DRAGON AGE Review

These days it seems like RPGs are not as good as they should be. Either the story is cliche or characters are annoying. Dragon Age: Origins is the latest RPG from Bioware, who have made some of the best roleplaying games of all time, such as KOTOR, Mass Effect, Jade Empire and Baldur's Gate. It's a fantasy RPG that is basically a more mature/adult version of Lord Of The Rings.

It might have the best story I've seen in a video game! Usually it is in a good novel or foreign film where you find a story this amazing, not a video game. One word describes this game - EPIC. As the game unfolds you cannot help but say the words "epic" and "amazing" to yourself over and over again. You also get alot of choices in this game (ie: whether to kill someone or help them out), doing good or bad things not only effects your character in the game, but the world and story as well.

Bioware really has crafted an amazing game with so much depth that it's scary. You can just run through the main questline if you want, or you can do tons of side quests in each city, which really adds to the game. As you level up, you get to pick new moves and such for your characters. You not only control your main character but you control three others too. When you go into combat you can pause the game and set-up your moves, or you can just jump in and fight in real time. The combat is not just hack and slash fighting, it's a combination of realtime and turn based action.

This is Bioware's best game since Baldur's Gate and KOTOR, and in my opinion the best RPG in the last five years or so. It's very rare that a game like this pulls me like this, I literally felt like a young kid while playing. It is very well crafted and has a high fun factor. If you want a big adventure this winter that can last you anywhere from 30 to 70 hours, then please do yourself a favour and pick this up.

Not only the game of the year so far in 2009, but the best RPG this generation for videogames, simply an amazing game that everyone should try out.

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http://movie-music-videogame-reviews.blogspot.com/

OZ Season #1 - #6

Rating = 10/10

Oz is the nickname for the Oswald State Correctional Facility, formerly Oswald State Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison (level 4) at an undisclosed location.

Its very rare that a TV series like this comes along. When I was younger I thought this show was going to be silly or gross and just not my type of show. But when I grew up a little over the years I thought to myself "Lets watch this show in order and really give it a try", and boy am I glad I did.

OZ is set up in a Prison, A Maximum Security one at that. The episodes are each an hour long (no comercials if you are watching it on tv as its on HBO), and they each feel like a full length movie to me.

Amazing stories, fantastic acting and some of the best writing you will come across EVER. How can a show that is in a PRISON be so good you might be asking? Well not only is alot of this stuff entertaining but its got a meaning/message behind the violence, curse words or nudity.

Most tv shows have a good guy, bad guy,etc.... There is no such set up in OZ. Let me say this right away, there are a ton of BAD guys here, that at first you might hate or think are gross and discusting. But If you pay attention to details and watch every season, you will begin to feel for alot of these so called "bad" characters/people. Some of the prisoners are definatly people who have done terrible things in the past, but some others where Lawyers who just made one mistake of drinking and driving and hitting a young girl while driving and then being sent to this place with people who have killed there whole family or multiple people. What would you do if this happened to you?

The way the characters try to deal with everyone else, themselves,etc... is very well done in this. The people who wrote this show spent a few years going from prison to prison across the states and learning the ins and outs of the prison system. So some of the stuff in this show was taken from real life situations, while others are made up or changed a little.

Its also not just about the prisoners, but the people who work with the prisoners. The nun, the warden, the officers, docters,etc.... The main part of the prison that we see most of the time on the show is in what is called EMERALD CITY. Which is an experimental part of prison where the inmates get a little more leway,etc.. and is kind of on a trial basis to see how it works. Also a very good cast to on this show, a very good mix of Hispanic, African American, Whites and Mexicans.

Below I will post some pictures of some of the actors in the show and a few details about them

Tim Mcmanus

The guy who runs Emerald City, and the only one ahead of him is the Governer and the Warden. He runs the Emerald City and basically is the one who wants to try this new way of doing things. A good guy at heart, who is terrible at relationships and sleeps with alot of the coworks lol.

Vern Shilinger

This guy below is a white supremist, who hates drugs and of course people that are not of his race. A very intense and hard character for alot of people to tolerate (myself included as I HATE racism). Basicall he is the leader of the white supremacy group.

Simon Adebisi

From Africa originally and is the gang leader for the homeboys as the say on the show. He is a very violent character who enjoys his drugs, but someone who is also struggles later on to find himself and his past. A very interesting character I thought. And for you fans of LOST, yes this is the same dude, only earlyier in his acting career and more of a bad dude then on that show hehe.

Sister Peter Marie

One of my personal favorite characters on the show. She is a Nun and phsycologist (Im to sleepy sorry for that) but she also struggles with the limits that being a Nun puts on here love life. She became a nun after her husband died, and still longs to be comforted and loved by someone.

Warden Glen

not much to say about him, other then he is the warden and has some interesting story lines during the 6 seasons that this show went on.

Ryan O'Reily

Member of the Irish and one of the MaIn characters that you will see on OZ. Another one of the more interesting characters on the show in my opinion. As he has done some horrible things, but he also is deeply inlove with someone on the show and also takes care of his younger brother and loves him to death aswell. Gets alot of respect in OZ from the prisoners and the workers aswell.

Miguel Alvarez

As it says above, he is a member of the Latinos and is very crazy and hard to understand for alot of the shows. He can snap at anytime and is very unpredictable.

Kareem Said

The leader of the Muslims and one of the people that most of OZ looks up to at least to some degree. Very deep character this one with alot of issues himself, although he tries to help his fellow muslims out when ever he can. He was sentenced to 18 years, eligable for parole in 5.

Tobias Beecher

Beecher is under the OTHERS category that they have in OZ. He was sentence to 15 years after he was driving intoxicated and killed a young girl while driving home drunk after work and then the bar. He is your normal everyday guy who was a LAWYER outside of prison and a dad with a good family. One mistake put him in jail with all these manicans. Very interesting characer because he could be any of us if we made ONE bad mistake. His life changed so drastically thru each season of OZ. Especially since the first day he got there to later on. He also gets into a relationship with another pison inmate while in jail.

There are soooo many more characters, but I am getting tired, so I will leave it at this. If this interested you in anyway at all, PLEASE go and buy or rent the first season of this amazing show and PLEASE give it a chance... it has some very extreme situations and themes that have to do with violence, sex, crimes, etc... but its so much deeper then all that. Give it a chance with an OPENMIND and you will be rewarded by one of the best TV shows of all time. It really is just like 8 movies each season (16 for one of the seasons. I personally own all teh seasons and its one of the best purchases Ive ever made. Its rare that I watch a show more then once over again, Ive seen OZ 9 times so far and currently watching it again, its just a perfect show if there ever was one

This show is up there with Deadwood, The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Rome, The Shield, Simpsons and South park as my favorite tv shows of all time.

I will leave you all with a few more random OZ pictures

One of my fav characters this guy, doesnt come in till a little later though

Well here are a few random pictures from over the years of myself. Thought it was about time i post a picture or two on my profile here on gamespot.

Please dont laugh hehe

This picture is of me when I was in Brazil with a friend of mine. Sitting in the sun having a drink hehe

Random picture, think I was just on my way out the door for school. Think the silly face was for my girlfriend at the time who was takign the picture lol.

Just a random picture here

A funny picture from Brazil, I am way to drunk and we are having some drinks before goign out to the bar with some friends

And this one is a random one with the xboxlive webcam lol

One of me cold chillin

Picture of me with my sister on her grad day

And this one below is me trying to give my best THIZ FACE, as Mac Dre use to do (with my Mac Dre tshirt lol)

Silly pictures yes, but thought I would just post some pictures from over the last 6 years

This is hands down the best rap album i have heard in 14 years.
Not since 2Pac's - All Eyez On Me has a westcoast rap album been this perfect. Not only the best rap/hiphop album in years, but one of the few albums from recent years that has 18 out of 19 songs that are great and only one bad song.

I havn't enjoyed alot of todays hiphop, but this is a breath of fresh air from The Bay Area's The Jacka. Great beats, good lyrics and just an overall package that has been missing in hiphop for many a moons in my opinion.

This album comes out next week! (The 16th!) So go out and buy it! (I have my copy preordered on amazon!). Myspace was doing a preview of his album all this week, palying all the songs from the album, thats how i heard it early.

Hiphop/rap music use to be so much better back in the day, it seeems like todays rap music is so watered down and stale, but this album is differnt and a 9.5/10 for me personally.

This album brings me back to the early 90's/late 80's when hiphop was at its best and when it was respectible.

The album features "Cormega, Mitchy Slick, Andre NIckatina, Freeway, Devin The Dude,Planet Asia,E40 and more"

My favorite songs on the album are "Greatest Alive", "Storm", "Summer" and "Callin My Name"

Movies

- Sukiyaki Western Django

- Frozen River

- The Dark Knight

- Changeling

- Let The Right One In

- The Visitor

- 4 Months, 2 Weeks and 2 Days

- The Fall

- Slumdog Millionaire

OTHER NOTABLES = The Wrestler, Mad Detective, Gran Torino, Our Mother, Che and Appalosa

VIDEOGAMES

- Left4Dead

- Metal Gear Solid 4

- Kings Bounty: The Legend

- Lost Odyssey

- Crysis Warhead

- The Last Remnant

- NBA2k9

- Gears Of War 2

- TIE - Ninja gaiden 2 and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2

and

- TIE - Mirrors Edge and Tales Of Vesperia

and

Other Notables = Fallout3, Battlefield:Bad Company, Resistance 2, Deep Space, Prince Of Persia, NHL 09, Too Human, LBP, New Banjoo, Fifa 09, COD:WAW,Farcary2, Braid and Sins of a Solar Empire.