Is Pokemon Go Dead?

Seems like no one is playing this anymore... Kinda funny how big of a craze this turned out to be. I was reading an interview with the Niantic guys and what was supposed to be a gradual roll out of features and content ended up being condensed into like a 2 or 3 week span.

They're not done yet tho... There is Gen 2 pokemon still to come as well as trading and battling that needs to be implemented. I'm not deleting my accounts or anything but i just dont see myself opening the app as much as i used to. Netflix has resumed its commute consumption and i have 2 untouched pokemon games that i received for my birthday that i would still like to play... Sun and Moon are rapidly approaching with new pokemon and game mechanics and none of that stuff even includes the Xbox One games coming into the picture.

Hopefully Gen2 pokemon reinvigorates the declining user base... Only time will tell.

Level 23 (late post)

So I hit level 23 and took a SS of the animation when it happened... but for some reason forgot to post it. So here it is... Things don't feel real different from the update but we will have to see what happens.

Finally... Level 22 + Avatar Change

Ok so it took me a lil longer to hit 22 than i anticipated but I finally got there. Thanks large in part to the lucky egg that I popped and then evolved like 40+ Pokemon. Well, I don't think it was that much. Maybe a lil less considering some of my evolutions were new pokemon. The reward for hitting 22 wasn't nearly as big as I would've liked considering my current lack of balls but I'll take what I can get. Also, with the latest update they've added the ability to change your avatar on the go. I never really liked the one I made and I've played with changing him but even then he never came out right and I was never ok with it. I decided to switch to the girl avatars. I have to say that they look so much better than the guys. At least they could've given us Ash or something. Sate our thirst for Pokemon goodness. But whatever... Here's the new avatar and my level up picture. 

W00t w00t level 21!!

Ok... Still at this pokemon go stuff... Been doing better with my pokedex you could say and now I'm up to level 21. I have a bunch of pokemon ready to evolved and a lucky egg ready to help me. I think I'll probably do that later today and see how far along that gets me. I have at least 10 to 12 pidgey's ready to go no to mention a few others that are actually going to be new pokemon for me. They will give even more XP when I evolve them. Finally was able to catch a Scyther. That shit was elusive as all hell. Even with berries and ultraballs he was bailing every time I tried to catch him.

Level 19!

Finally hit 19 after a couple days of light hunting. Ran into a few people at random that okay on the train today. Pretty cool having something in common with absolute strangers. 

OMG Fuck these Zubats!

All I see it feels like all over is Zubats! Whether I'm at work or on the way home. I saw an article about how there's a guy who has caught 142 types of Pokemon and I'm not even half that. True as it may be he also apparently put in two full 50 hour weeks and traced over 95 miles. That's crazy but the fact he cracked open 300+ eggs is also insane. 

Read the article here:

http://m.ign.com/articles/2016/07/21/someone-has-completed-the-us-version-of-pokemon-go

Poke Radar?

So I've been cruising the subreddit for Pokemon go and someone posted about a Pokemon radar. Currently only available for iOS but coming soon for droid.

Personally I've only had it for a few hours but it has a lot of promise. If you consider that the "3-steps away" issue is currently plaguing GO players and no immediate relief in sight this is a legit tool to find what you want. Now wandering around can be fun too and a lot of people enjoy that. But the completionists are going to use this to find exactly what they need to fill their pokedex. 

I'd recommend taking a peek at it but just be aware it's extremely slow sometimes in loading and that was even while on good wifi.

Lol skipped a level

So I used one of my eggs and skipped an entire level. 16 is just a memory and I'm half way through 17 already. 

Pokémon Go

Ok, so it's officially a phenomenon. This is the game that everyone has been waiting for since they teased it with a CGI trailer late last year.

[Wikipedia Link]

The premise... To be able to catch pokemon in the real world, so to speak. The trailer and the actual game aren't as close as we'd like but the out come is still pretty awesome. Using your phone's or mobile device's camera and some Augmented reality overlay you get to see the pokemon as if they've appeared in our world. Then, using your items, pokeballs and such, you'd capture them and add them to your collection.

The whole process is pretty slick and works really well. The only problem is that its become the biggest mobile game launch of all time and the Niantic servers (developer of the game) were slammed and continue to be slammed at almost all times. This leads to the game freezing and dropping out and other bugs. Hell, nothing is perfect but for a game thats barely 2 weeks old its pretty good. Not all the info has come out about how many are available or how to get any of the legendary pokemons but I'm sure we'll hear more in the coming months.

At level 5 you become high enough to attend Gym Battles and also you need to pick a team!

The 3 teams are Valor (Red), Instinct (Yellow) and Mystic (Blue). The act of attacking or defending a gym is pretty straight forward. If the gym is owned by an opposing faction then you take a team of 6 to assault the gym. Each win lowers the Prestige points the gym has and if you defeat the leader then the gym becomes vacant. You can occupy a vacant gym by placing one of your pokemon in the gym to hold a place. Gym level determines how many people can actually place pokemon in the gym to defend it. The Pokemon with the highest CP would be the "Boss" as it were and the last one to fight in a defense. To raise the gyms level you need to train and win battles at your own color gym.

As for me, I joined Team Instinct along with the rest of my family. I mentioned it was a phenomenon right? My wife and 2 daughters all play and we're all on the same team. Figured it would make things be more of a team sport. We go out looking for pokemon together and help eachother out. Occupy the same gyms when we take them over. It's pretty fun.

I know I have a long way to go and I'm just going to continue at the pace that I've been moving. When I find a game I like I typically don't like to rush things. I'm currently a Level 15 trainer and I'm about to hit 16 really soon. I've been saving my Lucky Eggs for a quick XP burst from evolving and catching and hopefully I can blow through 16 as if it was never there. Apparently the higher your level the more rarer pokemon they will send at you. I can only hope this is true. The meme's that have been popping up involving GO have been pretty funny and the news stories seem never ending. A lot of people are hailing the game as one that will get us off our butts and out of the house... Others are reporting about the negatives, like people finding dead bodies while hunting for pokemon or that someone lost their life in a car accident when they were playing instead of watching the road. Those stories are heartbreaking but its ultimately the end user's fault. The loading screen implores you to pay attention to the world around you and not the game.

Happy hunting all and I hope to see you in the game...

ReLife Anime Review

This 13 episode anime was not even on my radar at all. I literally read the synopsis on MAL and decided to pick it up and see what it was about. To my surprise it was a nice coming of age story mixed with some reflection of ones past and willingness to change yourself for the better.

-(plot outline)
Arata, our main character, is a 27 year old protagonist who seems to be failing at life. After a trauma at his old job and quitting just 3 months after starting he finds himself working at a convenience store part time and lying to his friends about his job when they go out. Hes single and more or less a NEET or shut-in. Ryo has scouted him to take part in a 1 year experiment called ReLife... where he takes a drug that makes his appearance 10 years younger and he will attend 3rd year in high school as part of the experiment. How he enjoys and interacts with the world around him is up to him. If he completes it successfully... There is a job at a real company waiting for him after the year is over. Faced with his other bleak options... he agrees to the experiment and is off to his ReLife.

-Animation was fine... No over the top animations, no ridiculous transitions. Everything was pretty smooth and the quality was the same throughout the series.
-Character Development was good. I think they gave enough to make you invest in the well being of the surrounding cast. Some weren't as fleshed out as they could be like the 2 childhood friends of Honoka the Volleyball team ace. They were merely introduced as her childhood friends with no real story of where they came from but they were minor so it didn't affect the story.
-Story was good although I think this type of story has definitely been done before kind of like 'Erased'. They had similar plots about changing the past but went about it in different ways. Even 'My Teenage Romantic Comedy SNAFU' had similar principles in trying to change oneself. Both of those related works were very good IMO and well worth the watch. Also, there was small bits of comedy sprinkled in for a change of pace. In offsetting the drama it did its job well and this show is very well rounded... just don't expect a lot of high action sequences because there are none.

(Arata and Chizuru)

I rarely use the number scale for rating things but if I had to do it... I'd have to give this anime probably 7 out of 10.

Please have a look, if you enjoy drama and some coming of age awkwardness then you'll love this show.

Rocket League

PLAY IT NOW!!!

Although its a little repetitive its super fun. Just picked this up for xbox to play with my friends and we've been having a blast.

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Episode 6

Just caught up on this show. Was actually 3 episodes behind and decided binge on the ride home from work yesterday and then episode 6 late last night.

Subaru... our MC for those not actually following... Wakes in the mansion but the day has reset and he has no idea why. Over the next couple days he tries to repeat what he did before he died and not everything goes as planned... as par for the course. He still ends up dying on the 4th day. The chains.. The chains... what was that sound. Guess you'll have to find out.

Very good episode overall. Nothing stood out too much... In fact I kind of guessed who was the culprit before we got to the end. Really like this show. It has the SAO feel but not as much action. Theres more thinking than in SAO which im fine with.

3 weeks into the new season

Seems I haven't posted in like forever. Back in February it was... Not a lot has changed for me. Family still is what it is, Ethan is 7 months old now and my oldest 2 just had their prom. But that's off topic...

Anime is just getting into the swing of this new season and there are some pretty decent shows. I think I've started watching about 7 or 8... actually I'm wrong. Just took a peek at MAL and its 12 new shows I've been watching... not 8.

Here they are in no particular order:

Endride

Onigiri

Terra Formars Revenge

Big Order

Hundred

Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta?

Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Koutetsujou no Kabaneri

Boku no Hero Academia

Macross Delta

Sousei no Onmyouji

Oddly enough, I also started to read manga again. And now that I got the app working on my phone I think I'll read more during my commutes to work.

Another interest thats gotten really interesting is the TV shows I've been watching. 

The Blacklist just had a game changing event... Liz died. Take that in for a second... Liz actually died. She was believed to be the main character or at least that was the belief that I held. I guess that wasn't the case. At the same time, I'm not sure how the series is going to progress without her. Especially considering that she died literally in child birth and the baby lived. 

The Flash is heating up... or cooling down or... I really don't know what to say about the series. Season 2 villain is Zoom and we find out it ended up being Jay Garrick all along. The Flash from Earth 2. Barry's venture seems to have bore fruit and his speed has quadrupled but he still manages to lose to Zoom over some poor choices made by his character. Now we're at our lowest where Zoom has stolen Barry's speed and Caitlin at the same time and Barry is left without any means to rectify the situation.

Lastly is GAMING!!

One game in particular has been occupying most of my time... The Division.

This game is a decent mixture of genres. You get the shooter aspect, its guns obviously. There is an RPG element with the levels and the gear drops. There is a tactical aspect due to cover being a major part of the action and gameplay. The story is actually a really good one too. I like the pacing as it all unfolds with how you unlock and complete objectives.

Throwback on a lazy sunday

Today is so uneventful... and thats not always a bad thing. I enjoy laid back days as much as anyone else... probably more actually. While browsing Kodi on my Shield TV I decided that I would watch an oldie but goodie. 

On comes... Howl's Moving Castle. Its a Studio Ghibli movie for those of you who haven't seen it... and then of course shame on you for not watching. But I forgot how much I liked this movie. 1 part love store, 1 part adventure and 1 part magic and wonder... 

The story takes place in a world where wizards and witches exist and most of the vehicles seem steam powered. Our main character Sofie is a young girl working in a hat shop owned by her mom... you hear in the opening minutes about how wizards like to steal the hearts of young beautiful girls. Sofie doesn't believe shes pretty... A short time after, shes cursed by the Witch of the Waste and becomes and old woman. Afraid to face her mom she leaves home as an old woman only to run into the moving castle in the wastes. And so her time in Howl's castle begins. Along the way she falls in love with Howl, befriends a young boy names Marco and the fire demon running the castle, Calcifer. 

This is such a great story about War, love, self discovery and finding one's own way. I may have to watch a few more of these classic movies like Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away. 

An Update of Sorts...

So the Super Bowl came and went... But definitely not how I imagined it. Carolina should've won but seemed like they couldn't get out of their own way. Lots of things went wrong but lets just forget about it because its over and done with...

We're about to end February and some things have been going on... or about to happen...

A new anime season is about to start... 

AniChart.net Preview

The WALKING DEAD is BACK!!!

I don't know if I've talked about it before but I am a big Walking Dead fan. I've read about 100 chapters of the comic and I'm current on the show. I do kind of want to watch the little mini series 'Fear the Walking Dead' and see what it's like. I've heard good things. 

SuperBowl 50 is here!

So tonight the Carolina Panthers take on the Denver Broncos in what looks to be an epic battle. Broncos have a swarming defense and Cam Newton has been sensational this season despite having lost his big #1 receiver, Kelvin Benjamin.

Predictions? Expectations?

I thoroughly see this as Carolina's game to lose. The stars seemed to have aligned for Cam even though this is his first appearance at the big game... It is also, however, looking like this will be Peyton Manning's LAST trip to the bowl. A lot of people are saying that it should be Peyton because this is his last shot and father time is catching up to him but I'm not on that bandwagon. I think Cam deserves this on what seems like his comeback season after performing so poorly last year with injuries.

I'm rooting for the Panthers and will be watching tonight with my best friend and family.

OMFG Blizzard PWNS Northeast

I live in PA. The southeastern tip to be exact... Right next to Philadelphia. I think I've mentioned before about how I work in Philly. This weekend mother nature decided to throw us a huge curve ball and blanket our entire region and most of the east coast from like DC and up with a blizzard. Not just any blizzard, one that rivaled the on in '96, well almost.

So with over 20 inches on the ground digging the car out just sucked. but at least the main roads are mostly clear. The public transportation service in the area, SEPTA, said that regional rail will be operational tomorrow and I really hope it is. I have to be to work by 7am. 

App of the Week!

I'm always checking the app store to see if there are any good deals going on (I'll admit I like downloading apps and games frequently) and this week there was a free game that's usually like $3 bux.

The game is called Lifeline.

The icon for it looks like this

This game seems weird when you start but its got a very strong narrative and the story pulls you in pretty quickly. This game is basically about a person (they leave it abiguous on purpose) who gets stranded by some turn of events on a barren planet/moon with nothing. You basically guide them and give them suggestions in hope they survive...

I'm already in my second play thru... (they died my first time) Hopefully I have more luck this time. We shall see.

If I had to rate this game... 8/10 or 4/5 stars yadda yadda yadda. Basically its pretty good and given the chance you should try it. Even if your not into text based games.

Erased

This new show is a must watch. It's a little off the beaten path for me as I usually stick to action or comedy with a sprinkle of romance but I think this one is like a Sci-fi with drama. I'd have to look it up but it's a really good show. 

The synopsis from MAL.

"Struggling manga author Satoru Fujinuma is beset by his fear to express himself. However, he has a supernatural ability of being forced to prevent deaths and catastrophes by being sent back in time before the incident occurred, repeating time until it is prevented. One day, he gets involved in an incident that has him framed as a murderer. Desperate to save the victim, he sends himself back in time only to find himself as a grade-schooler one month before fellow classmate Kayo Hinazuki went missing. Satoru now embarks on a new quest: to save Kayo and solve the mystery behind her disappearance."

(Source: MAL News)

Mobile Games

If you're like me then you probably have a bevy of games installed in your mobile device that you could break out at any given moment... Being a gamer really doesn't help much. I'd like to say I only have a couple installed, but the truth of the matter is that its probably close to 20 games installed.

There not all lil rinky dink games like words with friends or angry birds... Although Angry Birds is kind of a big thing in the mobile gaming world. Most of them are RPG related... It seems I'm an RPG junkie... For better or worse I just like the idea of getting stronger to the point that everyone else is irrelevant. There's a few games that kind of sate this desire for me...

Kritika The White Knight [Link]
Zenonia S: Rifts in Time [Link]
Jetpack Fighter [Link]
BattleHand [Link]
Rise of Heroes [Link]
Little Raiders [Link]
Brave Frontier [Link]

These are the games I'm playing right now... There are more but I think these are the RPGs I got running on my phone. There are some other ones like some Tower Defense or TD's that I play plus a few racing type games... but we're only talkin about the RPGs.