Tag Archives: Review

Review: Amp Energy Drink

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amp-energy-drinkOverview:

A while back I posted a review of Amp Revive, a decent orange flavored spin-off of the original. Which I never reviewed. Until now. You may have noticed  I tend to have this problem with reviewing things out of order as I did with the Speedway branded Shockwave drinks. Oh well, get used to it.

Anyway, Amp is basically Mountain Dew on crack. Or that’s what it was originally meant to be, at least. Now the only reason the Mountain Dew logo is on the can is for brand recognition. People see the words Mountain and Dew, realize they love Mountain Dew, then pick a can of this up. I’m not sure why they keep doing it, but they fall for it time after time.

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Retro-Review: Marcy Playground Self-Titled Album

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Overview:

Marcy Playground is probably (in my humble opinion) the single most underrated and unrecognized rock band from the ’90s. Their self-titled album debuted in 1997 and it’s first single “Sex and Candy” spent 15 weeks at #1 and managed to generate two other singles called “St. Joe on the Schoolbus” and “Sherry Frazier”. Despite the album’s platinum status Marcy Playground is now mostly a forgotten band remembered almost exclusively by the success of “Sex and Candy” which is an unfortunate fact because they really are one of the greatest bands around. You just don’t know it.

marcy_playground

Review:

My single favorite thing about the album is it’s immense diversity. Members John Wozniak (Guitar, Vocals), Dylan Keefe (Bass, Back-ups) and Dan Reiser (Drums, Back-ups/no longer with the band) pulled off a huge variation of sounds ranging from modern-folk to psychadelic to hard rock, and they pulled it off well. Extremely well.

Despite having a very diverse sound, it’s all mellow and soothing yet still extremely blissful. John Wozniak’s lax vocals complement his creative lyrics perfectly. And the lyrics are another great thing about the album. “Poppies” for instance tells the story of how opium came to be. “St. Joe” tells about John’s wistful childhood. One of my personal favorites, “One More Suicide” tells a depressing tale of love gone horribly wrong.

Usually, when doing album reviews I talk about the good and bad songs. The thing is, I’ve looked with a very critical eye and still can’t find any bad songs on the album. “Opium” is probably the least impressive song but that’s about it. And the only thing that really keeps it from being as great as every other song on the album is it’s overly lethargic sound and the overall depressing mood it presents listeners. Even so, it’s a great song.

Of all the other songs on the album, my personal favorites are “Ancient Walls of Flowers”, “A Cloak of Elvenkind”, “Sherry Frasier”, “One More Suicide”, “Dog and his Master”, and of course the album’s most popular hit “Sex and Candy”. The latter-most listed, “Sex and Candy”, was easily the album’s strongest hit but some of the others listed are way better, just not as recognized.

Track List:

  1. Poppies
  2. Sex and Candy
  3. Ancient Walls of Flowers
  4. Saint Joe on the Schoolbus
  5. A Cloak of Elvenkind
  6. Sherry Frasier
  7. Gone Crazy
  8. Opium
  9. One More Suicide
  10. Dog and his Master
  11. The Shadow of Seattle
  12. The Vampires of New York

Final Words:

Marcy Playground’s debut self-titled album is a great gem that deserves a listen from anyone who grew up in the ’90s. It’s one of my favorite albums and has been for several years. Marcy Playground’s music has a timeless quality that’s sure to please just about anyone even today, ten years after it’s release. Check it out.

Score:

Overall: 9.3/10 (Amazing)

Lyrics: 9.5/10 (Inspirational, clever, and from the heart)
Music: 9.5/10 (Smooth and calm, yet invigorating at the same time)
Entertainment Value: 9.0/10 (It’s ten years old, and I still find it to be fresh and unique)

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Web Review: Eyeonspringfield

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the-simpsons-bannerOverview:

Remember the wondrous time in the mid-90’s when “The Simpsons” almost single-handedly made life worth living? When it was so side-splittingly and effortlessly funny that it not only proved to be one of the great treasures in the history of entertainment, but the history of the world? Before it stayed on so long that it just became a bastardized and, at times even a depressing shell of its former self? Well, whether you do or not, you should. And if you do, there is a glorious website that celebrates the heyday of what once was the greatest accomplishment in the history of television.

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Review: The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy by Luke Cuddy

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the-legend-of-zelda-and-philosophyOverview:

I first heard about The Legend and Philosophy several months ago and I immediately thought something along the lines of “Holy Sheik, that’s awesome!” I mean how could I, the guy with a Legend of Zelda tattoo on his left calf, not be super excited for something like this?

So what exactly is The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy? Hmm… chances are that it’s a philosophical exploration of The Legend of Zelda. In fact, that’s exactly what it is. Editor Luke Cuddy gathered several writings from respected philosophical minds that were tied to Zelda and it’s ideals and brought them all together into this one book subtitled “I Link, Therefore I Am.”

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Review: Deton8 Energy Drink

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deton8-energy-drinkOverview:

Deton8 is really the most generic energy drink I’ve ever had. It’s a Kroger brand, which isn’t surprising since the grocery store chain has it’s own brand for almost every product it carries. Most Kroger brand products are just as good as what they sit next to on the shelf, but this is an exception.

Everything about it is average and generic in every way. But it is possible for something to do the generic thing well and still have an impressive product. Deton8 doesn’t do that and is nothing more than generic.

So for a generic drink I present a generic review. Enjoy!

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Review: Motley Crue “Saints of Los Angeles”

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Overview:saints-of-los-angeles

Motley Crue was one of the premier metal bands of the 1980’s with songs like Shout at the Devil, Kickstart My Heart and Home Sweet Home topping out some of their more popular hits. Sure they weren’t as big as Bon Jovi or Ratt, but they played some great hair metal way back in the day. Since then, however, they seemed to have fallen off of the radar until just recently. With the release of Red, White, and Crue, which was sort of an ultimate best-of album with a few original songs, they started to regain a little bit more radio time with “If I Die Tomorrow”. Shortly after that they announced that they would be making their first studio album in some number of years.

And of course, since the Crue is one of my favorite bands I picked it up day one and finally have a review written up for anyone who still cares about Motley Crue or anyone just browsing the site because you’re bored in English Class. Does their first album in years impress and win a new crowd or is it a just another Chinese Democracy?

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Review: Rip It Energy Fuel

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Rip It PowerOverview:

A 99 cent energy drink? That can’t be good, right? I mean, I always pay upwards of $1.99 for my fix, so this has to be some pretty sick stuff.

That’s exactly what I’d thought before I got my first sip. While it’s true that Rip It is only 99 cents and most other generic brands that sell below the industry standard of $1.99 are usually bitter, sour, and have almost no kick, Rip It steps up to the plate and manages to knock the ball deep into center field with its unparalleled budget price and a delicious fruity flavor that satisfies on almost all fronts.

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Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360)

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Star Wars the Force Unleashed

Overview:

System: Xbox 360 (also on: Wii, PS2, PS3)
Developer: Lucas Arts
Publisher: Lucas Arts
Genre: Action

I am not a huge Star Wars fan and I have never been a large supporter of the games that Lucas Arts has been pumping out, save the Lego Star Wars, but many fans welcomed this game with open arms, so I gave it a shot. I mean how could you not get excited about a Star Wars game that supposedly allows strong use of ‘the force’, right?

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Review: Rum and Cola Bodyshot Little Cigars

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Rum and Cola BodyShot cigars

First off, I do not recommend smoking by anyone of any age. This review is for people who have already made the conscious decision to take on the habit and inform them of other products they might enjoy. If you have not already started smoking then it’s best if you never do.

Overview:

You may remember my review for the Trance flavor of Bodyshots which was posted a while back. They were a decent smoke scoring a 7.3/10 here on Everyview, held back mainly by their odor. The review has proven to be rather popular, staying on or around the top posts since written, and has warranted me several hits from Google and Yahoo, therefore I decided to review another flavor; Rum and Cola. Continue reading →

Retro-Review: Final Fantasy VII (PS1)

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Overview:

I didn’t have to look far to know what I wanted to do my first retro-review over. Final Fantasy VII has been in most people’s hearts since it came out, at least those who have played it. This game single-handedly changed the turn based role playing game genre. This game also took the beloved Final Fantasy series from Nintendo and shifted it over to Sony (Kind of relevant now because Final Fantasy XIII is going to be on the 360). But of course you all knew that already though.

Final Fantasy VII

Story:

Final Fantasy has a very elaborate story, that twists and turns with every step. But don’t all Final Fantasy games. Yeah, well this one’s the best. Starting of with Cloud Strife in the hands of AVALANCHE, a raid group that is blowing up Mako (energy harvested from earth’s life stream) reactors because they are bonafide rebels. Well, the story escalates from there when they attempt to blow one up and Cloud gets separated from his friends and meets Aeris and she hires Cloud to be her body guard when the Turks arrive and try to capture her. Well Cloud and Aeris make there way from location to location and eventually go through the sewers and meet back up with the AVALANCHE members who are in a fire fight and some pass away. Well Aeris gets captured. Cloud and the remaining members go to the Shinra headquarters to free her and escape Midgar as well as releasing a test subject Red XIII. During their raid of the headquarters multiple people are found dead as well as the president and Cloud suspects Sephiroth is the culprit. Well after Midgar the group looks for Sephiroth across the world. They also fight a lot of cool stuff along the way.

Gameplay:

If any game redefined character management in a RPG it’s Final Fantasy VII. The materia system works like a charm with its brilliant design. With the use of orbs as you can attach magic, abilities, and summons to your characters in different arrangements based on slots provided by your weapons and armor. The fighting is pristine and flawless. Random battles although annoying have a variety of creatures, based on location of course. There are many secrets that hide in the corners of the world and are left at your disposal to discover them. Such as how to kill the giant weapons that can be found in the world after you beat the game or creating a gold chocobo. Each character has its ups and downs but generally you can use a character however you want, such as magician, fighter, or support. The Final Fantasy VII universe never lets you down and there are many side opportunities like obtaining all the characters’ weapons or limit breaks. The gameplay never lets you down.

Graphics:

Random, I know, but here is some cosplay. Tifa Lockheart

Cosplayer poses as Tifa Lockheart

For its time Final Fantasy VII was a game of somewhat mediocre graphics but no one was complaining. The views and angles that the game showed were truly inspiring and uplifting. The character models that can be played with are a somewhat poorly detailed but I find that the bubbly shaped people with no mouths are cute although some people find them ugly. The fight cinematics have improved visuals, in which the characters actually look pretty decent. The games locations have tons of backgrounds and there is a lot of different architecture that has been put into the cities.

Final Words:

Final Fantasy VII has been benchmarked as one of the top turn based role playing games to date if not one of the best games. It has set records with legends such as Chrono Trigger and Mario RPG. There is a very small number of games that have been as polished as this one from this time era. Also, I note there are some games that are good but you don’t ever get around to finishing them, this game is one of those games that you take it to the end. The whole experience never misses a beat.

Pros

  • Awesome storyline that keeps you guessing
  • Chocobos
  • Materia system
  • A lot of variety that keeps gameplay fresh

Cons

  • Beginning in Midgar can be quite grueling
  • There hasn’t been a remake yet

Score:

Overall: 9.0/10

Story: 10/10 (Actually taught some people how to cry)
Gameplay: 9.5/10 (Stays fresh through the whole experience)
Graphics: 8.5/10 (Cute chibi models are adorable)