Still around. Just busy! (s)(t)

Okay, sorry for not writing since…well, almost a year ago. I’ve been really busy working on a lot of projects. One of them is making an old school RPG, which tells a story I’ve been trying to tell since high school, but have never been happy with. Turns out an RPG format is a great place for me to do it. Since I’m the only one working on all of it, its taking a while. Being daddy so much also takes a lot out of my free time.Running a pen-and-paper RPG for a group of players using Mutants and Masterminds 3rd Edition on top of it all.

I’ll get around to writing on this and my Playgrounds – The Chuck E. Cheese’s Terrors soon-ish. You may be getting to see a book published for the Lesser Known Legendary Creatures at some point in the future, too!

Most Dangerous and Dumb Christmas Gifts in 2020

It’s that time of year again. We visit family, drink, give gifts to friends, family, and sometimes even strangers, in hopes of getting gifts back (sexual or otherwise), and pretend to care about our fellow man. It’s also the time of year that W.A.T.C.H. puts out their list of “Dangerous Christmas Toys” for the year. While their list is nothing more than pushing a “No fun for you!” agenda on our children, we actually care. That’s why we do this. We just care so much.

Here’s a list of six of the most dangerous and dumb Christmas gifts in 2020 that W.A.T.C.H. intentionally or ignorantly refuses to list! Each image can be clicked for a full size view in another window.

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1. Bite Me Elmo
Nothing has been the same since Disney took over every single property in existence. While Sesame Street itself is not owned directly by Disney, they know how to throw their weight around and demand action, since they own the Muppets themselves.

This new toy, which is being billed as the “Natural Evolution of the Elmonian Race”, has a “karate chop action mouth”, whatever exactly that means, and a rubber tongue which is coated in a fluid you will need to eventually refill. The extremely sharp teeth have a laceration danger and the tongue shoots out at around Mach 3 to achieve a whip crack effect, leading to dangerous eye traumas. We don’t know about you, but this toy should never have come to market and no child should have to experience this unholy terror.

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2.Jingoku no Fuun’s Switch Hobo Collection
Nintendo is said to mean “Leave Luck To Heaven”, and they have created some of the most memorable videogame characters of all time. From Animal Crossing to Zelda, it seems they just can’t lose. They’ve even released a line of cardboard accessories for the Nintendo Switch. Leave it to Nintendo to make cardboard fun to play with…and have a premium price tag.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when you are this bad at it, can you really call it imitation? The Jingoku no Fuun’s (seems to have used Google translate to say “Bad Luck in Hell”) accessory is a soggy cardboard box with some knock off brand crayons with the claim of a “Lots ‘o fuckin’ colors!” This third party, unlicensed product does sport a low price point of $3.99 at most locations, but whatever causes the cardboard to be soggy, is also very sticky and bitter.

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3. Rabid Animal Babies
Who thought this was a good idea? According to the packaging:

Animals and their babies are adorable and lovable, but sometimes nature gets it wrong. Learn the horrors of rabies and the proper handling of infected animals! Ages 3+

Seriously…wtf? In this age of COVID-19 because someone ate a bat in China (semi-official claim) resulting in the outbreak of the Kung Flu, do we need to teach children it’s okay to handle disease infected animals? Look, we’re all for caring after sick and injured animals, several staff members have taken in the maimed critters from the Cat-apult Ultra 7 incident in 2018, we just don’t think it’s a good idea to teach children to approach animals foaming at the mouth. Let’s not also forget that this could possibly cause a zombie apocalypse with a mutated virus.

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4. “Dr.” Henry’s Grow Your Own Virus/Bacteria Kit!
Speaking of unnecessary and unacceptable gifts, what we have here is a kit which allows you to grow your own virus or bacteria. The fact that the title of doctor is in quotation marks seems to imply it’s just a made up title, like the Colonel in Colonel Sanders…

There is a small bit of warning on the package along with basic key information, which does warn people to not freeze the agar pads before placing them inside of your anus, but can you really trust it when the writing is that small?

We do applaud the company for adding in pre-made press release statements, but it seems to insinuate it is Chinese talking points to guide the American media. Everything from Swine Flu to SARS has come out of China (guess that’s what happens when you put a bio-engineering lab next to wet markets), so to have a kit with a pre-made Chinese press release to “guide pro-American attitudes” is just insulting, even if line with what is actually happening.

I’m all for kids learning science, but do we really need another Taylor Wilson but with world ending power? There’s a reason videogames such as Plague Inc exist: It’s a safe and secure way to learn about these things without murdering…well…everyone.

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5. Saturday Night Mommy
This doll is being billed as the “Most honest depiction of single mothers ever created.” While we cannot back this claim up, we can talk about how terrible a toy this is for children.

Saturday Night Mommy has color changing skin which reacts to hot, cold and pressure. With enough pressure applied (a finger flick is enough) the doll will go through all stages of blunt force trauma over the course of three minutes until it finally returns to normal. One of the accessories is a California compliant paper straw, but clothing is not sold with the toy. Also included is one and half ounces (!!!!) of cocaine, more than enough to really get this mommy through the weekend. For the price, getting that much cocaine is a deal, but we’d never endorse that, of course.

This does appear to be the progression of Friday Night: Coke Head Charlene, since it’s made by the same company with the same theme, only with a middle-aged, sagging, single-mother, not-even-my-step-father-wants-to-touch-me vibe. We support single moms. Most of us spend at least two hours at the local strip club, but giving a child enough cocaine to outpace a cheetah while legitimizing mommy’s bad habits, we cannot abide.

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6. My First Russian Roulette
Wh…wha…I mean…where to begin? Seriously?! We know depression, risky behavior, and suicides are up, but is this something we should be teaching our children? There’s so many things wrong with this…let’s get in to it.

First off, let’s talk about how there’s only one child shown in the picture. Russian roulette requires at least two people to play, otherwise you’re just going to lose no matter what.

Secondly, the game only comes with a place for four players…which is problem for the following reason…

Third, the are six bullets. Six Bullets. Six. In a Russian roulette game. In a Russian roulette game designed for four players. Let that sink in for a moment. Whoever goes first, loses. That’s not a game…that’s a trap.

Now, let’s talk about what they got right. The gun they provide is a revolver, not a semi-automatic. That’s it. With six bullets in a six bullet revolver, it’s an automatic “You Lose”, so it wouldn’t really matter, would it? Don’t buy this for your kids.

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There you have it, six more toys that W.A.T.C.H. didn’t care to report on. We scare because we care, they scare because fuck you. Merry Christmas.

Hubie Halloween: Is it worth watching on Netflix? (s)(t)

Okay, I watched “Hubie Halloween” so none of you have to suffer through it. I’m not going to give a detailed review because 1. I’m feeling sick and 2. I don’t feel like it, as there’s not much to really say.

It’s ok. It’s…just ok. Look, there are some parts that are incredibly funny for how much it caught me off guard. The entire thing with the women all wanting to dress up like Harley Quinn was HILARIOUS. The mother’s constant vulgar t-shirt slogans (Did I shave my balls for this? and more) was pretty funny. The “I’m a-sexual, but that bitch is making me horny” was out of left field and funny.

The overall movie? It’s trying to be something like Ernest Scared Stupid, but fails. It’s one long “Adam Sandler retard voice” movie, so be prepared to deal with that. Since it’s a Happy Madison Production, there are a lot of cameos and famous actors in this for no other reason to make you go, “HEY! It’s Shaq! LOOK! RAY LIOTTA!!!” Steve Buscemi does his best to be himself as well.

Sure there’s a little plot twist that I didn’t really see coming, which I did find to be funny, especially since they did this Sleepaway Camp style mouth open weird pose…which made me laugh my fucking ass off so hard I had to pause it.

Is it worth a watch? Well, you’re already paying for Netflix, sure! It’s stupid fun. There isn’t any nudity. Very little swearing. The comedy comes from the random statements people say or the quick sight gags. When they work, they work, and have me ROLLING…but the pacing between them is strange.

On a side note, I’m beginning to think Adam Sandler makes movies like this because this is how he thinks people see him: A low IQ, underachiever who’s worth more than what people are giving him credit for.

I give this a 7/10

I am still alive. Just doing projects (s)(t)

Yes, I’m still alive. Much like YouTuber content creators who suddenly disappear only for you to find out they’ve been working on something like a TV series, I’m still around, but I’m working on other projects.

I’m not giving up my blog. Hell no. I’m just engrossed in a lot of things. One of those things is making an RPG. It will not be my magnum opus, but it’s a story I’ve been wanting to tell for a very long time. Since my sophomore year in high school, actually. Having made it in written form, I was never truly happy with it. However, the JRPG genre is the perfect medium for this.

I haven’t touched making a game since I stopped using RPG Maker back when RPG Maker 2K was translated to English. I used to make RPG Maker 95 and RPG Maker XP games, to some acclaim.

Well, I may chronicle some of the process here with screen shots and things like that. I may even make the demo available through Google Drive at some point.

That’s it for now.

 

New Corona Virus Mutation: Covid-9 Teen

NEWS/HEALTH

^{By Sunrie | Sunrie Gaming | Updated March 15th, 2020}

A sudden corona virus mutation has recently surfaced and is far more deadly than the original strain. Most infected nation on Earth is now Japan.

Japan has just released a report detailing the mutation of the Corona Virus/Wuhan Flu/China Plague/Covid-19 disease. The outbreak has been stated to be infecting as many as 25,989, up from 15 earlier this week. Japan is unsure of where it originated, but the first case was from a teenage female, quickly followed by her friend an hour later.

America is also reporting sudden outbreaks among teens and people in their late twenties to early thirties. Those who are over the age of forty five do not seem to be exhibiting symptoms nor do those under thirteen years of age. Mike Pence released a statement early Sunday morning on 03/15/2020:

We are aware of the most recent outbreak and are taking appropriate action. We’re not exactly sure what the appropriate action is, so we’re just asking people to continue doing what they are doing now for the Corona Virus. The W.H.O. is telling everyone to stop hoarding toilet paper. I mean, seriously, what the fuck is your problem? Also, stop buying up bottled water. We’re not shutting off your water, you dumb shits.

The W.H.O. has classified the new  virus as Covid-9 Teen because of how the virus looks under an electron microscope. Not much is known as to how the disease originated, but they believe it could end up even more deadly than the original virus it mutated and perfused from. Below is an actual, factual look at one of the cultures taken by the W.H.O:

This version of the Covid virus has razor sharp claws it uses to cut open its prey. The tail can extend up to seven times the length of its body, which it uses to stab its prey and suck out the nutrients directly from the host. The horns seem to be there only for decoration, and that’s pretty cool.

The W.H.O. theorizes the disease disguises itself as a helpful cell, such as a B-Cell, and then goes on a rampage.  This is based off an interview with a dendritic cell who claimed they requested a dispatch of neutrophil into the lymphatic zone when he sensed something wrong. When the white cells showed up, they saw several B-cells hanging out and talking, but then suddenly began dying. Moments later Covid-9 Teen showed up and quickly overwhelmed them. Several macrophage engaged with a small team of killer T cells as backup, but the battle is ongoing.

Presidential candidate Joe Biden recently learned of the new virus and was heard making the following statement:

Wow! Look at that! Almost a lady, but not quite. It’s called what? Covid-9 Teen? Not nineteen, right? Perfect age range. Too bad it doesn’t have long hair. I love long hair. Especially blond hair, like on my legs the kids played with. I mean, it’s…it’s…look, you know the thing, right? All of…why did I stop? Who the fuck are you?!

Joe Biden then challenged every doctor, and the disease, to a push-up contest. When asked for comment on the contest, he sent us the statement that he won handily. Sources claim the push-up contest never happened and he had actually pooped his pants.

 

_{Sunrie is a parody and comedy writer. Honestly, if you think this entry is about something real then you’re an idiot. Regardless, you should continue to read other entries. It’s all pretty awesome.}

Little Known Legendary Creatures # 5 – Chihullama

In the fifth installment of Lesser Known Legendary Creatures we take a look at the noble Chihullama. Of all discussed legendary creatures thus far, this creature is the least remembered and is the origin of how chihuahuas and llamas came into existence as separate creatures.

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Origin
Where the legend originates is a bit of a mystery. Both the Peruvians and Mexicans have different stories of how the chihullama came to seperate into both the chihuahua and the llama, as well as where the creature was originally.

According to Mexican folklore documented in Libro Tonto de Los Muertos, written by Elver Galarga, the chihullama originated in Mexico and went south to Peru, becoming more of the llama (presented in original as written in Pidgin):

As the creature continued to move painimautim south, parts of the kaikai long belo began to disappear karamapim tok more of the llama began to take over. The large, rough terrain as horrible on the poor chihullama with its short blut i kamap karamapim tok legs. Longer fur karamapim tok wanpela longer blut i kamap was needed to keep the anka moving karamapim tok warm in the colder climates as it moved to the mountainous regions. Over time, balus bamim the llama remained karamapim tok that is why those lusim peruvians have llamas!

The Peruvians believe quite the opposite, feeling that the creature started completely as a llama and began to change into the chihuahua on its way to Mexico. Written in the historical document, Libro Masivo de Criaturas Locas, written by Pachuco Pollito el Hermoso, in the opening message to the reader:

Darlings, what is most important to remember about the chihullama is that it is a transitional creature, much like me. Originally nothing more than a llama, the magnificent creature was nothing more than a llama, but as the terrain changed to be more fit for the dirty, lazy streets of Mexico where it became the chihuahua, forced to hunt mice, sweethearts. Lazy wetbacks changed our noble creature into a street urchin!

Unsurprising, the occult book written by Reginald Scot, titled Demons in the New World, records the creature but in a slightly different light:

Chihullama are less of a demon and more of guiding spirit, helping those who travel up and down the connecting land between North and South America. Originally confined to El Salvador, the spirits were often trapped and taken with merchants to keep them company on the long trips, as well as ward off evil entities such as the El Cucuy and Luz Mala. Adapting to its new environments, the chihullama became smaller and more dog like moving into Mexico and more llama like moving down into Peru. Both people continue to fight over its origins.

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Powers
Known to have different powers depending on individual creatures itself, the chihullama is the original inspiration for The Little Ponies: Magical Friends. Each chihullama was said to possess one specific power, such as bringing rain, regulating sunshine, and even picking apples.

According to Falsum Libro Daemones, the Even Lesser Key of Solomon the King:

The fifteenth hundred point two spirit is the Chihullama. It is a mighty and noble creature with one of many abilities assigned to it at birth. While one chihullama may regulate the hours of the day, another may deliver mail. Dashing rainbows across the sky may be the signature of one creature, while making sculptures may be another. Each chihullama has but one power it can possess, but that does not limit the amount of creatures which may also have that particular power.

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Residence
As discussed before, there is some disagreement on where the chihullama originated to become the two creatures we know today, but one thing everyone agrees on is that Central America is where the creature was found in its full chihullama configuration. Because it is a mixture of the chihuahua and the llama, everyone also agrees it lived in more mountainous regions of Central America.

In modern day there have been reports of the creature in Volcán Tajumulco and Montañas Peña Blanca. People claim to see both the mostly black and the brown versions of the creature. Taken from one of the guest logs at the Cerro Chirripó visitor’s station, author unknown:

I couldn’t believe it! There my girlfriend and I were enjoying the view when suddenly the most noble creature I have ever seen came walking out of the tree line below us. At first my girlfriend and I didn’t believe what we were seeing, being that we were stoned out of our mind, but sure enough it was the chihullama! It had a long, shaggy neck like a llama, but the coloring, body, and head of a chihuahua. I’m pretty sure that’s good luck seeing it!!!

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Role in Modern Society
There isn’t much role for the creature in modern society as most people are happy with either a chihuahua or a llama. While the creature would be a great source of warmth thanks to a plush, thick coat and be unbelievably adorable, the mixture of a chihuahua barking out of control along with the humming of a llama would be unbearably annoying. Also, because the creature is somewhere between the size of a full grown llama and a chihuahua, it would be impossible to put one in a purse.

For those wishing to see the creature, it is absolutely inadvisable to try mating a llama with a chihuahua! Instead, book a trip to one of Central America’s many famous mountain ranges and believe with all your heart. Llamas like broccoli and chihuahuas actually really like cheese. Just be sure not to present cheese infested with Cheese Goblins. That would just be rude.

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Summoning and Spiritual Ranks
There is no known direct method of summoning the chihullama and they may even simply be attracted to a person with enough belief and love in their hearts for the creature.

Rank: Exousia
Sign: 29° – 53.32° Leo (July 23 – July 24)
Time of Day: Midday
Planet: Chiron
Metal: Densinium
Command: 8 Platoons
Tarot Card: Squatting Donkey

Mortal Kombat 11 Review by Sunrie (s)(t)

Nerd boners are raging hard right now with the release of Mortal Kombat 11. It’s been almost a solid four years since Mortal Kombat X was released and people have been begging for the next installment for years now. Was it worth the wait? You can either skip to the bottom like a loser, or you can read the entire review to form a more rounded opinion. Choice is yours.

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Plot

MKX left us with a very emo Raiden and Cassie Cage as the Earth’s victor. *sigh* Say what you will, that’s what happened in the last game. Now it’s several years later and Raiden is waging war on absolutely every realm which he finds to possibly, maybe, at some point, could be a threat to Earthrealm. With Liu Kang and Kitana ruling Netherrealm, Raiden feels he must attack them as soon as possible.

Enter Kronika, the game’s main antagonist. This new character is above the Elder Gods and she’s extremely powerful. Kind of…sort of…well, if she gets enough power to use her power, she’s extremely powerful. She controls time and weaves the destinies of all people in all the realms, but might also only be Earthrealm, unless you’ve visited Earthrealm… The game never really clears that up.

Look, to sum everything up, Kronika is beyond angry about Raiden shifting everything in total favor of Earthrealm and has decided to rebalance the universe by reversing time to a point in which Raiden could no longer exist. Good guys turn to bad guys, bad guys turn to good guys, and everything else is pretty gray.

Honestly, I’m doing a bad job representing the plot here. It works great in the game and is presented wonderfully.

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Story

Ah, the story! MK 9 had an amazing story. MK X had a pretty “meh” story. Injustice 2 had a terrible story. MK 11? It has an amazing story! I don’t know if they reassigned the writing team to the original ones or they hired people back, or even fired the old ones and hired new ones, but damn the new story is interesting. It’s put together in a solid way, the fights make sense, the character interactions are fun, and it doesn’t feel like it’s dragging on nor needless.

I won’t provide spoilers, but let’s just say it had some interesting surprises and mentions. Character motivations don’t feel shoehorned in just to make them appear at times for a fight, which is the biggest thing for me. Unlike in MK X, I feel like this was handled with care and actually thought out again. With the exception of one character, anyone you fight is in the roster. Sure Ed Boon said no NPC fights…well that was a fucking lie…but with that one exception, everyone in the story is in the roster.

Kronika herself is an interesting character and her guiding hand is what lead to the events of all Mortal Kombat games across all timelines. This includes ones we weren’t familiar with, but get to see glimpses of in The Krypt and mentions by other characters.

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Graphics

Before I get into controls, audio, and things like that, let’s talk graphics. You see that Johnny Cage over there to the left? See how badass that looks? Well, the entire game is like that. The facial scanning technology is even better than in Injustice 2 and moves even more realistically.

Arenas are multilayered with all kinds of things to look at while never actually distracting from the fight you’re focusing on. In one arena, Shinnok’s severed head sits wedged in a wall and mounted like a trophy. In another arena, you’ll see both the present and the past fighting for dominance as you spray blood across the battle field. Is an NPC wandering a little too close to the fighting action? Grab them and throw them at your opponent!!! It feels so good taking a tarkatan warrior by the belt and bashing your enemy in the face with it.

Special moves glow and explode in pure eye candy. When characters get hit, they react much more realistically than even before, and crushing blows (moves which do enhanced damage based on specific triggers) act as a quasi-x-ray move which can happen either automatically, or when you opt for the “Hold A Button” option.

Blood is…very satisfying. Blood and other liquids (see: Kano introductions in the game) will seek its own level and cover not only the ground, but the entire arena and even coat your fighter’s outfits. While the blood may not pour like a faucet, what does flow out of fighters is more than satisfying. You won’t see the characters taking battle damage like in the past, but thanks to the improved blood physics, you won’t miss it.

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Gameplay/Controls

How does the game play? Faster than the beta and slower than MK X. I like it! I really, really like it. I don’t feel like I’m being rushed down constantly by the AI or other players. It’s much more methodical this time around.

Inputting combos is still a little “dial-a-hit”, but the timing is much tighter this time around. You have to be pretty precise, and that will either make you a better player, or will make you frustrated in the online battles. Personally, I like it being a little less forgiving, because it means button mashing is even less likely to get you anywhere. Is it noob friendly? Somewhat, I guess.

Honestly, the controls aren’t super crispy, but they feel satisfying. My fingers have gotten a work out, let’s put it that way. Doing the Tutorial section will help you out in a lot of ways. I highly suggest at least playing the Frame Data Tutorial. Granted, it means absolutely dick shit against the computer, since the AI breaks all the rules whenever it feels like (Dear Developers: Stop programming One Button Specials and Button Reading into your fighting games and learn how to program actual AI, you lazy assholes. Sincerely, Everyone), but it did make the entire concept understandable for me, so anyone can learn it.

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Audio

Music is right on. It’s just catchy enough that you won’t be distracted by it, but you’ll definitely have your favorites. Thanks to the Krypt, which I will discuss mournfully later, you can unlock the tunes to listen to at any time. There’s some wild west influence in some of this music, and that’s not a bad thing.

Groans, grunts, screams, yelps, and laughs are fantastic. Beating your opponent mercilessly has never sounded this good. Ever. Period. I don’t care what other game you’re thinking of, this beats it.* Punching your enemy to bits like Liu Kang there will give you an instant boner no matter if you’re a boy or a girl. It’s that good.

Voice acting is good as well. I wouldn’t say it’s great, but it’s good. I know people complain about Rhonda Rousey’s acting as Sonya, but let me get something straight with everyone: No one else in the cast is Shakespeare level and no one is going to win an award for their work here. It all feels like it’s done on purpose to give it that old Kung Fu Theater vibe, and it’s fun.

*God of War (2018) is the one exception

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Features

It wouldn’t be a modern Mortal Kombat game without some additional features thrown in. Apart from Story, you have The Krypt, Towers of Time, Klassic Towers, Kollections, and Kustomize.

Story mode is your basic bread and butter mode to get you to understand what is going on and why. You get to play a variety of the characters, sometimes as a team, and other times alone. You do not get to play as the villians at all, which kind of sucks. You have the ability to go back and make other choices, when given to you, so you won’t miss out on anything. Nothing about the story changes, however, and it’s just there to give you another thing to experience. A lot of your costumes and accents are earned through this mode, so don’t skip it.

Towers of Time is much like the gimmick in Injustice 2 where you have a cretain amount of time to beat challenges to unlock gear and get konsumables. First off: FUCK KONSUMBABLES. Most of the towers can only be beaten by using these because the AI is completely jacked up. Netherrealm Studios has stated this is a mistake (I don’t believe them) and they are adjusting the difficulty. Whey do I think this is not a mistake? Because it makes you so infuriated you’ll want to buy “konsumable” items in packs through the online store. They just got so much backlash from this they are forced to change it. At least they acknowledged it. This goes for The Krypt, too, which I will address last, due to how angry I am over it.

Klassic Towers is exactly like the normal towers in MK X. You choose five through twelve fights to get your character’s endings, fight through an endurance tower where your health is carried over between each fight, and you have the unlimited battles tower to see just how far you can get against an increasingly cheating computer. Oh, did I forget to mention you can use konsumables in this selection of towers as well completely breaking everything? Yeah…fuck “konsumables”.

Kollections is just where you can view the items you’ve unlocked such as concept art and music. That’s all.

Kustomize is where you go to change out your costumes and adjust your skills and augments. It’s pretty cool, but extremely limited. You can’t adjust the colors yourself, so you’re forced to just pick the outfit and coloring you like the best with the items you’ve selected to accent your character. However, there is a lot to choose from, and you’ll pretty much be forced to either get extremely lucky to get the one you want, or you’ll just have to fork over the cash (up to $10 USA) for it. Why? Because of the fucked over Krypt.

The Krypt is a joke. There are more items than there are treasure chests, so you’ll have to spend even more of your first type of currency to reset the chests in order to have a slight chance to get what you want. It’s 2,000 gold pieces PER CHEST to reset, and with chests costing up to 25,000 gold to open, you’ll need a lot of gold. Then there’s the “Soul Tokens”, which you get at a very slow rate compared to gold. One area requires 2,00 souls in order to unlock it, and every other chest requires 100 souls. Guess how many souls you get by playing? Not enough.

Then there’s the Hearts…Except for “Special Chests”, which require 100 hearts, every other chest which takes hearts (these have Shao Kahn’s bust on them) requires 250 hearts. Problem with this? You get ONE HEART PER FATILITY and TWO HEARTS PER BRUTALITY. So, that means you have to beat, at minimum, 125 opponents and end the rounds with a Brutality, or defeat 250 characters with a Fatality just to open ONE CHEST, which contains an RNG character skin. Oh, and no, couch co-op does NOT give you hearts, so don’t try to cheat it that way.

That’s not the end of it, either…to use one of the items which is required to find certain chests and passageways, it costs you Soul Tokens to use. Every second it drains 2 Soul Tokens. So…pony up and pay, bitches. Again, Netherrealm Studios has acknowledged the backlash, so they are “adjusting the economy”. No one knows what this means as of now.

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Kontroversy

I didn’t have to spell it with a “K”, I just wanted to.

Many, many, many man babies are crying over the fact the characters look more realistic. In any other videogame this would be a great thing, but not here in Mortal Kombat, I guess. They’re also complaining that the female fighters don’t have their tits, ass, and pussy hanging out of their costumes, but feel that the male characters are overly sexualized. These people are absolutely dumb shits. That is a fact, not an opinion. The characters have never looked better and the costume designs have never been more impressive.

The other thing is Ed Boon claimed there would be no loot boxes, but the game introduces three currencies, one of which is literally called a “premium currency”, much like those free to play mobile games. The entire economy of the game is based around microtransactions, and The Krypt is one big loot box filled with RNG bullshit no one wanted or asked for. You cannot, and I repeat cannot, go onto the internet and look up where to find what you want, since it will be different for everyone. Oh, but don’t worry, you can pay $5.00 (USA) for the outfit you want and up to $20.00 for a pack of them. Know what? Fuck you guys at Netherrealm Studios for doing this. I will not praise you fixing this, as it is a problem you created in the first place. Just get it fixed.

Let me not forget to mention how you 100% need to be online to keep any of the items you unlock. In order to “protect the online store”, the game has to access the servers in order to validate you actually have the right to have it. I’ve had the servers go down on me a few times, making me lose progress, and my internet took a dump on me another time, which made me lose progress as well. It’s infuriating and anti-consumer.

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FINAL SCORE: 8/10 Nerd Boners

Even with The Krypt, Towers of Time, and the economy of the game completely fucked, it’s a solid 8 out of 10 nerd boners from me. Once the issues have been fixed, if they ever are correctly fixed, then I’ll give it a 10/10.

Should you rent or buy? If you love Mortal Kombat, then get it now. RIGHT NOW. If you like fighting games, then wait a year until the “full version” comes out, with all the fixes, adjustments, and characters available to you right away. I got the Kollector’s Edition and feel very satisfied with my purchase.

To the person who has bookmarked my site on the Little Mermaid entry…

Come on, brah. Do you not realize I know when you visit my writings I can see where you entered in from? I’m glad you’re inflating the stats for that entry, but seriously, book mark the main site: Sunrie.Wordpress.Com. Get with the program.

“Be saved, my child, from your stupidity, or else I’ll break a shotgun off up yo’ ass” – Dude-aronomy 3:14

Monetization practice for Borderlands 3 has been leaked…and it’s not good news

When Borderlands 3 was announced to release on September 13, 2019 the Internet lost their minds. This made not only Randy Pitchford happy to the point he actually discouraged his employees from openly insulting any customers for 24 hours on Twitter, but Strauss Zelneck (CEO of Take-Two Interactive) was so overwhelmed by the reactions he immediately began shoving endangered species full of money to preserve them on his walls and smoking cigars wrapped in $100 (USA) bills.

Microtransactions have been the source of massive contention in the gaming world for consumers. Few games lend themselves to the absolutely abusive nature as the Borderlands franchise. As if we needed specific proof to the greed of Take-Two Interactive and the gaming industry in general, the monetization practice for Borderlands 3 has been leaked and let’s just say it’s not good for the consumers. Originally released by Kojaku Magazine, a somewhat controversial gaming webzine, these are the following microtransactions they claim will be available in the upcoming Borderlands 3 game.

• Eridium in blocks of 5, 10, 20, and 100
  Players will have the option to purchase the first premium currency, Eridium, in groups to make upgrades at a faster rate.

• Seriph Crystals in blocks of 1, 5, and 10
  Players will have the option to purchase the upgraded premium currency, Seriph Crystals, which are required to update guns to higher levels and provide increased bank and player backpack space.

• 100% Upgraded Backpack Space
  Players will be able to upgrade their Vault Hunter to carry the maximum number of weapons and items immediately, however, until the player reaches level 25 in game, the space will be provided at intervals every 5 levels until they reach their maximum. This frees up Seriph Crystals for use in other areas.

• 100% Bank Space Upgrade
  Players will be able to upgrade their bank space to maximum immediately.

• Gun Upgrade in blocks of 1, 3, and 5
  Players will be able to purchase an immediate upgrade to their weapon, bringing the power and stats up to their current level. Players can purchase one, three, or five upgrades at a time in order bring up to five guns to their current level.

• Increased Ammo Capacity (All Weapons)
  Players have the option to purchase the ability to carry the maximum amount of ammo immediately instead of collecting Eridium for the upgrade in-game. Until level 25, players will be given the upgrade every 5 levels until the maximum has been reached.

• Area Unlocks
  Players will be able to unlock other areas in the game without having to collect Eridium to power the keys.

• Character Level +1, +5, +10
  Players have the option to level up their characters by one, five, or ten levels in order to beat areas they may be having trouble with. 

• Skill Points +1, +2, +3
  Players have the option to get skill points without having to level up. This does not add skill points to characters, and instead grants the skill points early.

• Retro Warriors (Individual/Group Pass)
  Not included in the Season Pass, this allows players to buy characters from past games to use in the Borderlands 3 during a New Game+*.

• New Game+
  This allows a player to start the game all over, as a level 1, but with access to all weapons, items, and areas previously unlocked. All items, weapons, and areas will maintain their original power and levels, but will be usable immediately.

• Remove Level Requirement
  Playesr have the option to remove the level requirement from a weapon they have found if they do not currently meet it.

• Ultimate Vault Hunter
  This allows the most aggressive challenge to those who want it! Enemies level scale as high as your character does and provides increasingly better loot.

• Second Active Character
  Players have the ability to run two character saves at the same time instead of having to archive their previous character.

• New Characters To Be Announced
  These will be available separate from the season pass and will be announced at a future date.

Are we honestly surprised at this point to the extent of greed these gaming companies have? Maybe things can be changed much like the EA Star Wars: Battlefront 2 fiasco was. Only time will tell.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sunrie is the editor-in-chief and head writer for Ramblings From the Sunrie and has been since the founding of the site since it first appeared on Open Diary, then on Xanga, and now on WordPress.

Cars by Pixar is Stupid

Pixar has done well for themselves. Good for them. However, some of their movies just don’t make sense. I’m not talking about how the entire “play dead” mechanic in Toy Story could never work, or how I find it extremely unbelievable no one in the entire Monsters Inc universe didn’t realize laughing could provide so much power from 1313 until 2001. Even though there are quite a few worlds they have built which are just flat out broken, the one I’m going to focus on right now is Cars. I’m not going to recap the entire movie, but I will bring a few things up.

This movie…good lord. The premise itself just doesn’t work. Nothing about the world they made seems to make much sense. The catalyst of everything, Lightening McQueen (drawn above), gets separated from his vehicle hauler…okay, whoa, let me back up a bit because I literally just realized how dumb this is from right here because this ties into what I was going to bring up.

So, we have world populated by only vehicles. In this movie, it’s all motor vehicles, such as trucks, sedans, mini-vans, low-riders (racist stereotype being portrayed as Mexicans), and things like that. There is nothing in the world which explains how each vehicle ends up being the type of vehicle it is nor why. Are tow-trucks just born to be tow-trucks? Are mini-vans born to just be mini-vans? Are plows just born to be plows? Does what one of these things decide to do dictate what they look like…like Transformers??? Well, the answer is “Fuck you. Watch the movie and don’t ask questions.”

Lightening McQueen is a race car. He just is. He’s pretty much one of the best, but is getting cocky. There’s even a very strange and disturbing sexual skit early on in which two identical cars shine their headlamps at him. Yes, that’s right, two female cars literally flash our “hero”. He even reacts like he just saw boobies, too, and they giggle like teenagers, as it’s hinted that they are very young, and pretend to be embarrassed for all of a second.

Anyway, our “hero” is preparing to get to his next race and drives into the rear end of his big-rig trailer. Remember, this is a world populated by nothing more than vehicles, so this is like Michael Phelps climbing into a backpack to be carried to his next swimming match by one of his assistants. I know this may seem like I’m stretching things a bit and reaching, but think about it…this isn’t the same as someone driving you. You don’t climb into or onto a person and have them move you to where you’re going under their own power. It’s exactly like pulling a small kid in a wagon or carrying an infant in a baby carrier that’s made of your own body parts or the body parts of other humans. Disturbing, right? I thought so, too.

This brings me back to where I was originally going to start. The movie pretty much kicks off once Lightening McQueen gets separated from the rig he was being transported in. He tries to catch up by driving extremely fast down the road, which gets the attention of a police car who chases him down to arrest him for speeding. I have a huge problem with this. Why is the police officer chasing him? Driving too fast? He’s a car…not a driver. This entire world is populated by vehicles, not people, and the vehicle is controlling itself. Just like the absurdity of crawling inside another being to get transported to someplace else (like a parasite, bacteria, or virus…), this is literally like the police chasing down Usain Bolt for being out on a run, or arresting people while jogging for exercise. Say what you will about the nature of police in America, but I’m just not seeing why this is even a thing in the universe of Cars.

Can you imagine being out on a morning 10K run for training and the next thing you know you’re getting your ass handed to you by the local police because you were moving too fast? That’s pretty much exactly what happens to our “hero” here. What fresh 1984 hell does Cars take place in?! It’s almost like Animal Farm, but stupid.

Now let’s throw in my other problem with the movie, which is something I have an issue with in pretty much all movies, especially children’s movies: Romance Sub-Plot. Why, oh, god, why, is there a romance sub-plot? It’s a movie about sentient, sapient motor vehicles focused on a racer who is too cocky for his own good. Do we really need a sexualized vehicle for our “hero” to fawn all over? Does the target audience have the maturity range and experience to appreciate this nuance of the story? I’m pretty sure most of the target demographics still think boys/girls are gross and don’t even have the understanding their parents are a boy and a girl…they’re just “Mom” and “Dad” still.

Just like most other stories and movies with absolutely nothing else to motivate the main character or make anyone remotely likable, the entire point of this romantic sub-plot is to be motivation for the main character, Lightening McQueen and provide something for a female lead to do: Be pretty to drive the plot forward. After all, everyone knows a woman in these stories can’t be separate or provide a means forward in the story by herself, unless she’s the single focus character in her own story, and even then, she has to be so overwhelmed by the fact she’s even just living that we’re happy to see her reach mediocrity by anyone’s standards. Likewise, the main character in these types of stories simply cannot have the motivation for doing what he desires without doing it to provide a nice big ego boost and status symbol for the woman.

Wait…what? The movies Blade and Terminator 2 showed you don’t have to put this type of dynamic into a movie with strong female characters and one of them is the main focus character in the movie? Well, fuck my ass sideways on a Sunday while calling me Victoria! You’re right! It can be done!

Screw this movie and the world they built. The entire thing makes no sense and the only thing worse is Planes. Yes. That’s real.