LIGHT THE BEACONS!: Deep Down (working title)

Hey everyone I was checking out the announcement for the new PlayStation 4 and saw in the demo that they are releasing an amazing RPG game called Deep Down, Supposedly the graphics are supposed to be live game play and not CG. If thats true it will be an incredible achievement for the company and will add a new level of immersion for console gamers that seemed almost exclusive for PC users. Without further delay, the trailer for Deep Down.

IN DEFENSE OF THE REALM: Ladyhawke (1985)

Lately I've been on a bit of a classic movie kick. I kind of got into it when I reviewed "Willow", so I decided to search out some more of the maybe more obscure ones. Some of them well before my time some of them from when I was but a lad. So without further ado, Ladyhawke.

Honestly what first brought my attention to this movie was the cover..."Is that Ferris Bueller?" It damn sure is. The year before Matthew Broderick would become a cultural phenomenon with his cult classic "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" he stared in this movie alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. Broderick plays Phillipe Gaston a talented and quick witted thief also known as "the Mouse" The film opens with a scene setting up the story, the church is corrupt and the people are suffering. I have to admit while it didnt stop me from enjoying the movie, I think this plot device is VERY overused. I totally understand that history dictates that the church was (and for the most part still is) horrifyingly corrupt, but this has been used so many times its almost a genre onto itself. Anyway I digress, One of the guards is looking for Phillipe (Broderick) to escort him to his execution, but he is no where to be found, and we see how he gets his nickname "the Mouse" it would seem he has the unique ability to squeeze through small spaces (insert off color humor here..hehe...insert.) and is very quick on his feet. He makes his way through the sewer system and out to freedom. It would appear that young Phillipe is the first man in history to escape the dungeons of Aquila. The Bishop is most displeased about this escape and sends his captain of the guards to hunt him down.  

 Inevitably the gaurds catch up to Mouse and  are about to kill him when he is saved by, Etienne of Navarre (Hauer)

 Etienne believes that since mouse escaped Aquila, that he can help Etienne infiltrate it so that he can slay the bishop. The movie has some interestign plot twists that I dont want to spoil. We find out that The bishop, through a deal with the devil, put a curse on Etienne and his love and the only way to break the curse it to slay the bishop. The plot device used to keep the lovers apart is both cruel and genius. I would highly recomend this movie to any lovers of fantasy.

I give this movie one lady killer Rutger Hauer which is the highest honor one could achieve.

THE FANTASY FORGE: The Swords of Conan the Barbarian

Hello everyone and welcome to another installment of The Fantasy Forge. This time we are going to take a look at the amazing replicas of the Arnold movie series made by Albion Swords.

I mentioned the Fathers sword on my top ten list of fantasy swords, but honestly while I think its the best looking one, all of the swords are gorgeous. I actually think the swords are the ONLY thing that the Arnold movies did better then the remake with Jason Momoa. They are works of art and the best part is you can get one of your very own! If your interested you can check them out at Filmswords.com. They are pretty expensive but its hard to put a price on that much tangible bad-ass.

Happy hunting!

SOUND THE HORN: My top 5 MMORPG's

Hello everyone today I wanted to run my top 5 favorite MMORPG's or Massively Mulitplayer Online Role-playing Games by you and why I like them. I think the biggest appeal is the ability to take on a character that you would like to be, sort of like and online D&D feeling and the bonus is you can play with your friends no matter where they are in the world. We ride!

5. Final Fantasy XIV Online

Final Fantasy XIV Online was squares second attempt to take the final fantasy franchise online and this one is in my opinion the better of the two. Its world was rich and alive and seemed a lot more like the final fantasy settings that most of the fans loved while at the same time introducing new elements. The game however was not recieved well by the masses and though I enjoyed it, it fines a low number on my list due to the fact that my core group of friends just were not interested in playing it. Oh well, can't win em all. The game is currently set for a reboot titled "A Realm Reborn" Here's to hoping.

4.Lord of the Rings Online

Lord of the Rings Online was a really fun game, it had everything a fan of the series could want: Hobbits, wizards, rings of power, evil trying to harm you at every turn, as well as opportunities to interact with the characters from the stories. You could adventure and quest you could even farm your own pipe weed that would have different smoking animations when used it was a BLAST...at first...unfortunately this all gets kind of boring after awhile. The quests are repetitive and if you don't have a full group some of them are damn near impossible. The one really fun thing I did enjoy was role-playing at the inns. this is were you would talk and behave as if you were that character. This however was not enough to keep there long term. I would also like to note the housing system where you can your friends could buy houses on the same street and decorate them however you saw fit! while this was really cool and even added an element to the game of going questing just to decorate your house with swag, the brutal housing costs made it hard to keep your house unless you were more then just a casual gamer. If you are interested though the game as gone free to play which means it doesnt cost anything to download and there is no monthly subscription fee unless you want "Premium content."

3.World of Warcraft

What can I say about this game? Its the big daddy, the MMO by which all others are measured which has caused a slew of copycats that could never seem to recapture the magic. "So Chace, why isnt this game number one on your list?" you might ask. Well here's the thing. I have such fond memories of this game, my brother Nick, (getgib.blogspot.com)our cousins and I played this game with such joy it was awesome to get together start a guild and conquer the world of Azeroth together. Late night Lan parties and all nighters (sometimes all weekenders) it truly created some of my fondest memories because it brought us closer together. Now that being said WOW is expensive and it has a subscription fee and the game devolves into a never endng grind of constant raiding so you could get gear...to do more raiding. The sense of adventure was gone for me and while I stuck around for the first 3 expansions I knew it was time for me to hang up my helmet when the decided to go Kung fo panda. From what I understand the game is free to play now with some limitations if you interested i would definitely recommend checking it out as it was a very ground breaking game.

2. Guild Wars 2

This game is awesome and is the one I am currently playing. Once again we have a game which has a special place in my heart because the first Guild Wars was the first MMO I played with my Bro and cousins we loved that game and we love this one. The world is fresh and the story is compeling giving every player their own personal story to play through as the game progresses while introducing a fully voice acted world which is truly impressive. The combat system is a blast and so far I haven't gotten bored at all with it, the only draw back these days is finding time to play together lol. One of my favorite aspects of the guild wars series is that once you buy the game there is not monthly fee!

1. Age of Conan

If you don't know by now, yes I love Conan the Barbarian so when this game was announced I proceeded to immediately cum in my pants. This game is the shit I cant say it enough, and although I might be biased enough of my friends have told me they liked for me to know its not just me. First things first, this game is very adult oriented as any true Conan game should be, they get the world spot on staying true to the stories of Robert E. Howard and immersing the player into the Hyborian Age. The characters look amazing, the landscapes are  beautiful and the combat system is one of the most innovative Ive ever seen in any game allowing you to perform fatalities that other players can witness as well. The Lore and stories are amazing as they have the rich history of the Conan stories to work from. In the game you play in a world where Conan is the king of Aquilonia the capital city in the world. and are carving out your own legend. The only real problem I had with this game was that it is very graphic heavy and you need a fairly good rig to even pretend you can run it. While this was not an issue for me, a lot of my friends and family could not run it so i often found myself playing alone and while the game is very solo-able there were times I wish I could play it with other people.
This game is also now free to play for the basic game, if your PC can handle it, you'd have to be crazy not to try it.

Until next time boys and girls, don't forget turn in those quests.

GRANDPA GOLDURP'S GUIDE to MONSTERS, MYTHS and NOT SO NICE THINGS: Tarasque

Hello boy's and girls and welcome to the first installment of Grandpa Goldurp's Guide to: Monsters, Myths and Not So Nice Things. Today's ferocious frightening fanged fiend?
The Tarasque.

The Tarasque is a gargantuan creature 50 feet tall and 70 feet long. It is said to have 6 legs, the head of a lion, the shell of a turtle covered in spikes and a long tail that ends in a scorpions stinger or a spiked ball depending on the account! It is a remorseless killing machine that spends most of its time underground in the deep dark places of the world. Fortunately for most adventures it sleeps a great deal of the time from months to sometimes years!

It can eat almost constantly when it wakes and uses its desire for destruction to fuel its hunger. Beware should you ever encounter one boys and girls not only is it horribly powerful it is also amazingly armored its scaly hide can deflect most weapons and even some magic! It also has the damnable ability to regenerate making it damn near immortal! Its origins are unknown some say it is a curse from the elder gods some say a drunk wizard created it whilst trying to transform his pet turtle into a bride!

Stay safe in those dungeons kids and as always: don't forget to clear your inventory!

SOUND THE HORN: Top 5 RPG video game intros!

By now you may know that I love me some RPG video games, and one of my favorite things is when the opening to the game be it the music or what have you gets you pumped to play the game. So Here is my top 5 RPG video game intros.

5. Wild Arms (PSX released 1996 by Media Vision)

Its simple but somthing about it gets my jacked to go and fight the forces of evil, plus the animation is fantastic. The game itself is also very good based on a future where guns are very rare and considered magical.

4. Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX released by square 1997)

Final Fantasy tactics is my opinion the greatest turn based strategy/RPG ever made. The rich story combined with the incredible jobs system and intense combat made it a legend in my eyes. If you haven't played this yet, I don't know what your doing with your life.

3. Deadly Towers (NES released by Lenar 1986)

I included the box art here because I remember when I was little I thought it was the coolest thing ever, combine that with the awesome music that accompanied the intro story and I was in heaven. To be fair here though this game is a bastard, it has the NES rep equivalent that dark souls has for difficulty with none of the redeeming qualities.

2.Chrono Trigger (PSX port released by Square 1999)

Chrono Trigger is one of the best RPG's ever made by those warlocks and story telling masters at Square Enix. Even though the game was originally released for the SuperNES I chose the intro for the PlayStation  port because it has the amazing animated intro by the same folks that do the Dragon Ball series as well as the art for the Dragon Quest games. This game is awesome, a bunch of random heroes pulled from different time periods banding together to save the time stream? SIGN ME UP!

1. Wizards and Warriors (NES released by Rare 1987)

WIZARDS AND FUCKING WARRIORS! Once again the box art has a huge part to play with this choice but listen to that theme! To me its still one of the best themes Ive ever heard in my life. I have such fond memories of this game when I was little and me and my Pop stayed up all night to beat it. The game is awesome and still holds up to this day, its a really fun platform rpg game. If you have the means you have to play this it is addictive and a blast to play! Look out for doughnut wizards!

IN DEFENSE OF THE REALM: Willow

Ah Willow, quite possibly one of the most underrated fantasy movies of all time. This movie marks the only time (to the best of my knowledge) that a little person stared as the lead protagonist in a major motion picture and may I add that Warwick Davis knocks it out of the park. Warwick plays Willow Ufgood a farmer and aspiring sorcerer in a village inhabited by wee folk who call themselves Nelwyns. One day as Willow is trying to tend the pitiful crops on his struggling farm, his children find a child in a basket on the shore of the river. We know from the beginning of the movie that this is a special child that is being hunted down because she is foretold to bring the down fall of the evil sorceress Bavmorda.

 After a village council meeting Willow is chosen to return the child to the humans with his friend Meegosh, and after a short journy hand the baby over, all be it with reservations to the first human they meet: Madmartigan.(played by Val Kilmer.)

Let me just take a moment to say this is one of the few times I actually enjoyed Val Kilmer. He was great in this and it was in his pre batman rape days. Anyway, so they leave the baby with Madmartigan. As Willow and Meegosh head home they are attacked by a group of small forest fairies know as Brownies, who also have happened to steal the baby from Madmartigan. We find out from the Fairy Queen that the baby is named Elora Danan and she has chosen Willow for her protector. She then sends Willow off to defeat Bavmorda with baby Elora and a magic wand she has given him.  Along the way Willow and his party run into Madmartigan and together the have a few close calls with Bavmorda's daughter Sorsha who is now hunting them down. After a bit the group find themselves captured by Sorsha along with a benevolent sorceress named Raziel who has been changed into a rat by Bavmorda. Willow attempts to return her to her human form but fails. Eventually Willow and his group manage to escape and find themselves in a castle to make their stand against Bavmorda.
The movie is great especially for the time it was made.  I would absolutely recommend this movie to anyone looking to just enjoy a good film with a good story.

I give it two washed up Val Kilmer's cause after all he wasn't so bad in this.

SOUND THE HORN: Top 10 fantasy swords.

Just thought I would do a top ten of my favorite swords from works of fantasy. If I missed something you like feel free to comment and I might just do a readers follow up.

10. The Sword of Eddard Stark ( A game of Thrones )

 What is there to say about this sword, its amazing its simple, beautiful and horrifyingly large, one could debate if a sword that large would be effective in battle but do you really want to test the son of a bitch that can swing it?

9. The Father's Sword (Original Conan the Barbarian Movie.)

Some people might say they like the Aqualonion sword from the film but I think this one is beautiful, it just looks like a barbarians sword. I do however want to point out that in the books Conan doesn't have a special sword, any sword will do and he has no attachment to the weapons he uses.

8. Cloud's Buster Sword (Final Fantasy VII)

This one has a special place in my heart because it solidified my love for the RPG genre and I mean come on look at it. It takes some balls to bring a sword to a gun fight...but it helps if you can hide your entire body behind the sword.

7. The Sword of Omens ( Original Thundercats Cartoon)

Thundercats HOOOOOO! This was another bad ass sword, Not only was it telescopic allowing for it to be carried as a dagger and then transforming into a full sized sword, but it also granted the ability to see vast distances and spy on people TELEPATHICALLY!! not too shabby kitty cat.

6. Frostmourne (World of Warcraft.)

 The frozen blade of a lich king. Nice. Arthus' sword reflected what had happened to his mortal soul and is probably the most iconic weapon from the worlds most popular MMO.

5. The Ebony Blade. ( The Black Knight from Marvel Comics)

I love comics and the Black Knight is one of my favorite characters, every Black Knight has wielded the Ebony Blade. Crafted from a meteorite known as the Startstone by Merlin, the magic sword imbues the wielder with great power, however due to its use to kill so many innocents by a corrupted Black Knight it had become cursed and now slowly drives every black knight to madness.

4. Stormbringer (Elric's sword from the Elric series.)

A dark enchanted blade with the ability to drink the souls of its foes. It is a member of the demon race that took its form as a sword. If you haven't read the Elric books you are missing out!

3. Sting (the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings)

How awesome is Sting, I mean seriously and elvish blade that glows blue when orcs and goblins are around. Old Bilbo uses it to great effect against orcs, goblins and spiders in The Hobbit book. If you havent read it you really should it is a masterpiece but if you too lazy you should at least check out the film.

2. Icingdeath and Twinkle ( The swords of Drizzt Do'Urden)

Icingdeath and Twinkle are the twin scimitars of the dark elf
  Drizzt Do'Urden and despite being kind of fruity sounding they are pretty bad ass and he always has them with him on his adventures kind of like Indiana Jones and his hat. If you haven't read R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt series do yourself a favor and check it out. Its an interesting story of a dark elf fighting for good when the rest of his kind are quite the opposite.

1.The Master Sword (Legend of Zelda series)

This sword is awesome and has been a boon to many a gamer and fantasy fan alike over the years. This magic sword has gotten Link through many adventures trying to save that frosty princess in his endless quest to get him some of that. Oh and it SHOOTS FUCKING ENGERY BOLTS.
Well done Hyrule...well done.

LIGHT THE BEACONS!: Game of Thrones Season 3

Game of Thrones is a television series on HBO that is based on the book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R. R. Martin. I cant say enough good things about this show. Its masterfully done and stays very true to the source material thanks to being on HBO. The first two seasons were amazing and they have just released the trailer for the third season. If you get the chance check out this amazing series!

THE FANTASY FORGE: Finn's Golden Sword of Battle. (aka Scarlet)

In this series Im going to highlight props and items from various forms of fantasy mediums that are crafted in the real world, first up (since it was the inspiration to start this seres, Finn's Golden Sword of Battle (aka Scarlet) from the Adventure Time tv series. The sword is brought to life by master blacksmith Tony Swatton in his series Man at Arms: take a look.

Its amazing how he adds the nicks and scratches in the blade. I am truly impressed by the final product. Also If you don't happen to know, Adventure Time is a Cartoon that is currently on Cartoon Network and true fan of RPG's and the fantasy genre will love this show. Also despite being marketed for a young audience this is one of those masterful shows that has plenty of "hidden" humor for adults. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

IN DEFENSE OF THE REALM: Conan the Barbarian Movies.

  Let me just start by saying I REALLY LIKE the Arnold Conan movies. I really do, I think they were great even the second one despite being so campy, because even though it wasn't executed properly at least it was getting closer to the source materials. Now I say like then, not love them because I truly adore the works of the writer who created him, Robert E. Howard. The stories he wrote were amazing, this fierce warrior who had been a soldier, a slave, a pirate and a thief slaying his way to his ultimate destiny the throne of Aquilonia.  So when the new Conan the Barbarian movie was announced I was excited...then I saw this:

HOLY SHIT!!! THAT'S FUCKING CONAN!!!!
I was amazed at what I saw. Arnold was a big dude, but thats about as similar to the character from the books as he got. Jason Momoa looked EXACTLY like Conan, He was dark and brooding, He was big but also agile looking this was perfect. I mean compare the two..

Jason Kicks Arnie's ass all day long. Now lets get to the Actual movie. I thought it was incredible, the action was amazing the characters were great and the whole world just felt more like Hyborea then the Arnold movies ever did. Even the support characters felt more like they stepped out of the Robert E Howard books vs the Arnold movies.

The story was top notch,  Conan trying to take revenge on the evil warlord who murdered his father and their people and prevent him from raising a demonic witch queen bride to cover the earth in darkness. Fucking epic. We touch on his life too, as a thief and pirate we see a young Conan coming into his prime. Unfortunately the movie bombed. earning only around 48 million on a budget of 90 million. I guess people just arnt into fantasy movies...but wait a second the Lord of the Rings movies were huge...whats going on here? Well, its seems that the number one complaint around the general public was uniform...its not like the Arnold movies. Fuck me really? This move gets everything right except being like the movies that got most of it wrong. Now despite being set up for what was in my mind going to be one of the best trilogies in film history, the Conan franchise is scheduled to be rebooted again with Arnold once again taking the helm, this time as an aged King Conan. Don't get me wrong Im sure I'll be at King Conan opening night but I cant help but look at the Jason Momoa film and long for what might have been...

 I give the Jason Momoa Conan 3 Aquilonian Crowns. If you haven't seen it you should.