Puppet Master: Axis Termination review

Hi everyone I'm Jack Red, a while back I reviewed most of Puppet Master movies including the unofficial crossover. I bet some of you who probably are big fans of Full Moon movies wants to know my thoughts. Obviously we are still waiting for the reboot movie to come out that has some involvement from Full Moon.

I felt now is the time to talk about the most recent entry in the franchise. Puppet Master: Axis Termination lives up to it's name in many ways. Don't worry folks this movie is great I got a lot to say about it. Of course there are a few things I want to make clear first. Originally they aired it in three parts exclusive on their subscription service before fully airing it on there prior to DVD & Blu Ray release.


The first good thing I must say about it has to be the cover. WOW look at that cover since it clearly had a lot of work put into it. Most Puppet Master covers doesn't stand out like this. The conclusion to Axis trilogy about the puppets killing Nazis for the United States. To sum up all three of these movies happened shortly after the beginning of the original Puppet Master.

A lot of fans donated money towards to the making of this movie. In fact most Nazis killed in this movie are fans that were all promised to die horrible, brutal deaths. When they said this will be the bloodiest they meant it. A nice concept about psychic people fighting against each other. Like the previous entry, we also have puppets fighting against each other.

I felt this stands out more than the other Axis movies. I would say it has one of the best stories in the entire franchise. It also has one of the absolute best puppet masters ever. This guy does an amazing job leading the puppets into battle. I also like Blade's tribute to Re-Animator since Full Moon had some involvement with that movie.

Hard to believe this is technically the eleventh movie ignoring the unofficial crossover. I am still surprised how many people die in this movie. I already knew how dangerous these puppets were before seeing this movie. WOW Full Moon doesn't hold back on it's best franchises. I love everything about Puppet Master: Axis Termination.

For a movie funded mostly by fans, we really got our money worth of gore. Sadly Torch once again got removed before appearing again. It is a real shame since he is one of my absolute favorite puppets. Most original puppets looks very good in this movie. Spoiler alert the main characters from the previous two movies dies very early on.

This movie screams exactly what Full Moon movies stands for. Possibly one of their greatest sequels ever made. In my opinion they really put their best foot forward. Not trying to piss anyone off with this statement. It seems like the company is more focus on making Evil Bong movies than Puppet Master series.

Let's be honest without Puppet Master series, they wouldn't still be around today. I also like the story line of the franchise. The acting is hands down one of the best in the franchise too. This movie really doesn't disappoint at all. A very solid entry for a legendary killer toy franchise. I grew up loving this franchise thanks to a friend.

Jack Red reviews Quake II and it's expansions

Hi everyone I'm Jack Red, I grew up with Quake II on PlayStation. Even right now Quake II & a little of Quake 4 are the only games in the series I got to play. I still haven't got to play the original Quake. A spoiler alert that's about to change later this week. Quake II is a rather unusual game history.

It is no secret some licenses forces developers to quickly change the game. Sometimes they had other plans before deciding making a game in title sequel only. What I mean by this is it could share some things with the game it was labeled as a sequel to. This is exactly the case for Quake II for many reasons.

The original developers really didn't want to continue the story of Quake. Although they did allow two expansions to come out that do follow the events of the main game. Quake II was originally an unrelated FPS game that they knew wasn't going to get far on it's own. They decided to call the game Quake II on hopes it would success.

Quake II may not be technically a sequel but interesting enough it got it's own series. Obviously a few things both Quake 1 and 2 do have in common. Let's be honest it is more like the famous comparison of apples & oranges. Quake II is still one of ID's best games of the 90s. I do have one more interesting fact before I start reviewing it.

Quake II has been ported to a few consoles. When it comes to being digitally rereleases, you would be surprise to know Steam lacks the soundtrack. The only digital release to have that soundtrack is GOG version. Which I bought with The Walking Dead: 400 Days on GOG not too long ago. You would think with the amazing selection Steam has, they could get that soundtrack right nope.

One last quick note I still haven't got to try it's multiplayer or Quake II Netpack 1: Extremities. Not available for purchase on Steam is a official product of several Quake II mods for multiplayer. GOG deal gives you the main game, both expansion and this since it would be technically a multiplayer expansion.

1. Quake II (1997)

Quake II is a fast pace shooter filled with secrets. This is a unique experience since not many shooters make you go between levels. In fact most of them are straight forward with some having secret levels. This makes exploring way more fun as well as interesting. You never know what you are going to find.

You have to pay attention to your surrounds since you will have to look out for enemies. A great number in majority of levels to kill. Some interesting boss fights that can be challenging on certain conditions. A great variety of weapons reminding me of Doom series since they're very similar. A good variety of enemies you will run into.

Quake II has Units that acts as this game's episodes. You also get some story cut scenes to help give you an idea what's going on. Sometimes it can be frustrating figuring out where to go or what to do. Thankfully like many shooters at the time when you usually see enemies. You are going the right way for the most part.

I know I don't speak much of FPS soundtracks. To be honest Duke 3D, the first two Doom games, Blood and Quake II has my favorites. The sound effects are very good for their time. This game is packed with content to keep you busy. Based on information & videos I seen, I noticed the levels in Quake II are longer than the original.

One weird fact is PlayStation almost got Quake but they couldn't find a company to help get it out. Mostly complete based on what was revealed about the canceled version. If it were to get release then this & Duke 3D would be the only FPS on the three main consoles at the time. Thankfully as stated before Quake II get make it to PlayStation.

I like how different each Unit is from each other. I know I don't usually comment much on the actual structure of the campaign in these kind of games. Keep in mind this came out the same year as GoldenEye 007 on N64. You knew Quake II had some tough competition. Here is another interesting fact not many people know.

Although Half-Life 1's engine is a modified Quake 1 engine. There is parts of Quake II within the coding like the gore or how they die. Quake II has one of the most awesome FPS logos I ever seen. This game has a well balance out difficulty. It does a great job keeping you on your feet & forcing you to not overlook anything.

Quake II brings a lot to the table in terms of awesomeness. I also don't comment much on video game violence. I will say I do like how Quake II makes it fun to do things to your enemies. I heard from a fan that this game is highly customized when it comes to modding. Back then modding was much simpler than it is today.

I highly recommend this among games sharing the same fate. Quake II doesn't just hold up amazing by today's standards. It did technically help evolve the genre in the direction it is currently going. I got to be honest scifi was incredibly well done but I always prefer Duke 3D. This game is a game worthy for being one of the greatest FPS ever made, personally that is GoldenEye 007 to me.

2. Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning (1998)

Developed by Xatrix Entertainment Inc. that also responsible for Kingpin: Life of Crime & Redneck Rampage. I got to come clean right now, this expansion blow me away faster than the actual game did. I am still amazed how damn good it actually is. The Reckoning takes place before the main campaign.

You play as a space marine named Joker. Your goal is take down your enemies leading to a secret moon base. First Duke Nukem now one of the space marines in Quake II who else will end up on the moon? You get some great levels that rivals the finest from the main game. I got to say how everything plays out is slightly more interesting in this expansion.

Unlike most expansions at the time, they add some nice stuff to the experience. Several new enemies & variations of existing ones. Three new weapons with one new power up called Dual Fire Damage. This campaign is simply amazing for it's time. I believe this could've been one of the absolute best expansions for any shooter I ever played.

The Reckoning also introduces new multiplayer levels. You can tell a lot of great work went into this master piece. I usually don't say a expansion is better than their respective game but this has to be an exception. Everything from start to finish was beautifully done. This is way better than their previous works.

I honestly can't say enough positive things about it neither say anything truly negative. This is as close to perfection among expansion packs as humanly possible. Very interesting to know this is the same team that later worked on Return to Castle Wolfenstein. I would say difficulty & control wise, this expansion is better.

3. Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero (1998)

Developed by Rogue Entertainment that also responsible for Quake Mission Pack 2: Dissolution of Eternity. The only team to officially made a expansion for the first two Quake games. This is also the last expansion made outside their team since Quake III: Team Arena was made by it's developers. Last I checked no story related dlcs in newer Quake games.

Let's get the obvious you may heard from people out of the way first. Yes this expansion is tough possibly one of the most frustrating I ever done without cheating. Just within the first five minutes you quickly get a taste of repetitive this expansion gets. Don't get me wrong I like a good challenge but when they throw in some strict portions that could instantly kill you.

You know you're in for some frustration. Of course at times you can have fun playing it. I would say you will need a lot of luck & take big risks in order to survive. They added four new enemies that will push your gaming skills. Two new bosses that are among the toughest in all of Quake series. Five new weapons including a chainsaw.

Seven new power ups spicing up the experience. You will die a lot during this expansion for many reasons. Some portions requires you to quickly escape on a strict time limit. If you don't escape in time you will die instantly. You have to deal with this several times during the campaign. I should mention both expansions has half the total Units the main game.

Ground Zero does little to help you when it gets rough. Thankfully you get just enough to help you during the final boss. Which I should add has two phrases that constantly spawning enemies. I can't say any particular part of the game is easy at all. You need to focus, think fast on your feet and go out gun blazing.

This expansion takes place shortly after the main game. Ground Zero also adds multiplayer levels to the game. I got to be honest even with all the frustration I had playing this. I still had a great time since it wasn't too unfair in difficulty. Ground Zero is way better than Master Levels for Doom II, both halves of Final Doom & especially both Mission Packs for Spear of Destiny.

Now it's time to rank all of Quake II in particular from worst to best. I do apologize I can't review the entire Quake II series that also includes Quake 4 and Enemy Territory: Quake Zone. Speaking of Enemy Territory there also exists Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory that came out a few years before. I do think many people would agree with this ranking...

3. Quake II Mission Pack: Ground Zero
2. Quake II
1. Quake II Mission Pack: The Reckoning

Jack Red reviews Jazz Jackrabbit series

Hi everyone I'm Jack Red, I remember in two schools playing Jazz Jackrabbit 1 & 2. For some reason it had a huge impact on me. More recently I finally bought both Jazz Jackrabbit games on GOG. At one point people called Jazz PC's Sonic since he has somethings in common with him. Jazz Jackrabbit series eventually died off thanks to Jazz Jackrabbit on Game Boy Advance.

GOG made sure you truly get the complete experience with the first two games. Hard to believe the same company later started Gears of War series. You get all the extra levels added in later versions. They also included some nice bonuses. You get JJ2+ mod that acts more like an updated version that's still being updated today.

1. Jazz Jackrabbit (1994)

Jazz Jackrabbit was a game I always looked forward to playing. Even right now I still want to play it after beating all the episodes. I know I shouldn't say this but chances are if you haven't played a classic DOS shooter platformer. I might as well talk about how it plays. Similar to many DOS classics including the first two Duke Nukem games.

You have several episodes with six being the entire original campaign. On CD version they added Episodes A-C that technically took place before Episode 6. It is sorta like Wolfenstein 3D Episodes 4-6 & Spear of Destiny before that. They pulled the classic Star Wars route where we get later parts of the story first.

Jazz Jackrabbit is much faster pace than most DOS games of it's type. You do get great power ups & upgrades to make some tough levels easier. I still wouldn't rely on it too much especially in later episodes. I usually don't talk much about a game's soundtrack. WOW it was amazing back then & still pretty awesome too to hear these songs including those I haven't heard before.

You get a great variety of enemies with some throwing in a monkey wrench in your places. Some enemies are barely big enough for you to jump over them. Some are very likely to hit you before you hit them. Some bosses like Episode 6's Evil Jazz can be frustrating. I do like each boss fight represents a particular episode very well.

Most levels are very replayable with a few exceptions. Like Episode 2's Orbitus Level 2 has a glitch not present in earlier versions. There is a strict path with difficult to make jumps. Unfortunately the area for the second jump if you do somehow get there doesn't work how it is suppose to. I had to use a code for the board to get through it.

I spent a lot of time with this level being the only one in this game I had to cheat to finish. I am not the only one complaining about this issue either. Like many DOS classics, Episode 1 is the only one available for free. It is also the shortest among the original campaign. Now back to stuff added to CD version.

Some of these levels within Episodes A-C are tougher than those found in Episodes 1-6. Some of my favorite levels are included in those episodes. They also add more game play variety to the experience. Like in some levels you have to swim a lot while others you are using the board to search for a way in huge space ships.

This is where things start getting confusing. Holiday Hare 94 was released to quickly get added to CD version. This adds three very different levels that are Christmas theme. For one quick moment, I don't have many Christmas theme games. Most that would count are Christmas theme expansions like Duke: Nuclear Winter and all of them for Jazz Jackrabbit series.

Usually a planet has two levels you have to complete. However some worlds do have secret levels with an alternate ending sign. Regularly you look for signs of Devan to complete levels. For secret levels you are looking for ? signs. In that regard differs from many DOS classics like Wolfenstein, Doom & Duke 3D.

They later added Holiday Hare 95 the last of the extra levels for Jazz Jackrabbit. Not many differences after starting it up until you get to the Episode selection screen. A different name for Episode X because this is where Holiday Hare 95 replaces Holiday Hare 94. I heard if you play these on Christmas or change the clock in your computers you can play these levels.

Thankfully GOG made it to where you can play both expansions at any given time. They also made it to where you pick which Holiday Hare you ended having at that time. The first option is essentially what you would find on CD version. The second option replaces Holiday Hare 94 with Holiday Hare 95 I hope this helps with the confusion many people have.

I should talk about the bonus levels. The entire point of these is mostly testing how well you can use your keyboard. You actually end up using more of your hands than playing the actual levels. If you do successfully complete one of these you will get an extra life. Now the game does give you the option to go straight into those bonus levels.

Jazz Jackrabbit was mostly inspired by Sega's Sonic & Capcom's Mega Man. I haven't seen many characters similar to Jazz Jackrabbit. Although I will name a few Bucky O'Hara & Hoppy aka T-Hoppy from ClayFighter series. This game requires memorizing, patience & sometimes taking risks. I highly advised you could die a lot in this game.

2. Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (1998)

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 up til GBA game was the last Jazz Jackrabbit game for several years. I couldn't play the original with my controller. WOW playing Jazz Jackrabbit 2 with my controller was a very great experience. This game build on what I loved about the original but made it even better in every possible way.

Originally you get two playable characters Jazz and his brother Spaz. After the release of Jazz Jackrabbit 2: The Secret Files they added a new character named Lori. A true fact some members of the team didn't agree among themselves how Lori would fix in. Some wanted her to be Spaz's girlfriend while others eventually made her their sister instead.

You know what if you can't decide out of those two why not simply call her their sister-in-law. She was be a sister in a sense to Jazz but also dating Spaz at the same time. Anyway moving on a great variety of enemies that will keep challenging your skills. Spoiler alert there isn't as many episodes as the original Jazz Jackrabbit game.

I felt all of them in Jazz Jackrabbit 2 ended up being better. Each character is better at something the other characters aren't great at. Which means there technically isn't a best character although I disagree. Spaz ends up being the best character due to his double jumping. Lori is the worst at jumping in general.

The soundtrack is once again amazing for it's time that still holds up incredibly well today. You get five episodes originally. A lot of people enjoyed the demo levels enough to later included them in The Secret Files. Each cover picture in this game is parodying several classics like Doom, Back to the Future, The Artist Formerly Known as Prince and a few more pop culture references.

I am not saying I didn't like the cover pictures in the previous game. I do like them a lot but when you do pictures like these you really can't compete with them. You also get a sixth episode that helps gives you a more complete experience. They later added Holiday Hare 98 that ends up being it's own game.

Probably because many people are still confused about how they did Holiday Hare 94 & 95. I would say one of the toughest bosses in the entire series is present in that Christmas episode. Oh wait there's more to talk about. Believe it or not, Jazz Jackrabbit 2 has multiplayer. You can play these levels & more with other people.

Now isn't that awesome oh wait it gets even better. Although you have to search stuff your Jazz Jackrabbit 2 files for this feature. Yes you can create your own levels or play other user levels. Before getting any of them both the actual game & Holiday Hare 98 has some custom levels already loaded in.

I recommend if you want to make your own levels or episodes. Make sure you look up great guides for them otherwise you will be very overwhelmed by the process. I would say the bosses are better overall. You get very designed levels that could take a long time to fully explore. I also like because we are looking further away from them that you can see more of the levels.

In the original Jazz Jackrabbit, some areas are difficult to tell if you might get hit by enemies or hazards after doing a long jump. Finally the mod I was talking about earlier JJ2+. This fixes many glitches included in the game. They also added more modes of play in multiplayer. This also improves the level creator feature.

For those wondering how did this mod get included in GOG's deal is a rather interesting story. Regularly some expansions for games they have for purchase is actually mods made by other people or teams. Those are licensed & given permission from the team behind those said games to be released.

What makes this mod interesting is it was free ever since it started. They knew many users over the years are taking care of the game since the original team won't anymore. Yes I know some of them are famous among gamers including the same guy involved with Gears of War series. Obviously the gaming industry moves even the smallest member to other things eventually.

JJ2+ mod has a big popularly among DOS gamers that's still going strong today. It probably went up a lot since these games got on GOG. Basically it may not have as many episodes as the previous game. At the same time what it actually has makes it a truly unique experience. Jazz Jackrabbit 2 is possibly one of the greatest DOS exclusive games I ever played.

Now it's time to rank both Jazz Jackrabbit games. The worst in this particular case is still very good by my standards. There is no losers in today's blog folks. Both of them sure pack a lot of content that will take many hours to go through.

2. Jazz Jackrabbit
1. Jazz Jackrabbit 2