12 years ago, I started watching a show that would change my life. I am proud to say that it was Naruto. In my later years of high school, I had started to get interested in Anime and Manga but it was more of a casual thing, with only a couple of shows ever really grabbing my interest. Girls and Homework were far more important than wasting time in front of a screen watching any type of show when I was 16. But in the later part of 2005 I was dragged into the world of Naruto and by extension Bleach, by a friend of mine at school who was also a fan of the shows.

From the first episode, I was hooked. I clearly remember marathoning the first 100+ episodes in a handful of days during a holiday period. Not only was the story interesting but the action was exciting and the character development was something that I hadn’t really seen in traditional western shows. At that time, Anime was shown on TV only during a very specific period of time, very late at night and only ever the same few shows. I was already a fan of Cowboy Bebop and Orphan, but the difficulty of access to it made it unappealing to me.

Given my history with the show, even if in the last 8 years I haven’t watched more than a handful of episodes, I felt I needed to sit down and watch the very last episode of Naruto Shippuden. For the sake of homage to the series as a whole and the impact it had on my life.

It was while I was watching this final episode that I came to the realization that the concept, characters, and whole feel of the show was no longer one I could enjoy, or even overly appreciate. I found myself mentally critiquing the characters and feeling annoyed at their shortcomings, which I knew about well in advance of watching the show but felt they should no longer have them after so much time to develop and grow.

It was an interesting experience, that I will admit, to go back and look over a show that meant so much to me as a teenager and young adult. To see it now, with the same flaws it had back then, only more magnified now that I have watched so many other shows that are better in their execution of relationships and dialogue.

But regardless of being let down by my nostalgia for the show, I will always hold Naruto and Bleach in a special place in my heart, if for no other reason than they helped shape me into the man I am today. I wouldn’t be writing and talking about things I love so much if not for the inspirations that they provide.

Despite my reservations and critiques of the show it became, I am glad that the show was made and that I got to experience it when I did. I hope that others feel the same way. It was a hallmark of its time and has helped countless numbers of people to be introduced to the ever-expanding world of Anime as a medium. So, thank you Hayato Date for your Direction, thank you to all the cast and crews who worked on it during its decade plus of air time and thank you for watching it with me. Without you as well as myself and everyone else who helped to turn it into such a tremendous phenomenon, we wouldn’t be who we all are today.

Australian Release Dates

“The Sims 4: Get Famous” Expansion Pack Review

Published

4 weeks ago

July 23, 2019

Alexandra Eve

Are you ready to Get Famous?

Taking inspiration from The Sims 1 Superstar and The Sims 3 Showtime, your sims can now be famous! Starry-eyed sims can flaunt their talent, attend awards nights and even top secret VIP parties.

Del Sol Valley

A new world filled with Bright Lights and Big City Dreams awaits. Featuring alikeness to Tinsel Town itself, Los Angeles including “Starlight Boulevard” with a Walk of Fame where your sims can solidify their “status” in the sidewalk. “The Pinnacles” is the Gated Community where the biggest names in all of Del Sol Valley reside. There is also a “downtown” area, complete with a shoddy neighbourhood vibe. This is where all aspiring sims to start their career close to the shine of the Big City. If your sim takes the career path of an Actor, they will be able to access the “career lot” to star in the next big commercial, or film on real set; complete with hair and makeup.

Acting Career

Your sims can be famous in many different ways. From painting and music to cooking and social media, but Acting is the new career in The Sims 4 Get Famous. Start out by finding a talent agency and they will provide you with a list of auditions that your sims can attend. Depending on your sim’s “talent” and skills, you might have to complete a few simple tasks to ensure they are getting the best opportunity from the audition. Once the audition is complete, your sim is invited to the Career lot to complete the audition. Starting in Hair and Makeup, on to Costumes, then your sim can put on a show on the main stage and WOW the director.

Create-A-Sim and Build and Buy Mode Additions

New items to hold up the theme of “Celebrity” include new furniture with a lavish style to flaunt your new wealth. Gold plated everything, even the toilet! My favourite is the “Mid Century” collection which goes quite well with The Sims 4 Bowling Stuff accents. Unfortunately, the clothing options for sims aren’t great in my opinion. Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I don’t understand the clothing choices. There are colours that don’t compliment each other (red and green, guys, really?) and some really tacky options in my opinion.

Perks and Quirks and Fame, OH MY!

From Notable Newcomer to Global Superstar; Your sims can get famous doing almost anything. Celeb sims gain Fame Points as they climb the ladder to stardom. Collect fame points by schmoozing with the rich and famous, plan publicity stunts, perform in public and signing autographs. The higher you climb on the ladder of fame, the more perks your Celebrity Sims will receive. Traits such as “Instant Besties”, “Networking” and “Star Treatment” are there to help make things easier for your sims, but there are also negative quirks to go along with the perks. “Vain Street” keeps your sims looking in mirrors, “No touching” means that a sim will become upset if someone touches them, and so on.

Search for Stardom

After playing this pack for a while, I did find it was quite repetitive and similar to other packs that The Sims team have already released. The Acting career is similar to the active careers from “Get Famous” and the Celebrity points are similar to the “Vampires” game pack. However, I do enjoy that you can be a “Bad” influence or a “Good” influence celebrity. Most of the items included are extravagant and absolute luxe. It would have been nice to see some more shabby-chic objects for those “wanna-be” starter celebs. The other thing that almost “bothered” me about this pack is the starter neighbourhood, “Mirage Park”. There is only one lot that’s empty (and it’s HUGE) and the other has a very basic house pre-built. I feel like I need to spend more time on this one, but so far it does what it needs to do for a Celebrity Expansion Pack.

The Sims 4: Get Famous Expansion Pack is now available on EA Origin.

EA Game Changers

“What’s going on with “The Sims 4″?” A collection of recent events in The Sims social Media.

Published

1 year ago

May 16, 2018

Alexandra Eve

There has been little to no news about The Sims since early March when they released The Sims 4 My First Pet Stuff and The Sims Mobile internationally.

My First Pet Stuff was received in an “underwhelmed” motion from the community. Many people were protesting that the content resembled simple recolours from the earlier “Cats & Dogs” expansion. However, as you can see in my review here, I feel like I gave the Stuff pack more credit than most simmers.

This left the Sims players thirsty for more information and add on’s for their game.

The only information we have received “officially” is that a new Sims 4 “experience” will be hands on at EA Play in Hollywood this June just before E3 kicks off. Further to this; some EA Game Changers and some of the big Sims Content Creators were invited to EA Play to experience and report on the excitement happening at the event. Only two Simmers were included from Australia, myself not being one of them. Maybe next time.

Aside from rumors and silence, there really hasn’t been any movement in the EA office as far as we know.

Main Events on Twitter and in the EA Community;

SimGuruDrake, aka the Global Community Manager left the team to work for “Fortnite” which is currently blowing up in the gaming world with PvP games taking the top in Twitch Games Played.

Since Drake has left there has been a silence over The Sims Team. Following that our favourite SimGuru, Liz from EA Sydney, has also resigned leaving her position as Community Manager of Asia Pacific. It’s very sad to see her go, now that our Australian Forums and also our Australian Community Manager are now no more. Her position is still up on the EA Careers website and we wish her the best in her new role!

-Many new SimGurus joined the Mobile team to help the influx of queries regarding the International release of the Mobile game in March. See the full list of current SimGurus on Twitter click here.

– SimGuruDaniel was “laid off” after working in The Sims team for 20 years. His tweet below speculates that his departure was not his choice. We wish him all the best in his new endeavors.

And today’s wonderful news is that SimGuruKate has been appointed the new Community Manager for The Sims 4 as of today. We wish her all the best in her new role!

I’ll be sure to keep you up to date with more news as it comes around.

Australian Release Dates

The Sims 4 Jungle Adventure Game Pack Trailer Released!

Published

2 years ago

February 14, 2018

Alexandra Eve

“Hold Onto Your Potatoes! We’re going on an ADVENTURE!”

A new trailer launched today for the up coming Game Pack for The Sims 4. It is titled “Jungle Adventure” and it is being compared to The Sims 3 World Adventures Expansion pack.

From the trailer, we can see there is a big influence with Central America, rain forests, new foods and new regions to explore. Read More from the EA Website.