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Out of the Ashes

By
Ravstaa
– April 10, 2012Posted in: Blog

I know what you’re thinking and ‘Yes’! I’m back. And before you go and start berating me for being inconsistent I’ll have you know that I’ve spent the last six months meditating in an ashram hidden away in the peaks of the Himalayas. No.. That’s not true. I know you’re disappointed. I’ve just been really busy and I’ve been trying to get a handle on life and it’s many adversities. I’ve been fighting battles against things like employment and relationships. In the meantime
I’ve expanded my exposure to several other forms of entertainment including comics and TV shows.

I feel that going forward, it would be best to integrate my new interests into SuperPoweredUp. I will write 2-3 articles a week in a variety of formats and regarding a variety of topics from books, to movies, to TV shows and of-course Games. Expect a write up on Kirby Mass Attack and Saturday Morning RPG in the next week. I want to thank you for bearing with me and I hope I can be a bit more consistent going forward.

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DC’s New 52

By
Ravstaa
– September 25, 2011Posted in: Articles, Blog

Something I’ve never discussed is my passion for comic books. I (insert dramatic pause) love comic books. I don’t mean the kind of love you have for your neighbor or a day at the beach, but the kind that you feel for that special soft-toy from your childhood. Or in my case, the kind that one may feel for a certain ‘Allan Quatermain‘ (with attachable pistol) figurine. Comics had been a huge part of my life, from my early childhood up until I was a teenager, but then something happened. Whether it was the lack of access or other interests (music and other books) I’m not sure but I stopped reading comics. This all changed in 2007 when I picked up the first trade of The Walking Dead. At the time, I was intrigued by a discussion about the themes and scenarios in the book on the GFW podcast. The great art and narrative style in The Walking Dead offered a mature look at comics which I was previously not exposed to. Soon after, I was back in the mix reading various one-shots and trades as well as stand-alone graphic novels. In the next few years I had read almost everything by Alan Moore of Watchmen fame and began cutting my teeth on more obscure stuff like Chew and Y the Last Man. But there was still one genre I was yet to conquer! This month — That changes.

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The game that brought me back

By
Ravstaa
– September 24, 2011Posted in: Blog

Many of you will know that my interest in video games was reborn after a certain game came out in 2006. Let me set the stage. It was my first official job, I was a second year Uni student and at e3 2006, I hear about Sony’s PlayStation 3 as well as Nintendo’s Wii. Having recently been taken aback by the Nintendo DS and New Super Mario Brothers, I am naturally enthused by the concept of the Wii. Nintendo had proven with the DS that they can redefine established platforms and their showing at that e3 blew me away. I remember being so psyched for the Wii that I had actually pre-ordered (the first time I’d pre-ordered anything) the console. About a month prior to the Wii coming out though, I remember seeing the Madworld TV spot for some game called ‘Gears of War’. Now, for the majority of my life I was a Sony, Sega and Nintendo boy. Microsoft had no real ‘cred’ in my book and there was no way I was going to get Gears because I wasn’t going to get an Xbox 360. But what if. What if I could fool myself into getting an Xbox?

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Monster Tale (Review)

By
Ravstaa
– August 30, 2011Posted in: Articles

There are few games nowadays which set out to create game-play and mechanics like those of the 8 and 16 bit era. Specifically like those found in Castlevania and Metroid. Gamers have lovingly classified these games into the ‘Metroidvania’ genre. Basically, you have a giant map where you play a side-scrolling action/platformer. As you keep moving through the level you will acquire new abilities which allow you to open up new areas of the map. These types of games encourage and reward exploration. Ok, that’s the crash course on Metroidvania games done. Now let’s get down to the review.

Monster Tale was developed by DreamRift, the guys behind Henry Hatsworth on the DS. The development team have earned a reputation for creating games with 16-bit sprite art and inventive uses of the dual screens. You play as Ellie; a girl who is transported from her normal life to a world of monsters ruled by the five kid kings. Upon finding herself in this new world, Ellie is tasked with the herculean task of releasing the monsters from the tyrannous rule of the kid kings. Each of the kid kings has their own world with varied environments ranging from a beach, a toy land and a snow world. Most environments also have their own enemy types and environmental puzzles.

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This Week in Gaming – August 26

By
Ravstaa
– August 27, 2011Posted in: Blog, Features

I know it’s been a while. But I’ve been crazy busy. But you don’t want to know that, you want to to know about what I’ve been playing. Well, I’ve been on the move for the most part which means that I’ve been a slave to my DS. Over the last few weeks I managed to get a hold of a couple of 2D side scrollers, namely Thor for DS and Shantae: Risky’s Revenge for DSiware. Both games were developed by 2D gaming powerhouse WayForward. Some of you may have heard me sing praises to this California based games developer, but I’ll sing them once more for those that haven’t. WayForward is a games developer who in recent years has garnered the attention and praise of the gaming press through their games which boast excellent 2d sprite art and great 8 and 16-bit mechanics. Some of you may have heard of Contra 4 or A Boy and his Blob which are both made by WayForward.

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Ironisms

By
Ravstaa
– July 26, 2011Posted in: Blog

I was recently out on a trip and having the time of my life and then I found a series of things which made me go, “What the heck?” I wanted to share these things with all of you and so I took photos. I mean, every now and then there are things which stick out, anomalies but on this particular outing, I found a multitude of anomalies. Things that seemed a little too ironic. See for yourself, down below and let me know your thoughts.

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Boardgame Bonanza!

By
Ravstaa
– July 19, 2011Posted in: Articles, Blog

And now, for an off-topic subject. Boardgames! Many of you are probably gamers and If not, I appreciate your readership and hope you find this entertaining. You have to admit that geekdom comes in all shapes and varieties from games to comics to sci-fi and even cos-play. Fortunately, us geeks are like monkeys. It’s easy to swing over from one branch of geekdom, say comics to the nearby branch of action figures. They’re all part of the great big tree of geekdom. I know, long and drawn out analogy but what I’m trying to say is that when you’re in one part of geekdom, it opens up opportunities to others.

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This Week in Gaming – July 9

By
Ravstaa
– July 9, 2011Posted in: Blog, Features

I know, it’s been a while hasn’t it. I know I’m about as irregular as a bad father with child support but I mean well and besides, I’ve got a lot of things going on in my life at the moment. With that said, I am going to cover about three weeks of gaming this time. There have been several great games that came out in the last month. None of which I ended up getting and so, many of the games I’ve been playing have been ones I picked up on sale. Namely Hard Corps: Uprising,  Sonic: Unleashed and Torchlight.

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This Week in Gaming – June 14

By
Ravstaa
– June 14, 2011Posted in: Blog, Features

It becomes a shocking discovery for most people when they get to the stage when life begins to compete with what they want to do with it. For drinkers, this might be yearning for that drop of Johnnie Walker. For music lovers it might be getting to go to that Friday night gig. So, it follows that for gamers it would be finding tine to play our Video Games. Unfortunately, we all chose a hobby which requires us to commit several hours for each game we play. When grown-up things such as jobs, families and other commitments come knocking it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with a hobby like gaming.

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The Nintendo Press Conference

By
Ravstaa
– June 8, 2011Posted in: All Posts, Articles, Blog

I was unable to stay up last night for the Nintendo Press conference which is why I’m doing my write-up based on a download of the presser. Nintendo has, over the last generation has re-asserted itself as the leader in the business of video games. They have set an example for Sony and Microsoft that it’s not just graphics and horsepower that count when it comes to selling consoles and appealing to mass markets. With rumors of the Wii’s successor being announced, more 3DS games and Zelda’s 25th Anniversary being celebrated, this press conference is bound to be exciting.

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