Rican's Free 2 Play Friday: Hero of the Storm - The Butcher (And the State of the Metagame)

Welcome to Rican's Free 2 Play Friday, a weekly look into free-to-play gaming such as MOBAs, MMOs, Team Shooters, and more! This week we look at one of the playable heroes from Blizzard Entertainment's Heroes of the Storm: The Butcher, from the Diablo Universe, and the State of the Metagame.


Whew~!

So how are you guys?

  I know, I know - I wasn't around last week, and for that I apologize, but here we are, with another Heroes of the Storm column! Here's what's happened in the past week and change: the Eternal Conflict has arrived, The Butcher is the first "Hero" to come from the event, and we got us a HUGE talent overhaul for most heroes (but specifically Support types). So without further ado, let's get into the meat of it all and look at: The Butcher!

Strawhat's Streaming Shows: True Detective - Maybe Tomorrow

Oh yes... that'll do nicely!

  After that near heart attack on last week's episode concerning Detective Velcoro's fate, I was glad this week let us know fairly early on that he was, in fact still alive. Three episodes in and it doesn't look like any other character is going to resonate or have that much depth as Velcoro (but before I get ahead of myself, I will cover Woodrugh's interesting solo storyline in a few...) - and potentially losing him would've been a crushing blow to the show. Unless Bezzeride's character steps up, I don't see anyone taking the mantle of lead. I am interested in the "why" of Frank as a main character - and his troubles, and solution at the end of the episode was a head scratcher.

Who brought the Quaaludes?

Syan Vs Movies: Terminator Genisys

He said he’d be back.  He said “Hasta la vista, baby,” and la vista es ahora, bebe! The Terminator franchise has a new installment and its Genisys has begun in this sequel-reboot. Time-travel shenanigans to the max!     

This is the face the audience makes
when Pops is on the screen

Terminator: Genisys tells us the story of Kyle Reese being sent back in time to protect Sarah Connor, the mother of the leader of the resistance, from being killed by a murderous robot known as a Terminator.  …wait, that sounds super familiar, isn’t that the plot of the original Terminator?  I meant what I said about time-travel shenanigans.  Genisys is a sequel and a reboot simultaneously, showing that each step back in time fractures reality somewhat, creating multiple different timelines.  This explains why Judgment Day has moved from 1997 to 2017, and all sorts of dates in between. 

The One Where Everything Ends: Marvel's Secret Wars

The latest episode of the The Syan & Rican Podcast is out!

"This Doombot is beautiful. I must have his face."
- God King All-Father Doom

Episode 22 - The One Where Everything Ends

All About Anime: Ladies Night- The Strongest Rolling Girls In The World

It's another All About Anime and today we are talking about two shows with a primarily female cast.  Both of these are recent additions to anime's illustrious line-up coming out within the last two years.  The pro wrestling anime Wanna Be The Strongest In The World debuted in 2013 in Japan, but came out only recently in English, and the coming-of-age zany action-comedy The Rolling Girls which is brand-new in 2015 in both English and Japanese.  Both feature strong women, hard work, weird jokes, and amazing animation. 

Pop idol by day, pro wrestler by night
"Not the face" has to be in Sakura's contract

Wanna Be The Strongest In The World tells the story of Sakura Hagiwara, a pop music idol who is a member of the group Sweet Diva.  She is their lead star when the group arranges a press event where the idols go to a local women's wrestling promotion Berserk to try out.  While there, one of Sakura's teammates in Sweet Diva speaks disparagingly of wrestling and irks one of the stars of Berserk, Rio.  Rio is angry and prideful, thinking it is disgusting that mere pop idols can assume they can make it in pro wrestling.  She takes the position of the long-term and established veteran who just hasn't made their own title run, but everyone has to go through in order to reach the next level... think Tyler Breeze's position in NXT with boobs and a camel clutch. Sakura steps into the ring to face Rio and it leads her into the world of pro wrestling full-time seeking a chance to be strong. Not just strong, but the Strongest in the World.

Strawhat's Streaming Shows: True Detective - Night Finds You

 Wait, what?

  I have this theory that HBO and George R.R. Martin have been such a good fit for each other because both take pleasure in messing with my emotions. Last episode I complained about the show being slow and having only one real character to get behind so far, Colin Farrell's amazing Detective Velcoro. And while I still stand by what I said about the season premiere not quite resonating with me the same way season one's premiere did, I can honestly say this second episode went over fairly well and might actually have been better as a season premiere. Except for some dialogue issues in the core of the episode.

"How do you kill that which has no dick?"

On the Last Episode Of... The No Kayfabe Zone (June 22-June 28)

Welcome to "On the Last Episode Of..." where we recap the past week of the ongoing saga that is "The No Kayfabe Zone." In this past week:

"Mondays..."

Syan Vs Movies: Spy

 Spy is the newest Melissa McCarthy-led comedy film to come out after she burst into stardom with Bridesmaids and her television series Mike and Molly.  McCarthy’s manic motor-mouth delivery has kept her in high demand for work in Hollywood, but a lot of people held reservations about this new film after the disasters of Tammy and Identity Thief made many believe her to be played out and a one-trick pony.  Thankfully, Spy is much more like her buddy comedy The Heat than either of those other two comedies.

Best spy action since Kingsman
played Freebird

Spy stars McCarthy as Susan Cooper, an FBI agent acting as the desk support to a high-level agent, Bradley Fine, played by Jude Law.  Cooper is nervous and awkwardly flirtatious with Fine, but he is oblivious to her feelings.  After a deadly villain, Rayna Boyanov, played by Rose Byrne, reveals she has data on all the active FBI agents, Cooper steps up to volunteer for the mission, as she had passed all of her field duty exams… with flying colors. 

KO Coverage By A KO Look-A-Like: UFC Fight Night 70: Florida- Machida vs Romero

The real-life version of Street Fighter's Ryu is back in action! Coming off a devastating loss to new #1 contender Luke Rockhold, Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida returns to the octagon to fight rising star Yoel "Soldier of God" Romero.  Can the aging Dragon come back with a win or will he fall to the Soldier's blade?

Hey, I get 3/4ths of the frame.
Star power, bitches!

Rican's Free 2 Play Friday: Marvel Hero - Doctor Doom

Rican's Free 2 Play Friday, a weekly look into free-to-play gaming such as MOBAs, MMOs, Team Shooters, and more! This week we look at Marvel Heroes 2015, the MMO/Action RPG's 2nd anniversary and their newest playable hero: Doctor Doom.

"Everything dies.

You. Me. Everyone on this planet.

Our Sun, our Galaxy. And eventually, the Universe itself.

This is simply how things are.

It's inevitable and I accept it."

  Marvel Heroes went from an almost unbearably unplayable Diablo clone, to one of the more creative Diablo clones in recent memory. Between character balance fixes, client upgrades, endgame content patches, and special events; it feels now more like an actual Action RPG/MMO than a regular ARPG with a wonky social component. Today I look at the big system revamps and events that have accompanied the game's 2nd year anniversary, and the release of one of the games original villains, and most requested hero/villain since Magneto: Doctor Doom.

"I openly loathe you, Richards!"