VGLosers.com- Totally Rad Video Game Review (GameTrailers.com)

Check out my new entry for the GameTrailers.com "Out Nerd the Nerd" contest!Mandalorian30 from VGLosers.com is out to review a totally rad video game, and he has his heart set on Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii. But the poor guy runs into problem after problem, and ends up with a review he is not so happy with.

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A Look at Hasbro's SDCC Exclusives

Well, San Diego Comic Con has come and gone this year. I wish I could have gone. But unfortunately, I live in Illinois, which is not so close to California. It would be hard enough for me to save up the money I would need to buy toys and comics, let alone travel expenses.

And the thing that always makes not going even worse are all of those wonderful Exclusives SDCC always gets. Sometimes I get lucky, and the same Exclusives are offered at Wizard world Chicago, which is a much more doable 3 hour drive for me. But for the most part, if there is something that I want, I have to rely on paying inflated prices on Ebay, or hoping I can find someone nice enough to sang what I want and ship it to me.

This year, Hasbro seemed to have a lot of really cool exclusives that I wanted to get my hands on. And due to how awesome Hasbro is, I was given my chance to get them at normal cost!

Hasbrotoyshop.com is a life saver. And a wallet saver. Habsro was able to list a limited quantity of several of their SDCC Exclusives for sale on their site shortly after SDCC ended. And I was lucky enough to pick a few of them up!

Now, just a forewarning: I have a hard time opening Exclusives. The packaging and such always ends up looking so cool on these figures, that I end up leaving them MOC or MIB, and I display them that way. That happened with every figure I recently purchased from Hasbro. So, you just have to deal with my pictures the way they are.

Let's start off by taking a look at Hasbro's Marvel Legends line, where they offered not one, but TWO cool exclusives this year. The first one is a She-Hulk in her Fantastic Four costume. It's a cool figure, but not one I felt I needed to buy. The only Exclusive ML I was interested in, was Stan "The Man" Lee!

Stan Lee gets his very first Marvel Legends action figure! I was wondering how long it would take to get this inevitable figure! And how sweet he is! The packaging on the figure is great in itself. A really cool window box displays the figure, with a fold up flap revealing Spider-Man accessories! Yes, Stan Lee's clothes are removable, revealing Spider-Man's costume! In reality, this is three figures in one! It can be Stan Lee, it can be Spider-man, or it can be Peter Parker! All of the parts are included to display the figure however you'd like! Very cool! It's almost a shame I'm leaving mine in the box. ;)

The next figure I was interested in is a part of Hasbro's new 25th Anniversery Collection of G.I. Joe figures! Many fans know this figure as "Pimp Daddy" Destro! This figure is a throwback to an old Destro figure that came out with the same wild paint scheme. the original figure is a rare find these days, as the outfit was so gaudy Hasbro immediately decided to switch his costume back to the black outfit Destro was known for. This figure also has a metallic head, available in either silver or gold. gold was already sold out, but that's OK with me. I like the silver one better.

And last but not least, my favorite collection of them all, Star Wars! The SDCC exclusive this year was part of the new Ralph McQuarrie Concept figures, which I absolutely love! these figures are based on Ralph's original artwork that helped bring George Lucas' vision to life! Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, packaged together, make up this awesome exclusive. And what a difference in design they are! Can you imagine if this is how they turned out int he films? This is a great two pack, and remains my favorite of the SDCC Exclusives I was able to snag.

I also was able to snag the R2-KT "Make a Wish" figure. This wasn't an SDCC exclusive, but it was an online exclusive, and it's for a good cause. I couldn't pass it up.

So, as you can see, I lucked out! I didn't even have to pay inflated prices for any of these figures! that's a win for the good guys! Take that, you scalper scum!

Until next time!

Six Flags doesn't have the mouse ears, but they do have Nintendo!

This past week, the girlfriend and I took a trip to Six Flags St. Louis for a nice little getaway from real life. Good thing we picked the hottest day of the year to go! Sheesh! It was terrible! The heat was so bad, I was so close to just peeling the sweat soaked clothes from my body, and run around the park naked the rest of the day. But, at least Six flags has a water park, which we did spend the earlier part of the day at. It was fun, but it was also the most crowded part of the park due to that God-awful heat.

I have been taking regular trips to Six Flags St. Louis since I was probably 5 years old. My family went there at least once every summer. As I got older and was able to drive, my friends and I would always buy season passes, and we'd go multiple times over the summer. After all, it's only an hour and a half from where I live. And you can't beat riding roller coasters and paying too much for food when you're bored.

Over the last year or so, I've noticed a steady change in Six Flags St. Louis. They have done quite a bit of remodelling. The park seems to be a tad cleaner. They are doing things now that they used to never do, or hardly o, such as parades. Loony Tunes and DC Comics characters are now constantly walking around the park. I used to never see characters as a kid. If I did, it was rare. But they are always out now. There are so many things that Six Flags is doing different, it immediately began to remind me and my girlfriend of another place. A place we both love and wish we could visit more often. A place we just visited in March. And that place is none other than Walt Disney World.

Yep. If you've been to WDW, or keep up on WDW park information, you'd notice it too. Six Flags is definitely taking a page out of Mickey's book. And while I applaud them for doing what they can to make their park a better, more enjoyable atmosphere, sometimes it just doesn't come off the right way. Let's take a look at some similarities.

We'll start with the characters. As I stated before, as a kid I rarely saw characters at Six Flags. They are now every where now. Marvin the Martian, Tweety, Daffy, and Bugs all the way to Robin, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash. you'll find them at various locations of the park, complete with a Six Flags employee by their side to help guide them around. They even have photographers following the characters around now who are there to take your picture, then hand you a little card that you can use to purchase the photo either at their photo booth, or online. If you've been to Disney, you are quite familiar with this process. I think it's all pretty cool, but my biggest problem is in the characters themselves.

For one, sometimes the costumes could be a little better. That one is directed mostly to the DC characters. Some of them just straight up look silly. Either the costume is just ugly, or the person inside the suit looks nothing like the character they are portraying. I don't need to see a pimply faced Flash, or a tubby Batman. Seriously.

My other issue is that the characters just don't seem to act, well, like the characters. In Disney, all of the character act as they would in one of their cartoons. They are lively, funny, and playful. At Six Flags, you can tell it's just some dude in a suit whose collecting a pay check. It immediately ruins the "magic" for me.

Another small similarity is Six Flags' version of Disney's Fast Pass, which the call the Flash Pass. This feature allows you to wait in line for a ride without actually standing in the line. Basically you are given a time to come back to the ride, and then you can walk right on. The only difference...SIX FLAGS CHARGE MONEY FOR THIS FEATURE! At Disney, it's free! Seriously, who is lazy enough to pay money just so they don't have to wait in lines. I just feel like Six Flags is really robbing people here.

The most pathetic encounter we had was when we walked in to one of the shops to find that it was a shop selling DISNEY MERCHANDISE! What?! on top of that, they were playing Disney music in the store. This store just confused me. Six Flags is a Warner Bros. park, right? Their icons are Looney tunes and DC comics, correct? So what's up with selling products of a company that could be considered your competition? Are they trying to snag some of their loot? Cash in on their success? That's what it seemed like to me. And I thought it was lame.

I probably look like this big jerk who hates Six Flags now. But I am far from wanting to light the place on fire or anything. I actually enjoy six Flags quite a bit. I just found myself comparing the place to WDW all day long. That may have something to do with my recent trip. Or maybe I need to lighten up. Who knows? But i do love me some Mr. Freeze. That coaster is...cool! Make sure you go back and read that sentence with an Arnold accent.

Oh, but one cool thing about Six Flags was The Wii Experience! All it was was a section set up in the park that had several Nintendo Wii's and a few Nintendo representatives there to tell you all about it's greatness! So, not only can you make yourself sick on the Shazaam!, you can now take a break to have a Wii Sports bowling game, or play some Twilight Princess! And it's FREE! Sweet!

OK, I think I've talked about Six Flags enough. A little off topic maybe? Nope, I talked about Nintendo. And it's my blog, so you'll read whatever I write. Booyah.