Sixteen year old Russian teenager Nikita Uvarov has been sentanced to 5 years in jail for his Minecraft “plot”.
Nikita Uvarov is a sixteen-year-old teenager from Siberia who is being sentenced to 5 years of jail time for creating and planning to destroy a replica of a FSB security service building in Minecraft. Nikita, along with two other colleagues, were initially charged with “participating in a terrorist organization”, in 2020 according to The Guardian, however charges were later dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Despite investigators claiming to have found the teenagers to have also been building and testing make shift explosives, these chargers were dismissed. Text conversations detailing plans to blow up the FSB building in the game were also uncovered during the investigation.
Nikita Uvarov was found guilty on the charges of “training for terrorist activities” and sentenced to 5 years in prison, even though Nikita still claimed he was not guilty. The other two teenagers were charged with possession of illegal weapons and given sentences of 3 and 4 years respectively for their compliance with the investigators.
Nikita Uvarov’s final statements reveal he still believes himself to be innocent of the chargers but if he Is to face imprisonment he “will serve the sentence with a clean conscience and dignity.”
The 2021, R rated, Mortal Kombat adaptation hit the big screen as well as HBO Max on April 23, reviving mixed but majority positive reviews. The movie is targeted at long time fans of the video game franchise and dives into the lore behind the in game characters and events. Grossing a whopping $9 Million opening night and topping the box office. With the film being such a financial success, it’s only a matter of time before we are presented with a sequel. One character from the original beat ‘em up not feature in this new adaptation expected to make his debut in the sequel is Johnny Cage. Cage is an arrogant, and egotistical character from the Mortal Kombat franchise complete with leather jacket and douchebag sunglasses to boot. The question now is who will play this much beloved asshole in the film adaptation?
The Miz
For those unaware, who have more than likely been living under a rock for the last two decades, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin is a professional wrestler and two time Grand Slam Champion under the WWE banner. The Miz is also no stranger to the big screen, getting his start on MTV’s 10th season of The Real World before transitioning into his professional wrestling career where he has also found himself as the leading man of The Marine franchise, along with other films such as Christmas Bounty and Fighting with my Family. Following the release of Mortal Kombat The Miz took to Twitter, noticing the lack of one Johnny Cage, offering his likeness for the role.
Photo from The Miz on Twitter
Apart from his obvious acting and fighting chops, Miz bares a striking resemblance to Cage that is undeniable! Having been the perfect fit for the arrogant, egotistical, asshole fans love to hate for the better part of almost two decades now, Miz is seemingly the perfect for the role,Not to mention his apparent affection for the series, and fans seem to be rallying around this casting choice as well. Boss Logic, noted for making actor edits and adaptations for fantasy roles, even took to Twitter to post a non-edited picture of Miz claiming no edit was needed, “The guy is literally him”.
Photo from BossLogic on Twitter
Ryan Reynolds
The Miz is not the only person fans are creating buzz around however. The man responsible for reviving “The Merc with a Mouth” has been in heavy consideration amongst the Mortal Kombat fan base as well. Reynolds has proven he has the ability to play a natural, lovable jackass who is simultaneously a badass time and time again. Reynolds, never one to be left out of the loop on Twitter, took to the app amidst the speculation playing into the hype by posting a photo of himself as Cage to promote his partnership with phone provider, Mint.
Photo from Ryan Reynolds Twitter
While an announcement for the casting of Johnny Cage is nothing we should expect in the near future, we have to believe once casting begins for the inevitable sequel of Mortal Kombat, Miz and Reynolds have to be top contenders to fill the much anticipated role. Let us know who you think should play Johnny Cage in the comment section below and be sure to check out more related blogs right here! Don’t forget to tap that subscribe button to FINISH HIM!
How Fallout 76 could’ve been approached differently and keeping future multiplayer Fallouts story oriented.
Fallout 76 brought a multiplayer experience into the Fallout series, one that was long asked for, but poorly executed. That said, is there a chance to save the long awaited multiplayer aspect without muddying the story driven game? A concept that up tp just a few years ago was nothing more than hopeful speculation, is there a way to take your typical single player, story driven Fallout and play with a friend. In order to understand how to approach this, we must first look back at how the multiplayer Fallout we were given was presented.
What Fallout 76 Did Right
Photo: Pastemagazine.com
Easy is it to jump aboard the band wagon and deem Fallout 76 a bad game. While not exactly what you’d look for in or expect from your typical post-apocalyptic adventure, and while rushed, Fallout 76 like it or not does have some redeeming qualities. The first and foremost thing 76 has going for it is server size. Todd Howard made it extremely apparent during the E3 reveal of the game this is not a party, its the apocalypse. By keeping server sizes limited to “Dozens” of players rather than hundreds, Bethesda made a very smart and more lore friendly online experience for players. Apart from the small servers, 76 also capitalized on Fallout 4’s building engine. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m entirely of the opinion that less is definitely more when it comes to settlement building, However, in the age of current day Bethesda titles the settlement building g suite is something that just isn’t going away. While Fallout 76 may have gone a bit over kill on it, they adapted it well for the game we were given.
What Fallout 76 Did Wrong
Photo: pngaaa.com
Now for the fun part. While fans had been split for over a decade in wether or not their favorite title should adapt a multiplayer aspect, very few expected this. Bethesda Studios took an interesting and bold rout using the MMORPG style similar to a World Of Warcraft game, and in the end, it didn’t exactly pay off like they would’ve expected. The open world aspect is 100% in line with what we’re used to In the series, however the distinct lack of NPCs leaves a lot to be desired in therms of the main, as well as side, quest lines. Quests seem empty and unimportant, doing something simply because a voice on a hollowtape said to then doing that same exact thing every mission gets tired very quickly. Honestly, the lack of interesting quests and dialog is enough to kill the game dead in its tracks right there, and while there are a ton of other issues present, I could be here all day listening them. For your sanity as well as mine, here’s the quick and easy breakdown of all the issues I’m sure you’ve already figured out for yourself!
Settlement building seems like a chore, when it works that is. Constantly having to hope and pray your house will be able to be placed every time you enter a server is not something I should have to worry about. “Companions” are just side quest beacons that rarely add any kind of interesting aspect to the gameplay, looking at you Beckett. The replay-ability aspect is simply not there, interesting thought out side quests have been replaced with timed events and daily challenges that are just more of the same. Of course we can’t forget constantly having to deal with that one guy in each server who somehow was able to sit though countless hours of 76 and reach an ungodly level just to try and start problems with other players.
How Multiplayer Could’ve Been Approached
Photo: Fallout Wiki
Asl any life long Fallout follower how they would’ve pitched a multiplayer Fallout prior to the release of 76 and I guarantee 9/10 times someone will bring up what I like to call “the companion option”. The companion option essentially boils down to the second player would take over the role of whoever the main player’s NPC companion is at the time. Not very complicated, and quite reminiscent of the PS2 days of co-op multiplayer! However the downside to this will always be the second players limitations. Having to deal with a preset character that is ultimately the first players decision. No personalization or custom stats to work off of, just dropped into a role and attached at the hip to the host. Now, my proposal for a work around? Use the same idea that 76 had. Now hear me out, remember how we talked about keeping the server size small, make it smaller. Same open world concept, build a single player game like the days of FO3 or NV, then add in a second private slot. Same single player aspect we’ve grown to love but with two main characters, that can interact, team up, or duke it out. No strangers If not wanted and full ability to keep it single player. If Fallout 76 has shown us anything, anything is possible when it comes to the Fallout series. Will we see another multiplayer Fallout, most likely down the road. The only deciding factor of how it will play out following the backlash from Fallout 76 will be what the community is clamoring for.
Let me know what you thought of Fallout 76, and how you would build an ideal multiplayer fallout below! Don’t forget to check out more fallout blogs right here and keep up to date on everting happening at StylesRebelRadio.com
My First Fallout Experience Was The Absolute Worst Time I’ve Ever Had Playing…
I’ve been a die hard fan of the Fallout franchise for many, many years now. By far it’s my favorite game series and one I’ve played over again easily a dozen times each. Typically when someone finds their favorite game it’s a fantastic and exciting experience, for me, not so much. I was unfortunate enough to experience the absolute worst the wasteland had to offer on my very first run through, and I’m talking RIGHT AWAY. An experience I’ve never seen anything come close to in my near 100 following play throughs of the series, you’d think I had a real life Luck of zero!
A few things to keep in mind before I get into it:
• The copy of Fallout 3 I purchased came with all the DLC on a second disc .
• I used to keep my TV relatively dark to get away with playing it last midnight on school nights.
Alright, so the year is 2010. I was the absolute last of my friends to play Fallout 3. I decided to pick it up from my local Game Stop after hearing my cousin talk it up for quite some time. Opting for the slightly more expensive Game Of The Year edition, I got home and began installing the DLC from the second disc. Later in the evening once everything was installed I began my journey into the Fallout universe.
Upon starting the game everything ran like expected, Tunnel Snakes, GOAT tests, Overseer , all that good stuff. Then, came time to exit the vault. Stepping into the bright blinding light of the wasteland with nothing but my vault security armor and a baseball bat, I was beyond excited to explore the Capitol Wastes. That lasted all about 15 seconds however. Taking roughly 10 steps from the door, I began to walk toward a tall black figure that stood just off to the right of the vault entrance. Immediately without haste I was greeted with a barge of fire flying towards me. That’s right, the very first enemy I encountered in Fallout was none other than an Enclave Hellfire Trooper. So here I am, level 1, never played before, wood baseball bat, and being repeatedly spawned in front of and killed by a Hellfire Trooper with a heavy incinerator. Fortunately after a dozen deaths and a few tears, I realized I had saved before I left the vault while figuring out the controls.
After loading a new save file and exiting the vault for a second time, I was able to leave in peace! Arriving in megaton I began the main quest of finding my dad. However once again my game wasn’t having it. After informing Lucas Simms about Mister Burke’s offer to blow up the town, I met the two at the saloon, as you do. Only before Burke shot Simms, Simms’ body vanished! Burke shot thin air and Lucas was nowhere to be found for the rest of the game…. alright… guess he’s dead then. Moving on. Exiting the building and coming to realize the day cycle exists, I began wandering aimlessly around Megaton unable to see a damn thing in the dark.
The run from hell wasn’t over there however, opting to help out Moira after the whole Mister Burke incident, I began to make my way down to Super Duper Mart. Now, while I was warned about the vast amount of Raiders that can be found there, what I was not warned about was a damn Deathclaw. Upon arriving to the parking lot I was greeted with the body of a wastelands being thrown about as the giant mutated monstrosity charged toward me. After several deaths, my level 2 ass had just about had enough. Finally having the sense to just turn around and run the opposite direction upon spawning, I opted to run down the map and AROUND Super Duper Mart, just far enough to not be noticed by the Deathclaw.
My plan was fool proof, until I began to get a little too close to the parking lot once again. Finding myself in [Caution] I slowly began to back away toward the bridge just south of the store before turning and running away in full sprint… well, Fallout 3’s equivalent to a “full sprint”. Sprinting right into a Mirelurk King. Keep in mind, I didn’t even know better than to try and engage it! So here I am running away from the Mirelurk King back TOWARDS the Deathclaw just praying one of them would target the other. Fortunately for me the Deathclaw wasn’t having it and decided to attack the king, providing me just enough time to get the fuck outta dodge.
After this, I promptly turned off my Xbox wondering if I had just wasted $40. It would take me about a month or two before I finally gave it a second chance with a new profile and a normal ass play through. Here I am 10+ years later still playing Fallout 3 and every other Fallout title 100 times over, yet I’ve never once experienced anything that has even come close to that first one.
I’d love to hear about your first and/or worst Fallout experience! Let me know if you’ve ever experienced anything like what I went through my first time around and be sure to check out more Fallout right here!
The Fallout series mostinteresting and mysterious cut content
The Fallout series has adapted, improved, and tested numerous new ideas and gameplay modifications over the years right in front of our eyes as the series progressed. However, there are still plenty of scrapped concepts and designs that we never got to experience first hand in post-apocalyptia. The following are just a few examples of interesting and mysterious cut content of the Fallout franchise we’ve been able to uncover.
Tenpenny Tower Radio
YouTube.com/ Ketaruz
Home to the “elite” of the Capital Wasteland, Tenpenny Tower is the brainchild of founder Allistair Tenpenny. The prewar hotel remains relatively untouched by the outside world and as such, the residents have taken up a prewar lifestyle to compliment that. Dressed head to toe in Casualwear and Parkstroller outfits, you can’t expect the residents of such a classy establishment to be subjected to the rough and rowdy sounds of Galaxy News Radio! Enter Tenpenny Tower Radio. A station seemingly cut for unknown reasons in the late stages of development, several audio files can still be pulled from Allistair Tenpenny’s file!
Vault 120
Aminoapps.com
Most likely to be an end result of completing Fallout 4’s cut quest, 20 Leagues Under the Sea, Vault 120 was to be located in the waters of The Commonwealth! Files and assets for this vault can still be found using the Fallout 4 Creation Kit as well as several unused scripts referencing the underwater vault. Furthermore, Vault 120 appears to have been tossed around as an idea for the wild wasteland of Appalachia in Fallout 76 as multiple unused cells can be found for Vault 120 that are not present in the files for Fallout 4. Don’t be surprised when the next Fallout title or even 76 DLC features this underwater mystery.
Catfish Mierlurk
Fallout.Fandom.com
Sticking to the underwater genre, there have been several references to a catfish like creature across multiple titles In the Fallout franchise. That being said there shouldn’t be any surprise the idea has been toyed with as to how it should be represented in game. The only official In game name given to the creature occurs in Fallout when a fisherman speaks of a “Giant Catfish” . However, Fallout 3’s concept art shows the idea for a mierlurk variant referred to as the “Catfish Mirelurk” a mutated bipedal fish with menacing teeth and barbs that very well could’ve been another obstacle for The Lone Wanderer. Yet another entry we are expecting to eventually see become canon.
Vault 65
Fallout.fandom.com
A vault cut from the final release of Fallout 76, Vault 65 contains numerous files depicting a large scale vault including several rooms, elevators, machinery, and crafting stations. Diving into the game files will find the vault also referred to as “Vault 75” which might have been an early prototype for Vault 76 or other larger scale vaults according to Fallout Wiki. Interestingly enough while this vault was cut and may not even have ever been intended for gameplay, a Vault 65 trunk does exist alongside the other canon vault numbered containers.
Vault 11 Survivor
Fallout.Fandom.com
Naturally, a game built around the idea of surviving nuclear annihilation via underground vaults is going to have plenty of vault related content that doesn’t make it off the cutting room floor. With that said, we tack on our third vault related entry to the list. Located in the barren wastes of the Mohave, Vault 11 played host to one of Vault-Tec’s darkest social experiments. For those not familiar, residents of the vault were told each year one member of their community must be scarified in order for the rest of them to be able to sustainably survive, failure to do so would result in all dwellers death. In reality, Vault-Tec had a prepared message once the residents refused to do so explaining they are a true beacon of humanity and as a reward for not killing one another would be granted access to the vault door. Unfortunately the dwellers found this out much too late, with only 5 remaining survivors. The final five are said to have gone insane form the realization of that they had done resulting in eventual suicide or homicide of all the remaining member except for one. This one remaining member was originally meant to be able to be discovered in game with game files containing a character model able to be spawned via console commands. However, unlike the previous entries, while the NPC itself was removed, this character as a concept is still canon thanks to the Holotapes able to be collected in Vault 11.
Mister Burke
DiviantArt.com/ Vincent-Is-Mine
Now I know what you’re thinking, “Mr.Burke? One of the primary characters in Fallout 3? Someone who is directly involved in one of the largest choices the player can make in game?” Yes. While the majority of us who have played through Fallout 3 are faced early on with the option to either save or destroy the town of Megaton courtesy of Mister Burke, players who revived the Japanese version of the game did not! The Japanese release of Fallout 3 featured the removal of Mister Burke and with him the players ability to revive the detonation device, meaning destroying Megaton wasn’t even an option! While this was removed for “Cultural Reasons” and understandably so, it just seems odd to play through the events of Fallout 3 without one of the biggest choices the character has to make, as well as seemingly removing much of the appeal of Tenpenny tower.
These are just a handful of the mysteriously interesting cut content found within the Fallout series. As always, we’d love to hear your favorite content that never got the chance to make it to release day! Let us know in the comments down below, and check out more Fallout related content right here!
How far away exactly are we from the release of the next main entry in the Fallout series?
(Opinion piece featuring an estimated time table)
It’s the question that comes around every couple years, when is the next Fallout game coming out? With the varied reactions received upon the release of the online multiplayer RPG, Fallout 76 it seems now more than ever fans of the franchise have been clamoring for the next title in the series. Unfortunately, it seems as though Fallout 5 may take longer than most expected.
In September of 2020 Microsoft announced their recent purchase of ZeniMax Studios, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks. Upon this purchase many fans of the beloved Bethesda franchises such as Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Doom began to worry future releases of these series would be exclusive to Xbox/PC. Contrary to these rumors, Xbox head Phil Spencer stated moving forward Xbox exclusives will be determined on a “case by case basis.” This however does not mean an Xbox exclusive Fallout title is completely out of the picture just yet however. While the next project under Bethesda (after honoring their two previously agreed upon Sony exclusive titles: “Ghostwire: Tokyo” and “Deathloop”) “Starfield” will be exclusive to Xbox and PC gamers via Game Pass, moving forward it would appear doubtful to see major Bethesda titles released on Sony or Nintendo.
Bethesda.net
But when exactly could we see the next Fallout?
While we already know the previously mentioned “Starfield” will be the next title under Bethesda, it would also seem the next project in line will be “The Elder Scrolls VI” releasing sometime after 2021, according to TechRadar.com. With that being said Fallout 5 may not even be in the picture until the mid to late 2020’s! While it is possible for studios to begin working on one title before finishing another, with a series as big and as detailed as The Elder Scrolls it seems very unlikely this will be the case.
Previously in the Fallout series we’ve seen a gap as large as 7 years between main title entries Fallout 3 and Fallout 4. However in that time we were also given Fallout: New Vegas in the fall of 2010. While another minor title seems unlikely with the structure of Fallout 76 seemingly put in place to continue being updated for many years moving forward, not so improbable would be a digital remaster of one of the previously listed titles under Microsoft’s new ownership. As far as the projected release date of Fallout 5 goes, Reddit user Noah-x3 has broken down the past four main series Bethesda releases, estimating Fallout 5 might take until the year 2030 or more!
Reddit.com (Noah-x3 in r/Fallout)
Wether or not Bethesda can surprise us again like they did back in 2015 with the announcement of Fallout 4 is up in the air. Of course at this point in time it’s all still speculation but If reality looks anything like how it’s being projected however, it might be time to sit back and get comfortable with Fallout 76 and see just what exactly Bethesda has in store for the future of the series. Let is know when you believe Fallout 5 could hit the shelves in the comment section below and check out more Fallout related blogs right here!
As a life long fan of the Fallout series as well as a host for two weekly radio shows, I feel qualified to break down the best and worst radio jocks the Fallout universe has to offer. Not many people realize how much can truly go into being a compelling and entertaining personality who is at least half way decent at what they do. Spanning over multiple titles, states, and personalities, these are the absolute best and worst on air personalities that the Fallout universe has to offer.
BEST: Three Dog
sweetrollscenario.tumblr.com
Host of Galaxy News Radio for The Capital Wasteland, Three Dog is an entertaining jock with a smooth voice to match. Capturing the essence of the stereotypical old school radio DJ, his personality fits perfectly with the tracks he’s playing. Not only does Three Dog fit the bill of a classic radio jock, he also includes precise social observations and great comedic timing which is a huge part of any successful jock. “…Your friendly neighborhood Disc Jockey, What’s a disc? Hell if I know!” is just one of the ever quotable phrases you cam catch Three Dog sending out over D.C.’s flagship station. With all this considered, he is at his core an NPC best described by the word “cool”. From his cool, calm, collected demeaner, to his no cares given approach to calling out what he sees as unjust live on the air. Voice actor Erik Todd Dellums hit the nail right on the head to provide Fallout 3 with the absolute perfect voice.
Side note: Erik’s role as Three Dog was done so well and left such an impact that I regularly encourage my listeners to “Fight the good fight” at the end of each of my weekly shows.
Now let’s get this out of the way right now. I enjoy Travis, I am 100% aware of the fact the DJ with no confidence is meant entirely for the irony of it. Travis Miles is a good novelty character and is fun. HOWEVER, we are looking at the best and worst DJs. As a jock, Travis begins as an unconfident and insecure host of Diamond City Radio. Through out the progression of the game, you are able to engage in a side quest to help Travis gain his confidence and in turn impact how he sounds over the Commonwealth air waves. The issue however is, regardless on whether or not you choose to do this mission Travis falls into the one category absolutely nobody in the business ever wants to come anywhere close to, annoying. Travis’s initial style is good for a quick laugh or two here and there, but very quickly grows repetitive and annoying. Even after helping Travis find his confidence, the transition is neat but once again wears thin relatively quickly. The confident Travis more often then not comes across as forced and just seems like a radio host impression rather than a natural sounding host, complete with transatlantic accent.
You cannot talk about the best Fallout radio jocks without talking about Mr. New Vegas, and who else to play such a role other than the one and only Mr. Las Vegas himself Wayne Newton. The absolute perfect deep raspy voice to fill the airwaves of The Mohave, Mr. New Vegas is actually just an AI created by Mr. House before The Great War. While Johnny Guitar may get a little stable by your 10th New Vegas playthrough, one thing that never will is the calming tones of Mr. New Vegas. Knowing your audience is half the battle in the radio game, and Mr. New Vegas is able to capture the tone of both the lively strip of New Vegas as well as the secluded deserts of the Mohave Wasteland. Possibly the one universally accepted truth of Fallout is how good Mr. New Vegas actually is and how much he adds to the experience.
Hear me out now, John Henry Eden may not exactly be the most entertaining host on the planet, however take a step back and look at it in broadcasting terms. Enclave Radio is not deigned to be a high energy music station. It’s a news talk and political information station. If you look at Enclave Radio as the Fallout universe equivalent of NPR, that helps to out things into perspective. Now the problem with this you may be thinking is the fact on of the most important aspects of political and talk radio is to remain unbias, which Mr. Eden clearly does not accomplish. One thing to remember is this is post- apocalyptia. There is no structured uniform government. Politics are debated with guns in the wasteland. So when a sudo-political leader takes a stand behind a certain belief such as those of the Enclave, and has the means to sing their praises while damning the Brotherhood of Steel at a state wide level, why wouldn’t you jump at it? The AI known as John Henry Eden may not be the most likeable or easy to listen to, but when it come down to broadcasting, he’s certainly not the worst.
Hands down the absolute worst hails from, surprise surprise, Fallout 76. With the addition of the wastelanders DLC came Appalachia Radio’s new host Julie. A complaint from day one was the lack of effort put into the radio and soundtrack for Fallout 76 but after hearing Bethesda’s solution, I think I’d rather play in silence. I honestly don’t even know where to begin. As far as lore friendliness and believability goes, there is none. Rather than an immersive and fun radio host who shows motive and interest for establishing a presence in Appalachia, we are given Bethesda’s attempt at a “quirky” 23 year old girl reminiscent of a bootleg Travis Miles. We see what you were trying to do Bethesda and you’ve once again totally missed the mark. Julie is not cute, quirky, or funny and certainly not believable as someone who gives any kind of a shit about radio broadcasting. Above all else, would it have killed them to find a voice actor with an authentic accent to the region. That’s like the ONE qualification that could at least help overlook the rest of the issues. We are deep in the wild hills of West Virginia, not Cleveland Ohio.
At the end of the day maybe I’m a little bias, maybe you don’t really look that deep into the Fallout radio. Regardless, Let me know what you think in the comment section below! Then feel free to check out some of my other Fallout related blogs by clicking the link below!
Before we dive in here let me make something abundantly clear, this list is a squeal. In order to check out all the great characters who made up the first list give Ol’ Easy Pete here a nice gentle click.
reddit.com
Now, it seems as though the last list of minor characters just didn’t cut it. While there still needs to be limitations set on just how many of these unique beings can be featured here, after further review we definitely could not live with ourselves without including these characters. Once again before we dive in I would like to remind everyone that the qualification these NPCs must meet is ultimately not having any form of barring on the main story or it’s outcome. With that in mind here are MORE of the greatest minor characters in the Fallout series.
Dave
Fallout.fandom.com
Election season is upon is and who better to kick of this list than the president himself, president of The Republic of Dave of course. Let’s face facts here, you rolled up on this little “republic” as you were patrolling the capital wastes where, surprise surprise, you find Dave, leader of The Republic of Dave and from that first interaction you had it out for this pompous SOB. Naturally, seeing organized government working in the post apocalyptic society turned your stomach and with your vast knowledge of the democratic process begin poking around asking about the election of Dave. As you begin to learn more about the ill constructed, incest filled republic, you come to find out The Republic of Dave derived from the The Kingdom of Tom, which derived form The New Republic of Stevie-Ray which itself derived from Billyslvania by way of The Republic of Stevie-Ray originally being formed after it’s predecessor The Kingdom of Larry. Dave is but a spoke on the wheel and you are about to ensure that wheel keeps turning. Whether you choose to oversee the electoral process yourself or “you gotta shoot ’em in the head” you made damn sure Dave got his reality check and you loved every minute of it.
Doc Mitchell
Tumbler
For someone not considered a “main” character, Fallout NV does not happen without Doc Mitchell pulling your ass out of the dirt and fixing you up. While we’re on the subject though, why the hell was this dude rooting around a fresh grave and playing with what he found. Regardless after Frankenstein over here finishes digging the 24 caret run of bad luck out of your noggin he goes out of his way to ensure you can walk, talk, and take a Rorschach ink blot test. (Definitely two bears high-fiving BTW.) Not to mention if you were one of the lucky few you got to see this man’s head spin right round like a record while he asked you how you felt. Talk about a way to be introduced to a game. Doc Mitchell deserves more praise for not only being the sole reason you weren’t six feet deep on Benny’s dime through out all of Fallout New Vegas but for allowing a stranger to steal literally everything from his home.
Fisto
Tumbler.com
“Please assume the position.” Need I say more?
Vault-Tec Rep.
Warosu.org
First and foremost, We know that’s you Todd Howard. You aren’t slick. Fresh off hearing about how “it just works” you boot up Fallout 4 and see this familiar face. Upon his instance and no matter how much you may have tried to avoid him The Vault-Tec rep. locked you into a family plan at your local Vault, 111. Fast forward legitimately 6 minuets, and we see our persistent friend once again being denied access to that very same vault. “I am Vault-Tec” he shouts as we chuckle being lowered into safety while he is inevitably turned to nuclear dust. You take a quick ice nap and wake up 200 years in the future with no wife and presumably no son. Remembering you left the TV on, you head to what was once your neighborhood to find just how much damage nuclear warfare can accomplish. After some chit chat with good ol’ Codsworth you set out on your quest to find your son… and apparently act as Tye Pennington for the entire commonwealth. So your travels lead you to Goodneighbor, and after the live entertainment makes you feel some way you head back to the local hotel for a good nights rest. Why not rummage through other people’s stuff while I’m here, you think to yourself, so you open the first door and who do you find? None other than Vault-Tec himself. You smiled, don’t even lie. The only other human being… well kinda… you have had any kind of bond with in over 200 years. I don’t care who you are are what kind of character you are playing, I know damn well you invited him back to Sanctuary with you. Like it or not, this is the closest living person you’ve got out there who knows you and look at you now, best buds. Go ahead and tell me I’m wrong.
Old Man Harris
Anotherwargameblog
Strolling down the streets of an almost picture perfect small community where everybody seems to be in good spirits and family values have outlasted total nuclear annihilation you seem to get the feeling something larger may be at play here. The residents of Andale welcome and greet you with open arms, even going as far as to invite you over for dinner! However one particular resident doesn’t seem to hold himself to that same regard. Old Man Harris explains to you everything is not as it seems and these people are crazy. Hey, he’s just a crazy old an the townsfolk assure you, driven mad by the death of his wife. As much as you may enjoy the change of pace you need to get to the bottom of this and thus you take the old man’s advice to check out the shed out back. Ah yes, cannibals. When confronted about your trespassing you could take the rout of, Hey to each their own, but there is just something about distraught Old Man Harris that will linger in the back of your mind. So you kill a couple people eaters, no harm no fowl right? Reporting back to this lovable Old coot, he explains he will now be taking care of the two neighborhood children himself. While your interaction with Old Man Harris my be limited, should you ever stumble back near Andale, in the back of your mind he will always have a special place. Of course, there is always this gem to take with you courtesy of Old Man Harris himself, “Better an orphan than a cannibal I guess.” All of this may be for loss however if you have been roaming The Capital Wasteland cannibal perk intact.
The Mechanist
Propnomicon
It had to be didn’t it. For arguments sake, we will be referring to the original Mechanist in Fallout 3 as the Fallout 4 iteration can be argued to be an essential character.to the DLC “story”. While jamming out to the hottest station in all of DC, Galaxy News Radio, you learn about two “costumed cookes” holding up Canterbury commons. Strap in for one of the most out there missions in the game as you diffuse the superhero movie that is The Mechanist vs. The AntAgonizer. Everything about The Mechanist would make you forget you’re playing a Fallout game, other than the endless swarms of Robobrains ruining your day. Once you engage in conversation with the self proclaimed hero, you cannot help but sit there smiling as he does his best impression of a stereotypical comic book hero. Should you chose to align yourself with him in the fight against evil and convince his arch nemesis to throw down her guns, you’ll be walking away with her AntAgonizer garb. This right here is why this spot goes to The Mechanist rather than the former, while the Legion of Doom spikes of the AntAgonizer look cool enough, you know deep down you want to BE The Mechanist. Whether you achieve this by convincing The Mechanist to step down himself or by being true neutral and giving each of them a 10mm alternative to their comic book lifestyle, you know damn sure you’re walking out of there with that armor. Hell, The Mechanist was so well received for such a minor role they brought him…well her… back in Fallout 4’s Automotron DLC.
Once again we have come to the end of another Fallout list and I’m sure there are plenty of names that have been left off. That’s one of the greatest things about the fallout series as a whole however, no matter which games you prefer they are all packed full of unique and memorable characters that don’t necessarily need to play major roles to have a major impact on your experience. As always I’d love to hear who you think the best minor characters in the Fallout franchise are and who knows, maybe there will even be yet another list.
If 2020 has given us anything, it’s the chance to sit on our couch as our life rots away around us. You could spend this time learning a life skill or bettering yourself in different aspects of your life but instead you spend this time watching video games. The key word there being ‘watching’. In a world full of people demanding instant gratification we cannot simply be expected to play through an entire video game level by level, defeating our enemies and earning our praises. Absolutely not! Luckily for us let’s plays exist. For those who don’t frequent living victoriously through internet personalities, a let’s play is defined as “One or more people, usually from message boards, that record themselves playing video games through screenshots or captured video (Mostly the latter)” by Urban Dictionary. Just like any other job, there are people who are good at it, and those who are bad at it. Compiled below are some of the best and worst the internet has to offer!
Best
Markiplier
Starting up in May of 2012, Markiplier took to the interwebs creating gaming content the likes of which were largely unknown. Many years and many, many videos later, Mark sits comfortably among the top of the YouTube gaming community. Known for his compelling voice and over the top reactions, Markiplier has gained a following of 26.8 Million subscribers and for good reason. Mark seems to be the total package when it comes to the Let’s Play community bringing both sophisticated and sophomoric humor to his game play while more often then not still being able to buckle down and beat a series in a reasonable amount of time.
Worst
Ninja
Talk about finding your demographic and milking it for all it’s got. Rising to popularity seemingly overnight Richard Blevins, otherwise known as Ninja, gained his popularity playing the 2017 free battle royal game Fortnite. Being that this game’s primary demographic consists of children, Ninja wasted no time pumping out game play and commentary tailor fit to that demo. In this case it really is a matter of quantity over quality, I strongly urge anyone who hasn’t yet to attempt and sit through a Ninja stream, you will quickly find a lack of any verbal substance or attempt to provide comedic or thought provoking dialect. The issue comes from the fact, Fortnite being the hot new trend in the young gaining world led mainstream media to select Ninja to represent the face of the let’s play community in their narrative, not to mention he refuses to stream with anyone of the female gender. Not to take anything away from his dedication to the game, but if you have arrived at his channel seeking variety you will be very disappointed. Apart from the occasional one off, the hefty majority of Ninja’s videos are exactly what you would expect, Fortnite game play and more Fortnite game play. Stick to what you know I suppose, he seems to be doing just fine with his 24 Million subs backing him up.
Best
Game Grumps
What happens when well known comedy content creator JonTron joins forces with fellow NewGrounds.com OG creator Egoraptor, pure gold. While Arin and Jon began tearing up the YouTube community with their brash and bold comedy game play back in 2012, it was not until Jon’s departure and replacement with Dan Avidan the following year the channel really began to take off. Involving two genuinely funny and creative individuals, Game Grumps tick all the boxes. Providing compelling game play including some of the most abstract and anticipated games of all time partnered with over the top situational and relatable comedy, The Grumps take let’s plays to the next level. Never afraid to expand or try new things for their community Game Grumps have previously expanded their content to involve a series for Steam based games as well as multiplayer arcade style party games. In more recent times, The Game Grumps have capitalized on their Guest Grumps series involving some truly iconic celebrities and comedians, as well as launching a weekly live action show entitled simply, The Grumps.
Best
SuperMega
Friends of and former co-workers of the Game Grumps, Matt and Ryan provide their own unique game play experience. If you are a long time fan of The Grumps who fears that they have lost their crude edge over the years SuperMega may be just the place for you. Never afraid to push a few boundaries or do what ever it takes to commit to the joke, Matt and Ryan go the extra mile to provide quality and humorous content for their viewers. Banking not only on their killer comedic timing but their bold and abrupt editing style, their simple videos always seem to be comedy gold. In addition to their Let’s Plays, SuperMega also provides their viewers with a weekly podcast as well as frequent live action sketches.
Worst
ProJared
What can best be described as a boring video game reviewer to begin with, ProJared doubled down when he decided to do the same on his personal life. Jared’s videos have always been vanilla, using the absolute bare bones approach to game review as well as let’s plays. He did his research and presented you with his findings but if you are tuning in for his witty commentary or comedic timing prepare for it to fall short. A relativity mediocre gaming channel at most suffered the end all be all when in 2019 Jared was accused of cheating on his then wife while also soliciting nude photographs to his fan base. This marked the end of ProJared, while he may still produce his watered down content, his channel will never recover.
These are just a few of the highs and lows in the Let’s Play community and I would love to hear who you think the best and worst Let’s Players are below!
The Fallout game series is one of the most loved and hated series at the same time. Regardless if you love it or hate it however, anyone who has sat down and taken the time to become invested in the game usually walks away with some redeeming experience. The Fallout series follows the protagonists on their individual journeys across the vast and barren wasteland on their respective quests. Now, anyone who has ever played a Fallout game knows the real fun comes not from that main questline, but rather the side quests and intriguing characters you’ll meet along the way. Quests and characters that ultimately have no real barring on the overall outcome of the story, yet seemingly exist to make the path you take there all the more enjoyable. The following NPCs are worthy of a spot at the top of that list and will truly never be forgotten when we look back on our in game choices.
Easy Pete
Reddit
Just picture it, you find yourself on the wrong end of an 18-Karat run of bad luck ending with a bullet lodged firmly in your dome piece. When you wake up, surprisingly, after the local town Dr. finishes scraping the led from your noggin and deems you mentally fit… somehow, you wander into the one horse town and up to the local saloon where just outside the door you find a soft spoken Ol’ feller appropriately named Easy Pete. Admit it, the sight of the old prospector outside the bar drew your interest more that popping off some shots on empty bottles out back. You wanted to know more, you wanted to be his friend, and when those nasty old powder gangers rode into town you wanted his dynamite. Regardless on if he would fork over the loot or not, you fought your heart out to protect not the tow of Goodsprings, but Easy Pete.
Gary!
Funnyjunk.com
By this point in your travels as The Lone Wanderer you have begun to grow accustomed to some of the more predictable elements of The Capital Wasteland. You enter an abandoned school, Raiders. Snooping around in downtown D.C., Mutants. Breaking into a government controlled underground vault system, some raiders, bugs, wastelanders, nothing too fancy there right? Wrong. Enter Vault 108. Upon cracking open the nuclear worn sealed door, you will be greeted with faint yet ominous, “Gary”. “My name’s not Gary ” you may think to yourself as you proceed to explore deeper, unless your name really is Gary… yikes. As you bypass the mandatory post war vault corpses you begin to notice they are in fact ALL Gary. Then boom, faster than you can think twice about the fact your dad sounds eerily similar to Liam Neeson, a swarm of vault dwellers with the vocabulary equivalent of a Pikachu are plumbing you wit a vast array of melee attacks as they all call out, “Gary”. However once you have defeated the relatively small army of Commander Cody bootlegs and begin your ascension back to the surface, you come to realize how much you enjoyed your visit in Vault 108. You laugh audibly at the fact the dialect comprised entirely of the word “Gary” still involved punctuation and enunciation. From there on out, you could never hear the name “Gary” the same way ever again.
Behold! For he is the prophet of Atom and leader of the undying glow! You stroll into a metal heap fresh off a newly acquired set of daddy issues and after being greeted by Calamity Jane waltz down the crumbling isle way to find a man shouting at an active nuclear bomb that is conveniently placed in the center of town. Without even stopping to think that somewhere out over the horizon this bumbling cesspool might be considered an eye sore, you engage in conversation with the man who is knee deep in irradiated water preaching about “The Glow”. You decide to humor him and toss him 10 rusty bottle caps that have been surely giving you tetanus for days now, and ask him just what in the blue hell his issue is. He informs you that you are now dwelling in his sacred land and that every eye will be blinded by his glory and every ear stricken def to hear the thunder of his voice, Atom that is of course, who lets not forget, is an active atomic bomb. Nevertheless his stories entertain you and you carry on your way now knowing there is in fact organized religion in the wasteland, well more of cult but to each their own. All fun and games right, until you’re be escorted into a basement of a burned down house and being nothing short of breast fed “holy water” by a bunch of dudes high off battery fumes. Even after all that though, you’d feel bad about blowing up Megaton because you’d miss your irradiated little buddy. Hell, he’s even popular out in the commonwealth.
Dukov
Youtube.com/Oxhorn
Slinkin’ around downtown near the metros of D.C. and acting like for some unknown reason you are more important than it’s other patrons, you find yourself between a rock and a hard place. By that of course we mean between a sizable camp of raiders placed conveniently in front of a camp of super mutants and an Enclave post (yes, we play with Broken Steel like we were meant to). Naturally instincts kick in as you slip between them into an open building between the two. Inside is not your typical office building or abandon super market however, rather a full scale bachelor pad! When a man who could only ever be described as a cross between Hugh Hefner and Vladimir Putin approaches you wearing nothing but some sexy sleepwear you begin to believe you’ve made the right choice. After you emotionally recover from being given the nickname “Clown shoes” you come to realize while Dukov may live in the middle of a hell hole with two prostitutes who are about as trust worthy as Amada, it’s still a pretty solid set up. Not to mention a fast track to free booze and pre-war money. All thanks to you, you crazy stereotype sex god.
Harold
Giant Bomb
It had to be didn’t it. The absolute greatest minor character in the history of the franchise. What starts out as a bright new adventure exploring the hub gets intriguing when you run into a friendly ghoul, who oddly enough has a sapling sprouted from his head. To each his own you figure and begin listening to his story, which is essentially the entire backstory for the game even though Harold remains largely minute in his actual in game role. After many hours of getting the water chip and putting The Master in his place (you better have), Bing, bang, boom, roll credits. You move on with life until the next generation of the most compelling game in existence brings you back the sweet sensation of post-apocalyptia. Bam here we go. Who am I, The Chosen One (Not Drew McIntyre). What am I doing here, finding the GECK. Got it! But wait, guess who’s waiting in Gecko. It’s our boy tree head, Harold and Bob, that would be the name of the ever growing tree in Harold’s brain, and they want their power plant fixed. Simple enough, fix the plant, move on with life, end the president, obtain the GECK, save the wastes. Another year in the books, but wait, Fallout is back… IN DAZZLING 3D. After hours of searching for your old man, or lets face it, exploring the niche areas of the map because that’s the selling point here really isn’t it, you stumble upon Oasis. Greeted not by Liam or Noel Gallagher, but equally as shocking… trees! Trees blooming with life as far as the eye can see! But why, why are trees growing here and not in the rest of the hellscape that is The Capital Wasteland? I’ll tell you why, Harold. Taking a big ol’ hike up to D.C. Harold and Bob have hunkered down, by decision of Bob and are now the focal point of a cult. Being a cult icon ain’t always jet and hookers though my friend, so once and for all we get to close this chapter of human… tree history and take Harold out behind the wood shed.
In all honesty this was the hardest article I have ever written, don’t get me wrong it was physically the easiest, once I began typing everything just flowed so naturally. The hard part was narrowing down the list of names to a select few! As I am currently writing this there is a list of 13 more names I considered for spot on this blog. Who knows, maybe we’ll do this again sometime soon! If you’d like to see more content like this leave a comment down below and let me know what you thought!
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