Yesterday I reported that the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars film has been widely slated in the media, with a unanimous "thumbs down" from all the major film critics. No-one it seems, other than the producers, has anything positive to say about it. Oh dear!
At least the original trilogy of Star Wars films - Episodes IV, V and VI - is still considered to be one of the best film series ever. Phew!
It's always worth watching the three original films again even after all these years, and you can do that for free, in a rather unusual way, right here:
Watch the entire "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" movie as an animated GIF
Watch the entire "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" movie as an animated GIF
Watch the entire "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi" movie as an animated GIF
I guess you may possibly have already seen them because they have been around for a while now, but like the proper versions of the movies, they are certainly worth watching more than once - they're great fun and very clever, aren't they?
Here are some more great free Star Wars online goodies for you if you're interested:
Star Wars Animated GIF Movie Clips
Star Wars Movie Series Images and Music
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The new "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" movie gets a big thumbs down!
Yesterday was a bit of bad day for me, given that I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter and Star Wars. First, there was the news that the release of the new Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", which I have been looking forward to for ages, has been delayed from this November until July next year (see here). Oh dear.
Now it seems that the new Star Wars CGI movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which I have also been looking forward to for ages and which was released yesterday, is not very good at all, going by all the negative reviews I've read of it today. Oh dear, oh dear. There is an excellent article which sums it all up over on the MTV website, which you can read here if you wish.
Still, it's been a really great year for movies so far this year, notwithstanding the above. WALL-E is my favourite at the moment. If, like me, you like movies and games you'll find loads of movie related games, including a large WALL-E collection, on page 1 and page 2 of my Cartoons, Movies and TV Games website...
Now it seems that the new Star Wars CGI movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which I have also been looking forward to for ages and which was released yesterday, is not very good at all, going by all the negative reviews I've read of it today. Oh dear, oh dear. There is an excellent article which sums it all up over on the MTV website, which you can read here if you wish.
Still, it's been a really great year for movies so far this year, notwithstanding the above. WALL-E is my favourite at the moment. If, like me, you like movies and games you'll find loads of movie related games, including a large WALL-E collection, on page 1 and page 2 of my Cartoons, Movies and TV Games website...
Friday, August 15, 2008
The "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" movie has been delayed
According to a story that has just appeared on Reuters, the release date of the sixth Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", has been pushed back by production studio Warner Bros. from November this year - the new scheduled release date is now July 17, 2009. Oh no! I was so looking forward to seeing it this year!
Apparently, Warner Bros. said it had decided to make the change to bolster its release schedule for the lucrative summer moviegoing season - a period that can account for as much as 40 percent of Hollywood's annual box office receipts.
Warner Bros. President Alan Horn said the studio was also still feeling repercussions from the three-month Hollywood screenwriters strike that ended in February but which has "impacted the readiness of scripts for other films".
"We know the summer season is an ideal window for a family ... release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first instalment", Horn said.
The studio said the change of date would not alter production plans for the final, two-part Potter movie adventure, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". The release date for part one is tentatively set for November 2010.
"Deathly Hallows", the seventh and last story from British author J.K. Rowling about the boy wizard and his friends at Hogwarts School, was published in July 2007. The series has sold an estimated 400 million copies, and the books have been translated into more than 60 languages.
See my Harry Potter Movie Series Gallery and Harry Potter Book Series Gallery pages for more information - both pages also include some Harry Potter online games to play.
Apparently, Warner Bros. said it had decided to make the change to bolster its release schedule for the lucrative summer moviegoing season - a period that can account for as much as 40 percent of Hollywood's annual box office receipts.
Warner Bros. President Alan Horn said the studio was also still feeling repercussions from the three-month Hollywood screenwriters strike that ended in February but which has "impacted the readiness of scripts for other films".
"We know the summer season is an ideal window for a family ... release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first instalment", Horn said.
The studio said the change of date would not alter production plans for the final, two-part Potter movie adventure, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". The release date for part one is tentatively set for November 2010.
"Deathly Hallows", the seventh and last story from British author J.K. Rowling about the boy wizard and his friends at Hogwarts School, was published in July 2007. The series has sold an estimated 400 million copies, and the books have been translated into more than 60 languages.
See my Harry Potter Movie Series Gallery and Harry Potter Book Series Gallery pages for more information - both pages also include some Harry Potter online games to play.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Kind people and an extremely worthy cause to support
I shall make the assumption that you have a kind and caring heart. I feel quite safe in making this assumption because I have found that the vast majority of people do have kind and caring hearts, despite what is often portrayed in the popular media about an increasingly mean society - that's just negative spin to sell more papers! (And you know which paper I'm talking about in particular if you've ever read the Daily Mail! Oh dear. Each to their own, I suppose.)
Anyway, on the basis that you are indeed a kind and caring person, please can you spare 5 minutes or so to visit the Macmillan Cancer Support website here and read up on who they are and what they do - you will, I promise, find it well worth the small effort. Then, please make a donation of any amount you can afford via their very secure web server - no matter how big or small your donation, it is vitally important because it is our donations alone that enable Macmillan Cancer Support to do the wonderful work that they do.
Thank you.
I was reminded of this truly worthy cause by a very kind and helpful person named Phil Payne - cheers Phil! If you are a website owner and you have any problems with your site in terms of search engine rankings, Phil is one of the best people to speak to about it. Visit his site here, or look him up in the Google Webmaster Help Group here.
Anyway, on the basis that you are indeed a kind and caring person, please can you spare 5 minutes or so to visit the Macmillan Cancer Support website here and read up on who they are and what they do - you will, I promise, find it well worth the small effort. Then, please make a donation of any amount you can afford via their very secure web server - no matter how big or small your donation, it is vitally important because it is our donations alone that enable Macmillan Cancer Support to do the wonderful work that they do.
Thank you.
I was reminded of this truly worthy cause by a very kind and helpful person named Phil Payne - cheers Phil! If you are a website owner and you have any problems with your site in terms of search engine rankings, Phil is one of the best people to speak to about it. Visit his site here, or look him up in the Google Webmaster Help Group here.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Got married yesterday!
This is just a quick note about it, as I'm currently much too busy to write anything else!! ;-> I'll post some wedding photos at some point in the future.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
"Cristiano Ronaldo is a modern slave", says Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA
According to an article in Yahoo! today, which you can read here, the controversial president of FIFA, Joseph "Sepp" Blatter, thinks that the Portugese-born Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is like a "modern slave" because he cannot move to another football club (Real Madrid) whenever he wants due to his current contract obligations to United.
I'm sorry, but that is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard anyone in a position of responsibility say, ever!!
23-year-old Ronaldo currently earns around $250,000 per week in wages, and like everyone else born and living in Europe is free to do pretty much whatever he likes when he likes, except break legally-binding, freely-entered-into business contracts. Clearly he is not forced to live a terrible life of great hardship and degredation, and so clearly he is nothing whatsoever like a slave!
Also, when everything Blatter reportedly said yesterday is fully considered, it seems very much like the FIFA president is saying that Ronaldo and all other players should not have to honour their contracts with their football clubs. What an utterly astonishingly stupid thing for him to imply! That would be the end of club football if that became a reality.
Blatter is well-known for being a pompous buffoon with a particular bias against anything to do with English football, and with this latest idiotic outburst he has further demonstrated his unsuitability to be the head of world football. Quite how he managed to become president of FIFA in the first place, and remain in the position for ten years so far, is a complete wonder. (Actually, it isn't really such a wonder - search Google for "Sepp Blatter corruption" to see for yourself.) Clearly, I need to copy his example in order to be more successful in life. Good grief, he should be sacked immediately!
(And just in case you are wondering, I'm not biased towards Manchester United, quite the opposite in fact - I am an Arsenal fan, and so it would actually be better for me if Ronaldo was to leave United.)
I'm sorry, but that is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard anyone in a position of responsibility say, ever!!
23-year-old Ronaldo currently earns around $250,000 per week in wages, and like everyone else born and living in Europe is free to do pretty much whatever he likes when he likes, except break legally-binding, freely-entered-into business contracts. Clearly he is not forced to live a terrible life of great hardship and degredation, and so clearly he is nothing whatsoever like a slave!
Also, when everything Blatter reportedly said yesterday is fully considered, it seems very much like the FIFA president is saying that Ronaldo and all other players should not have to honour their contracts with their football clubs. What an utterly astonishingly stupid thing for him to imply! That would be the end of club football if that became a reality.
Blatter is well-known for being a pompous buffoon with a particular bias against anything to do with English football, and with this latest idiotic outburst he has further demonstrated his unsuitability to be the head of world football. Quite how he managed to become president of FIFA in the first place, and remain in the position for ten years so far, is a complete wonder. (Actually, it isn't really such a wonder - search Google for "Sepp Blatter corruption" to see for yourself.) Clearly, I need to copy his example in order to be more successful in life. Good grief, he should be sacked immediately!
(And just in case you are wondering, I'm not biased towards Manchester United, quite the opposite in fact - I am an Arsenal fan, and so it would actually be better for me if Ronaldo was to leave United.)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Free Disney and Pixar online games
To make it easier to find all the Disney and Pixar games that are scattered around my various fun and games websites, I have just created a new site index page that lists them all together in one convenient, easy-to-find place. You can view it here...
FREE Disney and Pixar Flash Online Games
Just for the extra fun of it, all the games listed on that page also include wallpaper pictures that can be used to decorate your computer's desktop background. Enjoy! :-)
FREE Disney and Pixar Flash Online Games
Just for the extra fun of it, all the games listed on that page also include wallpaper pictures that can be used to decorate your computer's desktop background. Enjoy! :-)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Virgin's Dan Dare comic in a new book + a free gift!
Virgin Comics have just announced that they are compiling the first three issues of their Dan Dare comic into a special hardcover edition, complete with all Gary Erskine's artwork together with all the different cover artwork. The price is $13.99, and you can order it from here: VirginComicsStore.com
For a limited time they are offering a free Dan Dare iPod skin worth $15.00 with every order of the book (see here for details of the skin). Nice!
Meanwhile, the seventh and final issue of the Virgin Comics series will be out next month - don't miss it!
For a limited time they are offering a free Dan Dare iPod skin worth $15.00 with every order of the book (see here for details of the skin). Nice!
Meanwhile, the seventh and final issue of the Virgin Comics series will be out next month - don't miss it!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and the other Narnia stories
Walt Disney Pictures/Walden Media's "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian", the second movie in the Narnia series, was released in the US on May 16th, and will be released in the UK on June 26th. I read all seven Narnia books as a child and loved them, especially the first three, and I have to say that I also really enjoyed the first movie in the series, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" - it fully lived up to my expectations. I shall make a real effort to see the new movie, although I want to watch Disney's other new movie, "WALL-E", first.
Prince Caspian - Pinball
Prince Caspian - Gryphon Attack
C. S. Lewis's wonderful series of "Chronicles of Narnia" books can be a little bit confusing in one sense, because the third book written and published - "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" - is actually the fifth in the series in terms of the internal story chronology. It will also be the third movie to be made, currently scheduled for release in 2010, and from that I think it is reasonable to suppose that the movie series will continue to be produced in the book publication sequence - movies of all seven books are planned.
Many of the books in the Narnia series feature stories that follow on in a different sequence to the one in which they were written and published. This is completely different to another very famous series of seven books, the "Harry Potter" stories, which all follow each other sequentially in terms of both the internal story chronology and the dates they were written and published.
To help clarify the situation, below is a list of all the Narnia books in their original publication sequence annotated with their internal chronological sequence:
1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) - 2nd story
2. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (1951) - 4th story
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952) - 5th story
4. The Silver Chair (1953) - 6th story
5. The Horse and His Boy (1954) - 3rd story
6. The Magician’s Nephew (1955) - 1st story
7. The Last Battle (1956) - 7th story
There are conflicting opinions about which sequence is the best one to actually read them in. For me, the publication sequence works best, for the simple reason that it is the one in which the stories were created by C. S. Lewis.
Prince Caspian - Pinball Prince Caspian - Gryphon AttackC. S. Lewis's wonderful series of "Chronicles of Narnia" books can be a little bit confusing in one sense, because the third book written and published - "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" - is actually the fifth in the series in terms of the internal story chronology. It will also be the third movie to be made, currently scheduled for release in 2010, and from that I think it is reasonable to suppose that the movie series will continue to be produced in the book publication sequence - movies of all seven books are planned.
Many of the books in the Narnia series feature stories that follow on in a different sequence to the one in which they were written and published. This is completely different to another very famous series of seven books, the "Harry Potter" stories, which all follow each other sequentially in terms of both the internal story chronology and the dates they were written and published.
To help clarify the situation, below is a list of all the Narnia books in their original publication sequence annotated with their internal chronological sequence:
1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) - 2nd story
2. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (1951) - 4th story
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952) - 5th story
4. The Silver Chair (1953) - 6th story
5. The Horse and His Boy (1954) - 3rd story
6. The Magician’s Nephew (1955) - 1st story
7. The Last Battle (1956) - 7th story
There are conflicting opinions about which sequence is the best one to actually read them in. For me, the publication sequence works best, for the simple reason that it is the one in which the stories were created by C. S. Lewis.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Retro games sabotaged for fun
Back in January I reported on what was at that time a great new little site, www.RetroSabotage.com. Five months later, the site has now grown into something of an internet phenomenon, being widely praised in a variety of respected journals including Edge magazine. I am happy to have played a small part in helping with this meteoric rise.
The site is brilliant, totally unique, and is now a good deal larger than when I first reported on it. It presents a number of very funny "sabotages" of some of the all-time classic early video games, and if you like a good laugh and old games, go and check it out now...! :-)
The site is brilliant, totally unique, and is now a good deal larger than when I first reported on it. It presents a number of very funny "sabotages" of some of the all-time classic early video games, and if you like a good laugh and old games, go and check it out now...! :-)
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Planned future Disney/Pixar movies
Following on from my WALL-E post yesterday, I thought it would be interesting to find out what movies Pixar Animation Studios currently have confirmed for future production. It is a very interesting schedule indeed (you can see the press release I found here), and is as follows:
Due for release this coming June 27th in the US and July 18th in the UK is, of course, "WALL-E".
Next year's Disney/Pixar movie will be "Up", a story about Carl (Ed Asner), a 78 year-old man who has always dreamt of exploring the world and living life to the full but who has never actually done it. Upon meeting an 8 year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell, the two become unlikely friends and set off on the thrilling adventures that Carl has always longed for.
In 2010 the Disney/Pixar movie will be "Toy Story 3", a follow-on to the 1995 original movie and the 1999 first sequel. The casts from both the previous movies are set to return in a new story which will involve Woody, Buzz, Jessie and all the rest of the toys being dumped into a day-care center after their owner Andy departs for college.
In 2011 there will be a huge break with tradition because there will be two Disney/Pixar movies in the same year for the first time ever. The first of these is going to be "newt", a story about the last two blue-footed newts in the world (whose home is in a college science lab) who must overcome their dislike of each other in order to "get it together" and save their species. The second, due for release around Christmas, will be "The Bear and the Bow", a new fairy tale (Pixar's first) set in a mythical Scottish realm.
The final Pixar Animation Studios movie currently confirmed for future production is scheduled for release in 2012 and is "Cars 2", a sequel to the 2006 original which reportedly involves Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally and the other main characters from the first movie "going international". It seems probable to me that this will involve McQueen moving away from the US racing circuit to try his luck on the European circuit that was briefly mentioned in the first movie.
So, lots to look forward to there then. Personally, I am really happy to see that there will be new Toy Story and Cars movies because the previous ones are amongst my all-time favourites.
Due for release this coming June 27th in the US and July 18th in the UK is, of course, "WALL-E".
Next year's Disney/Pixar movie will be "Up", a story about Carl (Ed Asner), a 78 year-old man who has always dreamt of exploring the world and living life to the full but who has never actually done it. Upon meeting an 8 year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell, the two become unlikely friends and set off on the thrilling adventures that Carl has always longed for.
In 2010 the Disney/Pixar movie will be "Toy Story 3", a follow-on to the 1995 original movie and the 1999 first sequel. The casts from both the previous movies are set to return in a new story which will involve Woody, Buzz, Jessie and all the rest of the toys being dumped into a day-care center after their owner Andy departs for college.
In 2011 there will be a huge break with tradition because there will be two Disney/Pixar movies in the same year for the first time ever. The first of these is going to be "newt", a story about the last two blue-footed newts in the world (whose home is in a college science lab) who must overcome their dislike of each other in order to "get it together" and save their species. The second, due for release around Christmas, will be "The Bear and the Bow", a new fairy tale (Pixar's first) set in a mythical Scottish realm.
The final Pixar Animation Studios movie currently confirmed for future production is scheduled for release in 2012 and is "Cars 2", a sequel to the 2006 original which reportedly involves Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally and the other main characters from the first movie "going international". It seems probable to me that this will involve McQueen moving away from the US racing circuit to try his luck on the European circuit that was briefly mentioned in the first movie.
So, lots to look forward to there then. Personally, I am really happy to see that there will be new Toy Story and Cars movies because the previous ones are amongst my all-time favourites.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
WALL-E, and other Disney/Pixar movies
So... it's almost time for the release of the annual new Disney/Pixar movie, which this year is the highly-anticipated "WALL-E". As always (see my similar post last year) I am really looking forward to this latest offering from the geniuses at Pixar Animation Studios. The trailer for it (watch it here) looks absolutely amazing and hopefully the actual movie will be just as good. Early reviews for it are overwhelmingly positive, which certainly bodes well...
WALL-E: Space Escape & Cup Shuffle
WALL-E: Scrap Shoot & Trash Tower
Ratatouille: Rat 'N' Roll Pinball
Ratatouille: Grab the Grub
Cars: Tractor Tippin' & Ramone's Coloring
Cars: Lightning McQueen's Desert Dash
Cars: Luigi's Casa Della Tires
The Incredibles: Thin Ice
The Incredibles: Top Trumps
Finding Nemo: Cruisin' with Crush
Monsters, Inc.: Mike's Memory Game
A Bug's Life: A Bug's Land
Toy Story: Catch That Moving Van
Buzz Lightyear: Operation Alien Rescue
Toy Story: Bowl-o-Rama
(Note: All the above games also include related desktop wallpaper pictures as an extra bonus for you!)
WALL-E: Space Escape & Cup Shuffle WALL-E: Scrap Shoot & Trash Tower Ratatouille: Rat 'N' Roll Pinball Ratatouille: Grab the Grub Cars: Tractor Tippin' & Ramone's Coloring Cars: Lightning McQueen's Desert Dash Cars: Luigi's Casa Della Tires The Incredibles: Thin Ice The Incredibles: Top Trumps Finding Nemo: Cruisin' with Crush Monsters, Inc.: Mike's Memory Game A Bug's Life: A Bug's Land Toy Story: Catch That Moving Van Buzz Lightyear: Operation Alien Rescue Toy Story: Bowl-o-Rama(Note: All the above games also include related desktop wallpaper pictures as an extra bonus for you!)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Dan Dare online at the Science Museum, London
Further to my post in April about the wonderful new Dan Dare Exhibition at the Science Museum in London, there is now a really interesting online story about the exhibition that you can read here at the museum's offical site: Dan Dare and the Birth of Hi-Tech Britain.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Danny Dare
When I started this blog in May 2006 I gave myself the nom de plume Danny Dare, just for the fun of it since I am a huge fan of Dan Dare. However, for some reason a lot of people seem to think that is my real name, so I have now changed my Blogger profile to display my real name of Peter Inns, in the hope of avoiding any future confusion. My posting name will still be Danny Dare though. I hope that clears that up! :-)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The slaying of St. George by the Labour Party
On April 23rd I posted an article about it then being St. George's Day, the national day of England. I opined about how it was pleasing to see that it was now growing in popularity after some long years of decline and virtual neglect. So imagine my surprise today when I saw this article on the web highlighting how incredibly unimportant the day still seems to be to this increasingly tiresome UK Labour government (from the AFP news agency, June 11, 2008):
(Quote)
LONDON (AFP) - A minister has admitted that the government spent a mere 230 pounds promoting St George's Day over the last five years.
Culture Minister Margaret Hodge confessed that her department spent 116 pounds on promoting England's national day this year, two pounds more than in 2007 -- and absolutely nothing in the previous three years.
The admission provoked outrage from at least one patriotic member of parliament.
"I think it is a shameful indictment and it needs to be changed," said deputy Andrew Rosindell, who is chairman of parliament's all-party Saint George's Day Group.
"We must be the only country in the world that spends nothing or virtually nothing on celebrating its national day. It is a great pity.
"I was expecting it to be low but not that low. Other countries in the world such as Australia and the United States spend a lot of time and effort in promoting their national days and we should be doing more.
"There needs to be a change in the culture of government in the way it approaches something like this."
Saint George's Day, which falls on April 23, is an annual non-event in England.
It is generally punctuated by breweries trying to cash in and promote a party atmosphere; left-wingers saying that patriotism should be reclaimed from the racists; a variety of English eccentrics; and everyday folk wondering why the English just don't seem to bother.
The fact that Saint George's Day is not a public holiday only adds to the general lack of interest.
(End quote)
Good grief, what an utter disgrace! I don't think matters are much helped by the fact that so many members of the Labour government are actually Scottish - see this article in The Times from June 1st for proof, and a possible future resolution, of that exceedingly thorny issue.
(Quote)
LONDON (AFP) - A minister has admitted that the government spent a mere 230 pounds promoting St George's Day over the last five years.
Culture Minister Margaret Hodge confessed that her department spent 116 pounds on promoting England's national day this year, two pounds more than in 2007 -- and absolutely nothing in the previous three years.
The admission provoked outrage from at least one patriotic member of parliament.
"I think it is a shameful indictment and it needs to be changed," said deputy Andrew Rosindell, who is chairman of parliament's all-party Saint George's Day Group.
"We must be the only country in the world that spends nothing or virtually nothing on celebrating its national day. It is a great pity.
"I was expecting it to be low but not that low. Other countries in the world such as Australia and the United States spend a lot of time and effort in promoting their national days and we should be doing more.
"There needs to be a change in the culture of government in the way it approaches something like this."
Saint George's Day, which falls on April 23, is an annual non-event in England.
It is generally punctuated by breweries trying to cash in and promote a party atmosphere; left-wingers saying that patriotism should be reclaimed from the racists; a variety of English eccentrics; and everyday folk wondering why the English just don't seem to bother.
The fact that Saint George's Day is not a public holiday only adds to the general lack of interest.
(End quote)
Good grief, what an utter disgrace! I don't think matters are much helped by the fact that so many members of the Labour government are actually Scottish - see this article in The Times from June 1st for proof, and a possible future resolution, of that exceedingly thorny issue.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
An excellent example of what is wrong with England these days
That this is a headline story in some of the English media today (or tomorrow, depending on your time zone) is, to me at least, highly indicative of why England is not the international power that it once was (and I quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland for a pertinent online example):
(Quote)
Cheryl Cole joins 'X Factor'
Cheryl Cole has won the battle to follow in the footsteps of Sharon Osbourne as the new 'X Factor' judge.
(End quote)
Really, who cares!?! Why is it so important to English people to know that a marginally talented pop singer, who is foolish enough to remain married to the amazingly self-serving, philandering and mediocre footballer "Cashley" Cole, has become a judge for a TV talent show that invariably showcases people with even less talent than either her or her husband possess? (As if that was actually possible.)
There is a new English "disease", and it is the seemingly inexhaustible obsession English people now have with "celebrity".
Really people, will you please just get over it and concentrate on the really important things in life, like: Why aren't England in the European Football Championships currently taking place in Austria and Switzerland, despite having fantastically overpaid players like Cheryl Cole's husband playing for them? :-)
Oh, wait a minute... of course, it's because England have fantastically overpaid players like Cheryl Cole's husband playing for them. Players like him have no real incentive to play their hearts out for their country any more. Playing for their super-rich club sides, posing as models for fashion designers and fizzy drinks manufacturers, being seen to be fully living the "celebrity lifestyle" in every conceivable way - these things are always going to be far more important to them in these celebrity-obsessed times.
Of course, Cashley and his type always give ample lip-service to the national team (they've got to try and protect their media images after all, especially given their frequent off-the-field misdeeds), but that is seldom followed through with any real conviction on the football pitch - they're clearly too scared of getting injured and being unable to play for their club sides and pose as models for one thing.
And let's face it, back on the "celebrity" side of things, "Posh and Becks" were and still are a sad joke (although at least Becks has always been a half-decent footballer), "Jamie and Louise" should never have been considered as being newsworthy in the first place, and there was no need whatsoever to inflict the dreadful "Wayne and Waynetta" (sorry, "Wayne and Coleen") on the world. That "Cashley and Cheryl" now seem poised to take over the title of "top English celebrity couple" says it all really (assuming Cheryl really is silly enough to take Cashley back). Oh dear.
(Quote)
Cheryl Cole joins 'X Factor'
Cheryl Cole has won the battle to follow in the footsteps of Sharon Osbourne as the new 'X Factor' judge.
(End quote)
Really, who cares!?! Why is it so important to English people to know that a marginally talented pop singer, who is foolish enough to remain married to the amazingly self-serving, philandering and mediocre footballer "Cashley" Cole, has become a judge for a TV talent show that invariably showcases people with even less talent than either her or her husband possess? (As if that was actually possible.)
There is a new English "disease", and it is the seemingly inexhaustible obsession English people now have with "celebrity".
Really people, will you please just get over it and concentrate on the really important things in life, like: Why aren't England in the European Football Championships currently taking place in Austria and Switzerland, despite having fantastically overpaid players like Cheryl Cole's husband playing for them? :-)
Oh, wait a minute... of course, it's because England have fantastically overpaid players like Cheryl Cole's husband playing for them. Players like him have no real incentive to play their hearts out for their country any more. Playing for their super-rich club sides, posing as models for fashion designers and fizzy drinks manufacturers, being seen to be fully living the "celebrity lifestyle" in every conceivable way - these things are always going to be far more important to them in these celebrity-obsessed times.
Of course, Cashley and his type always give ample lip-service to the national team (they've got to try and protect their media images after all, especially given their frequent off-the-field misdeeds), but that is seldom followed through with any real conviction on the football pitch - they're clearly too scared of getting injured and being unable to play for their club sides and pose as models for one thing.
And let's face it, back on the "celebrity" side of things, "Posh and Becks" were and still are a sad joke (although at least Becks has always been a half-decent footballer), "Jamie and Louise" should never have been considered as being newsworthy in the first place, and there was no need whatsoever to inflict the dreadful "Wayne and Waynetta" (sorry, "Wayne and Coleen") on the world. That "Cashley and Cheryl" now seem poised to take over the title of "top English celebrity couple" says it all really (assuming Cheryl really is silly enough to take Cashley back). Oh dear.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Who wants to see a Dan Dare movie get made?
Me, for one! I would love to see someone take a chance and make a Dan Dare movie. It's long overdue - Dan is an all-time classic science-fiction character, and his arch-enemy The Mekon is one of the best alien "bad guys" ever created (see my DanDare.org.uk site, which is all about them both, if you don't believe me).
Really, there should be a trilogy of movies based on Frank Hampson's mid-1950s trilogy of Dan Dare comic-strip stories that comprised "The Man From Nowhere", "Rogue Planet" and "Reign of the Robots" (the last movie would also need to include the follow-on short story that was also produced by Frank called "The Ship That Lived", for the sake of full story-arc closure).
These 50 year-old stories are of such a high standard, and were so far ahead of their time when they were created, that they would need very little alteration to bring them fully up-to-date. They could be real classic movies if produced by someone like Steven Spielberg.
There is an excellent article about this very subject over on the Coventry Telegraph newspaper's blog site, written by David Bentley. If, like David and me, you feel that there should be a Dan Dare movie, there is a potential way for you to help get one made: read David's article and then leave a comment at the end of the article saying that you want a Dan Dare movie to be produced - this will show the people who have the ability to get such a project off the ground just how much we all want one.
You can read the article and post a comment here: Dan Dare revived in new exhibition and comicbook - now we want a movie!
Really, there should be a trilogy of movies based on Frank Hampson's mid-1950s trilogy of Dan Dare comic-strip stories that comprised "The Man From Nowhere", "Rogue Planet" and "Reign of the Robots" (the last movie would also need to include the follow-on short story that was also produced by Frank called "The Ship That Lived", for the sake of full story-arc closure).
These 50 year-old stories are of such a high standard, and were so far ahead of their time when they were created, that they would need very little alteration to bring them fully up-to-date. They could be real classic movies if produced by someone like Steven Spielberg.
There is an excellent article about this very subject over on the Coventry Telegraph newspaper's blog site, written by David Bentley. If, like David and me, you feel that there should be a Dan Dare movie, there is a potential way for you to help get one made: read David's article and then leave a comment at the end of the article saying that you want a Dan Dare movie to be produced - this will show the people who have the ability to get such a project off the ground just how much we all want one.
You can read the article and post a comment here: Dan Dare revived in new exhibition and comicbook - now we want a movie!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Mario & Sonic Online Game Recommendations - Part 8
Part 8 in my ongoing series of Mario and Sonic online game recommendations is now available to read over on my MarioSonicGames.com blog, featuring 3 new excellent Sonic Flash games for you to try. If you are a Sonic the Hedgehog fan, I am sure you will enjoy them - you can check them out here.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
YouTube access is back in Thailand today!
Hooray, it's back after being blocked yesterday, access to YouTube in Thailand has been fully restored! (See my previous post here about it here.)
I just tried accessing my YouTube Dan-Dare.org Channel and it's working fine. There's still nothing about the access blocking in the news though (except my previous post about it) - weird!
I just tried accessing my YouTube Dan-Dare.org Channel and it's working fine. There's still nothing about the access blocking in the news though (except my previous post about it) - weird!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
YouTube has been blocked in Thailand as of today!
As of today (May 14th, 2008), access in Thailand to the whole of the YouTube site has been blocked. It was working fine yesterday. I know this because I currently live in Thailand, and I visit YouTube most days to see what's new in there. This is the message that appears in my web browser when I try to access www.youtube.com - "Sorry, the web site you are accessing has been blocked by the request of The Communication Authority of Thailand. For more information please contact: Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Building 9, TOT PCL Chaeng Wattana Rd. Laksi Bangkok 10210. Tel. 0-2505-7147, 0-2568-2498".
Upon encountering the block I searched the web for news on the subject, but could find nothing relevant. The newest article I could find was from April 4th, 2007, over one year ago, so I have no idea what is going on with it at the moment.
The aforementioned year-old article (which you can read here on the BBC news site) relates to when access to YouTube was blocked in Thailand last year due to a US-based user uploading a video that was highly insulting to the King of Thailand (Thai people love their King, and insulting him is absolutely unacceptable to them, not to mention illegal). I was of the understanding that following that episode, YouTube had agreed to work with the Thai government to ensure there were no similar problems in the future. So I wonder what's happened this time?
Upon encountering the block I searched the web for news on the subject, but could find nothing relevant. The newest article I could find was from April 4th, 2007, over one year ago, so I have no idea what is going on with it at the moment.
The aforementioned year-old article (which you can read here on the BBC news site) relates to when access to YouTube was blocked in Thailand last year due to a US-based user uploading a video that was highly insulting to the King of Thailand (Thai people love their King, and insulting him is absolutely unacceptable to them, not to mention illegal). I was of the understanding that following that episode, YouTube had agreed to work with the Thai government to ensure there were no similar problems in the future. So I wonder what's happened this time?
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
So, GTA IV is released at long last!
Delayed from October last year to ensure absolute perfection in the finished game, finally Grand Theft Auto IV is here, released today all over the world (except Japan - sorry Japan!)...
Available on the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 consoles, it has met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, suggesting that the delay has paid off handsomely. Here are two of the earliest reviews:
"As a fan, my expectations were exceeded," said Ricardo Torres, editor of GameSpot, a game review site.
"It's what GTA was always meant to be, but couldn't be because of the technical limitations of the previous consoles. With the current hardware, they have a canvas that lets them paint whatever they want. The city, which used to be just a background for the game, has so much detail that it feels alive. The level of immersion is crazy."
New York Times reviewer Seth Schiesel went even deeper: "The game sets a new standard for what is possible in interactive arts. Grand Theft Auto IV is a violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun."
Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated video game ever, GTA IV is expected to become the biggest selling game of all time. I've been a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series since GTA2 came out on the first Sony PlayStation nine years ago, and I certainly intend to get hold of a copy of this latest installment as soon as possible... You can visit the official site for the game here.
There is a free Flash online game that is very similar to GTA2 in one of my fun and games sites - click on the following link, or the image below, to play it:
Gangster Life
Available on the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 consoles, it has met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, suggesting that the delay has paid off handsomely. Here are two of the earliest reviews:
"As a fan, my expectations were exceeded," said Ricardo Torres, editor of GameSpot, a game review site.
"It's what GTA was always meant to be, but couldn't be because of the technical limitations of the previous consoles. With the current hardware, they have a canvas that lets them paint whatever they want. The city, which used to be just a background for the game, has so much detail that it feels alive. The level of immersion is crazy."
New York Times reviewer Seth Schiesel went even deeper: "The game sets a new standard for what is possible in interactive arts. Grand Theft Auto IV is a violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun."
Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated video game ever, GTA IV is expected to become the biggest selling game of all time. I've been a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series since GTA2 came out on the first Sony PlayStation nine years ago, and I certainly intend to get hold of a copy of this latest installment as soon as possible... You can visit the official site for the game here.
There is a free Flash online game that is very similar to GTA2 in one of my fun and games sites - click on the following link, or the image below, to play it:
Gangster Life
Monday, April 28, 2008
Concerning the quality of free online games...
This may sound a bit ungrateful of me, given that the games are all free to play, but I have noticed a growing tendency amongst many of the free online game websites to put every single game that is available on the web into their sites, regardless of the quality and reliability of the games concerned. Indeed, a great many of these games are of poor quality with bugs that cause major problems when playing the games, often including "logic traps" and other "fatal errors" that stop the games all together. Oops!
It seems that the chief motivation for this approach is simply to rapidly increase the number of games the sites concerned have in their inventories, so that they can boast things like "we have a collection of 2,500+ games". In my opinion this is a rather silly approach, because surely when someone plays any of the "buggy" games that don't work properly, they will get frustrated and annoyed. Surely that defeats the whole point of playing the games, and visiting the sites, in the first place? Oh dear...
Because I have always valued quality over quantity(!), my group of online game sites currently feature a more modest total of around 750 carefully selected high quality games. I have personally fully tested each of them to ensure there are no bugs and that they all work properly. So you can rest assured, you will find no frustrating and annoying problems with any of the games in my sites! To add to the fun, there are also many galleries of images, animated GIFs, music samples, movie clips, desktop wallpaper pictures and more, related to many of the games in my sites...
You can visit my sites (and check the quality of everything for yourself) by using these links:
Online Amusement Arcade #1
Online Amusement Arcade #2
Online Amusement Arcade #3
Online Amusement Arcade #4
100+ Mario and Sonic Games
More Mario and Sonic Games
It seems that the chief motivation for this approach is simply to rapidly increase the number of games the sites concerned have in their inventories, so that they can boast things like "we have a collection of 2,500+ games". In my opinion this is a rather silly approach, because surely when someone plays any of the "buggy" games that don't work properly, they will get frustrated and annoyed. Surely that defeats the whole point of playing the games, and visiting the sites, in the first place? Oh dear...
Because I have always valued quality over quantity(!), my group of online game sites currently feature a more modest total of around 750 carefully selected high quality games. I have personally fully tested each of them to ensure there are no bugs and that they all work properly. So you can rest assured, you will find no frustrating and annoying problems with any of the games in my sites! To add to the fun, there are also many galleries of images, animated GIFs, music samples, movie clips, desktop wallpaper pictures and more, related to many of the games in my sites...
You can visit my sites (and check the quality of everything for yourself) by using these links:
Online Amusement Arcade #1
Online Amusement Arcade #2
Online Amusement Arcade #3
Online Amusement Arcade #4
100+ Mario and Sonic Games
More Mario and Sonic Games
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Dan Dare Exhibition at the Science Museum, London
An interesting new exhibition entitled "Dan Dare and the Birth of Hi-tech Britain" opens on the second floor of the Science Museum in London this coming Wednesday (April 30th). It runs until Sunday October 25th next year and admission is free (to the whole museum except the IMAX cinema).
Here is what the official page for the exhibition at the Science Museum website says about it:
(Quote)
Dan Dare’s rocket fleet roars high over Venus to trounce his arch foe – the power-mad Mekon. Meanwhile, back on Earth, another extraordinary future is unfolding – one which laid the foundation for Britain’s hi-tech consumer society.
After 1945, though war-weary and broke, Britain found huge pride in wartime advances such as radar, penicillin and the jet engine. Discoveries like these were now tipped to kick-start world-beating industries, bring prosperity and bankroll the emerging welfare state.
In an age before globalisation, products from rockets to radios sprang from local roots. Together they reveal a fascinating ‘lost world’ of British design and invention – a glimpse of a time when the TV in the corner was a Murphy, not a Sony.
This exciting new temporary exhibition explores the role played by technology in creating post-war Britain.
(End quote)
There is an excellent article about the exhibition in yesterday's Times newspaper entitled "How the 1950's hero Dan Dare helped shape history with Utopian visions" and sub-titled "A new exhibition suggests that the Eagle’s Dan Dare had an influence way beyond his time" - you can read it here.
For more information on Dan Dare and his arch-enemy The Mekon, visit this one of my Dan Dare websites here.
Here is what the official page for the exhibition at the Science Museum website says about it:
(Quote)
Dan Dare’s rocket fleet roars high over Venus to trounce his arch foe – the power-mad Mekon. Meanwhile, back on Earth, another extraordinary future is unfolding – one which laid the foundation for Britain’s hi-tech consumer society.
After 1945, though war-weary and broke, Britain found huge pride in wartime advances such as radar, penicillin and the jet engine. Discoveries like these were now tipped to kick-start world-beating industries, bring prosperity and bankroll the emerging welfare state.
In an age before globalisation, products from rockets to radios sprang from local roots. Together they reveal a fascinating ‘lost world’ of British design and invention – a glimpse of a time when the TV in the corner was a Murphy, not a Sony.
This exciting new temporary exhibition explores the role played by technology in creating post-war Britain.
(End quote)
There is an excellent article about the exhibition in yesterday's Times newspaper entitled "How the 1950's hero Dan Dare helped shape history with Utopian visions" and sub-titled "A new exhibition suggests that the Eagle’s Dan Dare had an influence way beyond his time" - you can read it here.
For more information on Dan Dare and his arch-enemy The Mekon, visit this one of my Dan Dare websites here.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
St. George's Day, England (viewed from Thailand)
Today is St. George's Day in England, which (because St. George is the patron saint of England) is an annual day of English national celebration that has risen in popularity in recent years after decades of being somewhat ignored. See this article in today's Daily Telegraph newspaper regarding the growing interest in, and importance of, the day in England.
(Note: For those of you not entirely clear on the subject, the country of England is part of the island of Great Britain (Britain for short) which also consists of the countries of Wales and Scotland. Great Britain together with the country of Northern Ireland (which is geographically joined to, but politically completely separate from, the nation of the Republic of Ireland) forms the nation of the United Kingdom (U.K. for short). So, to be English is also to be British, along with the Welsh and Scottish peoples, and together with the people of Northern Ireland to be British is also to be a U.K. Citizen. I hope that clears all that up for you! :-)
Although I currently live in Thailand, it seems a good thing to me that England celebrates itself more these days - for far too long English people (myself included) have been rather reluctant to rejoice in our national identity. Since almost every other nation on earth seems to properly celebrate itself at least once per year, so should England, surely? After all, we have given the world so many modern-era benefits, such as the English language, parliamentary democracy (first established in 1707), the Industrial Revolution (which started in the late 18th century and which continues today as Industrialisation), Portland cement (which helps build the world we live in), modern railway systems, the electric motor and the jet engine to name some of the most important. Oh, and William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin - three of the most famous men in history, surely - were all English. :-)
I didn't realize until I carried out a search on the subject that other countries also have St. George as their patron saint and celebrate the day too, though sometimes on a different date than April 23rd. Amongst these are Bulgaria, Georgia (which makes sense!), Greece and Portugal. See the Wikipedia entry on Saint George here for more details.
Happy St. George's Day!
(Note: For those of you not entirely clear on the subject, the country of England is part of the island of Great Britain (Britain for short) which also consists of the countries of Wales and Scotland. Great Britain together with the country of Northern Ireland (which is geographically joined to, but politically completely separate from, the nation of the Republic of Ireland) forms the nation of the United Kingdom (U.K. for short). So, to be English is also to be British, along with the Welsh and Scottish peoples, and together with the people of Northern Ireland to be British is also to be a U.K. Citizen. I hope that clears all that up for you! :-)
Although I currently live in Thailand, it seems a good thing to me that England celebrates itself more these days - for far too long English people (myself included) have been rather reluctant to rejoice in our national identity. Since almost every other nation on earth seems to properly celebrate itself at least once per year, so should England, surely? After all, we have given the world so many modern-era benefits, such as the English language, parliamentary democracy (first established in 1707), the Industrial Revolution (which started in the late 18th century and which continues today as Industrialisation), Portland cement (which helps build the world we live in), modern railway systems, the electric motor and the jet engine to name some of the most important. Oh, and William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin - three of the most famous men in history, surely - were all English. :-)
I didn't realize until I carried out a search on the subject that other countries also have St. George as their patron saint and celebrate the day too, though sometimes on a different date than April 23rd. Amongst these are Bulgaria, Georgia (which makes sense!), Greece and Portugal. See the Wikipedia entry on Saint George here for more details.
Happy St. George's Day!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Thierry Henry wants to leave Barcelona! (Allegedly)
My all-time favourite football player, and one of the greatest former Arsenal players ever, Thierry Henry, reportedly wants to leave Barcelona (for whom he left Arsenal last year - see my previous post about that here) and come back to play in the English Premier League, preferably based in London.
See this article in today's News of the World tabloid Sunday newspaper for full details of the story.
If Thierry really is going to leave Barcelona, it's clearly going to be too much to hope that he will return to Arsenal given the views of the club manager (Arsene Wenger) on the subject, which just makes me even sadder now after the initial sadness of seeing him leave the club in the first place. I have been an Arsenal fan virtually all my life, and a fan of Arsene Wenger since his arrival 11 and a half years ago, but since last year I have become increasingly of the opinion that Wenger should quit!
A controversial opinion perhaps, but I feel that despite his previous great success at the club he has seriously lost the plot now. He has failed to win any trophies for the past three seasons (including the current almost complete season - Arsenal are, realistically speaking, out of the race for the Premier League title now despite winning yesterday), he increasingly blames poor refereeing decisions for causing defeats (see here for a recent example) rather than accepting that his own tactical errors are actually to blame, he has an apparent almost pathological non-English player bias (see here for details) which is quite embarassing to me at least (being, as I am, English, and with Arsenal being an English club), he still insists on selecting Philip Senderos who is without doubt the worst defender ever to play for the Arsenal first team (although he was only a substitute yesterday, thank goodness), and he let Thierry Henry leave only to possibly now let him return to a rival Premier League club. Good grief!
Note: I will of course fully retract the above satatement if Thierry does return to Arsenal and/or Wenger wins at least the "Double" next season if, as I suspect will be the case, he doesn't quit. Lol! :-)
See this article in today's News of the World tabloid Sunday newspaper for full details of the story.
If Thierry really is going to leave Barcelona, it's clearly going to be too much to hope that he will return to Arsenal given the views of the club manager (Arsene Wenger) on the subject, which just makes me even sadder now after the initial sadness of seeing him leave the club in the first place. I have been an Arsenal fan virtually all my life, and a fan of Arsene Wenger since his arrival 11 and a half years ago, but since last year I have become increasingly of the opinion that Wenger should quit!
A controversial opinion perhaps, but I feel that despite his previous great success at the club he has seriously lost the plot now. He has failed to win any trophies for the past three seasons (including the current almost complete season - Arsenal are, realistically speaking, out of the race for the Premier League title now despite winning yesterday), he increasingly blames poor refereeing decisions for causing defeats (see here for a recent example) rather than accepting that his own tactical errors are actually to blame, he has an apparent almost pathological non-English player bias (see here for details) which is quite embarassing to me at least (being, as I am, English, and with Arsenal being an English club), he still insists on selecting Philip Senderos who is without doubt the worst defender ever to play for the Arsenal first team (although he was only a substitute yesterday, thank goodness), and he let Thierry Henry leave only to possibly now let him return to a rival Premier League club. Good grief!
Note: I will of course fully retract the above satatement if Thierry does return to Arsenal and/or Wenger wins at least the "Double" next season if, as I suspect will be the case, he doesn't quit. Lol! :-)
Friday, April 18, 2008
Some of the most popular games in my websites for you to try
Here, for you to try for yourself when you have time, and based on visitor stats from last month, is a list of 10 of the most popular online games in my group of fun and games websites which include MarioSonicGames.com and FreeFun.Dan-Dare.org:
(Note: Many of the game recommendations below also appear in other posts in this blog - they are collected together here to make it easier to find them all.)
Sonic the Hedgehog: Ultimate Flash Sonic
One of the most popular Flash games on the web, and it's easy to see why - this incredible fan-produced effort is as close to a perfect game as you will find anywhere. With fast-paced, flawless Sonic platforming fun all the way, this game incorporates the best elements of all the classic 8-bit and 16-bit Sonic games, and includes unlockable extra characters, levels and other fun bonuses too.
And just in case you want it, here is a lovely little cheat password for the Ultimate Flash Sonic game that allows you to level-select the Ice Paradise zone when you play the main game as Tails, and also allows you to have Tails follow you if you want when you play the game as any other character (just like in the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive/Genesis "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" game if you have Tails follow Sonic): 115013101010101
(Additional note: If you use the above cheat password and have Tails follow Cream, he replaces Cheese the Chao who normally follows Cream.)
Sonic the Hedgehog: Shadow the Hedgehog Flash
An excellent official Flash mini-version of Sega's 2005 "Shadow the Hedgehog" game for the Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox, complete with the gunplay that is now synonymous with Shadow.
Super Mario Bros.: New Super Mario Flash
Play as either Mario or Luigi in this brilliant fan-produced Flash remake of the classic 8-bit and 16-bit Super Mario Bros. platform games. As well as including its own excellent ready-made series of levels for you to play, the game also features a programmable level editor for you to create and play your very own levels (and some example level codes are included for you to try too). This is rapidly becoming one of the most popular Flash games on the web - play it for yourself to see why.
Here is an additional level code for you to use in the New Super Mario Flash game's level editor, just in case you want it. It is called "Bowser Dual" (the name says it all) and was submitted to me by Caleb Burton. To use it just click on the text box below, right-click and select Copy, then click on the game link above to open the game page and follow the instructions in there for how to insert the code into the level editor and play it:
Super Mario Bros.: Super Mario Sunshine 64
A superb fan-produced 2D version of the 2002 Nintendo GameCube game "Super Mario Sunshine", complete with a fully-functioning FLUDD.
Super Smash Bros.: Super Smash Flash
The name (almost) says it all - this is an awesome fan-produced version of Nintendo's brand new game for the Wii console, "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", with the ability to play as (or against if you prefer) Sega characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow in addition to all the standard Nintendo characters such as Mario, Luigi, Link, Zelda, Kirby, Megaman, Zero, Samus Aran, Fox McCloud, Naruto, Pikachu, Mewtwo and more. The game features a host of unlockable extra levels and characters in single-player mode, plus there is a 2-player mode for some serious "VS." brawling action.
Megaman vs. Metroid
A challenging and fun fan-game where you must guide Megaman through a variety of levels featuring "Samus Aran" and other classic "Metroid" game characters.
Star Trek: Flash Trek V2.0
A truly amazing fan-produced Star Trek game where your mission is to try to free the galaxy from the tyrannical rule of the Dominion and their Cardassian allies.
Ratatouille: Grab the Grub
An official game based on last year's smash-hit Disney/Pixar movie "Ratatouille" where you must guide Remy the Rat through a series of mazes grabbing food while avoiding the chefs trying to stop you.
Cars: Lightning McQueen's Desert Dash
An official game based on the 1996 mega-hit Disney/Pixar movie "Cars" where you get to race as Lightning McQueen against The King, Chick Hicks, Boost and Snot Rod.
Trivia: Did you know that "Cars 2", the sequel movie, has just been officially announced for release in 2012? See here for more details.
Buzz Lightyear: Operation Alien Rescue
An official Toy Story-related game based on the Disney cartoon series "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" - help Buzz Lightyear rescue all the Little Green Men who have been captured by the Evil Emperor Zurg.
Trivia: Did you know that a third movie in the Toy Story series, "Toy Story 3", is scheduled for release in 2010? See here for details.
I hope you enjoy all these games!
(Note: Many of the game recommendations below also appear in other posts in this blog - they are collected together here to make it easier to find them all.)
Sonic the Hedgehog: Ultimate Flash Sonic
One of the most popular Flash games on the web, and it's easy to see why - this incredible fan-produced effort is as close to a perfect game as you will find anywhere. With fast-paced, flawless Sonic platforming fun all the way, this game incorporates the best elements of all the classic 8-bit and 16-bit Sonic games, and includes unlockable extra characters, levels and other fun bonuses too.
And just in case you want it, here is a lovely little cheat password for the Ultimate Flash Sonic game that allows you to level-select the Ice Paradise zone when you play the main game as Tails, and also allows you to have Tails follow you if you want when you play the game as any other character (just like in the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive/Genesis "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" game if you have Tails follow Sonic): 115013101010101
(Additional note: If you use the above cheat password and have Tails follow Cream, he replaces Cheese the Chao who normally follows Cream.)
Sonic the Hedgehog: Shadow the Hedgehog Flash
An excellent official Flash mini-version of Sega's 2005 "Shadow the Hedgehog" game for the Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox, complete with the gunplay that is now synonymous with Shadow.
Super Mario Bros.: New Super Mario Flash
Play as either Mario or Luigi in this brilliant fan-produced Flash remake of the classic 8-bit and 16-bit Super Mario Bros. platform games. As well as including its own excellent ready-made series of levels for you to play, the game also features a programmable level editor for you to create and play your very own levels (and some example level codes are included for you to try too). This is rapidly becoming one of the most popular Flash games on the web - play it for yourself to see why.
Here is an additional level code for you to use in the New Super Mario Flash game's level editor, just in case you want it. It is called "Bowser Dual" (the name says it all) and was submitted to me by Caleb Burton. To use it just click on the text box below, right-click and select Copy, then click on the game link above to open the game page and follow the instructions in there for how to insert the code into the level editor and play it:
Super Mario Bros.: Super Mario Sunshine 64
A superb fan-produced 2D version of the 2002 Nintendo GameCube game "Super Mario Sunshine", complete with a fully-functioning FLUDD.
Super Smash Bros.: Super Smash Flash
The name (almost) says it all - this is an awesome fan-produced version of Nintendo's brand new game for the Wii console, "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", with the ability to play as (or against if you prefer) Sega characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow in addition to all the standard Nintendo characters such as Mario, Luigi, Link, Zelda, Kirby, Megaman, Zero, Samus Aran, Fox McCloud, Naruto, Pikachu, Mewtwo and more. The game features a host of unlockable extra levels and characters in single-player mode, plus there is a 2-player mode for some serious "VS." brawling action.
Megaman vs. Metroid
A challenging and fun fan-game where you must guide Megaman through a variety of levels featuring "Samus Aran" and other classic "Metroid" game characters.
Star Trek: Flash Trek V2.0
A truly amazing fan-produced Star Trek game where your mission is to try to free the galaxy from the tyrannical rule of the Dominion and their Cardassian allies.
Ratatouille: Grab the Grub
An official game based on last year's smash-hit Disney/Pixar movie "Ratatouille" where you must guide Remy the Rat through a series of mazes grabbing food while avoiding the chefs trying to stop you.
Cars: Lightning McQueen's Desert Dash
An official game based on the 1996 mega-hit Disney/Pixar movie "Cars" where you get to race as Lightning McQueen against The King, Chick Hicks, Boost and Snot Rod.
Trivia: Did you know that "Cars 2", the sequel movie, has just been officially announced for release in 2012? See here for more details.
Buzz Lightyear: Operation Alien Rescue
An official Toy Story-related game based on the Disney cartoon series "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" - help Buzz Lightyear rescue all the Little Green Men who have been captured by the Evil Emperor Zurg.
Trivia: Did you know that a third movie in the Toy Story series, "Toy Story 3", is scheduled for release in 2010? See here for details.
I hope you enjoy all these games!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Virgin's Dan Dare digital comic has moved...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Nothing much to report at the moment...
...except that currently I'm right in the middle of a bit of a major life-change (moving home to a completely different part of Thailand, that sort of thing) and that is why I haven't posted anything to this blog for a while. I'll get back into proper blogging mode again once my life has settled down a bit. :-) That said however, I have posted a few entries over on my MarioSonicGames.com blog this month that you may like to read...
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Mario & Sonic Online Game Recommendations - Part 7
If you'd like to try out some more Mario and Sonic online games, Part 7 in my ongoing series of recommendations is now available to read over on my MarioSonicGames.com blog. (And there are now over 130 Mario and Sonic games for you to play in the main MarioSonicGames.com site.)
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Yahoo! and the UK property market
This was on the front page of Yahoo! UK yesterday:
It made me laugh, although I'm sure Yahoo! weren't really offering to help people take advantage of the misfortune of others whose homes are repossessed by panicky banks and then put up for sale, it just looked that way through coincidence, right? I mean, I know Yahoo! is in a spot of bother at the moment having recently posted disappointing financial results and consequently being the subject of a takeover bid by Microsoft, but surely they're not that desperate to make more money..... :-)
It made me laugh, although I'm sure Yahoo! weren't really offering to help people take advantage of the misfortune of others whose homes are repossessed by panicky banks and then put up for sale, it just looked that way through coincidence, right? I mean, I know Yahoo! is in a spot of bother at the moment having recently posted disappointing financial results and consequently being the subject of a takeover bid by Microsoft, but surely they're not that desperate to make more money..... :-)
Monday, January 28, 2008
Human Spaceflight Remembrance Day
Today is the 22nd Anniversary of the Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster. Yesterday was the 41st Anniversary of the "Apollo 1" tragedy. February 1st marks the 5th Anniversary of the Space Shuttle "Columbia" disaster. It is a sad time of year for everyone who, like me, advocates human spaceflight and exploration for the ongoing betterment of the human race.
On January 27th, 1967, a fire broke out in the "Apollo 1" Command Module capsule as it was undergoing a supposedly routine ground test, killing all three astronauts inside: Virgil "Gus" Grisson, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.
On January 28th, 1986, following an initially successful launch the Space Shuttle "Challenger" exploded 73 seconds into its flight, killing all 7 crew onboard: astronauts Francis "Dick" Scobee, Ron McNair, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik and Greg Jarvis, and civilian teacher Christa McAuliffe.
On February 1st, 2003, following a successful 16-day spaceflight the Space Shuttle "Columbia" broke up on re-entry, killing the crew of 7: U.S. astronauts Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon.
_________
Here are a few memorable quotes from some those who died:
Gus Grissom (who was the second ever American, and the third ever human, into space following the successful July 1961 "Mercury-Redstone 4" mission):
"If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."
-- after his and John Young's successful "Gemini 3" mission, March 1965
Ed White:
"I think you have to understand the feeling that a pilot has, that a test pilot has, that I look forward a great deal to making the first flight. There's a great deal of pride involved in making a first flight."
Christa McAuliffe (who would have been the first ever civilian, and teacher, into space):
"I cannot join the space program and restart my life as an astronaut, but this opportunity to connect my abilities as an educator with my interests in history and space is a unique opportunity to fulfill my early fantasies."
Dr. Ron McNair:
"Whether or not you reach your goals in life depends entirely on how well you prepare for them and how badly you want them. You're eagles! Stretch your wings and fly to the sky."
Willie McCool:
"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it and strive to live as one in peace."
_________
These tragic losses all occurred in NASA spacecraft as part of the U.S. space program. The following people also sadly died during spaceflights as part of the former U.S.S.R.'s (now Russia's) space program:
Vladimir Komarov, who died when his "Soyuz 1" capsule crashed after re-entry, April 24th, 1967.
Vladislav Volkov, Georgi Dobrovolski and Viktor Patsayev, who died when their "Soyuz 11" capsule depressurized prior to re-entry, June 30th, 1971.
_________
I vividly remember watching the April 1972 "Apollo 16" and December 1972 "Apollo 17" manned moon-landings on TV with my father when I was quite young (my 5th Birthday was in October of that year), and I was awe-inspired by the experiences. I have been fascinated by, and a supporter of, human spaceflight ever since. I hope we never stop trying to conquer space. In part to continually honour the memory of those who have died trying, but chiefly to continue to advance ourselves as a species - a prime motive, surely, of all those who have ever attempted to travel into space - I think we must never stop, no matter how difficult and dangerous it is.
On January 27th, 1967, a fire broke out in the "Apollo 1" Command Module capsule as it was undergoing a supposedly routine ground test, killing all three astronauts inside: Virgil "Gus" Grisson, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.
On January 28th, 1986, following an initially successful launch the Space Shuttle "Challenger" exploded 73 seconds into its flight, killing all 7 crew onboard: astronauts Francis "Dick" Scobee, Ron McNair, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judy Resnik and Greg Jarvis, and civilian teacher Christa McAuliffe.
On February 1st, 2003, following a successful 16-day spaceflight the Space Shuttle "Columbia" broke up on re-entry, killing the crew of 7: U.S. astronauts Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon.
_________
Here are a few memorable quotes from some those who died:
Gus Grissom (who was the second ever American, and the third ever human, into space following the successful July 1961 "Mercury-Redstone 4" mission):
"If we die, we want people to accept it. We are in a risky business and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."
-- after his and John Young's successful "Gemini 3" mission, March 1965
Ed White:
"I think you have to understand the feeling that a pilot has, that a test pilot has, that I look forward a great deal to making the first flight. There's a great deal of pride involved in making a first flight."
Christa McAuliffe (who would have been the first ever civilian, and teacher, into space):
"I cannot join the space program and restart my life as an astronaut, but this opportunity to connect my abilities as an educator with my interests in history and space is a unique opportunity to fulfill my early fantasies."
Dr. Ron McNair:
"Whether or not you reach your goals in life depends entirely on how well you prepare for them and how badly you want them. You're eagles! Stretch your wings and fly to the sky."
Willie McCool:
"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it and strive to live as one in peace."
_________
These tragic losses all occurred in NASA spacecraft as part of the U.S. space program. The following people also sadly died during spaceflights as part of the former U.S.S.R.'s (now Russia's) space program:
Vladimir Komarov, who died when his "Soyuz 1" capsule crashed after re-entry, April 24th, 1967.
Vladislav Volkov, Georgi Dobrovolski and Viktor Patsayev, who died when their "Soyuz 11" capsule depressurized prior to re-entry, June 30th, 1971.
_________
I vividly remember watching the April 1972 "Apollo 16" and December 1972 "Apollo 17" manned moon-landings on TV with my father when I was quite young (my 5th Birthday was in October of that year), and I was awe-inspired by the experiences. I have been fascinated by, and a supporter of, human spaceflight ever since. I hope we never stop trying to conquer space. In part to continually honour the memory of those who have died trying, but chiefly to continue to advance ourselves as a species - a prime motive, surely, of all those who have ever attempted to travel into space - I think we must never stop, no matter how difficult and dangerous it is.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Mario & Sonic Online Game Recommendations - Part 6
I have just posted Part 6 in my ongoing series of Mario and Sonic online game recommendations over in my new MarioSonicGames.com Blog. It's a bit different to my previous posts in the series, with a distinctly 1980s "old skool gaming" theme to it, so if you fancy a change to your normal online gaming routine, please take a look.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Places to visit and things to do in Thailand - Part 2
Er, this is extremely overdue, given that I posted Part 1 way back in May 2006 when I first started this blog - oops! I'll do my best now to make this into a proper series of (hopefully) interesting and useful posts based on my various travels around Thailand during the intervening period since that first post.
So... another of my favourite places that I've visited in Thailand, and that I also thoroughly recommend you to visit if you are ever over here, is the beautiful Phimai Historical Park, situated 60 km north of the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, or approximately 320 km north-east of Bangkok. This is the site of some spectacular partially-restored 900 year-old Khmer Empire temple ruins that are very closely related to (and also slightly predate) the world-famous Angkor Wat, which is located about 250 km south of Phimai in Cambodia. As with Angkor Wat, which was the capital of the long-lost empire and which in its heyday was linked directly to Phimai by road, the temple at Phimai is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
See the Wikipedia.org page and the Art and Archaeology.com mini-site for some more detailed information plus some photos. There is also an excellent Computer Reconstruction of the whole Phimai temple site that can be viewed online.
I'll post another of my favourite Thai places to visit soon...
So... another of my favourite places that I've visited in Thailand, and that I also thoroughly recommend you to visit if you are ever over here, is the beautiful Phimai Historical Park, situated 60 km north of the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, or approximately 320 km north-east of Bangkok. This is the site of some spectacular partially-restored 900 year-old Khmer Empire temple ruins that are very closely related to (and also slightly predate) the world-famous Angkor Wat, which is located about 250 km south of Phimai in Cambodia. As with Angkor Wat, which was the capital of the long-lost empire and which in its heyday was linked directly to Phimai by road, the temple at Phimai is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
See the Wikipedia.org page and the Art and Archaeology.com mini-site for some more detailed information plus some photos. There is also an excellent Computer Reconstruction of the whole Phimai temple site that can be viewed online.
I'll post another of my favourite Thai places to visit soon...
Friday, January 18, 2008
Blasts from the past - playable, then sabotaged
In case you didn't know, I absolutely love video games, be they console games, computer games or arcade games. Being a member of "Generation X" (i.e. I was born in the 1960s and grew up during the 1970s and early 80s) I got to play some of the very first arcade video games ever made, including: Breakout (released by Atari in 1976), Space Invaders (Taito/Midway, 1978), Asteroids (Atari, 1979), Galaxian (Namco/Midway, 1979), Lunar Lander (Atari, 1979), Battlezone (Atari, 1980), Missile Command (Atari, 1980), Defender (Williams Electronics, 1980), Centipede (Atari, 1980), Pac-Man (Namco/Midway, 1980), Donkey Kong (Nintendo, 1981) and Frogger (Konami & Sega/Gremlin, 1981). All-time classics, all of them.
Here are some online versions of some of those games for you to play:
Breakout (JavaScript)
Breakout (Flash)
Space Invaders (Flash)
Asteroids (Java)
Lunar Lander (Java)
Missile Command (Java)
Missile Command (Flash)
Centipede (Flash)
Pac-Man (Flash)
Donkey Kong (Flash)
Frogger (Flash)
I actually mention all of the above because (aside from the fact that the games are still great fun to play even today) it has recently been brought to my attention that there is a new website that - if, like me, you are a fan of classic video games - I recommend you to visit:
www.RetroSabotage.com
I think it's great fun, and it might well become a bit of a classic in its own right as it continues to grow. Check it out for yourself and see what you think.
Here are some online versions of some of those games for you to play:
Breakout (JavaScript)
Breakout (Flash)
Space Invaders (Flash)
Asteroids (Java)
Lunar Lander (Java)
Missile Command (Java)
Missile Command (Flash)
Centipede (Flash)
Pac-Man (Flash)
Donkey Kong (Flash)
Frogger (Flash)
I actually mention all of the above because (aside from the fact that the games are still great fun to play even today) it has recently been brought to my attention that there is a new website that - if, like me, you are a fan of classic video games - I recommend you to visit:
www.RetroSabotage.com
I think it's great fun, and it might well become a bit of a classic in its own right as it continues to grow. Check it out for yourself and see what you think.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Mario & Sonic Online Game Recommendations - Part 5
In keeping with what I wrote in my previous post in this blog, I have just posted Part 5 of my ongoing series of Mario and Sonic online game recommendations over in my new MarioSonicGames.com Blog, along with a summary of Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
So, please hop on over there if you would like to try out the latest games I've recommended and also catch up on my latest posts relating to Mario and Sonic gaming.
So, please hop on over there if you would like to try out the latest games I've recommended and also catch up on my latest posts relating to Mario and Sonic gaming.
My new MarioSonicGames.com blog
I have decided that too much of this blog is now being taken up with Mario and Sonic related posts. Since I have recently created a new Mario and Sonic games site, www.MarioSonicGames.com, I thought it would be much better if I created a blog specifically for that site into which I can put all future Mario and Sonic posts. So, here it is... the brand new MarioSonicGames.com Blog
From now on if I post anything in this blog relating to Mario and Sonic, it will only be a headline entry with a link to the related full article over in the other blog, to keep the content of each one more focussed. As a result, hopefully this blog can return to a more varied view of "England, Thailand and Other Things", as was my original intention.
From now on if I post anything in this blog relating to Mario and Sonic, it will only be a headline entry with a link to the related full article over in the other blog, to keep the content of each one more focussed. As a result, hopefully this blog can return to a more varied view of "England, Thailand and Other Things", as was my original intention.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Zelda & Megaman Online Game Recommendations
As an addition to my ongoing series of Mario and Sonic online game recommendations (see Part 4 for the most recent of those), here are a few excellent Flash games for you to try that are based on some other iconic video games series:
The Legend of Zelda: The Seeds of Darkness
Take control of Link and lead him on a quest through this beautifully made fan-game that combines lovely graphics and music with classic "Legend of Zelda" RPG-style exploration, strategy and combat gameplay.
Megaman vs. Metroid
In this superb homage to the eponymous Capcom and Nintendo games, you get to guide Megaman through a variety of levels featuring Samus Aran and other classic "Metroid" game characters.
Megaman vs. Ghosts 'n Goblins
A semi-sequel to the game above, this time you must help Megaman take on and defeat zombies, demons and other horrors from the classic "Ghosts 'n Goblins" game.
You can find these games together with hundreds more quality Flash and Java online games in my www.Dan-Dare.org/FreeFun/ website. Enjoy!
The Legend of Zelda: The Seeds of Darkness
Take control of Link and lead him on a quest through this beautifully made fan-game that combines lovely graphics and music with classic "Legend of Zelda" RPG-style exploration, strategy and combat gameplay.
Megaman vs. Metroid
In this superb homage to the eponymous Capcom and Nintendo games, you get to guide Megaman through a variety of levels featuring Samus Aran and other classic "Metroid" game characters.
Megaman vs. Ghosts 'n Goblins
A semi-sequel to the game above, this time you must help Megaman take on and defeat zombies, demons and other horrors from the classic "Ghosts 'n Goblins" game.
You can find these games together with hundreds more quality Flash and Java online games in my www.Dan-Dare.org/FreeFun/ website. Enjoy!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Mario & Sonic Online Game Recommendations - Part 4
Here are the next four Mario and Sonic online game recommendations in my ongoing series based on the 100+ free Flash and Java games in my new site at www.MarioSonicGames.com (see also Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3):
Super Mario Brothers: Mario Remix
This clever fan-produced game is actually three different games in one great package - grab hold of Mario and go and play some "Super Mario World" with him, and when you're done with that, go and play some "Megaman" and then some "Gradius" with him too!
Super Mario Brothers: Bullet Bill (and its sequel
Super Mario Brothers: Bullet Bill 2)
Play a version of the classic original "Super Mario Bros." game, but with a quite literally smashing twist - you get to play as a Bullet Bill! Smash blocks, bash Mario, avoid scenery!
Sonic the Hedgehog: Ultimate Robotnik Duels
Take over the controls of one of Dr. Robotnik's (a.k.a. Eggman's) amazingly destructive flying machines for a head-to-head "death match" battle. You can play as any of the main characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog games, or even as Super Mario - so you can have your very own "Mario vs. Sonic" fight if you wish! Features brilliantly entertaining single-player and 2-player modes, and also a neat spectator mode where you can watch your computer play against itself.
(Just in case you want some more "Mario vs. Sonic" action, and just in case you haven't played it yet and haven't found out, you can also have a Mario vs. Sonic fight in the Super Smash Flash game I recommended in Part 3 of this series... plus you might also want to check this out: Mario vs. Sonic Interactive Flash Movie)
Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic Boom
Shoot Sonic from a giant cannon and try to get him as far as you can. Hit the bonus items to increase Sonic's flight distance, but avoid the traps and bombs that will slow him down and stop him. Features unlockable extra characters and bunuses.
Enjoy! More recommendations in the near future...
Super Mario Brothers: Mario Remix
This clever fan-produced game is actually three different games in one great package - grab hold of Mario and go and play some "Super Mario World" with him, and when you're done with that, go and play some "Megaman" and then some "Gradius" with him too!
Super Mario Brothers: Bullet Bill (and its sequel
Super Mario Brothers: Bullet Bill 2)
Play a version of the classic original "Super Mario Bros." game, but with a quite literally smashing twist - you get to play as a Bullet Bill! Smash blocks, bash Mario, avoid scenery!
Sonic the Hedgehog: Ultimate Robotnik Duels
Take over the controls of one of Dr. Robotnik's (a.k.a. Eggman's) amazingly destructive flying machines for a head-to-head "death match" battle. You can play as any of the main characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog games, or even as Super Mario - so you can have your very own "Mario vs. Sonic" fight if you wish! Features brilliantly entertaining single-player and 2-player modes, and also a neat spectator mode where you can watch your computer play against itself.
(Just in case you want some more "Mario vs. Sonic" action, and just in case you haven't played it yet and haven't found out, you can also have a Mario vs. Sonic fight in the Super Smash Flash game I recommended in Part 3 of this series... plus you might also want to check this out: Mario vs. Sonic Interactive Flash Movie)
Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic Boom
Shoot Sonic from a giant cannon and try to get him as far as you can. Hit the bonus items to increase Sonic's flight distance, but avoid the traps and bombs that will slow him down and stop him. Features unlockable extra characters and bunuses.
Enjoy! More recommendations in the near future...
Friday, January 11, 2008
Mario & Sonic Online Game Recommendations - Part 3
Here is the third part in my ongoing series of Mario and Sonic online game recommendations (see my blog post yesterday for Part 2). You can find these games plus over 100 more at my new site: www.MarioSonicGames.com
Here are my next game recommendations - there are five for you to try this time:
Super Mario Brothers: Luigi Gunman
Also known as "Mario World Overrun", this truly unique Mario game offers an exciting and challenging combination of first-person-shooter action and tower-defence strategy, all based in a Super Mario World setting.
Super Mario Brothers: Super Mafia Bros.
The classic original Super Mario Bros. game gets "The Godfather" treatment in this brilliant single-level homage.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Shadow the Hedgehog Flash
An excellent official Flash mini-version of Sega's 2005 "Shadow the Hedgehog" game for the Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox, complete with the gunplay that is now synonymous with Shadow.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Scene Creator
One of a series of three slightly differing Sonic Scene Creators (click here and here for the other two), this is great fun for Sonic fans who have an artistic side in addition to their gaming side.
Super Smash Flash
The name (almost) says it all - this is an awesome fan-produced version of Nintendo's 2001 GameCube game "Super Smash Bros. Melee", but with the added bonus of being able to play as (or against if you prefer) Sega characters such as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow in addition to the standard Nintendo characters. The game features a host of unlockable extra levels and characters in single-player mode, plus there is a 2-player mode for some serious "VS." brawling action.
Enjoy! I'll post some more recommendations soon....
Here are my next game recommendations - there are five for you to try this time:
Super Mario Brothers: Luigi Gunman
Also known as "Mario World Overrun", this truly unique Mario game offers an exciting and challenging combination of first-person-shooter action and tower-defence strategy, all based in a Super Mario World setting.
Super Mario Brothers: Super Mafia Bros.
The classic original Super Mario Bros. game gets "The Godfather" treatment in this brilliant single-level homage.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Shadow the Hedgehog Flash
An excellent official Flash mini-version of Sega's 2005 "Shadow the Hedgehog" game for the Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox, complete with the gunplay that is now synonymous with Shadow.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Scene Creator
One of a series of three slightly differing Sonic Scene Creators (click here and here for the other two), this is great fun for Sonic fans who have an artistic side in addition to their gaming side.
Super Smash Flash
The name (almost) says it all - this is an awesome fan-produced version of Nintendo's 2001 GameCube game "Super Smash Bros. Melee", but with the added bonus of being able to play as (or against if you prefer) Sega characters such as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Shadow in addition to the standard Nintendo characters. The game features a host of unlockable extra levels and characters in single-player mode, plus there is a 2-player mode for some serious "VS." brawling action.
Enjoy! I'll post some more recommendations soon....
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Mario & Sonic Online Game Recommendations - Part 2
Here is part 2 in my ongoing series of personal recommendations for the pick of the Mario and Sonic Flash and Java online games in my sites (see my blog post yesterday for Part 1). All these games can now be found together in one place as part of an ever-expanding collection of over 100 at my new site: www.MarioSonicGames.com
Here are my next four game recommendations for you to try:
Super Mario Brothers: Super Mario Sunshine 64
A superb fan-produced 2D version of the 2002 Nintendo GameCube game "Super Mario Sunshine", complete with a fully-functioning FLUDD.
Super Mario Brothers: Mario Bros. in Pipe Panic
Play as either Mario or Luigi in this lovely Super Mario Bros. themed homage to the all-time classic "Pac-Man" arcade game.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Ultimate Flash Sonic
One of the most popular Flash games on the web, and it's easy to see why - this incredible fan-produced effort is as close to a perfect game as you will find anywhere. With fast-paced, flawless Sonic platforming fun all the way, this game incorporates the best elements of all the classic 8-bit and 16-bit Sonic games, and includes unlockable extra characters, levels and other fun bonuses too.
And just in case you want it, here is a lovely little cheat password for the Ultimate Flash Sonic game that allows you to level-select the Ice Paradise zone when you play the main game as Tails, and also allows you to have Tails follow you if you want when you play the game as any other character (just like in the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive/Genesis "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" game if you have Tails follow Sonic): 115013101010101
(Additional note: If you use the above cheat password and have Tails follow Cream, he replaces Cheese the Chao who normally follows Cream.)
Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic Rivals Dash
An official Flash mini-version of Sega's excellent 2006 "Sonic Rivals" game for the Sony PlayStation Portable, this has a 2-player option in addition to the single-player game for some real "Rivals" fun.
Enjoy! More recommendations tomorrow....
Here are my next four game recommendations for you to try:
Super Mario Brothers: Super Mario Sunshine 64
A superb fan-produced 2D version of the 2002 Nintendo GameCube game "Super Mario Sunshine", complete with a fully-functioning FLUDD.
Super Mario Brothers: Mario Bros. in Pipe Panic
Play as either Mario or Luigi in this lovely Super Mario Bros. themed homage to the all-time classic "Pac-Man" arcade game.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Ultimate Flash Sonic
One of the most popular Flash games on the web, and it's easy to see why - this incredible fan-produced effort is as close to a perfect game as you will find anywhere. With fast-paced, flawless Sonic platforming fun all the way, this game incorporates the best elements of all the classic 8-bit and 16-bit Sonic games, and includes unlockable extra characters, levels and other fun bonuses too.
And just in case you want it, here is a lovely little cheat password for the Ultimate Flash Sonic game that allows you to level-select the Ice Paradise zone when you play the main game as Tails, and also allows you to have Tails follow you if you want when you play the game as any other character (just like in the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive/Genesis "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" game if you have Tails follow Sonic): 115013101010101
(Additional note: If you use the above cheat password and have Tails follow Cream, he replaces Cheese the Chao who normally follows Cream.)
Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic Rivals Dash
An official Flash mini-version of Sega's excellent 2006 "Sonic Rivals" game for the Sony PlayStation Portable, this has a 2-player option in addition to the single-player game for some real "Rivals" fun.
Enjoy! More recommendations tomorrow....
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Mario & Sonic Online Game Recommendations - Part 1
I thought I'd start an ongoing series of personal recommendations for the pick of the Mario and Sonic games that can be found in all my sites, because there are now so many games to choose from (well over 100) that it can often be a bit daunting figuring out just which games to start playing initially. I hope that these recommendations will help resolve that. And whilst I'm on the subject, you can now find all of the Mario and Sonic free Flash and Java online games together in one easy-to-find place in a new easy-to-remember site:
www.MarioSonicGames.com
So, here are my first four game recommendations for you to try:
Super Mario Brothers: New Super Mario Flash
Play as either Mario or Luigi in this brilliant fan-produced Flash remake of the classic 8-bit and 16-bit Super Mario Bros. platform games. As well as including its own excellent ready-made series of levels for you to play, the game also features a programmable level editor for you to create and play your very own levels (and some example level codes are included for you to try too). This is rapidly becoming one of the most popular Flash games on the web - play it for yourself to see why.
Super Mario Brothers: Super Mario X
An entertaining Super Mario platform game with lovely original Flash graphics and a unique twist in gameplay.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic Xtreme
A fast-paced and challenging Sonic platformer with Super Mario "Wigglers" to defeat in addition to classic Sonic Badniks.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Amy's Whack-A-Nik
Go on, you know you want to - Use your mouse to control Amy Rose's "Piko Piko Hammer" and whack as many SWATBot Badniks as you can in the time limit!
Enjoy! More to come soon....
www.MarioSonicGames.com
So, here are my first four game recommendations for you to try:
Super Mario Brothers: New Super Mario Flash
Play as either Mario or Luigi in this brilliant fan-produced Flash remake of the classic 8-bit and 16-bit Super Mario Bros. platform games. As well as including its own excellent ready-made series of levels for you to play, the game also features a programmable level editor for you to create and play your very own levels (and some example level codes are included for you to try too). This is rapidly becoming one of the most popular Flash games on the web - play it for yourself to see why.
Super Mario Brothers: Super Mario X
An entertaining Super Mario platform game with lovely original Flash graphics and a unique twist in gameplay.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic Xtreme
A fast-paced and challenging Sonic platformer with Super Mario "Wigglers" to defeat in addition to classic Sonic Badniks.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Amy's Whack-A-Nik
Go on, you know you want to - Use your mouse to control Amy Rose's "Piko Piko Hammer" and whack as many SWATBot Badniks as you can in the time limit!
Enjoy! More to come soon....
Monday, January 07, 2008
More online goodies from Virgin Comics
I took a much more in-depth look around the Virgin Comics website today, and I was amazed to discover the brilliant range of comics that they are producing - I'm an instant fan of the brand! And it feels like Christmas all over again, because it turns out that two more of their titles are available as online digital comics in addition to the lovely new Dan Dare comic I highlighted in my blog post yesterday.
They are both brilliant, and they are "Voodoo Child" by Nicolas Cage and his son Weston, and "Devi" by Shekhar Kapur.
Check them out now - I feel sure you will be as impressed with them both as I am. Seriously well done Virgin Comics! :-) Acquiring the real "hard copy" comics to read in their true format will be a leisure-time priority for me on my next trip back to the UK.
They are both brilliant, and they are "Voodoo Child" by Nicolas Cage and his son Weston, and "Devi" by Shekhar Kapur.
Check them out now - I feel sure you will be as impressed with them both as I am. Seriously well done Virgin Comics! :-) Acquiring the real "hard copy" comics to read in their true format will be a leisure-time priority for me on my next trip back to the UK.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
A special Dan Dare mention
While I'm in full-on "Dan Dare" mode at the moment, I feel that a special mention should be made of Colin Frewin, someone to whom us Dan Dare fans owe a great deal of thanks. Colin runs the Dan Dare Corporation, the company that owns the global media rights to all that is Dan Dare. Without Colin's massive personal investment in Dan Dare since 2001 we would never have had the highly entertaining 2002 Dan Dare CGI cartoon series, and without Colin's active involvement we wouldn't currently have the new Virgin Comics series and the Titan Books 1950's story reprint series to enjoy. Cheers Colin! How about a Dan Dare movie next? :-)
Virgin's Dan Dare comic on the web, and other Dan Dare publications
Well, it's a very welcome surprise for me to see that Virgin Comics are posting episodes from their new monthly Dan Dare comic on their website - see the Official Dan Dare Digital Comic. Given that currently I'm in central rural Thailand thousands of miles from anywhere that I'm likely to be able to actually buy the real comic, being able to catch up with it online is a real treat! My thanks to Sir Richard Branson - "you're a right proper gentleman and no mistake, Sir Richard!" :-)
I have to confess that I quite like this latest and newest version of Dan Dare, so far anyway... However, I still think that Frank Hampson's original 1950 creation is the only version that really "cuts the mustard" in terms of the quality of artwork and storytelling. And please bear in mind that I grew up with the late-1970's 2000AD comic's "punk" version of Dan Dare, I didn't become fully familiar with the original version until the late 1980's, so I'm not biased towards the original through a nostalgic longing for it! :-) See these extensive Dan Dare Picture Galleries and Artwork Showcases to get an idea of what I mean - you can view imagery from all the different versions of Dan Dare through the years. I reckon anyone with a real eye for artistic quality will favour the Frank Hampson original over any subsequent version.
Lamentably forgotten by the popular press (plus myself in this very blog - doh!) during the August/September 2007 fanfare over the Virgin Comics announcement that they were bringing Dan Dare back into print in new comic-strip stories, was the fact that Dan Dare was actually already appearing in new comic-strip stories at the time. We all overlooked the fact that "Spaceship Away", a superb officially endorsed fan magazine, had been running (and indeed still is running) new "classic style" Dan Dare stories since its first issue back in 2003. Some of these new stories are lovingly illustrated by original 1950's and 60's era Dan Dare artists, so they really are true to the original Frank Hampson vision. So, if like me you have a desire to read as much Dan Dare as possible, visit their website over at SpaceshipAway.org.uk to find out how to subscribe to this unique thrice-yearly magazine.
There is also a Dan Dare (and Eagle - the comic that originally featured the Dan Dare stories) fan club if you are interested in finding out more about the classic original 1950's and 60's era. Take a look at their very informative weblog over at the Eagle Times Blog, which also includes details of how to subscribe to the fan club and receive their excellent quarterly magazine.
I have to confess that I quite like this latest and newest version of Dan Dare, so far anyway... However, I still think that Frank Hampson's original 1950 creation is the only version that really "cuts the mustard" in terms of the quality of artwork and storytelling. And please bear in mind that I grew up with the late-1970's 2000AD comic's "punk" version of Dan Dare, I didn't become fully familiar with the original version until the late 1980's, so I'm not biased towards the original through a nostalgic longing for it! :-) See these extensive Dan Dare Picture Galleries and Artwork Showcases to get an idea of what I mean - you can view imagery from all the different versions of Dan Dare through the years. I reckon anyone with a real eye for artistic quality will favour the Frank Hampson original over any subsequent version.
Lamentably forgotten by the popular press (plus myself in this very blog - doh!) during the August/September 2007 fanfare over the Virgin Comics announcement that they were bringing Dan Dare back into print in new comic-strip stories, was the fact that Dan Dare was actually already appearing in new comic-strip stories at the time. We all overlooked the fact that "Spaceship Away", a superb officially endorsed fan magazine, had been running (and indeed still is running) new "classic style" Dan Dare stories since its first issue back in 2003. Some of these new stories are lovingly illustrated by original 1950's and 60's era Dan Dare artists, so they really are true to the original Frank Hampson vision. So, if like me you have a desire to read as much Dan Dare as possible, visit their website over at SpaceshipAway.org.uk to find out how to subscribe to this unique thrice-yearly magazine.
There is also a Dan Dare (and Eagle - the comic that originally featured the Dan Dare stories) fan club if you are interested in finding out more about the classic original 1950's and 60's era. Take a look at their very informative weblog over at the Eagle Times Blog, which also includes details of how to subscribe to the fan club and receive their excellent quarterly magazine.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Desktop Wallpapers in my main website
In addition to all the free fun and games in my main site (Dan-Dare.org), there are also loads of free desktop wallpaper images to choose from for use as the background picture on your computer. Categories include video games, cartoons, movies and TV. Here are some of the most popular ones (almost all of which also have at least one related Flash game too):
Star Wars
Harry Potter
Sonic the Hedgehog
Super Mario Brothers
Super Smash Bros.
Donkey Kong
Futurama
Scooby-Doo
Wacky Races
Tom and Jerry
The Simpsons
The Simpsons Movie
Megaman
Thunderbirds
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
D.C. and Marvel
The Matrix
Star Trek
Shrek
Pirates of the Caribbean
Disney/Pixar
Looney Tunes
Pokemon
SpongeBob Squarepants
Avatar
Garfield
The Muppets
Transformers
Power Rangers
South Park
Astroboy
Betty Boop
Star Wars
Harry Potter
Sonic the Hedgehog
Super Mario Brothers
Super Smash Bros.
Donkey Kong
Futurama
Scooby-Doo
Wacky Races
Tom and Jerry
The Simpsons
The Simpsons Movie
Megaman
Thunderbirds
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
D.C. and Marvel
The Matrix
Star Trek
Shrek
Pirates of the Caribbean
Disney/Pixar
Looney Tunes
Pokemon
SpongeBob Squarepants
Avatar
Garfield
The Muppets
Transformers
Power Rangers
South Park
Astroboy
Betty Boop
Monday, December 03, 2007
Updated "Special Fun Pages" in my main website
I have made some updates to many of the "Special Fun Pages" - i.e. pages that contain images, animated GIFs / sprites, music, movie clips and more - in my main website (Dan-Dare.org), plus I've also added a new page (Wacky Races) to the list:
Star Wars Movie Series, Star Wars Animated GIF Movie Clips
Harry Potter Movie Series, Harry Potter Book Series
Sonic the Hedgehog
Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario Bros. Movie
Sonic and Mario Bonuses, More Sonic and Mario Bonuses,
Extra Sonic and Mario Bonuses, Even More Mario Bonuses
Futurama, Red Dwarf
Hanna-Barbera (The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, Wacky Races, etc.), The Banana Splits
Tom and Jerry
The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie
Megaman
More Games-Related Images and Music, Even More Games-Related Images
Thunderbirds
I hope you enjoy them. As always, I will be adding to them as time goes by.
Star Wars Movie Series, Star Wars Animated GIF Movie Clips
Harry Potter Movie Series, Harry Potter Book Series
Sonic the Hedgehog
Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario Bros. Movie
Sonic and Mario Bonuses, More Sonic and Mario Bonuses,
Extra Sonic and Mario Bonuses, Even More Mario Bonuses
Futurama, Red Dwarf
Hanna-Barbera (The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, Wacky Races, etc.), The Banana Splits
Tom and Jerry
The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie
Megaman
More Games-Related Images and Music, Even More Games-Related Images
Thunderbirds
I hope you enjoy them. As always, I will be adding to them as time goes by.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Back in wonderful Thailand once more
Hooray! I am back in the lovely "land of smiles" after the unplanned trip to England last month. Lucky me! :->
Friday, November 02, 2007
Two new Flash games: Sonic Rush Adventure and Super Mario World
Here are two brilliant new Flash games for you to enjoy - one Sonic the Hedgehog (based on Sonic's latest game for the Nintendo DS - "Sonic Rush Adventure") and one Super Mario Brothers (based on the classic "Super Mario World"):
Sonic Rush Adventure Flash
New Super Mario Flash
You can play these games plus 100's more in my fun and games website.
Sonic Rush Adventure Flash New Super Mario FlashYou can play these games plus 100's more in my fun and games website.
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