Because it works. I wish I could say that more often. But the reality is, it lets us start with a clean slate. Your computer has a lot going on, even when you are only running one or two programs. When a Windows XP computer boots up, around 100 programs and services load with it, and that is on a new PC without a lot installed on it!
“Hey, Pisano’s, it’s the Super Mario Bros. Super Show!” I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I must’ve shouted those words along with Captain Lou Albano in my living room growing up. Adventures of Nintendo’s famous Mario and Luigi, in cartoon form, swept me away to the Mushroom Kingdom and I never wanted to come back. But the show made us come back to reality, by beginning and ending every episode with live action featuring actors that your parents knew, and a lot of celebrity cameos.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show would take you through the various environments of the first two games, and featured music and sound effects from the games themselves. It was handled with the care that few other shows based on games would ever get. While others tried hard to change the lore of the games to fit television, the Super Show did its part to keep you immersed in Miyamoto’s world. I loved this show growing up, the live action segments taking place in their basement-apartment in Brooklyn New York, were some of my favorite moments in childhood history. Imagine being an 8 year old in the early 1990’s, when suddenly the wreslter Sergeant Slaughter shows up to talk to the Mario brothers. Wrestling, Video games, and even a little GI Joe, all rolled in to one mind-blowing moment.
After the first two seasons, consisting of 24 episodes each, were the episodes that stand out the mnost in my memories. When I bought many of the boxed-sets on DVD, certain dreams were dashed. Beginning with Super Mario Brothers 3, I was excited to see the new special items and power ups featured in the show, but dropping the live actors hurt the show big time. To fill the remaining time, nearly every episode had a rediculous chase scene coupled with a song that would repeat so many times I literally couldn’t even finish watching the DVDs. I can only imagine what I put my parents through. I didn’t even bother to buy the later Super Mario World episodes – although I distinctly remember watching those shows as well, introducing Yoshi and continuing the saga of the Koopa Kids.
Although it appears as though the DVDs are going to increase in rarity, the show is finally available digitally and can be streamed on Netflix and Amazon’s Instant Video. Enjoy them!
You bought your Xbox 360, and couldn’t wait to play – now you’ve already gained some Gamerscore, but your account is an “offline account” and not an Xbox Live Account! You don’t want to sign up for a new account, because you’ll lose your Gamerscore and Achievements! Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Continue reading “How to convert your offline Gamertag to an Xbox Live account and keep your Achievements and Gamerscore”
Last weekend, when I thought I would be catching up on my Halo Lore and playing Halo 3, I ended up playing the reboot of Mortal Kombat. Known also as “MK9” – this Mortal Kombat game retold the story of the tournament I loved to sneak off to play as a kid. Those quarters that went in to the arcade cabinet, trying to get as far as I could before my mom finished her trip around the mall. I was always more of a Street Fighter II buff, but Mortal Kombat had a draw to it that few other games did. Even the young geek in me loved the digitized actor sprites that made the characters so realistic for the time. Mortal Kombat had it all.
Over the years the series got more and more strange, and introduced and endless stream of characters. This game brings it back to the core – but still has a few surprises. What I wasn’t expecting was the story mode, which I enjoyed without shame. It tells the a story of Raiden coaching the Earth Realm Kombatants through the tournament. Liu Kang wins the tournament, but the story is only about a third of the way finished there. Little did I realize that the story was going to be several hours worth of fights – lucky for me it was a weekend and I played it through in one sitting!
As usual, I’m several months late to the party, but I wanted to share what was a fun experience. If you skipped all of the Mortal Kombat games since maybe Mortal Kombat 4, well, then you probably didn’t miss much – I don’t feel like I did. A few references are made to other games and even the movies here and there, a nice nod to the people that have been with the series through thick and thin. Overall I’m glad I found this recently and picked it up – I found it enjoyable. If you’re an adult gamer with a tinge of nostalgia for the series you won’t be let down.
