Blogcritics Author: Aaron Peck

DVD Review: Reno 911! The Complete Fifth Season Uncensored

Aaron Peck — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:51:48 EDT

... at the pace these deputies are going, I�m not sure if there will be much of Reno left.
One of the most popular shows on Comedy Central, Reno 911!, returns to DVD with the complete fifth season, uncensored.Reno 911! parodies the long-running police reality show Cops. Cameras follow around a group of inept sheriffs in Reno, and chronicle their time on the job. Like Michael Scott in The Office, as you watch Reno 911! it’s hard...

PC Game Review: Cubis Gold 2

Aaron Peck — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:41:06 EDT

A puzzle game that�s easy to learn and nearly impossible to master.
Cubis Gold 2, by Mumbo Jumbo, is a puzzle game that's easy to learn and nearly impossible to master.The goal of Cubis Gold 2 is to clear a predetermined number of blocks off of a board in a certain amount of time. The cubes come in six different colors: orange, yellow, green, purple, pink and blue. As three or more cubes of the same color touch...

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

PC Game Review Feeding Frenzy 2

Aaron Peck — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 01:57:05 EDT

There is just something about Pop Cap Games that is just so inherently addicting. Maybe it’s the simplicity and re-playability of them. Like many of their other games Feeding Frenzy 2: Shipwreck Showdown doesn’t disappoint.Feeding Frenzy 2 is based on a very simple objective: Eat all the fish smaller than you. Sounds easy right? Well, at the beginning it is easy. You plop down into the water as your first fishy character. You keep eating fish smaller than you, avoiding the bigger fish that are looking to snack on you. Once you eat enough fish you rapidly move up the food chain. As you grow, you can eat the bigger fish. Eat enough fish at one time and receive a “School Bonus.” Keep right on eating to receive “Frenzy” bonuses such as “Double Frenzy,” “Triple Frenzy,” “Super Frenzy,” and “Mega Frenzy.” A voiceover, who sounds eerily like James Earl Jones (but isn’t), announces what “Frenzy” bonus you’ve reached.Along the way you also are awarded with bonus levels where you have to complete a certain objective in a given amount of time. The most fun of these being the one where you get to jump out of the water eating bugs and doing flips in the air for style points, watch out for those pesky pelicans though, they’ll scoop you up in mid-air. Every so often during the game you switch to different fish. All along the way new power-ups, predators, objectives, and super abilities are added to the Feeding Frenzy fun.As an aquarium enthusiast myself, I quite enjoyed the little fishy facts that are provided at the end of each level. Where this game really excels is the ease of control. All you do is use your mouse to make your fish swim around the screen eating fish. One suggestion though, don’t play this game using a ball mouse (does anyone even own those anymore?), use only a laser mouse you can’t afford to be jumping around the screen as often ball mice tend to do.The graphics stay true to the simplicity of the game. Not too amazing and over-the-top, but just right for what the game is offering. The colors are fantastic; the music is very inviting and relaxing.Feeding Frenzy 2 is definitely addicting, easy to get the hang of, but nearly impossible to master. Always remember to never bite off more than you can chew, until you get big enough to eat the Killer Whales. Yes, you heard me, Killer Whales.

College student at Utah State University and movie reviewer for the university newspaper, The Utah Statesman.

TV Review: The Office - "Initiation"

Aaron Peck — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 21:23:15 EDT

Dwight Schrute has to be the oddest television character ever created. I’m a fan of the British version of The Office also, but in my opinion Gareth doesn’t hold a candle to Dwight. He’s just so crazy and over-the-top. The more screen time Dwight gets, the more I laugh.This episode was Dwight’s time to shine as he was taking Ryan (The Temp) on his first “sales call.” Dwight relishes being in control, trying to force his ridiculous ways on someone else. You could just tell by the title of this episode that none of this was going to turn out well for Ryan.Dwight takes him to the Schrute Family Beet Farm to “pass some tests.” First, Dwight makes Ryan kneel down in the field, which is covered in manure, to plant a beet seed.Dwight: “As you plant this seed in the ground, I shall also plant my seed in you.”Yeah, that quote made me cringe, too, but it was just as hilarious as it was cringe-worthy.Meanwhile, Jan is getting extremely fed up with Michael and how he does absolutely nothing. Every episode I watch I keep trying to understand how Michael actually got to where he is. Who would’ve ever promoted that guy? Jan assigns Pam to keep track of Michael hour by hour — she ends up writing only two things down, neither containing any mention of work.Today is Pretzel Day, where the building gives its tenants free pretzels. It seems that Stanley lives for Pretzel Day. But, if I worked at this place, it would seem this would be the only thing to live for.Over at the Stamford office, it seems Jim and Karen are getting very flirtatious, which I don’t mind that much. It doesn’t really add much to the show, but doesn’t really take anthing away either. One of the best additions to the show is Ed Helms (The Daily Show) as Andy, the rage-a-holic office worker.Back at the beet farm, Dwight drives off and leaves Ryan stranded in the middle of the field. Ryan walks all the way to an old rundown barn. Inside is Dwight, an old wheelchair, and a creepy coffin in the corner. He sits Ryan down in the old wheelchair, and begins quizzing him. I love when Dwight throws in Lost references. Remember in the second season where they went down to the warehouse and Dwight turns to the camera and says, “Remember on Lost where they met The Others?” Well, he’s quizzing Ryan in the chair and he says, “What’s the Dharma Initiative?” I about lost it. That was hilarious. Dwight gives Ryan a speech about fear and vanquishing his fears. Then Dwight’s weird Amish-looking cousin named Mose (I have no idea how he’d spell it) jumps out, FEAR in duct tape letters across the front of his shirt, ready to fight. Ryan finally gets up, tells Dwight he’s a freak, and leaves. Before Ryan leaves, Dwight says to him, “Okay, you don’t have to wrestle, just get in the coffin.”There was a scene at the end of the episode with Jim calling and talking to Pam. It was cute for a little bit, but it went on too long. They should’ve cut it shorter. We all know what those awkward conversations are like.This wasn’t as good as last week’s episode. I believe last week’s was one of the funniest there has been. But, this was another great one. I really am amazed at the quality of each episode. The writers really must spend a lot of time on these scripts. Seinfeld and Arrested Development were the only shows I can think of that were consistently funny all the time.

College student at Utah State University and movie reviewer for the university newspaper, The Utah Statesman.

TV Sneak Peek: Knights of Prosperity

Aaron Peck — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 17:50:13 EDT

Consider yourselves lucky -- you're getting the sneak peek of sneak peeks. The new ABC comedy Knights of Prosperity was slated to premiere October 17, but has now been moved to a mid-season premiere in January. This move will distance it from the frenzy of the fall premiere schedule, to give it a little bit more breathing room. Stephen McPherson of ABC Entertainment told the L.A. Times, "We feel it's so good, it deserves to have a strong launch." I have seen the pilot episode already and the question is, “Is Stephen McPherson right?” While Knights of Prosperity is not the funniest show I’ve ever seen, it has potential. And in this fall season where serial dramas rule supreme, Knights is a breath of fresh air.The premise of Knights makes it worth checking out. A group of down-and-out guys form a criminal band, they name themselves the Knights of Prosperity, and come up with a plan to rob none other than Mick Jagger. Anyone who wants to steal from Mr. Jagger is a friend of mine.The criminal band of miscreants is led by janitor Eugene Gurkin (Donal Logue, Grounded For Life), he's the one who actually comes up with the master plan of robbing the frontman for the Stones. Other members of the gang include a taxi driver, Gourishankar 'Gary' Subramaniam (Maz Jabroni, E-Ring); a local night-club bouncer, Rockefeller Butts (Kevin Michael Richardson, Clerks 2); and an attractive Hispanic waitress, Esperanza Villalobos (Sofia Vergara, Big Trouble).Knights has a great cast, and the characters they play are so off the wall they’re funny. There are actually a few cameos from Mick Jagger in the pilot episode, mostly of him showing off his new house in an MTV Cribs sort of way.With the number of new sitcoms this year completely dwarfed by the number of new dramas, there isn’t a big selection of new comedies to chose from. Knights of Prosperity definitely deserves to find an audience and have a good run. Whether fiction or not, I just want to see someone rob Mick Jagger.The Knights of Prosperity premiere has been moved from October 17 to January 2007, so I don’t have a specific time for it -- but keep your eyes open for it early next year.

College student at Utah State University and movie reviewer for the university newspaper, The Utah Statesman.