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Prime Gaming: Dishonored 2

Read More GOG As you know, I’m a huge GOG (Good Old Games) fan and was very excited about the news of GOG Galaxy 2.0 in June 2019. I have been using the GOG Galaxy …

I always forget that Amazon has their weird Prime Gaming (over at gaming.amazon.com).

Every so often, Amazon actually just gives away games - providing that you are a Prime Member (which I have through my brother’s membership under the family extension). I guess it’s just one of the perks, such as free video stream of some of Amazon’s library (including their own funded shows such as Reacher and Jack Ryan).

Recently, for the Christmas holiday, Amazon is giving away Dishonored 2 for free via Prime Gaming. But the best part is that you do not need some sort of Amazon launcher, the free game will be redeemed through GOG, which is the gaming platform that I had championed for years.

I do actually own the Dishonored series on Steam, so I have played a bit of it. I’m not a massive fan of sneak games… and so I didn’t really give Dishonored a chance. It’s just a nice way of saying that I didn’t really like the game.

Speaking of GOG, currently they are running their own Winter Sale, which rivals Steam’s Winter Sale. Unfortunately, due to GOG’s stance of DRM, some Triple A games, such as God of War, can’t be sold on GOG.

While you’re over at GOG, they’re giving away Worms Revolution Gold Edition for free.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

Read more Weekend Gamer.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Humble Bundle

Read More Humble Bundle Game On: Humble Bundle I already own at least five of these games (on discs and digital), but I couldn't resist paying the average price to get these games again. When I donated, they gave me a breakdown of how ....

I’m currently a Humble Bundle subscriber since September 2022 when I got my Steam Deck. I previously joined for one year, starting April 2019 to April 2020, because it was a great way to building up your Steam library without paying too much. The only downside is that you don’t actually know what you’re going to get.

It’s a good deal, but unfortunately, because you don’t know what games you’re going to get - you may end up getting duplicate copies (if you previously own these games).

Anyway, there are some great charity Humble Bundle going on this month.

The Essential Content Creator Bundle

First, I wanted to spotlight the The Essential Content Creator Bundle, from Magix. You get six software (one of the software ProDAD mercalli v5 is only good for two years), but the clear stand-out product is the video editor VEGAS Pro 18 Edit. This is a $250 software that you can get for $25. For $25, it’s worth it just for Vegas alone.

Just a little background, but I used to use Vegas when it was own by Sony, it was one of the best video editor that rivals Adobe’s Premiere. Sometime in 2016, Sony sold it to Magix.

I own Vegas Pro 14 and I recently tried to install it on my new Lenovo Legion PC and it wouldn’t register unless I de-activate previous installations. Keep that in mind if you intend on installing the software on various computers.

When I installed it on the new computer, last month, I contemplated on actually paying $150 to upgrade to Vegas 18… but I decided against it because it’s just too expensive. I’m glad I waited, because now I can upgrade to Vegas 18 for $25.

The other amazing deal is the Black Friday Encore: Lone Wolf & Cub and More by Koike from Dark Horse. If you missed the Black Friday deal (like I did!), here’s your second chance. For $18.00 you are getting over 7,000 pages of Lone Wolf and Cub. That, by itself, is an amazing deal. You also get Kazuo Koike’s other works like Crying Freeman and Samurai Executioner. I’ve own most of Koike’s works, so was happy to see they’ve included some books I’ve never read before.

I started reading Color of Rage, and it’s a hoot. It’s about two prisoners who escaped from a slave ship. One of them is a ronin and the other is a black man. The two travel throughout Japan helping people and trying to survive. It’s about racism, it’s about a stranger in a strange land... it would make for a great television show.

I’ve been reading the manga on my iPad Pro 12.8, and although it looks fine… the battery life is terrible and reading for an extended period time on a glossy LED screen is not recommended. I’ve been giving a lot of thought on buying the new Kindle Scribe (10.2 inch) or the Boox Nova Air Color (7.8 inches) to read comic books. They’re both e-ink, but the Boox having the ability to display in e-ink color (which is what I need if I want to read digital color comics).

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

Read more Technology.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Upgrading the Steam Deck to 1TB Internal SSD

Read More Steam There’s no more waiting… You can now buy Steam Deck, right now, without reservation. According to steampowered, it’s been more than a year since it was first announced, but due to numerous supply chain issues and …

I had a little trouble trying to get a hold of the Inland 1TB m.2 PCIe NVME 2230 SSD at Micro Center over the weekend. Unfortunately, due to the Black Friday sale, the store was a mad house! I could not get any help, could not get anyone to open the secured glass display to sell me the SSD. I had to basically give up, and rescheduled my shopping on a week day (when it’s not so busy).

The good news is that I finally bought the Inland 1TB SSD and installed it on my Steam Deck.

A couple of things to address. If you’re on Windows, you need to unzip the Steam Deck recovery image. The file that you download from steampowered is in a bz2 file format ( steamdeck-recovery-4.img.bz2 ).

I didn’t have a Windows application that can unzip the bz2 file, so I downloaded Bzip2, but it did not work. I’m on Windows 11, so perhaps it’s not supported. I had to download 7 Zip, over at 7-zip.org, which seemed to work for me. I am assuming other software, such as WinZip, would also work.

Rufus

Steam recommended Rufus (rufus.ie), which is what I used to write the IMG file… however, in the past, I have used Etcher (balena.io), which I think has a better user interface.

You’ll need a USB memory stick, at least 8GB in size. I had a free 32GB stick that I got from Micro Center a few years ago that I used to create the Steam Deck boot drive. I think perhaps I will permanently use this 32GB stick as sort of a recovery backup.

Because the Steam Deck only has one USB-C input, you will have to get a USB-C adapter, or if you have the Steam Deck Dock, you can use this as well. Once you have the USB Memory Stick plugged in, you need to hold the Volume Down and Power Button at the same time. When you hear the bootup chime, let go of the Volume button and you’ll see the Boot Manager on your screen. Use the EFI USB Device option.

Using the trackpad and trigger buttons, you can pick “Re-image Steam Deck”, which will perform a full factory reset and replace it with the stock SteamOS.

Warning: It will seem like forever when it’s reimaging the Steam Deck. Once it install the original Steam OS, it will want to update to the latest version. This, again, will seem like it takes forever. Let the Deck do its thing. If you think you are stuck on a installation screen, you can hit “B” and then “A” and try again. This happened to me during the update process.

Now that I’ve gotten my Steam Deck back in action, complete with a 1TB internal storage and 1TB MicroSD external storage… I’m ready to move some games from the slower external SD card to the internal storage. This will seem like it takes forever… again, just have a little patience, it should be able to move your games to the faster NVME storage.

Since it’s a fresh Steam Deck OS, I had to re-install Decky Loader. If you want to install this, you have to turn on Developer Mode (System -> System Settings toggle Enable Developer Mode). Now you should see Developer option, go there and under Miscellaneous, enable CEF Remote Debugging. Reboot.

Next, switch to Desktop mode (Power -> Switch to Desktop). Launch the terminal (“Konsole” under System). Set your password, type in “passwd”.

Copy and paste (or type in):

curl -L https://github.com/SteamDeckHomebrew/decky-loader/raw/main/dist/install_release.sh | sh

Reboot and click on on the Quick Access menu (the “…” button). Find the Plug In icon and Find and install VibrantDeck. Set your Saturation to 250 and now your Steam Deck looks amazing.

I also had to install my custom Pip-Boy startup video. Head over to GitHub for the instructions:

curl -o - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BunnyStrike/deck_revealed/main/boot_videos/pipboy/install.sh | bash -

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

Read more Technology.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Vestron Video: Earth Girls Are Easy

Read More Vestron Video Here is a Bluray series that I love: Vestron Video Collector's Series. When they first came out in 2016, the retail prices were very, very expensive. Normal prices were $40 (and that didn’t even include digital copies!), so I …

One of the Bluray that I recently purchased during my Black Friday purchases was Earth Girls Are Easy, number 27 in the latest Vestron Video Collection.

I remember actually seeing this film in the theaters, thinking how strange it was to see stars Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum together again after seeing them in David Cronenberg’s The Fly remake. What I didn’t know then, and what I found out listening to the commentary of this film, was that the Davis and Goldblum were actually dating at this time.

The other funny thing was that Earth Girls Are Easy was supposed to star writer/creator Julie Brown (based on her music EP Goddess in Progress). The studio executives thought it would be better if they had a “real” star in the film to draw in a crowd. Better yet, since Davis and Goldblum were a two-for-one deal, they could double their star power, so they gave the lead role to Davis.

They did give the role of Davis’ best friend to Julie Brown, who had originally written the role as a gay man.

Not much of a story that you can base on a few songs… but it was a fun little weird comedy about aliens picking up on Earth girls.

As with all first-run Vestron Videos, they come with a nice slip case and the price is decent ($13), and it comes with a digital code. I highly recommend picking this up if you’re a Vestron fan or just a fan of those late 80s comedy.

The next Vestron release will be a Silent Night, Deadly Night collection. It’s number 3, 4, and 5, which means that Vestron didn’t distribute or released the first two Silent Night, Deadly Night films. I’ll also be picking this up when it comes out. Thankfully, you can find them at Walmart or Best Buy easily… but there’s always Amazon if you don’t live by either retailers.

VESTRON VIDEO COLLECTION

	01 Chopping Mall (1986) Concorde Pictures September 27, 2016		02 Blood Diner (1987) Lightning Pictures September 27, 2016
	03 Waxwork (1988) Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992) Vestron Pictures/ Electric Pictures September 27, 2016		04 Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993) Trimark Pictures November 22, 2016
	05 C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. (1989) Vestron Pictures November 22, 2016		06 The Lair of the White Worm (1988) Vestron Pictures January 31, 2017
	07 Parents (1989) Vestron Pictures January 31, 2017		08 The Gate (1987) New Century Vista Film February 28, 2017
	09 Wishmaster (1997) Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999) Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell (2001) Wishmaster: The Prophecy Fulfilled (2002) LIVE Entertainment Artisan Entertainment March 28, 2017		10 The Unholy (1988) Vestron Pictures June 27, 2017
	11 Warlock (1991) Warlock: The Armageddon (1993) Warlock III: The End of Innocence (1999 ) New World Pictures / Trimark Pictures / Tapestry Films July 25, 2017		12 Slaughter High (1986) Vestron Pictures October 31, 2017
	13 Gothic (1987) Vestron Pictures January 30, 2018		14 Class of 1999 (1990) Lightning Pictures January 30, 2018
	15 Beyond Re-Animator (2003) Lions Gate Entertainment July 24, 2018		16 Dagon (2001) Lions Gate Entertainment July 24, 2018
	17 Maximum Overdrive (1986) De Laurentiis Entertainment Group October 23, 2018		18 Shivers (1975) Cinepix September 15, 2020
	19 Little Monsters (1989) Vestron Pictures September 15, 2020		20 The Wraith (1986) New Century Vista Film July 20, 2021
	21 Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1991) Vestron Pictures August 17, 2021		22 Dementia 13 (1963) American International Pictures September 21, 2021
	23 Steel Dawn (1987) Vestron Pictures October 26, 2021		24 Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999) Artisan Entertainment January 18, 2022
	25 Dream a Little Dream (1989) Vestron Pictures March 15, 2022		26 Extreme Prejudice (1987) Carolco Pictures May 17, 2022
	27 Earth Girls Are Easy (1988) Vestron Pictures November 8, 2022		28 Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989) Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991) International Video LIVE Entertainment December 13, 2022

Read more Movies and Television.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Fantasy TV (Sep 2022)

Read more Television and Fantasy TV.

Read More The Sandman The next big title to be given the Netflix treatment will be Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman… it’s currently in development. Everyone is excited about the adaption, and hopefully it will bring the story to a bigger audience. … Constantine The new episode of Constantine is probably the best show so far! The best ones are the ones that is based on the comic book, and this new episode, the whole setup is quite similar to Mike Carey's Hellblazer: All His Engines. .…

The Sandman
netflix.com

It breaks my heart, but I don’t love the Netflix adaption of The Sandman.

I realized that the television show wasn’t meant for me, but for a wider audience that is not all that familiar with the original comic books. You see, I own all the original comics, starting with #1 when it first launched in 1989, when Vertigo Comics was in its infancy. I own all the spinoffs titles (including Death: The High Cost of Living, and various Specials). I am a superfan, when it comes to the Sandman.

So, that’s the problem. I’m just too close to the source material, it is hard for me to accept the new changes… especially, when I think it brought absolutely nothing to the story.

They followed most of the story correctly, making some minor changes to give the Corinthian a bigger role, and overall, the story still follows the books.

What I had a problem with is all the gender and race swaps. I know, I know, most people aren’t bothered by this… but when you are used to a character to look a certain way, you just expect them to look the same on screen.

The biggest changes were Death is played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste, a black actress, and John Constantine is played by Jenna Coleman, a woman, Rose Walker is played by Kyo Ra, a black actress, and Lucien, an old male elf librarian is played by Vivienne Acheampong, a black woman.

I know a lot of people argued that it doesn’t matter, but to me, it just didn’t feel like the Sandman from the comic books. I just wondered why they made these changes? For example, if they changed Cyborg, a black character, into a white character, wouldn’t it upset you? Another example, when they decided to make Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe to Asian, I wasn’t happy about that either. I would be upset if they changed Storm Shadow, who is Asian, to another race or gender. Another example, I was really upset that they wouldn’t show Constantine smoking in the Constantine television show... and yes, I was upset that Constantine was not blonde and English in the Keanu Reeves movie. To me, I just don’t like it when they make changes to the characters.

What The Sandman got right, such as The Corinthian, or Desire (maybe they could have gotten both a male and female to play the part!), or all the serial killers… they got it right! I’ve no complaints if they get things right.... Cain and Abel, they look like they’re from the bible. Even Fiddler’s Green looked the part, complete with his costume and glasses. When the show gets a character right, I’m going to praise it.

I guess, when it comes down to it, for someone not familiar with The Sandman, you are going to have a good time. You’re going to love the story of the Sandman, which combines the first two Sandman arcs, Preludes and Nocturnes and The Doll’s House, into 10 episodes. I think the story still holds up.

Also, don’t miss the bonus episode, a two-parter Dream of a Thousand Cats and Calliope, which are both excellent adaptions. No complaints here, the cats looks like cats, the muse looks like a muse.

Read More Game Of Thrones The Seven Kingdoms come to life in a way like no other as the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience kicked off its all-arena twenty-four city North American tour at the Xcel Energy Center in St . Paul. .…

House of the Dragon
hbo.com

With bitterness of the last two seasons of Game of Thrones still fresh in my mind, I wasn’t looking forward to the prequel House of the Dragons… or as the kids are calling it, “Hot D”. Going into House of the Dragons, I realized how much I love the original Game of Thrones (Seasons 1 to 5). That’s because the story and writing is strong, as it’s based on George R.R. Martin’s Blood and Fire book.

The good news is that the book has a definitive ending, so if they are adapting this book, they won’t run out of material, unlike Game of Thrones, where the showrunners were just making it up as they go along (and it shows how poorly they understood the characters).

In many ways, House of the Dragons is making me fall back in love with the Westeros world. Since the story takes place over 150 years before Game of Thrones, there are no familiar characters.

We are introduced to the ruling House Targaryen. The king Viserys Targaryen is facing a problem of not having an heir to his kingdom. He chose to named his daughter, Rhaenyra, as sole heir to spurn his brother, Daemon. This sets up conflict within the Targaryen family.

I think the best part of the show is Matt Smith, who is straight up an evil man. To call him evil might be wrong, he’s more like a big jerk. Smith does such a wonderful job in portraying Daemon, that every time he’s on screen, he dominate. All the other characters are boring compared to Daemon.

I’m only three episodes in, and knowing that HBO has already green-lit a second season, I have a good feeling about this series. I haven’t read the book, so I’m very much looking forward to how the story unfolds, and who will live and who will die, playing the Game of Thrones?

PS, I don’t like how House of the Dragons re-used the theme song to Game of Thrones. I wish it was a different theme song, so that it stands on its own, rather than being related to GoT.

Read More Lord of the Rings The Banner Saga, a game by Stoic, released on Tuesday, January 14th, is one of the best games I've ever played. The graphics is hand drawn and reminds me of Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings and pre-CGI Disney animation. .…

Rings of Power
amazon.com

Yes, I do have Amazon Prime, and no, I haven’t wanted to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power show from Amazon. The show is based on the The Lord of the Rings and its appendices by J. R. R. Tolkien.

One of the main reasons I am avoiding this show is that the diehard fans are ridiculing the show for its terrible writing and that the show is changing race and gender from the books. As someone who was not happy that they gender or race-swapped characters on The Sandman, I fully understand why these fans are upset that the Rings of Power show is getting their characters wrong.

I don’t know the whole story, but I think part of the problem is that Amazon only has rights to some books, so they can’t touch anything that appears in the Peter Jackson movies. They might have to make up characters or introduce a new race that was not mentioned in the books. For example, since the Hobbits didn’t exist in the time that Rings of Power takes place, the showrunners used a race called the Harfoots.

I haven’t read the books, so those kind of things probably wouldn’t bother me, but seeing as so many fans hate all the changes to the books, I am avoiding the fantasy series for now.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

State of Play: G.I. Joe: Classified

Product Description G.I. Joe is a highly skilled, on-demand, special operations force of men and women from around the globe. These extraordinarily talented heroes are selected for their elite abilities and tasked with defending the world from Cobra, a ruthless criminal organization bent on total domination. With unwavering courage and steely determination, the brave members of G.I. Joe are prepared to seek out Cobra in any environment on the planet. From hostile jungles to ice-clad arctic peaks…wherever there’s trouble, G.I. Joe is there. This Heavy Artillery Roadblock figure comes ready for action, with multiple points of articulation for high poseability and character-inspired accessories, including a heavy artillery blaster. And with custom artwork by Mike Thompson, the G.I. Joe Classified Series Roadblock package will make a mark on shelves. Read More Hasbro This year, Hasbro wanted to update the toy line to 6”, giving these soldiers updated looks and additional details you can’t see on a smaller figure. The first wave is solid, with Snake Eyes, Duke, Scarlet, Roadblock and Destro (the only Cobra in the wave). ....

I previously mentioned how difficult it was to find and collect G.I. Joe: Classified toys. After their disastrous Target releases for their Exclusive line, Cobra Island, it made fans, such as myself, completely giving up on collecting the line. Last year, as part of Hasbro’s effort to win back the fans, they put back production on the the early Cobra Island figures as a “last chance to own these figures”. I knew I shouldn’t have, but I caved in and ordered the figures I was missing (however, to this day, I’m still missing a Major Bludd figure…)

Anyway, now that it’s two years in since I started collecting the Classified Series, I know for a fact that I have not seen any figures on store’s shelves, except for the Snake Eyes: Origins movie figures. The movie, and action figures, proved to be unpopular with the fans. Of course, I bought the figures, to add to my collection… but if it wasn’t part of the Classified line, I probably wouldn’t have cared either.

Recently, I got roped back into collecting the Classified Series when Amazon had some new figures in stock: Alley Viper, B.A.T., and Heavy Artillery Roadblock. I believe the reasons why I was able to get the Viper and BAT is because fans were cancelling their pre-orders. I truly believe this, as it would’ve been one year in pre-order (and Hasbro was already announcing figures for 2023). I do not believe I will see these figures (or any future figures) in stores, so I am forced to buy them online.

As for Roadblock, fans were fed up with seeing him re-released. This Amazon Exclusive figure was the fourth version of Roadblock: The first Classified figure, a Cobra Island version, and finally a re-colored of the first figure. If you ask me, the Heavy Artillery Roadblock is really the figure that everyone was asking for… it’s his classic look.

Anyway, remember how impossible it was to buy the Target Exclusive Cobra Island? I will bet you it’s going to be just as difficult to get the upcoming Target Exclusive Tiger Force. Pre-Orders have long sold out, but I’m hoping to just randomly find them in stores (I doubt it… but I can always hope).

Storm Shadow and Spirit

To me, the Classified Series is incredibly popular, I just don’t understand why Hasbro just doesn’t produce more figures to satiate the demand. We’ve seen Mattel get a lot of Masters of the Universe on the store shelves, which I love. I just wish Hasbro would do the same.

Update: Yes, I was able to get the new Storm Shadow and Spirit. Very happy about the details on the Spirit figure, it’s simply the best version of this character in toy form, no doubt about it. Again, I’m not sure why Hasbro is limiting these toy’s release, because as of this writing, they're “sold out” and you are forced to pay double the price from scalpers.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Target Super Clearance Day

Read More Target I just bought the Razer’s Kishi Controllers (for the iPhone) on clearance from Target for $15. This is a massive saving, considering when it was originally released, it was $50 or more. …

You know, just the other day, I was complaining about the lack of good deals on Amazon Prime Day. Forget Amazon Prime Day, it’s all about the Target Super Clearance Day for me. I’ve never seen so many 70% off yellow clearance tags. Of course, limited to stock on hand, but I did find some really amazing deals.

Sure, I didn’t need all those extra things in my life, but I couldn’t pass up these deals. The prices are Black Friday level (even better in many cases).

I don’t know how long the sale will last, but I am assuming it’s only for a few days, if that. I know that several Targets in my area are doing renovations, so I think they just want to clear out inventory.

Some things I bought for 70% off:

Target Exclusive 4k Discs for $11 (normally $36)

Some 12” vinyl for $9 (normally $30)

Mego Action Figures for $5 (normally $20)

Various Cable Guy Phone Holder for $8 (normally $30)

Various McFarlane Action Figures for $5 (normally $20)

Various Headphones for $15 (normally $50)

Razer Keyboards and Accessories for as low as $8 (normally $30)

Some gaming controllers for $5 (normally $20)

There were more 70% off products (like all the phone cases), but I had no interests in them. Tomorrow, I will visit another Target store to see if I can find more deals.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

Target Clearance

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Weekend Gamer: Prime Day

Read More Video Games I take that back, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is on sale, and it’s a game (three games actually) that I’m interested in checking out the new “remaster”. It’s currently on sale for $35 on Amazon, …

Every year Amazon Prime Day comes and go, and every year, there’s never anything good! This year, the two-day event is taking place July 12 to 13, and promises “epic deals on top brands and small businesses.”

Having scrolled through countless items, the sales and discounts are just not enough for me to want to buy something. Most of the sales are 10% off, to me, that’s not enough for a product I don’t need now. Some items that never goes on sale, such as Apple products are slightly discounted - for example the new Apple Watch 7 is $309 (normally $420) and Airtags 4-Pack are $85 (normally $100).

Undoubtedly, the biggest deals are on Amazon’s own products: the Echo Show (not the new models) and their Fire Tablets.

If you’re already a member of Amazon Prime, Amazon is giving away some free digital games, including Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. Originally when this re-mastered game came out in 2021 for a full $60… but since then the game is heavily discounted (as low as $20 on Xbox), and, if you have Xbox Game Pass, the game is “free”. Many gamers interested in the game, including myself, have already bought it. Still, getting another free copy from Amazon Prime is a nice bonus.

There are a few catches in redeeming the Amazon Prime free games. Some games requires you to have an account with a third party, for example, Legacy Games or Origin account. Personally speaking, if I don’t already have an account, I just won’t redeem them… but there are others that might sign up, just to get some free games.

The other catch is that Amazon is promoting their streaming game service, Luna, so some of their “free” games requires you to sign up for their gaming service (which I won’t do).

So, even though I poo-poo the “sales” of Amazon Prime Day, I have to admit that it is good for everyone. That is because Amazon’s competitors, such as Best Buy, are also reacting to Prime Day, with their own sales, which they are calling Black Friday in July.

Yours,

- Weekend Gamer

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Strangest Things

Stranger Things: Season 4 It's been eight months since The Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, our group of friends are separated for the first time - and navigating the complexities of high school hasn't made things easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery, that if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down. Read More Stranger Things For me, synthwave started with Stranger Things. In late July I went on a date with a fellow dungeon master who mentioned this show which started with some kids playing D&D (Dungeons & Dragons). …

Read more Television.

STRANGER THINGS
netflix.com

I’ve been enjoying Stranger Things since it debut in 2016, and, personally speaking, I think Season 4 is one of their strongest season yet. The show’s really matured, and that’s not to mention how all the child actors have all really grown up in the four years we’ve known them. I mean in both story and, the fact that the real actors have really grown up. Just look at the actor Finn Wolfhard, he looks like a fully grown young man. It’s clear to me that the Duffer Brothers couldn’t possibly continue telling their stories forever.

The story of Season 4 goes back to the first time we meet 11. We’re reminded that 11 killed everyone in this secret base in a flashback. The story goes deeper, and you’re given more back stories. Somehow, at least how I perceived it, that it was that 11 created “The Upsidedown”, a twisted version of Hawkins, Indiana. It’s really cool, I bought it.

Season 4 also has some of the most horrific death scenes, featuring some gruesome body breaking/eyeballs destroying moments. I feel like sometime the show borders on Rated R and PG, especially with some of its goofy moments, like the Suzie’s mad house or the crazy greedy Russian pilot.

My biggest complaint about the new season is that they’ve introduced (or focused more on) a lot of new characters. I wish they just stick to the original group of fans. Instead, we’re seeing characters like Hellfire Club’s Eddie, Robin (who was introduced last season and plays a bigger part this season), and Argyle. With so many characters, it just seems like the writers tried to devote more time to everyone… making for very long episodes. In fact, the last two episodes (which just released by Netflix) are one and half hour, and two plus hours, respectively. They are movie length!

Stranger Things Soundtrack Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 4 includes essential music tracks evoking various classic eras and styles as featured in "Stranger Things 4." The soundtrack album is conceptualized and produced by The Duffer Brothers and Nora Felder.

STRANGER THINGS: SOUNDTRACK
legacyrecordings.com

As you know, one of the best thing about Stranger Things is their amazing 80s soundtrack. With Season 4, the soundtrack helped Kate Bush back on the music charts, over 35 years after “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” was originally released!

I actually own a few Stranger Things Soundtrack, so I’m looking forward to Legacy Recordings’ release of Stranger Things: Soundtrack from the Netflix Series, Season 4. The soundtrack is available now on digital and CD.

If you’re a vinyl collector, like I am, be on the look out for the double LP 12” on November 4th. The vinyl will come in standard black (with 12inch poster insert), or exclusive retailers’ editions.

Walmart will have a Creel House cover and puzzle, Target will have a California cover and diorama, Barnes & Noble will have a Russia cover and stickers, and Amazon will feature a Lab cover with a 12x12 Butcher Billy lithograph (details here).

Surfer Boy Pizza Surfer Boy Pizza Pepperoni Pizza, 23 oz. Each mouth-watering variety contains rich tomato sauce, delicious mozzarella cheese, and a gnarly range of toppings.

SURFER BOY PIZZA
palermovillainc.com

The first time I saw Surfer Boy Pizza, I was so confused. This is an imaginary pizza brand from Stranger Things… yet, here it is, in real life at my local Walmart. I decided to try one out.

To my surprise, it was really good. Especially for only $7. Don’t believe all the food snobs on the internet, I really like the pizza. I would cut it in thirds and air fry a piece for about 9 minutes, and it’s crisp and tastes great.

The frozen pizza is made by Palermo Villa Co. and comes with a fake pair of punch-out 3D glasses. There are four types of topping available: supreme, multi-meat, pepperoni, and pineapple & jalapeno. I’ve tried them all, they’re all pretty good, except for my least favorite, the pineapple & jalapeno. It’s just the topping, the crust is still good. The best value is the supreme, so I would recommend trying that first.

At the moment, I believe the pizza is only available from Walmart. Right now, they are phasing out the pizza, since the show is over… but you can still buy a 4-pack from their website for a high price of $50.

If you can find it for $7, it’s worth checking out.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Disapointment Television

Read more Television.

Read More Dexter Do you remember how I absolutely hated the final season to Dexter? I guess everybody hated the final season, so the show producers is going to do a do-over. The fresh start will be called Dexter: New Blood …

DEXTER: NEW BLOOD
sho.com

How do mess up Dexter twice?!!??? Universally, everybody hated the final Dexter Season 8. No one was satisified with the last season, especially the “Lumberjack” ending. After ten years, Showtime said they were going to go to fix all that by introducing a brand new series: Dexter: New Blood. Guess what? They blew it again. This new ending sucked.

Overall, New Blood was a good, solid season. I had some problems with it, but it would have been forgiven, if they stick to the landing. Unfortunately, the ending wasn’t satisfying and it ultimately made Dexter an idiot.

I personally believe that the show writers did not understand Dexter.

There were so many problems with Dexter, the reason why Dexter kills is that he has a Dark Passenger. He is compell to kill… so when his foster father, Harry, saw this darkness in him, he gave Dexter a code. There’s are a few rules, but the main ones you should take away from this is, “Don’t Get Caught” and “Never Kill an Innocent”. The thing is, Dexter has to kill, so I don’t buy it that Dexter, hiding in a small town in New York, for ten years, has never killed anyone in all that time. It doesn’t make any sense at all.

The writers of Dexter: New Blood didn’t get Dexter’s character. Dexter is now killing out of revenge, and he’ll kill an innocent cop to break out of jail. That doesn’t make sense at all.

Then the ending is absolute garbage.

I thought I read somewhere that Showtime wants to give Harrison (Dexter’s son) his own TV show. I’m certainly not going to watch it. Horrible.

Read More Expanse Possibly the best Science Fiction television show on air right now is The Expanse (no, it’s not Star Trek: Discovery). As I previously mentioned, I love this show. ....

THE EXPANSE
amazon.com

It is the six (and final) season for the Sci-Fi epic The Expanse. If you have Amazon Prime, which I have through a family account, you can watch the show for free.

Our team seemed weary, spending a lot of time in space hunting down Marcos’ men. Plus, morale is bad, because they lost pilot Alex Kamal last season. What’s strange is that his death had nothing to do with the story, it’s because the writers had to take him out due to some real-life sexual misconduct from the actor.

So this season, we have one-less core member, now Captain James Holden, engineer Naomi Nagata, and mechanic (and badass brute) Amos Burton. The crew is joined by Clarissa “Peaches” Mao, apprentice mechanic and, as of, episode two, Martian Marine Bobbie Draper . I still feel that the crew is missing a pilot for the Rocinante, especially during that space chase where they had Holden manning the ship and then joining the boarding crew.

Unfortunately, for the final season, it didn’t quite feel like a conclusion. The final defeat of Maros felt unsatisfying. I mean, they just made him vanish in the ring? I don’t think he’s actually dead… but we’ll never know, since we aren’t get any more Expanse.

The other big problem with the final season, is the stupid girl and space dogs that opens each episode. First of all, the last season only had six episodes, because Amazon refused to pay for any more. Instead of telling the story in those six episodes, they devoted like 20 minutes to this space dog story that went nowhere. Book readers were delighted, but for the show viewers, I felt like it was a giant waste of time.

I also wished that they would’ve just killed off characters, knowing it’s the final season. I know book readers probably won’t like it, but it would make sense to end Clarissa Mao (she found out she was going to die anyway), or have Bobbie Draper die as she takes out the giant cannon.

Read More Star Wars Beginning with a new interview with Joker’s voice actor Mark Hammill (Star Wars) and ending with a music feature, featuring composers Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion, and Lolita Ritmanis. ....

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT
disney.com

No one likes The Book of Boba Fett. The story is slow, and more than half of it is told in flashback. No one seems to know what the point of the new Boba Fett show is all about.

The worst part is when he employed a local cyborg street gang (on Vespas), the show suddenly felt like it was made for children.

Then when the all-Mandalorian episode showed up, it really demonstrated how awful Boba Fett has been. Mando shows up, he cuts this guy in half, it’s all-action! Meanwhile, Boba Fett, in four episodes, had not moved an inch in story.

To recap: Boba Fett takes control of Jabba's criminal empire on Tatooine. This causes the Jabba's cousins, "The Twins", trying to assassinate Boba. Boba then hired a gang of cyborg street gang, and then we find out that the Pykes are the real enemy.

The other storyline is told in flashback, which tells the story about how Boba Fett escaped the sarlacc and his long journey. Personally speaking, I didn’t need this backstory, to me, it’s always better to keep his backstory a mystery. The more you find out about Boba, the less cool he seems to be.

I guess the biggest disappointment for me is that Boba Fett just sucks in this show. Clearly, The Mandalorian is the much cooler character… and seeing him in Episode 5, made me really wish I was watching the new season of Mandalorian.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com