded/dead plants and shoots lasers out of it's mouth. Lasers that hurt. A Lot), and the Peashooter (it can either shoot peas, frozen peas, fireballs, and a coffee bean that explodes after a few seconds. Also capable of rooting itself to the ground and turning it's mouth into a Gatling gun).

BUT you can also play as Zombies. Four different kind of Zombies!!! Foot Soldier Zombies are a good choice (they get Paintball Guns and a Bazooka. They can use the Bazooka's blasts to create a explosion beneath their feet, launching them in the air to pull off super jumps), But there are also Scientist Zombies (they can teleport. Handy if you are running from the open jaws of a Chomper). And there are also All Star Zombies that wear sports gear (normally American Football gear, though an upgrade makes them wear hockey gear) and have Gatling Guns that shoot American Footballs and possibly hockey pucks for the Hockey Player variation. And Last but not least (unless you hate Zombies but love beating them up) is the Engineer Zombie!!! With a Jackhammer!!!!


All Plant and Zombie classes (see above for details!) can shoot medium/long range projectiles except the Chomper. The Chomper is only class that relies SOLELY on close quarters combat. Which is handy because only the Scientist Zombie has a defense against the Chomper's melee nature, which is teleporting. But the Chomper has a secret move where it burrows deep underground, then pops up beneath the Zombie's feet, and swallows them whole.


But the Plant and Zombie players are not alone in this incredibly funny and awesome battle!!! There are NPC Zombies that constantly follow specific routes to the one house in the neighborhood that the Plants MUST protect and Plants can place NPC plants that automatically attack these Zombies. However the Plant Players can overwhelm the Zombies VERY easily if Zombie Players don't help out the NPC Zombies. But the NPC Plants are there because the Zombies will most likely make "scissor attacks", where one troop of the Zombies march towards their goal in one direction while the rest of the Zombies sneak in almost completely unopposed. unless you are playing with friends, of course, in which case you can split up to take on both squadrons/hordes/troops/teams (whatever you call a group of undead Zombies) at once. Oh, and there are bosses. Most notably the Zombot. What's the Zombot? It's basically a robot built for Zombies, by Zombies.


The game allows you to upgrade your Plant (or Zombie) to gain new abilities AND a new design. Sunflowers covered in Lightning!!!! Peashooters encased in a tough shell made of ICE!!!! All Star Zombie in Hockey Gear!!!! Marine Biologist Zombie (actually Scientist Zombie) holding a Dolphin shaped Laser Gun!!!!


And the last feature the game has revealed (they are bound to reveal more stuff overtime) is this: Boss Mode!! In Boss Mode you can play as the leader of the Plants!!!! Or the leader of the Zombies!!!! In Boss Mode Crazy Dave (a dude with a flying RV and a saucepan on his head) assists Plant Players by dropping sunlight on them, revitalizing them OR you can have Crazy Dave drop Bombs right on top of of the Zombies!!!! Dr. Zomboss (the leader of the Zombies) can do the exact same thing, although he does from his Blimp, and he revitalizes Zombies by dropping brains for the zombies to munch on. The Brains are pink, which means they are not real because Brains are NOT pink in real life.


Okay here is the TRUE FINAL GRAND FINALE BIT of info on Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare. It is coming out sometime in February in 2014. Also in that same month The LEGO Movie is coming out.


Here is the logo of Garden Warfare (I would have posted regular screen shots, but they were either too big or too small). NOTE: IMAGE IS FROM PLANTS VS ZOMBIES WIKI.



This is the logo.