Oh. Well, at least you suggested an alternative place to put it, rather than outright dismissing the idea.
Battle Royale: The Last Generation Of An SNES-CD Saga
- Thread starter RySenkari
- Start date
His career started long before the POD, so he's still doing all that
Summer 2016 (Part 8) - Nephilim
Nephilim
Nephilim is an FPS exclusive to the Google Nexus. Published by Google and developed by Studio Grand (an in-house studio brought together specifically for this game), Nephilim is a modern FPS intended to play more like an old-school game such as Quake or Doom, with mostly non-linear levels and a focus on exploration and horror, while utilizing modern FPS gameplay mechanics that have been streamlined to maximize accessibility and player enjoyment. Nephilim's protagonist is an unnamed, silent soldier who leads a squad forced to battle creatures from all across space and time, utilizing weapons that slowly transform their bodies. These weapons are known as Flesh Arms, and they're significantly more powerful than regular weapons, especially at taking down some of the strange monsters found within the game. There are plenty of regular weapons strewn about as well, and though they don't have as much raw power, they also don't have the dangerous side effects of Flesh Arms, making them more useful in some situations. The typical Nephilim level consists of closing a "tear" in space and time, though some levels simply ask the player to go from point A to point B. There are hordes of enemies, including ferocious creatures and transformed humans, and these enemies can come from different eras in time as well, so it's possible to sometimes fight transformed medieval knights, or even monstrous Nazis, though most of the enemies encountered are simply monsters not aligned with a particular faction. The monsters are tearing their way across the planet, so some levels take place in North America, while others take place in places like Brazil, Japan, Antarctica, or even the Moon, and each level brings its own particular twists to the fray, with the Brazilian level taking place deep in the Amazon jungle, while the Japanese level takes place in the middle of Tokyo. Despite the old-school feel to much of the action, Nephilim also features a complex plot involving twists and intrigue, both among the protagonist's squadron and with the scientists who created this mysterious tear. The protagonist is silent, but the game features many side characters with all sorts of different motivations, and the drama between them forms a background for the action of the game. Unlike Doom, which features an isolated protagonist, Nephilim's protagonist is constantly needing to save people, though many times he also has teammates, not just his own squad but also mercenaries and scientists working to battle the dangerous creatures that have been pouring out of the tear and endangering the people of Earth. Sometimes, the protagonist will be taking orders or advice from someone, though other times, he takes the initiative to destroy something or rescue someone, bringing him into conflict with some of the game's other characters. The game also features a feature-rich multiplayer mode meant to hearken back to Unreal Tournament. The gameplay is fairly simple, but allows for skilled players to really excel, and it's clear Studio Grand designed the multiplayer mode with e-sports in mind, as a competitive league for the game begins in 2017. A flagship game for the Nexus, developed over several years, Nephilim features some of the console's best graphics to date, with an optimized mode for the upcoming Nexus Pro that rivals anything on the Reality or Virtua and really shows off the upgraded console's power. The game features an intense soundtrack with contributions from Metallica's James Hetfield, and the game also features a strong voice cast including actors like Jeremy Irons, Dennis Haysbert, Diedrich Bader, and Gina Rodriguez.
Nephilim begins with a team of soldiers sent into Area 51 after an incident in which several scientists were killed. The team is ambushed by a squad of soldiers who look strikingly like them, but the squad, including the protagonist, learns that these soldiers have some strange mutations, and that their brains are infected with some kind of glowing energy. Investigating further, the squad discovers a strange space-time anomaly, and a living scientist who saw horrible things pour out of it. The anomaly is cordoned off, but it's too late to stop a strange monster from attacking people in a lab in the suburbs of Las Vegas. The protagonist and his squad are sent in, and their weapons can't hurt the monster, until the protagonist picks up a strange pistol which is the only thing that can hurt it. The pistol seems to graft itself to his hand, and it's the player's first Flesh Arm. The protagonist is eventually able to tear the strange pistol loose from his hand, and it's learned that more of these weapons have been discovered and that the army is training soldiers to use them. More strange attacks are reported in other places in North America, and it's clear this anomaly has replicated itself all across the country, and eventually, all across the world. Some of the more humanlike monsters seem to have memories of strange science experiments, and it's learned that the government contracted a group of scientists who were able to manipulate space and time, resulting in the creation of these horrific monsters via the corruption of the flesh caused by this kind of travel through space and time. By creating these tears in the present, they've also been created in the past and future, altering the history of countless timelines and peoples, and also causing these strange mutations. It's learned that the future has been transformed into a hellscape, and that a scientist in the future has been sending these Flesh Arms through space and time to help people battle the horrors, but that the Flesh Arms have themselves been creating horrors, causing a recurring time loop in which humanity is doomed to create a hell of its own making. The protagonist learns that the leader of the scientists who created these tears was the one who went back in time and created the Flesh Arms, but that he's gone mad himself and can't be stopped unless someone goes into the hell future and kills him. Eventually, after all the tears in the present are closed but one, the protagonist takes a small squad into the hell future and goes to stop the scientist once and for all. He's defeated and killed, but the protagonist learns that there's a hideous abomination that's been causing all these mutations, and that it needs to be destroyed as well before it corrupts the past and the future. The abomination is defeated, but the protagonist realizes that someone has to stay in the hell future to keep anything from there from coming back to the past. He volunteers to do so, leaving his friends and squadmates behind as he fights an eternal battle in the future to protect the past.
Nephilim is released on August 26, 2016. A marquee title for the Google Nexus, perhaps the most hyped Nexus title of the year up to this point, it sells better on release day than almost any other Nexus game to date: over a million copies worldwide. It also gets extremely strong reviews, praising the level and weapon design and the epic campaign, which many consider to be far more fun to play than a lot of the modern military shooters, since it requires a lot more exploration. The multiplayer is even more highly praised than the campaign, with intense matches and fun shooting mechanics making it one of the Nexus' most popular online multiplayer titles. Nephilim is a major shot in the arm for Nexus sales, though many who don't yet own the Nexus choose to hold off until the Pro model comes out, and the game would become perhaps the biggest driver of Nexus Pro sales, as players want to experience the game in its full glory on the powerful new Nexus model. The one negative aspect of Nephilim is that it steals a bit of thunder from the release of The Covenant Zero, scheduled to come out in just three weeks. Though the two games are different kinds of shooter titles, Nephilim is still compared to the new Covenant title by many, and some within Google fear a Cyberwar effect from the new game, in which a surprise hit shooter ends up becoming more popular than the company's flagship series. Nephilim praise and hype are still extremely strong by the time The Covenant Zero is released, but whether or not the two can co-exist has yet to be seen.
Nephilim is an FPS exclusive to the Google Nexus. Published by Google and developed by Studio Grand (an in-house studio brought together specifically for this game), Nephilim is a modern FPS intended to play more like an old-school game such as Quake or Doom, with mostly non-linear levels and a focus on exploration and horror, while utilizing modern FPS gameplay mechanics that have been streamlined to maximize accessibility and player enjoyment. Nephilim's protagonist is an unnamed, silent soldier who leads a squad forced to battle creatures from all across space and time, utilizing weapons that slowly transform their bodies. These weapons are known as Flesh Arms, and they're significantly more powerful than regular weapons, especially at taking down some of the strange monsters found within the game. There are plenty of regular weapons strewn about as well, and though they don't have as much raw power, they also don't have the dangerous side effects of Flesh Arms, making them more useful in some situations. The typical Nephilim level consists of closing a "tear" in space and time, though some levels simply ask the player to go from point A to point B. There are hordes of enemies, including ferocious creatures and transformed humans, and these enemies can come from different eras in time as well, so it's possible to sometimes fight transformed medieval knights, or even monstrous Nazis, though most of the enemies encountered are simply monsters not aligned with a particular faction. The monsters are tearing their way across the planet, so some levels take place in North America, while others take place in places like Brazil, Japan, Antarctica, or even the Moon, and each level brings its own particular twists to the fray, with the Brazilian level taking place deep in the Amazon jungle, while the Japanese level takes place in the middle of Tokyo. Despite the old-school feel to much of the action, Nephilim also features a complex plot involving twists and intrigue, both among the protagonist's squadron and with the scientists who created this mysterious tear. The protagonist is silent, but the game features many side characters with all sorts of different motivations, and the drama between them forms a background for the action of the game. Unlike Doom, which features an isolated protagonist, Nephilim's protagonist is constantly needing to save people, though many times he also has teammates, not just his own squad but also mercenaries and scientists working to battle the dangerous creatures that have been pouring out of the tear and endangering the people of Earth. Sometimes, the protagonist will be taking orders or advice from someone, though other times, he takes the initiative to destroy something or rescue someone, bringing him into conflict with some of the game's other characters. The game also features a feature-rich multiplayer mode meant to hearken back to Unreal Tournament. The gameplay is fairly simple, but allows for skilled players to really excel, and it's clear Studio Grand designed the multiplayer mode with e-sports in mind, as a competitive league for the game begins in 2017. A flagship game for the Nexus, developed over several years, Nephilim features some of the console's best graphics to date, with an optimized mode for the upcoming Nexus Pro that rivals anything on the Reality or Virtua and really shows off the upgraded console's power. The game features an intense soundtrack with contributions from Metallica's James Hetfield, and the game also features a strong voice cast including actors like Jeremy Irons, Dennis Haysbert, Diedrich Bader, and Gina Rodriguez.
Nephilim begins with a team of soldiers sent into Area 51 after an incident in which several scientists were killed. The team is ambushed by a squad of soldiers who look strikingly like them, but the squad, including the protagonist, learns that these soldiers have some strange mutations, and that their brains are infected with some kind of glowing energy. Investigating further, the squad discovers a strange space-time anomaly, and a living scientist who saw horrible things pour out of it. The anomaly is cordoned off, but it's too late to stop a strange monster from attacking people in a lab in the suburbs of Las Vegas. The protagonist and his squad are sent in, and their weapons can't hurt the monster, until the protagonist picks up a strange pistol which is the only thing that can hurt it. The pistol seems to graft itself to his hand, and it's the player's first Flesh Arm. The protagonist is eventually able to tear the strange pistol loose from his hand, and it's learned that more of these weapons have been discovered and that the army is training soldiers to use them. More strange attacks are reported in other places in North America, and it's clear this anomaly has replicated itself all across the country, and eventually, all across the world. Some of the more humanlike monsters seem to have memories of strange science experiments, and it's learned that the government contracted a group of scientists who were able to manipulate space and time, resulting in the creation of these horrific monsters via the corruption of the flesh caused by this kind of travel through space and time. By creating these tears in the present, they've also been created in the past and future, altering the history of countless timelines and peoples, and also causing these strange mutations. It's learned that the future has been transformed into a hellscape, and that a scientist in the future has been sending these Flesh Arms through space and time to help people battle the horrors, but that the Flesh Arms have themselves been creating horrors, causing a recurring time loop in which humanity is doomed to create a hell of its own making. The protagonist learns that the leader of the scientists who created these tears was the one who went back in time and created the Flesh Arms, but that he's gone mad himself and can't be stopped unless someone goes into the hell future and kills him. Eventually, after all the tears in the present are closed but one, the protagonist takes a small squad into the hell future and goes to stop the scientist once and for all. He's defeated and killed, but the protagonist learns that there's a hideous abomination that's been causing all these mutations, and that it needs to be destroyed as well before it corrupts the past and the future. The abomination is defeated, but the protagonist realizes that someone has to stay in the hell future to keep anything from there from coming back to the past. He volunteers to do so, leaving his friends and squadmates behind as he fights an eternal battle in the future to protect the past.
Nephilim is released on August 26, 2016. A marquee title for the Google Nexus, perhaps the most hyped Nexus title of the year up to this point, it sells better on release day than almost any other Nexus game to date: over a million copies worldwide. It also gets extremely strong reviews, praising the level and weapon design and the epic campaign, which many consider to be far more fun to play than a lot of the modern military shooters, since it requires a lot more exploration. The multiplayer is even more highly praised than the campaign, with intense matches and fun shooting mechanics making it one of the Nexus' most popular online multiplayer titles. Nephilim is a major shot in the arm for Nexus sales, though many who don't yet own the Nexus choose to hold off until the Pro model comes out, and the game would become perhaps the biggest driver of Nexus Pro sales, as players want to experience the game in its full glory on the powerful new Nexus model. The one negative aspect of Nephilim is that it steals a bit of thunder from the release of The Covenant Zero, scheduled to come out in just three weeks. Though the two games are different kinds of shooter titles, Nephilim is still compared to the new Covenant title by many, and some within Google fear a Cyberwar effect from the new game, in which a surprise hit shooter ends up becoming more popular than the company's flagship series. Nephilim praise and hype are still extremely strong by the time The Covenant Zero is released, but whether or not the two can co-exist has yet to be seen.
The Amazing Race Canada, Season 4
The Amazing Race Canada: Season 4: Times they are a-changing.
This season of the Canadian version didn't shake up the formula too much and this was in a lot of ways a good thing. It was filmed from late April to late May 2016.The Cast
Joel and Ashley: Former Miss Universe and her Stepfather. Not only are they the first stepfather/stepdaughter combo on the show, they are also the first Indigenous peoples to appear on any North American version of the show as far as I know (They're both Plains Cree).
Frankie and Amy: Mother and daughter. Frankie had Amy when she was in her teens so they are a lot more like friends than most parent/child teams that have appeared on the show.
Kelly and Kate: Best Friends. They were fun to have around.
Steph and Kristen: Dating. They were a strong physical and mental team.
Jillian and Emmett: Exes. They first meet in the Big Brother Canada house and, while they still work well together, have since split up.
Julie and Lowell: Married. Lowell is the first legally blind person to appear on any version of the show, so far as I am aware. I believe at the time this was recorded his vision was limited to the size of a dime, more or less.
Rita and Yvette: Twins. These two, while fun, could get irritated with each other.
Anthony and Brandon: Best Friends. They are the Alpha males of the season.
Anne and Tanya: Best Friends/Moms. Apparently, these two had the worst sense of direction in the history of the show.
Stéphane and Antoine: Father and son. Good guys all around.The Race
Leg #1: "Who's ready to let it all hang out?"
Original Air Date: June 28, 2016.
Starting in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, teams run from Frame Lake to the Ceremonial Circle at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre nearby. Then they head to the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly where they have to find a phrase in a local Indigenous dialect called Weledah in the woods and run back to the building to give the phrase in English to a local elder. If right, she will give them their Credit Card with $300 on it and their next clue.Teams then fly to Edmonton and take a bus to Jasper. At the Jasper Skytram, teams get the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member would be equipped with a bungee cord and ride in the Jasper Skytram with their partner, which would stop in midair halfway up the mountain. At this point, the participating team member would have to climb out of the tram and cross monkey bars underneath to reach their clue on the other side. Only 3 teams were permitted in the Skytram at a time. If they fell, they would have to wait in line for the next crossing (about one hour). Teams then paddle a raft down the Athabasca River where they find another Roadblock on the shore. In this Roadblock, teams had to drive themselves to Two Valley Creek Canyon. Here, the team member who did not perform the first Roadblock had to rappel down into the canyon, then search the river valley on foot for a Parks Canada representative who would give them an avalanche beacon, with which to locate one of three caches containing their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Pyramid Island in Pyramid Lake.
1. Steph and Kristen 10:21 A.M. Won a trip for two to London, England.
2. Stéphane and Antoine 10:34 A.M.
3. Jillian and Emmett 10:35 A.M.
4. Joel and Ashley 11:00 A.M.
5. Frankie and Amy 11:22 A.M.
6. Kelly and Kate 12:02 P.M.
7. Anthony and Brandon 12:03 P.M.
8. Rita and Yvette 12:40 P.M.
9. Julie and Lowell 1:01 P.M.
10. Anne and Tanya 2:59 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #2: "It's a deal."
Original Air Date: July 5, 2016.
Getting $390, teams take one of three buses to Calgary, Alberta. Once there they go to Calgary City Hall and get their clue from Mayor of Calgary, Naheed Nenshi, which is a photo of the Wonderland sculptor outside the Calgary Tower. There teams get the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member has to rappel from the top of the Calgary Tower to the bottom, then loot for Seefar the Calgary Tower mascot. Teams can then go to Canada Boy Vinyl and search through and sort 13 boxes of records for the Express Passes, which Steph and Kristen do, before trying to track down the Beatnik Bus, a mobile record store at either: the McDougall Centre, the Harley Hotchkiss Gardens or the Century Gardens for the Detour: Swim or Sim.
In Swim, teams have to go to the Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery and corral and transfer some troutlings. In Sim, teams travelled to the Mayland Heights campus of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, where they had to use a training simulator to guide a crane's payload through a course on a simulated construction site without hitting any obstacles. If both team members successfully completed the course in a combined time of under 6 minutes, they received their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Studio Bell at the National Music Centre.
1. Joel and Ashley 12:13 P.M. Won a trip for two to Paris, France.
2. Jillian and Emmet 12:31 P.M.
3. Stéphane and Antoine 1:03 P.M.
4. Kelly and Kate 1:42 P.M.
5. Steph and Kristen 2:10 P.M.
6. Frankie and Amy 2:22 P.M.
7. Julie and Lowell 2:23 P.M.
8. Rita and Yvette 3:09 P.M.
9. Anthony and Brandon 3:13 P.M. NOT ELIMINATED/SPEEDBUMPED.
Leg #3: "Toads-warts and all."
Original Air Date: July 12, 2016.
Getting $500, teams fly to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Once there they have to spend the night at the Cái Bè Tourist Dock. The next morning, teams go to the Cái Bè Floating Market, pick four items from a list written entirely in Vietnamese and deliver them to a man near the dock on Tân Phong Island. Teams then take a ferry back to Cai Be, then go to Bến Phà Cái Bè Qua Tân Phong where they run into the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, in a shout out to Season 15 of the American version, one team member has to heard ducks from one pen to another. Then each team member has to carry two ducks to the Cái Bè Land Market where Anthony and Brandon run into their Speedbump.
In this Speedbump, Anthony and Brandon have to carry 20 toads, by hand, from one side of the market to the other. Then they can join the other teams at the Detour: Hydrate or Vibrate. In Hydrate, teams had to load a sampan with 60 coconuts and row down a canal to a marked dock, where they had to unload and carry them to a nearby coconut water hut. Once all of the coconuts were delivered, they received their next clue. In Vibrate, teams travelled to Phuoc An Temple, where they had to learn and correctly perform a traditional Vietnamese drum dance to receive their next clue. Teams then go by water taxi to the Pit Stop: Mekong Lodge.
1. Kelly and Kate 12:03 P.M. Won a trip for two to Tokyo, Japan.
2. Joel and Ashley 12:13 P.M.
3. Jillian and Emmett 12:54 P.M.
4. Steph and Kristen 1:02 P.M.
5. Frankie and Amy 1:34 P.M.
6. Anthony and Brandon 1:36 P.M.
7. Julie and Lowell 2:10 P.M.
8. Rita and Yvette 2:46 P.M.
9. Stéphane and Antoine 3:14 P.M. ELIMINATED/PENALIZED four hours for not completing the Roadblock.
Leg #4: "Shine Your Light."
Original Air Date: July 19, 2016.
Receiving $450, teams take a water taxi and a bus to Ho Chi Minh City. Once there, they go to Bà Thiên Hậu Temple, where the pick up two bird cages and release the birds in them. Then teams go to a local mechanical shop where the Roadblock is. In this Roadblock, one team member has to repair a scooter using only a manual written entirely in Vietnamese and a sample scooter as reference. Teams then go to Quán Ốc A Sòi where teams were given a dish of fried crickets, centipedes, worms, and a bat. Teams will have to consume the entire meal, then receive a box containing two live red palm weevil larvae (known locally as "coconut worms"). Each team member must consume one coconut worm to receive their next clue, which causes some problems for Amy as she doesn't eat meat.
Teams then get the Detour: V-Pop or Flip-Flop. In V-Pop, teams travelled to Kingdom Karaoke, and correctly memorized at least one verse per team member of the V-pop song Shine Your Light, then performed karaoke in front of an audience. If the song was performed correctly, a fan girl would give teams their next clue. In Flip-Flop, teams travelled to Glow Skybar where they would watch a demonstration of a flair bartending routine and the mixing of the bar's signature cocktail, the "Hello Vietnam". Teams will then have to recreate the routine and the cocktail exactly to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Ho Chi Minh City Hall.
1. Kelly and Kate 10:14 A.M. Won a trip for two to Los Angeles, California.
2. Joel and Ashley 10:30 A.M.
3. Rita and Yvette 10:40 A.M.
4. Steph and Kristen 11:11 A.M.
5. Julie and Lowell 11:47 A.M.
6. Rita and Yvette 12:07 P.M.
7. Jillian and Emmett 12:22 P.M.
8. Brandon and Anthony 1:15 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #5: "What am I blind?"
Original Air Date: July 26, 2016.
Getting $360, teams fly to Sandspit, Haida Gwaii, British Colombia. On arrival, teams pick up a car and take a ferry to Skidegate on Graham Island and find the Haida Heritage Centre where the Roadblock is. In this Roadblock, one team member had to listen to six Haida storytellers, who would each tell the story depicted on one of the totem poles outside of the Haida Heritage Centre, as well as the name of its carver: Ron Wilson, Tim Boyko, Jim Hart, Guujaaw, Garner Moody, and Norman Price. They then had to correctly identify all six totem poles by carver to a judge on the nearby beach to receive their next clue. Teams then drive to the Spirit Lake Trail and put together two puzzles based on contemporary Haida art.
Teams then go to Queen Charlotte City and take a seaplane to Prince Rupert. Once there, they have to go to City Hall and find the statue of the city's founder, Charles Melville Hays, for the second Roadblock. In this Roadblock, teams travelled to Cow Bay Marina and took a water taxi, one departing every 20 minutes, to a log boom floating in the middle of the bay. Here, the team member who did not perform the first Roadblock had to choose a lane and pilot a small tugboat equipped with a dozer blade to find three small timber rafts marked with red flags and push them to a dispatcher at the other end of the lane. Once all three were delivered, they received their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: North Pacific Cannery Historic Site.
1. Frankie and Amy 2:12 P.M. Won a trip for two to New York, New York
2. Steph and Kristen 2:15 P.M.
3. Joel and Ashley 3:01 P.M.
4. Rita and Yvette 3:42 P.M.
5. Kate and Kelly 4:02 P.M.
6. Julie and Lowell 4:15 P.M.
7. Jillian and Emmett 4:45 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #6: "I'm going to be flying it?"
Original Air Date: August 2, 2016.
Receiving $300, teams fly to Toronto, Ontario. Then they drive to Hamilton and visit the main Bank of Montreal branch, where they get a message from loved ones. Then the go to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum where they find the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member would be flown with an instructor in one of three vintage de Havilland Chipmunks to an altitude of over 2,000 feet (610 m), at which point they would be given control of the airplane to correctly perform a 360-degree banked turn while maintaining a constant speed and altitude between 1800 and 2200 feet. If successful, they received their next clue upon landing.
After that, teams head to Bayfront Park, where they ride a bike to a marked boat launch, then they kayak across Hamilton Harbor, then they climb an outdoor rock climb. Then teams get the Detour: Art Rock or Dry Dock. In Art Rock, teams travelled to Collective Arts Brewing, where they had to recreate a work of spray paint art using stencils to apply coloured layers in a specific order. If their work matched a given example, they could then take it to a stage inside the brewery to receive their next clue from the band Elliott BROOD. In Dry Dock, teams travelled to Heddle Marine Service and entered the dry dock, where they suited up in protective gear and each had to properly weld an 8 inches (20 cm) section of structural steel, after which their work would be inspected for air leaks. Once both of their sections passed inspection, they received their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Dundurn Castle, where they are told to keep racing.
1. Julie and Lowell 3:12 P.M. Won a trip for two to Delhi, India.
2. Steph and Kristen 3:15 P.M.
3. Joel and Ashley 4:19 P.M.
4. Frankie and Amy 4:33 P.M.
5. Rita and Yvette 5:01 P.M.
6. Kelly and Kate 5:31 P.M.
Leg #7: "I'll be Prime Minister!"
Original Air Date: August 9, 2016.
Continuing on from the last leg, teams get $340 and instructions to take a train to Kingston, Ontario. Once there, teams go to Springer Market Square, where they'll pick up their clue the next morning at 9:30 at Vader's Maple Syrup stand (come to the dark side of sweetness! Not really their slogan but still). Teams then make their way to Clarence Street where they found six Chevrolet Cruzes, each with a 4-digit combination on the license plate corresponding to a locked case with a tablet computer inside. Once teams found the matching combination to open the case, they could use the myChevrolet app on the tablet to unlock the vehicle, which would serve as their transportation for the rest of the leg. This is where they get the Detour: On the Field or Offshore.
In On the Field, teams travelled to Nixon Field at Queen's University where they had to wear Bumperz and complete a series of bubble soccer drills against Queen's University women's soccer players. They had to perform a somersault, pass a soccer ball back and forth between each other, and finally score a goal while the goalie attempted to ram the scoring team member. If they completed all of these drills in under 25 seconds, the university's mascot Boo Hoo the Bear would give them their next clue. In Offshore, teams travelled to the Kingston Yacht Club, where they had to properly rig a sailboat, following a completed example. Once it was approved, they had to sail it out to a buoy to retrieve their clue and return to the dock. Teams then go to the Kingston Penitentiary where the Double U-Turn is (Steph and Kristen use it on Joel and Ashley who use it on Frankie and Amy). Teams then search the 400 cells for the clue. Teams then go to Bellevue House where they find the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to dress as Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, then memorize and correctly recite one of Macdonald's political speeches, which included prompts to ring a bell, to an audience of historical players to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Kingston Mills Lock Station on the Rideau Canal.
1. Steph and Kristen 11:50 A.M. Won a trip for two to Rome, Italy.
2. Rita and Yvette 12:15 P.M.
3. Joel and Ashley 12:46 P.M.
4. Julie and Lowell 1:19 P.M.
5. Kelly and Kate 1:34 P.M.
6. Frankie and Amy 2:13 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #8: "Let's dance!"
Original Air Date: August 23, 2016.
Getting $450, teams head to Havana, Cuba. Once there, teams have to go to Castillo de la Real Fuerza and search the grounds for a scale replica of the schooner Bluenose. There they get the Detour: Sugar or Shake. In Sugar, teams made their way to the Havana Club Rum Museum and, using a manual grinder, had to extract 15 liters (33 imp gal; 4.0 US gal) of sugar juice from sugar cane. Then, they must take two trays of drinks each on foot to Park Humboldt, deliver them and then make their way back to the club to get their next clue. In Shake, teams went directly to Park Humboldt and learnt a Casino Salsa routine. Once they correctly performed it, they received their next clue.
Teams then go to the Cámara Oscura where they get a tour. During the tour, they have to spot a Race flag at the Hotel Ambos Mundos where the Ernest Hemingway Museum is located in Room 511. The clue there sends teams to Playa del Este, where they find a Face-off. In this Face-off, teams play beach volleyball against each other, with the first team to 15 points winning. Teams then go to Perdito's Max Brakes where the Roadblock is. In this Roadblock, one team member had to watch a demonstration and then correctly make three engine gaskets from old tire rubber to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Restaurante La Divina Pastora.
1. Kelly and Kate 2:11 P.M. Won a trip for two to Cancun, Mexico.
2. Joel and Ashley 3:00 P.M.
3. Steph and Kristen 3:15 P.M.
4. Rita and Yvette 4:10 P.M.
5. Julie and Lowell 5:00 P.M. NOT ELIMINATED/SPEEDBUMPED.
Leg #9: "For those about to rock."
Original Air Date: August 30, 2016.
Getting $350, teams fly to Sydney, Nova Scotia. On arrival, teams pick up their cars, which will measure their total distance. Whichever team drives the least distance will win $5,000. Anyways, teams go to the Canadian Coast Guard College where Julie and Lowell get their Speedbump: delivering two sacks of letters from the cadets to the Christmas Island Post Office nearby, stamping each of the letters once they get there. Then they rejoin the other teams at the college to take part in a Coast Guard training exercise: They had to direct their driver to one of two marked locations using only nautical terminology. There, one team member then had to swim out to retrieve a dummy representing a victim. After returning to shore, they then had to bring the dummy to a waiting ambulance. If it was one from the correct location, they received the clue for the Detour: Feel the Rhythm and or Feel the Burn.
For both Detours, teams travel to the Highland Village Museum and put on traditional attire. In Feel the Rhythm, teams had to learn and correctly perform a traditional Scottish highland dance routine with a troupe to receive their next clue. In Feel the Burn, teams completed a series of three Highland Games events. First, each team member had to toss a caber so it lands end-over-end within designated lines. Then, they each had to carry or move either two heavy logs (larger logs for men) for 2 laps around a marked course, or one for 4 laps if they choose, in the "Farmer's Walk". Finally, each team member had to throw a stone so it lands on one of two targets. Upon completing all of these events, they received their next clue. After either Detour, teams travelled on foot to the blackhouse on the grounds of the Museum, where they encountered the Double U-Turn, which no one uses. Teams then go to the Fortress of Louisbourg. Here they dress in period French military uniforms, roll six barrels of simulated gunpowder up the hill and then fire a cannon. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Louisbourg Lighthouse.
1. Steph and Kristen 11:22 A.M. Won a trip for two to Mexico City, Mexico.
2. Joel and Ashley 11:45 A.M.
3. Kelly and Kate 12:34 P.M. Won $5,000.
4. Rita and Yvette 1:10 P.M.
5. Julie and Lowell 1:39 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #10: "Just our luck."
Original Air Date: September 6, 2016.
Receiving $300, teams travel by bus to Saint John, New Brunswick. On arrival, teams go to the Saint John City Market, where they go to a Hotels.com kiosk and, using the Hotels.com app, deliver five gift baskets to various nearby hotels. Returning to the kiosk, teams get the Detour: 1867 or 1879. In 1867, teams travelled to Moosehead Breweries where they had to choose one of five uniquely labeled beer bottles and pull enough matching bottles from a fast-moving production line to fill five 24-beer cases. They then had to stack a full pallet of cases to receive their next clue. In 1879, teams travelled to Crosby's Molasses, where they had to follow a recipe to prepare a mixture including the company's signature molasses. If it is the correct consistency, then had to pull the mixture to create at least 650 grams (23 oz) of taffy candy to receive their next clue.
Teams then have to go to the 12th hole of the Algonquin Resort Golf Club in St. Andrews where they perform the Face-off. In this Face-off, teams competed in rounds of golf. One team would take alternating strokes to sink their ball in the hole, then wait for their opponent to do the same. If a team lost their ball, there would be a one-stroke penalty. At the end of each game, the team who took fewer strokes received their next clue. Teams then go to the Scents and Sensitivity Garden in the Kingsbrae Horticultural Garden for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member is blindfolded and would first be led to one side of the garden by their partner, who would read them the English names of 15 plants they had to memorize, each distinguishable by a unique scent or texture. They then had to follow a guide rope on their own to the other side of the garden and correctly identify all 15 plants by touch and smell to receive their next clue. If any were incorrect, they were led back to their partner to try again. After this they use their car's hands free phone to call Jon who will meet them at the Pit Stop: Passamaquoddy Bay, Indian Point.
1. Kelly and Kate 2:13 P.M. Won a trip for two to Sydney, Australia.
2. Joel and Ashley 2:44 P.M.
3. Rita and Yvette 3:33 P.M.
4. Steph and Kristen 4:19 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #11: "Second place is not enough!"
Original Air Date: September 13, 2016.
Getting $350, teams go to the final destination city: Montreal, Quebec. On arrival, teams go to the headquarters of Cirque de Soleil. Here they have to perform three tricks, with each team member doing at least one: First, one team member was harnessed with bungee cords and had to bounce to gain enough momentum to reach a trapeze. Next, one team member had to roll a large ball entirely across the room while standing on it. Finally, one team member had to scale a Chinese pole. Teams then go to the Bank of Montreal's original head office and decode a message using a codebook. If correct a bank teller will give them a key to a safe deposit box with their next clue in it.
Teams then head to the Montreal Biosphere for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, the participating team member had to use a mechanical ascender to climb 150 feet (46 m) to the observation deck of the museum, pull themselves horizontally across a suspended line to a platform on the outer structure, and finally, rappel down to retrieve their next clue on the exterior of the sphere. After this, teams head to St-Viateur Bakery, where another Roadblock is. In this Roadblock, the team member who did not perform the first Roadblock had to stack three orders of Montreal-style bagels on holder sticks in a specific top-to-bottom sequence by variety, three sticks per order. They then had to deliver them on foot, carrying a complete order each time, to three locations in the surrounding neighborhood of Mile End. If the bagels were not arranged correctly, it would not be accepted. Once all deliveries were completed successfully, they returned to St-Viateur to receive their next clue. Teams then head to the Moment Factory and complete the final challenge: At the control panel of a computer displaying a map of Canada, Vietnam and Cuba with the visited cities highlighted, teams had to place plaques each containing a phrase heard or read from various sources throughout the race, 1 per leg, in the corresponding space on the interactive surface. Many misleading phrases were included. Teams then head to the finish line: Kondiaronk Belvedere on Mont Royal.
1. Joel and Ashley WIN
2. Rita and Yvette PLACE
3. Kelly and Kate SHOW
The Review
This is my number one season of the Canadian version of the show. The contestants were great, the locations were amazing, the tasks were good. This season marks not only the first time that a team of Indigenous People participate, but they won as well. Still, the show isn't over yet. I'll see you at the end of Season 29 for a collision course of sorts.
-Globetrotting: An Amazing Race Blog by R.C. Anderson for the website Reality Rewind, April 10, 2017.
OOC: Just so you know Ashley is the same Ashley who has appeared in my Crime Stories updates.
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Summer 2016 (Part 9) - Timecop: A Man Out Of Time
Timecop: A Man Out Of Time
Timecop: A Man Out Of Time is a shooter/RPG published by Acclaim. Based on the classic Dark Horse comic anthology, the game focuses on a man named Max Walker who works in the year 2040. He's part of the Time Enforcement Commission, tasked with preventing people from using the newly developed technology of time travel in unauthorized ways. The game plays like a mix of a first person shooter title and an RPG (though it plays more like the Deus Ex series than a typical looter shooter RPG), and sees Walker travel through time and space to bust criminals and perform other duties such as helping stranded time travelers and performing authorized time travel missions. As Walker completes missions and builds rapport with people across different timelines, he'll acquire clues about crimes in other locations, with missions chaining together and even crossing other into other mission lines, allowing the player to follow whichever mission line they choose and have some control over how the adventure plays out. The developers were somewhat inspired by Chrono Trigger, and the game actually plays quite a bit like that one in how time travel works across different areas: there are a total of nine different time periods Walker can visit, and events in the past can have an impact on the future, with Walker able to place items in certain places in one timeline and if they're not found, pick them up in the "future" later on. He can also talk to people at different stages of their lives, with different results. The combat gameplay is fairly advanced as well, building on systems from the Turok series (which many of the developers of this game worked on). There aren't as many different types of guns, but there is a lot of variety amongst guns, with modifications and alterations able to be performed on certain weapons. In addition, it's possible to find different kinds of weapons and armaments in different eras of time, and even to bring a weapon from the past and have it modded in the future. Melee combat is fairly basic, but Walker can learn different combat techniques and disciplines by talking to different people in different times. Most players will want to focus on using ranged weapons such as guns, but melee combat can be good for stealth and other purposes if the player so chooses. Walker has an extensive skill tree, and the player can devote points to combat skills, people skills, stealth skills, or "temporal" skills (this basically enhances Walker's time traveling acumen, allowing the player to identify different ways to take advantage of time travel). Experience points can be earned by killing enemies, completing dialogue trees, completing missions, or using certain items, and it's possible to level Walker up to 50, allowing the player to complete a good portion of the available skill trees (it's also possible to re-spec if they want to try out a different play style). Timecop: A Man Out Of Time has the largest budget of any Acclaim title to date, and the company didn't skimp on graphical detail or animation quality. They also didn't skimp on the voice acting: Kiefer Sutherland plays the voice of Max Walker, Piper Perabo voices Walker's wife, and other major characters in the game are also voiced by either long-time voiceover vets or decently known TV/film actors.
Just as in the original comic (and the tie-in film), Max Walker is a man touched by tragedy: his wife died of mysterious circumstances before the events of the game began, and even as he performs his duties for the TEC, Walker is also on the hunt for his wife's killer. He soon learns of the case of a person heading back to 1944, and it's worried that they may be attempting to alter the events of World War II to secure an Axis victory. Numerous time travelers have visited that time period before, and they're always considered high priority, due to the risk of altering highly sensitive events that could potentially damage future society. Walker goes to 1944, but is unable to find any serious timestream alterations, save for a couple of people attempting to smuggle nuclear secrets to the USSR, who Walker quickly deals with before returning to 2040. After a few more cases in 2016 and 2027 respectively, Walker meets a woman in a bar named Celia (voiced by Jamie-Lynn Sigler) who shows signs of being not entirely familiar with 2040, but without any evidence against her, he's unable to take any action. However, Celia wants to get to know Walker more, and eventually reveals that she might have information about the murder of his wife. This leads to a quest thread in which Walker ends up having to save Celia from some time traveling thugs, though she's able to hold her own in a fight somewhat, and Walker gets even more suspicious that she might be from some point in the past. However, the clue that Celia gave him about his wife's murder leads to another TEC officer, Stan (voiced by Mark Strong) who may have been conducting illegal business on the side. Walker's pursuit of Stan and the clue about his wife's murder leads to three more different time periods: 2001, 1960, and finally, 1857, the earliest time period visited in the game, where Walker finds a construction base deeply hidden away in which a futuristic device is being constructed. He learns that Stan hasn't been double dealing, but that he's been deep undercover with a group of individuals led by a man known as the Tinkerer, a man named Dr. John Evers (voiced by Guy Pearce) who was one of the people to develop time travel, but who was thought to have been killed in a time-related accident. Walker and Stan clearly don't have enough firepower to stop the Tinkerer, so they return to 2040, only to learn that things have become somewhat altered as a result of the Tinkerer's activities. To make matters worse, Walker learns that Celia is indeed a time traveler and that she's gone back to 1944 again, and that she was the one who had raised the suspicions at the beginning of the game. The game eventually brings together the three main threads of the Tinkerer, Celia, and the death of Walker's wife in the second half of the story. To make a long and convoluted story (extremely detailed but explained very well in the game itself through flashbacks, lots of logs and holotapes, and brief but very well acted story exposition): Celia was a young Jewish woman from the 20th century who went back to 1944 to save her sister from being killed in a concentration camp, but in doing so, caused a string of time paradoxes that led to the Tinkerer surviving his accident and Walker's wife dying at the hands of a corrupt cop within the TEC: not Stan, but Walker's old mentor, the retired officer Hal Morgan (voiced by Robert Patrick), who, when confronted by Walker, tells him that he had to kill Walker's wife to prevent the TEC from being disbanded and not being able to stop the Tinkerer. After Walker gets his revenge by killing Morgan, the Tinkerer's activities begin to manifest further in 2040, causing all kinds of dangerous time anomalies and forcing Walker and Celia to take shelter in a time cocoon, that sends them back to 1944. Walker realizes that in order to prevent the time paradoxes that led to the Tinkerer's rise, he has to prevent Celia from saving her sister. However, before he can do so, he's attacked by augmented soldiers sent by the Tinkerer, who also wipe out large forces of Allied and Axis soldiers in their pursuit of Walker. Walker eventually is able to get to Celia, and in a poignant and emotional scene, he pulls her through a time rift before she's able to save her sister. The time rift takes them to 2065, to a future where the Tinkerer's plans haven't succeeded but the future is still dark and twisted, due to the TEC becoming corrupt and dictatorial. To make matters worse, Celia is furious with Walker, and refuses to go with him. Walker has to battle corrupt TEC agents, eventually having to battle Stan as well (who isn't corrupt, but he believes the TEC ruling the world is the righteous thing, and refuses to let Walker talk him down). Walker eventually fights his way to the inner sanctum of the TEC building, where there are tons of dead TEC soldiers, all murdered by Celia, who is fully decked out in TEC power armor and wants to kill Walker as well. Unlike Stan, however, Celia is able to be talked down, and Walker convinces her to go back with him and find where everything went wrong. They realize they have to go back to 1857 and stop the Tinkerer there, despite only having the two of them. Celia runs distraction while Walker goes into the Tinkerer's lab. Celia is defeated and captured, and the Tinkerer tries to use her to get Walker to stand down, but he refuses and is able to shoot the Tinkerer, allowing Celia to get far enough back from him for Walker to shoot him again with a more powerful weapon. Walker and the Tinkerer battle it out, and eventually Walker wins and dismantles the Tinkerer's lab. Walker has to return Celia to her own time, 1945, but she tells him to take her back a year earlier. Walker tells her that she can't save her sister, and Celia says that she won't try. He does so, and Celia goes to her sister and is there when both of them are taken by the Nazis. Meanwhile, Walker returns to 2040, which is mostly back to normal, save for the Tinkerer being dead and the corruption in the TEC being rooted out. Stan and some of Walker's other friends who died are also back, but there are going to be reforms about how the TEC uses time travel in the future. Walker researches the historical archives and learns about two young concentration camp survivors who lived to 2015 and 2022 respectively: Celia and her younger sister. We see a flashback of the camp being liberated by Allied troops, and this time, Celia's sister has survived, because Celia was there to help keep her strength up. Walker is then delivered a letter by someone who left it for him 25 years ago: it's from Celia, who wrote Walker on her deathbed to thank him for everything. Walker goes home and is immediately hit by a flood of new memories... and we see his wife waiting for him, alive because of a message she got from a childhood music teacher, who turns out to be Celia's younger sister. Walker's memories of the old timeline begin to fade, but he still remembers Celia, an echo from a past that never existed but still happened, and afterward, we see him putting away his TEC uniform, not knowing when or if he'll put it on again.
Timecop: A Man Out Of Time is released on September 16, 2016, for the Reality, Virtua, and Nexus. It's met with enormous critical acclaim, praising the narrative, gameplay, and epic scale of the game's multiple time periods. It's considered by some to be the new Chrono Trigger in terms of how it addresses time travel, while also being considered one of the best first person shooters ever made. One of the most hyped games of 2016, and easily Acclaim's most hyped game ever, it experiences some of the year's best launch week sales, with the Virtua version surprisingly outperforming the Reality version by a slight amount, while the Nexus version also does well thanks to its unique second screen features. It's seen as the start of a new franchise, and launches alongside a new tie-in comic, action figures, and the announcement of a live action Timecop show that will be launching in 2018. The once obscure comic franchise turned cult hit movie turned massive hit game has come back in an enormous way, and helps to make Acclaim one of the biggest forces in games and entertainment, a couple months before the launch of the newest Destined title no less.
Timecop: A Man Out Of Time is a shooter/RPG published by Acclaim. Based on the classic Dark Horse comic anthology, the game focuses on a man named Max Walker who works in the year 2040. He's part of the Time Enforcement Commission, tasked with preventing people from using the newly developed technology of time travel in unauthorized ways. The game plays like a mix of a first person shooter title and an RPG (though it plays more like the Deus Ex series than a typical looter shooter RPG), and sees Walker travel through time and space to bust criminals and perform other duties such as helping stranded time travelers and performing authorized time travel missions. As Walker completes missions and builds rapport with people across different timelines, he'll acquire clues about crimes in other locations, with missions chaining together and even crossing other into other mission lines, allowing the player to follow whichever mission line they choose and have some control over how the adventure plays out. The developers were somewhat inspired by Chrono Trigger, and the game actually plays quite a bit like that one in how time travel works across different areas: there are a total of nine different time periods Walker can visit, and events in the past can have an impact on the future, with Walker able to place items in certain places in one timeline and if they're not found, pick them up in the "future" later on. He can also talk to people at different stages of their lives, with different results. The combat gameplay is fairly advanced as well, building on systems from the Turok series (which many of the developers of this game worked on). There aren't as many different types of guns, but there is a lot of variety amongst guns, with modifications and alterations able to be performed on certain weapons. In addition, it's possible to find different kinds of weapons and armaments in different eras of time, and even to bring a weapon from the past and have it modded in the future. Melee combat is fairly basic, but Walker can learn different combat techniques and disciplines by talking to different people in different times. Most players will want to focus on using ranged weapons such as guns, but melee combat can be good for stealth and other purposes if the player so chooses. Walker has an extensive skill tree, and the player can devote points to combat skills, people skills, stealth skills, or "temporal" skills (this basically enhances Walker's time traveling acumen, allowing the player to identify different ways to take advantage of time travel). Experience points can be earned by killing enemies, completing dialogue trees, completing missions, or using certain items, and it's possible to level Walker up to 50, allowing the player to complete a good portion of the available skill trees (it's also possible to re-spec if they want to try out a different play style). Timecop: A Man Out Of Time has the largest budget of any Acclaim title to date, and the company didn't skimp on graphical detail or animation quality. They also didn't skimp on the voice acting: Kiefer Sutherland plays the voice of Max Walker, Piper Perabo voices Walker's wife, and other major characters in the game are also voiced by either long-time voiceover vets or decently known TV/film actors.
Just as in the original comic (and the tie-in film), Max Walker is a man touched by tragedy: his wife died of mysterious circumstances before the events of the game began, and even as he performs his duties for the TEC, Walker is also on the hunt for his wife's killer. He soon learns of the case of a person heading back to 1944, and it's worried that they may be attempting to alter the events of World War II to secure an Axis victory. Numerous time travelers have visited that time period before, and they're always considered high priority, due to the risk of altering highly sensitive events that could potentially damage future society. Walker goes to 1944, but is unable to find any serious timestream alterations, save for a couple of people attempting to smuggle nuclear secrets to the USSR, who Walker quickly deals with before returning to 2040. After a few more cases in 2016 and 2027 respectively, Walker meets a woman in a bar named Celia (voiced by Jamie-Lynn Sigler) who shows signs of being not entirely familiar with 2040, but without any evidence against her, he's unable to take any action. However, Celia wants to get to know Walker more, and eventually reveals that she might have information about the murder of his wife. This leads to a quest thread in which Walker ends up having to save Celia from some time traveling thugs, though she's able to hold her own in a fight somewhat, and Walker gets even more suspicious that she might be from some point in the past. However, the clue that Celia gave him about his wife's murder leads to another TEC officer, Stan (voiced by Mark Strong) who may have been conducting illegal business on the side. Walker's pursuit of Stan and the clue about his wife's murder leads to three more different time periods: 2001, 1960, and finally, 1857, the earliest time period visited in the game, where Walker finds a construction base deeply hidden away in which a futuristic device is being constructed. He learns that Stan hasn't been double dealing, but that he's been deep undercover with a group of individuals led by a man known as the Tinkerer, a man named Dr. John Evers (voiced by Guy Pearce) who was one of the people to develop time travel, but who was thought to have been killed in a time-related accident. Walker and Stan clearly don't have enough firepower to stop the Tinkerer, so they return to 2040, only to learn that things have become somewhat altered as a result of the Tinkerer's activities. To make matters worse, Walker learns that Celia is indeed a time traveler and that she's gone back to 1944 again, and that she was the one who had raised the suspicions at the beginning of the game. The game eventually brings together the three main threads of the Tinkerer, Celia, and the death of Walker's wife in the second half of the story. To make a long and convoluted story (extremely detailed but explained very well in the game itself through flashbacks, lots of logs and holotapes, and brief but very well acted story exposition): Celia was a young Jewish woman from the 20th century who went back to 1944 to save her sister from being killed in a concentration camp, but in doing so, caused a string of time paradoxes that led to the Tinkerer surviving his accident and Walker's wife dying at the hands of a corrupt cop within the TEC: not Stan, but Walker's old mentor, the retired officer Hal Morgan (voiced by Robert Patrick), who, when confronted by Walker, tells him that he had to kill Walker's wife to prevent the TEC from being disbanded and not being able to stop the Tinkerer. After Walker gets his revenge by killing Morgan, the Tinkerer's activities begin to manifest further in 2040, causing all kinds of dangerous time anomalies and forcing Walker and Celia to take shelter in a time cocoon, that sends them back to 1944. Walker realizes that in order to prevent the time paradoxes that led to the Tinkerer's rise, he has to prevent Celia from saving her sister. However, before he can do so, he's attacked by augmented soldiers sent by the Tinkerer, who also wipe out large forces of Allied and Axis soldiers in their pursuit of Walker. Walker eventually is able to get to Celia, and in a poignant and emotional scene, he pulls her through a time rift before she's able to save her sister. The time rift takes them to 2065, to a future where the Tinkerer's plans haven't succeeded but the future is still dark and twisted, due to the TEC becoming corrupt and dictatorial. To make matters worse, Celia is furious with Walker, and refuses to go with him. Walker has to battle corrupt TEC agents, eventually having to battle Stan as well (who isn't corrupt, but he believes the TEC ruling the world is the righteous thing, and refuses to let Walker talk him down). Walker eventually fights his way to the inner sanctum of the TEC building, where there are tons of dead TEC soldiers, all murdered by Celia, who is fully decked out in TEC power armor and wants to kill Walker as well. Unlike Stan, however, Celia is able to be talked down, and Walker convinces her to go back with him and find where everything went wrong. They realize they have to go back to 1857 and stop the Tinkerer there, despite only having the two of them. Celia runs distraction while Walker goes into the Tinkerer's lab. Celia is defeated and captured, and the Tinkerer tries to use her to get Walker to stand down, but he refuses and is able to shoot the Tinkerer, allowing Celia to get far enough back from him for Walker to shoot him again with a more powerful weapon. Walker and the Tinkerer battle it out, and eventually Walker wins and dismantles the Tinkerer's lab. Walker has to return Celia to her own time, 1945, but she tells him to take her back a year earlier. Walker tells her that she can't save her sister, and Celia says that she won't try. He does so, and Celia goes to her sister and is there when both of them are taken by the Nazis. Meanwhile, Walker returns to 2040, which is mostly back to normal, save for the Tinkerer being dead and the corruption in the TEC being rooted out. Stan and some of Walker's other friends who died are also back, but there are going to be reforms about how the TEC uses time travel in the future. Walker researches the historical archives and learns about two young concentration camp survivors who lived to 2015 and 2022 respectively: Celia and her younger sister. We see a flashback of the camp being liberated by Allied troops, and this time, Celia's sister has survived, because Celia was there to help keep her strength up. Walker is then delivered a letter by someone who left it for him 25 years ago: it's from Celia, who wrote Walker on her deathbed to thank him for everything. Walker goes home and is immediately hit by a flood of new memories... and we see his wife waiting for him, alive because of a message she got from a childhood music teacher, who turns out to be Celia's younger sister. Walker's memories of the old timeline begin to fade, but he still remembers Celia, an echo from a past that never existed but still happened, and afterward, we see him putting away his TEC uniform, not knowing when or if he'll put it on again.
Timecop: A Man Out Of Time is released on September 16, 2016, for the Reality, Virtua, and Nexus. It's met with enormous critical acclaim, praising the narrative, gameplay, and epic scale of the game's multiple time periods. It's considered by some to be the new Chrono Trigger in terms of how it addresses time travel, while also being considered one of the best first person shooters ever made. One of the most hyped games of 2016, and easily Acclaim's most hyped game ever, it experiences some of the year's best launch week sales, with the Virtua version surprisingly outperforming the Reality version by a slight amount, while the Nexus version also does well thanks to its unique second screen features. It's seen as the start of a new franchise, and launches alongside a new tie-in comic, action figures, and the announcement of a live action Timecop show that will be launching in 2018. The once obscure comic franchise turned cult hit movie turned massive hit game has come back in an enormous way, and helps to make Acclaim one of the biggest forces in games and entertainment, a couple months before the launch of the newest Destined title no less.
Billboard #1 Hits Of 2016
Billboard #1 Hits Of 2016
January 2: “The Clinic” by Syera Jack
January 9: “The Clinic” by Syera Jack
January 16: "Eighty-Eight" by Big Bellamy
January 23: "Eighty-Eight" by Big Bellamy
January 30: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
February 6: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
February 13: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
February 20: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
February 27: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
March 5: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
March 12: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
March 19: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
March 26: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
April 2: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
April 9: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
April 16: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
April 23: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
April 30: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
May 7: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
May 14: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
May 21: "Black Rain" by M.S.
May 28: "Black Rain" by M.S.
June 4: "Black Rain" by M.S.
June 11: "Black Rain" by M.S.
June 18: "Black Rain" by M.S.
June 25: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
July 2: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
July 9: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
July 16: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
July 23: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
July 30: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
August 6: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
August 13: "Avaricious" by Ami Pasquale
August 20: "Avaricious" by Ami Pasquale
August 27: "Avaricious" by Ami Pasquale
September 3: "Invincible" by Imagine Dragons
September 10: "Invincible" by Imagine Dragons
September 17: "Save ME" by BTS
September 24: "Save ME" by BTS
October 1: "Save ME" by BTS
October 8: "Save ME" by BTS
October 15: "Save ME" by BTS
October 22: "Save ME" by BTS
October 29: "Save ME" by BTS
November 5: "Save ME" by BTS
November 12: "Save ME" by BTS
November 19: "Save ME" by BTS
November 26: "Save ME" by BTS
December 3: "Save ME" by BTS
December 10: "Save ME" by BTS
December 17: "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars
December 24: "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars
December 31: "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars
January 2: “The Clinic” by Syera Jack
January 9: “The Clinic” by Syera Jack
January 16: "Eighty-Eight" by Big Bellamy
January 23: "Eighty-Eight" by Big Bellamy
January 30: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
February 6: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
February 13: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
February 20: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
February 27: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
March 5: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
March 12: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
March 19: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
March 26: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
April 2: "The Drop Zone" by DJ Vishus
April 9: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
April 16: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
April 23: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
April 30: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
May 7: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
May 14: "Scoop" by Rihanna ft. Big Bellamy
May 21: "Black Rain" by M.S.
May 28: "Black Rain" by M.S.
June 4: "Black Rain" by M.S.
June 11: "Black Rain" by M.S.
June 18: "Black Rain" by M.S.
June 25: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
July 2: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
July 9: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
July 16: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
July 23: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
July 30: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
August 6: "Said" by Rihanna ft. Dreadlock
August 13: "Avaricious" by Ami Pasquale
August 20: "Avaricious" by Ami Pasquale
August 27: "Avaricious" by Ami Pasquale
September 3: "Invincible" by Imagine Dragons
September 10: "Invincible" by Imagine Dragons
September 17: "Save ME" by BTS
September 24: "Save ME" by BTS
October 1: "Save ME" by BTS
October 8: "Save ME" by BTS
October 15: "Save ME" by BTS
October 22: "Save ME" by BTS
October 29: "Save ME" by BTS
November 5: "Save ME" by BTS
November 12: "Save ME" by BTS
November 19: "Save ME" by BTS
November 26: "Save ME" by BTS
December 3: "Save ME" by BTS
December 10: "Save ME" by BTS
December 17: "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars
December 24: "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars
December 31: "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars
I would say yes, maybe even krakens early as Seattle did have a new arena for Sonics and them. Yeah a shame i started to like NHL early but here hockey is a sport you only see on movies or the one canadians talk about
Summer 2016 (Part 10) - From Zero To Hero
The Covenant Zero
The Covenant Zero is a third person shooter developed and published by Google exclusively for the Google Nexus. Though some personnel from Bungie were involved in the game's creation, it's not a Bungie developed title, and indeed, production was headed up by Cliff Bleszinski and Josh Holmes. The Covenant Zero is a prequel to the main series, and follows Master Chief on his first mission with that title, as he and a squadron of Space Marines explore a crashed ship belonging to an unknown alien race, before being attacked by a landing armada and forced to fight their way to safety. Though the game shares similar graphics and basic gameplay with its Nexus counterparts, The Covenant 5 and The Covenant: Spartan, there have been significant elements added to the game, including enhanced melee combat, squadron commands and coordination, and improved shooting controls that make The Covenant Zero the tightest controlling game in the series to date. In addition, the multiplayer has been heavily revamped, and features a 100 player battle royale mode that plays out quite similarly to OTL's Fortnite (though without the wackiness and building elements). The Covenant Zero represents a significant step forward for the series in terms of overall gameplay, and in developing the game, Bleszinski and Holmes aimed to revolutionize the IP while also building a bridge to the next generation. Apart from some mobile titles and small DLC/spinoff games, The Covenant Zero is intended to be the series' final installment on the Nexus, and development has already begun on the "next generation" Covenant game. The game features significant throwbacks to previous titles in the series (some of which allude to the timeline twist, which results in the game not being quite the "prequel" it originally appears to be), though it's also structured with being an entry-level game in the series, not requiring players to know any of the previous lore, as lore from throughout the series is cleverly placed throughout the game in such a way that it doesn't assume knowledge from the player but also doesn't spend too much time rehashing things for longtime fans. The Covenant Zero is much more of an open game than Spartan was, with the ship exploration segment featuring some throwbacks to Spartan but being much shorter, and as the game opens up, there's more action/shooting set pieces than in other recent games. There's no skill tree: what you see is what you get, with power-ups being temporary and the weapon selection being larger but Master Chief's abilities remaining static throughout save for one or two story defined upgrades. It's definitely more of a military style shooter, playing more like a third person Call Of Duty than a Metroidvania-esque title such as Spartan, and missions move along at a quicker pace as well.
The game's campaign starts with Master Chief being promoted to that title and being put in charge of a squadron of soldiers. They're tasked with exploring a crashed alien ship, and the first few missions take place there, as Master Chief and his squadmates get ambushed by alien grunts inside the ship. Just as they're finished exploring, after the first 10-20% or so of the game, there's a sudden attack from the sky as an armada of alien fighters attack and blow up the ship, just after Master Chief and all but one of the squad members (who sacrifices himself to save the others) are able to escape. At first, these seem like generic fighters, but then we see elite Covenant troops among them... troops that didn't show up until far later in the original timeline. It's soon apparent to players that these troops are from the future, having come through a rift in space and time to destroy Master Chief before he was able to defeat them. Master Chief is forced to call on help to fight off the invaders, but soon, even these reinforcements are getting wiped out, and Chief and his remaining squadmates have to survive on their own. Eventually, Master Chief finds himself in a seemingly hopeless situation, but he's eventually saved by the arrival of his counterpart from the future (who we'll call Future MC). It's revealed that the space-time anomaly at the end of The Covenant 4 remained somewhat intact, and that because of its existence, Future MC wasn't able to eradicate the Covenant completely. One final squadron went back in time and found the rest of the Covenant armada in the past, and a large group of Covenant troops then led an invasion of past Earth, where Master Chief and his squadron had been exploring the crashed ship. For the second half of the game, the player will at times control both Master Chief and Future MC, depending on the mission, as the two work together to beat back the Covenant from the past and restore the true timeline. This eventually results in a grand battle for Earth, in which Master Chief and his squadron protect the troops on the ground, while Future MC boards the Covenant flagship to battle the leader of the new squadron, the Covenant soldier who went back to the past in the first place: the Arbiter of Eternity. Future MC has an epic battle with the Arbiter, while Master Chief battles a massive army of Covenant elites on Earth, eventually doing battle with a powerful heavy tank that threatens to destroy the headquarters of humanity's government. Master Chief defeats the heavy tank and offers to aid Future MC in his fight, but Future MC declines the help, realizing that in order to destroy the Covenant, he'll need to sacrifice himself. What this ultimately means is the creation of a stable time loop in which Master Chief destroys the Covenant in his timeline, then goes to the past to sacrifice himself to destroy the Covenant in the past. It's revealed that this has happened many times before, and thus far, Master Chief hasn't been able to break the loop. Thus, even the past Master Chief is destined to become Future MC, go to the past, and sacrifice himself. Humanity is safe, but Master Chief is trapped in an eternal loop as humanity's protector. However, in a post credits scene, we see a future where Master Chief has seemingly survived... only for it to be revealed that this is actually Experiment 1, from The Covenant: Spartan. What role Experiment 1 will play in Master Chief and humanity's future is not yet revealed, only that he may be a crucial key to breaking the original Master Chief out of his self sacrificial loop.
The Covenant Zero is released for the Google Nexus on September 16, 2016. Positioned as one of the Nexus' biggest releases of the year, the game earns strong reviews from both critics and fans, averaging in the mid to high 8s (better than Spartan, but not quite game of the year quality). While fans enjoy the story and graphics, they also consider the combat to be a bit too simplistic, and the battle royale mode, while popular, doesn't earn high marks from everyone (without the building element of Fortnite, the battle royale is seen as being a bit too "ordinary", lacking the fun thrill of a game like Battle Buddies). The game also exists in the shadow of the outstanding Nephilim, which was considered by many hardcore Nexus players to be the superior title. Despite these quibbles, the game is still a massive hit, with higher first week sales than any other Nexus game in 2016. It also drives Nexus sales better than Nephilim did, though many are still waiting for the release of the Nexus Pro (which has a The Covenant Zero bundle at launch). The Covenant Zero has been designed to show off the Pro's graphical muscles, and while the game runs just fine on the original Nexus, most longtime fans are planning to upgrade specifically for this game. Though the impending Pro release has limited Nexus sales a bit, they have risen slightly throughout summer 2016, thanks to the release of three of the summer's biggest games: Harry Potter: The Wizarding World, Nephilim, and of course, The Covenant Zero. With Miraculous Ladybug 2 still on the way, the Nexus has had quite the year, and though The Covenant isn't quite the killer app series that Halo was IOTL, it's still one of the most popular franchises on the market, and probably Google's most important IP.
The Covenant Zero is a third person shooter developed and published by Google exclusively for the Google Nexus. Though some personnel from Bungie were involved in the game's creation, it's not a Bungie developed title, and indeed, production was headed up by Cliff Bleszinski and Josh Holmes. The Covenant Zero is a prequel to the main series, and follows Master Chief on his first mission with that title, as he and a squadron of Space Marines explore a crashed ship belonging to an unknown alien race, before being attacked by a landing armada and forced to fight their way to safety. Though the game shares similar graphics and basic gameplay with its Nexus counterparts, The Covenant 5 and The Covenant: Spartan, there have been significant elements added to the game, including enhanced melee combat, squadron commands and coordination, and improved shooting controls that make The Covenant Zero the tightest controlling game in the series to date. In addition, the multiplayer has been heavily revamped, and features a 100 player battle royale mode that plays out quite similarly to OTL's Fortnite (though without the wackiness and building elements). The Covenant Zero represents a significant step forward for the series in terms of overall gameplay, and in developing the game, Bleszinski and Holmes aimed to revolutionize the IP while also building a bridge to the next generation. Apart from some mobile titles and small DLC/spinoff games, The Covenant Zero is intended to be the series' final installment on the Nexus, and development has already begun on the "next generation" Covenant game. The game features significant throwbacks to previous titles in the series (some of which allude to the timeline twist, which results in the game not being quite the "prequel" it originally appears to be), though it's also structured with being an entry-level game in the series, not requiring players to know any of the previous lore, as lore from throughout the series is cleverly placed throughout the game in such a way that it doesn't assume knowledge from the player but also doesn't spend too much time rehashing things for longtime fans. The Covenant Zero is much more of an open game than Spartan was, with the ship exploration segment featuring some throwbacks to Spartan but being much shorter, and as the game opens up, there's more action/shooting set pieces than in other recent games. There's no skill tree: what you see is what you get, with power-ups being temporary and the weapon selection being larger but Master Chief's abilities remaining static throughout save for one or two story defined upgrades. It's definitely more of a military style shooter, playing more like a third person Call Of Duty than a Metroidvania-esque title such as Spartan, and missions move along at a quicker pace as well.
The game's campaign starts with Master Chief being promoted to that title and being put in charge of a squadron of soldiers. They're tasked with exploring a crashed alien ship, and the first few missions take place there, as Master Chief and his squadmates get ambushed by alien grunts inside the ship. Just as they're finished exploring, after the first 10-20% or so of the game, there's a sudden attack from the sky as an armada of alien fighters attack and blow up the ship, just after Master Chief and all but one of the squad members (who sacrifices himself to save the others) are able to escape. At first, these seem like generic fighters, but then we see elite Covenant troops among them... troops that didn't show up until far later in the original timeline. It's soon apparent to players that these troops are from the future, having come through a rift in space and time to destroy Master Chief before he was able to defeat them. Master Chief is forced to call on help to fight off the invaders, but soon, even these reinforcements are getting wiped out, and Chief and his remaining squadmates have to survive on their own. Eventually, Master Chief finds himself in a seemingly hopeless situation, but he's eventually saved by the arrival of his counterpart from the future (who we'll call Future MC). It's revealed that the space-time anomaly at the end of The Covenant 4 remained somewhat intact, and that because of its existence, Future MC wasn't able to eradicate the Covenant completely. One final squadron went back in time and found the rest of the Covenant armada in the past, and a large group of Covenant troops then led an invasion of past Earth, where Master Chief and his squadron had been exploring the crashed ship. For the second half of the game, the player will at times control both Master Chief and Future MC, depending on the mission, as the two work together to beat back the Covenant from the past and restore the true timeline. This eventually results in a grand battle for Earth, in which Master Chief and his squadron protect the troops on the ground, while Future MC boards the Covenant flagship to battle the leader of the new squadron, the Covenant soldier who went back to the past in the first place: the Arbiter of Eternity. Future MC has an epic battle with the Arbiter, while Master Chief battles a massive army of Covenant elites on Earth, eventually doing battle with a powerful heavy tank that threatens to destroy the headquarters of humanity's government. Master Chief defeats the heavy tank and offers to aid Future MC in his fight, but Future MC declines the help, realizing that in order to destroy the Covenant, he'll need to sacrifice himself. What this ultimately means is the creation of a stable time loop in which Master Chief destroys the Covenant in his timeline, then goes to the past to sacrifice himself to destroy the Covenant in the past. It's revealed that this has happened many times before, and thus far, Master Chief hasn't been able to break the loop. Thus, even the past Master Chief is destined to become Future MC, go to the past, and sacrifice himself. Humanity is safe, but Master Chief is trapped in an eternal loop as humanity's protector. However, in a post credits scene, we see a future where Master Chief has seemingly survived... only for it to be revealed that this is actually Experiment 1, from The Covenant: Spartan. What role Experiment 1 will play in Master Chief and humanity's future is not yet revealed, only that he may be a crucial key to breaking the original Master Chief out of his self sacrificial loop.
The Covenant Zero is released for the Google Nexus on September 16, 2016. Positioned as one of the Nexus' biggest releases of the year, the game earns strong reviews from both critics and fans, averaging in the mid to high 8s (better than Spartan, but not quite game of the year quality). While fans enjoy the story and graphics, they also consider the combat to be a bit too simplistic, and the battle royale mode, while popular, doesn't earn high marks from everyone (without the building element of Fortnite, the battle royale is seen as being a bit too "ordinary", lacking the fun thrill of a game like Battle Buddies). The game also exists in the shadow of the outstanding Nephilim, which was considered by many hardcore Nexus players to be the superior title. Despite these quibbles, the game is still a massive hit, with higher first week sales than any other Nexus game in 2016. It also drives Nexus sales better than Nephilim did, though many are still waiting for the release of the Nexus Pro (which has a The Covenant Zero bundle at launch). The Covenant Zero has been designed to show off the Pro's graphical muscles, and while the game runs just fine on the original Nexus, most longtime fans are planning to upgrade specifically for this game. Though the impending Pro release has limited Nexus sales a bit, they have risen slightly throughout summer 2016, thanks to the release of three of the summer's biggest games: Harry Potter: The Wizarding World, Nephilim, and of course, The Covenant Zero. With Miraculous Ladybug 2 still on the way, the Nexus has had quite the year, and though The Covenant isn't quite the killer app series that Halo was IOTL, it's still one of the most popular franchises on the market, and probably Google's most important IP.
Burton K Wheeler
Moderator
You've been told not to post updates in this thread without the approval of the creators. You're being very rude and obnoxious despite being asked politely over and over to stop.
ian5786
Banned
Right I get it I Won't post The Iron Giant and The Iron Giant 2 Because i will get in trouble
Because you’ve been told multiple times before to stop/ask permission, say every single time you won’t do it again, but then just do it again anyways. It’s clear you don’t listen to anybody.