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Old-school games I love: Doom, Command and Conquer, Super Metroid
Old-school masterpieces destroy today's overrated games by a longshot. Good day.

"We are machines of society, bound to the chains of doing meaningless tasks."
"There is no good or bad guy in war-only stupendous leaders with ridiculous opinions."

• 2Aug 11

  Desulated's Farewell Blog and last Movie Review: Arceus and the Jewel of Life

  "Holy crap, Desulated's been missing for 2 months and now he's back!?"

  Well, sorry guys, but don't get your hopes up. This is, for real, my final and last blog on Gamespot as I am officially calling it quits. This place just doesn't interest me anymore compared to 3 years or so before, not to mention the majority of the unions I go to are dead and lack any spirit of posting or whatsoever. The fact I'm into my 3rd year of university, lacking a job, and writing a heavily planned fanfic gives me all the more reasons to stray away from this site and pursue more interesting things.

  5 years is more than enough. I've really grown tired of coming here when people aren't active and discussions are no longer as lively. Oh, and did I mention I never liked the new features and designs. Heh.

  A lot of people here have made my time here a memorable one, but after over half a decade, it's time to say goodbye. I won't mention anyone, because any commoner with me has definitely given me a lot of good, not so good, or sour memories. Nah, I'm joking. You're all special, one way or another.

  Our paths are not written and we may have to forge and follow our own roads of the future, but in the end, we all go our separate ways.

  Good news too, for I have managed to earn my driver's license just this last week! Suffering a car crash (recorded in a previous blog) and 2 failures due to anxiety and nervousness, I have finally passed. The road is all but mines! *laughs evilly* Kidding, but yep, I'm finally able to drive!

  As a farewell treat, I have one last movie review to write out before I pull the plug here. I might write more in the future if I feel like it, but most likely I won't.

  Today, we have the 12th Pokemon movie and the 3rd in the Diamond and Pearl era. It's...

  MORSHU THE MOVIE!!!!!

  

  ...haha, I got you people there, right? In all seriousness. Here's the real thing.

  

  It's Arceus and the Jewel of Life. Of course, once again, blame my brother for making me buy this movie for him! Grr. -_-

  Released in 2009, it is the last DP era movie that deals with the Sinnoh Legendary Pokemon.

  Plot Summary (once again, spoilers alert.):

  In a secluded region of the Sinnoh continent lays a quiet, Greek-themed city (funnily enough, this movie is based on literal immortals and the latter country happens to be the land of 'em) by the name of Michina town lays a legend where a desolate wasteland once overtook the land before the town became a prosperous and peaceful settlement, a world plagued with terrible weather and famine. The world, by a twist of fate, faced judgment in the form of an apocalyptic bombardment of meteors and asteroids, and the inhabitants of the wasteland prayed to the stars for salvation.

  It came in the form of the legendary Pokemon Arceus-using its talents of being immune to many elements of attack, it nearly sacrificed its life to save the people, and in return, provided 5 of its "plates" (based on elements of the Earth) to craft the Jewel of Life, an orb capable of revitalizing any life its rays of light happen to touch. Entrusted to a man called Damos, Arceus departed for the stars, waiting for the day where the human would have to return the artifact to the interstellar entity.

  The day came, and without warning, Arceus is betrayed as Damos orders the Pokemon to be buried alive. From the shadows, his brother watches with glee, but not before the divine entity destroys the set-up ambush and vows to return when it will judge all of humanity...

  Modern Day

  Fast forward to the modern day where Ash and his friends arrive in his town and witness Michina Town in all of its blossoming glory. Having a quick Pokemon battle before heading into town, a twist of events begin to turn the peaceful day into a fated one-apparently, they had arrived in the town where Arceus happened to return to Earth to give its inhabitants one last chance for redemption. To start things off, massive whirlpools and dimensional wormholes come their way, threatening to drag the gang into...somewhere. Thankfully, the legendary Pokemon Dialga and Giratina arrive via portals of their own and save the group, but Giratina showed up for its own reason-to settle an old grudge with Dialga.

  Two inhabitants, Sheena and Kevin (the former being a descendant of Damos) make their appearance and Sheena calms down Dialga by communicating with her via telepathy, much to Ash's amazement who also is surprised when Giratina listens to his words of pleading the Renegade Pokemon to stop battling. Palkia shows up after to continue the battle with Dialga (the events in Rise of Darkrai) but Sheena's telepathic abilities are able to settle the conflict, bringing peace to the three legendaries for good.

  The chain of odd events (all of them making reference to the previous movies) is later revealed by Sheena and Kevin that they are all of Arceus's doings, caused by the fluctuation of his powers capable of distorting existence itself in preparation for his awakening. Unfortunately, they have little time to prepare as Arceus appears, attacking the town with a catastrophic carpet bombing of asteroids.

  The Creation Trio once again, shows up and in a odd turn of events, side with the humans as all three of them battle Arceus, but even with their combined strength they do little damage to their master. Angered and disgruntled, Arceus threatens to wipe out all three of them along with humanity, and in a last effort to save Michina, Dialga uses the last of her powers to send Sheena, Ash and his friends back to the day where the betrayal occurs. Meanwhile, Palkia and Giratina begin a hopeless struggle against their former creator in order to buy the human protagonists enough time to alter what really happened.

  With just enough time, the group might be able to save the future.

  My POV:

  This movie, while it leaves a lot to be desired for in terms of a plot that doesn't leave confused heads and questioning minds, did quite well if not too terribly good. As this is the final DP era movie to feature not one, but ALL the major Sinnoh legendaries (at least the well known ones) it is also the last film to feature the legendaries all in one movie. By this point in the Pokemon timeline, it's all but a forgotten memory in the common kid's mind so this film is pretty much dead in the water in terms of media attention.

  However, fans like my brother and partly me have managed to give it at least some attention. A little is better than nothing, right? Well, I guess nothing's perfect. Once again, I've got some pros and cons to list out!

  Cons:

  -Arceus's voice actor is...just WTF. No, I am not kidding. I never expected the ultimate Pokemon god to sound like Frieza from DBZ and Ghor from Metroid Prime 3 combined into a whackjob of a character! I expected him to have a noble and gentle voice akin to the stereotypical rich gentleman, but nope. His voice actor really bummed me out here.

  -Lack of the Creation Trio's involvement. Aside from their attempt to beat some sense into their master or the usual quarrel at the beginning, they don't play much of a role here. However, they all did some nice parts back in Rise of Darkrai and Sky Warrior.

  -Dull, if not absolutely mediocre, plot. Apparently, the crap in the bucket all started because Marcus (no, not the Gears of War character) mind-controlled Damos and attempted to kill Arceus so the Jewel of Life would bring eternal prosperity to the land without challenge or opposition.

  -Arceus is presented as an absolutely immortal entity capable of repelling all attacks, as none of the legendaries' attacks (even their signature moves) have any effect but ordinary Pokemon managed to severely wound him in the past with ORDINARY ATTACKS. Uhm, am I missing something here?

  Pros:

  -Dialga, Palkia and Giratina all going up against Arceus in a myriad of a shooting gallery and high-speed aerial collisions. I think anyone would want to see that, whether you like Pokemon or not! Let's not forget, all three of them, save for Dialga, wanted each other's heads on a plate. Geeze, Dialga must be really hated among the trio. XD

  -I'll be frank here-while Arceus had a "the heck" voice, it was rather badass, in the strange way. The fact he screams "You shall all be judged!" in an overly pissed off mood before bombarding his opponents in a meteor strike just strikes the epitome of intense and awe-gasping. Why is this in the pros section too, you ask? It's probably the fact I love AND hate his voice at the same time, for varying reasons. Oh well.

  -This movie shows just how close the protagonists were to in terms of eternal destruction-if it wasn't for time travel, it would be likely they wouldn't stand a chance, even with the power of 3 legendaries behind them. It became so vital for the group to time travel in order to avert Arceus-wrought cataclysm raining down upon Michina Town's heads.

  -An awesome setting. A movie that takes place in the town of the immortals, while concidentially, Michina Town is based off Greece's major cities? The movie creators did a well-done job with that. When it comes to Pokemon movies, it's rare to see the settings department falter-each and every one of them is bristling with life and spirit, as if you are actually in the real-life counterpart.

  *spoilers end here.*

  Arceus and the Jewel of Life is the final DP movie before any Generation 5 Pokemon are introduced, and even though it seemed to be all but futile effort to throw in all the legendaries into one film one last time before they are forgotten and slowly drift away via the streams of time, it did a rather fair job. I've watched Rise of Darkrai (all thanks to a friend at university who also happens to be a DBZ and Pokemon nut) but not Sky Warrior, so people who don't watch the previous two will have a hard time understanding Jewel of Life. I will give the movie a final score of 7.9/10.

  For a twist of changes here, the DP movies were more about explosions and Pokemon attempting to kill each other. The previous films focused more on a plot and dialogue, but here, it's mostly Pokemon the size of aircraft and houses mauling each other apart with space-age techniques.

  Above all else, this is a movie that is so-so in terms of the recommendation department, but if you love Pokemon, it won't hurt if you give this a check.

  Final Comments

  That's my final blog on GS, and the 110th one to boot. Farewell my Gamespot friends, but do not worry-I might return once in a while, but I'm done in terms of activeness, extensive blogging and heavy conversations here.

  Why is my name Desulated, you may ask? Heheheh, well, I made this account and during that time period, I was rather obsessed with this one RTS game. I decided to base my name off a favorite unit from that. That's the mystery unraveled.

  I have to thank all the friends I've made here-without you, I wouldn't have stayed long here. You paid attention to my blogs, stood my boring rants and either praised or bashed me when the times called for it. Thank you for your contributions.

  You can still find me on sites like youtube and fanfiction.net. Talk to me if you want my account names from there.

  Peace out. I wish you all a successful path in whatever you pursue in your lives.

  • Posted Aug 2, 2011 12:21 am GMT
  • Category: Movies
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• 20May 11

  I had an accident...caused by a pair of idiots.

  Desulated here. Well, another blog? I'm going to cut the talk and state it, because I'm utterly pissed at what happened today.

  While I'm known to be pessimistic, what happened today to me is...just pure punishment or just something that was caused by complete bad luck.

  I was about to get my G2 license (the one that authorizes you to drive without supervision, with the exception of highways) today and things were going well. I mean, I was extremely close to the examination school, but...things just HAD to **** up at the very last minute!

  I got rear-ended by two idiots today. My car was at a stoplight, waiting, when out of nowhere two dip****s smashed right into my car at full speeds comparable to 70km/h. The zone's speed limit was about 60km/h, but whatever the heck was happening, the car that hit me was utterly annihilated-the front section of the car was smashed beyond recognition, the windshield was shattered, but what was funny was that the two idiots (probably a pair of Middle Eastern teenagers that don't have license or any insurance, or probably stole their parents' car, since the license plate was very new) were not injured one bit. The windshield glass of their car was cracked as if it was shot by a bullet, but they had no apparent wounds on them! Lucky bastards...

  After being rear-ended, my car (or my instructor's) also hit a pickup that was in front of mines. The pickup suffered almost no damage while our vehicle was probably suffering some moderate internal injuries. Ok, enough of that. Time to get on to the real business.

  The idiots tried to get away by running through heavy traffic-that's right. They tried to abandon their car after failing to surrender any licenses or insurance papers-heck, both of them didn't even admit who was the driver. In fact, they claimed the driver was at a nearby mall, which is pure BS in my opinion. They fled the scene. The other victims didn't bother chasing them for a couple of reasons.

  -They looked like some scrawny gangster types, so who knew if they had a gun or knife.
  -We were in a rather unsafe neighbourhood, you could call it the "ghetto".
  -It was a rush hour period (Friday afternoon), so chasing them through heavy traffic wasn't exactly the best.

  The police soon came and managed to gather enough evidence from us, and they towed the wrecked car away. Above all else, nothing too major such as injuries happened. My instructor's car was still drivable, although it was clear the internal damages were apparent to the vehicle.

  *sigh* Above all else, today was a god-awful day. Maybe I'll be able to take the test again next week.

  • Posted May 20, 2011 6:00 pm GMT
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• 1May 11

  Desulated's Unnecessary Crap and a Second Movie Review: Jirachi Wish Maker

  Helloooooooo ladies and germs!

  ...ok, that was a bad intro. Wasn't it? Anyways, if you read the title, I'm sure you all know what's going on.

  Regardless, before I start with the news, let's just say I have some very important announcements to make. First of all, I'm done my second year in university! I recently got back last week, but was too lazy to blog (university life is very stressful, you know...) so I needed my rest. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a job. Meh...another year of sitting around, doing nothing. Well, there's always next year and the decades that roll after that. Three more years to go if things play smoothly.

  If anyone paid attention to the news, Osama Bin Laden, the megalomaniac that has been on the US's most wanted list for almost 10 years, is finally dead. Confirmed on Sunday May 1, 2011 on this date, almost 10 years after the September 11, 2001 WTC and Pentagon attacks.

  *takes a deep breath and exhales*

  Am I in reality? Yes? Alright.

  It's breaking news, isn't it? The madman that masterminded unthinkable terrorist acts is long gone, but only time will tell how this will unroll future events. But this, by far, is news you don't hear everyday. I think it's almost as significant as HitIer's passing or the fall of the Soviet Union. Ok, that's my two cents. Don't want to derail this blog too much. On with the show.

  Anyways...time for another review! *hears slight clapping* Thank you, thank you. Your gratitude is appreciated.

  My brother and I went shopping recently and we found the Pokemon Legends DVD box set. It comes with four movies, one which I've already reviewed (Pokemon Heroes) so I won't point that out. The others (4ever and Destiny Deoxys) will be done some other time, I guess. I watched them all, but Destiny Deoxys's plot is so confusing, I'll have to watch it another time to actually get a grip.

  *pulls out a machine gun* If anyone is going to laugh at me, say hello to my little friend!

  So for now, I present to you...

  

  Pokemans haters, get out. You have been warned! (and I know who you are)

  To kick things off to begin with, Jirachi: Wish Maker is the 6th movie in the Pokemon franchise. It's also the first movie based on the Advanced Generation series.

  Yeah, I'm probably going to start reviewing obscure movies after I'm done with this and Heroes.

  Plot Summary *SPOILER ALERT!!!*:

  In a secluded region of Hoenn known as Forina (based on the Hunan Province of China in real life) there is a legend where the Millenium Comet, a starborne object that only becomes visible on Earth every 1000 years, and with this stellar sight comes with great power-the ability to grant any wish-for those who can find the legendary Pokemon Jirachi but at the same time, must be able to befriend it (or him, her, whatever ) to harness the divine strength.

  Once again, Ash, May, Brock, Max, and their Pokemon happen to be in the region at this particular time during their travels, and they happen to find the comet. Along the way, the festival designed to pay tribute to this event takes place at their current location, and of course, they take their time to enjoy themselves in a carnival that has been set up close to their camping grounds.

  A mysterious magician only known as Butler puts on a dazzling show for his audience, and of course, the main characters get caught up in the performance by complete accident while watching the show. After Max claims to have heard a voice out of nowhere (literally) talking to him, he soon discovers that the source is actually coming from a special rock that Butler hands to the boy. In hours, it is revealed the legend is indeed true and May's brother befriends the rather childish legendary Pokemon, but it was not long before an Absol shows up with a menacing entry. Things are about to go rocky from here. Whenever an Absol shows up, disaster is sure to follow, and it seems to be circling around Jirachi. He/she/it must be taken back to Forina, its home.

  However, Butler, an ex-Team Magma scientist with a vendetta against his former employers, has other plans...

  My POV:

  Unlike Pokemon Heroes, while it was rather an emotional piece of work but totally failed in the explosive action department and scraped the bottom of the barrel with abysmal reviews (although I believe it doesn't really deserve such harsh criticism), Jirachi Wish Maker is a little more upbeat and somewhat actiony, but it has its "damn, that's some hardship right there" moments. Giant, Alien-esque Godzilla rampaging and consuming every single lifeform in sight and a tearful departure, need I say more?

  It wasn't as harshly reviewed by critics as the fifth movie, but this was mainly because the movie never made it out of Japan in terms of theaterical releases. It was released on DVD in North America in June 2004, and this is probably because Pokemon was losing its popularity in terms of the North American audience around this time, and given the fact Pokemon Heroes failed harshly over here in the theaters, I guess it was better off that way. But bummer, this was the last release in the UK in terms of DVD for years to come! Yeah...that's all I have to say.

  Before I go to the next section, Pokemon films seem to be more fan-service like instead of actually trying to impress the critics. They're like fanfics, I suppose.

  Like any movie, it has its pros and cons.

  Cons:

  -The movie felt a little rushed. It takes place over the seven days where Jirachi makes him/her/itself awake on the Earth, but each day is only covered briefly-only the first and final days are covered in extensive detail. But then, I guess if each day took 15 minutes to play out, we'd have a movie that's as long as Inception (2 hours and 30 minutes!) but then, hey, let's stick with the subject now, shall we?

  -Our heroes' Pokemon barely get any screen time. See Treecko on the boxart? Well the guy doesn't get any appearances at all in the film! Maybe I'm being a bit picky, but whatever.

  -Once again, few Pokemon battles. Maybe I was too spolied with excessive battles...miss those Clone vs. Original and Charizard vs. Entei days. Heh.

  -This is Groudon's only movie, albeit the beast is a twisted creation that only hungers for other beings, humans and Pokemon alike. Uh, oh well!

  Pros:

  -Virus/Alien Groudon. 'Nuff said.

  -Our star of the show, this time, is properly presented. Being the central character to the plot, Jirachi is both the creation of the Virus legendary but at the same the only one who could destroy it. Even a Salamence and a Flygon's combined attack had no effect, and both were promptly food for the sickening abomination. But yes, the Virus Groudon, is by far, one of the best Pokemon antagonists designed, next to Mewtwo. Too bad it doesn't stay around for more than 10 minutes.

  -It has its actiony and emotional charms, as well as a touch of humor. How can you not smile when a child wishes for candy, the little legendary dumps an entire truckload of sweets on his head and burying his friends with it in the process? Or even better, get rid of Max's nagging sister by teleporting her into the heap of sugary junk food!? If you don't, you have no soul. Ok, maybe not. Of course, you have Brock spazzing over attractive women, as always.

  -If there's one thing Pokemon films excels at, it is the soundtracks. Hear them for yourselves, you will not be disappointed, unless you hate the series with a logical explanation. The following is something you do not have to read, but it's just a tiny rant I have. Don't take it seriously, please. Want to skip it? Ignore the italicized text.

  *Just saying "Pokemon is for babies" or "It's dumb" without any evidence to back it up is childish. I've seen more 10 year olds attempt to buy CoD and other M-rated games (only to get rejected by the cashier, dominated right there) and older gamers buy the recent release of Black and White...so...you tell me what's for babies. Heck, I think that's the reason I decided to quit the FPS genre. The online community in many is just a big fat trollfest, and while it happens everywhere, it's out of hand over there. And apparently, those who play CoD or any oversaturated/overpraised FPS game think they're hardcore, diehard gamers and dismiss everything else as nonexistent creations.

  Heck, I've even gotten comments from people who say without Pac-man, Doom, the forerunner of FPS games, wouldn't exist after they're greeted with the statement that without Doom, Wolfenstein or Quake, any mainstream FPS would have never seen the day of light. My comment: you just shot yourself in the foot. Fanboys. Heh, can't argue with 'em.
  

  Call me a fanboy if you wish, but everyone has their own interests, and pretending to know real facts about guns based on a fictional game and paying 15 dollars for 5 new maps that are already in the disc's coding schemes is absurd. I just don't happen to follow the mainstream, or play the latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (insert number here) just to look cool and hip. Yes, I have played Black Ops at a friend's place-not everyone is rich enough to buy a new console just for one game, or have the time to play. Returned the controller to my friend faster than speeding bullet fired from an AK47.
  

  Note that this is an OPINION (bolded that for your convenience) and you don't need to agree with me, so don't say I'm attacking anything. On with the review.*

  -Great character development. The villain, who originally is basked by the potential success of unleashing his new Groudon against Magma, eventually realizes what he has done after the mutant Groudon starts destroying Forina, and by sacrificing himself in the process for the safety of our heroes (only to get revived later alongside the other eaten Pokemon and humans) he promises to rebuild and guard the region with his talents along with his love interest. Unlike the previous villains (who either go to jail, or bear an untimely fate of being trapped somewhere) this comes to a rather interesting conclusion. As for the other characters...it's the usual. They move on.

  *Spoilers end here.*

  Jirachi: Wish Maker was definitely a massive improvement over Pokemon Heroes. The latter, while it has its good points, suffered quite a bit and was considered a total trainwreck by many (and possibly what brought the downfall of Pokemon in the Western World until recently, perhaps), even though fans have forgiven it for the mistakes. I haven't watched both in years, but after picking them up again, I have to say, they're rather good if you view them with a critical eye instead of thirsting for a particular taste. Final score for this movie from me will be a 7.8/10.

  It doesn't matter if you love action, emotion, or an acceptable plot to begin with. This movie is bound to give you some relief in those areas. But be warned, as Pokemon movies aren't for people who are thirsting for explosions, blood, guts, swearing, sex, or whatever. Go watch a Michael Bay film if that's the case because when it comes to that field, he executes the fiery blasts and nuclear explosions with top precision (but have a terrible storyline to begin with! Even the director himself admits it, ask him about Transformers: ROTF). As for the others, you're looking in the wrong place. Maybe the mainstream Hollywood creations will give you the goods there.

  Meh, how did I even start all of this? Ask my brother. I think Pokemon has infected him, but I guess that's better than straying to trash like...ahem...heaploads of mediocre FPS games and cussing like an angry kid with no parental guidance! Better to be the outcast than being a part of the blind sheep of the horde, like they say.

  Some interesting (and rather sad) trivia: the voice actor for Jirachi, Tomiko Suzuki, died a week and a half before the Japanese release of the movie due to a heart attack. It's always shocking to see talented voice actors pass...Madeleine Blaustein, the voice actor for Meowth and various other characters, also died on December 11, 2008.

  My summer vacation has begun, but this stressful year has definitely left its mark indeed. *sigh*

  That is all for now. Desulated out.

  • Posted May 1, 2011 10:24 pm GMT
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