The Mandela Effect

I was listening to the radio a few years ago when the DJ came on the air and started talking about the Berenstein Bears.  You know the children's books from years ago,written by Stan and Jan Bernstein.   Now you may or may not have noticed that I have spelled the name Berenstein different than what is depicted in the picture to the right.  Well the DJ on the radio show was talking about how he swears that the name of the books from his childhood was written The Berenstein Bears and not The Berestain Bears.  

I listened to the radio show and thought they DJ was trying to pull a fast one and do some War of Worlds type hullabaloo.  So when I went home I went and got a box of old books out of the closet to easy my troubled mind that the books from my childhood were spelled correctly as The Berenstein Bears...but when I looked at the books from when I was a kid, they were spelled, Berenstain.  My mind reeled and I felt very odd and detached as the book in my hands was very different from what I remembered.  The world felt un-real to me in that moment. 

After gathering my thoughts, I went to my good friend Google and did a quick search to see I could figure out when it was changed and how on earth my books in the closet were switched out.  What I found quickly opened up a rabbit hole that I chased well past midnight that night.

The Mandela Effect

At the link listed above I found  a website created and ran by Fiona Broom and it was a collection of stories about people from around the world who remembered people, places, and events differently than what was accepted as the "Real History".  I read and read all night long about things that appeared crazy, such as when did Nelson Mandela die...did he die in prison years ago or was he still alive?  That specific factoid is where the name of the one of the most popular theories was coined.  

The theory is that people, either single or in large groups have lived a past that has a shared history but at some point they crossed over into a parallel reality that is similar to their original reality but different in some minor fashion. This theory is used to explain why so many people all believe that the real children's book name is The Berenstein Bears  and not the one with ..stain... in the name.

I don't have any answers, but if you get a few minutes then check out her website and see if any of the stories hold true for your memories.

The Long Dark, 4 Days of Night

I was drawn into The Long Dark well over a year ago when I found the game by Hinterland Studios on Steam.  The game is a sand box survival game set it the far north Canadian woods.  The game designers have been working towards a story mode release but in the mean time have opened up their world for us to explore and survive.  The game is really fun and has beautiful graphics, I often find myself exploring out of the way nooks just to see what it looks like.

I plan on doing a more involved review once the story mode is released but since Hinterlands Studio is doing a special Halloween event for the next few days, I wanted to take a few minutes and let everyone know about the event.  From October 28th - November 1st, the sun will not rise in the game.  You will attempting to survive in the arctic cold of the great north...with no day time!

The patch note also mention demon wolves...but I haven't run across any of those yet.  To help the players out the game light sources last longer and you can find fall/Halloween themed food that will help you stay warm and ward off the demon wolves.

I know it is a short event and game designers may not do it again until next year or they may not do it again at all.  So I encourage everyone who has played this game or thought about playing to give it try this weekend and check out the special event.

Have fun and I will be playing as well!

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Review

 I am a huge fan of Dragon Ball and all the continuing TV series aired on Cartoon Network back in the 90's and early  2000's.  I spent many an afternoon watching the adventures of Goku and friends and their antics to save the world.

Over the years I have tried out the Manga and found I didn't enjoy it as much as the cartoon though it does have its strengths.  I have also tried out several of the video games with Dragon Ball Z:  Budokai as my reigning favorite...at least until Dragon Ball Xenoverse came along.  I enjoyed Xenoverse 1 so much that On December 25th, I found myself at the local game store picking up my copy of Xenoverse 2 as soon as it became available!

 Xenoverse allowed you make an original character the Time Patroller and then take that character to all of our favorite moments in Dragon Ball history and set right events that the mysterious villain had changed.  Not getting into any spoilers about the first game, lets just say with a little help from friends you save the universe and time itself!

Now in the sequel, you once again make an original character.  Toki Toki City has become Conton city in Xenoverse 2, and is much larger than the previous iteration.  Once you finish the intro mission and training you a lead to the center of town where you have the option to choose a character from your Xenoverse 1 save data to transfer over to Xenoverse 2.  You can't play the character but you can see them immortalized in a holographic statue in Conton City for their actions in the previous game saving the universe!  You also will gain the equipped abilities and clothes from that character.  So you may want to fire up Xenoverse 1 and make sure your character is equipped with the abilities and clothes you want to transfer.

After the intro and character transfer you then have an open sprawling city of Conton city to explore!  and like the first game you have your time patrols where you will travel in time to set right events that have been altered, you can also train with various masters, conduct parallel quest (think "what if") events in Dragon Ball history, and eventually open up the skies of Conton city for you to fly around.

The fighting mechanics are quick and fluid and once you master the controls you find that each battle will play out quickly...for better or worse.   One aspect I was hopping would get added to the game was a Ki battle.  So no using a kamehameha wave and having to battle it out once your attacked meets your opponents ki attack.  This game is more of a you shoot and they shoot kind of sequence.

If you didn't like Xenoverse 1 then you may not care for the sequel.  The game shares the same game set up and mechanics, though the opponent targeting option does appear to work better this time around.

I would recommend this game to any Dragon Ball Z fans and suggest that fans of the older video games give it a chance as well.  It is currently available at most retailers, Amazon, and Steam for $59.99.


Pros (Things I like)

• Your character from the original Xenoverse is immortalized in Conton City as a hero for all to see!
• You can transfer from Xenoverse 1 some of you hard earned abilities and equipment, choose carefully.
• The portal between zone are easier to identity and use during mission than they were in the original.
• I love getting to see all my favorite Dragon Ball Z characters and Vegeta is as much fun as I remember.
• Multi-step missions are clearer in what you need to do and where you need to go than they were in Xenoverse 1.

Cons (Things I don't like)

• Having to get a license to fly around Conton City.
• You get the impression that Xenoverse 1 was a test to get right some of the game play in Xenoverse 2.
• The voice dubbing does not match up the animation of the character speaking, I know some people enjoy that aspect of dubbing to english but it has always gotten on my nerves.
• No Ki beam or special ablity battles of strength.

This War of Mine Review

This War of Mine is a strategy survival video game by 11 Bit Studios.  I first found out about this game via Paul Soares Jr. on his YouTube channel Paul Soares Jr. youtube Channel.  I have been an avid watching of Mr. Soares since his early Minecraft how to Survive videos and have found him a terrific source of new games since he branched out and began play testing new tittles.  I purchases the game on Steam and have been enjoying playing though the story.

This War of Mine at first glance is a simple point click and move your character around a side-scrolling map, but has a much deeper game play that is apparent at first glance.  The game loosely based up the siege of Sarajevo during  the Bosnian War (Wiki says 1992-1996).   You play a group of civilians that have holed up in an abandoned home and must scavenge, trade, and/or steal to survive.


The starting characters are different with each play though and have their own strengths and weaknesses.  Such as a strong character will have more equipment slots to bring home scavenged materials but may be much slower in movement.  While a quicker character may be a better negotiator or stealthier.    These traits will help shape how you play the game and who will stay home each night to guard the house from bandits or go out in search of supplies.

Like I said you start off exploring your house and discovering some meager supplies and what locations you have available.  Eventually you will open up more parts of your home and begin to equip it with the materials (wood, metal, and maybe parts of firearms) and equipment (rat traps, water purification system, or a alcohol still) to help your characters survive.  Each day is broken down to daytime and night time.  During the day you can rest and work on your home, but during the night you can select who will rest, be on guard at home, and who will venture out into the war torn city and look for equipment and supplies.


When you go out into the city you will encounter different locations and people.  Some of these will be hostile towards you, while others are in similar dire straits as your characters, and will be will to trade or need your help.  I found that my choices would not only affect the moral of my characters but how other NPC's would interact with my characters.

All in all, I am really enjoying the game.  right now the base game is available on Steam for $19.99


Pros (Things I like)

• Random starting characters, I found myself starting a new game just to see which characters I would receive
• The seasons and weather change, you may be warm one day and then the temperature plunges and you are in need of a furnace/heater in your home.

Cons (Things I don't like)

• the compressed time of day and night can be too short to get done what you would like to accomplish.
• Some of the game locations are darn difficult to get around with out a fight, I know its portraying a realistic atmosphere but man, does it get hard at times
• the game only saves after you have completed a full day, so you have to do all your day activities and then you night outing before you can save your actions.  that takes about 20 min. real time and is sometimes hard to work around with a toddler in the house.

No Man's Sky - Review, Ongoing Experiences

I have to admit that after my first exposure to No Man's Sky I was a bit overwhelmed and didn't really know where to go or what to do in the game.  I remember having a similar feeling when it came to learning about and playing Minecraft several years ago.

The open world...er open galaxy has taken some getting used to, and I love seeing the new worlds and how beautiful they are.  I frequently find myself stuck on a world having to go chase down resources so that I can power my thrusters or hyperdrive so that I can leave and find the next world that I am stuck on until I gather enough resources to get off world.

I am also following the path of Atlas and it is just interesting enough to keep me going and see what the next part will bring.  With me being busy out of town this month, it has been hard to make time to play any games, so this update is going to be brief.

I am going to continue my journey with No Man's Sky and will keep you all updated as I find more interesting things to talk about.  Oh yeah, speaking to alien races is fun and weird...I need a universal translator from Star Trek!



Pros (Things I like)

• Space is really cool and it is amazing that you can go anywhere you want
• The new worlds I have found have all been amazing, even the last one with its acid atmosphere!

Cons (Things I don't like)

• I quickly ran out of fuel when trying to speed to a a planet once I was in system.
• Supply grind, I am stranded on each new world until I gather enough resources to move on to my next world...were once again I am stranded looking for supplies and materials.

Star Wars Rebels Season 3 Premier "Steps into Shadow" Impressions

I have been a Star Wars fan since the day I went to the drive in movies with my dad to see Return of the Jedi as a kid back in 1983.  Like a lot of other people I was enamored with the idea of a space opera and all the sights sounds of aliens, alien worlds, star ships, and the world that George Lucas brought to life on the big screen.  So dad and I went home from the drive in theater and it was all i could talk about...that is until he told me it was the third movie of a trilogy!  There were two more I movies that I hadn't even known existed!

Skip ahead several years and a few hundred times of having watched the original Star Wars trilogy and I come across the Timothy Zahn's "Heir to the Empire" in 1991 and boom, mind blown again!  Not only do I have the original films but a whole written universe that approved by Lucas himself.

My love for all things Star Wars has continued to grow.  Through the release of the prequels, various video games over the years, the animated Clone Wars Shorts, and eventually with the animated Clone Wars cartoon (which is fantastic!).  I was heart broken to learn that the old novels were no longer going to be canon after the Disney purchase...but found my spirits lifted with the announcement of new movies and a new animated series!

Now three seasons into Star Wars Rebels, all I can say is wow!  I know it sounds totally cliched and I have several friends who are not fans of the new series and feel they were betrayed by the cancellation of The Clone Wars series.  I understand the necessity of the change by Disney, but I miss the stories and characters so much!

Well Disney brought us one of our favorite clone troopers last season, Rex.  Then our favorite ex-Jedi apprentice Ashoka Tano was revealed to be in the show!  Now in season 3 we have one of Timothy Zahn's best characters brought back to Star Wars canon...Grand Admiral Thrawn!

Warning some spoiler below









We find ourselves some time after the events of the season 2 finale.  Ezra has grown and stepped up in a much larger role in the rebellion.  While Kanan has withdrawn and secluded himself from this friends and allies.  The team is conducting a prison break of our favorite scoundrel Hondo.  It looks a bit bleak as the prison break goes sideways, that is until Ezra breaks out some very disturbing force puppetry with the Storm troopers and walker.

I won't do a blow by blow of the episode but we are shown a darker Ezra who is willing to do what ever is necessary to safe/help his friends.  A Kanan who discovers a his lost sight..sort of.

I enjoyed the episode.  The physical changes in Ezra were a little jarring but by the end of the episode it didn't phase me anymore.  For me though the highlight was the introduction of Grand Admiral Thrawn!  He is finally part of the new Star Wars canon and I can't wait to see how his role plays out over the season.  We left of with a more upbeat ending but it was a bitter sweet victory and as the Empirials stated, The rebels fight so hard for such little gain.

T.I.M.E. Stories Review

Since we have started playing more and more board games, I have been reading about various games online.  T.I.M.E. Stories has come up time and time again with each review singing its praises but remaining vague about the game itself.   Claiming that the persons didn't want to spoil too much for others.

Now having purchased the main game and its story Asylum, I understand what they meant.  The game intriguing and kept us on the edge of our seats as we worked through the story.  You are a T.I.M.E. agent in the future and you are sent back in time to specific location to find out what is causing an anomaly and then fix the problem.
The game comes with the Asylum story and you as the player are sent back into a vessel.  Its like, the TV show Quantum Leap.  You are occupying someone else for the course of the adventure.  So you have that characters abilities and drawbacks.  You then explore the environment and interact with characters in the game.  It is a who-dun-it, you have to figure out what is going on, who is involved, and how to stop it.  All this with only 60 time units for a 4 player game that can be spent.

The good news is that if you die, fail, or run out of time units you get to come back and try again.  The downside is that it is all set and you are faced with the exact same problem.  So the more you fail the better you should do next time, at least until you complete the scenario.

Once you complete the scenario you are introduced to the game mechanic where you gain a boon in the next upcoming mission.  The level of the boon is equal to how quickly and how well you competed the Asylum mission.

I would recommend you follow the instructions about how to handle each card.  It helps create the atmosphere and makes you feel more like you are in a fictional story.  Specifically that only the player that is attempting to inspect/look at something is aloud to read the game card.  Then they are permitted to relay the information.  For us one of clues was a picture and we had a fun time with the player describing what he saw!

We enjoyed the game.  It was new and exciting.  We did find ourselves frustrated with one of the riddles but eventually solved it.  With that solution we were ecstatic about finally finding the solution!


With the game game priced around $50.00 on amazon, it is worth picking up.  Just be prepared that it won't have a lot of replay ability once you complete the mission.  They designers want you to move on and get the next mission.  We have already pick up the next scenario:  The Marcy Case (1992) and can't wait to try it out.



Pros (Things I like)

• A very good looking game, with a lot of different game pieces and markers

• Plays very quickly and set up easy as well.

• We were hooked early on.  The game is very engaging 

• The game box is set up to "save" the game and keep track of who and what each player has received during the current session.  The instructions even have a labeled example of where everything goes.
• We are looking forward to the next scenario:  The Marcy Case (1992)

Cons (Things I don't like)

• The rules are very vague and leave much to be desired about actual game play.

• Very little replay ability with each adventure.  One you finish a scenario you really can't play it again.

• We were stuck at one point with one of the riddles in the game.  The mechanic to solve it wasn't very clear and took us just long enough to frustrate most of the players.

• The instructions are not very clear about how to set up the board, at least beyond the game deck and map.  We used a youtube video to see how they set up parts of the board.