I was a guest on the the latest episode of Rock Strikes 10, a radio show podcast hosted by my new pal Joey Haynie, who works at my favorite store, Half-Price Books. We discuss 10 KISS songs we believe are underrated. I cover the original makeup era while young whipper snapper Joey handles the rest. You may agree with some of the selections, but others may make you barf. Either way, we think you'll enjoy the conversation and at least some of the songs.
Gamer
and hard rock music fan Metal Jesus is a super successful content creator for
YouTube, having recently passed the 300,000 subscriber mark. In advance of
Retropalooza, occurring at the Arlington Convention Center Oct. 1-2, he was
kind enough to answer a few questions about his awesome video game channel,
MetalJesusRocks.
WEISS:
Describe what you do on your channel to someone who has never seen any of your
videos.
METAL
JESUS: I am a long-haired rocker dude who runs a popular YouTube channel
dedicated to retro gaming with a heavy metal soundtrack. With the help of the
Seattle gaming community, I cover Hidden Gems, Buying Guides as well as the
popular I HATE U series, Gamer Eats and much more. I was also an employee at
mega publisher Sierra On-Line in the ’90s, and I bring my love of big box PC
gaming to my channel as well. New videos on Tuesday and Friday every week!
BRETT
WEISS: When and why did you come up with the name Metal Jesus?
METAL
JESUS: I worked a corporate job with a lot of people in cubicles and button
down shirts. However, I typically wear rock t-shirts (just like my videos!) and
I had thousands of rock and metal songs on my computer that was shared out for
anybody to listen to. One day in a meeting, a fellow coworker called me “the Metal
Jesus” and it just stuck!
WEISS:
When did you first start making YouTube videos, and what got you into it?
METAL
JESUS: I started doing YouTube seriously in 2010. That’s when I decided that
YouTube wasn’t just a “hobby,” but something I was going to consider like a
second job, which it is. I have been a lover of shooting and editing video
since I was a kid and now I can fulfill that dream on YouTube. But the best
part is that people seem to appreciate it, and for that I am eternally
grateful.
WEISS:
Are you inspired by other forms of media or other content creators?
METAL
JESUS: I pull inspiration from almost everything: film, TV, documentaries,
other YouTube channels, commercials, music videos. A specific example is a
gaming party video I shot a few years ago. When it came time to edit it, I
watched a bunch of MTV shows to see how they edited random party footage. They
did things like speeding up and slowing down footage, crazy filters and just
the pacing of the cuts. I used that to give me some direction on how I would
take my video, and it worked pretty well.
WEISS:
Why travel from Seattle to North Texas to appear at a video game convention?
METAL
JESUS: I have known the Game Chasers for a while now, and they invited me to
come down this year and check out their expo. I’m excited to meet new people
and buy from new vendors!
WEISS:
Have you been to North Texas before?
METAL
JESUS: My wife is from Dallas/Fort Worth, so yes, we’ve visited her family a
few times before. Texas is quite different than Seattle, but I love traveling,
so it’s exciting to get away from home for a while.
WEISS:
Are you going to have a panel at Retropalooza?
METAL
JESUS: I’ll be doing a panel with Brittney BlondeNerd at the expo in regards to
social media and YouTube. It should be very entertaining and informative for
those people looking for some insight into doing YouTube for a living. I’m
excited for it!
WEISS:
Anything else you care to share with Dallas/Fort Worth gamers?
METAL
JESUS: Bring your vintage ’80s and ’90s big-box PC games to the show, because I
want to buy them from you!
Retropalooza
Arlington
Convention Center
1200
Ballpark Way
Arlington,
76011
Saturday
9 A.M. - 5 P.M., $20
Sunday
10 A.M. - 5 P.M., $10
Weekend
pass: $25
Kids
12 and under free when accompanied by a ticket-buying adult
Thanks
to the augmented reality app ,
you can use your smart phone to catch animated creatures in the physical world.
On October 13, Sony is releasing the PlayStation VR, a highly immersive virtual
reality device (for the PlayStation 4) you can now try at select Best Buy and
GameStop locations.
The is on its last legs, but Nintendo fans eagerly anticipate the
Nintendo NX (working title), set for release in March of 2017. The NX is
rumored to be a console/handheld hybrid of sorts, but Nintendo has been
secretive about system specs, controller design and other details. New versions
of the PlayStation and Xbox are in the works as well.
Meanwhile,
there are tons of noteworthy new and forthcoming titles, including a bevy of
A-list sequels for the , and .
Three
of the games listed below are playable now, five are coming soon and one has
been delayed until 2017.
It’s
not football season without the advent of a new “Madden” title, andMadden NFL 17, the 28th game in the long-running
series, does not disappoint.
In
addition to tweaking the defense (“Defenders seem to be smarter and more
effective playing their zones,” writes ’s Allen Kim), the developers have improved the running game and
Franchise mode for a more authentic experience. There’s also a new Play the
Moments mode that lets the computer control most of the action while the player
steps in during key situations. This is ideal for busy gamers with less time on
their hands.
A
game that is easier and more enjoyable when played with friends (online or
local), Metroid Prime: Federation Force
tasks you, as a generic soldier (not Samus), with an assortment of missions on
three distinct planets. After hopping in a battle mech suit and selecting from
a number of limited resources (health packs, weapons, missiles, etc.), you’ll perform
such tasks as pushing cargo crates, confronting bosses and defending an uplink
terminal, all the while battling such enemies as Space Pirates and Goliath
Beetles.
When
Federation Force, which is a
cooperative first-person shooter (as opposed to a more exploratory type of game
like the other titles in the series), was first announced at E3 2015, many fans
scoffed. Now that it has arrived, you can play it to decidefor yourself if
it is worthy of the “Metroid” name.
Do
you have kids who enjoy playing dress-up? If so, you may want to grab a copy of
Style Savvy: Fashion Forward, which
lets players do much more than just change their characters’ outfit. Budding
fashionistas can design clothes, work as a hair stylist, model clothing, decorate
rooms, create a photo album, run a boutique and become a makeup artist.
More
elaborate than the previous game in the series, , Fashion
Forward features more than 1,900 items to choose from (up from 1,200+), and
there’s a more involving storyline. One setback is that you can’t give male
characters makeovers.
The
18th game in the increasingly elaborate “NBA 2K” franchise, NBA 2K17 releases Sept. 20 (pre-orders hit
Sept. 16), but gamers can get a jump on the action Sept. 9 with a downloadable
demo that lets you play through the college portion of MyCareer mode. Said
mode, which works in conjunction with the mobile face-scanning app, lets you
select from 10 college teams. The standard game includes all the NBA teams, of
course, plus Olympic squads and 21 EuroLeague teams.
Other
features include recognizable NBA players, customizable teams and the ability
to create your own player using such attributes as height, wingspan and play
style, such as glass-cleaner, shot-creator or sharpshooter.
The
follow-up to for the 3DS, Color Splash is the
fifth game in the franchise, returning the series to where it belongs: your
television set. Players guide Mario as he explores a colorful, cartoonish world
called Prism Island, using his new paint hammer tosolve puzzles, revive
color-drained Toads and repaint areas that have been de-colorized.
Battles
are turn-based, and Mario uses a battle card system (as opposed to the stickers
in Sticker Star) to summon allies and
items, and to attack enemies with his hammer or by jumping on them. The Wii U’s
gamepad touchscreen is used to cut out pieces of the environment for overcoming
certain obstacles.
First-person
shooters are the bread-and-butter of the gaming industry, but the “Gears of War”series remains devoted to the less
ubiquitous but still viable third-person shooter genre. The fourth main
installment in the franchise keeps the basic gameplay intact, but adds various
new features, including a shoulder charge maneuver, combat knife executions, a dropshot
weapon that fire explosive drills and a buzzkill weapon that fires ricocheting
sawblades.
Gears of War 4 is set 25 years
after , with players,
as J.D. Fenix, rescuing loved ones and battling and discovering the source of a
terrifying new enemy (there’s more of a horror vibe this time around). A second
player can join in (locally or online) as Kait or Del.
The
uber-popular “Call of Duty” first-person shooter juggernaut soldiers on (so to
speak) with Infinite Warfare, which
developer Infinity Ward says “returns to the roots of the franchise where
cinematic, immersive storytelling takes center stage as told through an
unfolding large-scale war and epic battles.”
This
time around the action takes place in a “grounded future” on an assortment of
asteroids, moons and planets. As Commander Reyes, gamers lead what remains of
Earth’s army against the evil Settlement Defense Force. Modes include Campaign,
Multiplayer and Zombies, the latter of which transports players back in time to
a 1980s amusement park.
Delayed
for years, Final Fantasy XV is
finally hitting stores Nov. 29. The long, tortuous (not to mention torturous) path
may ultimately pay off as director Hajime Tabata has promised a classic, -influenced experience
with a new approach: “Rather than having a linear progression where you have
each scene with the drama and storytelling tightly packed,” he said in a recent
interview, “you’ve now got this open world you’re free to travel around, and
you have to put the storytelling within the environment.”
The
game will be more action-oriented than previous instalments in the series, with
players, as Noctis, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Lucis, mastering
weaponry and magic for use in fighting real-time battles against enemies and
creatures. It’s a one-player experience, but in-game associates assist Noctis.
In
1998 (1997 in Japan), the “” franchise debuted on the original
PlayStation, bringing gamers the most realistic racing simulation ever produced
for a video game console. The latest iteration is Gran Turismo Sport, which series creator Kazunori Yamauchi, a
real-life racecar driver, has called the first in a new generation of “Gran
Turismo” games.
The
seventh primary “GT” game, Gran Turismo
Sport, which was supposed to release Nov. 15, features more than 140 “Super
Premium” cars you can race on 27 different tracks, including the Nürburgring,
the Tokyo Expressway and the Northern Isle Speedway. You can play offline,
building your personalized garage and competing in Campaign Mode and various
Arcade challenges, and you can race other drivers from around the world in an
assortment of events, challenges and leagues.
Nine More Games to Look Forward to in
the Coming Months:
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney—Spirit of
Justice:
Nintendo 3DS; Sept. 8.
Mafia III: PlayStation 4,
Xbox One; Oct. 7.
WWE 2K17: PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One; Oct. 11.
Skylanders: Imaginators: PlayStation 3,
PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U; Oct. 16.
Battlefield 1: PlayStation 4,
Xbox One; Oct. 21.
The Last Guardian: PlayStation 4;
Oct. 25.
Titanfall 2: PlayStation 4,
Xbox One; Oct. 28.
Dishonored 2: PlayStation 4,
Xbox One; Nov. 11.
Star Trek: Bridge Crew: HTC Vive,
Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR; Nov. 29.
