Battle Royale: The Last Generation Of An SNES-CD Saga
- Thread starter RySenkari
- Start date
Not surprised they're so unknown and I even liked Grounded for Life(even if seems that ending was rushed as hell) but seems after fox their career hasn't been kind,neither unicorn or table was show in Latin America at all
September 2017 - Shift Into A New Cyberwar
Austin Watson: Okay, last week on this show, you saw us review Redshift, but we only reviewed the base Nexus game and the single player features, so we didn't give it a score. This week, we got to go out and actually play the game, Christina and I took to the streets of LA to play Redshift's online features, including the Android app, so we can finally give it a full review score with the complete game, online and single player. Before we show you that, we do have some news about the game's first week sales figures, particularly the online app.
Christina Grimmie: That's right, Redshift was the #1 most downloaded game on the Google Play Store so far this week. In fact, it's become the fastest downloaded app over the first 48 hours since launch of 2017 so far. Those are some really impressive numbers, which translate to 2.6 million people already playing the Android component of the game. We did get to meet some of those people in our review playthrough, so check that out if you want to see just what we thought of Redshift and how that app ties in to the full game. Spoiler alert, it's pretty neat.
Austin: Sales figures for the console version of Redshift won't be released for at least another week from now, but it has been the #1 game on the Nexus store since its release, so the full console version is also doing quite well.
(...)
*Later in the show, Austin and Christina are out playing the Redshift app in a park in Los Angeles, where several dozen other people are also enjoying the game.*
Austin: As for battling on the app, you battle with swipe-based commands, utilizing different commands depending on the weapon you're using or the enemy you're facing. For example, my character right now is using a pistol, so I'll tap on the screen repeatedly to fire at the enemy. As you attack, you'll see damage numbers appear above the enemy's head, but you can turn those off if you just want to use the health bar.
Christina: And of course, the more people playing, generally the tougher the enemies will be and the better loot they'll drop, so you'll want to make sure you've got plenty of other players around. It is possible to party up with friends if you're having trouble finding people out in the real world, so keep that in mind if you're stuck in a less densely populated area.
*The screen shows Austin tapping away on his screen, switching up which part of the enemy he wants to target. His damage numbers appear in one color, while those of the other players nearby appear in different colors, allowing him to easily see what he's doing to the enemy. Combat works like a sort of cross between OTL's Pokemon Go and OTL's The World Ends With You, in contrast to the combat in the Nexus game which is fully 3-D and closer to something like Astral Chain.*
Austin: And when we kill this enemy, you can see tons of loot spilling out, and some of that loot you can use in the app while some of it needs to be transferred to the Nexus game. There's also some loot that can be used in both.
*As the review continues, Austin and Christina continue to play, taking down new enemies at each landmark. Despite it being the first week of launch, there are few if any bugs or issues with the game, with connectivity not being a major problem, giving a good impression of the app's gameplay. After a couple more minutes, the two return to the studio to give their review.*
(...)
Christina: So the biggest problem I picked up on was the somewhat repetitive nature of combat. It's a bit less so in the console version, but I can see combat in the app getting old kind of fast if the devs don't do a whole lot to add more variety. It sort of makes going outside to play kind of a chore, though it is a lot of fun to party up with friends and get those huge loot sprays.
Austin: I disagree with you a bit, I enjoyed the combat on the app, though I think that had a lot to do with the variety of landmarks and places to go in LA, if you're playing out in the boondocks with few if any landmarks, you might have a bit more trouble.
Christina: Honestly though, I did have a lot of fun with the game, and I can see some major battles taking place in the future, especially if they keep things fresh on the app. The console experience is plenty of fun even without the app, at 12 hours it's a solid action-RPG and there's loads of free DLC coming, so I think if you don't want to mess with the app, it's still something worth buying.
Austin: For me, the app is the major selling point. The console component was solid, but you gotta get out there to get the most out of Redshift!
Christina: I do really love meeting people, it was a lot of fun getting out there for the review.
Austin: What's the bottom line?
Christina: I'm giving Redshift a 4/5. I definitely recommend it for anyone who's a fan of action RPGs, particularly ones where loot is heavily involved... just understand that you might get bored of the app pretty quickly.
Austin: I'm giving it a 4 too. If it was JUST the console game I might be tempted to give a 3.5, but the app enhances the experience a lot. The AR is awesome, the online component is great, I just hope it has plenty of players in a year from now.
Christina: Yeah, social games are no fun without socializing!
-from the September 7, 2017 episode of GameTV
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Kennedy Takes Victory Lap In Puerto Rico After Infrastructure Bill Passage
President John F. Kennedy Jr. spent the weekend in Puerto Rico, meeting with supporters and speaking to a large crowd after the passage of the Puerto Rico Debt Forgiveness And Infrastructure Act. The bill, which forgives billions of dollars in Puerto Rican debt and investing $10 billion into shoring up the island's transportation and electrical grid, is expected to improve the U.S. territory's economy significantly in the coming years. The bill faced moderate opposition in Congress, including the threat of a Senate filibuster, but ultimately passed by a margin of 250-185 in the House and 62-38 in the Senate, after Kennedy agreed to include a series of tax breaks in the bill for companies that invested in Puerto Rico.
In a speech to a massive crowd in San Juan, Kennedy re-iterated that "The people of Puerto Rico are Americans too, and deserve the same rights and privileges that all Americans enjoy." Kennedy cited the 2009 American blackout, which killed hundreds and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, as an important reason why improvements to the island's electrical grid are severely needed. The bill closes gaps in funding left by the Huntsman administration's infrastructure package, which provided more than $2 trillion to shore up roads, bridges, and the electrical grid in the United States mainland and Hawaii, but left improvements Puerto Rico and other United States territories underfunded. With Kennedy's visit coming at the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, the need to improve Puerto Rico's electrical grid looms large. A recent study estimates that a direct strike by a Category 5 hurricane on Puerto Rico would lead to power outages that could take weeks or even months to repair, and damages estimated at $100 billion, with up to 5,000 deaths in the storm's aftermath. The Atlantic is currently calm, with no storms forecast for several days, but in Kennedy's speech, he stated that "every hurricane season brings with it a new threat of calamity to Puerto Rico, and it is our duty as fellow Americans to keep all our citizens safe". The bill also forgives a significant portion of Puerto Rico's debt, much of which accumulated under the Huntsman administration, which saw a decline in the economic fortunes of many Puerto Ricans. The debt forgiveness proved to be an initial stumbling block for the bill's passage, but after meeting with a bi-partisan group of senators, Kennedy was able to hash out a deal that would provide for tax breaks and business incentives that satisfied enough Republican senators to prevent a filibuster.
Kennedy also spent some time meeting privately with some of Puerto Rico's top business leaders, and footage of the president dancing to the #1 Billboard hit "Despacito" emerged, leading to ribbing from late night comedians and a series of memes on Twitter. Though the president didn't escape Puerto Rico without becoming meme fodder, he certainly had reason to celebrate the passage of another major bill, coming after the passage of his proposed $13 an hour minimum wage increase in June, and also coming in the middle of a fierce battle to pass a Medicare-for-all healthcare bill before the end of 2017.
-from an article on Yahoo! News, posted on September 20, 2017
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"Beyond anything I took from the game's content-rich single player mode, New Orthodoxy's online multiplayer is brilliant, and should absolutely change the way that games approach the line between online play and single-player campaigns. New Orthodoxy's multiplayer is, in many ways, an expansion of the dynamic multiplayer mode from 2014's Sojourn, a game which continues to see hundreds of thousands of players and robust e-sports prize support to this day, in part because it's so easy to get into and so rewarding to master. While I can't see New Orthodoxy becoming an e-sports staple (it's just not that kind of game), it establishes itself right on the borderline between competitive FPS and epic MMORPG with how it handles its multiplayer. First off, New Orthodoxy is an always online game, which means that even when you're enjoying the single player campaign, you're online. There's a good reason for this: at any point in time, if you have PvP enabled, the enemy can call real world reinforcements into your game. Conversely, you can be called into someone else's game, either in service of the AI battling another player, or you can also jump in to help another player tackle a particularly fierce challenge. You can of course turn the online off and just play by yourself, but at the very least I recommend enabling players to join on your side, as it can absolutely mean the difference between life and death, and the game is partially structured around this. There are moments when you WILL need reinforcements, and unless you're very, very good, you'll have to get help from another player. That said, even if that other player is a complete newbie, they are capable of helping you just by representing more boots on the ground. I remember engaging a particularly difficult enemy in battle: a Blank-piloted robot shaped like a ferocious bird, which continuously rained down fire on me and my computer controlled squad. Try as we might, we were unable to break through, and my player character was left wounded and pinned down. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a squad of troops lights into the bird robot's face, destroying its targeting component and giving my character a chance to breathe, and then to return fire. As I finished the enemy off, I went to thank my savior, who, believe it or not, had just experienced their very first time with the game. They decided to launch right into "Quick Play" mode instead of starting the campaign, and the game, after giving them a brief tutorial, launched them right into my battle to save my ass. New Orthodoxy does such a great job of bringing its community together that there are already loads of videos of 'killer saves' from early players, and as of writing this review, the game hasn't even officially launched yet. There are, of course, the requisite deathmatch and capture the flag modes, which are framed as 'Combat Simulation' and are shunted off as a sort of sideshow. In New Orthodoxy, Blizzard knows exactly what it has: a revolutionary online multiplayer game that will change forever the way that players interact with one another online. Hopefully, the trolls stay away, though Blizzard promises 'constant monitoring' to preserve the integrity of the game's online community. So far, so good."
-Alex Stansfield, from Games Over Matter's 9.5/10 review of New Orthodoxy, posted on September 17, 2017
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Game Spotlight: Cyberwar 5
Cyberwar 5 is a sci-fi FPS title developed by Psygnosis. It follows the events of Cyberwar 4, taking place in the mid-21st Century in a world torn apart by decades of war and picking up the pieces from the detonation of a "logic bomb" that severely crippled technology around the world. In the aftermath of this event, the remaining superpowers battle it out to secure the world's resources, while extranational groups such as the Power Corps and Blackstone Solutions rival even the most powerful nations in terms of military and technological might. Despite the crippling of the world's technology, computer hackers still hold tremendous power, and perhaps none is more infamous than Lucy Brunstein, AKA Netizen X, who has become the world's #1 most wanted person and is being hunted down by people on all sides of the conflict. She's gone into hiding, and the protagonist, Rafe Symar, has been sent to hunt her down. Rafe is a "hunter" for Blackstone Solutions, the military corporation that rules the United States in the aftermath of the logic bomb's detonation. Cyberwar 5 plays like a cross between a traditional FPS title and an open world exploration game, almost like a sort of faster-paced The Last Of Us, with scavenging and crafting a major part of gameplay. Rafe's weaponry is heavily dependent on cybernetics, and by collecting parts and upgrading his weapons, it's possible to make his guns more powerful and more accurate, and to give them special abilities, including the ability to shoot heat-seeking bullets and to detonate into a variety of different substances, including fire, ice, and EMP bursts. Hacking still plays a major role in the game as well, with Rafe able to hack computers to gain access to new buildings and treasure troves, hack enemies in order to cripple them and disable their weapons, and even hack the environment itself, blasting open manholes and turning security systems against foes (similar to the Watch Dogs games). The player can also have Rafe construct a huge variety of gadgets, with applications from combat to social manipulation. While a few are mandatory, many are optional, and a few are just fun to mess around with in game, giving the player a distraction from firefights and hacking challenges. Unlike Cyberwar 4, with its dual protagonists, Cyberwar 5 focuses on Rafe the entire time, and the player will get to know him extensively, and even make certain decisions for him, somewhat like an RPG. Rafe will interact with a variety of people throughout the game, both friend and foe, and the player will learn extensively of his motivations, as his relationship with numerous characters is developed. With Netizen X as the game's primary antagonist, Rafe interacts with her at times through cryptic messages and comms, and though she's the same Netizen X as ever, she's still suffering from guilt and trauma after the events of Cyberwar 4. As the one who detonated the logic bomb, she's had to deal with the consequences for the past year. Though detonating the bomb did allow her to survive, and also likely prevented an apocalyptic war, it also killed hundreds of thousands of people, and with war still going on, despite being ramped down from what it was before, she constantly struggles with the thought that it was all for nothing and that she killed all those people in vain. Cyberwar 5 of course features an extensive multiplayer mode, with a slightly streamlined selection of modes from Cyberwar 4. Cyber City is no more, but it's replacement is a myriad of mission-based PvP and PvE modes, most of which prove to be quite fun. Deathmatch returns, with more weapons and arenas than ever, and overall, multiplayer doesn't miss a step from previous titles in the series, still as fun and intense as ever. As a full AAA-title, with all the budget that entails, Cyberwar 5 is easily one of the best looking games of its generation, and allows for full utilization of VR on both the Reality and Virtua, while the game also looks gorgeous on the Nexus and Nexus Pro. It runs a bit slow on the Nexus, however, as the console's original version is seriously showing its age, while the game also shines on PC and Mac, especially on high settings. Like Cyberwar 4, the game features an all-star voice cast, headlined by Dev Patel as Rafe Symar, and also seeing the return of AJ Michalka as a now 18-year-old Lucy/Netizen X. Keith David voices General Kenneth, the leader of Blackstone Solutions, while Kristen Bell voices Suzie, Rafe's girlfriend, who works for a highly prominent tech corporation and plays a major role in the game's second half. Lucy Lawless voices Ara, leader of the shattered American division of the Power Corps, while Jeff Bridges (in a brief but memorable appearance) voices Dennis, a hospital worker and retired soldier who serves as one of Rafe's early targets and gives him a critical clue to Blackstone's true intentions and Netizen X's hiding place.
The first half of Cyberwar 5 sees Rafe battling it out with groups funded by the Power Corps while also hunting down various hackers and rebels on his kill list. As he takes out the hackers on his list, Netizen X begins to interfere with his activities, drawing more attention from Blackstone, and also causing more personal problems for Rafe, especially when a hack attack by Netizen X causes Suzie's life to be threatened. As this is going on, Rafe is getting more and more tips about Netizen X, and eventually resolves to hunt down her comrades from the previous game: Tomas Alvarez, Julie Skalzeny, and Samuel Redd, each of whom are also in hiding and being targeted by Blackstone. While this is going on, we're also learning more about Blackstone's motivations: the organization is essentially set up to keep America on a wartime footing, establishing martial law as the permanent law of the land, ostensibly to protect against attacks from foreign powers, but mostly to protect against the Power Corps, which has been mostly crippled in North America but which still holds large swaths of land throughout the world as their armies remain firmly in power. Netizen X's attacks have been targeting both organizations, and have been growing more and more with each passing day. Eventually, Rafe is able to hunt down Redd, and after a struggle, reluctantly kills him. Julie is a bit tougher to find, and when Rafe finds her, he ultimately decides not to kill her, only for Blackstone troops to do it anyway. Rafe is shaken, but he resolves to hunt down Tomas, knowing that Tomas is the one who can lead him to Netizen X. However, Rafe is also being hunted by Ara and a crack squad of Power Corps troops, determined to eliminate Blackstone's "hunters" in preparation for an invasion. This leads to a mission in which Rafe tracks Tomas down and the two engage in a climactic battle in which Tomas is bested and flees. Rafe gives pursuit, ultimately leading to a spectacular sequence in which Tomas is seemingly killed and Rafe ends up in Netizen X's hideout. When he finds her, however, she's seemingly comatose and hooked up to numerous machines... it seems she's been in a coma for some time, directing the attacks through unconscious brainwave activities. As Rafe approaches, unsure whether or not to kill her, she suddenly awakens and attacks him, but after a few seconds, collapses into a sobbing wreck. Rafe tries to shoot her, but his gun, controlled by cybertech, won't function, disabled by her security measures. Eventually, she composes herself and explains that she put herself under in order to escape her guilt about the logic bomb's detonation, and her activities aren't meant to destroy anything, but to set things right. She's suffering from intense PTSD, and Rafe can't bring himself to put her down. Instead, she asks him to find Tomas, knowing he isn't dead and that Blackstone probably captured him. This launches into the game's second half, where Rafe begins to operate independently of Blackstone, but unlike in Cyberwar 4 where Tomas and Lucy cooperated, Rafe has no desire to cooperate with her, and still plans to kill her after this situation is resolved. Eventually, Rafe realizes the only person he can trust is Suzie, and despite the fact that she does have some ulterior motives (she knows that Blackstone is suppressing America's recovery from the logic bomb detonation), she still helps Rafe, as she and Rafe really do love each other (and Rafe's love for Suzie keeps him from killing Lucy, as he sees similarities in them, especially in how they've both dealt with past trauma). Rafe's activities lead him to a confrontation with Kenneth, while he also teams up with Ara, who helps him track down Tomas in a Blackstone blacksite. Rafe, Suzie, Ara, and Tomas all help Lucy to deal with her own trauma and to focus her hacking activities on taking down Blackstone and the Power Corps, whose increased aggression toward one another threatens an all out war. As Lucy works through her trauma, she comes to realize that technology has been more helpful to humanity than hurtful, and that it's bad humans who have been the primary destructive force on the planet for the past few decades. While Rafe continues his covert activities of killing both Blackstone hunters and Power Corps infiltrators, Lucy focuses on utilizing non-lethal hacking solutions to reduce their influence. Sacrifices are made, including Ara and tragically in a late-game mission, Tomas, who detonates a bomb to prevent a deadly Blackstone hunter squad from killing Lucy. In the game's final mission, Rafe, Suzie, and Lucy coordinate with an allied contingent of military forces to take down the Power Corps once and for all, while in America, Blackstone's influence is diminished by a private hacker army who reveal Blackstone's secrets, leading to the public to turn on them. In the end, while Blackstone remains in power, and Kenneth ultimately remains in charge (he was never a "villain", per se, just someone doing what he believed was necessary, but Rafe is able to convince him to cede power back to civilian leadership after the Power Corps is taken down), the world is now freer than it's ever been, and finally recovering from the effects of the logic bomb. Netizen X remains the world's most wanted hacker, but Lucy, having overcome much of her trauma, is also in a better place emotionally. She gives up her hacker army, telling her followers to go their own way, while she resolves to remain in the shadows, doing good where she can but no longer operating as a major player on the world stage. Rafe and Suzie take on jobs in the new civilian government, with Rafe exchanging his weapons for words, and Suzie put in charge of a new peaceful tech project. The game ends with Rafe proposing to Suzie (who accepts), and Lucy mourning her friends while making contact with a new friend, a young woman hacker much like herself named Cybit. Cyberwar 5 leaves on a high note: the world is not without threats, and the story will continue, but the world is finally getting better, and the heroes who survived can finally enjoy some measure of peace.
Cyberwar 5 is released on September 25, 2017, to strong critical acclaim (an 87 on Metacritic). Though the game isn't quite as revolutionary as Cyberwar 4, it's still seen as one of the best FPS titles of the year, with a highly satisfying campaign mode and a multiplayer mode sure to thrill longtime fans. AJ Michalka's vocal performance as Lucy/Netizen X is particularly highly praised for its realistic depiction of someone suffering from intense trauma, and though her performance as the character had won praise before, Cyberwar 5 takes that praise to the next level. She would win nearly every video game voiceover award given out in 2017, her performance even more highly praised than that of Brittany Saldita's in Assassin's Creed IV, comparable to the level of praise earned by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson for The Last Of Us IOTL. Netizen X's story would continue in story-focused spinoff titles (think Life Is Strange-esque adventure games), while future mainline Cyberwar games would feature different protagonists and mention the character only in passing, ending her "arc" in the franchise's main storyline but allowing the character to live on through smaller scale games. Commercially, the game is an enormous success, becoming the fastest selling video game since 2014's Grand Theft Auto III and moving more than ten million units worldwide in its first week of release. Its total sales would go on to mirror that of its exceedingly successful predecessor, becoming one of the best selling games of its generation.
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Other Significant Titles For September 2017:
Terminus: A first-person shooter/horror title which heavily utilizes virtual reality, the game features a customizable protagonist who explores hidden tunnels beneath a city, through which strange creatures have been emerging. Though the game is compared to Project Gonzo, the protagonist is much more proactive in taking down the creatures, and it's more like a shooter with lots of cinematic elements. It gets a lot of praise for the graphics, VR, and storyline, and is a beautiful showcase for the Reality Neo when it's released the next month (the game's graphics are already optimized for it, so it's ready to go when the Neo launches without needing an update) though the generic gameplay leaves something to be desired, and the lack of multiplayer also hurts.
Yakuza 6: The popular open-world RPG series continues on the Virtua. The game plays much like its OTL counterpart, though of course, the plot is somewhat different due to various butterfly induced changes to the series. Unlike IOTL, the Yakuza series will likely keep its familiar format for its seventh mainline installment, we won't be seeing anything similar to Like A Dragon ITTL.
Infinity Blade III: The third installment of this somewhat popular dungeon crawling RPG series comes to the Gemini and is fairly popular, like the two previous games in the series. It plays a lot more like a Souls-like game than previous two titles in the series, and the graphics are gorgeous for a handheld game. The element of death and rebirth plays a heavy role, as when your character dies, you come back as that character's direct descendant, with dungeons changing to reflect the passage of time. It's the best reviewed game in the series thus far, and is considered a minor hit on the system.
Yakuza Haruka: This spinoff of the Yakuza series, released alongside its console big brother, stars Haruka, Kazuma's adopted daughter, in her own adventure that plays very similarly to the console games, with a huge variety of missions to undertake and things to do. Though the game does win a lot of praise for bringing the full gameplay of Yakuza to a handheld console (other Yakuza games have been ported over before, though this is the first original title to make the leap), it is seen as a bit derivative of other games in the series, limiting some of its critical potential. Still a strong seller, especially in Japan.
The Hidden City: A noir-themed open world RPG in which you play as a detective in the city of Greylake who solves mysteries while uncovering the city's dark secrets. Once a heavily hyped game, which fans affectionately nicknamed "NoiRPG", The Hidden City is released to a bit of a disappointing reception, as its open world promises aren't all kept, and the game is ultimately seen as being inferior to its more linear and stylized cousin Volare. It misses out on nearly every major gaming award, reviews are only decent, and it takes its place as one of 2017's biggest critical and commercial disappointments alongside The Gatherer.
Fightfest: A combination of Fortnite and the Royal Rumble, Fightfest is a battle royale game with physical brawling moves replacing guns and blasters. It takes place in a biker town similar to Sturgis, South Dakota, and sees 100 competitors brawl it out until only one is left standing. Got a lot of hype after its reveal in 2016, but was a bit more muted at the time of release. It's definitely a fun game, with a surprisingly deep combat system and some wacky visuals, though Activision's use of DLC in an already full-priced game gets a lot of criticism. Despite a slow start, it actually remains popular for quite some time after release, and actually builds in popularity in 2018, after 2017's holiday games are all released. While nowhere near as successful as OTL or TTL's biggest battle royale games, it carves out a niche and makes Bobby Kotick a lot of money.
Christina Grimmie: That's right, Redshift was the #1 most downloaded game on the Google Play Store so far this week. In fact, it's become the fastest downloaded app over the first 48 hours since launch of 2017 so far. Those are some really impressive numbers, which translate to 2.6 million people already playing the Android component of the game. We did get to meet some of those people in our review playthrough, so check that out if you want to see just what we thought of Redshift and how that app ties in to the full game. Spoiler alert, it's pretty neat.
Austin: Sales figures for the console version of Redshift won't be released for at least another week from now, but it has been the #1 game on the Nexus store since its release, so the full console version is also doing quite well.
(...)
*Later in the show, Austin and Christina are out playing the Redshift app in a park in Los Angeles, where several dozen other people are also enjoying the game.*
Austin: As for battling on the app, you battle with swipe-based commands, utilizing different commands depending on the weapon you're using or the enemy you're facing. For example, my character right now is using a pistol, so I'll tap on the screen repeatedly to fire at the enemy. As you attack, you'll see damage numbers appear above the enemy's head, but you can turn those off if you just want to use the health bar.
Christina: And of course, the more people playing, generally the tougher the enemies will be and the better loot they'll drop, so you'll want to make sure you've got plenty of other players around. It is possible to party up with friends if you're having trouble finding people out in the real world, so keep that in mind if you're stuck in a less densely populated area.
*The screen shows Austin tapping away on his screen, switching up which part of the enemy he wants to target. His damage numbers appear in one color, while those of the other players nearby appear in different colors, allowing him to easily see what he's doing to the enemy. Combat works like a sort of cross between OTL's Pokemon Go and OTL's The World Ends With You, in contrast to the combat in the Nexus game which is fully 3-D and closer to something like Astral Chain.*
Austin: And when we kill this enemy, you can see tons of loot spilling out, and some of that loot you can use in the app while some of it needs to be transferred to the Nexus game. There's also some loot that can be used in both.
*As the review continues, Austin and Christina continue to play, taking down new enemies at each landmark. Despite it being the first week of launch, there are few if any bugs or issues with the game, with connectivity not being a major problem, giving a good impression of the app's gameplay. After a couple more minutes, the two return to the studio to give their review.*
(...)
Christina: So the biggest problem I picked up on was the somewhat repetitive nature of combat. It's a bit less so in the console version, but I can see combat in the app getting old kind of fast if the devs don't do a whole lot to add more variety. It sort of makes going outside to play kind of a chore, though it is a lot of fun to party up with friends and get those huge loot sprays.
Austin: I disagree with you a bit, I enjoyed the combat on the app, though I think that had a lot to do with the variety of landmarks and places to go in LA, if you're playing out in the boondocks with few if any landmarks, you might have a bit more trouble.
Christina: Honestly though, I did have a lot of fun with the game, and I can see some major battles taking place in the future, especially if they keep things fresh on the app. The console experience is plenty of fun even without the app, at 12 hours it's a solid action-RPG and there's loads of free DLC coming, so I think if you don't want to mess with the app, it's still something worth buying.
Austin: For me, the app is the major selling point. The console component was solid, but you gotta get out there to get the most out of Redshift!
Christina: I do really love meeting people, it was a lot of fun getting out there for the review.
Austin: What's the bottom line?
Christina: I'm giving Redshift a 4/5. I definitely recommend it for anyone who's a fan of action RPGs, particularly ones where loot is heavily involved... just understand that you might get bored of the app pretty quickly.
Austin: I'm giving it a 4 too. If it was JUST the console game I might be tempted to give a 3.5, but the app enhances the experience a lot. The AR is awesome, the online component is great, I just hope it has plenty of players in a year from now.
Christina: Yeah, social games are no fun without socializing!
-from the September 7, 2017 episode of GameTV
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Kennedy Takes Victory Lap In Puerto Rico After Infrastructure Bill Passage
President John F. Kennedy Jr. spent the weekend in Puerto Rico, meeting with supporters and speaking to a large crowd after the passage of the Puerto Rico Debt Forgiveness And Infrastructure Act. The bill, which forgives billions of dollars in Puerto Rican debt and investing $10 billion into shoring up the island's transportation and electrical grid, is expected to improve the U.S. territory's economy significantly in the coming years. The bill faced moderate opposition in Congress, including the threat of a Senate filibuster, but ultimately passed by a margin of 250-185 in the House and 62-38 in the Senate, after Kennedy agreed to include a series of tax breaks in the bill for companies that invested in Puerto Rico.
In a speech to a massive crowd in San Juan, Kennedy re-iterated that "The people of Puerto Rico are Americans too, and deserve the same rights and privileges that all Americans enjoy." Kennedy cited the 2009 American blackout, which killed hundreds and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, as an important reason why improvements to the island's electrical grid are severely needed. The bill closes gaps in funding left by the Huntsman administration's infrastructure package, which provided more than $2 trillion to shore up roads, bridges, and the electrical grid in the United States mainland and Hawaii, but left improvements Puerto Rico and other United States territories underfunded. With Kennedy's visit coming at the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, the need to improve Puerto Rico's electrical grid looms large. A recent study estimates that a direct strike by a Category 5 hurricane on Puerto Rico would lead to power outages that could take weeks or even months to repair, and damages estimated at $100 billion, with up to 5,000 deaths in the storm's aftermath. The Atlantic is currently calm, with no storms forecast for several days, but in Kennedy's speech, he stated that "every hurricane season brings with it a new threat of calamity to Puerto Rico, and it is our duty as fellow Americans to keep all our citizens safe". The bill also forgives a significant portion of Puerto Rico's debt, much of which accumulated under the Huntsman administration, which saw a decline in the economic fortunes of many Puerto Ricans. The debt forgiveness proved to be an initial stumbling block for the bill's passage, but after meeting with a bi-partisan group of senators, Kennedy was able to hash out a deal that would provide for tax breaks and business incentives that satisfied enough Republican senators to prevent a filibuster.
Kennedy also spent some time meeting privately with some of Puerto Rico's top business leaders, and footage of the president dancing to the #1 Billboard hit "Despacito" emerged, leading to ribbing from late night comedians and a series of memes on Twitter. Though the president didn't escape Puerto Rico without becoming meme fodder, he certainly had reason to celebrate the passage of another major bill, coming after the passage of his proposed $13 an hour minimum wage increase in June, and also coming in the middle of a fierce battle to pass a Medicare-for-all healthcare bill before the end of 2017.
-from an article on Yahoo! News, posted on September 20, 2017
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"Beyond anything I took from the game's content-rich single player mode, New Orthodoxy's online multiplayer is brilliant, and should absolutely change the way that games approach the line between online play and single-player campaigns. New Orthodoxy's multiplayer is, in many ways, an expansion of the dynamic multiplayer mode from 2014's Sojourn, a game which continues to see hundreds of thousands of players and robust e-sports prize support to this day, in part because it's so easy to get into and so rewarding to master. While I can't see New Orthodoxy becoming an e-sports staple (it's just not that kind of game), it establishes itself right on the borderline between competitive FPS and epic MMORPG with how it handles its multiplayer. First off, New Orthodoxy is an always online game, which means that even when you're enjoying the single player campaign, you're online. There's a good reason for this: at any point in time, if you have PvP enabled, the enemy can call real world reinforcements into your game. Conversely, you can be called into someone else's game, either in service of the AI battling another player, or you can also jump in to help another player tackle a particularly fierce challenge. You can of course turn the online off and just play by yourself, but at the very least I recommend enabling players to join on your side, as it can absolutely mean the difference between life and death, and the game is partially structured around this. There are moments when you WILL need reinforcements, and unless you're very, very good, you'll have to get help from another player. That said, even if that other player is a complete newbie, they are capable of helping you just by representing more boots on the ground. I remember engaging a particularly difficult enemy in battle: a Blank-piloted robot shaped like a ferocious bird, which continuously rained down fire on me and my computer controlled squad. Try as we might, we were unable to break through, and my player character was left wounded and pinned down. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a squad of troops lights into the bird robot's face, destroying its targeting component and giving my character a chance to breathe, and then to return fire. As I finished the enemy off, I went to thank my savior, who, believe it or not, had just experienced their very first time with the game. They decided to launch right into "Quick Play" mode instead of starting the campaign, and the game, after giving them a brief tutorial, launched them right into my battle to save my ass. New Orthodoxy does such a great job of bringing its community together that there are already loads of videos of 'killer saves' from early players, and as of writing this review, the game hasn't even officially launched yet. There are, of course, the requisite deathmatch and capture the flag modes, which are framed as 'Combat Simulation' and are shunted off as a sort of sideshow. In New Orthodoxy, Blizzard knows exactly what it has: a revolutionary online multiplayer game that will change forever the way that players interact with one another online. Hopefully, the trolls stay away, though Blizzard promises 'constant monitoring' to preserve the integrity of the game's online community. So far, so good."
-Alex Stansfield, from Games Over Matter's 9.5/10 review of New Orthodoxy, posted on September 17, 2017
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Game Spotlight: Cyberwar 5
Cyberwar 5 is a sci-fi FPS title developed by Psygnosis. It follows the events of Cyberwar 4, taking place in the mid-21st Century in a world torn apart by decades of war and picking up the pieces from the detonation of a "logic bomb" that severely crippled technology around the world. In the aftermath of this event, the remaining superpowers battle it out to secure the world's resources, while extranational groups such as the Power Corps and Blackstone Solutions rival even the most powerful nations in terms of military and technological might. Despite the crippling of the world's technology, computer hackers still hold tremendous power, and perhaps none is more infamous than Lucy Brunstein, AKA Netizen X, who has become the world's #1 most wanted person and is being hunted down by people on all sides of the conflict. She's gone into hiding, and the protagonist, Rafe Symar, has been sent to hunt her down. Rafe is a "hunter" for Blackstone Solutions, the military corporation that rules the United States in the aftermath of the logic bomb's detonation. Cyberwar 5 plays like a cross between a traditional FPS title and an open world exploration game, almost like a sort of faster-paced The Last Of Us, with scavenging and crafting a major part of gameplay. Rafe's weaponry is heavily dependent on cybernetics, and by collecting parts and upgrading his weapons, it's possible to make his guns more powerful and more accurate, and to give them special abilities, including the ability to shoot heat-seeking bullets and to detonate into a variety of different substances, including fire, ice, and EMP bursts. Hacking still plays a major role in the game as well, with Rafe able to hack computers to gain access to new buildings and treasure troves, hack enemies in order to cripple them and disable their weapons, and even hack the environment itself, blasting open manholes and turning security systems against foes (similar to the Watch Dogs games). The player can also have Rafe construct a huge variety of gadgets, with applications from combat to social manipulation. While a few are mandatory, many are optional, and a few are just fun to mess around with in game, giving the player a distraction from firefights and hacking challenges. Unlike Cyberwar 4, with its dual protagonists, Cyberwar 5 focuses on Rafe the entire time, and the player will get to know him extensively, and even make certain decisions for him, somewhat like an RPG. Rafe will interact with a variety of people throughout the game, both friend and foe, and the player will learn extensively of his motivations, as his relationship with numerous characters is developed. With Netizen X as the game's primary antagonist, Rafe interacts with her at times through cryptic messages and comms, and though she's the same Netizen X as ever, she's still suffering from guilt and trauma after the events of Cyberwar 4. As the one who detonated the logic bomb, she's had to deal with the consequences for the past year. Though detonating the bomb did allow her to survive, and also likely prevented an apocalyptic war, it also killed hundreds of thousands of people, and with war still going on, despite being ramped down from what it was before, she constantly struggles with the thought that it was all for nothing and that she killed all those people in vain. Cyberwar 5 of course features an extensive multiplayer mode, with a slightly streamlined selection of modes from Cyberwar 4. Cyber City is no more, but it's replacement is a myriad of mission-based PvP and PvE modes, most of which prove to be quite fun. Deathmatch returns, with more weapons and arenas than ever, and overall, multiplayer doesn't miss a step from previous titles in the series, still as fun and intense as ever. As a full AAA-title, with all the budget that entails, Cyberwar 5 is easily one of the best looking games of its generation, and allows for full utilization of VR on both the Reality and Virtua, while the game also looks gorgeous on the Nexus and Nexus Pro. It runs a bit slow on the Nexus, however, as the console's original version is seriously showing its age, while the game also shines on PC and Mac, especially on high settings. Like Cyberwar 4, the game features an all-star voice cast, headlined by Dev Patel as Rafe Symar, and also seeing the return of AJ Michalka as a now 18-year-old Lucy/Netizen X. Keith David voices General Kenneth, the leader of Blackstone Solutions, while Kristen Bell voices Suzie, Rafe's girlfriend, who works for a highly prominent tech corporation and plays a major role in the game's second half. Lucy Lawless voices Ara, leader of the shattered American division of the Power Corps, while Jeff Bridges (in a brief but memorable appearance) voices Dennis, a hospital worker and retired soldier who serves as one of Rafe's early targets and gives him a critical clue to Blackstone's true intentions and Netizen X's hiding place.
The first half of Cyberwar 5 sees Rafe battling it out with groups funded by the Power Corps while also hunting down various hackers and rebels on his kill list. As he takes out the hackers on his list, Netizen X begins to interfere with his activities, drawing more attention from Blackstone, and also causing more personal problems for Rafe, especially when a hack attack by Netizen X causes Suzie's life to be threatened. As this is going on, Rafe is getting more and more tips about Netizen X, and eventually resolves to hunt down her comrades from the previous game: Tomas Alvarez, Julie Skalzeny, and Samuel Redd, each of whom are also in hiding and being targeted by Blackstone. While this is going on, we're also learning more about Blackstone's motivations: the organization is essentially set up to keep America on a wartime footing, establishing martial law as the permanent law of the land, ostensibly to protect against attacks from foreign powers, but mostly to protect against the Power Corps, which has been mostly crippled in North America but which still holds large swaths of land throughout the world as their armies remain firmly in power. Netizen X's attacks have been targeting both organizations, and have been growing more and more with each passing day. Eventually, Rafe is able to hunt down Redd, and after a struggle, reluctantly kills him. Julie is a bit tougher to find, and when Rafe finds her, he ultimately decides not to kill her, only for Blackstone troops to do it anyway. Rafe is shaken, but he resolves to hunt down Tomas, knowing that Tomas is the one who can lead him to Netizen X. However, Rafe is also being hunted by Ara and a crack squad of Power Corps troops, determined to eliminate Blackstone's "hunters" in preparation for an invasion. This leads to a mission in which Rafe tracks Tomas down and the two engage in a climactic battle in which Tomas is bested and flees. Rafe gives pursuit, ultimately leading to a spectacular sequence in which Tomas is seemingly killed and Rafe ends up in Netizen X's hideout. When he finds her, however, she's seemingly comatose and hooked up to numerous machines... it seems she's been in a coma for some time, directing the attacks through unconscious brainwave activities. As Rafe approaches, unsure whether or not to kill her, she suddenly awakens and attacks him, but after a few seconds, collapses into a sobbing wreck. Rafe tries to shoot her, but his gun, controlled by cybertech, won't function, disabled by her security measures. Eventually, she composes herself and explains that she put herself under in order to escape her guilt about the logic bomb's detonation, and her activities aren't meant to destroy anything, but to set things right. She's suffering from intense PTSD, and Rafe can't bring himself to put her down. Instead, she asks him to find Tomas, knowing he isn't dead and that Blackstone probably captured him. This launches into the game's second half, where Rafe begins to operate independently of Blackstone, but unlike in Cyberwar 4 where Tomas and Lucy cooperated, Rafe has no desire to cooperate with her, and still plans to kill her after this situation is resolved. Eventually, Rafe realizes the only person he can trust is Suzie, and despite the fact that she does have some ulterior motives (she knows that Blackstone is suppressing America's recovery from the logic bomb detonation), she still helps Rafe, as she and Rafe really do love each other (and Rafe's love for Suzie keeps him from killing Lucy, as he sees similarities in them, especially in how they've both dealt with past trauma). Rafe's activities lead him to a confrontation with Kenneth, while he also teams up with Ara, who helps him track down Tomas in a Blackstone blacksite. Rafe, Suzie, Ara, and Tomas all help Lucy to deal with her own trauma and to focus her hacking activities on taking down Blackstone and the Power Corps, whose increased aggression toward one another threatens an all out war. As Lucy works through her trauma, she comes to realize that technology has been more helpful to humanity than hurtful, and that it's bad humans who have been the primary destructive force on the planet for the past few decades. While Rafe continues his covert activities of killing both Blackstone hunters and Power Corps infiltrators, Lucy focuses on utilizing non-lethal hacking solutions to reduce their influence. Sacrifices are made, including Ara and tragically in a late-game mission, Tomas, who detonates a bomb to prevent a deadly Blackstone hunter squad from killing Lucy. In the game's final mission, Rafe, Suzie, and Lucy coordinate with an allied contingent of military forces to take down the Power Corps once and for all, while in America, Blackstone's influence is diminished by a private hacker army who reveal Blackstone's secrets, leading to the public to turn on them. In the end, while Blackstone remains in power, and Kenneth ultimately remains in charge (he was never a "villain", per se, just someone doing what he believed was necessary, but Rafe is able to convince him to cede power back to civilian leadership after the Power Corps is taken down), the world is now freer than it's ever been, and finally recovering from the effects of the logic bomb. Netizen X remains the world's most wanted hacker, but Lucy, having overcome much of her trauma, is also in a better place emotionally. She gives up her hacker army, telling her followers to go their own way, while she resolves to remain in the shadows, doing good where she can but no longer operating as a major player on the world stage. Rafe and Suzie take on jobs in the new civilian government, with Rafe exchanging his weapons for words, and Suzie put in charge of a new peaceful tech project. The game ends with Rafe proposing to Suzie (who accepts), and Lucy mourning her friends while making contact with a new friend, a young woman hacker much like herself named Cybit. Cyberwar 5 leaves on a high note: the world is not without threats, and the story will continue, but the world is finally getting better, and the heroes who survived can finally enjoy some measure of peace.
Cyberwar 5 is released on September 25, 2017, to strong critical acclaim (an 87 on Metacritic). Though the game isn't quite as revolutionary as Cyberwar 4, it's still seen as one of the best FPS titles of the year, with a highly satisfying campaign mode and a multiplayer mode sure to thrill longtime fans. AJ Michalka's vocal performance as Lucy/Netizen X is particularly highly praised for its realistic depiction of someone suffering from intense trauma, and though her performance as the character had won praise before, Cyberwar 5 takes that praise to the next level. She would win nearly every video game voiceover award given out in 2017, her performance even more highly praised than that of Brittany Saldita's in Assassin's Creed IV, comparable to the level of praise earned by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson for The Last Of Us IOTL. Netizen X's story would continue in story-focused spinoff titles (think Life Is Strange-esque adventure games), while future mainline Cyberwar games would feature different protagonists and mention the character only in passing, ending her "arc" in the franchise's main storyline but allowing the character to live on through smaller scale games. Commercially, the game is an enormous success, becoming the fastest selling video game since 2014's Grand Theft Auto III and moving more than ten million units worldwide in its first week of release. Its total sales would go on to mirror that of its exceedingly successful predecessor, becoming one of the best selling games of its generation.
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Other Significant Titles For September 2017:
Terminus: A first-person shooter/horror title which heavily utilizes virtual reality, the game features a customizable protagonist who explores hidden tunnels beneath a city, through which strange creatures have been emerging. Though the game is compared to Project Gonzo, the protagonist is much more proactive in taking down the creatures, and it's more like a shooter with lots of cinematic elements. It gets a lot of praise for the graphics, VR, and storyline, and is a beautiful showcase for the Reality Neo when it's released the next month (the game's graphics are already optimized for it, so it's ready to go when the Neo launches without needing an update) though the generic gameplay leaves something to be desired, and the lack of multiplayer also hurts.
Yakuza 6: The popular open-world RPG series continues on the Virtua. The game plays much like its OTL counterpart, though of course, the plot is somewhat different due to various butterfly induced changes to the series. Unlike IOTL, the Yakuza series will likely keep its familiar format for its seventh mainline installment, we won't be seeing anything similar to Like A Dragon ITTL.
Infinity Blade III: The third installment of this somewhat popular dungeon crawling RPG series comes to the Gemini and is fairly popular, like the two previous games in the series. It plays a lot more like a Souls-like game than previous two titles in the series, and the graphics are gorgeous for a handheld game. The element of death and rebirth plays a heavy role, as when your character dies, you come back as that character's direct descendant, with dungeons changing to reflect the passage of time. It's the best reviewed game in the series thus far, and is considered a minor hit on the system.
Yakuza Haruka: This spinoff of the Yakuza series, released alongside its console big brother, stars Haruka, Kazuma's adopted daughter, in her own adventure that plays very similarly to the console games, with a huge variety of missions to undertake and things to do. Though the game does win a lot of praise for bringing the full gameplay of Yakuza to a handheld console (other Yakuza games have been ported over before, though this is the first original title to make the leap), it is seen as a bit derivative of other games in the series, limiting some of its critical potential. Still a strong seller, especially in Japan.
The Hidden City: A noir-themed open world RPG in which you play as a detective in the city of Greylake who solves mysteries while uncovering the city's dark secrets. Once a heavily hyped game, which fans affectionately nicknamed "NoiRPG", The Hidden City is released to a bit of a disappointing reception, as its open world promises aren't all kept, and the game is ultimately seen as being inferior to its more linear and stylized cousin Volare. It misses out on nearly every major gaming award, reviews are only decent, and it takes its place as one of 2017's biggest critical and commercial disappointments alongside The Gatherer.
Fightfest: A combination of Fortnite and the Royal Rumble, Fightfest is a battle royale game with physical brawling moves replacing guns and blasters. It takes place in a biker town similar to Sturgis, South Dakota, and sees 100 competitors brawl it out until only one is left standing. Got a lot of hype after its reveal in 2016, but was a bit more muted at the time of release. It's definitely a fun game, with a surprisingly deep combat system and some wacky visuals, though Activision's use of DLC in an already full-priced game gets a lot of criticism. Despite a slow start, it actually remains popular for quite some time after release, and actually builds in popularity in 2018, after 2017's holiday games are all released. While nowhere near as successful as OTL or TTL's biggest battle royale games, it carves out a niche and makes Bobby Kotick a lot of money.
Deleted member 150598
The Amazing Race Canada, Season 5
The Amazing Race Canada: Season 5: Happy Birthday Canada!
This season coincided with Canada's 150th birthday. Therefore, there were several challenges that were labeled "150 Challenges" and take a look at Canadian history. Though they didn't go to Vimy Ridge for whatever reason.
Anyway, this season was filmed from late April to late May 2017.
Korey and Ivana: Best friends and personal trainers. They are wonderful competitors.
Dan and Riya: Friends and YouTube creators. Apparently they are gamers but I never met them.
Adam and Andrea: Siblings. They are fun.
Sam and Paul: Dating. Good competitors.
Karen and Bert: Married couple. They are a good team.
Kenneth and Ryan: Best friends. They can be annoying but I like them.
Megan and Courtney: Cousins. Again they can be annoying but there are times when you can like them.
Zed and Shabbir: Father and son. Great guys, lots of spirit.
Andrea and Ebonie: Business partners and friends. They met on the Canadian version of Project Runway. They can be devious.
Aaron and Deb: Mother and son. They do their whole race in suits as they work in a funeral home and they are used to it.
Leg #1: "Who's the Python?"
Original Air Date: July 4, 2017.
Starting at Signal Hill National Historic Site in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, teams have to go to Cabot Tower to decipher a Morse code message being translated over a HAM radio (Vancouver Capilano Bridge). The next clue (which has their Credit Card with $300 on it), tells them to fly to Vancouver and search the area around Capilano Suspension Bridge for a falconer who will get them their next clue. Teams then go the statue of "Gassy Jack" Deighton in Gastown.
Teams then go to the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock (which is a 150 Challenge), one team member has to tightrope walk 14 storeys across the front of the hotel. After this teams get the Detour: Pedal or Paddle. In Pedal, teams travelled to Sunset Beach where, riding bicycles, they had to complete two bike polo drills. First, each team member while riding a bicycle had to maneuver the ball using a plastic mallet through a series of cones. They then had to pass the ball back and forth to each other and score one goal to receive their next clue. In Paddle, teams joined a dragon boat racing crew. One team member helped paddle, while the other steered the boat with an oar through a course in False Creek using specific commands. Upon completing the course, they received their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: inside the VanDuesen Botanical Gardens hedge maze.
1. Adam and Andrea 12:13 P.M. Won a trip for two to Barcelona, Spain
2. Sam and Paul 12:30 P.M.
3. Korey and Ivana 12:31 P.M.
4. Zed and Shabbir 12:35 P.M.
5. Kenneth and Ryan 1:30 P.M.
6. Karen and Bert 1:34 P.M.
7. Andrea and Ebonie 2:03 P.M. PENALIZED 2 hours for not completing the Morse code task in St. John's.
8. Megan and Courtney 2:05 P.M.
9. Aaron and Deb 2:35 P.M.
10. Dan and Riya 3:15 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #2: "Stop playing with my hose!"
Original Air Date: July 11, 2017.
Getting $350, teams fly to Fort McMurray, Alberta, which at the time was still recovering from the 2016 wildfire. Once there, teams go to Wild Play Park in Vista Ridge for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to search the aerial adventure park for three colour-coded pieces of the next clue in pouches scattered among the park's 50 platforms. Additionally, three of the pouches contained an Express Pass. A team could claim more than one Express Pass, but they must give any extra away by the end of the third leg. Kenneth and Ryan get all three and give one to Karen and Bert and the other to Andrea and Ebonie.
Teams then go to the Fort McMurray Fish and Game Association for the Detour: Pump It or Pull It, both have a five station limit. In Pump It, a 150 challenge, teams travelled to a RM of Wood Buffalo Fire Department training ground. After suiting up as firefighters, teams had to carry a 120 pounds (54 kg) water pump to a nearby reservoir and figure out how to correctly operate the pump. After attaching a fire hose, they then had to completely extinguish a controlled fire 50 feet (15 m) away to receive their next clue. In Pull It, teams travelled to the Fort McMurray Fish and Game Association Gun Range, where they had to shoot a total of 15 clay targets with a 20-gauge shotgun, alternating partners after every 3 shots, to receive their next clue. Teams then go to a helicopter hanger, calculate the helicopter's centre of gravity from the previous trip and then fly to SMS Shell Stadium at Shell Place on MacDonald Island. From there they go to the Pit Stop: The 16th hole at the Miskanaw Golf Club.
1. Andrea and Ebonie 11:43 A.M. Won a trip for two to Auckland, New Zealand
2. Kenneth and Ryan 12:03 P.M.
3. Megan and Courtney 12:22 P.M.
4. Zed and Shabbir 1:02 P.M.
5. Sam and Paul 1:48 P.M.
6. Korey and Ivana 2:00 P.M.
7. Karen and Bert 2:09 P.M.
8. Adam and Andrea 2:57 P.M.
9. Aaron and Deb 3:50 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #3: "Like ducks in the woods."
Original Air Date: July 18, 2017.
Getting $450, teams fly to Castlegar, British Columbia. Once there, teams travel in a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV (whoever drove most effectively won $5,000) to Zuckerberg Island. Here teams have to, using an example, find one difference in one of nine campsites. After a brief, though unaired, stop at Chances Casino, teams go to Oso Negro Coffee Roastery in Nelson. Teams have to deliver two blends of specialty coffee to get their next clue. Teams then go to Kootenay Lake for the Roadblock. This Roadblock requires one team member had to put on a wetsuit and swing from a cord beneath the Nelson Bridge, known locally as the "Big Orange Bridge", letting go to land as close as possible to a buoy holding their clue. They then had to swim the rest of the way across Kootenay Lake to the dock where they would reunite with their partner.
Teams then get the Detour: Strike It or Throw It. Both take place at Selkirk Community College For The Arts. In Strike It, teams had to use provided blacksmith tools to forge red-hot irons into two coat hooks matching a given example. Once both were approved, they received their next clue. In Throw It, teams had to use a potter's wheel and provided tools to correctly "throw" two ceramic cups from clay. Once both were approved, they received their next clue. Teams then go the Pit Stop: Kokanee Creek Provincial Park.
1. Korey and Ivana 2:10 P.M. Won a trip for two to Chicago.
2. Kenneth and Ryan 2:34 P.M. Won $5,000.
3. Zed and Shabbir 2:36 P.M.
4. Megan and Courtney 3:14 P.M.
5. Karen and Bert 3:58 P.M.
6. Sam and Paul 4:23 P.M.
7. Adam and Andrea 4:52 P.M.
8. Andrea and Ebonie 5:40 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #4: "That's a workout and a half."
Original Air Date: July 25, 2017.
Getting $290, teams fly to Vancouver and go to the Sinorama Tours Office in Richmond and pick up a travel pack and a clue telling them to travel to Beijing. On arrival, teams have to go to Juyong Pass and memorize and give a tour in English, French and Mandarin. Then they have to get to the Canadian Embassy in Beijing and interrupt a ball hockey game for the Detour: In Sync or In Line, both of which take place at Ying Tung Natatorium. In In Sync, teams had to synchronized dive from the 5 meters (16 ft) platform into the pool. They received their next clue once they earned a combined score of 20 or more from the three judges. In In Line, teams had to dress in colorful costumes and correctly perform a dance routine on the terrace combining a flash mob and line dancing to receive their next clue.
Teams then go to Ren Yi Tang, a traditional pharmacy, for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member was given three ingredients to fill a prescription herbal remedy, written in Chinese characters, and had to search among 800 drawers for the one with the corresponding characters. Once all three ingredients were found, they had to weigh the correct doses to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Drum Tower Square. There they are told to keep going.
1. Zed and Shabbir 1:21 P.M. Won a trip for two to China.
2. Megan and Courtney 1:45 P.M.
3. Korey and Ivana 2:10 P.M.
4. Kenneth and Ryan 2:11 P.M.
5. Sam and Paul 2:12 P.M.
6. Karen and Bert 2:17 P.M.
7. Adam and Andrea 3:22 P.M.
Leg #5: "That was not a good chaser."
Original Air Date: August 1, 2017.
Continuing from the previous leg, teams get $340 and instructions to take a train to Shanghai. There they have to find Tock's Montreal Style Deli where they repeat the Mandarin phrase they learned in the previous leg to get their next clue. Teams now fly to Bangkok, Thailand. On arrival, they have to go to the Caturday Cafe where they find the Fast Forward. Teams who chose to attempt the Fast Forward travelled to the grounds of the National Stadium of Thailand, where they participated in the Thai sport of hoop takraw. The first team to kick the ball into the hoop once won the Fast Forward. Adam and Andrea go for it, beating Sam and Paul for it.
The teams that don't do the Fast Forward, go by water taxi to the Artist's house and, dressed in black, they participate in a traditional Thai puppet show, which includes audience interaction. Teams then get the Detour: Bling It or Shred It. In Bling It, teams travelled to Wat Ratchanatdaram, where they would choose a tuk-tuk to decorate. Once chosen, they had to compare two decorated tuk-tuks to determine which decorations are identical on both, including one of the plush pandas and elephants they were given back at Vancouver and Beijing. They then had to search the nearby Amulet Market and Khlong Thom Center to buy the decorations to affix to their chosen tuk-tuk. Once all details were correct, they would receive their next clue. In Shred It, teams travelled to Flow House, where each team member had to maintain their balance surfing an artificially-generated wave, receiving their next clue once both team members successfully grabbed a flag hanging overhead. After that, teams go to the Pit Stop: Wat Thewarat Kunchorn Worawihan Temple.
1. Adam and Andrea 12:10 P.M. Won a trip for two to Thailand and China.
2. Zed and Shamir 1:59 P.M.
3. Korey and Ivana 2:12 P.M.
4. Meghan and Courtney 2:54 P.M.
5. Kenneth and Ryan 3:00 P.M.
6. Karen and Bert 3:30 P.M.
7. Sam and Paul 4:22 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #6: "We just saw Johnny Mustard!"
Original Air Date: August 8, 2017.
Receiving $400, teams fly to Canada's capital Ottawa, Ontario. On arrival, teams go to the Ottawa 2017 Cauldron outside Ottawa City Hall and get the clue from Mayor Jim Watson. Teams then go to Hog's Back Falls and arrange a red or white car into one of the letters in Canada. After that, teams go to the RCMP Stables for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to suit up as an RCMP officer and properly groom a show horse from front to back. Next, they then had to correctly attach tack and a saddle to the horse. Finally, once approved by the supervising officer, they had to ride the horse into the practice arena and join in the RCMP Musical Ride to receive their next clue.
Next teams get the Detour: Tiptoe Through the Tulips or Get the Picture. In Tiptoe Through the Tulips, teams travelled to Commissioners Park, where they had to assemble a vendor cart for the Canadian Tulip Festival. Once built, they had to search the park for 12 buckets containing tulip bouquets of matching colours and assemble them to match the display on a completed example cart to receive their next clue. In Get the Picture, teams travelled to the Canada Council Art Bank, where they had to use the computer database to find 20 specified artwork by matching serial numbers and, once found, photograph each. They then had to place the correct 20 photographs into an album to receive their next clue. Teams then get to the BeaverTails Cafe in the ByWard Market and find the U-Turn, which no one uses. Teams then cross the river into Gatineau, Quebec and go the Canadian History Hall in the Canadian Museum of History where they have to take the Canadian Citizenship Test. Once both team members get at least 15 out of 20 questions right, they can go to the Pit Stop: a terrace overlooking the Ottawa River and the Houses of Parliament.
1. Zed and Shamir 2:10 P.M. Won a five city cross Canada tour.
2. Kenneth and Ryan 2:25 P.M.
3. Korey and Ivana 3:20 P.M.
4. Adam and Andrea 4:17 P.M.
5. Karen and Bert 4:47 P.M.
6. Meghan and Courtney 5:09 P.M. NOT ELIMINATED/SPEEDBUMPED.
Leg #7: "That's some family."
Original Air Date: August 15, 2017.
Getting $400, teams fly to Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador. On arrival, teams head to the Bank of Montreal Branch in Corner Brook. There they get a message from their loved ones telling them to get to the Gros Morne National Park Discovery Centre. Here Meghan and Courtney run into their Speedbump: getting a combined 25 points in archery. Then they can join the other teams in Woody Point (which is within the park) for the Detour: Find Your Dory or Family Story. In Find Your Dory, teams had to use four oars (two oars each) to row a dory boat around Bonne Bay to spot a lobster trap along the shore containing their next clue. After retrieving the clue, they rowed back to the starting point. In Family Story, teams made their way to a mock Viking camp and dressed in period costume. They had to listen to impersonators of three Norse Gods – Loki, Odin, and Thor – describe their ancestry and descendants. They then had to correctly fill in a family tree using stones carved with the given names (as well as some misleading names) to receive their next clue.
Teams then head to the Corner Brook Centre Bowl for the 150 Challenge Face-off. In this Face-off, teams compete in a full 10 frame game of five pin bowling. The team with the most points wins. The final losing team has to serve a penalty. Teams then go to Swirsky's Theater and Music Hall for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member has to choose and memorize twelve jokes from a list of fifty and successfully perform a stand-up comedy act on stage to receive their next clue from comedian Trent McClellan. Some of the jokes were intentionally duds. If they failed, they would be pelted with fruits and vegetables by the audience. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: The Captain James Cook National Historic Site Lighthouse.
1. Kenneth and Ryan 1:19 P.M. Won a trip for two to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2. Korey and Ivana 1:45 P.M.
3. Zed and Shamir 2:20 P.M.
4. Adam and Andrea 2:49 P.M.
5. Meghan and Courtney 3:59 P.M.
6. Karen and Bert 4:00 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #8: "Not what I was thinking."
Original Air Date: August 22, 2017.
Receiving $350, teams fly to Panama City, Panama. Once there, they go to the Frank Gehry designed Biomuseo. Teams then go to Paseo Esteban Huertas in Casco Viejo for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to choose and memorize an intricate mola pattern at a marked kiosk, then search the streets and plazas of Casco Viejo for the one Kuna woman among many who was wearing the matching pattern on their dress. Once they found the correct woman, they had to escort her back to the kiosk, where they would receive their next clue.
After this, teams immediately got the Detour: Up For a Drink or Down For the Count. In Up For a Drink, teams travelled to Hotel Las Clementinas, where they would find beers from Casa Bruja Microbrewery. They then had to taste and identify five flavours of craft beer, then label the flavours correctly to receive their next clue. In Down For the Count, teams travelled to a boxing gym, where both team members had to memorize six combinations of boxing moves, then each get into the ring and perform all six in succession against a professional to receive their next clue. Teams then go to Sports Complex Escuela Dr. Belisario Porras, put on drum major uniforms and participate in a baton twirling routine to get the next clue. The clue given was a photograph of Jon in front of a "Panamá" sign. Teams had to figure out that this sign was located at Parador Fotográfico on Cinta Costera, the Pit Stop for this leg. However, there were two identical signs along the coast (the other one is located at the Causeway Islands), so they had to make note of the background details in the photograph to determine which location was the correct one.
1. Zed and Shamir 1:18 P.M. Won a trip for two to New Orleans.
2. Korey and Ivana 2:00 P.M.
3. Kevin and Ryan 2:19 P.M.
4. Adam and Andrea 3:15 P.M.
5. Meghan and Courtney 4:00 P.M. NOT ELIMINATED/SPEEDBUMPED.
Leg #9: "Like finding a needle in a stack of needles."
Original Air Date: August 29, 2017.
Getting $390, teams fly to Regina, Saskatchewan. On arrival, teams go to Douglas Park Elementary School, where they make a Grant a Wish come true, by squeezing out a pitcher of orange juice and serving it to the kids. Teams then go to the Aulie Family Farm where Meghan and Courtney find the Speedbump: cleaning out a horse stall and then putting down fresh hay. They then join the other teams, at the same place, for the Detour: The Cart or The Horse. In The Cart (A Canada 150 challenge), teams had to maneuver a self-propelled grain auger to a grain cart, locate the auger's screw conveyor power switch, then shovel 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of Canadian-developed canola seed into the auger's mouth and convey it into the grain cart to receive their next clue. In The Horse, teams had to lead an auction for a Clydesdale horse. One team member was the auctioneer who had to memorize and recite the horse's story to bidders, and call out asking prices. The other team member was the bid catcher who had to relay bids to their partner both verbally and with hand signals. They received their next clue once selling the horse for a price of at least $6,000 Canadian.
Teams then head to the Dog River Hotel where the Double U-Turn is (which no one uses). Teams then head to Crescent Park in Moose Jaw and stack soup cans into the shape of a maple leaf. After that, teams head to Grandpa's Garden in the Moose Jaw suburb of Caron for the Roadblock. In the Roadblock, one team member had to dress as a beekeeper and search the honeycombs of a hive of 20,000 honey bees for the one queen bee and correctly point her out to a judge to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Hanger 7 of 15 Wing Moose Jaw Canadian Armed Forces Base in Bushell Park.
1. Korey and Ivana 12:07 P.M. Won a trip for two to Costa Rica
2. Kevin and Ryan 12:59 P.M.
3. Adam and Andrea 1:13 P.M.
4. Zed and Shamir 1:46 P.M.
5. Meghan and Courtney 2:22 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #10: "They are all over YOU!"
Original Air Date: September 5, 2017.
After receiving $325, teams fly to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. On arrival, teams have to go to a specific spot on the Agawa Canyon Railway. There they get on a train for the last Canada 150 challenge: during a 30 minute train ride, memorize the names and artists of 14 paintings by artists of the Group of Seven and then go to another car and identify them. If they don't do it in thirty minutes, they have to stay on the train and start again. After this, teams get the Detour: Alpac-It or I'll Cast It. In Alpac-It, teams travelled to the Mockin'bird Hill Pioneer Farm, where they had to lead two alpacas through an obstacle course of nine obstacles, without knocking any down, in a time of three minutes or less to receive their next clue. In I'll Cast It, teams travelled to Kinsmen Park, where they put on hip waders and entered Kinsmen Lake. Here, each team member had to cast their rod to hit three floating targets by fly fishing to receive their next clue.
Teams then go to the John Rhodes Community Pool where they find the final Face-Off. On a circular curling sheet, teams competed against each other in Crokicurl – a recently developed game that is a cross between curling and the Canadian-created board game crokinole. Each ring has a specific point value. Across from their partner, each team member took turns throwing six curling stones, attempting to knock out their opponent's stones while keeping theirs in place to score the most points. If the opposing stone is in play, it must be hit. If a stone lands in the direct centre, or button, it is worth 20 points and the stone is removed from play. After all stones are thrown, the team with the higher score received the next clue. The team who arrived earlier had the choice of taking their turn first or second. The last team remaining will wait out a time penalty before moving on. Teams now travelled to Entomica in Mill Market for the Roadblock. This Roadblock requires the team member not performing the Roadblock had to insert their head into a plexiglass box, after which four species of live giant cockroaches were dropped on them. The team member who was performing the Roadblock then had to count the correct number of each species to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Topsail Island in Bellevue Park.
1. Zed and Shamir 2:20 P.M. Won a trip for two to Cape Town, South Africa.
2. Korey and Ivana 2:53 P.M.
3. Kenneth and Ryan 3:40 P.M.
4. Adam and Andrea 4:15 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #11: "Canada is coming together like a piece of cake!"
Original Air Date: September 12, 2017.
Getting $350, teams fly to Quebec City, Quebec. Once there, they get to the Airport Control Tower where they find the next clue. From there, teams get to Montmorency Falls where they find the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to attach a harness and a climb down a cargo net suspended from the pedestrian bridge over the 276 feet (84 m) waterfall to retrieve their next clue, then climb back up to reunite with their partner. Teams then go to Place de Bordeaux in the Saint-Roch neighborhood of Old Quebec. With one team member as driver and the other as dispatcher, teams chose a bike rickshaw. Using only a location list, map with street names and places written in French, and walkie-talkies, the dispatcher had to give the driver directions through the streets of Old Quebec to pick up three passengers carrying a card colour-coded to each team, and transport them to their proper destination, after which each would give the card to the driver. After returning to Place de Bordeaux with all three cards, they received their next clue.
Teams then go to the Carnaval de Quebec warehouse and search amongst the figurines of Bonhomme, the snowman mascot of the Carnaval, for a box of chocolates from Erico Chocolatier, with the words trade me in on the bottom for the next clue. Teams then go to Erico and give the box for the next clue. After this, teams head to Édifice Marie-Guyart – Observatoire de la Capitale for another Roadblock. In this Roadblock, who did not perform the first Roadblock had to pull themselves up the side of the 31-storey Édifice Marie-Guyart, Quebec City's tallest building, to the rooftop. Once there, they had to search the city to spot a yellow and red Race flag on the roof of their next destination, the Morrin Centre, then take the elevator back down to reunite with their partner. At the Morrin Centre, teams have to put together a 150 piece puzzle together in the library, then put the correct six Canada 150 challenge cards on the cities where they took place to get the next clue. Teams then go to the finish line: Parc des Ancêtres.
1. Korey and Ivana WIN.
2. Kenneth and Ryan PLACE.
3. Zed and Shamir SHOW.
This is at the bottom of the list by default. Not saying it was bad, just saying that's the way these things go sometimes. The amazing thing about that season that I should mention is that Ivana ran the latter half of the season with a cracked spine. She's ok now but that is something else. Apparently she got it during the diving challenge in China. Next time, see you next year.
-Globetrotting: An Amazing Race Blog by R.C. Anderson for the website Reality Rewind, September 15, 2017.
This season coincided with Canada's 150th birthday. Therefore, there were several challenges that were labeled "150 Challenges" and take a look at Canadian history. Though they didn't go to Vimy Ridge for whatever reason.
Anyway, this season was filmed from late April to late May 2017.
The Cast
Korey and Ivana: Best friends and personal trainers. They are wonderful competitors.
Dan and Riya: Friends and YouTube creators. Apparently they are gamers but I never met them.
Adam and Andrea: Siblings. They are fun.
Sam and Paul: Dating. Good competitors.
Karen and Bert: Married couple. They are a good team.
Kenneth and Ryan: Best friends. They can be annoying but I like them.
Megan and Courtney: Cousins. Again they can be annoying but there are times when you can like them.
Zed and Shabbir: Father and son. Great guys, lots of spirit.
Andrea and Ebonie: Business partners and friends. They met on the Canadian version of Project Runway. They can be devious.
Aaron and Deb: Mother and son. They do their whole race in suits as they work in a funeral home and they are used to it.
The Race
Leg #1: "Who's the Python?"
Original Air Date: July 4, 2017.
Starting at Signal Hill National Historic Site in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, teams have to go to Cabot Tower to decipher a Morse code message being translated over a HAM radio (Vancouver Capilano Bridge). The next clue (which has their Credit Card with $300 on it), tells them to fly to Vancouver and search the area around Capilano Suspension Bridge for a falconer who will get them their next clue. Teams then go the statue of "Gassy Jack" Deighton in Gastown.
Teams then go to the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock (which is a 150 Challenge), one team member has to tightrope walk 14 storeys across the front of the hotel. After this teams get the Detour: Pedal or Paddle. In Pedal, teams travelled to Sunset Beach where, riding bicycles, they had to complete two bike polo drills. First, each team member while riding a bicycle had to maneuver the ball using a plastic mallet through a series of cones. They then had to pass the ball back and forth to each other and score one goal to receive their next clue. In Paddle, teams joined a dragon boat racing crew. One team member helped paddle, while the other steered the boat with an oar through a course in False Creek using specific commands. Upon completing the course, they received their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: inside the VanDuesen Botanical Gardens hedge maze.
1. Adam and Andrea 12:13 P.M. Won a trip for two to Barcelona, Spain
2. Sam and Paul 12:30 P.M.
3. Korey and Ivana 12:31 P.M.
4. Zed and Shabbir 12:35 P.M.
5. Kenneth and Ryan 1:30 P.M.
6. Karen and Bert 1:34 P.M.
7. Andrea and Ebonie 2:03 P.M. PENALIZED 2 hours for not completing the Morse code task in St. John's.
8. Megan and Courtney 2:05 P.M.
9. Aaron and Deb 2:35 P.M.
10. Dan and Riya 3:15 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #2: "Stop playing with my hose!"
Original Air Date: July 11, 2017.
Getting $350, teams fly to Fort McMurray, Alberta, which at the time was still recovering from the 2016 wildfire. Once there, teams go to Wild Play Park in Vista Ridge for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to search the aerial adventure park for three colour-coded pieces of the next clue in pouches scattered among the park's 50 platforms. Additionally, three of the pouches contained an Express Pass. A team could claim more than one Express Pass, but they must give any extra away by the end of the third leg. Kenneth and Ryan get all three and give one to Karen and Bert and the other to Andrea and Ebonie.
Teams then go to the Fort McMurray Fish and Game Association for the Detour: Pump It or Pull It, both have a five station limit. In Pump It, a 150 challenge, teams travelled to a RM of Wood Buffalo Fire Department training ground. After suiting up as firefighters, teams had to carry a 120 pounds (54 kg) water pump to a nearby reservoir and figure out how to correctly operate the pump. After attaching a fire hose, they then had to completely extinguish a controlled fire 50 feet (15 m) away to receive their next clue. In Pull It, teams travelled to the Fort McMurray Fish and Game Association Gun Range, where they had to shoot a total of 15 clay targets with a 20-gauge shotgun, alternating partners after every 3 shots, to receive their next clue. Teams then go to a helicopter hanger, calculate the helicopter's centre of gravity from the previous trip and then fly to SMS Shell Stadium at Shell Place on MacDonald Island. From there they go to the Pit Stop: The 16th hole at the Miskanaw Golf Club.
1. Andrea and Ebonie 11:43 A.M. Won a trip for two to Auckland, New Zealand
2. Kenneth and Ryan 12:03 P.M.
3. Megan and Courtney 12:22 P.M.
4. Zed and Shabbir 1:02 P.M.
5. Sam and Paul 1:48 P.M.
6. Korey and Ivana 2:00 P.M.
7. Karen and Bert 2:09 P.M.
8. Adam and Andrea 2:57 P.M.
9. Aaron and Deb 3:50 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #3: "Like ducks in the woods."
Original Air Date: July 18, 2017.
Getting $450, teams fly to Castlegar, British Columbia. Once there, teams travel in a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV (whoever drove most effectively won $5,000) to Zuckerberg Island. Here teams have to, using an example, find one difference in one of nine campsites. After a brief, though unaired, stop at Chances Casino, teams go to Oso Negro Coffee Roastery in Nelson. Teams have to deliver two blends of specialty coffee to get their next clue. Teams then go to Kootenay Lake for the Roadblock. This Roadblock requires one team member had to put on a wetsuit and swing from a cord beneath the Nelson Bridge, known locally as the "Big Orange Bridge", letting go to land as close as possible to a buoy holding their clue. They then had to swim the rest of the way across Kootenay Lake to the dock where they would reunite with their partner.
Teams then get the Detour: Strike It or Throw It. Both take place at Selkirk Community College For The Arts. In Strike It, teams had to use provided blacksmith tools to forge red-hot irons into two coat hooks matching a given example. Once both were approved, they received their next clue. In Throw It, teams had to use a potter's wheel and provided tools to correctly "throw" two ceramic cups from clay. Once both were approved, they received their next clue. Teams then go the Pit Stop: Kokanee Creek Provincial Park.
1. Korey and Ivana 2:10 P.M. Won a trip for two to Chicago.
2. Kenneth and Ryan 2:34 P.M. Won $5,000.
3. Zed and Shabbir 2:36 P.M.
4. Megan and Courtney 3:14 P.M.
5. Karen and Bert 3:58 P.M.
6. Sam and Paul 4:23 P.M.
7. Adam and Andrea 4:52 P.M.
8. Andrea and Ebonie 5:40 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #4: "That's a workout and a half."
Original Air Date: July 25, 2017.
Getting $290, teams fly to Vancouver and go to the Sinorama Tours Office in Richmond and pick up a travel pack and a clue telling them to travel to Beijing. On arrival, teams have to go to Juyong Pass and memorize and give a tour in English, French and Mandarin. Then they have to get to the Canadian Embassy in Beijing and interrupt a ball hockey game for the Detour: In Sync or In Line, both of which take place at Ying Tung Natatorium. In In Sync, teams had to synchronized dive from the 5 meters (16 ft) platform into the pool. They received their next clue once they earned a combined score of 20 or more from the three judges. In In Line, teams had to dress in colorful costumes and correctly perform a dance routine on the terrace combining a flash mob and line dancing to receive their next clue.
Teams then go to Ren Yi Tang, a traditional pharmacy, for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member was given three ingredients to fill a prescription herbal remedy, written in Chinese characters, and had to search among 800 drawers for the one with the corresponding characters. Once all three ingredients were found, they had to weigh the correct doses to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Drum Tower Square. There they are told to keep going.
1. Zed and Shabbir 1:21 P.M. Won a trip for two to China.
2. Megan and Courtney 1:45 P.M.
3. Korey and Ivana 2:10 P.M.
4. Kenneth and Ryan 2:11 P.M.
5. Sam and Paul 2:12 P.M.
6. Karen and Bert 2:17 P.M.
7. Adam and Andrea 3:22 P.M.
Leg #5: "That was not a good chaser."
Original Air Date: August 1, 2017.
Continuing from the previous leg, teams get $340 and instructions to take a train to Shanghai. There they have to find Tock's Montreal Style Deli where they repeat the Mandarin phrase they learned in the previous leg to get their next clue. Teams now fly to Bangkok, Thailand. On arrival, they have to go to the Caturday Cafe where they find the Fast Forward. Teams who chose to attempt the Fast Forward travelled to the grounds of the National Stadium of Thailand, where they participated in the Thai sport of hoop takraw. The first team to kick the ball into the hoop once won the Fast Forward. Adam and Andrea go for it, beating Sam and Paul for it.
The teams that don't do the Fast Forward, go by water taxi to the Artist's house and, dressed in black, they participate in a traditional Thai puppet show, which includes audience interaction. Teams then get the Detour: Bling It or Shred It. In Bling It, teams travelled to Wat Ratchanatdaram, where they would choose a tuk-tuk to decorate. Once chosen, they had to compare two decorated tuk-tuks to determine which decorations are identical on both, including one of the plush pandas and elephants they were given back at Vancouver and Beijing. They then had to search the nearby Amulet Market and Khlong Thom Center to buy the decorations to affix to their chosen tuk-tuk. Once all details were correct, they would receive their next clue. In Shred It, teams travelled to Flow House, where each team member had to maintain their balance surfing an artificially-generated wave, receiving their next clue once both team members successfully grabbed a flag hanging overhead. After that, teams go to the Pit Stop: Wat Thewarat Kunchorn Worawihan Temple.
1. Adam and Andrea 12:10 P.M. Won a trip for two to Thailand and China.
2. Zed and Shamir 1:59 P.M.
3. Korey and Ivana 2:12 P.M.
4. Meghan and Courtney 2:54 P.M.
5. Kenneth and Ryan 3:00 P.M.
6. Karen and Bert 3:30 P.M.
7. Sam and Paul 4:22 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #6: "We just saw Johnny Mustard!"
Original Air Date: August 8, 2017.
Receiving $400, teams fly to Canada's capital Ottawa, Ontario. On arrival, teams go to the Ottawa 2017 Cauldron outside Ottawa City Hall and get the clue from Mayor Jim Watson. Teams then go to Hog's Back Falls and arrange a red or white car into one of the letters in Canada. After that, teams go to the RCMP Stables for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to suit up as an RCMP officer and properly groom a show horse from front to back. Next, they then had to correctly attach tack and a saddle to the horse. Finally, once approved by the supervising officer, they had to ride the horse into the practice arena and join in the RCMP Musical Ride to receive their next clue.
Next teams get the Detour: Tiptoe Through the Tulips or Get the Picture. In Tiptoe Through the Tulips, teams travelled to Commissioners Park, where they had to assemble a vendor cart for the Canadian Tulip Festival. Once built, they had to search the park for 12 buckets containing tulip bouquets of matching colours and assemble them to match the display on a completed example cart to receive their next clue. In Get the Picture, teams travelled to the Canada Council Art Bank, where they had to use the computer database to find 20 specified artwork by matching serial numbers and, once found, photograph each. They then had to place the correct 20 photographs into an album to receive their next clue. Teams then get to the BeaverTails Cafe in the ByWard Market and find the U-Turn, which no one uses. Teams then cross the river into Gatineau, Quebec and go the Canadian History Hall in the Canadian Museum of History where they have to take the Canadian Citizenship Test. Once both team members get at least 15 out of 20 questions right, they can go to the Pit Stop: a terrace overlooking the Ottawa River and the Houses of Parliament.
1. Zed and Shamir 2:10 P.M. Won a five city cross Canada tour.
2. Kenneth and Ryan 2:25 P.M.
3. Korey and Ivana 3:20 P.M.
4. Adam and Andrea 4:17 P.M.
5. Karen and Bert 4:47 P.M.
6. Meghan and Courtney 5:09 P.M. NOT ELIMINATED/SPEEDBUMPED.
Leg #7: "That's some family."
Original Air Date: August 15, 2017.
Getting $400, teams fly to Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador. On arrival, teams head to the Bank of Montreal Branch in Corner Brook. There they get a message from their loved ones telling them to get to the Gros Morne National Park Discovery Centre. Here Meghan and Courtney run into their Speedbump: getting a combined 25 points in archery. Then they can join the other teams in Woody Point (which is within the park) for the Detour: Find Your Dory or Family Story. In Find Your Dory, teams had to use four oars (two oars each) to row a dory boat around Bonne Bay to spot a lobster trap along the shore containing their next clue. After retrieving the clue, they rowed back to the starting point. In Family Story, teams made their way to a mock Viking camp and dressed in period costume. They had to listen to impersonators of three Norse Gods – Loki, Odin, and Thor – describe their ancestry and descendants. They then had to correctly fill in a family tree using stones carved with the given names (as well as some misleading names) to receive their next clue.
Teams then head to the Corner Brook Centre Bowl for the 150 Challenge Face-off. In this Face-off, teams compete in a full 10 frame game of five pin bowling. The team with the most points wins. The final losing team has to serve a penalty. Teams then go to Swirsky's Theater and Music Hall for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member has to choose and memorize twelve jokes from a list of fifty and successfully perform a stand-up comedy act on stage to receive their next clue from comedian Trent McClellan. Some of the jokes were intentionally duds. If they failed, they would be pelted with fruits and vegetables by the audience. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: The Captain James Cook National Historic Site Lighthouse.
1. Kenneth and Ryan 1:19 P.M. Won a trip for two to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2. Korey and Ivana 1:45 P.M.
3. Zed and Shamir 2:20 P.M.
4. Adam and Andrea 2:49 P.M.
5. Meghan and Courtney 3:59 P.M.
6. Karen and Bert 4:00 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #8: "Not what I was thinking."
Original Air Date: August 22, 2017.
Receiving $350, teams fly to Panama City, Panama. Once there, they go to the Frank Gehry designed Biomuseo. Teams then go to Paseo Esteban Huertas in Casco Viejo for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to choose and memorize an intricate mola pattern at a marked kiosk, then search the streets and plazas of Casco Viejo for the one Kuna woman among many who was wearing the matching pattern on their dress. Once they found the correct woman, they had to escort her back to the kiosk, where they would receive their next clue.
After this, teams immediately got the Detour: Up For a Drink or Down For the Count. In Up For a Drink, teams travelled to Hotel Las Clementinas, where they would find beers from Casa Bruja Microbrewery. They then had to taste and identify five flavours of craft beer, then label the flavours correctly to receive their next clue. In Down For the Count, teams travelled to a boxing gym, where both team members had to memorize six combinations of boxing moves, then each get into the ring and perform all six in succession against a professional to receive their next clue. Teams then go to Sports Complex Escuela Dr. Belisario Porras, put on drum major uniforms and participate in a baton twirling routine to get the next clue. The clue given was a photograph of Jon in front of a "Panamá" sign. Teams had to figure out that this sign was located at Parador Fotográfico on Cinta Costera, the Pit Stop for this leg. However, there were two identical signs along the coast (the other one is located at the Causeway Islands), so they had to make note of the background details in the photograph to determine which location was the correct one.
1. Zed and Shamir 1:18 P.M. Won a trip for two to New Orleans.
2. Korey and Ivana 2:00 P.M.
3. Kevin and Ryan 2:19 P.M.
4. Adam and Andrea 3:15 P.M.
5. Meghan and Courtney 4:00 P.M. NOT ELIMINATED/SPEEDBUMPED.
Leg #9: "Like finding a needle in a stack of needles."
Original Air Date: August 29, 2017.
Getting $390, teams fly to Regina, Saskatchewan. On arrival, teams go to Douglas Park Elementary School, where they make a Grant a Wish come true, by squeezing out a pitcher of orange juice and serving it to the kids. Teams then go to the Aulie Family Farm where Meghan and Courtney find the Speedbump: cleaning out a horse stall and then putting down fresh hay. They then join the other teams, at the same place, for the Detour: The Cart or The Horse. In The Cart (A Canada 150 challenge), teams had to maneuver a self-propelled grain auger to a grain cart, locate the auger's screw conveyor power switch, then shovel 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of Canadian-developed canola seed into the auger's mouth and convey it into the grain cart to receive their next clue. In The Horse, teams had to lead an auction for a Clydesdale horse. One team member was the auctioneer who had to memorize and recite the horse's story to bidders, and call out asking prices. The other team member was the bid catcher who had to relay bids to their partner both verbally and with hand signals. They received their next clue once selling the horse for a price of at least $6,000 Canadian.
Teams then head to the Dog River Hotel where the Double U-Turn is (which no one uses). Teams then head to Crescent Park in Moose Jaw and stack soup cans into the shape of a maple leaf. After that, teams head to Grandpa's Garden in the Moose Jaw suburb of Caron for the Roadblock. In the Roadblock, one team member had to dress as a beekeeper and search the honeycombs of a hive of 20,000 honey bees for the one queen bee and correctly point her out to a judge to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Hanger 7 of 15 Wing Moose Jaw Canadian Armed Forces Base in Bushell Park.
1. Korey and Ivana 12:07 P.M. Won a trip for two to Costa Rica
2. Kevin and Ryan 12:59 P.M.
3. Adam and Andrea 1:13 P.M.
4. Zed and Shamir 1:46 P.M.
5. Meghan and Courtney 2:22 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #10: "They are all over YOU!"
Original Air Date: September 5, 2017.
After receiving $325, teams fly to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. On arrival, teams have to go to a specific spot on the Agawa Canyon Railway. There they get on a train for the last Canada 150 challenge: during a 30 minute train ride, memorize the names and artists of 14 paintings by artists of the Group of Seven and then go to another car and identify them. If they don't do it in thirty minutes, they have to stay on the train and start again. After this, teams get the Detour: Alpac-It or I'll Cast It. In Alpac-It, teams travelled to the Mockin'bird Hill Pioneer Farm, where they had to lead two alpacas through an obstacle course of nine obstacles, without knocking any down, in a time of three minutes or less to receive their next clue. In I'll Cast It, teams travelled to Kinsmen Park, where they put on hip waders and entered Kinsmen Lake. Here, each team member had to cast their rod to hit three floating targets by fly fishing to receive their next clue.
Teams then go to the John Rhodes Community Pool where they find the final Face-Off. On a circular curling sheet, teams competed against each other in Crokicurl – a recently developed game that is a cross between curling and the Canadian-created board game crokinole. Each ring has a specific point value. Across from their partner, each team member took turns throwing six curling stones, attempting to knock out their opponent's stones while keeping theirs in place to score the most points. If the opposing stone is in play, it must be hit. If a stone lands in the direct centre, or button, it is worth 20 points and the stone is removed from play. After all stones are thrown, the team with the higher score received the next clue. The team who arrived earlier had the choice of taking their turn first or second. The last team remaining will wait out a time penalty before moving on. Teams now travelled to Entomica in Mill Market for the Roadblock. This Roadblock requires the team member not performing the Roadblock had to insert their head into a plexiglass box, after which four species of live giant cockroaches were dropped on them. The team member who was performing the Roadblock then had to count the correct number of each species to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Topsail Island in Bellevue Park.
1. Zed and Shamir 2:20 P.M. Won a trip for two to Cape Town, South Africa.
2. Korey and Ivana 2:53 P.M.
3. Kenneth and Ryan 3:40 P.M.
4. Adam and Andrea 4:15 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #11: "Canada is coming together like a piece of cake!"
Original Air Date: September 12, 2017.
Getting $350, teams fly to Quebec City, Quebec. Once there, they get to the Airport Control Tower where they find the next clue. From there, teams get to Montmorency Falls where they find the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to attach a harness and a climb down a cargo net suspended from the pedestrian bridge over the 276 feet (84 m) waterfall to retrieve their next clue, then climb back up to reunite with their partner. Teams then go to Place de Bordeaux in the Saint-Roch neighborhood of Old Quebec. With one team member as driver and the other as dispatcher, teams chose a bike rickshaw. Using only a location list, map with street names and places written in French, and walkie-talkies, the dispatcher had to give the driver directions through the streets of Old Quebec to pick up three passengers carrying a card colour-coded to each team, and transport them to their proper destination, after which each would give the card to the driver. After returning to Place de Bordeaux with all three cards, they received their next clue.
Teams then go to the Carnaval de Quebec warehouse and search amongst the figurines of Bonhomme, the snowman mascot of the Carnaval, for a box of chocolates from Erico Chocolatier, with the words trade me in on the bottom for the next clue. Teams then go to Erico and give the box for the next clue. After this, teams head to Édifice Marie-Guyart – Observatoire de la Capitale for another Roadblock. In this Roadblock, who did not perform the first Roadblock had to pull themselves up the side of the 31-storey Édifice Marie-Guyart, Quebec City's tallest building, to the rooftop. Once there, they had to search the city to spot a yellow and red Race flag on the roof of their next destination, the Morrin Centre, then take the elevator back down to reunite with their partner. At the Morrin Centre, teams have to put together a 150 piece puzzle together in the library, then put the correct six Canada 150 challenge cards on the cities where they took place to get the next clue. Teams then go to the finish line: Parc des Ancêtres.
1. Korey and Ivana WIN.
2. Kenneth and Ryan PLACE.
3. Zed and Shamir SHOW.
The Review
This is at the bottom of the list by default. Not saying it was bad, just saying that's the way these things go sometimes. The amazing thing about that season that I should mention is that Ivana ran the latter half of the season with a cracked spine. She's ok now but that is something else. Apparently she got it during the diving challenge in China. Next time, see you next year.
-Globetrotting: An Amazing Race Blog by R.C. Anderson for the website Reality Rewind, September 15, 2017.
Bonus: An Ocean Of Sonic The Hedgehog News
Game Spotlight: Sonic Ocean
Sonic Ocean is a 3-D action-adventure/platformer game exclusive to the Apple Virtua, and serves as the follow-up to 2015's hit title Sonic: The Rings Of Order. Sonic Ocean even utilizes the same engine, though it's a somewhat pared down game from The Rings Of Order, with less content but significantly better graphics and animation (which really shine on a 4K TV with the Virtua S). It takes place on a water-covered world called Blue Ocean (overall, Blue Ocean is about 4% land and 96% water), where Sonic and his friends have arrived to stop Eggman from harvesting Blue Ocean's rich resources and awakening a creature known as the Leviathan, which has the power not only to destroy Blue Ocean but to shatter entire worlds. Sonic Ocean takes place mostly under the surface of the ocean, but unlike in other games where going underwater hampers the player's movement, Sonic Ocean allows Sonic and friends to move underwater in much the same way as they would on land, though a combination of swimming and "water dashing", while oxygen also isn't a problem thanks to some special biomechanical attachments that Sonic and his friends receive before entering the first of the game's seven Zones (six mandatory, one secret). Sonic is the game's main playable character, and is joined by Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Corona, Shadow, and two new characters: Dorri the Otter and Mekkler the Mole. Dorri is an adventurous character who can swim extra fast and is able to utilize special water-based abilities in combat, while Mekkler uses unique tech and has at least one underwater vehicle. The player can utilize any character in any Zone, with the exception of Mekkler, who is limited to certain segments of the game's fourth, fifth, and sixth Zones and serves as a technical advisor to the heroes otherwise. Even though much of the game takes place underwater, it IS possible to go on land in certain Zones, and it's also possible for Sonic, Shadow, and Dorri to run across the water's surface, allowing them to skip certain areas and also reach some inaccessible places. Each character has their own specialty moves and secrets in the game, and it's up to the player to choose who best fits their playstyle (though in order to get all the game's secrets, you'll have to master them all). Sonic Ocean features significantly improved graphics over the already excellent looking Rings Of Order, though to get the most from these improved graphics, a Virtua S is required. The game's soundtrack is a mix of upbeat, high-energy pieces (for above the ocean's surface and slightly below), and atmospheric, poignant themes (for the deep ocean areas). Ashlyn Selich and Richard Horvitz join the game's cast as Dorri and Mekkler respectively, while most of the other actors from Rings of Order reprise their roles. The game itself progresses fairly linearly through the six storyline Zones, with most of the exploration done within zones, not between them. Clearing one Zone's boss will open up the next one, and the Zones tend to take Sonic and friends deeper and deeper into the ocean as the game progresses. There's the Clear Blue Zone, which alternates between shallow lagoons and beach areas, the Mermaid Mirror Zone, which has Sonic and friends venturing into a series of caves to rescue some mermaids from one of Eggman's machines, the Spaceship Graveyard Zone, in which Sonic and friends swim through a series of spaceships that have crashed into the planet and sunk to the bottom of the sea, the Oceanlab Base Zone, in which Sonic and friends swim around and through a series of "Sealab"-like facilities built by an ancient set of explorers, now being used by Eggman, the Abyssal City Zone, in which Sonic and friends liberate an underwater city from Eggman's goons, and finally, the Leviathan Domain Zone, in which Leviathan has been freed and in which Sonic and friends have to stop both Eggman and the monster. The game's secret Zone is the Blue Moon Zone, in which Sonic and friends are able to blast off to a moon comprised entirely of water, exploring and performing a series of difficult challenges. Sonic Ocean is one of the least story-dense games in the series thus far, with mostly short cutscenes between Zones, while the new characters aren't really all that developed. Both the game's relatively short development time and the desire by the series' writing team to have a more lighter hearted Sonic game than The Rings Of Order informed the decision to focus more on gameplay and graphics and less on story, a decision which does disappoint some fans.
Released worldwide on September 19, 2017, Sonic Ocean is a massive commercial hit. Though it doesn't top sales charts long, thanks to the release of Cyberwar 5 the very next week, the game does have extremely strong sales legs amongst families during the holiday season, and it would stay near the top of the Virtua sales charts the remainder of the year. The strong sales would come despite a fairly mediocre review score average in the high 7s/low 8s. The game's graphics would be praised, as would the game's ability to make underwater Sonic gameplay fun, but the game's relatively short length compared to other 3D Sonic titles, the significantly lacking story, and the cookie cutter gameplay would all be criticized, and compared to The Rings Of Order, it would win relatively few rewards. Despite this, Sonic Ocean would be considered an unabashed sales success, becoming one of the best selling games of 2017 despite its Virtua exclusivity. Though it would go on to be one of the series' more forgettable titles, it would help to lay the groundwork for a much more epic Sonic title that Apple hoped to have ready as both a swan song for the Virtua and a launch title for its successor, and work on the new Sonic console game would begin even before Ocean's release.
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Disney's Sonic Renewed For Third Season Ahead Of Season 2's Premiere
Disney's hit CGI animated adaptation of the Sonic The Hedgehog video game series has been renewed for a third season, ahead of its second season premiere next week. Early renewal, while not common, isn't all that rare either: Disney's new live action sitcom She's Got It, co-produced by pop superstar Selena, was picked up for its second season last month, even though the first season won't be debuting until October. The news was somewhat expected, as Sonic the Hedgehog is currently the Disney Channel's highest rated animated series. It's ahead of fellow animated hit Goldilocks: The Series, which is currently in the middle of its own second season and has also been renewed for a third. The Sonic series, which chronicles the adventures of Sonic and his friends Tails and Knuckles as they battle the diabolical Eggman and other foes, is considered to be the best adaptation of the ultra-popular game franchise to date by many fans, even moreso than the 1990s animated series which aired on Saturday mornings, which was previously considered the gold standard of Sonic adaptations. While the first season started out with just Sonic and Tails, as the season's 26 half-hour episodes progressed, they were gradually joined by allies including Amy Rose, Corona the Butterfly, and Knuckles the Echidna among several others, including a few characters original to the series. The writing staff includes numerous members of the Pixar team responsible for the hit 2014 movie, and though the CGI isn't nearly as high quality as the theatrical film, it's earned praise from many animation critics for being some of the best CGI for an animated television series, exceeding the quality of cutscenes from the recent Virtua games. Season 2 is expected to introduce a brand new villain, Dark Electro, who will usurp Eggman's role as the series' primary antagonist as he spreads powerful evil energy across many different Zones. Giancarlo Esposito, best known as Revel from NBC's hit superhero drama Powers, will voice Dark Electro, while Meaghan Martin (Betty Cooper from Welcome To Riverdale and Kimber Benton from the Jem movies) will voice the new hero Adrena, an old friend of Corona's who teams up with Sonic after Dark Electro's evil magic infects the Zone where she once lived.
Season 2 of Sonic The Hedgehog premieres Saturday, September 23rd, and is expected to get a promotional boost from the series' latest game Sonic Ocean, which released today.
-from an article on Deadline, posted September 19, 2017
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Pixar's Sonic Sequel Already Projected To Be Biggest Animated Film Of All Time
Next year's Sonic The Hedgehog 2, which is scheduled to be released in June 2018, is projected by box office analysts to be the most lucrative animated film of all time, both domestically and worldwide. Pixar's original Sonic the Hedgehog film, released in 2014, was a smash success, making more than $380 million at the domestic box office and $1.05 billion worldwide, good for #2 on both charts behind 2012's Goldilocks. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is expected to surpass both the original film and Goldilocks, with analysts at HollywoodFutures.com, which projects box office earnings for future films, predicting a $520 billion domestic take and a $1.3 billion international box office tally. This is based on the success of the original Sonic film, which was not only a massive financial success, but a critical success as well, achieving an 88% positive rating on the movie review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
Details about the film are somewhat scarce, but we do know that it will revolve around the classic villain Chaos, as seen in the film's first teaser poster. The poster depicted Chaos with a humanoid figure inside, which has been revealed to be a "new villain" by the film's creative director, Phil Johnston. The poster also bore the cryptic words "CHAOS CONTROL", indicating that this new villain may be using the power of the Chaos Emeralds to control Chaos itself. According to Johnston, who gave a few more tidbits in an interview with D23.com, the movie will have a "darker" tone than its predecessor, and will push Sonic and his friends to their limits as they struggle to battle this powerful foe. We don't yet know if Eggman will be returning, but considering that he was imprisoned at the end of 2014's film and not killed, he's likely to play a role in the upcoming movie as well.
Of course, the upcoming Sonic film will have competition in the form of the upcoming Super Mario Bros. animated movie, though that film is expected to come out later in the year, giving Pixar's Sonic sequel a head start. According to Hollywood Futures, the new Mario movie is only expected to gross around $300 million domestically, which, if both projections bore out, would keep Sonic 2 as the most lucrative animated film through 2018, barring an unexpected hit amongst the year's remaining animated fare.
-from an article on Box Office Scouter, posted on September 28, 2017
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Christina Grimmie: We're starting off this week's gaming news with a big announcement from Apple. The company has officially announced that they're working on a Sonic The Hedgehog theme park, expected to open sometime in the early 2020s. The new theme park will be constructed in Irvine, California, and will feature rides and attractions based on Sonic and his friends, allowing visitors to experience the thrills of the games in real life for the first time ever. Guys, this is pretty huge news, isn't it? Not only is it Apple's first theme park, but it's a theme park based on Sonic... what do you think?
Avan Jogia: I think this is pretty dope. I mean, you've got the Super Nintendo World parks, and there are eight of those, but they're not really their own theme parks, they're smaller areas either built onto existing theme parks or they're part of a larger building, like the one in the Mall of America. This is a whole Sonic theme park, and it looks like it's going to be pretty big too.
Christina: Yeah, I've been to three of the Super Nintendo World parks, and they're all really cool... but they are kind of small, so the idea of a huge Sonic park, yeah, I'm excited.
Austin Watson: There's already a ton of theme parks over in that area of the country, isn't there? Disneyland is there, you've got Knott's Berry Farm... how well is Sonic gonna be able to do compared with Disneyland?
Avan: I'm wondering why they didn't build a Sonic area inside Disneyland, considering that Disney-Pixar is doing the Sonic movies. Apple and Disney have a pretty good relationship, I guess Steve Jobs wanted to build his own park?
Christina: Maybe Disney didn't want Sonic getting in the way of all their other characters.
Bryce Papenbrook: What, they're scared Sonic and Mickey Mouse were gonna fight?
Christina: I'd like to see that!
Austin: I'd definitely come to Disneyland to see Sonic and Mickey throw down.
Christina: More details about the park will be coming in the next few months, but it says the park will focus on thrill rides, which, I think, it's kinda obvious, right? The Sonic games are basically like big roller coaster tracks anyway, so it kind of makes sense that the park will have lots of fast roller coasters.
Avan: Yeah, you can't do a Sonic the Hedgehog park without fast rollercoasters, it wouldn't make sense.
Christina: I have to imagine they want guests to really feel like Sonic, running through all those loops, it's going to be pretty sweet I think, and it's nice to see the theme park industry kind of bouncing back after all the problems they had with the Kings Island tragedy and the recession.
Mari Takahashi: I've heard that this is the first major theme park to be constructed since the Son of Beast disaster. It's a big risk for Apple, but they do have the money to take a big risk right now.
-from the September 28, 2017 episode of GameTV
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"So did you hear, Apple is planning on constructing a Sonic the Hedgehog theme park in Orange County, California. *the crowd cheers, wildly* Yeah, I know, right? All the rides and attractions will be based on Sonic the Hedgehog, and Apple is promising lots of really fast roller coasters so you can go as fast as Sonic does in the games. It's going to be the first new major theme park constructed since the 2006 Son of Beast disaster, and some people are still worried about building a new theme park, but, you know, I think it's okay, because... think about it, if the coaster jumps the track at a Sonic the Hedgehog theme park, as long as you've got at least one ring, you'll be okay. *the crowd laughs loudly, except for a couple of people who groan at the slightly insensitive joke* You'll have tons of rings flying everywhere, but everybody with at least one ring'll be just fine."
-Jimmy Fallon, from the opening monologue of the September 28, 2017 edition of The Tonight Show
Sonic Ocean is a 3-D action-adventure/platformer game exclusive to the Apple Virtua, and serves as the follow-up to 2015's hit title Sonic: The Rings Of Order. Sonic Ocean even utilizes the same engine, though it's a somewhat pared down game from The Rings Of Order, with less content but significantly better graphics and animation (which really shine on a 4K TV with the Virtua S). It takes place on a water-covered world called Blue Ocean (overall, Blue Ocean is about 4% land and 96% water), where Sonic and his friends have arrived to stop Eggman from harvesting Blue Ocean's rich resources and awakening a creature known as the Leviathan, which has the power not only to destroy Blue Ocean but to shatter entire worlds. Sonic Ocean takes place mostly under the surface of the ocean, but unlike in other games where going underwater hampers the player's movement, Sonic Ocean allows Sonic and friends to move underwater in much the same way as they would on land, though a combination of swimming and "water dashing", while oxygen also isn't a problem thanks to some special biomechanical attachments that Sonic and his friends receive before entering the first of the game's seven Zones (six mandatory, one secret). Sonic is the game's main playable character, and is joined by Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Corona, Shadow, and two new characters: Dorri the Otter and Mekkler the Mole. Dorri is an adventurous character who can swim extra fast and is able to utilize special water-based abilities in combat, while Mekkler uses unique tech and has at least one underwater vehicle. The player can utilize any character in any Zone, with the exception of Mekkler, who is limited to certain segments of the game's fourth, fifth, and sixth Zones and serves as a technical advisor to the heroes otherwise. Even though much of the game takes place underwater, it IS possible to go on land in certain Zones, and it's also possible for Sonic, Shadow, and Dorri to run across the water's surface, allowing them to skip certain areas and also reach some inaccessible places. Each character has their own specialty moves and secrets in the game, and it's up to the player to choose who best fits their playstyle (though in order to get all the game's secrets, you'll have to master them all). Sonic Ocean features significantly improved graphics over the already excellent looking Rings Of Order, though to get the most from these improved graphics, a Virtua S is required. The game's soundtrack is a mix of upbeat, high-energy pieces (for above the ocean's surface and slightly below), and atmospheric, poignant themes (for the deep ocean areas). Ashlyn Selich and Richard Horvitz join the game's cast as Dorri and Mekkler respectively, while most of the other actors from Rings of Order reprise their roles. The game itself progresses fairly linearly through the six storyline Zones, with most of the exploration done within zones, not between them. Clearing one Zone's boss will open up the next one, and the Zones tend to take Sonic and friends deeper and deeper into the ocean as the game progresses. There's the Clear Blue Zone, which alternates between shallow lagoons and beach areas, the Mermaid Mirror Zone, which has Sonic and friends venturing into a series of caves to rescue some mermaids from one of Eggman's machines, the Spaceship Graveyard Zone, in which Sonic and friends swim through a series of spaceships that have crashed into the planet and sunk to the bottom of the sea, the Oceanlab Base Zone, in which Sonic and friends swim around and through a series of "Sealab"-like facilities built by an ancient set of explorers, now being used by Eggman, the Abyssal City Zone, in which Sonic and friends liberate an underwater city from Eggman's goons, and finally, the Leviathan Domain Zone, in which Leviathan has been freed and in which Sonic and friends have to stop both Eggman and the monster. The game's secret Zone is the Blue Moon Zone, in which Sonic and friends are able to blast off to a moon comprised entirely of water, exploring and performing a series of difficult challenges. Sonic Ocean is one of the least story-dense games in the series thus far, with mostly short cutscenes between Zones, while the new characters aren't really all that developed. Both the game's relatively short development time and the desire by the series' writing team to have a more lighter hearted Sonic game than The Rings Of Order informed the decision to focus more on gameplay and graphics and less on story, a decision which does disappoint some fans.
Released worldwide on September 19, 2017, Sonic Ocean is a massive commercial hit. Though it doesn't top sales charts long, thanks to the release of Cyberwar 5 the very next week, the game does have extremely strong sales legs amongst families during the holiday season, and it would stay near the top of the Virtua sales charts the remainder of the year. The strong sales would come despite a fairly mediocre review score average in the high 7s/low 8s. The game's graphics would be praised, as would the game's ability to make underwater Sonic gameplay fun, but the game's relatively short length compared to other 3D Sonic titles, the significantly lacking story, and the cookie cutter gameplay would all be criticized, and compared to The Rings Of Order, it would win relatively few rewards. Despite this, Sonic Ocean would be considered an unabashed sales success, becoming one of the best selling games of 2017 despite its Virtua exclusivity. Though it would go on to be one of the series' more forgettable titles, it would help to lay the groundwork for a much more epic Sonic title that Apple hoped to have ready as both a swan song for the Virtua and a launch title for its successor, and work on the new Sonic console game would begin even before Ocean's release.
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Disney's Sonic Renewed For Third Season Ahead Of Season 2's Premiere
Disney's hit CGI animated adaptation of the Sonic The Hedgehog video game series has been renewed for a third season, ahead of its second season premiere next week. Early renewal, while not common, isn't all that rare either: Disney's new live action sitcom She's Got It, co-produced by pop superstar Selena, was picked up for its second season last month, even though the first season won't be debuting until October. The news was somewhat expected, as Sonic the Hedgehog is currently the Disney Channel's highest rated animated series. It's ahead of fellow animated hit Goldilocks: The Series, which is currently in the middle of its own second season and has also been renewed for a third. The Sonic series, which chronicles the adventures of Sonic and his friends Tails and Knuckles as they battle the diabolical Eggman and other foes, is considered to be the best adaptation of the ultra-popular game franchise to date by many fans, even moreso than the 1990s animated series which aired on Saturday mornings, which was previously considered the gold standard of Sonic adaptations. While the first season started out with just Sonic and Tails, as the season's 26 half-hour episodes progressed, they were gradually joined by allies including Amy Rose, Corona the Butterfly, and Knuckles the Echidna among several others, including a few characters original to the series. The writing staff includes numerous members of the Pixar team responsible for the hit 2014 movie, and though the CGI isn't nearly as high quality as the theatrical film, it's earned praise from many animation critics for being some of the best CGI for an animated television series, exceeding the quality of cutscenes from the recent Virtua games. Season 2 is expected to introduce a brand new villain, Dark Electro, who will usurp Eggman's role as the series' primary antagonist as he spreads powerful evil energy across many different Zones. Giancarlo Esposito, best known as Revel from NBC's hit superhero drama Powers, will voice Dark Electro, while Meaghan Martin (Betty Cooper from Welcome To Riverdale and Kimber Benton from the Jem movies) will voice the new hero Adrena, an old friend of Corona's who teams up with Sonic after Dark Electro's evil magic infects the Zone where she once lived.
Season 2 of Sonic The Hedgehog premieres Saturday, September 23rd, and is expected to get a promotional boost from the series' latest game Sonic Ocean, which released today.
-from an article on Deadline, posted September 19, 2017
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Pixar's Sonic Sequel Already Projected To Be Biggest Animated Film Of All Time
Next year's Sonic The Hedgehog 2, which is scheduled to be released in June 2018, is projected by box office analysts to be the most lucrative animated film of all time, both domestically and worldwide. Pixar's original Sonic the Hedgehog film, released in 2014, was a smash success, making more than $380 million at the domestic box office and $1.05 billion worldwide, good for #2 on both charts behind 2012's Goldilocks. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is expected to surpass both the original film and Goldilocks, with analysts at HollywoodFutures.com, which projects box office earnings for future films, predicting a $520 billion domestic take and a $1.3 billion international box office tally. This is based on the success of the original Sonic film, which was not only a massive financial success, but a critical success as well, achieving an 88% positive rating on the movie review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
Details about the film are somewhat scarce, but we do know that it will revolve around the classic villain Chaos, as seen in the film's first teaser poster. The poster depicted Chaos with a humanoid figure inside, which has been revealed to be a "new villain" by the film's creative director, Phil Johnston. The poster also bore the cryptic words "CHAOS CONTROL", indicating that this new villain may be using the power of the Chaos Emeralds to control Chaos itself. According to Johnston, who gave a few more tidbits in an interview with D23.com, the movie will have a "darker" tone than its predecessor, and will push Sonic and his friends to their limits as they struggle to battle this powerful foe. We don't yet know if Eggman will be returning, but considering that he was imprisoned at the end of 2014's film and not killed, he's likely to play a role in the upcoming movie as well.
Of course, the upcoming Sonic film will have competition in the form of the upcoming Super Mario Bros. animated movie, though that film is expected to come out later in the year, giving Pixar's Sonic sequel a head start. According to Hollywood Futures, the new Mario movie is only expected to gross around $300 million domestically, which, if both projections bore out, would keep Sonic 2 as the most lucrative animated film through 2018, barring an unexpected hit amongst the year's remaining animated fare.
-from an article on Box Office Scouter, posted on September 28, 2017
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Christina Grimmie: We're starting off this week's gaming news with a big announcement from Apple. The company has officially announced that they're working on a Sonic The Hedgehog theme park, expected to open sometime in the early 2020s. The new theme park will be constructed in Irvine, California, and will feature rides and attractions based on Sonic and his friends, allowing visitors to experience the thrills of the games in real life for the first time ever. Guys, this is pretty huge news, isn't it? Not only is it Apple's first theme park, but it's a theme park based on Sonic... what do you think?
Avan Jogia: I think this is pretty dope. I mean, you've got the Super Nintendo World parks, and there are eight of those, but they're not really their own theme parks, they're smaller areas either built onto existing theme parks or they're part of a larger building, like the one in the Mall of America. This is a whole Sonic theme park, and it looks like it's going to be pretty big too.
Christina: Yeah, I've been to three of the Super Nintendo World parks, and they're all really cool... but they are kind of small, so the idea of a huge Sonic park, yeah, I'm excited.
Austin Watson: There's already a ton of theme parks over in that area of the country, isn't there? Disneyland is there, you've got Knott's Berry Farm... how well is Sonic gonna be able to do compared with Disneyland?
Avan: I'm wondering why they didn't build a Sonic area inside Disneyland, considering that Disney-Pixar is doing the Sonic movies. Apple and Disney have a pretty good relationship, I guess Steve Jobs wanted to build his own park?
Christina: Maybe Disney didn't want Sonic getting in the way of all their other characters.
Bryce Papenbrook: What, they're scared Sonic and Mickey Mouse were gonna fight?
Christina: I'd like to see that!
Austin: I'd definitely come to Disneyland to see Sonic and Mickey throw down.
Christina: More details about the park will be coming in the next few months, but it says the park will focus on thrill rides, which, I think, it's kinda obvious, right? The Sonic games are basically like big roller coaster tracks anyway, so it kind of makes sense that the park will have lots of fast roller coasters.
Avan: Yeah, you can't do a Sonic the Hedgehog park without fast rollercoasters, it wouldn't make sense.
Christina: I have to imagine they want guests to really feel like Sonic, running through all those loops, it's going to be pretty sweet I think, and it's nice to see the theme park industry kind of bouncing back after all the problems they had with the Kings Island tragedy and the recession.
Mari Takahashi: I've heard that this is the first major theme park to be constructed since the Son of Beast disaster. It's a big risk for Apple, but they do have the money to take a big risk right now.
-from the September 28, 2017 episode of GameTV
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"So did you hear, Apple is planning on constructing a Sonic the Hedgehog theme park in Orange County, California. *the crowd cheers, wildly* Yeah, I know, right? All the rides and attractions will be based on Sonic the Hedgehog, and Apple is promising lots of really fast roller coasters so you can go as fast as Sonic does in the games. It's going to be the first new major theme park constructed since the 2006 Son of Beast disaster, and some people are still worried about building a new theme park, but, you know, I think it's okay, because... think about it, if the coaster jumps the track at a Sonic the Hedgehog theme park, as long as you've got at least one ring, you'll be okay. *the crowd laughs loudly, except for a couple of people who groan at the slightly insensitive joke* You'll have tons of rings flying everywhere, but everybody with at least one ring'll be just fine."
-Jimmy Fallon, from the opening monologue of the September 28, 2017 edition of The Tonight Show
There's a couple of people on Twitter who complain, but the joke doesn't cause much of a stir otherwise.
Robin Williams made a joke about it in a stand-up routine the day after it happened (which got an enormous laugh), so Jimmy Fallon making a joke 11 years after the fact won't ruffle too many feathers.
Irvine of all places gets Sonic? The safest, most boring city in the country, if not world, is getting the mascot created with the most attitude while Anaheim, a city that's constantly struggling to keep gangs and homeless populations under control, has been the home of the most family friendly brand? That is absolutely hilarious. And yes, I'd 100% be convincing my friends and/or family to go to Sonic over Disneyland.
I'm curious if this means butterflies changed Irvine now though. As someone who used to work there, the place was a failed attempt at trying to become the next Silicon Valley. If Apple is making a Sonic theme park there though, I'm curious if it found more success with tech companies.
I'm curious if this means butterflies changed Irvine now though. As someone who used to work there, the place was a failed attempt at trying to become the next Silicon Valley. If Apple is making a Sonic theme park there though, I'm curious if it found more success with tech companies.
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Something tells me that the Sonic fandom is a lot less, for lack of a better word, horrific.
With that in mind, does Disney still have some popular blocks on its Disney Channel schedule? Say, Playhouse Disney/Disney Junior?
With that in mind, does Disney still have some popular blocks on its Disney Channel schedule? Say, Playhouse Disney/Disney Junior?
Disney Junior does indeed still exist, and some shows from IOTL like Doc McStuffins and Fancy Nancy also exist, though Sofia the First and Elena of Avalor are butterflied away (their OTL creator, Craig Gerber, is working on older-skewing animation, starting as a writer for the Thrillseekers animated series back at the end of the 2000s and now working on Blockbuster animated shows). Because Sofia and Elena got butterflied away, Disney Junior doesn't really do the fantasy genre, its animated shows are more modern slice-of-life (especially after Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ended).
One, I'm glad that certain elements of Disney Junior are kept, such as Doc McStuffins. On the other hand, butterflying one of the block's biggest successes is a bit of a shock.
Two, I feel like Craig Gerber's career ITTL is honestly better than OTL, as the older audiences in his shows would have him grab legitimate awards for animated TV compared to a Kingdom Hearts show in disguise and Mexican Frozen: The Series. Oh yes, I went there on both accounts.
Three, if Disney Junior is opting for a more slice-of-life aspect to their heavy hitters, does this mean that Cartoon Saloon's pitch for a new Winnie the Pooh series gets picked up?
Cartoon Saloon Unveils Rejected Pilot For A Winnie The Pooh Animated Series
Today Disney and Cartoon Saloon are collaborating in a new animated series called Vikingskool but back in 2014′s, The Mouse and Irish Studio would have collaborated in a reboot of Winnie The Pooh to...
disneytvanimation.com
We first got Yuji's Sonic redesign in Sonic Neon ITTL. So yes, his modern design is the one that's used. Sonic Duo actually saw Sonic's design changed subtly to incorporate a bit of the old design into the new one, but it still looks more like the new one than the old one.
For the people who need context: Son of Beast was the tallest and fastest wooden rollercoaster on its day. On 2006, some wooden beams cracked and made something like a pothole, injuring 27 riders from their neck and chest. No deaths, but could have been worse.
On 2009, a woman injured her head, damaging a blood vessel on her brain. That was the last straw, and the rollercoaster closed on 2009.
Massively Multiplayer: Gaming In The New Millennium
Where is that video taken from? Looks like it's worth watching.
www.alternatehistory.com