Top 10 Stand-Up Comedians

This is pretty self-explanatory. My top ten favorite standd-up comedians/ A lot of greats like Dane Cook, Carlos Mencia, Gabriel Iglesias, Mitch Hedberg, etc didn't make it, but they are great, so yeah, shut up. By the way, there's not as much explanation for each pick as usual, I found stand-up comedians to be more difficult to talk about without repeating myself than I'd hope, but I tied. So... Here's the list!

10. Brian Posehn - Posehn is a big, lovable, awkward Metalhead/gamer/comic nerd with a bald head and a face full of beard. He's probably the most personally relatable comedian on this list. He's hilarious, references awesome shit, and makes his entire life, and even himself into one huge running gag. The only issue really, is he doesn't have a whole lot of stand-up stuff. He has other amazing work including his own album full of guest appearances by Metal legends, but his stand-up career, as far as released material, is, while hysterical, rather barren unfortunately.

9. Greg Giraldo - The late, great King of Roasts was a terribly underrated comedian. He always destroyed when he came up to the podium for Comedy Central's annual "look at this big name we got, please watch us again" festival. But Mr. Giraldo also had amazing stand-up work for those who cared enough to look into it or were lucky enough to stumble upn it like I was. Energetic, self-deprecating, and calloused, I think, are the three best words (at least that I thought of in the five seconds of effort I put in) to describe his performances. he wasn't afraid to attack anyone or anything, which was cool, because he'd attack himself ten fold. It's a shame that he left as soon as he did, I feel he was reaching the height of his creativity, and he was more popular than ever. He may have finally gotten the recognition he deserves. Rest in peace and all that jazz.

8. Demitri Martin - Demitri is an awkward, nerdy, skinny kid with floppy hair, genius level student that happens to have an astoundingly witty and hilarious sense of humor. He uses props like whiteboards and powerpoints in his jokes, making you feel like you're in the most hilarious college class ever, except you're actually learning something instead of playing on your phone and thinking you're sneaky. I hope when I get back into college, Demitri's finally gotten a teaching gig, and it happens to be in a small school in an above average sized city in the northeast. Yeah, it's good to have nonsensical and unobtainable dreams.

7. Eddie Murphy - Eddie Murphy is and was a comedic genius. His penchant for family-friendly movies over the last decade and a half has lead many to See him as little more than your kid's favorite funny man. But he gained his game with amazing, often less than appropriate comedies like Trading Places, The Golden Child, Beverly Hills Cop, and Coming to America. He was even in elite comedic form in movies like The Nutty Professor and Dr. Dolittle, and even animated roles in Shrek and Mulan. But that has nothing to do with this, I just want you all to know that he is a great comedian, despite his recent history. That said, before all that, he was the elite among elite stand-up comedians. "Raw" is quite possibly the greatest comedy show ever recorded, and is legendary among fans of stand-up comedy and fans of laughter and enjoyment in general. You owe it to yourself to watch this, it's absolute gold. The only reason Eddie is so low on my personal list, is that he has such a small body of work in stand-up, making his appeal to me last less than those with many different specials under their belt.

6. Frank Caliendo - Caliendo is the biggest impressionist working today, he'd likely tell you in more ways than one. A naturally hilarious guy, this is only emphasized by his many spot-on impressions of celebrities like George Bush, Al Pacino, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler (which he needs to implement much more often), Jerry Seinfeld, Robin WIlliams, David Letterman, Bill Clinton, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, and Willian Shatner. Caliendo's constant switching of voices and personality is a fucking riot, and his own self-analytical humor is great too. Caliendo's a medium recommendation if you're just a human being, but a "BATSHIT CRAZY YES!!" recommendation if you happen to be a big sports fan like me. His impressions of sports personalities like Terry Bradshaw, Jim Rome, Charles Barkley, and his most famous, John Madden, are pure gold.

5. Dan Cummins - I've only known about Dan Cummins for a couple years, but, as you can clearly see, he's quickly flown up my list of favorite stand-up comedians. Cummins is the most fucked up and interesting mind I've seen in comedy in a long time, possibly since the great, twisted Lewis Black (spoilers?).Everything from games you play with strangers in elevators, to people watching adventures, to squirreladors, there's no subject he won't touch, and definitely no subject he won't twist to the point where you'd feel bad if you weren't too busy roflcopering (yep, that was just said) in a hysterical rage. he's still fairly unknown, but with his own comedic perfection, and Netflix housing his second special, that had better change soon!

4. Dave Chappelle - Cheppelle shouldn't really need an explanation. He's one of the most hilarious human beings on the face of the planet. He's a man that attacks all groups of people, attacks society as a whole, and seems to do so from a surprisingly relatable perspective. He's intelligent but not hard to understand, he's witty but not pretentious, he's just got the comedy formula down to a tee. it's a shame that the fame got to him and put his career on hold, though who knows how much the quality would have dipped under that pressure. he was Eddie Murphy in his prime without the deep-seeded desire to be accepted by all, or the acting chops... Or the hair.

3. Brian Regan - Brian Regan is the every man's comedian. Hysterically analytical about life and society, a physical as well as verbal comedian, relatable to most people in some way, a kind and likable guy, and he makes you roll on the floor without swearing once. If you live on this earth, you've had an experience he talks about. He's by far the funniest comedian you can watch with your kids, ranted they may not know too much about the eye doctor or dealing with UPS. But they can relate to pinning the tail on their friends and playing baseball for free snowcones.

2. Lewis Black -  Lewis Black, at least according to his on-stage persona, is probably the angriest old man I've ever witnessed. He's pissed off about the world, about the government, about people, and he's going to make sure you hear it. And he's right for the most part, delivering it ina harsh, over-exaggerated tone that only adds to the cynical hilarity. Lewis Black is a man that can make you laugh, but also make you think about how fucked up and crazy most of the people sitting right next to you at his show are.

1. George Carlin - Speaking of eye-opening comedians, no one has ever or likely will ever do it better than the late legend, George Carlin. Whether it be religion, government, materialism, airports, consumerism, the government, entertainment media, executions, the joys of bloodsport, stupid names, or the occasional dick and fart jokes, there's not one thing George Carlin wouldn't talk about or couldn't find issue with, and, whether you agreed with him or not, he always made far too valid an argument for a sensible person to take offense anyway. besides, you'd probably bee too busy trying to breathe through your fits of laughter to get a word in anyway. he realized just how fucked up every aspect of society is, and while appreciating all he had, was never afraid to crush the typical idealism many people cling to. He made the world think, laugh, and appreciate what we have, while motivating us to improve it, for 52 years, over 14 comedy specials, 10 CD's separate from those specials multiple televisions and movie roles, 5 books with an upcoming posthumous 6th, he influenced many of the comedians on this list, and many people the world over, including yours truly. I don't think i'd be the person I am without having ever heard, read or seen George Carlin. which is pretty impressive for a guy that made his life telling jokes on stage.


That's my list, it's better than yours, yours sucks. Comment and stuff. Twitter @SycoMantis1991

Top Ten Icey Character Things

To celebrate the freezingass temperatures we've experienced lately, and because my laptop screen broke the night before Christmas Eve, when I planned on releasing this, there are my Top Ten Ice People... Things... beings... in media.

10. Killer Frost - Killer Frost is, plain and simple, the epitome of "psycho bitch". After accidentally being locked in a thermo frost chamber, she gained the power to freeze basically anything, even succeeding in bringing an ice age to all of New York City at one point. Unlike most with her powers, she uses heat as an aid to conduct her powers, meaning fire-based attacks only serve to strengthen her where it'd be detrimental, if not deadly to many with similar powers. After gaining her powers, she went on a murderous rampage, and in many appearances, she's been shows to take jobs, such as that with Gorrilla Grogg's Legion of Doom, just for the opportunity to kill. She's awesomely sadistic and powerful. The only reason she's not higher is that much of her motivation stems from her man-hating nature that is fueled by being rejected by a professor in high school... Really? Come on!

9. Frost Walrus - Frost Walrus is the (shockingly) ice-wielding member of the Maverick Repliforce from one of my favorite games, Mega Man X4. He's in charge of guarding their snow base an d the weapon under construction there. Flipper here has an abnormal lust for destroying shit and proves so in his boss battle, implementing barrages of deadly giant ice spoke and even his own body as a weapon of destruction. he's not the most memorable or toughest Maverick, but he has one of my favorite levels, and being an average Maverick means he's still pretty badass.

8. Jin Kisagari - Jin is kind of an overachieving douchebag with a chip on his shoulder for no apparent reason. He attempted to kill his siter out of the jealousy he had for her closeness to his brother despite his douchebaggery being the obvious reason that this was the case. he's the former head of an elite military squad, and isn't afraid to drown you in his superiority. So why's he so high on this list? I just plain fucking love using him in blazblue, he's by far my go-to character. I mean, he hoverboards upon a giant glass sword as an attack! You are not capable of arguing with that.

7. Yukina - Yukina isn't so much a user of ice (at least that I've seen), but she was born in and lives in the coldest depths of the world, and she's a demon. She's a cute ice demon, that can heal pretty much any wound, and is probably the most kind and lovable person ever. In a show about fighting demons with mystical powers, she really stands out, and oddly fits right in. Aside from her introductory story arc where she's kidnapped and forced to make diamonds for some rich douchebag, which is more of a setup for the Dark Tournament saga, she doesn't do a whole lot besides cheer the team on sometimes. But she's cute, charming, and a counter-balance to pretty much every other hyper-violent demon (Kurama notwithstanding, but he still fights a lot) in the show Especially considering who her brother is (OMG SPOILERS)

6. Winter Warlock - The Winter Warlock is the most nostalgic character on this list for me. I love the old stop-motion Christmas specials, and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town is perhaps my favorite, very much so due to this guy, well him and Burgermeister Meisterburger. A grumpy old, well, warlock, who's taught the gift of joy by Mr. Claus in one of the most catchy and stupidly amusing tunes in film history. He's  surprisingly deep character that probably goes through the biggest transition of anyone throughout the movies. And when he wants to be, he can be an all-powerful badass. Just call him "Gandalf The Sky
Blue."

5. Gray Fullbuster - Gray is the newest character on here, by quite a bit. I've recently gotten into the Fairy Tail anime, and Gray is one of the best characters. He has a deep and intense backstory, insanely powerful and creative magical abilities, and has shown unwavering dedication to his friends and willingness to leap into the heat of battle to defend what he loves or believes in. To the point that he's, on more than one occasion, shown a willingness to, and even attempted to off himself in order to protect those he cares for, and the world itself. Also, ice magic looks awesome, and when you can make a character who has a habit of removing his shirt seem like a total badass, that's elite writing.

4. Frozone - Frozone is just awesome incarnate. He's like Iceman voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. I really shouldn't need to say more, but I suppose I will. Frozone is a retired superhero called back to action when a new threat arrives (pretty simplistic, I know). But it's a lot more awesome when Samuel L. Jackson is balancing superheroing and being a family man. To be honestly, I can't go into a lot more depth as it's been a long time since I saw more than just clips from the movie, but I really don't need to. MACE WINDU AND JULES AS A SUPERHERO. Watch The Incredicles.

3. Mr. Freeze - Mr. Freeze is probably the best character here, he's jsut not my favorite. he's pretty much the definition of a tragic figure. After his wife was struck with a fatal illness, Victor Fries placed her in suspended animation until he was able to fund a cure, but due to his lack of funds, the corporation paying for his research pulled the plug, causing an accident leaving him cold-blooded and unable to survive at anything above sub zero temperatures. While he's not a bad person, he's so dedicated to saving his wife, that he'll commit any atrocity necessary to achieve his goals. I think that's some deep shit right there. Also, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays him in Batman & Robin and it's beyond hilarious, and needs to be experienced.

2. Sub-Zero - Sub-Zero was obviously a shoo-in. The ice-powered kung fu master is easily the msot recognizable ice-wielding character in gaming, and perhaps all of entertainment. With the ability to freeze people, make ice clones in a split second, generate awesome speed by sliding on his own ice, and the fact that he's a martial arts aficionado, that sometimes weilds a hugeass sword, and there's really no reason to not put him on here. His lore is surprisingly deep too, but I don't feel like going into it, he'd be here either way.

1. Iceman - This may seem like a lame choice, but hear me out. Iceman is a fucking badass. He has pretty much limitless ice power and ice-crafting capabilities, he's one of the strongest X-Men, he's a snarky ass much like The Flash but a tad less cocky, he's MADE OUT OF ICE BUT NEVER MELTS SOMEHOW CUZ HE'S A BOSS, he's just extremely fun to watch or read, and steals every scene he's in. Also, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is maybe my favorite fighting game, and my best character, (when I'm not fighting someone who's seen me use him a lot) is Iceman. He can wreck your shit from long range, close range, or he can knock you into the air and wail on you from above, and he has one of the only specials that covers almost the entire area in front of him. A little bit of bias, but that's the point of this, and he's awesome either way.






Hope you liked it, feel free to share, comment, follow me on Facebook: Syocotic Soliloquies, and Twitter @SycoMantis1991 (gonna try to post there more). And most of all, thank you.

Top 10 Dragon Ball Side Characters

Just like it says, my 10 favorite DB/Z/GT side characters. No main or movie villains, no "Z Fighters", no significant characters like Roshi, Bulma, etc. So, here it is...

10. Caterpy - There's not a whole lot known about this guy. All we really got was a quick introduction and one fight, one which he lost. But you can't deny how stupidly awesome this character is. First of all, his name is Caterpy. I'd like to think Game Freak were big DBZ fans. Not not mention, he's a giant, intergalactic, half-man, half-caterpillar that defeats his opponents by tickling them into submission, which I think Olibu sums up best when he says "South Quadrant must be a very peaceful place". When Goku finally lands a hit on him, he tears up and cocoons himself to achieve his ultimate form. The best part? Said form takes approximately 1,200 to achieve. He's just so useless yet so confident, it's awesome. I hope I get to see the time his final form hatches and just wrecks shit. Goku and Vegeta get sent from the dead, Bills tries to stop him, they're all just tossed aside. EVERYONE SHALL FEAR THE TERRIBLE MIGHT OF CATERPY!!!

9. Android 15 - There's even less known about 15, besides being pretty damn strong. He's basically a jive black man with sunglasses. He's like the Jynx of DBZ. I'm no racist, but I find this blatant stereotype to be hilarious. Also, he has huge pink lips and drinks out of a flask. He's an android that consumes alcohol. He's JYNX AND BENDER IN ONE. With a sombrero.

8. King Chappa - King Choppa oozes badass. He looks like Jules from Pulp Fiction if he was a karate master. When we see him for the first time, he's already past his prime, being a former champion of the World Martial Arts Tournament. He can move his fists so fast, that he invented his own "Eight-Handed Technique" which, as you'd probably guess, moves so fast that it seems the fist-to-face ratio has quadrupled in his favor. He gives Goku a great challenge in the 22nd Martial Arts Tournament, and not much of one in the 23rd. But come on, he's awesome. And he's still one of the stronger fighters in Dragon Ball. I wish we'd seen more of him at his best, when he won the title, he did so without being touched once all tournament. Does he LOOK  like a bitch!?

7. Monster Carrot - Monster Carrot is just pure awesome. he's an anthropomorphic rabbit dude, who knows martial arts, runs a gang in the desert, and solicits fear and power by turning townsfolk into carrots. Yeah, he knows martial arts, turns people into carrots, and is a RABBIT. WITH TOTALLY PIMPIN' SHADES. I know this isn't very long, but there isn't much known about or seen from him, he's just too epic to ignore.

6. Abo/Kado/Aka - For those who don't know, Abo and Cado are brothers who have been terrorizing the planet on which Vegeta's brother, Tarble resides. They're former high-ranking henchmen of Frieza's, whom since his death have grown in power to rival even Frieza himself. When pushed to their limits in battle, they perform an instantaneous fusion technique, that transforms them into Aka, and becoming even stronger. Unfortunately, they

showed up long after Frieza's demise, and therefore was were match for most of the Z fighters, to the point that even Yamcha was able to be of assistance against him. He presents an interesting measuring stick for how far Earth's warriors have come since Namek's destruction, and an entertainingly sad end to what years ago would be a deadly foe, and is to much of the galaxy. Also, AboKado? Fucking really!? I love it!

5. Uub - Uub is a special case, I thought about putting Giru here honestly, but he's basically a main character for the longest saga of GT. Uub on the other hand is severely underused. I mean, he's Goku's protege, and he's been seen competing with Goku without coming close to using his full power. Then later in GT, he fuses with Majin Buu, THE Majin Buu, and still gets destroyed. He's always one of the strongest, but there's always some way he's not allowed to compete. He has great potential to be what Gohan was intended to me as the next champion of Earth, and he's just robbed at every turn. He sacrifices part of who he is for a major power boost when he forms with Buu just to get owned by Baby, and he even has a chance to win the Martial Arts Tournament and Majin Buu's all like "ooh Mr. Satan's the champeen, you ain't allowed to beat him." Because having a new, young, super-powered champion would make the world feel so much less safe, as if they don't get that a guy in his 50's may be past his prime (no matter how fabricated that prime is to begin with). I know I went on a tangent, but he's a great character. Caring but tough, powerful with unlimited potential at a young age, and a totally selfless person resurrected from the once-great evil of Buu. But he gets cheated at every turn, even with the little screen-time he gets. He's basically the Tien Shinhan of GT, but with even less significance.

4. Baba's Four Champions - To start off, I'm not including her fifth fighter in this, because he's not really part of the group, he's more or less partaking in a mutual favor by fighting when he does in the show/manga. What I love about these four is, while being fairly tough as it is, their cheesy horror movie-ness is what makes them amazing. The first is Fangs The Vampire, he's a blue kickboxing vampire... that dances! Next is See-Through The Invisible Man, who (spoiler alert) is invisible. He likes to use his invisibility to pummel his opponents while spouting terrible puns. Next 

is bandages The Mummy, he's a stereotypical big dude wrapped in bandages, that uses those bandages to wrap up his opponents before using classic wrestling moves to beat them down, he also spew overly dramatic and "intimidating" dialogue that comes off as simply hilarious. Lastly, Spike The Devil man. Get it? Spike? Cuz of the horns?! He's by far the most powerful of the three, just as lame and cheesy in design and character, but manipulating the negativity of the world and concentrating it into powerful beam attacks. In short, these guys are awesome cheese incarnate. And I love cheese... Mmm...

3. Dabura - I'm sure most people who know their DBZ would guess this guy would be here. Dabura is the universally feared King of Demons. Sporting power superior to that of even Cell, and making him about  even with the average Super Saiyan 2. He's technically the 2nd strongest villain in DBZ history behind Buu, though unfortunately among the least fleshed out. He looks badass, he has an awesome voice. He uses an awesome sword, he's a wise fighter and excellent strategist. Even in his short tenure, he's pretty damn effective. He kills Kibito effortlessly, turns Piccolo and Krillin into stone, then fights about evenly with Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. He's stated as being measurably though not greatly stronger than Cell at his peak, and therefore, if he hadn't been under Babidi's influence and attacked Earth even a few years prior, he would have been a deadly threat with Gohan being the only one who could compete with hi, though not being used to ascending yet, even he could have fallen. Dabura's awesome, the end. Oh, and that sword kick ass. It shoots beams and shiz!

2. Nam - Nam is probably the greatest person/being on this list. A man who traveled cross-country to compete in the Martial Arts Tournament to earn the money to purchase water for his barren homeland (obviously not having traveled far enough to know how plentiful it is other places). He's proven to be pure of heart due to his ability to ride the Numbus Cloud, and one of Goku's toughest challenges in Dragon Ball. Utilizing great martial arts skills as well as the devastating Cross Arm Dive that's said to incapacitate the greatest of fighters for over a 

week. He's a rather simple character, but he's a great person and powerful character, stealing every scene he's in, and making the few times he has fun all the more epic. And he's one of the only characters to appear in all 3 Dragon Ball series', showing that even Toriyama and everyone else who's touched the franchise loves him just as much.

1. Pikkon - I knew who'd be number one before I started putting this list together. Pikkon just oozes epic. He's powerful enough to compete with a Super Saiyan 2 Goku, utilizes elemental attacks such as fire and wind, which is a nice departure from the different colored energy attacks seen in most of the show, he's a great character that's well-developed for his lack of screen time, and he raises so many questions. When he comes up, I often wish I could see him battling as the hero of his own planet, see what kind of villains he fought to attain the absurd power he has (I realize he trained after death, but so did others who dies prior and he wrecks them all), the world he comes from, etc. He's just so awesome, it makes me wish I knew more, and especially got to see more.

@SycoMantis1991, Facebook: Sycotic Soliloquies, leave comments, share please, etc. Love y'all

30 Day Video Game Challenge: Day 2

Favorite Video Game Character:

This one seems pretty impossible, but the first one that comes to mind is HK-47, and I can't think of anyone I clearly like more. He's a badass killing machine from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic that doubles as an awesome hacker/demolitions/security guy, and on top of that, he spouts hilarity like no one in, dare I say, the history of video games, his dry, stoic tone and twisted morals only making it exponentially more perfect. He's one of the many things that makes Knights of the Old Republic immeasurably epic.

30 Day Video Game Challenge: Day 1

Very First Video Game:

The two games I have the earliest memories of are one of the original Sonic games, and Street Fighter II. But, since I remember exactly which one it is, I'm gonna go with Street Fighter II. I spent hours a day at like 4 years old kicking ass as Blanka, Zangief, and Dhalsim. Even back then I refused to go with the popular fuckers. I sadly probably knew the button combinations a million times better then than I do 18 years later. Holy shit, I'm old. Yeah, Street Fighter II, still one of my favorite fighters.

Top 10 Underappreciated Game Franchises

Why "Underappreciated, you may ask. Well, none of these games are particularly underrated. In fact, all of them are rated highly. My issue is with the amount of people that know about and talk about them. henceforth, underrated! Anyway, here ya go...

10. Panzer Dragoon - On-rails Shooters in general aren't a huge market, but when the first Panzer Dragoon was announced, the video gaming world collectively shit themselves. The premise of the game is that you basically pilot an awesome laser-shooting dragon in a quest to save the world from other dragons. Dude. Holy shit! But, people are stupid. No good Sonic games meant poor sales for the Saturn, and in turn, poor sales for this game. It's a shame too, because the franchise is nothing but stellar throughout. The original is critically marveled, Panzer Dragoon Zwei  is better in every way, Panzer Dragoon Saga is an amazing RPG that could have spawned its own sub-series, and Panzer Dragoon Orta is a stellar Xbox title visually with perfect controls and an impressive story that shows the experience gained by making Saga an RPG. Alas, none of these games, three on the Saturn and one on the Xbox, sold very well at all, and Sega, understandably, canned the franchise. The only reason they're not higher is because only one game provides a lot of time allotted. They're all consider classics by the few that talk about them, which are far too few, and it doesn't help now, DOES IT?! YOU GUYS SUCK!!

9. Tomba! - Tomba! Was a (I hate saying this word but it fits too well) quirky action-platformer for the original Playstation. Growing up, and even today, I'm the only person I know that knows of it without me introducing it to them. I mean, how could anyone not love the idea of a pink-haired jungle boy chasing the evil pigs that stole his grandfather's bracelet. If that's not an earthshaking premise, what is?! Actually, now that I think about it, he actually reminds me a bit of Goku in the original Dragon Ball. In all seriousness though, both Tomba! and Tomba! 2 are excellent 2.5D platformers featuring over 130 levels each. Though not all are necessary to beating the main storyline, they're all fun and add a lot to the game as you throw pigs, beat them with maces, and fly around in a squirrel suit (yep, Tomba! did it way before Mario). The game is beautiful and highly detailed for the PS1, the gameplay is solid, the characters are awesome, and most of all, everything about it is amazing fun. Too bad you all HATE FUN!!

8. Ys - Honestly, I myself haven't known about these games for too long, but when I found out, I jumped on that shit... Hard... Like a nice, shapely, anyway, Ys is one of the longest running RPG franchises around. In its lifespan, between main releases and re-releases, Ys has appeared on 19 different consoles (20 if you count mobile phones). Yet, somehow, very few people seem to know it exists, despite almost everyone having a system to play it on. Every game in the series features great and unique combat, amazing art design, and some of the better stories in all of gaming. They've re-released every main title at least once, showing a dedication to improving and  their products to give the few fans they have the best experience possible. That kind of talent and passion, as well as the constantly putting their fans ahead of their own artistic arrogance, honestly deserves to be met with much more love and just plain a bigger audience than it currently possesses. Shame on you all!

7. Shenmue - I'm sure quite a few of you know these games exist, but I'm sure less of you have played it, and very few really appreciate what they did for gaming and what they were as not only games, but stories. I feel like Shenmue revolutionized story-telling in video games. Never had a game made a world and its characters so open (yeah, Shenmue did that, not GTA), and immersed you so richly in everything happening around you. For the first time, at least in a big budget game, you really got to live as the lead protagonist, creating a bond with him, his story, and those around him more than ever before. Of course, the actual story within was good, if it wasn't then none of this would matter. It's a heart-warming and motivating tale of tragedy, vengeance, and atonement, taking place in the biggest world video games had seen. And what did it get? The story of the original masterpiece, and especially its astounding sequel got cut short after two games due to poor sales not being able to match the tremendous budget needed to create the games. So due to poor marketing, insane expenses, making more copies of the original than there were Dreamcasts in existence, and a little bit of consumer ignorance, one of the best stories in gaming shall likely forever go without an end.

6. Gex - Ah, Gex. it's like Spyro meets James Bond, minus the shittiness of James Bond, plus awesome cliche movie and TV references. Honestly, as much as I love these games, there's not a whole lot more too them. They're based around Gex the Gecko, a couch potato obsessed with 80's movies and TV shows. He gets sucked into the television, another amusingly cliche movie homage, and must traverse through different movie-themed levels to get out. It's a 3D platformer, open world in the style of games like Spyro or Ratchet & Clank in that you're able to roam around yet there's still an established goal in order to progress past that certain level and ultimately beat the game. The controls are very tight, the humor is campy, stupid, drowned in references and cliches, but completely epic. There's not a lot more to say. Gex is a very fun, nostalgiac series for more than just its age, and isn't all that hard to find nowadays.

5. Bushido Blade - Bushido Blade may be, gameplay-wise, the most unique series on this list. Bushido Blade is a ninja fighting game unlike any other. It's slow and strategic, playing extremely similarly to how one would imagine a real sword fight (or sledgehammer or whatever you choose). Strategically placed strikes, blocks, and counters, the clashing of swords, and the looming knowledge that one well-placed hit will likely kill you. Or you might get lucky and simply lose the use of an arm or a leg, forcing you to battle with a major disadvantage, knowing you're almsot certain to fall from the next hit. It's incredibly realistic and precise, and it's probably the most intense fighter I've ever played, and one of the most intense video games in general, both the first and the second games. If you want a unique, realistic, intense fighting experience that's extremely rewarding and still very fun, PLAY IT NOW!!

4. Sparkster/Rocket Knight - The Sparkster games are elite among side-scrolling platformers. Swords, rocket jets, and mechs, perfect controlling side-scrolling through awesome environments, and the typical cheesy early 90's video game storyline, who could ask for more. Every game in the series (save the above average remake) is absolutely masterful. The first two games were Genesis/Mega Drive exclusives, and honestly, everything about these games is so amazing that I feel like if they'd marketed them like they did Sonic, or even in place of him, it could have made that console war an actual competition sales-wise. However, Sega didn't bother to buy the rights, so the third "spin-off" game made its way to the Super Nintendo and killed any hope of having another mascot to compete with Mario. As great as Konami is, they'd be gods amongst mortal game developers if this had become a long-running, console-selling series like it had the potential to be.

3. Disgaea - Disgaea is a stunningly underrated series. It has everything RPG fans look for. Awesome story, memorable characters, solid and tactical gameplay mechanics, humor, good dialogue, as well as many things that help sell games in the 21st century like Anime-style art, a huge game with tons of replayability, etc. But even with the sudden surge, at least among YouTube gamers, of the game's publisher, Atlus, this game has still gone terribly unheralded. Especially nowadays when everyone is either playing nothing but COD and Halo, or is looking for the furthest thing from those, you'd think someone famous among gamers would be like "HEY! DISGAEA! S'GOOD! S'GREAT! FFFFUCKING PLAY IT!!" Every game, and there are four main series games now, are all hilarious, intriguing, epic anime-inspired stories woven together by awesome characters, surprisingly solid English dubbing, and its own unique Strategy RPG battle system. Not to mention the expansive recruiting system that makes basically every playthrough different in terms of how you battle. This series really needs to be experienced to fully grasp what it's about, it really can't be explained in words.


2. Darkstalkers/Night Warriors (rant about Capcom's shit promotion of Resurrection) - The Darkstalkers series is a childhood favorite of mine. It was everything I love. Beautiful 2D Animation, monster movies, and fast-paces fighting games. You play as adaptations of classic characters such as The Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, sexy vampire chicks, the Sasquach, Lochness Monster, blah blah blah. Point is, it's awesome movie monsters duking it out with fast, tight controls, at the time revolutionary combo mechanics, an amazing art style, and brutal difficulty. Any fighting fan needs to pick up at least one of these games, or get Resurrection on Xbox Live or PSN. Ya know, since Capcom decided not to promote its release in the slightest so no one can buy it so they have a go-to when people bug them about a new Darkstalkers game!... Yeah, number 2, Darkstalkers.

1. Gargoyle's Quest/ - This is, by far, no question, the most underrated franchise in all of gaming. Three elite platformers, three different systems, unique gameplay still not replicated, and pure badassery throughout. The first two are 8-bit side scrolling classics with unique hovering mechanics and a dark but not too serious tone, classics, but not revolutionary. However, the third and final game, Demon's Crest, changes all that. Demon's Crest pushes the graphical capabilities of the Super Nintendo to its limit, rivaled only, in my opinion, by the likes of Castlevania: Dracula X. The gameplay is spot on, the levels are large in both length and height, making perfect use of the wall-grappling and hover mechanics, after defeating certain enemies, Firebrand gets unique forms that resemble the power-ups in Mega Man X, and the game itself is gritty, dark, awesome, and brutally difficult. Each game is among the best on their respective systems, but Demon's Crest is what pushes this series from number 7 or so to number one for me.


I know it's been a while, I've been trying really hard to figure out a way to make decent quality videos for this and find a way to record gameplay videos, both for my youtube channel. But alas, looks like that channel's sticking to rants for now. Though I'm considering a podcast-ey type format where I just tangent out the ass about a subject. Anyway, hope you liked it, follow @SycoMantis1991, youtube channel: Sycotic Soliloquies, yada yada. And leave comments/suggestions here or those places. I swear there will be more, I'm in the middle of working on three different lists, one gaming, one anime, and one music, so variety too.

Favorite Things from E3 this Year

I know this is late, I planned on making this into a video, but I can't find any quality free recorders or video editors. So yeah, now it's an obnoxiously late blog post. Anyway, you already saw the title, so just read.



10. Mad Max:
I'm a big fan of the Mad Max movies. Being 21, it's obviously very common to have grown up on late 70's/early 80's action films. I have weird tastes. Anyway, I heard a few months back that a new Mad Max film is being made, and honestly, I hope this isn't going to be a cashcow of a movie tie-in to that. Not that I don't trust the movie, I don't know enough to have any opinion whatsoever. i just know that those often flop no matter the movie, and I hope it's a project that instead, they work hard to translate one of the richest and most fun worlds in both sci-fi and action, into a rich and engaging personal experience. So in other words, I want the opposite of Avatar.


9. Destiny:

I honestly thought nothing, maybe even less than that, of Destiny prior to E3. But I have to admit, I was a big fan of at gameplay demo at Sony's press conference. When I heard "Bungie and Activision creating a first-person shooter", I immediately rolled my eyes and reached for the gun to put this industry out of its misery. "The people that shoved one of the best IPs of the last decade down our throats so much that I couldn't bare to touch it anymore teaming up with the assbags that have brought us such recent FPS classics as the Goldeneye remake, four other 007 games, the 2009 Wolfenstein game, and the Call of FUCKING Duty games. How could it go wrong?!. But, as it turns out, it looks pretty damn sweet. Not absolutely jaw-dropping, but it looks like a highly enjoyable first-person shooter. Which is not a sentence you'll hear very often from me, especially about new games. To not drone too much, the art style is really appealing, the powers look really fun and useful, the movement is so, SO smooth, and, even though it's been compared to the most average shooter in history, Borderlands, I think it's a lot more polished gameplay-wise than that or Bungie's former killer IP. I just hope there's a solo option, because I'm not always in the mood to tear through games with other jackholes I don't know. I'm not shitting myself for this game, but I do think it looks very enjoyable for a modern FPS.


8. Super Smash Bros. 4:

Yeah, this may be the least innovative title on this list. But fuck you, these games are awesome! And two big things put it on this list. 1: I'm getting a 3DS and have no clue if I'll have a Wii U anything near soon, and it's on the 3DS. 2: MEGA MAN!! MEGA MAN!!!he Wii Fit chick is amusingly awesome too, but Mega Man!!! Who doesn't want to see him take on Bowser? Yeah, Mario would be cool, but the character whose purpose in life is taking out bosses fighting the most famous of all? Come on! Plus, in addition to his Mega Buster, he's getting a bunch of other nifty power-ups from his past such as the Shoryuken, Crash Bomb, Leaf Shield, and Metal Blade from Mega Man 2, the Top Spin, Hard Knuckle, and Spark Shot from Mega Man 3, the Flame Blast from Mega Man 6, the Flame Sword from 8, the Slash Claw from 7, Super Arm from the original Mega Man, and Rush Coil from just about every Mega Man after 3. There's honestly not a shit ton to say about this one besides that. it's Smash Bros. Nintendo characters fighting to the death. The fucking END


7. Dragon Age: Inquisition:

I wish I was a lot, I mean A LOT more excited for this than I am. I was absolutely in love with Dragon Age: Origins. And I'm a borderline BioWare obsessive. Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old republic, Mass Effect, they're just... Just so good, I can't put it into words. But lately, pretty much since the moment EA bought BioWare, they've gone down the shitter. Sure, Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 were amazing, but those were both being created before said purchase occured. Dragon Age II was a massive disappointment. It was a lazy, ugly, unentertaining mess of a game. Solid animation and controls are pretty much the only things it had going for it, which isn't saying a lot for a story-centric RPG. Now with THE three masterminds of BioWare gone, Greg Zeschuk, Ray Muzyka, and Drew Karpyshyn, who by the way is among the better writers alive today, and knowing EA, it's very hard to trust this game. But I want SO BAD for this to be amazing. That's why it's as high as it is, though I expect it to be closer to the Birdemic than Citizen Kane of video games.

6. Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds/Yoshi's New Island:

Ok, these aren't exactly the most original games on the list, in fact, they're even less original than Smash Brothers. But at the same time, these are reboots of two of my favorite games of all time. Absolute classics that are the pinnacle of game design. Now I don't think these will be as great as the originals, but they both look like amazing adaptations that are different enough to be worth experiencing on their own. They'll both also hopefully bring new fans to the classic games they're modeled around. Also, I'm an old person so I like old people type games, so fuck off!!

5. South Park: The Stick of Truth:

I've loved South Park since I was a kid. It's probably the only show that can be as crude and simultaneously ingenious as it is. Most South Park games of the pas have been preeeeeeeeeetty fucking shit. South Park for the N64, Chef's Luv Shack, South Park Rally, all horrible, HORRIBLE abominations. And unfortunately, I've played each of those. But this time, there's actually a lot of promise. First of all, it actually has Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park, helping with a lot of the writing and animation. It's also being developed by Obsidian, a RPG developer well known for making amazing games out of existing source material such as Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights. I don't know a whole lot about the game, but since South park humor and Role-Playing games are two of my favorite things ever, I'm just a tad excited about this game.

4. Twitch/Ustream:

I know this is a bit off-topic since the last six have been video games, but I think it's awesome enough to warrant a place here. I've thought about doing streaming-ass shit for a bit now and it'll be cool to do so straight through my system without needing any extra adapters, assuming I can afford a PS4 eventually. Because, to be honest, I don't plan on owning a Xbox One, even if it does have Killer fucking Instinct. Bastards! So be prepared for that, and I apologize in advance.


3. Kingdom Hearts 3:

See what I did there? Number 3? Kingdom Hearts 3? Eh? EH?! Oh, fuck off! This is probably one on a lot of peoples' lists, and I'll admit that I shit myself when I saw the preview during the Sony conference. But I'm also very skeptical about it. Square Enix hasn't made a quality game in almost a decade, and it's pretty hard to trust that this will undoubtedly change all that. Yeah, I want it and I hope it's amazing and I can see it being so, I just don't see it as an inevitability. Besides, people are acting like we're starving for Kingdom Hearts games. I haven't played them all, but there have been eight releases since the original debuted in 2002, that's almost as often as Call of Duty releases its annual sixty dollar updates. So it's not the absolute most exciting thing from E3 to me. Though I can't wait to play it and hope it kicks ass. Though if it ends up sucking, maybe it'll be the kick in the face Square Enix needs to get their shit together.

2. Indiefuckinggames:

Those indie games. THOSE INDIE GAMES. Sony just fucking destroyed with that lineup. Every game looked amazing and fun, and is one of the big things that sold me on the system. Transistor, Octodad: Dadliest Catch Mercenary Kings, Secret Ponchos, Ray's the Dead, The Witness, Outlast, Galak-Z, and the Abe's Oddysee remake, Oddworld: New N' Tasty all look amazing and are all coming to the PS4 first. But there are also other balls-tastic indie games shown at E3, including Shovel Knight, Towerfall, and maybe the most personally exciting title, The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventure, a 2D action-platformer based on the YouTube legend that is The Angry Video Game Nerd. All of these look like amazing games and are some of the best shown off at E3 this year.

1. Pokemon X/Y:

I was hoping to avoid putting this at number one, to be honest. I'm a huge Pokemon fan, Have been since I was barely seven and got my first brand new Game Boy Color along with a copy of Pokemon Blue for Christmas waaaaaaaaay back in 1998. Holy balls, I'm old. But yeah, you probably think I'm a nostalgiac idiot for this, but I really am not looking forward to anything else nearly as much as this. I plan on getting a 3DS along with Y the day it comes out and good luck finding me after that. I've been anticipating this since it was announced in, I think February? Something like that. Some of the new designs are kinda blah, and some others are awesome. That's always how Pokemon is though. For every Charizard and Excadrill, there's an Exeggcute and a Vanillite. I'm more concerned with the game itself, and it looks to be the best yet. Riding on Pokemon, rollerblades, horde battles where you can battle a bunch of Pokemon at once to make leveling quicker, and gain an exp boost on top of that, sky battles, character customization, the works. Not to mention no fucking friend codes. I'm still waiting to hear whether I can bring my White 2 Pokemon to the fancy new game. Cuz, like, I have a lot, ya know. That'd kind of blow. As if that time wasn't enough of a waste. But I'm sure they'll figure that out. They did when they moved from GBA to DS so yeah. Wooooooooooooo, Pokemans!