The not so real McCoy

A Guitar Hero clone I discovered on 24th st corner 3rd ave.

Shake-uh-licious: The Shake Shack

There is no reason to eat bad food in the Big Apple. Pretty much on every corner you find places that will amaze your tastebuds. One of those places is the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park which is close to the famous Flatiron building on Broadway and 5th:


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I didn't get a burger this time but went for a frozen custard instead. And oh my god! That thing blew my mind it was so tasty. Vanilla, Chocolate fudge, peanut butter and bananas. Seriously I don't think I have ever had anything so cold that is so tasty. That place serves great burgers too. And nothing beats sitting in the park to enjoy a burger. That's why the waiting line is so long. Can take up to an hour until you order. You can even check the webcam on their site to see how long the line is in order to plan ahead. Here are some impressions:

Bad-TV Face

You know how it is. Sunday. There is nothing to do. Bored as hell. You start watching TV and although nothing good is on, you still watch something. Anything! And of course it is some movie you actually would never watch. But what the hell. After all it is sunday. And there is nothing else to do. You know how it is.


If you can guess which movie I was watching, I will send you a prize from New York.

Darker than Black, better than all: The Dark Knight

Before I start talking about Dark Knight, I have to tell you about my history concerning the Batman movies. Just that you get a feel of how I place the movies so far.
Adam West is god. Seriously I liked the old show. Yes, they were cheesy and had an underlying theme of guy-on-guy action thanks to Robin, but they had their own style and charm. Especially the Batmobil. But the old show doesn't really play into this review since it is just its own thing.

That said it is time to look at the modern movies which started with Tim Burton's Batman. Ultimately this is the one that people will mostly compare Dark Knight to, because it also has The Joker (played by Jack "crazy-smile" Nicholson) in it. I like Burton's version of Batman. I thought the two films were dark, captured a comic feel and had great villains (Michelle Pfeiffer in a latex catsuit... Meeeeoooow!). I also like Michael Keaton as Batman. Many people say his performance in the Batsuit was too "constricted" but people have to understand, that the suit back then was made of materials that didn't really let the actor move freely. And I liked, that in order to look around, he had to turn his whole upper body. Made him look more badass. Over the years, of course, better and more flexible versions of the Batsuit were made as the creators of the movies found out which materials worked better.
Joel Schumacher's films I don't really like. Batman Forever started the downward spiral and Batman & Robin sealed the deal. Both films feel too "plasticy" and "neon". Like it was a cheesy musical. Seriously, Arnie ice skating around was just horrible. And Robin didn't really fit in either. So it was clear, for Batman to live on, he had to have a complete makeover.

The guy to do just that, was Chris Nolan with Batman Begins. As the name suggests, this version focused on how Bruce Wayne became the Batman and also explained his being. It is a more realistic approach. One that tried to make the character more believable and darker. And while I do like it, I also had problems with it. First off, I hated how Bruce Wayne changed his voice whenever he wore the Batsuit. Many will argue that of course, he needed to do that so he would not be recognized. But to me, it felt like a joke. I didn't know whether I should take that serious or laugh. Second, I didn't like the whole Ninja-temple thing. Third, it was too obvious that Liam Neeson's character wasn't dead. Fourth, the new Batmobil just doesn't do it for me. And fifth, why was the movie so "yellowish", almost sepia-like? So while I think it is a good movie and definitely way better than Schumacher's Batman, I also believe it is overrated and doesn't quite reach Burton's vision. So now that you know how I feel about Batman up to this point, let's get it on! Dont' worry, there are no spoilers in my review.

Batman is back to clean up the streets of Gotham City. But he is not accepted by everybody. People still frown upon his ways of being above the law. Still he gets the job done because nobody else does. Until someone new shows up in town: The Joker. And he is not only creating fear amongst the citizens of the city but also has the crime bosses somewhat scared.
Thank god Batman is not alone though, Detective Gordon ist still on his side and the new District Attorney Harvey Dent also looks very promising as a new ally. Rachel Dawes is back as well but this time played by the wonderful Maggie Gyllenhaal. In my opinion, she is a better choice anyhow. Never cared for Katie Holmes too much. But let's cut to the chase, how good is the movie?

Dark Knight is the best Batman movie ever made. And not only that, I think it is the best superhero movie ever made. By far. And this is coming from someone who is not the biggest fan of Batman Begins. After watching this flick you realize just how far behind other superhero movies are. It puts a movie like Hellboy 2 to shame. It also puts Jack Nicholson to shame. Compared to Ledger's Joker, Nicholson is merely a clown. But in Nicholson's defense, I do have to say that his verison of the Joker is based on a different version of the comicbook Joker. So they don't really compare and it becomes a matter of taste whether you like Nolan's more realistic approach. In this film the Joker is so intense and incredibly sinister. Like nothing I have ever seen in a movie like that before. It is exactly what I wanted to see from the Joker. A creator of chaos and maestro of destruction filled to the brim with insanity. Where Batman follows a set of ethic rules and morals, the Joker is just the complete opposite. Unfortunately with Ledgers untimely death, the joke is definitely on us. It angers me to know that such talented man left life so early.

And don't be fooled by the PG-13 rating. This movie is the darkest and grittiest superhero film you can come across. It is dirty, has great action and fights in it, yet it still manages to make you like and feel for the characters while telling a good story. Something a lot of these kinds of movies tend to forget. Also the film remains believable. Batman comes across even better in this film and once again the conversations with his Butler Alfred, again portrayed by Michael Caine, are a delight.

Visually there also were some changes. The creators did away with the "yellow"-look the city had at nighttime in Batman Begins. Very thankful for that. Also this is one of the movies that tries to stay away from CGI as much as possible. Well except one half thing, but I can't really go into that without giving away too much.

A special mention goes out to the combination Zimmer/Newton Howard who created an incredibly gripping and atmospheric soundtrack that perfectly captures the darkness and mood of the film. In my opinion it is worthy of an oscar because it goes so hand in hand with the pictures on screen. Just beautifully done.

The movie does have some flaws though. The second half is almost a bit too long and doesn't quite keep up the exhilarating pace of the first. Also there some tiny plotholes. Still, the flaws in this movie are minor. I can even live with Batman's voice.

Dark Knight is action and drama packed in an 152 minute long rollercoaster that will leave you breathless. And thanks to Heath Ledger's Joker we have seen the best evil performance to date. Chris Nolan's Dark Knight is the Godfather 2 or Empire Strikes Back of superhero movies. It is one of the very few sequels that is better than the original in every which way. This is the movie that every other comic adaptation will try to beat, if that is even possible. They for sure as hell have lot of hard work ahead of them.

Apple doesn't like me

I got up this morning. At 4:30am. Against all reason. Why? Well, my inner technology loving bastard child got the best of me. I want the new iPhone. Bad. And I wanted it this morning. That is exactly the reason I got up at 4:30am. By 5am I was standing in front of the Apple store on 5th Ave right by Central Park. And I wasn't the only one there. There were a lot of people. Waiting for the iPhone to be sold at 7am. Although it is a store open 24 hours, 7 days a week, the iPhone can only be bought at daytime hours. People were nervous. "Is the 16 GB version in black still available?" was probably the most asked question. Insecurity reigned supreme. Faces looked around bedazzled. Then a nice Apple employee came out and made sure that the people buying an iPhone have everything they need. Social Security Number? Check! US ID? Check! ... Hold on! US ID?! I got this burgundy, a little bent-around-the-edges-but-screaming-worldtraveller, (Which I am not. I am just untidy. But Apple doesn't know.) German passport!

-Elevatormusicplaying-

Before I go on, do you remember the movie Crocodile Dundee with Paul Hogan? Sure you do. Then you surely also know the scene where these two thugs try to mug the Dundee. They pull out a knife and Paul Hogan goes: That's not a knife. That's a knife. And pulls out the mother of all knives. At that moment you can just see the eyes of the thugs fill up with fear und disappointment. Then you will know how I felt when I heard the Apple employee tell me this:

-Elevatormusicstop-

That is not an ID. That's an ID! -showinghisAmericanone-

Ok, he didn't say it like that but it makes my story better this way. All the same, the result was that no matter how early I got up, Apple wasn't going to accept my form of ID and therefore I was not going to get one of them fancy phones.

Saddened I left. To go home. But I had a plan! At 8:30am I would show up the DMV to get myself a photo ID. An American one ---> Partyyyy! And then stand in line for 3-4 hours for phoneyphone ---> Not so much partyyyy. So I stood in line at the DMV for an hour. Unfortunately getting an ID isn't that simple of a thing to do. At least not for me and my visa status. But that's a different story.

So what did I end up with? The realization that getting up early gets you nowhere and Apple employees have the power to make you feel like a little girl. And that at 5 o'clock in the morning, it is possible to meet an old friend you haven't seen for 10 years, also standing in line, waiting for an iPhone. Furthermore you can just order an iPhone at an AT&T store without an American ID. They like German passports. Even when the edges are a little bent.

Death Beam!

On sunday I took the train to visit an old friend of mine from high school. So I went to Grand Central Station on 42nd St, which by itself already is quite a sight and looks very impressive. I will post some pics of that historic building sooner or later. So this friend of mine lives out in Westport which is northeast of NYC and about an hour away.


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And it also is in the state of Connecticut (shouldn't it be spelled Conneticut since you don't hear the second C?!) which I didn't know. What I also didn't know is, that people in Westport are quite friendly. When I boarded the train to get back to the city, I saw this little stand in the train station:


That is just awesome and the kind of thing I love about living here. People do mind a lot more about each other. I mean, how many times have you come to a trainstation and just wished you had something to read? Great idea and props to Westport! And of course, I couldn't say no to Death Beam. Just the silver title makes it exceptional. Here is an excerpt from the back of the book:

Moscow: the Soviets have perfected the doomsday weapon that can bring America to its knees... New York City: a world-calss assassin readies a strike at the President... East Germany: a communist spy masters uses family connections to turn Isreal into a red puppet... Miami: the only American who knows what is happening has his head blown off...

The title is just screaming "Please make me into a B-Movie!". Awesome, just awesome. And no worries Westport, I will bring back the book for other people to enjoy. As soon as I am done with it.

Hellboy 2 = Hellofaride?

I just saw the sequel to 2004s Hellboy, a comic adaptation by Guillermo del Toro who also brought us the acclaimed Pan's Labyrinth. I thought the first Hellboy was good but could have been better. It had a good amount of action and humor and not to forget - Hellboy, played by Ron Perlman. But it also had Rupert Evans as agent John Myers who somewhat seemed to play a bigger role in the story than the red guy himself. Which was OK since Hellboy still delivered all the oneliners and action you were hoping for. Still, people thought Myers didn't fit in that well and wanted the focus more on Hellboy himself. Well, in part two, Agent Myers isn't part of the crew anymore. Seacreature Abe returns as well as Selma Blair in her role as the flaming lady Liz. Joining them is a German scientist by the name of Johann Kraus (voiced by Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane) whose special ability is that he actually is made of steam and can even give live to inanimate things. Sort of. Unfortunately, no background to this character is delivered whatsoever, leaving his character somewhat empty, pretty much like the suit he wears. What are they up against? The golden Army.

Or more likely, the people trying to awaken the golden army. And by people I mean prince Nuada, the son of king Balor and brother of princess Nuala, with whom he is deeply connected. What is very well done in the movie is, that he isn't just a typical bad guy who just wants to destroy everything and kill everyone. He actually fights for a cause that in his eyes is right and is comprehendible. So he isn't just plain bad, he is just looking at the world from a different angle. And as pretty much all my friends and I agreed, he is the most detailed character in Hellboy 2.

I wish that could be said of Hellboy himself too. While there is a little flashback to his youth, he remains very shallow. Of course you can argue that in an action flick you don't really need much depth and definitely not for a character such as Hellboy anyhow, but in this case I disagree. Especially when the sequel clearly builds on the mentioned character and tries to give him depth by exploring his personal life and relationship with his girlfriend. Unfortunately, here the movie fails too, because any conflict between Hellboy and Liz that arises, is never really explained or too trivial and therefore feels too unimportant to really be a conflict to begin with. So Hellboy never surpasses the stage of delivering oneliners, which makes it hard to really get attached to this character but ultimately is so vital since the focus is much more him. And many of his lines feel too familiar from the first film.

What really made this movie stand out though were the visuals. First off, I personally would like to thank del Toro for trying to use as little CGI as possible. You can clearly tell, that whenever there was an opportunity to do something without using computer effects, it was done the good ol' fashioned way. A lot of the creatures in the film are masks or puppets. And they just look a lot more realistic. Screw you Lucas! And your army of CGI clones! Second off, the design of the creatures you see in the movie was incredible. Some of the stuff could easily have been straight out of Pan's Labyrinth. And there are so many different kinds of creatures too. The only design I did not like unfortunately, was the one for the golden army. You can see them in the trailer already so I am not spoilering anything, but to me their round shape wasn't threatening at all. We are talking about the meanest, unstoppable, brutal army that this planet has ever seen and then they look like a cross between a sumowrestler and a blowup rubber ball?!

Overall I am disappointed by Hellboy 2. Maybe because of all the great reviews it received prior to release. But then again my friends didn't read any and also said it could have been better. The movie has a lot going for it. The great visuals foremost, but when you strip that away, the plot shows a lot of weak spots. Too soon you know how it will all end. Also the pacing to me felt too slow. Like a rollercoaster that doesn't have a climax. But still, Hellboy 2 has some beauty in it and makes a decent action film, just not a great one though.

Techno Love

When I court a lady, I take her to a nice restaurant. Heck, I will even throw on some pants to make her feel special. I pay for her Happy Meal (keep the toy for myself though) and whisper sweet things in her ear before I make love to her for hours on a polarbear rug in front of a fireplace until she sheds a tear of joy. Or I fall asleep. But I guess for other people a trip to the Apple store will just do:


Can't you just feel the love and see the sparks? Romance at work I tell you.

Oh yeah, the new iPhone came out today. It was around 8pm when I decided to see what all the fuss is about. When I got to the store, it was still so crowded you had to stand in line for at least an hour to even get into the store. Just ridiculous. See for yourself:

And while I am ranting on about the iPhone, I have to tell you this. There was this group of guys on the subway and one of them was complaining about how pathetic it was that everybody at work today, kept talking of the new iPhone. And he just went on and on and on. Well I got news for you! Who is more pathetic: The person that talks about the iPhone or the person that talks about people talking about the iPhone? DIPSHIT!

My mailman is a superhero!

It is true! Well at least I think he is. Why? Well, I walked past the United States Post Office on 8th Ave. Looking closely you can read the following statement, which is written across the front of the building, greeting everyone who comes in:

"Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat Nor Gloom Of Night Stays These Couriers From The Swift Completion Of Their Appointed Rounds"

Seriously, that has got to make you feel like you are Superman when you walk into that building for work. Is it a train? Is it a train phonebooth? No! It's the mailmaaaaan!!! And no matter what obstacle, he shalleth overcometh it with his maildelivering superpowers! Just beware his powerful stamp-punch!

Hail to you buddy and I think I speak for you all of us when I say that The Postman starring Kevin Costner is horrible. You deserve better. Better than Kevin Costner anyhow. But then again, everybody deserves better than Kevin Costner.

Felix & Camera go to White Castle

First off, if you, a guy, have never seen Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, you are to print out the following card and carry it with you at all times. Furthermore you are to show it to everyone you meet. Ever. Until you have seen the movie that is. And watching it in German doesn't count since the German dubbing is horrible.



This morning when I woke up, I heard something. It was this strange voice from deep within calling out to me: "Feeelix, Feeeeeeeeeeelix! Come hither to the Castle of White. The burgers shalleth free thou tastebuds like a shining knight!" Maybe I didn't hear voices after all and instead I was having bowel movement, but I did have a craving for something I knew only one thing could cure: White Castle miniburgers. Lots of them. So I followed the footsteps of Harold & Kumar. It was as if god had shone me a light straight to the door of White Castle at 525 8th Ave. Of course I had to save the moment for all of mankind to see:



The thing with White Castle is that their burgers are very small. Maybe half the size of a MickeyDees cheeseburger. But they only cost little too. So the deal is that you just get a bunch of them. I had a Chicken Italiano, a jalapeno cheeseburger, fries, a double cheeseburger, a regular cheeseburger and some melted cheese for the fries to dip in. And of course a tasty beverage to wash it all down.

But I do have to say, the taste sensation wasn't that much of a sensation. It was quite disappointing. I didn't mind the size of the burgers. I like to get little things with all kinds of different tastes. But the burgers just didn't taste that good. I hate pickles on my burgers. And the cheeseburgers just had too many on them. And not just that, they were big too. Due to the small size of a burger one slice of pickle almost covered the whole beef patty. The meat didn't taste that great either. Tasted too much like frozen meat which, of course, it ultimately is at pretty much every burgerchain but some just taste better. The Chicken Italiano was good though and the fries were decent. But then again, screwing up fries is pretty hard. The jalapeno cheeseburger had some spicy sauce on it to give it a little zest which was OK. Overall the anticipation was better than the sensation itself. On my scale from 1 to 10 where McDonalds is the median with a 5, White Castle gets:

3 out of 10

And although I was still hungry i decided to head for the road. It was funny to see though, that I wasn't the only one going in there because of Harold & Kumar. There were tourists in there too, taking pics with like 15 empty burger boxes to prove to buddies back home that they do know the movie and therefore don't have a very very very small penis.

Take A Walk On The Wild Side

Lou Reed is god. Period. Challenging that is like challenging that grass is green or that water is wet. It is a lost cause. But enough of that. How did I come up with this realization? Well it was late last night and whilst it was late, I remembered another night in my life when it was also late. So basically I remembered a forgotten late night, late last night. And during that memory of a night long passed I remembered a beautiful garden of winter, a friend called MykelJay and a song of stories sung by a man by the name of Lou Reed. Maybe you will like it too, but if you only enjoy a fragment as much as I do, you should be in bliss:



I love the images of NYC in this video.

Hot town, summer in the city...

...back of my neck getting dirt and gritty! Seriously, NY gets hot in the summer. And very humid. Today we hit 90˚ fahrenheit (around 32˚ celsius) easily. The concrete of skyscrapervalley radiates heat making you feel like an egg, ready to be scrambled. No wonder since the city is pretty much on the same latitude as Naples in Italy. And because of the heat, the city gets stinky. It is like walking through a fog of different smells. Mostly bad ones. Because as much as this city symbolizes what man can achieve, to me it also symbolizes of how humanity will ultimately fall. Ying & Yang all over baby. Among all the brilliant architecture, money and success lies the stench of trash and poverty while police sirens go off in the far distance, letting you know that bad can strike any second. The subway pulsating underneath the streets like thick red blood through my veins, bringing life into the Big Apple. And I fuckin' love it. Enough of the second rate poetry though. What do I do against the heat? Stay inside, crank up the AC and enjoy a nice cold brewski. At least until darkness falls and the creeps come out to play, because then I become...



BALLOONSTUCKINASS-MAN !!!

Sorry, I just bought tickets for Dark Knight starting next week and I got a little carried away.

I wish I was into comics

When I was younger I did read comics every now and then. I liked Clever & Smart, also Mad Magazine and of course the European stuff such as Tintin, Lucky Luke and Asterix & Obelix. I even had some of the early Star Wars comicbooks that came out before the movie Return of The Jedi, where the creators had no clue yet that Luke and Leia were brother and sister and thus had a intimate relationship. Also read some Superhero stuff but didn't really have a favorite. At least I think. I never really got hooked on comics though but looking back I realise I read more than I thought I did. To me they were just the perfect entertainment when I hit the john. But other than that I didn't really find them that gripping. And growing older I also grew out of them. Why am I telling you all this? Well I was walking around NYC again today and stumbled upon Forbidden Planet, a comicbook and toy store of sorts, close to Union Square. And that place is awesome! It makes me wish I was more into comics. But also Fans of movies will love it. They have all kinds of memorabilia that will make your movie-lovin' heart jump. Take for example this replica of the Enterprise NCC-1701 (the ship tha our beloved James T. Kirk commandeered):



And this thing is huge! I would say it is around 30 inches (75cm) long. The whole store is packed with cool stuff like that. And it sort of makes me wish I would have gotten more involved in comics. There seem to be so many cool ones out there but I feel it is too late to really get involved and as I said, I am just no that into it. But I guess you can't have everything. But I will own that NCC-1701 some day. Oh yes, I will. Some day.

Check out the link to take a look at Forbidden Planet. If you ever are in NYC and are a fan of comics, this is definitely a place to check out.

Independence Day in the Big Apple

July 4th is the big holiday in the US where they celebrate their independence from England. Of course I was quite looking forward to the spectacle fort several reasons. First off, I am always one for a party. Second off, the fireworks in NYC are supposed to be amazing. Third off, I get to watch them from the rooftop of the building I live in where normally no one is allowed up. So how did it turn out to be? Quite disastrous! The fireworks are shot off from 3 barges on the east river. Unfortunately, this year they moved down 12 blocks so the normally perfect view of the colorful explosions was obstructed by a big building. What a bummer. So no pics of that since there was nothing to photograph. But being up on the roof wasn't all that bad. I was able to take some nighttime pics from the surrounding buildings including the Empire State and also the Chrysler building. And I do have to say, considering it was raining and I don't have a tripod and these are 30 second exposures, the pics turned out quite alright. Take a look:



I know there are only minor variations in these pics but there really were no other good motifs. Still think they turned out alright especially with the reflection of the buildings in the watery ledge.

So because we didn't really see the fireworks due to the obstructed view, we went downstairs and watched it on TV. Yeah, I know that's lame. But the good part is after the fireworks were over, we watched some Robot Chicken (one of the funniest shows ever) and then the end of Empire Strikes Back. Seriously, the old Star Wars are so much better than the new ones, it dazzles my mind every time I see them.

New Cats on the Blog - Jack

Living in the big city you don't see too many animals. Of course, you see people with their dogs, strolling out and about. But cats? You would normally think that cats have to stay indoors. But be assured, around the place I live are a bunch of cats. And they don't just stay inside. They actually run around on the sidewalk. Pretty fun to see and that is the reason I have decided to come up with "New Cats on the Blog" (and if you don't get that "New Kids on the Block" joke, you might ask your doctor whether you are a turd).

Today I present you Jack. Jack lives in a liquor store called "Wine Haeven" on 333 3rd ave close to the block where I live. The best part about it is, that in the store there is a big floormat saying "Jack lives here". Of course the statement refers to Jack Daniels and not the cat itself. This is the part where you go "Ooh!" and chuckle.


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So what's so cool about Jack? He just is a true New York cat. He is a bit overweight. Sorry, bigboned I mean. And he has this full round face that makes him look like the chiller that he is. Most of the the he will be lying around in the store observing all and everyone. He doesn't take crap from anyone. This dog, let's call him Mr. R, came in (and this dog is big like a labrador) and Jack just ran at it and bodychecked it. Those dogs won't be callin' him pussy no mores. So don't be fooled by his white "slippers". On the other hand Jack can just be a purrball. I like Jack.

Times Square by day

Yeah I know, Times Square by day isn't really as amazing as it is during nighttime. I really don't like going there though. It is just too packed with musicals (oh how I hate them) and too many tourists.

Entertainment Weekly, The New Classics Part 2: Videogames

So here we go again. EW - The New Classics. But this time they picked videogames. Couldn't wait to read this one. Again, EW looked at the best of the last 25 years and picked 50 new classics. And again I will post the ones I don't really agree with. For my own reasons. But this time, I will go a little more into detail. Here you will find the full Top 50 list.

• Nr. 1: Tetris. Come oooon! That is so lame. Surprise me! That game has always been a classic. There really isn't anything new about this one. Will never forget the endless times I spent playing it on my Gameboy.
  
• Nr. 5: Guitar Hero. Sorry, I just don't like Guitar Hero that much. Never understood the buzz. Too hard for beginners to pick up at a party. Too unentertaining for those who watch it.
• Nr. 11: Halo 1. Halo was the first Shooter on a console that had excellent pad control and an awesome multiplayer... No wait! That was GoldenEye. Well, Halo 1 was that game with the great level design... No, not really either. Halo 1? Overrated.
  
• Nr. 18: Half-Life. Oh this one definitely should be in the Top 50. But ranked higher. At least Top 5. This is the first shooter that introduced an involving story and spawned great games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress.
• Nr. 20: Gears of War. Yeah, I know, the game does have great graphics. And I agree it is fun to play. Especially in coop mode. Yet it could have been more than cover-shoot-cover. Should be in there but I would give it a lower ranking.
• Nr. 24: Tony Hawk 2. Never liked the series. Maybe it is because I suck at it so much.
  
• Nr. 25: Shadow of the Colossus. This game is a piece of art. It is beautiful in every way. Tells a story with amazing pictures. Would be in my Top 10 if not Top 5.
  
• Nr. 40: Okami. Same as with Shadow of the Colossus. One of the most beautiful game experiences I have had. Too bad it was a financial disaster.
  
• Nr. 43: Psychonauts. A lot of people see this as an underrated game and hailed it as one of the best games by Tim Schafer. I just never got into it that much and could not understand the underground hype around it.
  
• Nr. 47: Oblivion. Yes, the game does have a lot of sidequests. Some are even very innovative and entertaining. But the world was just boring. Pretty much everything looked the same. It was one big green forest. And Monsters leveling with you? Crappy idea!

There are some more games I would not pack in there. All the 1 on 1 BeatemUps. Never cared for those. Also Wipeout, which to me is overrated. But some games that are absolutely brilliant were not in there. I was shattered. What happened to the following new classics?



There are probably more games, that I can't think of right now. Especially in the ShootemUp section. That to me really is the best genre. Gradius stands for all of the ones I didn't mention here. What do you think about the list? Let me know.