Remembering Xbox Live Arcade era 2005-2024

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, there's a particular Xbox exclusive digital distribution service I always respected. This was a major factor why I sticked with Xbox consoles for a long time. Originally for the original Xbox console. Xbox Live Arcade or XBLA for short also on Xbox 360 as well.

I decided to go back to the past a little bit. I get to experience nostalgia through the one service Microsoft had I really appreciated. This eventually helped made me a better game that I am today. It's safe to say I learned so much about myself from so many of them I owned. This is why it's so personal for me to finally discuss such an amazing Xbox service.

This will be more directly about so many games I had from this service on Xbox 360. Officially a little over seven hundred games with plenty of surprises. This is possibly where my current game buying style originated from. I got plenty of great memories from these digital games. When Xbox store for Xbox 360 consoles gotten taken down it also marked the end of that service as well.

For me quite a sad day that was. Majority of them costing from 5 to 20 dollars. I know some might see that as low budget games. I can assure you these were some truly fantastic video games. Some of them were well worth being 20 dollars easily. Even several 5 dollar games were a lot of fun. For many years they had a limit of gamer score being 200 gamer score with twelve achievements.

Eventually they removed that limit. Don't expect any of these to possibly give you an 1000 gamer score. The highest I recall seeing for a few games was 400 gamer score allowing much more achievements. Among the first of those to do that was the famous XBLA port of Perfect Dark. I previously discussed how much I love this game!!!

The true definitive version of the N64 classic it's a must have. It's obviously better within Rare Replay with a mostly solid lineup of games. In several ways notably improved the game. By now most of the world knows about that port. I'll throw out a few interesting ports you might not know about. All of the following ports already delisted.

X-Men Arcade was an amazing XBLA port. You can play with five other people online. Yeah the experience can notably differ being somewhat mixed. Among the easiest achievement lineups I ever done. You get both the US and Japanese version of the same game. Which didn't offer that many differences but still nice to have the option.

You also can say the same about The Simpsons Arcade. I talked a lot about this particular Simpsons game on here. A slightly harder achievement lineup from X-Men Arcade. You can play with three other people. There's more notable differences between the two versions. Personally I'm a bigger fan of the Japanese version myself.

Indirectly because I'm an Otaku people like me love that stuff. But also because there's slightly more Simpsons characters that cameos. You also get more weapons you can use through out the stages. This was a truly solid port of a classic licensed beat em up game. I actually played through it seven times in a row when I first gotten the game no lie.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was the PS1 version ported. A surprisingly decent achievement lineup with a few that's frustrating to get. They didn't alter much of the game. This version seems to load faster possibly much quicker on Xbox Series X. It's amazing they pulled off such an ambitious Castlevania game like this!!!

I also need to clarify this doesn't have Maria as a playable character. This does lack the newer sections added from Sega Saturn version. Not to mention this features the original voice cast. The one version Xbox version had over. Castlevania: Requiem: Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood version.

Sure we may lack Castlevania: Rondo of Blood as well as those exclusives. The Xbox version also plays smoother as well. Now I missed my opportunity playing that PS4 exclusive compilation. I'm mostly going by videos while comparing the two in my head. Also the Xbox version is much smaller in size meaning you can play the game much faster in comparison.

Crazy Taxi was always a fun time. Yes they had to replace several songs due to copy rights. This is still a faithful port of the Dreamcast version. Which itself was a port of the Arcade version. One of the rare cases being a port of a port actually not a bad thing. This is perfect for simply driving around not having to think much.

There's two main maps with an mini game section. You get to choose between four drivers. They also had to alter a few locations due to copy rights. Although you still can tell what they were suppose to be. When some versions of it gotten delisted more recently it truthfully made me sad. Crazy Taxi is like a party on wheels you just wanna keep partying!!!

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara now that's a great compilation game. Both Capcom Arcade Dungeons & Dragons games in one package. You get a lot of challenges within both of them. Not to mention using in game points to unlock some cool content. Two truly fantastic licensed beat em up games that should come back.

Earthworm Jim HD is an enhanced port of the classic Genesis game. Sure some stages can be rather unforgiving at times. There's still a surprisingly decent run & gun platformer. Still among the weirdest mascot games I ever played!!! Not a lot of people knows about this port. To me this was the best version I played by far.

Guardian Heroes is loosely connected to Gunstar Heroes. This is more of an unique hack & slash beat em up game. You can play with 11 other people which was ridiculous at the time. There's so many characters with a lot of paths you can go. Considering this was an Sega Saturn game it's amazing!!!

Shinobi is a port of the classic Arcade game. You play as Joe Musashi rescuing people while avoiding hazards & quickly take out enemies. Yes this is one hit deaths but thankfully up to the final section. You get infinite continues you have no excuse to give up. This is a decent port I highly recommend.

SoulCalibur II HD Online is the most definitive version. You get two of three guest characters with online thrown in. For it's time this port blew my mind. I actually across two accounts gotten every achievement in it. Easily one of the greatest fighting games I ever played!!! This version truly delivers in every possible way.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 later done by the same team for Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection. Personally this was the best UMK3 port they done. The two major down sides are not as great achievements to go for. Also lacking the first two MK games. Despite that, it actually does everything from the later port way better.

Wolfenstein 3D is possibly the one Xbox game I gotten every achievement in. More than Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection and Gunstar Heroes it's XBLA port across a few accounts. This was an fantastic port of the classic FPS game. You get every level excluding Spear of Destiny. The achievement lineup is near perfection as well.

It's quite amazing how well this port plays. It's almost like playing the same game on your computer. Just notably better controls since it originally was an DOS game. This is just as great as the first two Doom games' XBLA ports. This was before several stuff gotten censored more recently like the medic symbol.

Honestly I used to often look forward to buying games when I was younger. Still going to school with a lot of them always sticked with me since. Even Comic Jumper which I reviewed more recently was among that legacy. It was quite true to it's name. You were buying more truly well made games.

If they had any DLCs it's usually dirt cheap. Majority of them lack DLCs altogether. Duke Nukem 3D's XBLA port to me was way better than the more recent 20th Anniversary Edition. The famous rewind feature originally in XBLA port. I personally felt the game plays a little better as well. Then again I also could say that about Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition on Steam.

My passion for Doom series originated from those Doom ports. I simply can not get enough Doom!!! Doom 2's XBLA port introduced one of my favorite expansion campaigns ever!!! Doom 2: No Rest for the Living is so much fun to replay. I'm glad this campaign kept back in the newer versions since then.

DuckTales Remastered is my favorite version of the classic NES platformer. Look I get why some simply prefer the classic version I do. It's difficult to compete with the original cast reprising their roles. They done a great job modernizing everything while keeping it familiar for older fans. Not to mention using in game points to unlock some nice content.

Once in a while you get a few that isn't great. It was quite rare to find any XBLA games being terrible. I still respect games like Rocket Knight. A lot of these are great games many people would enjoy. It even took Microsoft a long time to make something that rivaled it's legacy. Game Pass possibly was made possible due to it's success.

There also was a time before recently. Microsoft had a separate digital service for indie developers. Now all of that is combined today. I strongly felt XBLA is exactly what led to stuff like this happening in a good way. A lot of these games you can still buy since they shut down that service. It's just amazing Xbox Series X can play older Xbox console games so well.

Xbox Live Arcade felt like the true definitive way to go for a long time. These always within a small budget packs a lot of punch. Majority of them being quite small means you don't have to wait long. Especially true on Xbox Series X. I could easily install all my XBLA games with plenty of space left.

For the most part I was quite satisfied with my purchases. A lot of these ports went beyond easily exploding expectations. Hopefully by now you can see why I was so sad when Xbox 360 store gotten shut down. I always respected Microsoft for that service. It truthfully felt like my own personal Arcade.

Every game I added kept making it better. It was truly amazing how well they pulled this off. Some of the finest ports to games I ever played!!! Even games that debut on the service hit the ground swinging. Xbox Live Arcade was a truly unforgettable experience indeed. It may be a distant memory for me now.

I'm just glad a lot of those games can still be bought. They were literately giving you gold!!! They were so good you didn't want to buy the more expensive, bigger games. At least that's who I felt for a long time. In all honestly, thank you Microsoft for this now discontinued service. It really meant so much to me for a long time.

My thoughts on Capcom Fighting Collection 2

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, this Friday will be the newest entry of Capcom Fighting Collection series. This will be a direct follow up to the first Capcom Fighting Collection. We're getting eight fighting games no alternative style games this time around. I'm mostly excited for the lineup I figured to give my thoughts on the upcoming Capcom Fighting Collection game.

I'm not sure when I'm getting this compilation game. I will confirm it's going to be among my next purchases. Don't worry in due time I'll play this as well. I'm also keeping an eye out for Swords & Souls Legacy Collection on Steam as well. I did play these flash games online. It's another huge compilation game on my list this year.

Along with the previous entry and Gex Trilogy. This was among my most wanted compilation game of the year. I actually been around half these games prior. I'll start discussing those before getting to the other half I haven't played before. The one game I was hoping not return sadly is coming back through this collection.

Capcom Fighting Evolution is undeniably most reviewers choice for worst game in this collection. There's a great video that explains the rough development it had. Personally Capcom should've simply canceled the game. It's a weird crossover Capcom fighting game. Not done like most versus games Capcom developed either.

You get smaller character rosters within a bigger compositive one. Most of which is directly representing a particular Capcom fighting game. Obviously Street Fighter had the most groups by far. It was so rushed out the developers didn't even have time to attempt properly balancing the game. Which is why it's such a broken mess of a game.

The only true high light it has is you can play as two previously unplayable Red Earth boss characters that's it!!! Otherwise you really aren't missing much. Plus there's plenty better Capcom crossover games. Even to a degree as disappointing Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was. I even argue that's way better than this!!!

Plasma Sword is a game I have brief memories of this growing up. I had this 3D weapon based fighting game on Sega Dreamcast. One of two games I had with the character Hayato from that franchise. The other being Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on the same system. I felt some SoulCalibur games is better than this. I will say it's notably better than Mace: The Dark Age though.

Capcom vs SNK 2 I had this amazing crossover fighting game on GameCube. I would play this for hours it's so damn good!!! This was truly amazing stuff with a great roster. A little lesser than Marvel vs. Capcom 2. But hey I'll take it for what it's worth. It's also an three on three fighting game. You can select which fighting set up you want for your characters I'm not expert on that.

I would say one of the absolute best Capcom fighting games I ever played. I didn't expect this to come back considering SNK also was involve. Then again SNK did rerelease their SNK vs Capcom fighting game last year. I was quite happy to see this one come back. It's perfect if you never play Marvel vs. Capcom 2 before.

The one fighting game I had the most memories playing. It's not even close is Power Stone 2. This is more of an ambitious arena style fighting game. The stages are vastly different with several surprises. The bosses are quite large that forces you to adapt on the fly. You can either pick up weapons or get in machines.

Either turrets or vehicles to a degree. You get a lot of characters fighting on screen. Power Stone 2 is absolutely amazing!!! It's among the best 3D Capcom fighting games I ever played!!! Slightly more characters than the previous entry. I am quite hyped this one coming back!!! I can't wait to experience nostalgia playing this again soon.

Now I get to discuss my thoughts on the games I haven't played before. I'll start with the original Power Stone. Mostly what I do know came from an old Dreamcast book covering a lot of games. I knew about the boss characters being hidden characters. I don't know off hand which Power Stone game actually better.

Capcom vs SNK is a little weird due to how you select your characters. At least how some people explain the system to select em. Each character has a point 1-4 that takes up playable characters slots. In other words using only 1 point characters means I can play with four characters within matches. Obviously changing it up differs the amount of characters I could have.

4 point characters is only one character that's it good day sir!!! I don't get why Capcom set it up like that. Especially considering you have to complete every game as every character achievement/trophy. This is a rather huge monkey wrench for that. By default I already prefer the sequel way more. I do plan to give this a proper try soon.

Project Justice from what I looked into. You also play within teams for the matches. This is more of an 3D fighting game from those I played. This is in a short lived fighting franchise like Darkstalkers. This is actually a sequel to Rival Schools. It's a little weird they included both this and Plasma Sword. Rather than their respective originals for this collection.

Although it could be possible those games coming in a future entry of this compilation series. Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper I didn't come up with the title. Most platforms already gotten the original version across a few compilation games. I know that's going to bag the question why this version? Like Marvel vs. Capcom 2, it was developed on NAOMI hardware that's used for Sega Dreamcast.

This version prevents the infinite combos situation from happening. Just imagine one wrong move you're trapped. The other player can keep an combo going until you lose. Now that's incredibly unfair right? Another major difference is all the console exclusive characters gotten added to the roster. I already liked the original version of Alpha 3 despite not being an SF fan myself.

Going back to the first Capcom Fighting Collection. We had a few alternative versions of a few games included. Hyper Street Fighter II that allows you to play as every Arcade version of a character. You get Night Warriors that's actually an updated version of Darkstalkers 1 not an sequel. Darkstalkers 3 just called Vampire Savior 1 in the compilation.

Well they involved both Japanese exclusive updated versions of that as well. In a sense Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is guilty of this as well. Mostly with Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter being strikingly similar to X-Men vs. Street Fighter. Despite the changes you can't shake how similar the two crossover fighting games are.

Obviously this is one of my big 2025 games by far. I always been so hyped for an Capcom Fighting Collection game. They just doesn't disappoint with my standards kept going higher. I already know I'm going to absolutely love this when I get it eventually. I actually felt this is the most ambitious entry yet. We are getting the most variety in game play by far.

Just looking at the 3D fighting games they are all vastly different from each other. I also could say the same about the 2D fighting games to a degree. Steam is a little funny with compilation games like this. I'm going for the Xbox version myself. Not to mention, a lot of characters to play as. Sure being allow to get teams in for the big completion achievement/trophy helps a lot.

It sure going to take hours to pull that off. I don't think I'm going to get bored much. Maybe playing Capcom Fighting Evolution. I may even start with that to get the worst fully done. Then it can only go up from there. For eight fighting games with a lot of nice content for $39.99. I felt that's a solid deal with any sales making it more sweeter to get.

I do think this is going to be among the best entries to date. Even with the inclusion of Capcom Fighting Evolution. There's also another update coming to that as well as Capcom Fighting Collection 1. Which already came to Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. I felt some of those changes going to spice things up a lot too.

You already getting your money's worth plus a nice update like that. I'm already beyond sold getting it prior. I do hope Capcom makes more of these in the near future. They may not mean as much to me as Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. At the same time, I always welcome more Capcom games.

My thoughts on Children of the Corn movie franchise

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, some of you know I'm a huge Stephen King fan. I knew eventually I had to reveal the one horror movie franchise I can't stand. Well today so happens to be that day!!! For a long time there's a particular horror movie franchise with King's name on it I heavily disliked. I am talking about Children of the Corn series.

Yes I previously reviewed a lot of the movies on here. I think I should just let it all out here. I'm partly due for a huge rant blog entry. What's better than a movie franchise I really don't like? To be fair the original movie was decent. It's safe to say it's the golden standard among em. Keep in mind, King wrote a short story of the same name.

Obviously they didn't have a lot to work with. Considering that this movie actually nailed the story quite well. We're slowly leavy where it's nothing but negatives. Before that, there also exists a short film based on the same short story called Disciples of the Crow. For those not familiar with the story I'll explain it.

Within the story you have this mysterious cult with children that hangs around a corn field. There's barely any adults around implying something weird going on. Personally they should've stopped at two movies. Let's be honest excluding the TV movie remake as well as a reboot film. All the sequels are virtually a rewriting of the same story done differently.

You really can't call Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return a sequel. Despite the original leader returns in the movie. It's more of a weird requel than anything else. From 2 to Genesis were all from Dimension Films. Children of the Corn 2 is essentially the only sequel movie worth watching. It has very loose connections to the first movie.

I actually felt 3 started the notable decline the franchise been in since then. Dimension Films was ran by Bob Weinstein whose Harvey's brother. Harvey was a famous producer that's currently in a jail sentence. Stuff like this lead to Dimensions Films getting shut down. A lot of their movies with Miramax's name currently owned by Paramount Pictures.

The brothers crossed lines to get what they wanted. For some odd reason kept making Children of the Corn movies. Dimension had a famous bad movie label called Dimension Extreme. Virtually every movie released with that label is garbage. Children of the Corn: Genesis to me isn't even an Children of the Corn movie.

Even Hellraiser: Revelations which was another movie in that lineup was more Hellraiser!!! There's no cults at all already a huge red flag. The only child you see in the movie has ridiculous powers. I guess I'll go more below the belt not in that way lol. Even Hellraiser: Inferno to Hellworld the Hellraiser movies originally not Hellraiser at all is more Hellraiser.

Don't even bother try to connect the dots on the canon you won't get far. You can tell they never properly planned to connect em or simply never was in the plans to do so. Children of the Corn: Revelation had the entire cult being ghosts within an apartment building. Partly playing off Children of the Corn IV's leader being dead to later gotten revived.

They all kept changing He Who Walks Behind The Rows. The first two movies shared the same version. Beyond that it's gets rather weird starting with 3. This huge corn monster suppose to their god. They kept changing the appearances as well as what he could do. It's almost like they couldn't decide on which dish to eat at a restaurant?

The last of the original movies is Children of the Corn: Runaway. Lionsgate Films released that after a notable time gap on releasing it. Spoiler alert not the only Children of the Corn movie get that. Children of the Corn had two attempts restarting the franchises. A TV remake that's a similar story to the original movie just not as good.

Children of the Corn (2020 version) which came out almost three years later in the United States. They finally made an Children of the Corn movie with an female leader. I just don't find much enjoyment or anything that scary about this franchise. I'm more interested in Scarecrow horror movies.

I previously reviewed four of them this year. As far as I'm aware they didn't make a lot of money with these movies. I'm even more surprised Stephen King doesn't stop em altogether. In a way these movies becoming a bigger insult to the man as time goes on. Usually there's barely any notable characters across these movies.

You might remember a few kill scenes that's it. Even Prince of Darkness nailed special effects way better. They even had the devil show up late into the movie. I already respect that way more than this!!! Obviously there's plenty of better adaptations based on King's works. Children of the Corn simply never going to be among those.

The concept itself barely gives you much to work with. You need a cult filled with children or it's not an Children of the Corn movie. You also need an corn field even if it's small. King barely has any real involvement with em to begin with. To me, it's just a cheap excuse to quickly make money off of King's name.

The sequel movies felt more like stand alone movies with a similar concept than anything else. Even Pet Sematary Two which was a movie sequel to the book was way better than these!!! Also much closer to the concept of that story as well. I do believe in the right hands a sequel could be done. Let's take a rather unique situation here.

By now most of the world knows about The Shining movie. King publicly dislikes to this day. Director Mike Flanagan whose responsible for Doctor Sleep movie. You know an sequel to The Shining story. He convinced King to allow his movie adaptation of Doctor Sleep to be a sequel to that movie.

What came out of that is an ending King could be happy with. There's another famous example of The Shawshank Redemption. The short story might not be much. But director Frank Darabont transforms it into a truly fantastic movie. He also directed The Green Mile movie as well. Hopefully by now you can see why my standards for a movie franchise with King's name on it.

In all honestly should be way better than this!!! I could see the reason to remake Cujo to a degree. I don't think we need a newer version of Carrie personally. I'm more likely going to watch that Cujo remake than anymore Children of the Corn movies!!! Even to a degree I'll watch a few shark movies than these!!!

I actually can go a little lower than that. Some of you might know Creepshow then later Tales from the Darkside show were created by both Stephen King and the late George A. Romero. yes the same Romero that's given us some fantastic zombie movies. Dawn of the Dead (1978 version) being my favorite among those.

Creepshow 3 as a movie has a weird story. Originally it almost happened with both the creators on board. But they chosen to change it into Tales from the Darkside: The Movie instead. Which now acts as a spiritual successor to the first two Creepshow movies. Taurus Entertainment Company famous for making Day of the Dead 2: Contagium.

A cheap cash in sequel name only movie. They later done Creepshow III, still one of the worst horror movies I ever seen. The two creators weren't involved at all. This was so far off the mark from the first two Creepshow movies. Well that's exactly how I felt from Children of the Corn 3 to up. Also what's the point making these if barely any money being made?

I will give Children of the Corn 2 some respect. It did try to be somewhat of a decent follow up. It also stayed the closest to the concept from the other movies. It's difficult to like something when the franchise doesn't even know what it wants to be. If it were a story within an horror anthology franchise.

I wouldn't have this problem in the first place. Sadly that's not how it was set up. I rather watch The Mist show over this. Everyone agrees The Mist movie which is much closer to the short story way better. Also directed by Darabont, he's a huge Stephen King fan. If it were a much smaller horror movie franchise I wouldn't be this upset about em.

Can you believe there's eleven Children of the Corn movies? In my personal opinion that's too many!!! I'll give The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series a little credit. There's a few time lines within the franchise. You may find a movie or a few of them you like there. The same goes for Halloween series as well.

It's also the longest movie franchise with King's name in history. The average King movie franchise length is three to four movies. I'm sure most of those is way better as well. It simply bags questions why kept making Children of the Corn movies? Even attempting to cash in on em is a horrible idea. Not to mention in some ways kept getting worst as times goes on.

I rather see The Dark Tower even if it's just one book get adapted in some way. I'm sure there's plenty other Stephen King stories that needs to get adapted. I just don't see the point of making these movies anymore. I strongly felt King should stand up then get em to stop making em. Probably would be among the greatest things he's ever done.

I do have a lot of respect for the man. This movie franchise is simply adding salt to his incredible legacy. I would be over joyed when that happens one day. Children of the Corn quickly stopped working following 2. Maybe people find cults in general scary who really knows. King created much scarier beings than this!!!

For what it's worth just stick with the first two movies. Then pretend the rest of them doesn't exist. Now that's a huge rock worth living under. Maybe watch em if you're drinking something strong. The overall quality or should I say quantity of these movies is rather inconsistent. I could agree a few of them better than Children of the Corn: Genesis.

Let's be honest that's not saying much. I hope they don't make anymore of these movies Even YouTuber Cody Leach called this his least favorite horror movie franchise in a video. Now this guy seen plenty of horror movies. He virtually felt the same as I did towards Children of the Corn franchise.

There may be a small room for redemption. At this present time it's a long shot. At this point they have to aim being better than Children of the Corn 2. Which is simply not possible almost being an impossible task. I really could go on for hours how much I dislike this franchise. The last thing I wanna say is most of these deserves to be buried in the ground!!!

Prince of Darkness (1987) and In The Mouth of Madness (1995) review plus more

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, I previously reviewed The Thing (1982 version a few years ago) I recently learned that movie in a rather interesting trilogy by Carpenter that plays on similar aspects. It is known as John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy. Also included are today's two movies I'll be reviewing. Prince of Darkness and In The Mouth of Madness respectively.

If you wanna see my review on The Thing I'll link it down below...

https://jackred1989.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-unlucky-thirteen-4-thing-1982-review.html

The big connections are all three movies were directed by John Carpenter. He also made some songs for em as well. All of them are apocalypse theme movies that portrays a different view on humanity. The Thing representing physical and themselves. Prince of Darkness representing spiritual and their faith in God.

In The Mouth of Madness representing mental and yourself. Despite originally being stand alone movies. The director was ultimately inspired by H. P. Lovecraft stories. Which is deeply presented within all three of these movies. It's no wonder why he eventually group these all movies together in an unique trilogy. Not to mention some huge stars as well.

Originally I was going to do this section after the reviews. After waking up this morning close to noon. I realized I should give a very good reason why I'm writing this blog entry. I was very interested among learning about this trilogy of horror movies. Three vastly different apocalypse movies that comes together. I also plan to rank em but feel free to post your own rankings or thoughts of these movies down below.

Prince of Darkness (1987)

You know by the title this movie involves the devil. But it's done in a rather different way than you expect. Donald Pleasance who played Dr. Loomis in a few Halloween movies plays a priest. Personally I felt he was perfect for the role. He also one of the actors within the original James Bond movies to play Blofeld. This priest gets in contact with a professor.

Who agrees to help that convinced his class to assist. Obviously being the devil arriving on Earth apocalypse scenario. You know crazy things going to happen. A lot of people acting weird staying close by the building. I was surprised by Victor Wong's performance in this. There's a couple movies he's famous for.

He previously was in another classic John Carpenter movie, Big Trouble in Little China. He also was in the original Tremors as Walter Chang. Some might remember him for 3 Ninjas series. This movie from what I seen of movies he's in. One of the best movies I seen. There's also a love story thrown into this. Thankfully it's not forced in.

This is a slower pace horror movie. Heavily playing on suspense to a degree. You always have a feeling something bad going to happen. A lot of people trying to figure what's about to happen. One of them gets marked that plays a role later in the movie. I will say the disturbing scenes do stick with you. There's a scene a dead guy delivers a message before breaking down.

His body also covered in beetles it's difficult to watch for some. I just expect more of this in the movie. The possessed either kills or attempts to get others possessed by spitting into their mouths. It's more like hosing down their throats. Which should be a clue what to expect from the devil. In this movie, the devil actually in liquid form.

Eventually the devil finally claims his vessel aka that marked person's body. Originally I thought she was going to give birth to the anti-christ nope. The dead doesn't stay dead during all this madness either. I won't spoil the ending but man it left me unsure about stuff. Somehow it's fitting for this movie. A lot of rememberable characters.

It's way better than End of Days with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Which was a similar concept movie done vastly differently. This is more of Carpenter's typical style of horror. You know the original Halloween style. Where it's a slow pacing horror movie that eventually picks up right at the ending. Not to mention the story telling is amazing as well.

This often gets overlooked among his other movies. I felt you should give this one a try. It's an unique take on the concept. I actually seen stuff I can't say I seen before. The overall acting was truly amazing stuff. Prince of Darkness just simply works in so many ways. I confess it's not my favorite of the trilogy. I will say this though there's some good special effects.

Parts of this is somewhat similar to The Thing. I know I gotta clarify what I meant by that. We don't need an angry mob coming in here with flaming torches lol. Both involves groups that are being targeted. They won't always know who isn't among em until it's too late. The Thing has shape shifting aliens that plays perfectly into paranoia.

Some members of this group becomes possessed. They act very strange almost unhuman like. Not quite animals but more of people that's insane. At the same time, none of the actual traits of insanity you expect to see. They won't hesitate things people out. Especially the group waiting outside for em. Thankfully they move somewhat slow not quite classic zombies slow.

The lore is surprisingly deep here. They do reveal the church kept the secret about the devil hidden. If they had chosen the other option things could've gotten ugly at a faster rate. Some might say they were cowards. But again they didn't want one wrong move then that's the end of humanity. In a way it makes sense why they chosen to kept such a secret hidden for so long.

In The Mouth of Madness (1995)

In my opinion the weirdest of the three movies by far. I know some might be wondering Prince of Darkness had the devil. How can you get weirder than that? Well Carpenter found a rather unexpected way to do just that. John Trent played by Sam Neill who also played Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park series.

Trent is an insurance inspector that's gets tasked to locating a missing horror book author. Already parts of this reminds me of several movies. Secret Window being the one that comes to mind the most. Trent discovers a bizarre method to possibly locate the author. He goes to a town with Sutter's editor to investigate.

The movie doesn't hide something wrong from the start. It heavily plays on mind trickery if you're into that stuff. Some amazing special effects for it's time. The main antagonist is the horror author himself. Sutter Cane is obviously inspired by H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King. A fact the movie kept throwing into our faces right up to the ending.

It's kinda difficult to review this movie more without spoilers. To sum up everything Cane's writing started to alter reality to a degree. A lot of fictional stuff he created showed up in the world including people. The town Trent went to go investigate was another creation of his. Trent himself is later revealed to be in the same boat.

What an ambitious take on things right? The main protagonist created by the main antagonist. Just not the way you were expecting though. If you haven't guess the apocalypse theme of the movie yet. This author's writing cause chaos around the world. The most meme part of the movie is the ending. Several aspects led to it being the most meme Carpenter movie to date.

Personally I don't think it's a bad movie. It's just one of those movies either you love it or you don't. A mixed reception film you could enjoy or avoid altogether depending on things. This really felt like a story worthy of H. P. Lovecraft's legacy. You will notice a lot of stuff repeats as well. After a while watching this you start to wonder what's going on?

They do explain how Trent gotten committed to an asylum. To a degree it's like Prince of Darkness where death becomes questionable. We actually see one character die twice in two different ways. Trent does go into madness as the movie goes on. The title of the movie so happens to be a title of a horror novel Cane written.

Sutter Cane played Jurgen Prochnow who also played Judge Griffin in Judge Dredd as well as General Ivan Radek in Air Force One respectively. He truly delivered an amazing performance here. Parts of this movie also heavily reminded me of The Dark Half by Stephen King. For those not familiar with that story.

The author had a deceased twin brother. Out of no where the supernatural happens after the author killed off his most famous protagonist character. The character somehow came into the real world possessing the author's twin brother corpse. He planned to force the author to change his fate to live again.

It's also like Secret Window because this writer suddenly gets confronted by another writer. Accusing him of stealing his story leading to stuff happening. Eventually the writer discovers the two writers are two personalities within one person. Stephen King written some stories somewhat similar to this. King even directly appears in one of the Dark Tower books as well.

This movie makes you question things. What is real as well as these loops you kept noticing among other things. It felt like a huge insanity test fitting for the movie. In The Mouth of Madness is among the weirdest Carpenter movies I ever seen. Which is speaking volumes to Big Trouble in Little China. I would say at least give this Carpenter movie a try to see where it fits with you.

Ranking John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy

3. Prince of Darkness

2. In The Mouth of Madness

1. The Thing

Isn't that much of a surprise I still felt The Thing the best among of em. Not only I personally considered it the greatest horror movie remake I ever seen!!! It's still among the very best horror movies I ever seen as well. Truly amazing in every possible way. In The Mouth of Madness was slightly more of my thing horror movie over Prince of Darkness.

Usually I'm not crazy for psychical horror movies. Somehow this one quickly won me over. It was rather creative with the concept. Obviously ambitious in it's own right. Carpenter should be deeply proud of all three horror movies. He delivered one of the greatest horror movie trilogies I ever gotten into.

Each movie within that trilogy brought major stuff into the group. By In The Mouth of Madness you really couldn't ask for more. All these movies covers so much it's mind blowing. A near perfect trilogy of movies. Even labeling any of them the worst. The worst among em is still a great movie. All of them brings such unique perspective of the apocalypse.

There's no question the lineup is perfect to watch close to or on Halloween. You're guarantee for one hell of a ride. Carpenter delivered awesomeness in ways you couldn't imagine. This is giving me more reasons to respect the director. I highly recommend John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy. You simply aren't living until you watch all three of these movies.

3 from Hell (2019) review

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, I held off watching the final entry in Firefly Trilogy. When I wrote my review for The Devil's Rejects I didn't know what the official trilogy name was. I had a few major reasons why it took so long to get around watching this. I will say this is now among my favorite horror movie trilogies ever!!!

3 from Hell (2019)

This sorta concludes the trilogy in a rather unexpected way. Which I will explain my exact thoughts on that later. The story takes place a decade following The Devil's Rejects. It does explain how the Firefly family survived getting brutally gunned down. Captain Spaulding gets executed early into the movie. A major reason I didn't want to see the movie was because his actor passed away.

In fact, director Rob Zombie confirmed every meeting he had with Haig regarding the movie. His role within the film kept getting shorter due to his decaying health. I'm even amazed he reprised the character at all. Otis gets rescued by their half brother Wolf. A character added into the movie to help save it following Haig's reduced screen time.

I actually felt he was a great adaptation to the movie. The brothers came up with a crazy plan to rescue their sister. They get an idea to go to Mexico. Unfortunately trouble was waiting down there for em as well. It turns out Otis killed the father of a crime lord. This guy was willing to slaughter anyone getting in his way.

Some parts may be a little similar to The Devil's Rejects. At the same time, it's differs enough to stand on it's own. The huge time gap I'm amazed these actors still got it. Baby was portrayed by Zombie's wife. She's in majority of his movies to begin with. This is one crazy story filled that easily could be seen as nightmare fuel to some.

This family you don't wanna mess with is the huge message this movie sending. Every encounter they faced somehow they come out on top. Personally The Devil's Rejects still my favorite in the trilogy. I still like several things more in House of 1000 Corpses. Honestly it isn't that bad of a movie. Just don't go in with huge expectations.

The actual ending is they leave Mexico the same road they drove to get in. It heavily implies from this point they simply get away with everything. The last major obstacle removed from their path. Originally I expected all of them to die. In a way it kinda works for what the director going for. It's a movie that doesn't feel like it's over staying it's welcome.

Just when you think Zombie ran out of ideas. This movie had some life left in it. Some truly mess up moments happens. Like this clown gets forced to entertain a room filled with hostages. You knew Baby had to chase someone down at some point. Even an Warden isn't safe in this. I do like prison played a bigger role than the last entry.

The simple fact this family causing Hell the way they do. You know it's a group of monsters no one going to survive. You would be lucky they kept you alive a little longer. They were inspired to a degree by Leatherface's family from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We won't get into the confusing timeline of that.

3 from Hell is quite true to it's name. You got three family members being the very worst of people imaginable. Even staying at an hotel something goes south quickly. Then again that also happened in The Devil's Rejects. They partied in Mexico similar to doing the same with their uncle. Except the guy in charge set them up to a monster.

It doesn't even think like the regular third entry notably not as great as the first two movies either. I would actually say this was a better movie than I expected. So what it's my least favorite among em. I still ended up having a good time watching it. I also liked each entry has a particular style to help differ em from each other.

From an retrospective that's a clever yet ambitious idea. The first one felt more like an grindhouse film. The second was more of a modern killer story. This entry felt like those movies, shows and specials based on serial killers to a degree. Somehow all of this comes together in the end. 3 from Hell I could recommend to a lot of people.

Screamboat (2025) review

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, I had to wait an month to see this. In all honestly it was well worth the wait. Before this not many horror Mickey Mouse movies gotten my attention. I felt this one was going to be special. I was pleasantly surprise how much I actually enjoyed this movie. I really can't wait to dive in see what I did there?

Screamboat (2025)

Screamboat is a horror remake of a classic Mickey Mouse cartoon short. For copy right reasons they had to change the character's name to avoid a lawsuit. He's now called Steamboat Willie which was fitting for this version of the character. I'm always enjoyed to see David Howard Thornton play a villain character.

Considering this was directed by the same guy that's done The Mean One. This was a huge step up from that. I am amazed how well everything worked with the low budget. It doesn't even come off as a low budget horror movie it's that good. You got a lot of people on the Staten Island ferry. Which was actually real they had to film on.

Of course I gotta mention five ladies inspired by some of the Disney princesses. Before anyone goes off saying they should get sue for doing this. Disney themselves used a similar loop while making franchises on the same characters. Therefore, they can't actually sue even if they want to. Ultimately these characters are already in the public domain.

They sure some of the most annoying female characters in an horror movie I ever seen. You can only imagine what happened to them how I felt lol. A handful of characters the story follows. It's amazing how one mouse causing this much hell. A lot of people doesn't survive this ride either. A particular huge kill scene with people getting electrocuted.

Suddenly I'm reminded of the ending of Gremlins 2. Where majority of them gets electrocuted by the electric gremlin. The gore was pull off amazingly well in this movie. Thornton really pulled off this version of Mickey very well. I really wanted more of this in The Mean One. I also respected he stays the main antagonist too.

I also liked they played with the lore of the character to a degree. You kinda felt bad he was trapped so long within this boat. It's insane through special effects they gotten Thornton down to Mickey's actual height. What they confirmed about filming his scenes were quite interesting. The other actors had to film their stuff separate from Thornton.

Usually I'm not crazy for Mickey Mouse. This is already my favorite thing with the character I ever seen. Majority of the characters are well written. Better than what you usually get in these public domain horror movies. I even dare to say this is even better than Popeye the Slayer Man. This is exactly how I would've went about this concept.

I actually don't have much to criticize. This movie is either you love it or dislike the hell out of it kind of movies. Personally I absolutely loved every minute of it. I wanted more than what we gotten. Which is a great sign I wasn't satisfied in a good way. I'm very interested in seeing an sequel in the near future.

It's no surprise this is the best horror Mickey Mouse movie I ever seen. Considering the director wants to do more similar concept slasher movies. I'm really curious how this trilogy of slasher movies going to be. We already have an Grinch horror movie. Now an horror Mickey Mouse movie. It bags the question which public domain character is next?

Screamboat is very true to it's name. This is one boat ride you don't wanna ride. They had to go on many trips on this boat while filming the movie. This is exactly what I'm looking for an low budget horror movie. A movie that used it's budget as well as everyone involve very well. Just like Killer Klowns from Outer Space respectively.

Dino Crisis Bundle review

Hello everyone I'm XboxClown89, a few months my friend Simoun gotten me Dino Crisis Bundle on GOG. Honestly I didn't think to love these games as much as I do. Dino Crisis 1 was among the last Capcom games released during my childhood I always wanted to play. I didn't know much about Dino Crisis 2 except from what I was told as well as speedruns.

Dino Crisis Bundle

Dino Crisis (1999)

Dino Crisis 2 (2000)

I had a gut feeling following Resident Evil Bundle on GOG. Capcom was going to do the same with Dino Crisis 1. I didn't expect they do the first two games. These actually differ more than those classic Resident Evil games. Dino Crisis 1 is a slower pace survival horror game. Dino Crisis 2 is a faster pace action shooter game.

Shinji Mikami was involved with these games. He was one of the original Resident Evil team members. Which makes Dino Crisis series a spiritual successor to Resident Evil series. In both games you get to play as Regina. But also as Dylan in several portions of Dino Crisis 2. The first Dino Crisis was obviously inspired by the first two Jurassic Park movies.

Some features predates Resident Evil using em. Like at several points you are given a choice between decisions. Each decision heavily impacts the game in some way. Keep in mind, RE3 classic released a few months later. This also more notably heavily cinematic story telling. It's close to Konami's Metal Gear Solid.

Which came out a couple months before this. Some great puzzles you shouldn't rush. A lot of back tracking in both games. Although Dino Crisis 2 does greatly make up for that. The actual maps in the first Dino Crisis is fully 3D predating Resident Evil Code: Veronica X. You can mix stuff for health items or darts.

Ammo is a bit scarce I barely had anything among finishing my first run. I sure had plenty of health items though. Dino Crisis 2 is easier to memorize maps. Combat is vastly different between the two Dino Crisis games. In the original Dino Crisis, it's more intense survival horror style combat. But in Dino Crisis 2, you quickly attack dinosaurs.

It's more recommended if you can run past me in the original. It's optional in the second Dino Crisis game. Especially when they made such a great change. In the original you have to take some risks getting to the rooms you can save your process in. Which is a little weird how it's done. When you are about to left a particular door within those rooms.

The game will ask if you wanna save your process or not. Now compared to how Dino Crisis 2 does things it's not even close. Not only panels you can save your game is more common. You also have access to a shop as well. You earn points for mostly killing dinos. Think of this as your in game currency.

You can use your points to unlock great stuff, refill your weapons and increase ammo capacity. You actually can have up to 9,999 ammo for a weapon is ridiculous!!! Obviously supplies is much easier to go about in Dino Crisis 2. They also made it easier what you're suppose to do. I strongly recommend for first timers use an guide for the first Dino Crisis.

It's up to you if you wanna use a guide for the second one or not. I will say the first one is much harder. I thought RE3 I'm not the best at was rough at times. There's some sections even more strict than that in the first Dino Crisis. You get a good variety of weapons with some of my favorites in DC2. The story in later portions of these games can get confusing.

I never imagine dinosaurs can be this intense within video games. Dino Crisis 2 is like a precursor to Resident Evil 4 classic in many ways. I was mind blown of the similarities. There's a bigger variety of dinosaurs in Dino Crisis 2. I even enjoyed the different style sections. Two of them are rail shooter style. Some dinosaurs chasing you a notable distance.

You use a turret to fight em off until you get there. There's another part where you quickly fire at raptors while protecting Dylan. There's even a section you swap between both characters to get em through. Precursor to Resident Evil 0 as well. Both characters use an signal gun. The other character launched an attack that defeats T-Rexs.

There's more complexity what you need to do in the first Dino Crisis. The fact they went from survival horror to an shooter action style. Actually predates Resident Evil eventually doing that with Resident Evil 4 classic. The audio as a whole truly fantastic work. I absolutely love I can use my controller to play these games.

I mostly wanted to focus on the main campaigns. I will acknowledge both has a mini game. The first Dino Crisis has a few endings you can go for. Despite Dino Crisis 2 not doing that. I actually had way more fun playing that. The first entry is so intense right up to the end. Dinos will ambush you worst than Nemesis does in RE3 no joke.

Dino Crisis 2 almost felt like The Mercenaries - Operation: Mad Jackal mini game from RE3. Notably done better in my opinion with more forgiving difficulty. They actually made raptors fun to face in Dino Crisis 2. I love you can use your ship to go to a few locations. Which brings me to a rather unexpected difference between the two games.

The first Dino Crisis was more indoors while the second one ended up being more outdoors. I guess it's up to those that plays em. Which entry they prefer more especially if you didn't grew up with em like me. It's difficult to believe I missed out some fantastic Capcom games like those. I knew very early on I would prefer Dino Crisis 2.

Despite waiting a notable portion of my life to play the first Dino Crisis. I will give Dino Crisis 2 a lot of credit. This game really delivered in every possible way. Just when I thought the first one was great. Somehow the second one was even better. There's a surprising level of depth to these games. They are great if you want more Capcom games that's somewhat similar to Resident Evil series.

Dead Rising series is simply too much of it's own thing. Like how Exoprimal would be to Dino Crisis series. Yet I do see some strong similarities between Dino Crisis and Resident Evil. These games are amazing at what they pull off. You're getting two unique takes on the same concept. Either you prefer to take your time with scarier moments or go fast kill everything?

It's very clear I strongly recommend checking this bundle out on GOG. Both of them are such an experience. If you haven't play either of them you should before you die. Especially Dino Crisis 2 it's among the greatest Capcom games I ever played!!! You gotta love dinos to truly enjoy this. I know eventually Turok trilogy is a huge one I always wanted to fully experience.

For the present, these Capcom games are action packed. You are getting two well written stories. Some truly rememberable characters. Some great surprises you won't see coming. I used a guide being two long videos. It doesn't mean I didn't get surprised a lot lol. The bosses are quite menacing that's tricky to avoid.

There's more of a variety in the second entry. I will say they sure made T-Rex scary in the first one. I noticed a lot of stuff that happens in these. Eventually in some form happens in Resident Evil series. Suddenly we came full circle with everything. Dino Crisis series should make a full return. Either the remake everyone wants or a new Dino Crisis game to a degree.