Reading Time: 2 minutesWELCOME! It’s been a long time coming for this little project of mine. I feel like the thought of it has been bounced around forever, and the actual process of getting it going has been going on for months. But here we are! Episode Zero! …Read More….
Reading Time: 7 minutesOk, I’m resurrecting this little topic. “Speaking of Destiny…” was a little joke I started on Future Monkeys (my old podcast), because for a long… long… time, all I ever talked about was Destiny. Why? Because it was all I played! And trust me, I …Read More….
One thing that’s great about this time of year is not only all the fall goodness going on, but all the new games releasing! I guess that’s a bad thing too, come to think of it. But anyway, here’s today’s release – The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening!
I’m going to have to stop myself from getting all technical with this. Talking in depth about Link’s Awakening and how it was released on the OG Gameboy way back in 1993. Also how it was the first Zelda game on the Gameboy and how I played it back then and remember enough about it to get all giddy inside when seeing a few of the videos they released of gameplay.
Yeah I can’t talk about all that.
This is an unboxing post after all, not a review! So what Zelda is my thing and is my favorite franchise in all of gaming. Doesn’t matter!
What does matter is this Dreamer Edition of the game. It’s not like the Limited Edition overseas that looks freaking GORGEOUS. That freaking steelbook, seriously, be still my heart. That thing is downright sexy. Nope, we get the game and an art book. A plain ol’ art book. Truth be told, I’m happy with that considering it could’ve been just the game.
Let’s get into what’s here in the Dreamer Edition.
It’s the game…
And the art book.
That’s it! Haha
Seriously though, it’s a nice art book. Really nice.
Usually art books that come with games are smaller, and not so much to them. But this one is much bigger than the standard art book, and prettier too.
I’m happy I grabbed this edition, as I was close to just grabbing the regular one to save $10. What a thought! Me getting the cheap version of a Zelda game to save money. Pfft! I don’t even know who I am anymore.
Moving on, let’s check out the amiibo!
I don’t know if you know this about me or not, but I have a problem with amiibo. Well, used to have a problem. I kicked the habit long ago but I still feel it sometimes. Like here, I adore this design too much to pass it up.
It also helps that I have every other Legend of Zelda amiibo that’s ever been released. Kinda makes me having to get whatever Zelda one comes out an automatic must buy. I love the unique ones like this though. These are really special for me as they’re not your typical amiibo sculpt. As soon as I saw this I wanted it bad. And it wasn’t until I opened it up and had it in my hand that it reminded me of something dear.
When I was a kid, my grandmother used to make a bunch of ceramics. Like, a buuuuuuuunch. It was her hobby, making the clay, getting the molds and pouring them in, the whole process. And to finish them off, she used to spray something on it to give it a really nice sheen. This amiibo reminds me a lot of those ceramic figures. The shine on it really tops it and it made me all nostalgic for my grandmother’s passion for ceramic making.
I said it in the video – no idea opening this amiibo would’ve made me happy and sad at the same time!
Anyway, there you have it. The Dreamer Edition of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on the Nintendo Switch! And Link’s amiibo to boot. If you’re looking to pick up the game, help me out and use one of the affiliate links below!
You can go for the game itself, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Or if you need one, check out the brand new Nintendo Switch Lite that also released today. And here is the Link amiibo.
Reading Time: 6 minutesBeen forever since I’ve done one a Humpday Update for here! Let’s see if I remember how this goes. Life’s been crazy like always so I guess these would be great to keep things organized for the blog’s sake. Ok, let’s see if we can …Read More….
Reading Time: 6 minutesI love this too much to be having to meet so seldom! A whole year has passed since my last Gaming HDUD. And in that year so much has happened. I’ve beaten games and games have beaten me. Heck at this point in my life …Read More….
With Borderlands 3 out today, we are now in the gravitational pull that is the fall release schedule. You know what that means! No, not that your wallet is about to be burnt to a crisp from entering Planet Q4’s atmosphere. That’s besides the point. No, it means that it’s gaming headset buying season! You don’t usually think of that, but with games like Borderlands 3, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep (EXCITE!), Gears 5, Ghostbusters (Yeah, I said it!), there are many gamers out there digging headsets out of their drawers realizing they’re busted or they need an upgrade.
It’s been a long time since I reviewed a headset! I’d link to my previous reviews but that site no longer exists. That’s how long it’s been. I’ll try my best to do my SteelSeries here justice. Remember, I’m not a super ultra tech savvy audiophile headset guru, analyzing stats and wavelengths and decibels or whatever. I’m just your regular ol’ generic gamer who happens to have a blog to share my thoughts on. So let’s go.
Oh, and I hope you enjoy the pictures. They are rehashed from when I unboxed the headset back for my old gaming site Future Monkeys, which sadly, also does not exist anymore, hahaha! Geeze I hope that isn’t a trend… Glad I preserved all those posts right here on my trusty ol’ blog. *pats hood, hears screws and bolts falling to the floor*
Alright, moving on with it! The Arctis 3 Bluetooth headset is by far the best headset I’ve ever used. I know, I know, that’s letting the cat out of the bag. I guess you can stop reading the review now.
Seriously, it’s great. And SteelSeries has a hefty line of headsets out right now, which all seem to have their own area of expertise. For example, the Arctis 9X is specifically for Xbox One, while the Arctis Pro Wireless is for the PS4. Then you have the brand new Arctis 1 Wireless headset, which, my goodness. I wouldn’t mind it wrapping around my head. It uses a dongle to connect to PS4, Switch, and PC, and has this gaming-grade 2.4 GHz wireless for lossless, ultra-low latency audio that-omg, I need to stop. FOCUS. I’m not talking about the Arctis 1 that has now found its way on my wishlist. I’m talking about the.. what am I talking-oh yeah. The prices for their sets range from $49 to $349, so there plenty of choices and ranges to fit for you.
I ultimately went with the Arctis 3 Bluetooth for a few reasons, but it was mostly because of its versatility. You’re able to use it for whichever console you’d like – Xbox One, PS4, PC, and even the Switch. How? We’ll get to that in a minute.
I knew that versatility is what I needed. See, for a long time I was primarily on the PS4. And because of that, my headset of choice was the PS Gold. Which, in all honesty, I had absolutely no problems with… Until I put this baby on. But, thanks to a little game called Anthem (yeah, remember that gem?!) that I picked up on the Xbox in an attempt to show it some more love, I knew I needed a more well rounded headset. Yeah, the Golds are capable of being used on the Xbox, but it wasn’t the same. Something was really off and it was more of a pain than anything to get it to work good. Before I bought these I thought maybe I’d be ok with a cheap $17 set from Amazon. Holy crap. I quickly learned you get what you pay for. And if you want something decent, you have to be willing to pay a little more than $20. I still feel cheated, every time I look at those things.
For the gamer that loves to listen to music or podcasts while doing mundane quests or stuff like that, it’s a godsend of headsets.
But in order to have versatility, I had to sacrifice a feature I was hoping to keep, which was wireless use. In order to be able to use the headset for all 3 systems, the 3.5mm jack had to be utilized, and not a wireless dongle like the PS Gold had. I held on to that desire for a wireless headset till about 5 seconds after I started using the Arctis 3’s. I quickly forgot anything about wireless because it turns out, having to use the 3.5mm cord was perfectly fine. I’m attached to a controller or the Switch, but there’s no issues whatsoever with it. PLUS I don’t have to worry about charging any batteries. So the days of coming back to gaming after a few weeks to find a dead headset are gone.
I know I may be jumping the gun here, but I’ll feel confident to say SteelSeries earned themselves a customer for life.
Another feature sacrificed to the headset gods was surround sound. I know earlier I said I’m not an audiophile, but that may not have been entirely accurate. I’ve gone to great measures to ensure there is good sound to be enjoyed. I would absolutely adore a 7.1 surround sound headset, sure. But my price range laughs at such a feature. All that said, I’ve been using the headphones a lot and I found I don’t really need surround sound. I’m certain if you were to slap a surround sound headset on me I’d be singing a different tune. But on its own, the Arctis 3 is doing a superb job at getting things done and I can’t complain about the sound quality.
Good bass, stereo sounds dance from ear to ear, and with the right source these are downright impressive! I was using the bluetooth feature to listen to “Portals” from the Avengers: Endgame Soundtrack. My goodness, was that the wrong thing to do at midnight. I was so hyped I wanted to run aimlessly in the street while yelling battle cries. The bass drum was deep and powerful, the crescendo building up to the big moment with the heroic air instruments playing that goosebump inducing melody. The choir, the percussion, I just freaking can’t with this song. I’m a complete sucker for soundtracks, but this song.. this moment in the movie.. it’s the most epic and spectacular moment I’ve watched in a film in a long, long time. Guess I have to review Endgame now! Haha. But anyway, the headset was great with it and it immersed me in the music completely. Another song I tried it out with was The Prowler from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack. Another great piece of music to use for headset testing. My goodness, I can’t imagine how it would be with an even better sounding headset. Yeesh, I need to stop.
The design is so sleek and sharp, it makes them feel like the most affordable premium pair of headphones you can buy.
Ok, I’m done reviewing music. Back to the headset. I just mentioned it, so let’s go on with the bluetooth functionality. This is the selling point of this particular set. It’s the reason why it’s heavily marketed towards the Nintendo Switch. See, because you use the 3.5mm jack in order to listen to all the game audio. You can also use it for chatting on the PS4 and the Xbox One. But the dear old Switch and how it’s structured, you can’t chat in most games with just the jack, so all you have to do is turn on the bluetooth and connect to the Nintendo Switch Online app via your phone in order to talk with someone in your game. But who does that?! Like many gamers probably do instead, you can also connect to a voice channel in Discord and communicate there.
This works because the game’s audio is going through the 3.5mm jack, while the bluetooth functionality is completely separate, allowing you to utilize both at the same time. So if you’re the type to do so, you can even be playing a game listening to the audio, while also connected to your phone listening to music or podcasts. Or even a helpful YouTube video to walk you through a part you’re stuck on, like I have done a few times while playing Destiny 2. It’s a fantastic feature and it comes in handy a lot. For the gamer that loves to listen to music or podcasts while doing mundane quests or stuff like that, it’s a godsend of headsets.
Speaking of godsent features, let’s talk about the comfort. If there is one thing that really stands out about the Arctis 3, or any other SteelSeries headset for that matter, it’s that the comfort and design is beyond compare. The ski goggle adjustable headband fits your head perfectly. And the AirWeave Performance fabric ear cushions are like the pillows of angles. They’re so soft and comfortable to have on your head, you forget you’re wearing a headset. Even with my glasses on – because I can’t play without them – there’s not aching or irritation after long periods of play. Honestly, when I first got them, I had to stop myself from just wearing them around the house. Like not even listening to music or anything, I just wanted to wear them. The design is so sleek and sharp, it makes them feel like the most affordable premium pair of headphones you can buy.
Last thing I’ll touch on is the mic, since I think that’s all that’s left from this. I’ve been blabbering for so long I almost forgot to mention an integral part of the set. The mic is retractable and is bidirectional. They call it ClearCast noise cancelling, and as far as I know it does a pretty good job. I tend to game at night with sleeping family members in range of voice, so I try my best to keep it down. And even whispering I’m heard well enough to not have to repeat myself. I love the fact that it’s retractable too, so in the case that I don’t need it, it’s always right there, out of the way, ready to be pulled out and used.
I think those are the major points of the Arctis 3 Bluetooth headset by SteelSeries. The only functionality that requires charging is the bluetooth. If you never used the bluetooth, then you wouldn’t need to ever charge them. Heck, even if you used the bluetooth, you still hardly have to charge them. The description says the active listening time is 28 hours and it isn’t lying. I had these for months, hardly using the bluetooth feature, and when I turned it on they worked just fine. Other headsets I feel would’ve needed a charge boost from sitting unused for so long.
By the way, if you didn’t need the bluetooth functionality at all, and feel like it’ll go wasted on you, you’re in luck. They offer an Arctis 3 right here that is identical to this bluetooth version, only without the bluetooth. AND for $30 less to boot! It also comes in a drop dead sexy white which gets me all hot and bothered. I’m telling you, they have a bunch of options, give their site a glance and see what tickles your fancy.
If I had to say something negative about them, it’ll probably be the mute button. Just because it isn’t clear whether or not the mic is muted from the button being pushed in, or released. It’s a feature that I see they’ve upgraded on the newer models of headsets, with a clearly indicated switch showing mute and unmute. Still though, the gripe isn’t a deal breaker at all.
Alright I’ll reel it in there. If you’re in the market for a headset, check these out. I want to say they’re on display in my local Best Buy, so feel them for yourselves (after a nice pass of a clorox wipe). Not to toot my own horn here, but since I purchased them and sang their praises, I’d say about 4-5 people in our gaming community went ahead and purchased a pair as well. All of them agreeing with all the pros I’ve laid out here.
I know I may be jumping the gun here, but I’ll feel confident to say SteelSeries earned themselves a customer for life. The quality of their sets is unlike anything I had before, and I’ve tried quite a few big name headsets in my time that I won’t name here, but that’s where the confidence comes from. Other headsets always left something to be desired or died way too soon for how much they cost. While I love the Arctis 3 Bluetooth set I have, I kinda sorta can’t wait to be in the market for another pair just so I can try out the newer sets they have. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Arctis 1 Wireless.
Reading Time: 9 minutesWay back in 2018, we were lucky enough to enjoy another staycation in a Disney Resort. I’d like to take this time to thank Disney for inviting us out there and taking care of us. It was awesome of them to do that. Oh wait, …Read More….
Reading Time: 9 minutesIt’s the most wonderful time of year! No no no, not Christmas. November 1st is when I start riding that train. No, I’m talking about Halloween. I’ve always been partial to Halloween. Probably from my goth phase when I was growing up. Black nail polish, …Read More….
Continuing right where I left off from the last post. You know, the one where I went on and on about Opening Day of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios. We made it home, bribed the kid’s hatred for going without them with some pins and a light up lanyard, and called it a day. That weekend, we made sure to head over to Batuu once again. Because, you know, I guess the kids deserve to see it too. We should’ve been preparing for a Hurricane, but we’re Floridians, we had other priorities.
Here you can see them destroying Disney property, they had a blast.
I’m just kidding. That was like that when we got there. They did have a blast though. As did the wife and I! Because this time it was a much.. different experience. I’m not sure if it was the oncoming Hurricane Dorian lurking in the Caribbean with its sights set on Central Florida (at the time), but Galaxy’s Edge was a lot emptier than I was anticipating. We were expecting it to be completely packed for months after opening but it doesn’t seem to be the case right now. Works for us because we were able to walk in with no problems and see everything without any huge crazy lines like opening day. I mean, check out these trash cans!
I had time and space to take pictures of trash cans! It was great. We got to see a lot but still have yet to ride Smuggler’s Run, the Millenium Falcon ride, but that’ll happen soon. We didn’t feel like waiting 120 minutes on a line that stretched across the entire land.
But that was perfectly fine. Getting to see the details of things we only briefly caught a glimpse of opening day was fantastic. We got to go into mostly every store or restaurant, minus a few.
I’m such a child. I know this because I totally would’ve bought Poe’s helmet if I had the cash.
We got to see most of the big things, although Droid Depot, and Savi’s Workshop were ignored. Because as much as we wanted to build our own droids and lightsabers (my goodness, do I want to build my own lightsaber), it just isn’t happening now. Not at $99 and $199 a pop respectively. If you want to check out the lightsaber building process, be sure to watch my buddy Tim Tracker’s video on it. Ok, he’s not my buddy, but we did meet him once so I guess that adds to my cool points. Savi’s really looks like the primo experience to have in Galaxy’s Edge, so hopefully we get to do it eventually. That video shows off the Play Disney app datapad functionality, as well as spoils the ride, so be mindful. We also missed Docking Bay 7. Not because we weren’t looking for something to eat, but because it was completely missed, like, we had no idea where it was. Turns out, it’s right under this docked shuttle transporting cargo and supplies. Who knew?!
Everything else though was great. As you can see, it’s packed with things to see and do. There’s even an interactive aspect to it. When you open up the Play Disney Parks app while in the land, it turns into a datapad where you can interact with numerous things around Black Spire Outpost. When we go back, maybe we’ll let the kids bring their iPads so they can just hang around hacking stuff.
Personally, I walked in with two goals. One, was to get a hold of the awesome thermal detonator Coke bottles, which we did!
Here’s the Instagram post showing them off a bit more. I was wanting these since I first laid eyes on them. Such perfect theming. A little too perfect as they were banned by the TSA from being brought on flights, and then reversed afterwards. But they are so well done. Need to pick up the Diet Coke one next time we go.
Another goal was drinking the Blue Milk, and that I did.! The wife refused to try it as it is made with rice milk and coconut, but it was her loss because it was rather tasty! Here’s the Instagram post for my achievement.
Very smooth, like the smoothest smoothie you’ve had. And on the fruity side. It was very enjoyable, especially on a hot day. I think Disney World has one over Disneyland, as we have alcoholic versions of the Blue and Green Milk when they don’t. I won’t try it as it’s not my style to get down with that, but I will definitely try the Green Milk when we go back.
Walking around, taking everything in is a feat in itself. There’s so much to see and experience, you might get a tad overwhelmed. Like an X-Wing just sitting there in all its awesomeness.
You’d think that was enough, but no, we got lucky and noticed Rey and Chewy walking around. Then they went up to the X-Wing and started tuning it up! It was an unexpected bonus, seeing the characters interact with a set piece like that. But it was so cool to see.
They even had that Rey and Chewy chemistry, it was so awesome.
Here’s my Instagram post with video of the interaction. I hope in the future we get to see more stuff like that. It really brings the land to life.
We got to go through the market and see all the little shops we didn’t want to make lines for on opening day. There are a lot of little nooks and crannies with so many details to see and take in. Really beautiful stuff.
Lots of people glance and take things for granted, but busy, intricate decorations always make me appreciate the themes of these lands.
Here’s the Instagram videos of going through the market and seeing all the cool stuff.
That Instagram link will show you another awesome thing we saw. At the end of the stretch of market, it funnels you into Ronto Roasters, which has what is arguably the coolest aesthetic.
Spits of meat are being turned by a droid. And they’re not being roasted on a fire. That’s right, they’re being roasted by the heat of a dangling podracer engine! How cool is that?!
It goes so amazing with the setting of Batuu, being an outpost on the Outer Rim.
Up next was Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities. There’s a ton of things to see in here! Both on the walls and on the floor.
We were looking around at all the cool stuff they had for sale, but were drawn to two areas. Lightsabers, and Holocrons.
The lightsabers, unlike Savi’s Workshop, are already built and known sabers. You see Mace Windu’s, Darth Vaders, Count Dooku’s further down the line. You’re able to buy just the hilt, or if you want, you can buy the “blade” that lights up for an additional $15+ depending on the size you want. Personally, I’d rather pay the extra for a handcrafted lightsaber from Savi’s. But if you have one that’s your favorite from a character, these are worthy collectibles.
The Holocrons are easier to manage, not to mention splurge on. At $50 each, you can get yourself your own Jedi or Sith Talkboy.
Predictably, the youngest went for the Jedi one while the oldest went for the Sith. Their personifications of Thor and Loki shine more and more every day. I guess I need to start preparing for the oldest to attempt to overthrow me. Anyway, back to Holocrons. These things are some cool interactive toys! Here’s the Instagram of inside the Den and playing with the holocrons. They have messages recorded by Jedi and Sith, for example, the Jedi one has Obi-Wan’s famous message to all the remaining Jedi after Order 66 went down. You can hear it here, in another Instagram post of mine (if you can’t tell, I get down on Instagram so best to follow me there!).
It seems like it’s directly ripped from the first season of Star Wars Rebels, where Obi-Wan was portrayed by James Arnold Taylor. He famously voiced Obi-Wan in the Clone Wars series (which is coming back on Disney+!! Sorry, not sorry. I’m a huge Clone Wars fan and love Taylor as Obi.), so it’s crazy awesome to have his voice being used for these. Especially that speech he gave, via holocron, as it carries so much weight in the Star Wars universe. Check it out here if you’ve never seen it.
Anyway, cool thing about these holocrons is that you can also buy Kyber Crystals for them. Well, no, not cool, Disney. At $15 a pop, these little crystals can give you additional secret messages from various Jedi and Sith. For instance, the youngest got the purple crystal, which belonged to only one Jedi. The one who’s lightsaber says Bad Motherfu.. well, you know. Mace Windu’s kyber crystal. So he can hear additional messages from him. And not from the movies either. Newly recorded Mace Windu messages, sadly, not voiced by Samuel L. Jackson though.
Moving on. I know this post has outstayed its welcome but c’mon, there’s a lot to cover. Almost done! We’re at the big reveal now. And what a reveal…
The Millenium Falcon, sitting there in all its glory. It’s definitely a main focal point of Galaxy’s Edge. Even if you don’t ride the ride, being able to see this beauty in person and take pictures with it should satisfy any fan.
The ride, Smuggler’s Run, seems to be a huge hit. Every time I hear about it I get more and more excited. Can’t wait to ride it myself, but during this visit it wasn’t happening. Not when the line stretched for 120+ minutes across the whole land. Check out the Instagram post to get an idea of how far it went.
We kept walking, almost reaching the end of our journey. We made it to what seemed like the First Order’s side of the outpost. How do I know? Call it a hunch.
We reached a small corner that seems to have nothing particularly exciting about it at first, unless you really have to pee and want to use the nearby restroom.
But looking around more we found a little droid maintenance area. Here’s where I really got excited. Because in the cage to the back there, were two heavily damaged battle droids!
Remember me going ga-ga a few paragraphs ago about the Clone Wars? Yeah, this still carries over from that. I love that era in Star Wars history, and seeing these battle droids in person, made me pretty giddy. And it’s not like they’re easy to spot. They’re way back, towards the end of the land, in a forgotten corner where no one else was caring to check out, and inside a heavy duty storage cage. Someone designing this place decided to put this little Clone Wars easter egg in there and I am eternally grateful for it.
Also there, just on the wall behind the battle droids, was a probe droid suspended on the wall! Another famous droid just hiding in this dark corner. I wonder how much more I would’ve found if I kept looking around this spot. I guess that’s what next time is for!
And there we are. We reached the end of my ridiculously long documentation of the first time the whole family visited Batuu. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I had fun putting this together, as always. Hopefully this does continue with Galaxy’s Edge coverage. Like I said there are more than a few things that we didn’t get to do and see while there. So I’d love to return to this topic in the future. No, it might not be riddled with pictures up the wazoo, but it’ll be something. Until then, safe travels. And may the force be with you.