Remember, Remember, The...

Gameplay - 5/10

Storyline - 8/10

Graphics - 6/10

Game Score : 19/30

Once upon a time when I was but a console gamer, I came across this game called Hunter: The Reckoning. Hunter: The Reckoning is a video game based on the role-playing game of the same name that was first released on May 21, 2002 in North America for the Xbox. Developed by High Voltage Software and published by Interplay Entertainment. The game starts off showing one year before the events of the actual game, four people are present at the execution (by electric chair) of convicted serial killer Nathaniel Arkady at Ashcroft Penitentiary: Spencer "Deuce" Wyatt, Samantha Alexander, Kassandra Cheyung, and Father Esteban Cortez. As the switch is thrown, the souls of the dead who suffered at the hands of the prison's warden and his supernatural staff rose up in vengeful rage, driven by evil to exact their vengeance upon the residents of Ashcroft. The four people who were present at Arkady's execution witnessed the uprising of the supernatural evil, and all four received a message in their minds (from benign supernatural beings called "The Messengers") to act against the vast supernatural force that threatened the entire population of Ashcroft. Choosing to heed their "Calling", the four became Imbued, and destroyed the evil inside the prison. The four Imbued locked the prison, sealing what was left of the evil inside, and left Ashcroft. Sounds like a pretty good back story huh?

Well I can honestly say this game is highly memorable for me but for all the wrong reasons, I don't think I have ever cursed as much as I did playing this and one other game, the true redeeming quality of this game is undoubtedly the storyline. This is due largely in part to the game being based on the pen-and-paper RPG of the same name. Sadly it was not enough for me to say I enjoyed playing this game; possibly I would have enjoyed watching someone play through instead of suffering through it myself. This game had a couple good ideas but executed them poorly, none greater than the fact that all four characters have to move in unison for the screen to progress and if someone gets left behind or doesn't move in order with the other three it makes game-play that much more cumbersome and difficult. Not to mention the fact that because of this limitation its much easier to engage the enemy in ranged combat even if your class isn't suited for range combat and ends up leaving you detached from the full experience of the class you chose.

The four classes (hunters) - the avenger, the martyr, the defender, and the judge are the varying types you can choose to play as:

1. The avenger, who sports the gruff outward appearance of a motorcycle gang member, is the strongest of the four characters. 
2. The young martyr is the fastest, and her attacks (which consist of dual pistols or knives) are also the quickest. 
3. The judge, who also happens to be a priest, wields a massive cruciform sword and a flimsy crossbow,
4. The defender is perhaps the most balanced of the four characters with her mixture of speed and power. She has a pretty strong pistol and sword as her default weapons, and she's the only character that has a healing spell.

I leave you with the most memorable boss fight in the game to either deter or entice you...

What Really Matters...

Ok, so your tired of being single or maybe you want a seemingly more meaningful experience than what you have become accustomed to; so you decide to get back into the dating scene in the hopes of finding the right partner for you. Whatever your criteria is we all have list of qualities that we are looking for, either its a big penis, thick lips or maybe you want a good Christian partner you can bring home to mom and dad, we all have a predefined perfect partner in mind that we want. However is that really the judgmental criteria we want to base our potential partner on right off the bat. Today we are going to look at some of the do's and don'ts that men and women should probably take into consideration before and during pursuing a relationship; most you should know already but there is nothing wrong with reinforcing the information.

So ladies your up first; now I know that every woman tends to be different but there are a lot of you in the world and some of you have to share the same if not similar qualities. Now I think I can safely say the majority of girls probably find this dude from Twilight pretty hot and minds have already started drifting but stay with me and refocus on the matter at hand. Everyone wants to be with someone that is good looking or great looking in his case but you should not make that the main qualifying trait to judge someone to be with. Like I said most should know this already but nothing wrong reinforcing the obvious; not all us guys can manage to look like this dude but for you we try. We know it helps grab your attention so we try to dress all cool and stuff so you will notice us so I implore you to work with a guy who is trying to be a proper gentleman (nice guy) even if he only can manage a two-pack and not the full 8 or 6. This goes without saying but please ladies never settle for being treated like crap regardless of the situation; just because he has a dick doesn't mean he is allowed to be one no matter how great he is. With that out of the way lets take a look at some of the things you can do to be a good girlfriend once you have found that person you want to be in a committed relationship with...

Now that we have touched on the women (*lol i said we touched the women*) lets talk about things from the mans point of view. Without a doubt that woman pictured on the left looks great; I have no idea of her personality or her background which is what should truly matter but seeing that kind of portrayal of her you cant blame me. Yes everyone loves eye candy but if your looking for a relationship its not so much about eye candy, its about a connection and finding similar and better traits in someone to be with that help complete you as a person. Whether she is really pretty or moderately pretty or average all girls deserve the right to be accepted and appreciated as they are. In todays society many women have some form of emotional baggage and we need to do our best as men to lighten that load instead of adding to it so that they themselves as women can grow and move past these issues that may be plaguing them. As men one of the most important things we need to remember is that we should love, honor and respect our females because they go through a lot on a day to day basis. As such one may run the risk of being called whipped or whatever but who are you trying to please in your relationship; your partner or your peers? Here's some tips to help you become a better boyfriend and in turn a better man...

The main cause for problems in relationships is the simple fact that males and females have different thought patterns and priorities. Any one event can be perceived totally different by a male and a female; this is due to the fact that males are logical creatures while females are emotional creatures. The sooner both parties can accept and understand this difference then the better they can cope and work together for the sake of each other and the relationship. Men should try to understand when something upsets your female counterpart even if you don't see the importance of it and just be there for her from an emotional standpoint to help her through the problem. Women if your man isn't seeing things from your point of view try not to take out your frustrations on him because at the end of the day if he is the man you have chosen to be with he should be the one that is always there at the end of the day to try and make things easier for you and help you solve whatever difficulties you are facing. A relationship is a two person team; one hand helps wash the other, I mean like can you sit there reading this and tell me its easy to wash your hand with the same hand? I did the math and thought about it and you can't; so hah!!

I'll end on this point; relationships are not easy, they require time, work and effort. That being said anything worthwhile is worth fighting for and that is the viewpoint one should take when in a worthwhile relationship. The aim is not to find your perfect partner as their is no such thing as a perfect person but instead to find a compatible partner that you can strive for perfection with as you support each other; flaws and all. Do not take your partner for granted for there will always be someone else at that exact given moment who is willing not to even if its only for that one moment.  Never forget the 3 C's: Care, Communicate, Compromise; the Christian affiliated can feel free to add Christ as a 4th C if they so desire. CARE enough to spend the time to try and COMMUNICATE with your partner, so that you can come together as one and COMPROMISE to solve the problem. Whenever things get tough think of all the good that you and the person have shared and ask yourself if you really want to throw that all away. A bird in the hand is always worth two in the bush if not more....

KNOWLEDGE; USE IT OR LOSE IT...

Do You Like Kart Racing..? I Like Kart Racing...

Gameplay - 10/10

Storyline - 6/10

Graphics - 8/10

Game Score : 24/30

If you are a console gamer or a PC gamer at some point or another you will have come across a kart racing game of sorts in your life span of gaming. Whether it be the old school Mario Kart, the later on Crash Team Racing or the new kid on the block Mod Nation Racing; kart racing games on a whole tend to have their own portion of the gaming genre to themselves without actually being a genre. I for one have played most if not all kart racing oriented games out there and Mario Kart is undoubtedly the king of that castle. Sadly as I moved away from being a console gamer to a PC gamer I quickly realized that there were no such games readily available on PC. As such people contended to play Nintendo 64 emulators with Mario Kart 64 for their enjoyment. As great as Mario Kart is in this day and age we are moving forward in terms of graphics and game engines and such so you can imagine my sorrow at having to stick it out with Mario Kart 64. Thankfully Sonic & Sega All Star Racing  was made finally and gave us the chance to experience something new and fresh helping many rediscover the joy that Mario Kart introduced us to all over again.

This game is undeniably fun, and if you grew up knowing a Sega Mega Drive, Saturn, Game Gear or Dreamcast you are bound to recognize many of the characters with the XBOX 360 version of the game having an extra special non-Sega affiliated addition to the racing roster. I really like how this game is structured and the impressive selection of racers that the game offers not to mention the individuality and game-play of each being a different experience in and of its own right. The main selling point of this game for me however is the fact that winning races depends more on skill than on the luck of a good power-up. Unlike Mario Kart where a blue shell or lightning strike can more or less guarantee a top 3 victory; Sega & Sonic All Star Racing offers no such guarantee. By playing through the game, players can earn Sega Miles that can be spent in the in-game shop to unlock additional content such as characters, tracks, and songs. The game features a total of 24 tracks based on locations from Sonic Heroes, Super Monkey Ball, Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, Jet Set Radio Future, Samba de Amigo, and The House of the Dead.