Welcome to the 2010 Xperience

For the few who may read this blog (Who am I kidding, everyone reads this blog), you may have noticed an absence as of late. This is not me falling down on the job, I promise you. On the contrary, I have been away, trying to better this blog and hone my sweet skills. I have done this by studying other blogs, writing some more, and figuring out how I can work in a podcast with this. And now that the new year is upon us, it is time for my glorious return. And with me comes some changes. First off, the name. Since the return of the Half Hour Entertainment Xtravaganza radio show looks grim due to my job and life, the name just doesn't seem appropriate. So now its thextravaganza.blogspot.com. Secondly, sometime this year we will be moving to a dot.com, but at the moment I'm poor and even the small fee it would take is tied up in other expenses. So look forward to that. And thirdly, along with a upcoming podcast, I am going to showcase more original blogs instead of just sharing with you the news of the day. And reviews will still be a big part.

Finally, and this is its own paragraph so people will see it, I realized during my soul (blog) searching that one man, no matter how awesome, cannot achieve the sweetness that I wish for this media blog to be, by himself. So I am looking for 2 maybe 3 people to blog for this site. So this is the official "Help Wanted" ad. Requirements: Must love media. This includes but not limited to at least some of the following; Video Games, Films, Television, Books, and the Internet. Oh and you have to be able to write. That's a given. If you are interested, email me at dankyn7@gmail.com with the subject The X Application. This email should include a general background of your love for entertainment media, and an example of your writing. Either an original writing or a review. And its gotta be new, not something you wrote a month ago.

So hope everyone enjoys the site in the new year. And if you like coming here invite your friends, your mom, a small nephew, really anyone who can use a computer.

Thank You, Loyal Ones,

Dankyn

News: Buffy News! And Good News It Is

Now we need to pray that it's true. Last week I reported that Dollhouse is getting the axe after the 2nd season ends in January, and not long after that Joss Whedon assured us we will know what his next project is before the show ends. He even hinted that some may already know. Now Scifi Wire has the scoop that Whedon and Co. are continuing Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a series of motion comics based of the popular Season Eight comic series. Oh and it's online, so no big bad company to crush it before giving it a chance to get people hooked. This will be amazing, if it's true.

Scifi Wire

News: Pirates of the Caribbean 4 Has New Director

Rob Marshall has announced that he will be directing the newest installment in the Pirates franchise and apparently Johnny Depp and him have hit it off. Having Gore Verbinski not in the drivers seat will be weird, but maybe we'll get a better film because of it. The last 2 were below par at best. Pirates could definitely use some fresh blood. Except for Depp. You gotta have Depp.

The Movie Blog

Trailer Park: Farcry

More like trailer trash. I need someone to please explain to me why game companies continue to sell the film rights of their big titles to Uwe-fucking-Boll! He butchers them. And Farcry looks to be no exception to this universal rule. In fact the only exception was Postal, which was still a terrible movie, but at least it was watchable.

Farcry is out next Tuesday on DVD, but if you want to torture yourself before hand, below is the trailer.

More Far Cry Videos

Mid-Review: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

If you are old enough to have held a controller anytime between 1985 and now, there is no doubt you've played a Mario game. And unless you are younger then 10, you've probably played a side-scrolling Mario game. If you fall within this demographic and either own or have access to a Wii, then you are obligated to play this game. Just the nostalgia factor along is worth the price of admission. Add on some multiplayer and new costumes and you have a must-buy, solid game.

At the moment, I am on World 3 and just finished the first castle (or fortress). I have been playing through the game in cooperative mode with my wife, and the first thing that should be mentioned is this game is hard. Not Lost Levels hard, but no stroll down Koopa Lane either. You will lose lives in this game, a lot of lives. And the penalty for getting to 0 lives is steep. You start over at the beginning of the level or last castle beat, with 5 lives and none of the power ups you just spent the last few days accumulating throughout the other worlds. It sucks. But it is better then having to start the game over from the beginning so I guess it could be worse.

As for the cooperative multiplayer aspect, it works very well, and is a hell of a lot of fun. That being said it can make some parts of the game easier, and some parts make you want to hurl the controller. It's not because there are multiple players, it because the game was made with a little competition in mind and one character accidentally jumping on another can cause them to spiral to a pit, or get hit by an enemy, or a thousand other things that can cause instant death. But don't get me wrong, it's a hell of a lot of fun and I would definitely suggest playing with someone else over solo.

So far New Super Mario Bros. Wii is exactly what you want from a side-scrolling Mario game, plus some. Out of all the shovelware out there for Nintendo's little system that could, this is a gem, and one you should own for sure.

News: More Sad News, This Time, the Death of Good TV

Io9 reported yesterday that Joss Whedon's Dollhouse will be dead in the water, following the current 13 episode second season, which is supposedly done in January 2010. This is sad news, not only for fans of good, engaging, television shows, but for Joss as well. Maybe this time he will learn to NEVER work with FOX again. But at least Dollhouse will get a finale, unlike Firefly (see: greatest scifi show ever!) which never even had a chance.

RIP Dollhouse, you will be missed.

Io9

Info: The Saddest News I Have Heard All Day

Made you curious, didn't I. That's because I want to share with you something that brought a sad Indian from the littering commercials, tear to my eye. JJ Abrams has been sitting on the film rights to Stephen King's The Dark Tower for a while now, and announced that the project is not going to happen anytime soon. I'm too choked up to continue. Just follow the link below to read the article.

Abrams says Dark Tower isn’t Happening