Uncategorized

Retrospective: Breath of the Wild

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Image result for breath of the wild art

From mobygames.com

Breath of the Wild (BoTW), the most recent installment of the The Legend of Zelda series, has been rated extremely high by critics and fans alike.  It’s almost been two years since the game came out, but it’s one of those games that you can play over and over again, because it’s not heavily story driven.  This is just a post looking back at one of the most fun games I’ve ever played.

Image result for breath of the wild art

Just a little side note, but since the game’s release in March of 2017, there have been two DLC packs, both being released in 2017 as well.  The second one is more story packed, while the first one is mostly just a trial, and some items.  The first one is called “The Trial of the Sword”, because you can upgrade the Master Sword, a pretty good weapon in the game.  The second one is called “The Champions’ Ballad”, and has a whole new story to follow, with some items as well.

Image result for botw divine beast

From goombastop.com

OK, we get this game was good, but why?  The exploration aspect of the game was it’s main way it was considered a good game.  The combat was alright, and the dungeons, although few, were decent.  The story was good, apart from it being stretched a little thin (because the game was open world) and Link (who you play as) waking up with amnesia (because this is a bit of a trope in stories).  The final and fifth dungeon of the game–Hyrule Castle–had a great atmosphere, with great music, and some nice story.  You could find certain lore and text within the castle, and some side quests even involve going into the castle and coming back out.

Image result for botw hyrule castle

From zelda.gamepedia.com

The artstyle of the game fit really well for the game.  The world looked amazing, and that greatly helped the exploration of the game.  Most of the world, although barren from enemies and towns, looked astounding.  Many unique areas were added, and the world had a lot of places very different from each other.  There were 7 cities/towns in total, though I wish these areas were a bit larger and had more NPCs (non-playable character) in them to make them feel more alive.  Zora’s Domain and Gerudo Town were really cool, but all the towns could’ve been larger.

Image result for botw calamity ganon

From ign.com

Even with some flaws within the game, the game just knocked certain aspects out of the ballpark.  This is why BoTW is a great game, and definitely one of the greatest games of all time.  I didn’t want to give a full analysis, as that would take way too long, but I just wanted to give some thoughts I had about the game, especially since the two year mark is approaching since this game’s release.  See you guys in the next post.

Image result for botw cool in game scenes

From imgur.com

^^^Definitely the best highlight of this game

Nerdy, Uncategorized

One Strange Thing Our Body Does

9 Comments

You’ve probably heard the joke where someone asks,” Hey, if you cut your leg off, would you feel pain?”  This sounds like a dumb question, because it is.  You would be like, “Well of course you would, idiot.”  Your friend would say, “But where do you feel it.”  You would say, “In your leg…”And your friend would just go on with this.  Now what does this have to do with strange science?  Well, out of the many weird things the human body is capable of, one completely doesn’t care about how your leg is gone, and how you can still feel pain there.  Although, you know, you’d feel pain in the nerves on the edge of the cut, there’s another possible way of pain.  Phantom limb is that way.

Phantom limb is a sensation that your limb or part of your body is still there, even after it has been removed or cut.  Usually, these sensations are painful.  It is extremely common for amputated people to experience phantom limb.  First described by French surgeon Ambroise Paré, who operated on soldiers, who described pain in amputated parts in 1552.

Image result for phantom limb

From npr.org

Phantom limb is not 100% figured out yet, but one interesting therapy caught my attention.  The mirror box therapy is where you essentially trick your body into seeing the phantom limb, and moving it out of its painful position, as most patients “feel” their phantom limb as being contorted and distorted.  It has had some success, but doesn’t work all the time.  Pain medication can help alleviate pain as well.

Image result for phantom limb

From researchgate.net

Phantom limb can occur from any part of your body being removed, even teeth.  It really only applies to cells that would send sensory information to your nerves, so phantom hair is not a thing (at least I’m certain of it).  Phantom limb syndrome is a strange occurrence for sure.

The main causes of phantom limb syndrome are virtually unknown, but scientists have estimated there are numerous mechanisms that contribute to it.  All hypotheses have failed, and do not independently explain phantom limb.  Some believe it’s just junk input from the peripheral nervous system, others think it’s due to reorganization of the parts of the brain, like the somatosensory cortex.  Who knows, phantom limbs are weird.

So, what do you guys think about this?  Is this your first time hearing about this?  When I first heard about this, I was confused.  The brain and its mechanisms are really complicated.  The brain, taking up roughly 3% of total body weight, takes up roughly 20% of energy used.

Nerdy, Open World Games, Video Games

Become an Assassin…by not actually being an assassin and being a mercenary

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Image result for assassin's creed odyssey
From assassinscreed.wikia.com

Back in October, the amazing game Assassin’s Creed:  Odyssey came out, and boy am I happy it did.  I haven’t played that many Assassin’s Creed games, and the only one I truly finished was Syndicate, I don’t have that much experience with the franchise as a whole.  Odyssey takes place in ancient Greece, during the Peloponnesian war.  It has a really large map, and highly encourages exploration.

Sailing has been pretty big in some of the games, and it really is in Odyssey.  Ship fights are really annoying sometimes, so I generally try to avoid them.  Sometimes, you have to go against a lot of ships, and it can get messy.  That’s why it’s important to stop by the shore and save A LOT.  Saving is super important, especially when playing on the hardest difficulty, nightmare mode.  I wanted to try that, and it really encourages me to try and assassinate people rather than straight up fight.

The RPG-style of the game makes me like it too.  It really makes sure you only go for things your level, as almost everything you fight is your level or higher.  The enemies go up in level with you, so that it always remains balanced.  Except when you explore an area and literally every enemy is like level 50.  Balanced as all things should be, yeah right.

There are so many things to do in Odyssey, so you really want to know how to focus on what’s important.  There are a lot of irrelevant quests that aren’t true sidequests, and are usually your basic fetch quest type.  Others are very complex and last long; those are the quests you want to do.

There are some animals you can hunt for various materials.  Some animals are even bosses.  For example, the Kalydonian Boar is a boss off of one of the “good” sidequests.  I’ve tried to beat it, still haven’t.  The boar is an actual cheat code.  It can spawn up to four boars at a time, which do a lot of damage with charging, and have tons of health.  There’s a cheese method to deal with the boar spawning, because the boss boar by itself is not hard, IT’S ALL THE BOARS CHARGING YOU.  The boar won’t spawn in more boars unless the boars die, so you can just knock them out with paralyzing arrows.

Anyways, it’s a fun game, try it.

Nerdy, Video Games

Smashing is Fun

20 Comments

Cool game.  That’s all I have to say.

It’s been almost two weeks since this game has come out, and man, am I enjoying it.  The intro song is amazing by the way.  The gameplay is amazing.  The graphics are amazing.  Everything is amazing, except some absolute queso within the game, but that’s more so based on the players, not the game.

I have a lot of mains now, mostly just the entire Zelda and Metroid character list, Richter, and that’s about it.  For me, Zelda, Zero Suit Samus, and Ganondorf (not really) are fun to play with.  The maps are nice, but stage hazards can be annoying, so it’s best to turn them off, or the stage will beat you, not your opponent.

Link, my original main, has the best side smash if I’m correct, and it can be ridiculous if you time it right.  Ganondorf also has a nice one, it’s just easy to dodge.  But if you get hit with that three times from 0.0%, you’re done for.  I generally don’t like fast characters, and am more into medium to fast speed characters.  I’m not into heavies too much, but I am generally more favorable of them compared to lighter characters.  Playing Ridley is fun, come on.  Unless you drag yourself off the edge of the map with him, which sucks.

I haven’t really played online yet, but I will in winter break.  I’m pumped to go and beat some scrubs online (you know who you are).  “THEY AIN’T READY FOR THIS”, is what I’ll probably say.

Anyways, go and play the game.  It’s literally the best, so play.  See you guys till next time.  And as always, stay nerdy.

Image result for super smash bros ultimate gameplay link

From technobuffalo.com

 

Nerdy, Star Wars

Are the Lightsabers from Star Wars even somewhat realistic?

10 Comments

Finally, something truly nerdy.  I’m sure you all have thought of this before, and you probably already know the answer, but do you know why lightsabers aren’t realistic (or at least the way Star Wars portrays them).  Of course, it is just Sci-Fi, but the whole point of being a nerd is to overanalyze Sci-Fi things.  So just hear me out.

Image result for lightsaber in movie

From starwars.com

First thing’s first, the basic premise of a lightsaber is actually realistic.  In theory, lightsabers can be made.  The actual blade would be made of plasma, and you would need something creating a magnetic field, so probably a retractable rod in the middle with a cap at the end.  You would need to make sure that the plasma is not hot enough to melt or sublime the materials in the lightsaber, so perhaps Tungsten could be used.  There are other ways of insulation, but to actually cut stuff like how the lightsabers in the movie cut stuff, the lightsaber would be well over 1000 Degrees Celsius.  Tungsten has the highest melting point for any material we know of, so on the lower scale of a lightsaber, it could work.  The making of the blade could actually work (as far as my knowledge goes), but there are a lot of other reasons why lightsabers are NOT practical, sadly.  🙁

Lightsabers produce a LOT of HEAT.  At least 1000 Degrees Celsius would be produced.  This heat would kill any life form within a certain radius, so Luke Skywalker and Kenobi would’ve been burnt up in the above picture.  Plus, all organisms would explode.  Heat can expand matter, specifically when a liquid goes to a gas.  The water inside your body would literally make you explode, and hot water vapor (steam) would go everywhere.  This is the main issue of lightsabers, so you would have to use a special suit, and be really careful with that thing.

The other main reason lightsabers aren’t practical are the amount of energy needed to power a lightsaber.  A lightsaber can output about 1.69 Gigajoules of power, or is at least capable of doing so.  This was taken from context.capp.ca

First of all, we don’t have batteries with energy densities capable of doing that, but if we did, that would be one really expensive charge.  In the Star Wars universe, I’m pretty sure the crystals that power lightsabers are self-rechargeable (somehow) and they must give a lot of power.  Also, which I just found out, lightsabers don’t output energy until they interact with a solid object.  This still doesn’t actually solve the heat problem, as dust is a thing, and then you’d burn up regardless.

Image result for star wars lightsaber duel

From starwars.wikia.com

At the end of the day, it’s just Sci-Fi and entertainment.  It’s always nice when Sci-Fi creators go through and think about how the science of what’s in the content makes sense, but it’s not necessary.  Lightsabers are cool.  End of discussion.  There are definitely more ways lightsabers are unrealistic, but I don’t want to bore you guys too long.  Thanks, and as always, stay nerdy.

Uncategorized

Q&A

14 Comments

Image result for botw master sword pull out

From zelda.wikia.com

Hey guys, this isn’t a normal type of post that I do, but I want to hear your questions so I can give my opinions on them.  Please try not to ask “one answer” questions, but rather something I can give a solid opinion on.  I want to interact more with y’all, and just doing posting isn’t enough.  So, just comment a question or topic, and I’ll give my opinion on it.  This isn’t really a post, but more of a talk, so just comment ahead, and don’t worry, I will respond.

I’ll just put some random images here because they look cool.

Image result for botw master sword pull out

From polygon.com

Image result for botw guardian art

From aminoapps.com

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From redbubble.com

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From nintendotimes.com

Image result for metroid art

games.avclub.com

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resetera.com

 

Uncategorized, Video Games

SUPER SMASH BROS ULTIMATE

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Image result for super smash bros ultimate

Probably the most anticipated game right now, Super Smash Bros Ultimate is coming out on December 7th of this year.  The Switch really got Nintendo back in the U.S., so it’s not like Nintendo stuff is irrelevant.  I’m super pumped for this game, really just because of the mass amount of characters there are.  Of course, unlocking them may be annoying, but it’ll definitely be worth it.  Of course, I’ll be going with your good ol’ boy as ____, and ______ as my mains.  SIKE, I’ll reveal my main later in this post, but for now I’ll just talk about the game.

This year’s new Smash game is not just going to be a repeat of previous Smashes.  THERE ARE SO MANY NEW CHARACTERS, 76.  Technically 69 unique characters, but shhh that doesn’t matter.  Ultimate is the fighting game with the largest amount of playable characters ever, so of course, it’s really hyped up.  There are going to be some DLCs, 5 I believe, and there is also a pre-order bonus; you get Piranha Plant as a playable character.  This character won’t be available immediately, but will be soon after the game launches.

Alright so you guys have waited long enough, my mains are Link and Samus.  Yeah I know, very original, but Metroid and The Legend of Zelda are some of my favorite game series.  I prefer using characters I like rather than characters that are good.  Of course, I’ll also be using Zero Suit Samus, Dark Samus, Zelda, Sheik, Ganondorf, and Ridley, but probably not as much.  I’m positive Link will be good, at least A tier, but I’m not sure about the others.  Dark Samus is an echo fighter of Samus, and is more or less a redesign.  I’m still really hyped up for it regardless.  Super Smash Bros Ultimate definitely deserves the hype.

Memes

Popular Memes

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MEMES are loved by everyone, and they come in a variety of types.  This isn’t what is considered “nerdy”, but memes fall in every category ever.  I even make memes, and they’re pretty quality if I do say so myself.  Let me know down in the comment section if you guys want me to start posting a collection of my memes every two to three weeks.  Today, I wanted to share some of the most popular meme formats/types going around right now.

1.  VoiceOverPete Videos

Image result for voiceoverpete

From mypokecard.com

If you guys don’t know this man, I’m going to guess that you’ve been living under a rock for the past month.  A few weeks ago, VoiceOverPete started making videos in front of a green screen at the request of those who payed for it.  He was on Fiverr, but is now on Patreon.  He made “scam” videos where he asked you for your credit card information to help save someone, like for example, John Wick in Fortnite.  These videos are just hilarious overall, but they’re not as funny as they were just because of the sheer amount of them out now.  Of course, they’re still great to watch, especially because of his voice.

2.  Kowalski Analysis Memes

Image result for kowalski analysis meme

From imgflip.com

What a great meme type at right now.  I’ve made a couple myself, but I don’t want to spoil them.  The whole point of the meme is to basically say “what the actual heck” to the above image.  I’m not sure where these memes started from, but I’m glad they did.

3.  Pikachu Face Memes

Image result for surprised pikachu meme

From cheezburger.com

These memes are decent, but it’s been a trend for about a month.  I like them, but the format is a little too simple for me.  I prefer more complex memes, if you get my drift, but this type of meme is alright.  It’s the type of meme everyone can make, and that’s fine.

4.  Sans Memes

Image result for sans meme

From Youtube.com

Although the “meme” above isn’t a proper Sans meme, if you look them up on Youtube, they’re hilarious.  The bass boosted Sans memes are really good too.  These started with the game Deltarune being around, created by the same creator.  While it’s not an Undertale 2, it basically is one.

5.  Crab Rave Memes

Image result for crab rave meme

From plus.google.com

Another video meme format, these are pretty good.  The music is what makes it the best, of course.  I don’t know why I really like it, but again, it’s really because of the music.  The original animation is pretty random too, and I guess that helps it too.

Of course, these memes are on the decline, and there are way more, but I just put a few for the sake of posting.  Can you think of any ones that deserved to be up here?

Cartoons

The Best Animated Series Ever (Don’t @ me)

13 Comments

Image result for avatar the last airbender

From avatar.wikia.com

If you don’t know what this show is, the exit is that way —>.  I’m kidding, don’t leave, but Avatar:  The Last Airbender is definitely the greatest animated series ever.  I would re-watch this series forever if I could, even if I would lose my sanity from it.  As a kid, this was definitely the most memorable set of moments I can think of.  Aang, the main character, was someone I could connect to, and no, I was not bald as a kid.  Avatar had few faults, but even then, the series addressed its faults, and got better and better.

Avatar is one of those few special shows that you rediscover again, as you get older.  There are no plot holes, or anything of the like, that I can think of.  Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante Dimartino, or both commonly referred to as “Brike”, made an absolute masterpiece of a show.  They weren’t the only writers, but they contributed the most to the writing.  They showed struggles in realistic ways, and showed character improvement, especially with Zuko, the main antagonist for most of the show.

The writing wasn’t the only good thing though; the animation and art style really complemented the show.  I don’t know how to describe it, but it was a perfect mix of realistic art and a cartoony style.  They had times where the show really seemed like a kid’s cartoon, because the art significantly changed.  Also, the show was based off of an Asiatic land, so they even included Chinese characters, and Chinese styled art and music.

Avatar is the greatest animated series, and you could argue with me, but that isn’t it chief.  So if you haven’t watched this three season show, then DO IT.

Video Games

Top 10 Games of All Time

32 Comments

Video games;  the best thing to ever happen to mankind.  They’re loved by many, and I wanted to share some of my favorite games I’ve played along the way.  Of course, there are going to be some games missing from here that you might include, but I haven’t played some of the classics.

1. The Legend of Zelda:  Ocarina of Time

Image result for ocarina of time                                                                                                                                                                         From Zeldadungeon.net

I’m sorry, but this game just had to be on here.  From the incredible story, to the sense of exploration, it’s all here.  I’m a huge Zelda fan myself, and it was really hard to choose between this and Breath of the Wild, but classics usually win.  Almost all of the 3D Zelda games were based off of this one, and it got the Zelda franchise so many new fans.  Spoiler, when you pull out the Master Sword, and realize you actually helped Ganondorf complete his conquest of the world, you feel a heroic urge to save the world, and that is what makes this game so great.

2. Metroid Prime

Image result for metroid prime                                                                                                                                                                                                From bgr.com

Yes, I know, I’m putting this very high up here, but I’ve only played the Prime series.  This was one of the first video games I’ve ever played, so it had a big effect on me.  Just having Samus turn into the Morph Ball captivated me, and I continued to play, barely knowing what was going on.  The exploration you could accomplish was huge, and the backtracking wasn’t repetitive either.  The game had a perfect balance of linearity and exploration.

3. Halo 3

Image result for Halo 3                                                                                                                                                                                                  From halowaypoint.com

Best.  Shooter.  Ever.  Call of Duty has nothing on Halo, and that’s just simple facts.  It was one of the first fps games I played, and I’m lucky that this was the first, so I got a good impression.  The graphics were great of its time, and it really made Halo gain legend status.  It’s been really long since I’ve played this game, so I’ll be honest, I don’t really remember much about the game.  Sorry.

4. Super Mario Galaxy

Image result for super mario galaxy                                                                                                                                                                                                 From nintendo.co.uk

99% of the Mario games can go on any Top 10 Games list, but I could really only include one, because again, it has been a long time since I even touched these games.  The amount of exploration here, speaks for itself, and can be seen in all the Mario games.  I’ve never been a huge fan of Mario myself, just because of the style, but I think everyone can agree that Mario is the most influential gaming series of all time, and most popular.  I mean, just look up the sales, and you’ll see why these games are some of the BEST.  Super Mario Galaxy is a great game, and will always be considered that.  It can’t be truly considered a classic, but it really put itself up there as a top contender for the top Mario games.

5. GTA IV or V

Image result for gta 5                                                                                                                                                                                              From en.wikipedia.org

I haven’t really played much GTA myself, but from what I saw and heard, it really just hits the ball out of the park.  The sheer amount of stuff you can do is mind-blowing;  you don’t always have to be doing illegal stuff in these games.  The graphics are insane too, and can be even better with mods.  Mods, or any add-on really, helped this game truly succeed.  Plus, you know, the amount of expensive cars you can get.  Games where you can do whatever you want are really successful, even if the creators push you a little to do what they want you to do.  Overall, just a great, and fun game to play alone, or with your friends.

6. Portal

Image result for portal                                                                                                                                                        From store.steampowered.com

The name of the game says it all, Portal.  This game has some of the best puzzles in any game, ever.  The story may be enjoyable too, but the puzzles say it all.  Oh, and the companion cube is kind of cool too.  The game doesn’t hold your hand after the “tutorial” levels, and it gives you the satisfaction of completing these puzzles by yourself.  That feeling is great, in any game, and Portal really helps you get that “Yeah, I did that” feeling.

7. The Legend of Zelda:  Breath of the Wild

Image result for breath of the wild                                                                                                                                                              From zelda.com

Yep, another Zelda game.  The title’s latest installment absolutely blew up, and everyone loved it, except those diehard Ocarina of Time fans.  I am kind of biased towards Zelda games, but I mean, you can’t really blame me, they’re just that good.  The exploration was the bread and butter of the game, and the interesting landscape really makes exploration not boring.  Some people hate the over-world theme, or the lack of some music themes in some areas, but that’s kind of the point.  The world is supposed to be empty, in a way;  literally everyone died.  The story was decent, and the combat could be really easy, but the feeling you get in Hyrule Castle you get is amazing, especially with the music themes there.

8. Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare 2

Image result for cod mw2
From en.wikipedia.org

I really wanted to include a couple of competitive games, and what other game to put than this, and Fortnite of course.  The game play was ahead of its time, and is probably one of the best FPS’s out there.  I personally haven’t played much, but most people can agree that this game is amazing.  The remastered version was alright, I guess.

9. The Legend of Zelda:  Skyward Sword

Image result for the legend of zelda skyward sword

From gadcet.com

OK, OK, hear me out, I know that there are now three Zelda games on this list now, and that this game is pretty controversial, but just listen.  The game may be very linear, but that really helps reinforce the story.  Most people, even the haters of this game, can agree that this is true.  This game probably had one of the best stories in the games that I’ve played, and was one of the earlier games I’ve played.  The most satisfying thing is getting the Master Sword, and charging your sword up with the lightning in the final battle.  The design was so cool, and the fact that the game was motion based made it even better.  Alright, the controls may have not been great, but that’s not all of the game developers’ fault.  The motion controls made it feel as if you had that power, and that is the greatest achievement of this game.

10. Fortnite

Image result for fortnite

From androidcentral.com

You really can’t argue against this, except saying that “it isn’t a classic” or that “it sucks”.  Fortnite is the most influential game of our time, and you can’t disagree with me on that.  So many news stations were talking about it when it was popular;  from your local news channels to CNN, it was everywhere.  The battle royale mode is really all people mention when they talk about Fortnite, and that’s probably because the other mode- Save the World – really isn’t that great.  The game has had many new things added to it, from guns to new starting lobbies, or even new mechanics, this game really is special.  It had to be on this list, it just had to.