It's October... and this year, I thought it would be a great idea to do 31 days of Scare Pranks!
31 Days of Scare Pranks - Day 1
It's October... and this year, I thought it would be a great idea to do 31 days of Scare Pranks!
DOOM PATROL... Reviewed!
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided SDGT Entertainment with a free copy of the DOOM PATROL: The Complete First Season for the purpose of the review seen below. The opinions I share are my own, so without further ado... let's jump in.
DC's DOOM PATROL is an interesting show, to say the least, starting off with Eric Morden speaking in the third person (as a narrator) about how he came to be Mr. Nobody. I think it's fitting based on his... dastardly abilities. Mr. Nobody is played by Alan Tudyk.
The show is centered around a cast of scarred superhero oddballs, each with their own jacked-up backstory. It's safe to say most Superheroes have a jacked-up backstory but the focus of this review are the heroes in DOOM PATROL. One could argue that their personalities really make them stand out as oddballs... but I don't know, I've seen the personalities of other superheroes and some fit right in.
The DOOM PATROL goes from being stay-at-home Superheroes... to answering a call sent out by none other than Cyborg. He comes to them seeking their support to find the Chief who made a huge impact on their lives... regardless of how reluctant they might be to act. They can also be deemed as Cyborg's support group. While it's a show giving these four particular characters their shine as they come into their own, it also feels like Cyborg's road to the Justice League... which is cool.
DOOM PATROL gives you a variety of adventures... which are quite entertaining, and I like how the creators played their cards this season with the names of each episode. The team is named DOOM PATROL, and the comical superhero'ish group is put/zapped/jumped/sucked into different situations to accomplish a number of objectives on the road to track down the Chief.
Each episode ends with "Patrol", including S01 E05... which is titled "Paw Patrol", so looking at some of the titles... I was curious to see how it centered around the title. They're still cohesive... even when it doesn't seem like it. The flashbacks weren't a huge favorite of mine... because it felt abrupt at times, as they presented more character backstory.
The Cast:
Robotman aka Cliff Steele is played by Brandon Frasier... from The Mummy franchise.
Elasti-Woman aka Rita Farr is played by April Bowlby... from Two and a Half Men.
Negative Man aka Larry Trainor is played by Matt Bomer... from White Collar.
Crazy Jane, is played by Diane Guerrero... from Orange is the New Black.
The cast did a great job... even if I'm not familiar with anyone other than Cyborg. I say that to say... I don't know how spot-on the cast was with the other characters, but as far as Joivan Wade is concerned... I think they made a great choice. I've watched a crapload of Teen Titans, so hearing the actor talk... I smiled. There is one particular episode that involves him taking a dive... into a donkey, and if you know the anime version of Cyborg... you know what I'm talking about in terms of how he talks. Granted, it's not as animated but... you can hear it in the way he pronounces his words when he's worked up and speaks heroically. This made me curious about whether he was going to join the Justice League while in this show... and whether there was going to be a Cyborg Web Tv Series.
Cyborg aka Vic Stone is played by Joivan Wade... from Doctor Who.
Outside of Cyborg, I believe that Crazy Jane could possibly branch out into her own... if she can get a hold of herself. I'm curious as to how she would really take off as a superhero based on all the beings she has inside her. She almost reminds me of Ben10 except you switch out the aliens with her inner beings... because you never know what you will get from that mixed bag. Mr. Nobody starting things off as the narrator and got my attention... but so did she because she was actually the spark that set all this off by getting them to go out.
If you're wondering about the special effects & CG, I have to say they're not bad at all. It started off a bit wonky with the race track scene in the pilot, but... they seemed to improve beyond that as I dove deeper into the season's episodes (minus a scene or two). Regardless, it doesn't make or break the story, which gave enough of a spark in the pilot episode to boost my interest in watching more. I don't want to give any spoilers, but they rounded the season out well and I look forward to Season 2!
I listened to the show on 7.1 surround sound... which was enjoyable, outside of the theme music. It's fitting (I know its fitting), but I'm just not crazy about it. The intro is crazy and cool looking, so I don't have a problem with that... it's just the theme music. Special effects audio was solid, especially when that deep base would carry after someone used an ability that pulsates.
Anyway... Doom Patrol: The Complete First Season is available on DVD and Blu-Ray October 1st! It contains all 15 episodes, plus gag reel & deleted scenes. The DVD set is available to own at $24.98 ($30.99 in Canada) and on Blu-Ray for $29.98 ($39.99 in Canada). Doom Patrol: The Complete First Season is also available to purchase in digital format alone... but I think the better deal is to get the Blu-Ray version that includes a free digital version (score & score). I guess the price for these is okay, they land below $30... with hours upon hours of content to enjoy... even if $25 would really catch my eye for the Blu-Ray version.
The episodes are one hour each, released in 1080p Full HD Video (16X9 Widescreen Format) with DTS-HD Master Audio for English 5.1.
Running Time is 900 Mins
Enhanced Content: 25 Mins
Overall, I think Berlanti Productions did a solid job on this first season and I look forward to season 2. There is enough room to go even deeper... and it's uncommon ground for me, so I'd like to see where this crazy train goes. !Choo Choo!
Story 5
Visuals 4
Pace 5
Price 4
4.5 out of 5 Cool Points
FTS: Everything You Need to Know from MINECON Live 2019!
What happened?
The global Minecraft community tuned in to MINECON Live 2019 today, and the Minecraft team returned the love with sneak peeks into what’s in store for Minecraft in the months ahead.
Studio Head of Minecraft Helen Chiang summarized it today: “The Minecraft franchise continues to grow steadily, and we’re humbled by the passion our community shares with us every day. MINECON Live is just one way we’re able to celebrate our players around the world and we’re looking forward to all of the amazing updates and new experiences coming to the franchise in the weeks and months ahead.”
Gimme the News!
- Global Early Access and Adventures for “Minecraft Earth” are Coming – Early Access for “Minecraft Earth” will start rolling out in October. Plus, starting in Early Access, the “Minecraft Earth” community will be able to experience Adventures for the first time. Adventures are small slices of procedurally generated, limited-time Minecraft worlds that you play in augmented reality in life size and are just one of the experiences that are optimized for social multiplayer.
- Brace Yourself for…the Nether Update – We revealed the next big update to Minecraft, which will give the Nether a massive makeover and introduce two new mobs exclusive to the area – Piglins! We also showed off the new Target block (which will act as a projectile hit-detector) and gave a sneak peek into two all-new Nether biomes called Soulsand Valley and Netherwart Forest.
- What’s the Buzz All About? BEES! – We’re all buggin’ about bringing bees and beehives to Minecraft! The Minecraft bees will help pollinate crops and flowers, and during MINECON Live we introduced the Honey block that will have many fun new mechanics. The bees will arrive to both Bedrock and Java before the holidays.
- Blockify Yourself with Character Creator – Starting today (!) players can make a custom character in the base Minecraft game and “Minecraft Earth.” There are more than 100 free features to customize, including all hair, eyes, mouths, skin textures, facial hair, and body sizes, and there will also be a range of custom accessories, created by the Minecraft team, available for purchase. We designed the Character Creator as a flexible and fun way for players to make their gameplay experience even more personalized and we’re excited that there will be inclusive features like limb replacement included as well.
- From Screen to Table with… Minecraft: Builders & Biomes – We introduced Minecraft: Builders & Biomes from Ravensburger! It recreates the digital game in a shared, in-person experience complete with mobs to fight and a real block of resource cubes to mine. The game will be available in Europe starting in October and in the United States starting in November.
- Community Chooses Mountains Biome – During MINECON Live, we left it to the community to vote and decide which Minecraft biome would receive a major makeover first – either the Swamp, Badlands or Mountains. And the winner was…Mountains!
- The Future of MINECON – We’re excited to share that next year will be the return of a physical MINECON experience, called Minecraft Festival, a three-day celebration that will feature interactive exhibits, inclusive gameplay, tournaments, exclusive merchandise and meet-and-greets with creators and Mojang developers, alongside our digital global broadcast.
HELM Audio True Wireless 5 Headphones... Reviewed!
Clearly you know what this is... but let's unbox it anyway!
The box that the headphones came in is a really sturdy little box, I give it to them. It might be able to take a rough journey to your doorstep... though I wouldn't desire such a thing.
In the box:
In-Ear Headphones
Charging Case
USB cable
3 Extra Sets of Silicon Ear Tips (L, S, XS)
HELM Audio's True Wireless 5 headphones contain bluetooth 5, with TRUE 24-bit aptX... but how do they sound? Lets find out!
I jumped right in, looking for the smallest eartips... although for some reason they didn't really help keep the headphones in. So I went the next size up with slight pressure, placed them in, and prepared for lift off with a few music tracks, game trailers (of course), and some shows + movies.
The lows really stand out with these headphones. I was watching a film... where there was noise going on in the courtroom, but I clearly heard an actor drink water from a glass. The bass is cool, but I really like being able to hear those cool little additions clearly.
Just in case you're wondering what 24-bit aptX is exactly, it basically allows HD quality sound over a Bluetooth connection. Basic aptX allows supports 16bit, so with 24-bit... you go from CD quality to... better-than-CD quality (according to aptX's website). I don't have basic aptX bluetooth headphones laying around to test this out, but... I've had some in the past that had a bit more white noise than I was comfortable with.
Speaking of white noise... I notice it a bit more with these while listening to select ASMR recordings. These headphones are likely just amplifying the sound in the recordings, but... I wish they didn't as much. I turned other headphones down to about 30 to 40 and was able to eliminate that sound, but it didn't really work with these (at least at a volume that allowed me to enjoy the recording). I had to skip around until I found some that were good enough to fly under the headphones white noise radar. Sounds like a pain, but... when I found a higher quality ASMR recording... it's was like music to my ears (or should I say... whispers & taps to my ears?).
I can't forget about games... I love playing games with these headphones. I didn't play any PC games this time around... didn't have any time, but I was able to log some time on mobile games like... Wordament, Fire Emblem Heroes, Teppen, and... Hitman Go (I loved the way this game sounds which allowed me to enjoy plenty of crisp highs and... warm mids).
The HELM Audio True Wireless 5.0 Headphones feel like they're some good sturdy headphones, and able to take drops. They don't have that plastic exterior covering the entire headphones that you may see on the back... for the most part they have this thick water resistant silicon padding (IPX4 to be exact).The headphones have a range of 60+ Feet using a Helix antenna (standard school buses are about 30 to 40 feet long), and they've paired for me in less than 3 or 4 seconds... so you can pull them right out of the case and expect them to be ready for audio action by the time they hit your ears.
I was able to use these headphones almost half the day before placing them back in the case. I sleep for about 6 hours... and they were still playing ASMR recordings when I woke up (whether they were still in my ears or not). I was able to use the headphones and the case for more than a day before reaching for the USB. I don't know what the battery mAh is for the case, but HELM confirmed that I can get 30 to 40 hours of play time out of the headphones before charging the case. My test confirmed that I was able to go over a day easily.
The headphones take about 1.5 hours to charge and have 100 hours of standby time (according to HELM... but I haven't tested this out myself). The charge time is longer than others I've tried out, but the play time is double... so there is a plus on the flip side of that coin.
The quality of the phone calls is also good. To be honest I wasn't listening for the best quality, but no one said "could you repeat that?"... it was clear.
The comfort of these is... okay, but they don't stay in my ears that well. I found myself pushing them in more often than i'd like to admit or catching them on their way out of my ear. They have this little nub extending from the top part of the headphones... but it doesn't really do me any good (see above). I think its also because the ear tips are a slightly bigger than my ear canal, so they come out based on the pressure of the squeeze pushing them out.
My ear canals are not the happiest, but perhaps yours will be. I would mention tolerance level as far as how long I wore them, but they don't stay in my ears for a long period of time and will come out on their own. While sleeping I really didn't notice, but they weren't all the way in my ears when I awake in those rare cases they remain in.
I hopped back and forth between the smallest ear tips and the ones I used primarily, but... I don't know, maybe they will have a better fit for someone else. I think in a revised version, they can keep the stylish textured exterior, just form the body of the headphones to be more in the shape of what the ear's interior is shaped like (it helps that they sit on the auricle but the comfort level isn't a 10 for me).
The MSRP of the HELM True Wireless 5.0 Headphones is... $129.99, which is okay, but I think a price range between $99.99 & a max of $114.99 works better. My personal experience was okay, but... in order to enjoy the audio and the life of the batteries... I kinda need them to remain in my ears for a longer duration.
Overall, the HELM True Wireless 5.0 Headphones deliver a nice sound... great range (which works well when making your way around a home or even a decent sized gym). The headphones are also durable, and able to take on some sweat, mud, and... even a little rain. The price could use some work because there are options that fit a bit better in my ears, and... I'd look forward to a revision based on how awesome the battery life is.
Sound 5
Quality 5
Comfort 2
Price 4
4 out of 5 Cool Points
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