Derrick stays with his Ninja Turtles theme and starts off this category with the selection of the Technodrome.Wikipedia says: Although menacing at first glance, through the course of the series the Technodrome is almost always stuck somewhere (be it encased in ice, sunken under the ocean or trapped in Dimension X), making its full capabilities never realized. The closest the Technodrome came to show its full capabilities was in the finale of season three (Big Blow Out), and to a lesser extent the season 7 finale "Shredder Triumphant!" In that episode the Technodrome produced cutting equipment from hatches, raised up on hydraulic legs, and expanded the dimensional portal outwards.I believe that this toy came equipped with these hydraulic legs and cutting equipment which makes it enjoyable, however its lack of ability to “expand the dimensional portal outwards” lessens its value somewhat.
I don’t know what anyone else thinks, but I believe Khurram’s selection of Legos was the best of the round.Legos could entertain a child for ages and allows for the creation of multiple toys.This was a brilliant pick.I followed Khurram with a pick of Starscream, the transformer who is second in command of Decepticons.The first toys I really remember owning were transformers and Starscream was my favorite.Afterall how could you not like a toy that transforms into a jet?This went double for me, given my fascination with airplanes at that age.Eric closed out this category with leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime.No doubt he and I could have had some serious battles with our Transformers.I always liked Optimus Prime when he was not transformed, but everytime I transformed him I always had to attach that burdensome trailer to his back.This meant that he wasn’t able to out maneuver the shiftier of Decepticons.
This is an odd category for me to write up.Much like video games, everyone has really specific preferences when it comes to childhood memories of Cartoons.Obviously, Eric’s pick of The Simpsons is based on more than just childhood memories, as the cartoon remains a viable show to this day.It is also the most commercially successful cartoon ever.Additionally, because I attached the caveat of “from your childhood” to this category, it likely ruled out Family Guy, or maybe not.I would still likely pick GI Joe, and Khurram might very well have taken Darkwing Duck.Simply put, I doubt Khurram can imagine growing up with Darkwing Duck.And I know that I could not have lived without GI Joe (and knowing is half the battle…sorry, I couldn’t resist).Of course another show that was influential in my childhood was the totally gnarly Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.I mean I even went to see a Ninja Turtles concert when I was in second grade.Therefore, Derrick’s pick of TMNT was excellent in my eyes.Overall, I have no complaints about anyone’s picks in this category.
Round 1: Derrick started off the round with in my opinion, the best Super Mario Bros. ever made. It was probably the pre-eminent game of the NES, garnered numerous accolades and was even featured in a movie. This is an outstanding pick, though ultimately just a derivative of the next pick. Khurram followed with what is the genesis of all modern platforming games. Though the game is obviously of lesser quality that Super Mario 3, there is something about the game that always brings back a certain level of nostalgia. I can still hear the underwater and underground themes in my head to this day (though that may say more about my sanity than anything else). When you couple that with the fact that the game threw in secret warps, fireballs, hammer brothers, and the gay toad at the end of every major world, this has to be the best pick of the round. If we are judging this category based purely on replayability, then it is likely I would win as Tetris was my pick in round 1. Though the game has enjoyed many iterations, the version that appeared on the NES is still one of the most enjoyable games of all time and is at least in present times, perhaps the most widely played game on this list. Eric’s pick of Street Fighter 2 to end the first round means that everyone drafted a first round quality pick in the initial round for the first time in a long time. Street Fighter 2 was the fighter that all other fighters were measured against in that time. Though the Mortal Kombat series gained notoriety for its gore, and Dead or Alive for its, um, “bounciness”, no other game combined a simple yet deep fighting system, unique fighters and styles, an artistic beauty, and memorable mythos like Street Fighter 2 did. Nevertheless, because of its role as the Godfather of modern video games, this round has to belong to Khurram with Super Mario Bros.
Round 2: Eric starts off round 2 with Empire Strikes Back, a solid but unspectacular game unless you are a big Star Wars fan. Eric is, so I understand this pick. I followed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the arcade. I remember wasting quite a few quarters at the arcade at Melbourne Square Mall among other places trying to beat this game. The Ninja Turtles were hugely popular in those days, and I believe that there has yet to be a better game featuring the Turtles than that arcade version. Though the first round was relatively close, Khurram blew everyone out this round with his pick of Tecmo Super Bowl. This was the football franchise for that era and almost anybody who has played it with friends can attest to the greatness of its simple yet engaging football mechanics. Its predecessor Tecmo Bowl may be better known in some circles, but anybody who’s anybody knows that Tecmo Super Bowl was the best version. Derrick finishes off round 2 with Streets of Rage 3. Sides scrolling brawlers may have reached their peak with this iteration of Streets of Rage 3. Sure games like Double Dragon and the unforgettable Battletoads (or the all time classic combination of the two) garnered more attention. But with 3 character archetypes, a fast pace and a healthy level of violence, its hard to argue with the selection of Streets of Rage 3.
Round 3: I HATE Derrick’s selection of Bubble Bobble if only because I just spent 10 minutes on youtube watching someone play Bubble Bobble and now I want to play it. This was a classic game that featured multiple extensions on the ending and created an enjoyable multiplayer experience as well. Khurram closes out his stellar round with Contra 3, perhaps the last of the great Contra games. Do I really need to extrapolate on the greatness of this game? Not hardly, though I am tempted to. I took Megam Man 2 next because that game was and is my archnemesis. I couldn’t beat it when I was a kid and I struggle even more with it now. I loved the idea of a mix between a platformer and a shooter and fighting through different levels to reach the unique bosses and obtaining their abilities. The game was an extreme source of frustration. You know that thin line between love and hate? This game straddles that line for me. Eric ends the round and category with a game we all know and love, NBA Jam Tournament Edition. This game took arcade hoops to a whole new level and featured stellar graphics to boot. And who could ever forget: “He’s heating up!”….”He’s on fire”. At which point all hell would break loose with people swinging elbows and trying to goal tend shots like crazy. Oh, and the summersault dunks and secret codes for awesome players and big heads. I think Eric takes this round.
Overall Analysis: Khurram’s selection in round 2 couple with his narrow win in round 1 and solid pick in round 3 means he pretty much walked away with this category. It was slightly closer than I first imagined it would be, but still this was the best piece of drafting we have seen from Khurram so far.
Round 1: Eric starts us off with Colony Wars which in my opinion was a wasted pick, as no one would’ve taken Colony Wars in this draft besides him. My choices came down to Metal Gear Solid of Final Fantasy 7 because both games introduced me to the Playstation. Solid Snake has become an icon in the video game world and MGS was the first game that I know of to feature a cinematic story along with classic game play. Khurram made an excellent choice with GTA 4 as the game is extremely popular and must be so for a reason. I’m not exactly a big fan of the GTA games, but I do understand their appeal. Derrick closed the first round out with Final Fantasy 7. It is a first round quality game for sure and I would’ve drafted it on the way back if given a chance. Looking at it objectively, I might have to give the edge to Khurram based on a pure popularity stand point, but I’d prefer to either play MGS or Final Fantasy 7 over any of the GTA’s. Bottom line, 3 of the first 4 games chosen were first round quality and a case could be made for any of them.
Round 2: Derrick kicks off round 2 with Tomb Raider Legend. I knocked Eric for taking Colony Wars in the first round, so one might think I would do the same with Derrick as it is highly unlikely that anyone would’ve taken Tomb Raider Legend before his next pick. However, the game is quality (not to say that Colony Wars is not) so Derrick’s excellent first round pick makes up for this one. Khurram went with Mortal Kombat Trilogy. I can think of a few better fighters out there, but the Mortal Kombat series has always offered its unique style to gamers and for some that outweighs any possible lack of depth. That being said, the game was still solid, and much like my reasoning with Derrick’s pick this round, I cannot knock this pick. I went with Red Alert, my favorite RTS of all time in terms of pure game play. For the RTS savants out there, I know there are better games, but RTS was the gold standard of its time for quite a while and that combined with its awesome soundtrack, cheesy storyline and Tanya, make this another solid pick. Eric closed out the round with by far the best pick. Though I never got into Starcraft, its appeal is inarguable. This is a game that caused deaths in Korea because people played it too much. An outstanding pick for Eric to make up for his reach in the first round.
Round 3: Eric goes back to back RTS games which would be okay in some circumstances but in doing so made a grave error in leaving out what I thought was one of his favorite games of all time: Shadow of the Collosus. Of course, I took this game as soon as he let it fall by the wayside. In terms of originality, creativity and ambience there is without question no other game like it. In my opinion it was the best pick of the round. I have never played Civilization 3 so I cannot comment in depth about it, except to say that I have heard good things and Round 3 is usually about personal preferences more than anything else anyways. Though I do kind of wonder where Prince of Persia is on Khurram’s list. Derrick closed the category out with Ninja Gaiden Sigma, a beautifully designed game featuring a ninja who is cold-blooded killing machine. Good times!
Overall Impressions: I refuse to declare a winner this round. I obviously like my picks more than anyone else’s, but no one made an egregious error in my opinion. Though I heavily questioned the Colony Wars pick by Eric it ultimately did not come back to hurt him as he got a first round caliber game in the second round. Eric missed out on Shadow, and I may have preferred Final Fantasy 7 or MGS4 now that I have almost finished the game, but games are based so much on personal preferences (consider: people’s preferences of one genre over another, or story vs. gameplay vs. graphics, length of time involved in the game, multiplayer capabilities…who am I to say one is absolutely better than another…I acknowledge that I am an arrogant bastard, but not enough to do that) that I really can’t fault any one set of picks.
Players may choose any five movies.If a movie belongs to a series, each movie in the series is counted individually
Derrick
Khurram
Richard
Eric
The Dark Knight
Godfather I
The Matrix
Glory
Godfather II
Coming to America
Friday Night Lights
Shawshank Redemption
Dumb and Dumber
Devil’s Advocate
Heat
Empire Srikes Back
Field of Dreams
5th Element
A Few Good Men
Return of the Jedi
Cinderella Man
A Beautiful Mind
Superbad
Space Balls
Round 1: Derrick starts us off with his favorite movie of all time, and after just watching it in IMAX, I like the pick and understand where its coming from.Because he picked first this category, he had to be sure he got Dark Knight with his first pick, as it certainly wouldn’t have been available on the way back.Khurram went with the ultimate classic movie Godfather I.It is THE mob movie and was the likely genesis of The Sopranos and the overrated Scarface.I went with The Matrix, a movie that I will always associate with some of the best days of my youth.It also pretty much redefined movies as we know them, and produced countless knockoffs, including two of its own sequels.Eric, the ultimate history teacher, closed out the round with Glory.I cannot deny that it is an excellent movie, but I think he could’ve gotten it a bit later.I also can’t help but ask Mr. Miller where Gettysburg is on his list.Ultimately, I give round 1 to me.But just barely.
Round 2: Eric doubles up on the emotional flicks with Shawshank Redemption.An instant classic according to TNT (and remember, they know drama), and me.At one point in time Shawshank Redemption may have been the single most underrated movie of all time, at least with respect to the viewing public.But now that it shows up on TV all the time, its hard for me to believe that that continues to be the case.I took Friday Night Lights, quite possibly the best modern day sports movie ever made and one of the few films that didn’t fuck up an excellent book.All three of the other movies in this category might be more beloved, but to me, none of them tops Friday Night Lights.“Can you be perfect?”Back when Eddie Murphy was still Eddie Murphy he made films like Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America.Eddie Murphy was hilarious in that era, and I like this pick a lot by Khurram.However, I can’t help but wonder if Khurram couldn’t have waited a round and instead secured the Godfather II to match his pick in the first round.But since he didn’t, Derrick did.I know some consider II to be a better film than one, but either way, I would think you need both to be truly satisfied.Therefore, I give round 2 to Eric.
Round 3: Derrick takes comedy gold with Dumb and Dumber.I remember watching that movie in theatres and laughing so hard my body hurt by the time I left.Excellent pick.Khurram threw a curveball in this round by taking the Devil’s advocate.I just don’t get this pick at all.Its not like the movie was that great, though I do believe there was some gratuitous nudity at one point (a trait sorely lacking by the films on this list).Khurram could’ve taken this mediocre movie in the last round as I find it hard to believe anyone had this on their top 5 or 10 lists.I took a much better Al Pacino movie when I picked Heat.DeNiro and Pacino facing off as criminal mastermind and cop?A hall of fame scene in a diner where they size each other up and know that each is as good at what he does as the other?Natalie Portman playing Pacino’s depressed step daughter?And Val Kilmer doing Val Kilmer type things?How could you not love that?Maybe its becauseyou couldn’t take the heat.Eric closes out round 3 with Empire Strikes Back, the best of all the Star Wars movies.Even still, if I am flipping through channels and Dumb and Dumber is on TBS and Empire Strikes back is on TNT, I think I have to stick with Dumb and Dumber, so Derrick takes this round.
Round 4: “If you build it, they will come”.I like this movie.A lot.I’ve heard stories of guys breaking up with girls because the girls didn’t like Field of Dreams.It has baseball, baseball history, family, drama, emotion, Costner in his prime, and Mr. This is CNN himself, James Earl Jones.When it’s on, I’ll watch it until almost the end.But every time Costner goes out to play catch with his dad I always seem to have to go cut some onions or something.Sticking with his surprising picks, Khurram goes with the 5th element.I still don’t know how I feel about this movie except for Chris Tucker can be really funny and annoying all at the same time.Let’s just move on.I took A few Good Men this round, and though you can insert MANY gay jokes right here, I prefer to ignore the title and focus on the movie itself.First you have Tom Cruise acting like Tom Cruise before anyone really knew what that was.Second, you have Demi Moore as the incompetent female attorney.A role that set back notions of equality for women a decent number of years.Then you have Jack Nicholson who has some extremely memorable lines.Everyone knows the “you can’t handle the truth!” quote, but I prefer to remember these two: “You want me on that wall, you need me on that wall.”And “I’m going to rip your eyes out and piss in your dead skull.You fucked with the wrong marine”.Anyways, Aaron Sorkin wrote the movie and play, and virtually anything Aaron Sorkin writes, I’ll watch.Finally, Eric added to his Star Wars cupboard by taking Return of the Jedi.I’m going with A Few Good Men this round, just barely edging out Field of Dreams (I can never watch the end) and Return of the Jedi (penalized slightly as a stand alone for this round).
Round 5: Instead of going with a New Hope and capturing the original trilogy, Eric goes with space balls.Though I thought the movie was very good, I also enjoy the fact that Eric went Empire Strikes Back in Round 3, Return of the Jedi in Round 4, and Space Balls in Round 5.This is hilarious to me and I don’t even know why.The Superbad pick by me was somewhat of a panic pick as I realized I had not yet picked a comedy and had to this round or not at all.Superbad was the first one that popped into my head, and I am not disappointed in it all.Though I do kind of wish I either eschewed the comedy angle all together (and gone with one of those over the top action movies like one of the Die Hards, Top Gun or Speed), or gone with the action comedy (Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon and of course Beverly Hills Cop all come to mind).Khurram makes up for two shaky rounds with A Beautiful Mind.Russell Crowe really hit the role out of the park.Outstanding value in the 5th round.Derrick closes out the round with another Russell Crow selection, this time CinderellaMan.The movie was good, the book was even better, and yet at the end of the day I have to go with Khurram and A Beautiful Mind this round.
Overall Impressions:I’m going to give the round to me though I hate giving myself too much credit when doing one of these writeups.I could’ve chosen a better comedy perhaps but as far as a range of different movies and attempting to avoid incomplete series (I conveniently ignore the fact that The Matrix 2 and 3 even exist) I think I did the best job.
But forget that, there are some more pressing matters:Some movies I am surprised didn’t make the list: Any of the first 4 Rocky movies (almost a large enough error to disqualify me and Derrick),Rocky Balboa, Top Gun, The Replacements (Nan Desu Ka!), Speed, Beverly Hills Cop, Gladiator, A movie from the Bond Series, Any one of the Lord of the Rings movies, Major League, Dead or Alive (just seeing if anyone is still reading this), Austin Powers, A random Will Smith movie (Independence Day, anyone?), Ocean’s 11, Rounders, Napolean Dynamite, The Karate Kid, and Pootie Tang (that one’s for you Khurram).
Round 1: Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need any roads! Eric takes the Delorean and its flux capacitor in round 1 of Category 5, and thereby has the best pick of the round, if not the category. My pick of the Tumbler was a very good one but was largely motivated by having seen The Dark Knight two days beforehand. Air Force one is cool and all, but it doesn’t necessarily come with a military escort, nor can it fly at speeds greater than the speed of sound, so wherever Khurram is planning on fly to could take a while. The Ironman suit is a pretty solid pick and allows for a more personalized level of travel. However, one must wonder if long distance travel would be a problem in the suit.
Round 2: Wikipedia says the Batpod is an updated version of Batman’s personal Batcycle which was a modified streetbike with a 786cc liquid cooled v-4 engine! It also contained a computer controlled carburetor and bullet-proof wind-guard. And Holy Ambiguously Gay Duo, Batman! The later model Batpods also came fully equipped with a side car for Robin. Alright, after that little history lesson: The bike has 20" front and rear tires (basically the Tumbler's front wheels), and is powered by a high-performance, water-cooled, single-cylinder engine - geared toward the lower end for faster acceleration and there are no exhaust pipes. The exhaust is routed through the hollow steel/aluminum/magnesium tubing used for the frame of the bike. [6] The Batpod is steered by the shoulders instead of hands, and the rider's arms are protected by shields.
I cannot fully analyze Khurram’s pick of KITT until I figure out if it is the new one or the old one. I should penalize him for not picking KITT to begin with and instead using a mulligan to squeeze this one in. Wikipedia lists about 20 different features for KITT and needless to say, I’m thoroughly impressed. Of note: KITT is loaded with special features such as the commonly-used Turbo Boost, which allows quick bursts of speed or jumping over obstacles. KITT could also drive himself, but perhaps his most distinct and recognizable aspect was his front mounted scan bar which, among other things, allowed KITT to "see". KITT's body panels were coated with an advanced "molecular bonded shell" armor coating which would resist conventional weapon fire as well as most artillery and explosive blasts although a strong direct hit by those attacks could cause severe damage. The creepy thing about KITT though is the artificial intelligence that always knows what you’re doing inside the car. So when Khurram tries to get a little action going with his woman inside the car, KITT will be right there. Watching. Perhaps even commentating.
My pick of The F-22 Raptor was just as generic as Khurram’s pick of Air Force One. At least my plane can go more than Mach 2, has weaponry and is stealth capable. Eric adds space travel to his list with the pick of the Millennium Falcon and continues his well rounded draft. While the Batpod is sweet and KITT is a good pick (though again, for someone who loves Knight Rider as much as Khurram, I have to penalize for not taking KITT in the initial round) I think the round again belongs to Eric for both the obvious reasons and reasons to be described in round 3.
Round 3: Eric’s pick of a submarine covers sea travel and is a solid but uninspired pick. That’s okay though, as his damage was done in the previous round. I chose Serenity for two reasons. First, I love the show/movie. Second, I got the idea for space travel from Eric. To make matters worse, Joss Whedon, creator of Serentiy, said the idea for the ship was largely inspired by the Millennium Falcon itself. When you think about the fact that both of these ships are made for smuggling runs, this makes sense.
Khurram also went the space travel route and didn’t even bother to leave the Star Wars Universe. Though the Death Start with its Blast Protector Door is a fearsome foe (sure it can blow up Earth, but what good would that do since all of Khurram’s other favorite things are still located on Earth?), it is a poor choice for travel and is more like a space station rather than a vehicle. We counted it as a vehicle though, so I can’t take that way from Khurram. Still though, it seems like this pick was inspired by Eric.
Derrick picks the only “normal” vehicle and goes with Eleanor, the Ford Mustang GT-500 from Gone in 60 Seconds. I’m not a car guy (though I almost picked the Nissan GT-R) but I remember the car from the movie and that is enough to convince me that Derrick had the best pick of the round.
Overall Impressions: Its clear that Eric had the best 3 rounds of this category overall. I think the Tumbler and KITT cancel each other out as do the F-22 and Air Force One (Seating capactiy and comfort vs. Speed and armament). The Death Star is cumbersome but deadly, Serenity is nondescript but gets the job done and will actually travel places with some measure of speed. Adding all of that up, Khurram and I had comparable selections this round. On the other hand, Derrick had a unique category and I’m not quite sure what to make of it. Though that is not really any different than most of his other categories.
Round 1: Eric went with Lasagna first.We all know why, and its really hard to argue with.However, my choice of steak represented the most upscale yet all encompassing food of the entire category.Khurram’s pick of pizza represents perhaps the most popular food in the United States, and considering it can be eaten for virtually any meal and at almost any casual gathering was an outstanding choice.Derrick’s pick of spicy chicken sandwiches at first seems narrow but then it must be remembered that it covers more than just Carl’s Jr. Spicy Chicken sandwiches (though those may be the best).Ultimately I think Khurram and I had the best two picks of the draft.I go back in forth on which one I like better and I can’t decide.On the one had, steak is the ultimate man’s meal.It can also be eaten in more sophisticated settings.But still, I’d miss pizza more than I’d miss steak if I couldn’t eat either, so edge goes to Khurram and pizza.
Round 2: The quality of food selected in this round dips noticeably.Fettucine Alfredo is a solid choice by Derrick and gives him some Italian food in his collection.Khurram’s choice of onions was an attempt to screw over others, and in some ways was a very good job.However, because Eric choice Lasagna before Khurram chose onions I wonder if that means any onions in the sauce would/ would not be excluded.That being said, I am not a huge fan of onions (with the notable exception of onion rings) so I can live without them.Beef Burgers was a quality choice by me, and Eric’s choice of subs is of similar ilk.Both foods can be eaten in any casual situation are great for parties and outings.However, subs have the potential to be healthier, so even though I am more partial to burgers, I give the edge to Eric, and his choice of subs.
Round 3: I was planning to take Calzones this round, but Eric grabbed them with his pick.Essentially it is a way of having pizza without having pizza and a good pick, though it’s another food from the Italian category.My pick of white rice, while lacking creativity or outstanding flavors is essential for me considering how much rice us Japanese people eat.Plus when you eat freshly harvested rice, there is really nothing like it and it goes well with almost everything.Ice Cream and cakes go well together, its just a shame that they got separated.Both are good picks, though I am surprised desserts went in the 3rd round.All told, as much as I love calzones, ice cream and cakes, I like my pick of white rice the most.After all it is the choice of a couple of billion Asian people.
Round 4: Having seen round 4, it is now not surprising that desserts went in round three, as the same two people went with dessert items in round 4.As good as pies are, the chocolate pick takes the cake (excuse the pun), so to speak.The Queso dip and prime rib picks are solid but nothing special and Khurram again takes this round.
Overall Impressions: Khurram and Derrick are hurt by a lack of overall variety in the “real” food area, however, they have a couple of great dessert items.Eric and I picked up great actual food, but missed out on the quality desserts.I give the slightest of edges to Khurram and his pizza and chocolate selections, though my picks of white rice and steak, and everyone else’s overall variety make this a tough call.
