Battle Royale: The Last Generation Of An SNES-CD Saga
- Thread starter RySenkari
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I mean say what you will about Square Enix, but they’ve done a much better job handling Eidos’ IPs than it sounds like Acclaim is. Yes I’m aware Avengers was a thing.
Also you do a really good job imitating Jim Sterling's style. They seem like pretty much the same person from OTL, just different bullshit they're ranting about.
Also you do a really good job imitating Jim Sterling's style. They seem like pretty much the same person from OTL, just different bullshit they're ranting about.
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Well, since we're around that time and the topic of James Stephanie Fucking Sterling, Son has come back up, how's Digital Homicide doing ITTL? Better? Worse? The same?
Dunno. Probably the same, though I am imagining a controversy similar to when they tried to sue Jim Sterling for a review he did.
Acclaim's in a position where they're just not sure what to do with Eidos just yet. They know they want to do something with Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain, but their plans are different than what Eidos was doing (a lot of it has to do with budget). It might take a few years for them to get their shit together when it comes to Eidos' IPs. As for The Gatherer, you'll see...
Jim Sterling's one of my favorite game reviewers. IOTL, they broke off from The Escapist, but ITTL, Alex Stansfield is very open to letting Sterling do whatever they want, so the Jimquisition will stay a part of Games Over Matter for the foreseeable future. Also, they will probably transition earlier (think 2018 or 2019 rather than 2020).
Digital Homicide is making games for the Nexus and Android, believe it or not. None of them are really worth mentioning, and none of them are selling well. The games are SLIGHTLY better, as the company was able to bring in someone who actually knows how to make decent games and has a lot of creative control (money is still a problem though). There's no asset flipping, but a lot of the games are still derivative and boring.
Well time for me to ask a wrestling related question: how is the Khan family doing and has their been any attempt by WWE or TAW to expand in other countries a la NXT UK or Lucha Underground?
See I’m not even that big a fan of Sterling but whatever they rant about is a good gauge on how much BS each publisher or game is trying to get away with. It’s one thing to see DQ or PSO try to put in BS micro transactions ITTL, it’s another to see Sterling put it on their shittiest games of the year list.
February 2017 - Gran Turismo Gets Real
Falcons Beat Bills To Win First Super Bowl Behind Rookie QB Phenom
In one of the most unlikeliest Super Bowl matchups in recent memory, the Atlanta Falcons completed their dream season by defeating the Buffalo Bills in this year's Super Bowl, 38-20. The Falcons were propelled to their place in the 51st Super Bowl by the stellar play of their rookie quarterback, Purdue's Elliot Hobbs, who was taken #1 overall in last year's NFL Draft. Hobbs immediately made his mark as one of the league's best quarterbacks, pushing the Falcons to a 13-3 record and the #2 seed in the NFC, while earning the league's 3rd best QBR rating. Hobbs was key to the Falcons' incredible turnaround, going from the league's worst record (2-14) just a year ago to one of its best. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills enjoyed a dream season of their own, earning their way to the Super Bowl with three straight playoff upsets after earning a 10-6 record. The Bills were led by Blake Bortles, who, while not as spectacular as Hobbs, played decently well and was aided by a great running game and one of the AFC's best defenses. The game itself was never much in doubt: Hobbs led his team to two quick scores in the first quarter to push the Falcons to a 14-3 lead early on, and they never looked back. Their stiffest playoff test had come two weeks before, when they upset the defending champion San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship. The 49ers had the league's best record and home field advantage, but the Falcons were able to overcome them in a close 30-26 contest to earn their way into the Super Bowl. The Falcons also got great play from their wide receivers, with Mike Evans and Dante Wilford both notching 100+ yards and a touchdown each. Hobbs also found Torrey Smith late in the fourth quarter to ice the game. Hobbs finished with three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown, notching 361 yards in the air along with 53 on the ground, and was the first rookie ever to win Super Bowl MVP, adding to his Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. The Falcons have established themselves as one of the teams to beat in the NFL, and are already tied with the 49ers as the Vegas oddsmakers' favorite to repeat next year, thanks to their young core and the abundance of draft picks they still have from the Dallas Cowboys thanks to trading down in 2015. Meanwhile, the Bills have emerged as one of the top contenders in the AFC, behind the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, and Cleveland Browns. The only thing many consider to be holding them back is their tough division: the AFC East is considered by many analysts to be the best division in the NFL, with the Patriots, Jets, Dolphins, and Bills all expected to notch at least an 8-8 record next season. The Bills struggled within their division in 2016, going 2-4 against their rivals and only getting into the playoffs thanks to their perfect record against the rest of the AFC. Super Bowl LI saw its television ratings decline from the previous year, though it was still the most watched television broadcast in North America since the previous Super Bowl, and overall NFL ratings have climbed steadily over the past several years.
-from an article on Yahoo! Sports News, posted on February 6, 2017
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Google And Samsung's "Project Glass" Teased At Investor Conference, Potentially Tied To Next-Gen Google Console
Google's mysterious "Project Glass", which has been rumored to be in the works since early 2012 and which was briefly revealed at 2015's E3 keynote, has been kept under heavy wraps by both Google and its partner, electronics giant Samsung, for nearly two years. Briefly teased as a device that could project high definition augmented reality content in real time via a pair of eyeglasses worn on the face, the accessory, which was pushed as a Nexus peripheral but which could be used in conjunction with Android phones for a variety of functions, is still shrouded in mystery, but at yesterday's conference for Samsung investors, the device was brought back out of the darkness for a brief progress update in which a video was shown of the accessory projecting AR information into both future Google games and into the real world. Most notably, we got to see the device used as a way to enhance gameplay of World Of Warcraft, which is expected to come to the Google Nexus sometime next year. The Glass peripheral was able to give combat information and project statistics, player information, and text chat onto the screen, freeing up the cluttered HUD and giving the game a much more futuristic look. We also got a look at some video chat functionality, taking the classic "headset/microphone" setup to a whole new level. Curiously, the Google Glass was not promoted in any way shape or form with the Google Nexus. Instead, it was being touted as a peripheral for "Google Gaming", and was shown being used primarily with Android-based gaming devices including smartphones and television boxes. The Project Glass presentation seemed to be less a promotion of Nexus features and more of a look at Google's future, though neither Google nor Samsung has revealed any details about a potential Nexus successor device, and the Nexus Pro was launched just last year. We're intrigued for what Google might reveal at E3, whether it's a look at their next console, a preview for a new gaming handheld (maybe a game-centric Galaxy model, as has been teased at Samsung events in the past), or perhaps just another look at Project Glass itself). Project Glass remains one of the most intriguing peripheral ideas in recent memory, and the longer Google goes without talking about it, the more mysterious and intriguing it becomes. It's clear that progress is still being made, but it's also clear that it'll likely be several years before we actually have the thing in our hands, making every bit of information we get all the more tantalizing.
-from an article on Games Over Matter, posted on February 21, 2017
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Kristin Reyes Sweeps Grammys With "Bellflower Tree", Beating Out Beyonce For Evening's Top Award
In a battle between the lighthearted folk-pop of Kristin Reyes and the hard-hitting R+B of Beyonce, many industry analysts projected Beyonce to take the night's top prize, but in the end, Kristin Reyes, who lost Best New Artist to The Fragment at last year's ceremony, swept through in a major way, taking home Album of the Year for her second studio album, Bellflower Tree, and also taking home Record and Song of the Year. Reyes' album was one of the year's most critically acclaimed, though Beyonce's powerful Firesetter was equally acclaimed and even more successful in terms of sales. Reyes, 24, has become known amongst many as possessing one of the most melodic voices in pop music history, and though Bellflower Tree was considered to be somewhat darker in tone than her debut album Silverwing, it was a far cry from the content of Firestarter, in which Beyonce pushes an unrelenting feminist message. Reyes also had to battle back a fierce challenge from the European band Lukas Graham, whose song "7 Years" was expected to take home both the Record and Song of the Year awards over Reyes' eventual winner "Submersion". Reyes' win wasn't entirely unexpected: her music has been heavily promoted and featured in a number of television shows and feature films, and she had the endorsement of no less than music legend Selena herself (whose label Reyes is signed to). Selena herself is a featured singer in Reyes' "Adrift and Away", and she could be seen in the audience excitedly celebrating each of Reyes' wins. Though Kristin Reyes was the night's biggest winner, Beyonce did manage to win two Grammys: one for Best Urban Contemporary album, and another for Best Rap/Sung Performance. Best New Artist would go to Chance The Rapper, who controversially beat BTS for the award. Chance The Rapper would later seek to quash any potential beef between his fanbase and that of the massively popular Korean band, appearing with them at one of the Grammy afterparties following the show. Numerous pictures of the two acts looking quite friendly with one another have circulated on social media, and there are already rumors of a potential collaboration. However, the same can't be said for Selena and Beyonce. Though the two haven't directly engaged in any social media confrontations with one another, and have appeared together before at various events looking to be on good terms, both of them have made statements criticizing the other over the past year, and their fanbases have also appeared to be increasingly at odds. After Reyes' big night at the Grammys, tensions between the two could continue to grow, and it was reported that Beyonce and Selena deliberately scheduled their appearances at a prominent afterparty to avoid running into one another.
-from an article on People.com, posted on February 13, 2017
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The following contains MASSIVE SPOILERS for the ending of The Darkest Hour. If you intend to play the game and don't want to be spoiled, don't read ahead!
Which brings me to my biggest problem with the game, an opinion that I'm sure will be extremely controversial. The end of The Darkest Hour sees Terra, Kris, and Etienne team up to defeat Oblivion, the all-powerful force of darkness threatening not only the main characters' universe, but the entire multiverse as well. It's a spectacular, over-the-top final battle that sees, among other things, the main characters tanking multiverse-killing blasts directly to the face and unleashing spectacular magic spells that deal billions of damage to their foe. It's a totally wild final battle that blends elements of games like Shin Megami Tensei and Disgaea, it's like nothing the series has ever included before, and it's tons of fun. In many ways, it's extremely satisfying: characters from across the first four games of the series teaming up to save the universe from an all-encompassing cosmic horror and saving the world in truly heroic fashion. It's a love letter to people who have stuck with the series for five games across 22 years, it's pure fanservice, and it's beautiful.
But there's times when fanservice goes too far, and in this case, this is one of those times. Etienne has been brought to life, but it's been implied all game that this is only temporary, that she must return to heaven after Oblivion has been destroyed. And then there's Kris, who arranged for her own death so that she could go to hell and gain the power she needed to crush the foe threatening Earth. She too, says the game, is back to the world of the living only temporarily. Terra, the new protagonist, the protector of Earth, who experienced one of the best character arcs the series has ever seen, she's the one who's supposed to be the hero now. And... she is. She returns to Earth gifted with her new magic and new powers and becomes leader of the new generation of spellcasters leading the fight against evil should it ever return. The world is saved, it's a happy ending already. With Etienne and Kris both dead and consigned to different realms in the cosmic afterlife, the ending is supposed to be bittersweet. Maybe they'll find their way back to each other, maybe they won't.
Only... that's not what happens. What happens is that, through convoluted magic shenanigans and deals with various beings in both heaven and hell, Etienne and Kris... come back to life. And it sticks. Etienne, whose death in 1999's The Darkest Night defined the series and continues to be listed amongst the saddest moments in gaming history... comes back to life. Not only that, but she gets aged up so that it doesn't look all weird that Kris is dating someone who (because she hasn't aged in 20 years) looks young enough to be her daughter. Kris comes back to life as well, and the explanation for her getting to stay in the world of the living is even more of a handwave. The tragedy of these two characters is undone by an ending clearly intended to be fanservice for people who were upset by Etienne's death. Hell, Etienne and Sephora (who, like all the other characters brought back to life to fight Oblivion, has to go back to being dead at the end of the game, though Sephora does get a cushy job as a high-ranking hell demon) even patch things up, no hard feelings between them. The ending is utterly dripping in happiness, capped off by a duet of Eric Clapton's "Change The World" between Etienne and Kris' voice actors Sara Bareilles and Amy Lee during the ending credits (though I will say, this is an excellent cover of the song). As satisfied as the ending undoubtedly left some longtime fans of the series, it's far too sugary sweet for my tastes, and completely undoes the tragedy that made the series so brilliant and engaging. We basically spent three games dealing with the consequences of Etienne's death and its effect on Kris, and The Darkest Hour's ending undoes all of it in exchange for feel-good fanservice. It goes against the entire mood of the series, and wraps everything up far too neatly. Keeping Etienne dead, or even keeping Etienne and Kris separated from one another indefinitely, would've ended their stories on a perfectly bittersweet note while still leaving the door open for fan interpretation of their eventual reunion. While the series has been criticized in the past for its use of the Bury Your Gays trope by killing off Etienne (though at the time, it hadn't yet been revealed that she and Kris were actually a couple, which wouldn't be explicitly confirmed until 2013's The Darkest), that choice was made long ago, and undoing it now undoes so much of the amazing writing and emotional pathos the series is known for. While The Darkest Hour is itself an excellent game, arguably the best in the series, the choice to undo one of the most impactful moments in gaming history in favor of pleasing a segment of the series' fanbase is an incredible disservice to both this game and all the others that came before it. The Darkest remains one of my favorite JRPG franchises, and it's a shame that it doesn't stick the landing.
-from the article "The Darkest Hour Does Everything Right Except For The Most Important Thing Of All", posted on Kotaku on February 28, 2017
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Warren Beatty: The Academy Award... for Best Picture... *looking at the envelope and the card, looks a bit confused but shows it to Faye Dunaway*
Faye Dunaway: *starting to read it but stops herself and looks a bit confused as well* ...oh! I don't think this is... um... *shows it to Beatty* I think this is...
Warren Beatty: *looking at it* Oops. Uh oh. This is awkward. *gesturing to one of the producers*
Faye Dunaway: *laughing nervously* They gave us the wrong envelope. This is for Best Actress.
*The producer rushes up and gets the envelope and looks dumbfounded and embarrassed.*
Faye Dunaway: This is live TV, anything can happen!
*The audience laughs awkwardly*
Faye Dunaway: I almost read it too! I just about read it and then I saw Jodie's name on there!
*Jodie Comer, who won Best Actress earlier in the night for The Resisters, is shown backstage laughing.*
*Warren soon gets the real envelope from the producer.*
Warren Beatty: You sure this is the right one? You're absolutely sure?
*The audience laughs again.*
Warren Beatty: I'm going to look like a jackass if this isn't the right one. *the audience laughs much louder* Okay, okay, here we go, for real this time. The Oscar for Best Picture goes to... *shows it to Faye Dunaway to read*
Faye Dunaway: Moonlight!
*The audience cheers wildly as the producers and crew of Moonlight come onto the stage to accept their award and to give an emotional and heartfelt speech.*
-from the February 26, 2017 broadcast of the 89th Academy Awards on ABC
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Game Spotlight: Gran Turismo Real
Gran Turismo Real is a racing simulation title and the sixth game in the Gran Turismo series, developed by Polyphony and published by Sony exclusively for the Nintendo Reality. It continues from previous games in the series, with a focus on realistic racing on real-world tracks, and touts itself as the "Real Driving Simulator", words that have never been more appropriate than they have been with this particular title. This game was years in the making, with numerous delays and extensions, as Polyphony labored to produce a game worthy of the Nintendo Reality and wanted to particularly focus on the Reality's VR capabilities, polishing all the cars and tracks to look almost lifelike, with incredible detail. The game boasts a total of 2,853 cars, by far the most of any racing game ever made, with dozens of real world tracks replicated in incredible detail, including courses from Formula One, NASCAR, and Indycar, along with numerous other legendary race tracks. The game's cars and tracks span nearly a hundred years of racing, with souped up modern supercars featured alongside vintage classics. The game blends elements of OTL's Gran Turismo 6 and Gran Turismo Sport, with the developers seeking to make a game that you could either play alone, racing advanced AI and pushing through the game's many different circuits and modes, or with online players around the world, competing to climb the ladder and become the best racer on the planet. Like Gran Turismo Sport, the game asks quite a lot of its players before they hop online, giving them a crash course in online etiquette and the rules of the road, and relegating those who don't to "arcade-style" courses where anything goes, while players who show that they can handle a real simulator experience are allowed to compete in a succession of online ladders for players of all skill types, starting with absolute newbie ladders and advancing all the way up to the very best in the world, with top players allowed to compete for real-world money and prizes. The game's graphics are almost certainly the best ever featured in a home console game, better than OTL's PS4 Gran Turismo titles, and capable of 4K graphics even on the base Nintendo Reality. The VR can be enjoyed with either the base Reality VR goggles or the Super VR goggles, with the game containing different graphics modes for both, and developers have also designed another graphical package for the upcoming upgraded 4K Reality unit, preparing a huge download package to update the game's graphics and animations once the upgraded console becomes available. Gran Turismo Real also supports a wide variety of accessories, including racing wheels, pedal setups, and even full-on home arcade units. The game is absolutely designed to be played like a real driving simulator, with realistic force feedback for haptic accessories, vivid VR graphics, and realistic engine and racing sounds. Though it can be enjoyed, and is enjoyed, by people with just the base console, base game, and a Reality controller, those who spring for the full experience are treated to one of the most realistic virtual reality simulations ever devised, and with the VR goggles, a good racing wheel, and pedals, it becomes a whole new game.
Gran Turismo Real is released on February 17, 2017, to universal critical acclaim. Scoring a 96 on Metacritic, it not only becomes the highest rated game in the series to date, but one of the highest rated video games of all time. Critics make sure to distinguish their experiences with a base setup (a controller and no accessories or VR) and the full intended simulator experience, but either way, it's a thrilling and highly addictive title and well deserving of the praise it receives. The game flies off the shelves during its initial release week, breaking sales records in Europe and Japan and selling more than a million copies in the States as well. It also pushes more peripherals than any game since the Saturn "Bring The Arcade Hits Home" boom of 1996, putting more steering wheels and pedals in homes than any racing title before or since, and also selling plenty of VR goggles and Reality Super VR units as well. Though it would be released well before the upgraded 4K Reality model is even announced, it becomes one of the main pushes for that console as well, and would be bundled in with the upgraded Reality when it's released later in 2017. Gran Turismo Real would become one of the most influential games of its generation, revitalizing the racing simulator genre and showing exactly what the current generation of consoles is capable of. It, more than any other Reality game, would come to justify the development of the console's VR, and would be highly influential on the VR games of the future.
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Other Significant Titles for February 2017:
Marshmallow Bits: An RPG/puzzle/shooter title in which players must explore a strange world, collecting little creatures known as “bits”, and then deploying them in battle. It combines elements of Pokemon with elements of puzzle games like Bust-A-Move, and is somewhat of a budget game, developed by a third party exclusively for the Reality. The cutesy anime graphics and addictive gameplay make it a sleeper hit.
Vampiria: A Virtua exclusive (developed by a second party at Apple HQ) JRPG-style title featuring a female vampire protagonist named Iria, with a heavily dark/gothic theme. Iria is exiled from her clan and initially seeks to regain her status by killing and enthralling humans, but after a chance encounter with a detective who she is unable to control after biting, she is drawn into a mystery that threatens to upend the delicate social order connecting vampires and humans. A definite cult hit, but doesn't move the needle much on JRPGs overall, with its fairly derivative turn-based combat and rather simplistic story.
Numakata Dungeon Raid: An anime dungeon-crawler game characterized by gorgeous cutscenes and character design, Numakata Dungeon Raid is a Gemini exclusive with cutesy characters and blisteringly difficult gameplay (think Etrian Odyssey meets Neptunia). It's a weird one, and more popular in Japan than in the West, but it gets a nice little following here.
Death And Taxes: One of the year's most significant Nexus exclusives, Death And Taxes is a top-down action RPG in which an IRS worker and a beautiful woman who also happens to be the Grim Reaper must team up to bring death back to the world after an afterlife accounting screw-up causes life and death to get mixed up in strange ways, wreaking havoc in the surface world. The game plays much like Diablo, with fast-paced combat in which you mostly control Grimelda (the Grim Reaper), but at times you control John, the tax man, whose abilities are much different but no less fun to control. The game features some truly outstanding voice acting and hilarious writing, with the relationship between John and Grimelda both heartwarming and complex. It's not exactly a love story, but there's clearly some affection between them as the game's 10-hour quest plays out. Death And Taxes is a critical darling, one of the year's best reviewed titles, and sales, though slow at first, pick up quite a lot later on (the game's reception is comparable to that of OTL's Hades, if that gives you any indication of how well this game is received amongst players).
Among The Dead 3: The third title in the popular action horror series makes its way to the Reality, Virtua, and Nexus in February 2017. It's the best selling multiplatform title of the month, and gets a decent critical reception, introducing a more serious storyline than the previous game, focusing on a man who avenges his family after watching them get torn up by zombies right in front of him. Though not the most original horror title on the market, the series has its fans, and this one does about as well as the last one.
Celestial Storm: Team Ninja develops and Tecmo produces this ultra hard action RPG for the Reality and the Virtua, and it plays much like OTL's Nioh, with fast paced samurai action and punishing combat, though it does have some significant differences from that title, taking more influence from Ninja Gaiden and the TTL King's Grave series. It doesn't sell very well at first, overshadowed somewhat by Gran Turismo Real on the Reality and Among The Dead 3 on the Virtua, but thanks to strong reviews and great word of mouth, it builds a big following and would eventually overtake Among The Dead 3 in total sales, becoming about as big IOTL as Nioh was ITTL (and also helping to keep Tecmo afloat and fund future projects from them, including a sequel).
In one of the most unlikeliest Super Bowl matchups in recent memory, the Atlanta Falcons completed their dream season by defeating the Buffalo Bills in this year's Super Bowl, 38-20. The Falcons were propelled to their place in the 51st Super Bowl by the stellar play of their rookie quarterback, Purdue's Elliot Hobbs, who was taken #1 overall in last year's NFL Draft. Hobbs immediately made his mark as one of the league's best quarterbacks, pushing the Falcons to a 13-3 record and the #2 seed in the NFC, while earning the league's 3rd best QBR rating. Hobbs was key to the Falcons' incredible turnaround, going from the league's worst record (2-14) just a year ago to one of its best. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills enjoyed a dream season of their own, earning their way to the Super Bowl with three straight playoff upsets after earning a 10-6 record. The Bills were led by Blake Bortles, who, while not as spectacular as Hobbs, played decently well and was aided by a great running game and one of the AFC's best defenses. The game itself was never much in doubt: Hobbs led his team to two quick scores in the first quarter to push the Falcons to a 14-3 lead early on, and they never looked back. Their stiffest playoff test had come two weeks before, when they upset the defending champion San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship. The 49ers had the league's best record and home field advantage, but the Falcons were able to overcome them in a close 30-26 contest to earn their way into the Super Bowl. The Falcons also got great play from their wide receivers, with Mike Evans and Dante Wilford both notching 100+ yards and a touchdown each. Hobbs also found Torrey Smith late in the fourth quarter to ice the game. Hobbs finished with three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown, notching 361 yards in the air along with 53 on the ground, and was the first rookie ever to win Super Bowl MVP, adding to his Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. The Falcons have established themselves as one of the teams to beat in the NFL, and are already tied with the 49ers as the Vegas oddsmakers' favorite to repeat next year, thanks to their young core and the abundance of draft picks they still have from the Dallas Cowboys thanks to trading down in 2015. Meanwhile, the Bills have emerged as one of the top contenders in the AFC, behind the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, and Cleveland Browns. The only thing many consider to be holding them back is their tough division: the AFC East is considered by many analysts to be the best division in the NFL, with the Patriots, Jets, Dolphins, and Bills all expected to notch at least an 8-8 record next season. The Bills struggled within their division in 2016, going 2-4 against their rivals and only getting into the playoffs thanks to their perfect record against the rest of the AFC. Super Bowl LI saw its television ratings decline from the previous year, though it was still the most watched television broadcast in North America since the previous Super Bowl, and overall NFL ratings have climbed steadily over the past several years.
-from an article on Yahoo! Sports News, posted on February 6, 2017
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Google And Samsung's "Project Glass" Teased At Investor Conference, Potentially Tied To Next-Gen Google Console
Google's mysterious "Project Glass", which has been rumored to be in the works since early 2012 and which was briefly revealed at 2015's E3 keynote, has been kept under heavy wraps by both Google and its partner, electronics giant Samsung, for nearly two years. Briefly teased as a device that could project high definition augmented reality content in real time via a pair of eyeglasses worn on the face, the accessory, which was pushed as a Nexus peripheral but which could be used in conjunction with Android phones for a variety of functions, is still shrouded in mystery, but at yesterday's conference for Samsung investors, the device was brought back out of the darkness for a brief progress update in which a video was shown of the accessory projecting AR information into both future Google games and into the real world. Most notably, we got to see the device used as a way to enhance gameplay of World Of Warcraft, which is expected to come to the Google Nexus sometime next year. The Glass peripheral was able to give combat information and project statistics, player information, and text chat onto the screen, freeing up the cluttered HUD and giving the game a much more futuristic look. We also got a look at some video chat functionality, taking the classic "headset/microphone" setup to a whole new level. Curiously, the Google Glass was not promoted in any way shape or form with the Google Nexus. Instead, it was being touted as a peripheral for "Google Gaming", and was shown being used primarily with Android-based gaming devices including smartphones and television boxes. The Project Glass presentation seemed to be less a promotion of Nexus features and more of a look at Google's future, though neither Google nor Samsung has revealed any details about a potential Nexus successor device, and the Nexus Pro was launched just last year. We're intrigued for what Google might reveal at E3, whether it's a look at their next console, a preview for a new gaming handheld (maybe a game-centric Galaxy model, as has been teased at Samsung events in the past), or perhaps just another look at Project Glass itself). Project Glass remains one of the most intriguing peripheral ideas in recent memory, and the longer Google goes without talking about it, the more mysterious and intriguing it becomes. It's clear that progress is still being made, but it's also clear that it'll likely be several years before we actually have the thing in our hands, making every bit of information we get all the more tantalizing.
-from an article on Games Over Matter, posted on February 21, 2017
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Kristin Reyes Sweeps Grammys With "Bellflower Tree", Beating Out Beyonce For Evening's Top Award
In a battle between the lighthearted folk-pop of Kristin Reyes and the hard-hitting R+B of Beyonce, many industry analysts projected Beyonce to take the night's top prize, but in the end, Kristin Reyes, who lost Best New Artist to The Fragment at last year's ceremony, swept through in a major way, taking home Album of the Year for her second studio album, Bellflower Tree, and also taking home Record and Song of the Year. Reyes' album was one of the year's most critically acclaimed, though Beyonce's powerful Firesetter was equally acclaimed and even more successful in terms of sales. Reyes, 24, has become known amongst many as possessing one of the most melodic voices in pop music history, and though Bellflower Tree was considered to be somewhat darker in tone than her debut album Silverwing, it was a far cry from the content of Firestarter, in which Beyonce pushes an unrelenting feminist message. Reyes also had to battle back a fierce challenge from the European band Lukas Graham, whose song "7 Years" was expected to take home both the Record and Song of the Year awards over Reyes' eventual winner "Submersion". Reyes' win wasn't entirely unexpected: her music has been heavily promoted and featured in a number of television shows and feature films, and she had the endorsement of no less than music legend Selena herself (whose label Reyes is signed to). Selena herself is a featured singer in Reyes' "Adrift and Away", and she could be seen in the audience excitedly celebrating each of Reyes' wins. Though Kristin Reyes was the night's biggest winner, Beyonce did manage to win two Grammys: one for Best Urban Contemporary album, and another for Best Rap/Sung Performance. Best New Artist would go to Chance The Rapper, who controversially beat BTS for the award. Chance The Rapper would later seek to quash any potential beef between his fanbase and that of the massively popular Korean band, appearing with them at one of the Grammy afterparties following the show. Numerous pictures of the two acts looking quite friendly with one another have circulated on social media, and there are already rumors of a potential collaboration. However, the same can't be said for Selena and Beyonce. Though the two haven't directly engaged in any social media confrontations with one another, and have appeared together before at various events looking to be on good terms, both of them have made statements criticizing the other over the past year, and their fanbases have also appeared to be increasingly at odds. After Reyes' big night at the Grammys, tensions between the two could continue to grow, and it was reported that Beyonce and Selena deliberately scheduled their appearances at a prominent afterparty to avoid running into one another.
-from an article on People.com, posted on February 13, 2017
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The following contains MASSIVE SPOILERS for the ending of The Darkest Hour. If you intend to play the game and don't want to be spoiled, don't read ahead!
Which brings me to my biggest problem with the game, an opinion that I'm sure will be extremely controversial. The end of The Darkest Hour sees Terra, Kris, and Etienne team up to defeat Oblivion, the all-powerful force of darkness threatening not only the main characters' universe, but the entire multiverse as well. It's a spectacular, over-the-top final battle that sees, among other things, the main characters tanking multiverse-killing blasts directly to the face and unleashing spectacular magic spells that deal billions of damage to their foe. It's a totally wild final battle that blends elements of games like Shin Megami Tensei and Disgaea, it's like nothing the series has ever included before, and it's tons of fun. In many ways, it's extremely satisfying: characters from across the first four games of the series teaming up to save the universe from an all-encompassing cosmic horror and saving the world in truly heroic fashion. It's a love letter to people who have stuck with the series for five games across 22 years, it's pure fanservice, and it's beautiful.
But there's times when fanservice goes too far, and in this case, this is one of those times. Etienne has been brought to life, but it's been implied all game that this is only temporary, that she must return to heaven after Oblivion has been destroyed. And then there's Kris, who arranged for her own death so that she could go to hell and gain the power she needed to crush the foe threatening Earth. She too, says the game, is back to the world of the living only temporarily. Terra, the new protagonist, the protector of Earth, who experienced one of the best character arcs the series has ever seen, she's the one who's supposed to be the hero now. And... she is. She returns to Earth gifted with her new magic and new powers and becomes leader of the new generation of spellcasters leading the fight against evil should it ever return. The world is saved, it's a happy ending already. With Etienne and Kris both dead and consigned to different realms in the cosmic afterlife, the ending is supposed to be bittersweet. Maybe they'll find their way back to each other, maybe they won't.
Only... that's not what happens. What happens is that, through convoluted magic shenanigans and deals with various beings in both heaven and hell, Etienne and Kris... come back to life. And it sticks. Etienne, whose death in 1999's The Darkest Night defined the series and continues to be listed amongst the saddest moments in gaming history... comes back to life. Not only that, but she gets aged up so that it doesn't look all weird that Kris is dating someone who (because she hasn't aged in 20 years) looks young enough to be her daughter. Kris comes back to life as well, and the explanation for her getting to stay in the world of the living is even more of a handwave. The tragedy of these two characters is undone by an ending clearly intended to be fanservice for people who were upset by Etienne's death. Hell, Etienne and Sephora (who, like all the other characters brought back to life to fight Oblivion, has to go back to being dead at the end of the game, though Sephora does get a cushy job as a high-ranking hell demon) even patch things up, no hard feelings between them. The ending is utterly dripping in happiness, capped off by a duet of Eric Clapton's "Change The World" between Etienne and Kris' voice actors Sara Bareilles and Amy Lee during the ending credits (though I will say, this is an excellent cover of the song). As satisfied as the ending undoubtedly left some longtime fans of the series, it's far too sugary sweet for my tastes, and completely undoes the tragedy that made the series so brilliant and engaging. We basically spent three games dealing with the consequences of Etienne's death and its effect on Kris, and The Darkest Hour's ending undoes all of it in exchange for feel-good fanservice. It goes against the entire mood of the series, and wraps everything up far too neatly. Keeping Etienne dead, or even keeping Etienne and Kris separated from one another indefinitely, would've ended their stories on a perfectly bittersweet note while still leaving the door open for fan interpretation of their eventual reunion. While the series has been criticized in the past for its use of the Bury Your Gays trope by killing off Etienne (though at the time, it hadn't yet been revealed that she and Kris were actually a couple, which wouldn't be explicitly confirmed until 2013's The Darkest), that choice was made long ago, and undoing it now undoes so much of the amazing writing and emotional pathos the series is known for. While The Darkest Hour is itself an excellent game, arguably the best in the series, the choice to undo one of the most impactful moments in gaming history in favor of pleasing a segment of the series' fanbase is an incredible disservice to both this game and all the others that came before it. The Darkest remains one of my favorite JRPG franchises, and it's a shame that it doesn't stick the landing.
-from the article "The Darkest Hour Does Everything Right Except For The Most Important Thing Of All", posted on Kotaku on February 28, 2017
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Warren Beatty: The Academy Award... for Best Picture... *looking at the envelope and the card, looks a bit confused but shows it to Faye Dunaway*
Faye Dunaway: *starting to read it but stops herself and looks a bit confused as well* ...oh! I don't think this is... um... *shows it to Beatty* I think this is...
Warren Beatty: *looking at it* Oops. Uh oh. This is awkward. *gesturing to one of the producers*
Faye Dunaway: *laughing nervously* They gave us the wrong envelope. This is for Best Actress.
*The producer rushes up and gets the envelope and looks dumbfounded and embarrassed.*
Faye Dunaway: This is live TV, anything can happen!
*The audience laughs awkwardly*
Faye Dunaway: I almost read it too! I just about read it and then I saw Jodie's name on there!
*Jodie Comer, who won Best Actress earlier in the night for The Resisters, is shown backstage laughing.*
*Warren soon gets the real envelope from the producer.*
Warren Beatty: You sure this is the right one? You're absolutely sure?
*The audience laughs again.*
Warren Beatty: I'm going to look like a jackass if this isn't the right one. *the audience laughs much louder* Okay, okay, here we go, for real this time. The Oscar for Best Picture goes to... *shows it to Faye Dunaway to read*
Faye Dunaway: Moonlight!
*The audience cheers wildly as the producers and crew of Moonlight come onto the stage to accept their award and to give an emotional and heartfelt speech.*
-from the February 26, 2017 broadcast of the 89th Academy Awards on ABC
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Game Spotlight: Gran Turismo Real
Gran Turismo Real is a racing simulation title and the sixth game in the Gran Turismo series, developed by Polyphony and published by Sony exclusively for the Nintendo Reality. It continues from previous games in the series, with a focus on realistic racing on real-world tracks, and touts itself as the "Real Driving Simulator", words that have never been more appropriate than they have been with this particular title. This game was years in the making, with numerous delays and extensions, as Polyphony labored to produce a game worthy of the Nintendo Reality and wanted to particularly focus on the Reality's VR capabilities, polishing all the cars and tracks to look almost lifelike, with incredible detail. The game boasts a total of 2,853 cars, by far the most of any racing game ever made, with dozens of real world tracks replicated in incredible detail, including courses from Formula One, NASCAR, and Indycar, along with numerous other legendary race tracks. The game's cars and tracks span nearly a hundred years of racing, with souped up modern supercars featured alongside vintage classics. The game blends elements of OTL's Gran Turismo 6 and Gran Turismo Sport, with the developers seeking to make a game that you could either play alone, racing advanced AI and pushing through the game's many different circuits and modes, or with online players around the world, competing to climb the ladder and become the best racer on the planet. Like Gran Turismo Sport, the game asks quite a lot of its players before they hop online, giving them a crash course in online etiquette and the rules of the road, and relegating those who don't to "arcade-style" courses where anything goes, while players who show that they can handle a real simulator experience are allowed to compete in a succession of online ladders for players of all skill types, starting with absolute newbie ladders and advancing all the way up to the very best in the world, with top players allowed to compete for real-world money and prizes. The game's graphics are almost certainly the best ever featured in a home console game, better than OTL's PS4 Gran Turismo titles, and capable of 4K graphics even on the base Nintendo Reality. The VR can be enjoyed with either the base Reality VR goggles or the Super VR goggles, with the game containing different graphics modes for both, and developers have also designed another graphical package for the upcoming upgraded 4K Reality unit, preparing a huge download package to update the game's graphics and animations once the upgraded console becomes available. Gran Turismo Real also supports a wide variety of accessories, including racing wheels, pedal setups, and even full-on home arcade units. The game is absolutely designed to be played like a real driving simulator, with realistic force feedback for haptic accessories, vivid VR graphics, and realistic engine and racing sounds. Though it can be enjoyed, and is enjoyed, by people with just the base console, base game, and a Reality controller, those who spring for the full experience are treated to one of the most realistic virtual reality simulations ever devised, and with the VR goggles, a good racing wheel, and pedals, it becomes a whole new game.
Gran Turismo Real is released on February 17, 2017, to universal critical acclaim. Scoring a 96 on Metacritic, it not only becomes the highest rated game in the series to date, but one of the highest rated video games of all time. Critics make sure to distinguish their experiences with a base setup (a controller and no accessories or VR) and the full intended simulator experience, but either way, it's a thrilling and highly addictive title and well deserving of the praise it receives. The game flies off the shelves during its initial release week, breaking sales records in Europe and Japan and selling more than a million copies in the States as well. It also pushes more peripherals than any game since the Saturn "Bring The Arcade Hits Home" boom of 1996, putting more steering wheels and pedals in homes than any racing title before or since, and also selling plenty of VR goggles and Reality Super VR units as well. Though it would be released well before the upgraded 4K Reality model is even announced, it becomes one of the main pushes for that console as well, and would be bundled in with the upgraded Reality when it's released later in 2017. Gran Turismo Real would become one of the most influential games of its generation, revitalizing the racing simulator genre and showing exactly what the current generation of consoles is capable of. It, more than any other Reality game, would come to justify the development of the console's VR, and would be highly influential on the VR games of the future.
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Other Significant Titles for February 2017:
Marshmallow Bits: An RPG/puzzle/shooter title in which players must explore a strange world, collecting little creatures known as “bits”, and then deploying them in battle. It combines elements of Pokemon with elements of puzzle games like Bust-A-Move, and is somewhat of a budget game, developed by a third party exclusively for the Reality. The cutesy anime graphics and addictive gameplay make it a sleeper hit.
Vampiria: A Virtua exclusive (developed by a second party at Apple HQ) JRPG-style title featuring a female vampire protagonist named Iria, with a heavily dark/gothic theme. Iria is exiled from her clan and initially seeks to regain her status by killing and enthralling humans, but after a chance encounter with a detective who she is unable to control after biting, she is drawn into a mystery that threatens to upend the delicate social order connecting vampires and humans. A definite cult hit, but doesn't move the needle much on JRPGs overall, with its fairly derivative turn-based combat and rather simplistic story.
Numakata Dungeon Raid: An anime dungeon-crawler game characterized by gorgeous cutscenes and character design, Numakata Dungeon Raid is a Gemini exclusive with cutesy characters and blisteringly difficult gameplay (think Etrian Odyssey meets Neptunia). It's a weird one, and more popular in Japan than in the West, but it gets a nice little following here.
Death And Taxes: One of the year's most significant Nexus exclusives, Death And Taxes is a top-down action RPG in which an IRS worker and a beautiful woman who also happens to be the Grim Reaper must team up to bring death back to the world after an afterlife accounting screw-up causes life and death to get mixed up in strange ways, wreaking havoc in the surface world. The game plays much like Diablo, with fast-paced combat in which you mostly control Grimelda (the Grim Reaper), but at times you control John, the tax man, whose abilities are much different but no less fun to control. The game features some truly outstanding voice acting and hilarious writing, with the relationship between John and Grimelda both heartwarming and complex. It's not exactly a love story, but there's clearly some affection between them as the game's 10-hour quest plays out. Death And Taxes is a critical darling, one of the year's best reviewed titles, and sales, though slow at first, pick up quite a lot later on (the game's reception is comparable to that of OTL's Hades, if that gives you any indication of how well this game is received amongst players).
Among The Dead 3: The third title in the popular action horror series makes its way to the Reality, Virtua, and Nexus in February 2017. It's the best selling multiplatform title of the month, and gets a decent critical reception, introducing a more serious storyline than the previous game, focusing on a man who avenges his family after watching them get torn up by zombies right in front of him. Though not the most original horror title on the market, the series has its fans, and this one does about as well as the last one.
Celestial Storm: Team Ninja develops and Tecmo produces this ultra hard action RPG for the Reality and the Virtua, and it plays much like OTL's Nioh, with fast paced samurai action and punishing combat, though it does have some significant differences from that title, taking more influence from Ninja Gaiden and the TTL King's Grave series. It doesn't sell very well at first, overshadowed somewhat by Gran Turismo Real on the Reality and Among The Dead 3 on the Virtua, but thanks to strong reviews and great word of mouth, it builds a big following and would eventually overtake Among The Dead 3 in total sales, becoming about as big IOTL as Nioh was ITTL (and also helping to keep Tecmo afloat and fund future projects from them, including a sequel).
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Huh, can't wait for the inevitable realisitic combat simulator vr similar to Onward. Btw, anything interesting happen to Tokusatsu (i.e. Super Sentai, Kamen Rider) ITTL?
Given how we're heading into the tail end of OTL's Neo-Saban era of Power Rangers, that is a great question.
Nothing really worth noting, it's pretty much chugged along about the same as OTL. Obviously some of the characters and villains are different, but it's not vastly more or less successful or anything like that.
Elliot Hobbs was born on March 2, 1994 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He played football from a young age and eventually became quarterback of his high school team in his senior year. He led his team to two straight state championships in 2011 and 2012, and was heavily recruited, including by his home state schools Michigan and Michigan State. However, he didn't want to go to Michigan State (he didn't like the campus), and Michigan already had a really good quarterback at the time, meaning that Hobbs wouldn't get to start until his junior year. He also really liked Purdue's academic programs, and also liked the fact that he'd probably be able to start right away. He played for Purdue from 2012-2016. In his first year, he led the team to a 6-6 record and an appearance in the 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl, where he led his Boilermakers to a dominant 42-14 victory over the heavily favored 7-5 Oklahoma State Cowboys, making a national name for himself. The next year, Purdue would go 8-4, including winning its last five games in a row, and won the 2013 Gator Bowl over Auburn, 34-20. Hobbs' junior year would make him a Heisman contender and a national star, as Purdue would go 11-1. Purdue would get #5, narrowly missing out on the playoffs, and would then go on to lose to Oregon in the Rose Bowl in a close contest. Hobbs' senior year would see Purdue go 11-1 again and end up #2, getting into the national championship playoff, where they would ultimately defeat the 12-0 Alabama Crimson Tide in the national championship game. Hobbs graduated from Purdue with a degree in business and was then drafted #1 by Atlanta in 2016.
The Amazing Race, Season 29
The Amazing Race: Season 29: Do I know you?
For the first time since the 2003-04 television season, The Amazing Race wasn't part of the Fall schedule. Why? To make room for new CBS programming. The fact of the matter was, even with the stunt of season 28, the ratings were slowly falling. Season 29 was originally supposed to premiere on Friday, April 21, of this year but, various reasons including some shows not performing as well as expected, it was bumped up to Thursday, March 30 instead.
This season saw something happen that teams have been dreading. All the teams will be made up of people who have just met at the starting line. Fans were wary about this but it has mostly worked out in the past. Also some rule alterations: while the Roadblock split is still in place now it's four Roadblocks a piece until leg nine. Also, teams can U-Turn without restrictions. This season was filmed from early June to early July 2016.
Seth and Olive: Police officer and firefighter. They are easily the most competitive team on this season.
Kevin and Jenn: Trainer and model. Probably one of the better matches on the show, in that they actually got along the best.
Brooke and Scott: Law firm developer and Harvard University Recruiter. Scott isn't that bad, but Brooke turned into Flo 3.0 and that's coming from someone who actually liked Flo.
Becca and Floyd: Rock climbing instructor and College Drum Major. Another good pairing that the race did.
Liz and Mike: Auctioneer and butcher. Mostly got along, though there were some blow ups.
Jessie and Francesca: K-9 police officer and army officer. Surprisingly got along real well.
Vanck and Ashton: Wall Street analyst and real estate agent. Perhaps the most inconsistent team this season.
Matt and Redmond: Snowboarder and Afghanistan vet. Redmond lost his left leg fighting there. Anyways, they get along pretty good.
London and Logan: Street artist and Orthopedic device representative. Easily the most out of focus team on the show. But they seemed to get along.
Shamir and Sara: Bank associate and realtor. They were the fighting couple of the season.
Tara and Joey: Army parachutist and police officer. Everyone sees these two as "Mom and Dad" and they are actually pretty good together.
Leg #1: "We're coming, Phil!"
Original Air Date: March 30, 2017.
At the starting line in Grand Hope Park, to determine the teams, Phil gives out a series of cardinal directions and distances to find a luggage shop near the park. Depending on the order of who finds a suitcase with the Panamanian flag on it and comes back the quickest they get to choose first with the next person getting to choose next, etc. As a consolation prize for being forced together Liz and Mike get driven to the airport by Phil personally. In addition, Becca and Floyd find the only Express Pass in their luggage. Teams get $260 and are told to fly to Panama City, Panama.
Once there, they go to the Miraflores Locks. From there, teams then go to the Canopy Tower in the Panama Rainforest Discovery Centre. There they find the Detour: Scoot or Shoot. Both options required teams to paddle a traditional Panamanian vessel called a cayuco. In Scoot, teams had to beat a pair of professional canoers in a 400 meters (0.25 mi) regatta. Once teams finished the race before the rowers, they received their next clue. Teams that lost on the first attempt received a 50-meter head start for the second attempt; and, teams that needed a third attempt were given a 100-meter head start. In Shoot, teams had to row to a marshy area where they must use a bow and arrow to shoot down two silver fishes hung on a cluster of bamboo poles to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Cinta Costera III.
1. Becca and Floyd 12:12 P.M. Won $2,000 each.
2. Seth and Olive 12:13 P.M.
3. Matt and Redmond 12:23 P.M.
4. Shamir and Sara 1:10 P.M.
5. Brooke and Scott 1:45 P.M.
6. Tara and Joey 3:10 P.M.
7. London and Logan 3:15 P.M.
8. Vanck and Ashton 3:25 P.M.
9. Kevin and Jenn 4:03 P.M.
10. Jessie and Francesca 4:11 P.M.
11. Liz and Michael 5:00 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #2: "I'm all tangled up."
Original Air Date: April 6, 2017.
Getting $300, teams fly to Sao Paulo, Brazil. On arrival, teams go to a helipad and sign up for a ride to Parca Se. There they get the Detour: Keep The Beat or Work Your Feet. In Keep The Beat, teams traveled along R. General Osório street and had to perform a musical routine with a samba group. Each team member had to learn a different instrument: either the surdo drum or the chocalho jingle stick. When the band leader was satisfied with their performance, they would get their next clue. In Work Your Feet, teams made their way to a viaduct below Palmorino Mônaco street where they had to assemble makeshift workout equipment using rudimentary supplies including a tire, a refrigerator, weight racks, metal cans, and a barrel (which must contain a specified volume of water). When the judge, a professional boxer, approved their installations, he would give them their next clue.
Teams then go to Paulista Avenue and search for a woman wearing a yellow and red scarf, riding a bike. The clue from her tells teams to go to the Instituto Cervantes Sao Paulo for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to rappel down the façade of Instituto Cervantes São Paulo where they had to wash a marked window. Once the window was spotless, a person inside the room would give them their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Trianon Park.
1. Kevin and Jenn 11:13 A.M. Won a trip for two to Barbados
2. Seth and Olive 11:25 A.M.
3. Vanck and Ashton 11:26 A.M.
4. Matt and Redmond 11:35 A.M.
5. Brooke and Scott 12:09 P.M.
6. Becca and Floyd 12:16 P.M.
7. Jessie and Francesca 12:58 P.M.
8. Tara and Joey 1:01 P.M.
9. London and Logan 1:19 P.M.
10. Shamir and Sara 2:10 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #3: "Bucket list stuff."
Original Air Date: April 13, 2017.
Getting $300, teams fly to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. On arrival, teams have to go to the Askari Monument and buy a newspaper and search through the classifieds for an advertisement with a picture of a boat, telling them to go to Zanzibar. On the island, they go to Mkokotoni Market where they find the Double U-Turn (Tara and Joey try to use it on Seth and Olive but the later team is too far ahead) and the Detour: Build It or Weave It. For both Detours, teams must travel across the bay on a dhow. In Build It, teams had to build wooden desks in an outdoor workshop. Once the desk was built within the carpenter's standards, they had to deliver it to a nearby school where they would then learn Swahili greetings from the teacher. After teams recited five phrases with proper enunciation, they would receive their next clue. In Weave It, teams had to observe a climber harvest coconut leaves from a tall palm tree. Then, they had to use the leaves to weave a basket based on a demonstration to earn their next clue.
Teams then go to the Darajani Market for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member received a shopping list of eighteen local food items written in Swahili. Using their own money (either United States dollar or Tanzanian shilling), they had to purchase all of the items and give the ingredients to the family chef outside of the market to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Emerson on Hurumzi Rooftop Tea House.
1. Seth and Olive 12:12 P.M. Won a trip for two to Amsterdam.
2. Tara and Joey 12:29 P.M.
3. Jessie and Francesca 1:00 P.M.
4. London and Logan 1:11 P.M.
5. Becca and Floyd 1:30 P.M.
6. Kevin and Jenn 1:59 P.M.
7. Brooke and Scott 2:19 P.M.
8. Vanck and Ashton 2:55 P.M.
9. Matt and Redmond 3:41 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #4: "Not this time!"
Original Air Date: April 20, 2017.
Receiving $200, teams have to go to the childhood home of Farroukh Bulsara AKA Freddie Mercury for the Detour: Lock or Knock. In Lock, teams had to go to Al-Tamimi Curio Shop and look through artisanal wooden chests, each one carved with a secret compartment into the main drawer, for a key with an attached piece of paper showing a symbol. Once they found the key, they had to find a cabinet with the same symbol and unlock it to release their next clue. In Knock, teams had to travel through the streets of Stone Town to locate three royal doors and knock on each of them to receive a wooden carving of a lion, serpent and a falcon. Upon collecting all three carvings, they then had to deliver them to a marked shop on Gizenga Street and exchange the carvings for their next clue.
Teams then take a ferry back to Dar-es-Salaam and go to the DASICO Umasida Dispensary for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to make a ladle strainer out of sheet metal. First, they must cut a circular piece of sheet aluminum to make a spoon. After that, they had to punch the center piece to make holes for the strainer. Then, they had to pound the metal into a perfect circle and attach a long piece of metal to create the handle. Once their ladle is correctly assembled, the supervisor would hand them their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Coco Beach.
1. Tara and Joey 2:10 P.M. Won $5,000 each.
2. Seth and Olive 2:11 P.M.
3. Kevin and Jenn 2:40 P.M.
4. Becca and Floyd 3:00 P.M.
5. Jessie and Francesca 3:49 P.M.
6. London and Logan 4:13 P.M.
7. Vanck and Aston 4:36 P.M.
8. Brooke and Scott 5:15 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #5: "That's the stuff."
Original Air Date: April 20, 2017.
Getting $320, teams fly to Ålesund, Norway. Once there, teams go to Høgsteinen Fyr Lighthouse, where they have to eat a Norwegian fish dish called rakfisk. Teams get the Fast Forward with their next clue. For the Fast Forward, one team had to board a helicopter from an adjacent field at Høgsteinen Fyr Lighthouse where they would soon discover they had to skydive 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above the skies of Ålesund with an instructor. Becca and Floyd do the Fast Forward. The other teams go to Slinningen for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to climb the side of a 13-storey tower made out of 31,000 wooden pallets, then nail down one pallet at the top of the stack to help create the world's tallest hand stacked bonfire festival called Slinningsbålet. Once completed, they would receive their next clue and climb back down.
Teams then get the Detour: Trolls or Troll. In Trolls, teams had to go to Kulturhus in Downtown where an actress gave them a scroll containing a poem and a map of downtown highlighting six images of sculptures. Using the map, they had to locate each building with the corresponding sculpture. At each location, they must recite the poem at the doorway, where a troll impersonator would give them a gigantic fake firework. Once they returned to Kulturhus with all six fireworks, the actress gave them a scroll containing the name of the next Pit Stop. In Troll, teams had to travel to Kayak More Tomorrow and paddle a kayak along Brosundet Canal to search among fishing lures for one imprinted with the name of the next Pit Stop. The Pit Stop is Mount Aksla. Where teams are told to keep going.
1. Becca and Floyd 10:15 A.M. No prize given this leg.
2. Seth and Olive 11:22 A.M.
3. Kevin and Jenn 12:01 P.M.
4. Jessica and Francesca 12:19 P.M.
5. London and Logan 1:03 P.M.
6. Vanck and Ashton 1:47 P.M.
7. Tara and Joey 2:22 P.M.
Leg #6: "Double U-Turn Ahead."
Original Air Date: April 27, 2017.
Receiving $240 and a Smartphone at the end of the last leg, teams are told to get to Milan, Italy. On arrival, teams have to get to Piazza Fontana for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to ride Tram Ristorante ATMosfera, a dining tram which tours Downtown Milan, to find three marked words along the ride: Cernobbio, Concordia, and Lago. However, only four team members could ride the tram at one time. During the ride, they received a plate of gnocchi and parmigiana melanzane, which they had to finish, in order to complete the ride. At the end of the ride, they recited the three correct words to the tram conductor to receive their next clue. If they failed to say all three words, they had to perform the task again. Teams then take a ferry across Lake Como and spend the night at the ferry terminal in Varenna.
Teams then go to Greenway dei Patriarchi, where they find the Double U-Turn (Seth and Olive use it on Kevin and Jenn who use it on London and Logan), and the Detour: Make a Mold or Grab a Hold. In Make a Mold, teams had to travel to Castello di Vezio and assemble a ghost figure by using a teammate as a wire mesh mold for plaster mold casting. After the plaster solidified to create the figure, they would be given the next clue. In Grab a Hold, teams had to travel by taxi boat to the village of Menaggio and find L'Angolo Benedetto Castelli, where one team member would climb 90 feet (27 m) up the face of a rock to retrieve their next clue, while their partner belayed the line from the bottom. Teams then take a taxi boat to Tremezzo and look for the Pit Stop: Teresio Olivelli Park.
1. Kevin and Jenn 3:12 P.M. Won a trip for two to Ushuaia, Argentina.
2. Jessica and Francesca 3:40 P.M.
3. Seth and Olive 4:10 P.M.
4. Tara and Joey 4:16 P.M.
5. Vanck and Aston 5:00 P.M.
6. Becca and Floyd 5:05 P.M.
7. London and Logan 5:31 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #7: "It's Amore!"
Original Air Date: May 4, 2017.
Getting $325, teams take an early morning bus to Venice. Once there, they have to the Piazza San Marco where they get the Detour: Sing It or Bring It. In Sing it, teams had to practice a traditional Italian serenade for gondoliers and then dressed as ones to perform the song on board a gondola tour along the Grand Canal. If the mandolin player was satisfied with their singing, he would give them their the next clue. In Bring it, teams had to work as porters and pick up a dolly of suitcases to deliver to the name of the hotel on their suitcases' tag, carrying them through the stairs and narrow alleys of Venice. Once all the suitcases were delivered to the hotel's porter, they would receive their next clue.
Teams then go to the Ca' Zenobio where they find the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to choose an actor from a Venetian masquerade performance, Commedia dell'arte, and paint an exact copy of their mask. If they could successfully recreate it to the satisfaction of the artist, they would be given their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Campo San Vio.
1. Jessica and Francesca 1:12 P.M. Won a trip for two to Grenada.
2. Seth and Olive 1:15 P.M.
3. Becca and Floyd 2:10 P.M.
4. Kevin and Jenn 2:12 P.M.
5. Tara and Joey 2:18 P.M.
6. Vanck and Ashton 3:50 P.M. NOT ELIMINATED/SPEEDBUMPED.
Leg #8: "That's disgusting!"
Original Air Date: May 11, 2017.
Receiving $200, teams head, by plane and ferry, to Patras, Greece. On arrival, teams head to the Arachova Town Square, where an unused Double U-Turn is along with the Detour: For the Bride or For the Groom. . In For the Bride, teams had to transport two containers of milk on a donkey through the streets of Arachova to find local cheese makers and exchange them for a piece of cheese. Both cheese had to be delivered to the bride. In For the Groom, teams must compete in a footrace with locals up the 252 steps of Egarsios leading to the Church of Saint George where they had to find a shepherd who would give them two pairs of animals (sheep and goat) to deliver to a groom. After executing the detour, teams received a plate, which should break for the next clue.
Teams then go to the Panatheniac Stadium in Athens. Here Vanck and Ashton hit their Speedbump: preparing a traditional skewered dish called kokoresti by wrapping sections of meat intestines. Then they join the other teams at the stadium to run a lap each then go to the Zappeion for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to take part in becoming a member of the guard outside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and learn how to perform the changing of the guard routine of the Greek Presidential Guards known as Evzones. Under the supervision of the Presidential Guard, they had to perform inside the Zappeion hall with the right choreography to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: a spot overlooking the Acropolis.
1. Kevin and Jenn 1:22 P.M. Won $7,500 each.
2. Tara and Joey 1:43 P.M.
3. Seth and Olive 1:44 P.M.
4. Becca and Floyd 2:56 P.M.
5. Jessie and Francesca 3:10 P.M.
6. Vanck and Ashton 4:15 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #9: "That it! No more nice gal!"
Original Air Date: May 18, 2017.
Getting $185, teams go to the Corinth Canal for a Switchback Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member has to repeat the Roadblock that was done here in Season 9 and bungee jump into the canal. Teams then fly to Hanoi, Vietnam. Once there, teams have to go to Tuong Dai Ly Thai To and search among people waving fans for one with a yellow marker. Then teams go to Quán Su Temple where they get the Detour: Bamboo Climb or Window Design.
In Bamboo Climb, teams had to transport a marked 15-foot ladder made of bamboo through the busy streets to an apartment building, and get it up a narrow stairwell. On the roof, they had to use the ladder to retrieve a birdcage, and then return both the cage and the ladder to the starting point to receive their next clue. In Window Design, teams had to carry three mannequins—a man, woman, and child—through the streets to a clothing shop, and dress and arrange them in the window, using a photo for reference. Once the judge approved their window display, they would receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Thong Nhat Park.
1. Becca and Floyd 12:43 P.M. Won a trip for two to The Galapagos.
2. Seth and Olive 1:34 P.M.
3. Jessie and Francesca 2:01 P.M.
4. Kevin and Jenn 2:19 P.M.
5. Tara and Joey 2:59 P.M. NOT ELIMINATED/SPEEDBUMPED.
Leg #10: "Not like that!"
Original Air Date: May 18, 2017.
Receiving $250, teams take a bus from My Dinh to Ninh Binh. Once there, they have to get to Tam Coc Wharf and choose a bike as their only means of transportation for the rest of the leg. Teams then go to Bich Dong Temple, where teams have to pick up a Travelocity Roaming Gnome, and where Tara and Joey find their Speedbump: collecting 72 duck eggs from a nearby pond. Then they can join the other teams at the Roadblock.
In a Switchback to Season 3, one team member had to load a bicycle with a correct number of large and small shrimp traps, and deliver them to a fisherman 1 mile (1.6 km) down the road to receive their next clue. Teams then go to Ben Thahn where, in what I suspect is half of a Detour, they had to collect and deliver an offering of specified prayer items (including red napkins, candles, flowers, and fake money) up the Ngô Đồng River stream to a ceremonial dragon boat. One team member had to row the oars using the traditional way by using only their feet. Once they had given the offering, they would then go back to the pier, accompanied by their respective dragon boat, to receive their next clue. Then they have to climb approximately 500 steps along the Lying Dragon Mountain Trail to the Pit Stop: Hang Mua peak.
1. Seth and Olive 11:22 A.M.
2. Jessie and Francesca 11:59 A.M.
3. Kevin and Jenn 12:43 P.M.
4. Tara and Joey 1:10 P.M.
5. Becca and Floyd 4:51 P.M. ELIMINATED/DROPPED OUT Floyd suffered from heat stroke and had to be tended to.
Leg #11: "My breathe stinks."
Original Air Date: May 25, 2017.
Getting $200, teams fly to Seoul, South Korea. Once there, they have to go to the Gangnam District, where they have to dance Gangnam Style to get their next clue. Teams then went to Hanyang University Olympic Gymnasium. Here they found the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to take part in sport stacking, quickly arranging cups into three specified formations in seven seconds or less to receive their next clue.
Teams then went to Mugyewon Arts & Crafts Centre where they made, buried and then ate some kimchi. Then teams go to OGN e-Stadium for the second Roadblock. In this Roadblock, the teammate who did not perform the first Roadblock had to play the video game Street Fighter V against a professional video game player. The racers underwent a coaching session before facing off against the professional players, which included Seon-woo "Infiltration" Lee and Lee Chung "Poongko" Gon, and had to defeat the professional gamer in one round of the game in order to receive their next clue. If the racer was unsuccessful after 10 rounds the professional gamer would continue playing with one hand behind his back; if the racer was unsuccessful after 10 additional rounds the professional gamer would continue playing blindfolded with one hand behind his back until he was defeated. After winning, teams go to the Pit Stop: Gavit Som.
1. Jessie and Francesca 3:14 P.M. No prizes awarded this leg.
2. Seth and Olive 4:58 P.M.
3. Tara and Joey 6:09 P.M.
4. Kevin and Jenn 7:21 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #12: "Red Sox suck!"
Original Air Date: June 1, 2017.
Receiving $300, teams fly to their final destination city: Chicago, Illinois. Once there, they had to get to Chicagoland Speedway where one team member had to join a pit crew and change one tire on a NASCAR race car in 40 seconds or less. Once they successfully finished changing the tire, their partner had to drive one lap around the track in 48 seconds or less. Once both were completed, they would get their next clue at the winner's podium. Then they head to the Monroe Street Station where they have to find a city worker who will give them three riddles that will lead them to three locations (Chicago Water Tower, Buckingham Fountain and Wabash Avenue Bridge), where they will pick up postcards that, when combined will show their next destination: City Hall Rooftop.
Here a beekeeper will give them their next clue for the postcards. Teams then go to Wrigleyville Dogs where they make 10 Chicago-style dogs and then deliver them to a building across from Wrigley Field where Ernie and Cindy from Season 19 will give them their next clue. Teams then go to Wrigley Field where teams had to recall their placements in each leg of the race. One team member had to go inside the press box while the other had to enter the stadium's hand-operated scoreboard, which displayed the locations of the eleven Pit Stops in alphabetical order. Unable to see the locations displayed on the scoreboard, the team member inside the scoreboard had to install numbered signs in the proper locations on the multi-level structure to indicate their team's placement at each Pit Stop, guided by his/her partner giving instructions from the press box via one-way radio. Once the placements were correct, they had to go on the field to home plate where the umpire would hand them a worksheet with equations based on their placements throughout the race. The solution would give them a three-digit number corresponding to the section of seats to search for their final clue. Teams then go to the finish line: Milton Lee Olive Park.
1. Seth and Olive WIN.
2. Tara and Joey PLACE.
3. Jessie and Francesca SHOW.
This season was not bad but it could have been better. Number 16 for me. Thing is the concept of having teams meet at the starting line was done a couple of seasons earlier. Now it was done slightly better here in my opinion, but that's not the point. Point is it should be people who know each other before hand was the basis of the franchise and to throw that away? Especially since, from what I hear, next season will go back to original format. It just seems like a waste.
-Globetrotting: An Amazing Race Blog by R.C. Anderson for the website Reality Rewind, June 14, 2017.
For the first time since the 2003-04 television season, The Amazing Race wasn't part of the Fall schedule. Why? To make room for new CBS programming. The fact of the matter was, even with the stunt of season 28, the ratings were slowly falling. Season 29 was originally supposed to premiere on Friday, April 21, of this year but, various reasons including some shows not performing as well as expected, it was bumped up to Thursday, March 30 instead.
This season saw something happen that teams have been dreading. All the teams will be made up of people who have just met at the starting line. Fans were wary about this but it has mostly worked out in the past. Also some rule alterations: while the Roadblock split is still in place now it's four Roadblocks a piece until leg nine. Also, teams can U-Turn without restrictions. This season was filmed from early June to early July 2016.
The Cast
Seth and Olive: Police officer and firefighter. They are easily the most competitive team on this season.
Kevin and Jenn: Trainer and model. Probably one of the better matches on the show, in that they actually got along the best.
Brooke and Scott: Law firm developer and Harvard University Recruiter. Scott isn't that bad, but Brooke turned into Flo 3.0 and that's coming from someone who actually liked Flo.
Becca and Floyd: Rock climbing instructor and College Drum Major. Another good pairing that the race did.
Liz and Mike: Auctioneer and butcher. Mostly got along, though there were some blow ups.
Jessie and Francesca: K-9 police officer and army officer. Surprisingly got along real well.
Vanck and Ashton: Wall Street analyst and real estate agent. Perhaps the most inconsistent team this season.
Matt and Redmond: Snowboarder and Afghanistan vet. Redmond lost his left leg fighting there. Anyways, they get along pretty good.
London and Logan: Street artist and Orthopedic device representative. Easily the most out of focus team on the show. But they seemed to get along.
Shamir and Sara: Bank associate and realtor. They were the fighting couple of the season.
Tara and Joey: Army parachutist and police officer. Everyone sees these two as "Mom and Dad" and they are actually pretty good together.
The Race
Leg #1: "We're coming, Phil!"
Original Air Date: March 30, 2017.
At the starting line in Grand Hope Park, to determine the teams, Phil gives out a series of cardinal directions and distances to find a luggage shop near the park. Depending on the order of who finds a suitcase with the Panamanian flag on it and comes back the quickest they get to choose first with the next person getting to choose next, etc. As a consolation prize for being forced together Liz and Mike get driven to the airport by Phil personally. In addition, Becca and Floyd find the only Express Pass in their luggage. Teams get $260 and are told to fly to Panama City, Panama.
Once there, they go to the Miraflores Locks. From there, teams then go to the Canopy Tower in the Panama Rainforest Discovery Centre. There they find the Detour: Scoot or Shoot. Both options required teams to paddle a traditional Panamanian vessel called a cayuco. In Scoot, teams had to beat a pair of professional canoers in a 400 meters (0.25 mi) regatta. Once teams finished the race before the rowers, they received their next clue. Teams that lost on the first attempt received a 50-meter head start for the second attempt; and, teams that needed a third attempt were given a 100-meter head start. In Shoot, teams had to row to a marshy area where they must use a bow and arrow to shoot down two silver fishes hung on a cluster of bamboo poles to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Cinta Costera III.
1. Becca and Floyd 12:12 P.M. Won $2,000 each.
2. Seth and Olive 12:13 P.M.
3. Matt and Redmond 12:23 P.M.
4. Shamir and Sara 1:10 P.M.
5. Brooke and Scott 1:45 P.M.
6. Tara and Joey 3:10 P.M.
7. London and Logan 3:15 P.M.
8. Vanck and Ashton 3:25 P.M.
9. Kevin and Jenn 4:03 P.M.
10. Jessie and Francesca 4:11 P.M.
11. Liz and Michael 5:00 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #2: "I'm all tangled up."
Original Air Date: April 6, 2017.
Getting $300, teams fly to Sao Paulo, Brazil. On arrival, teams go to a helipad and sign up for a ride to Parca Se. There they get the Detour: Keep The Beat or Work Your Feet. In Keep The Beat, teams traveled along R. General Osório street and had to perform a musical routine with a samba group. Each team member had to learn a different instrument: either the surdo drum or the chocalho jingle stick. When the band leader was satisfied with their performance, they would get their next clue. In Work Your Feet, teams made their way to a viaduct below Palmorino Mônaco street where they had to assemble makeshift workout equipment using rudimentary supplies including a tire, a refrigerator, weight racks, metal cans, and a barrel (which must contain a specified volume of water). When the judge, a professional boxer, approved their installations, he would give them their next clue.
Teams then go to Paulista Avenue and search for a woman wearing a yellow and red scarf, riding a bike. The clue from her tells teams to go to the Instituto Cervantes Sao Paulo for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to rappel down the façade of Instituto Cervantes São Paulo where they had to wash a marked window. Once the window was spotless, a person inside the room would give them their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Trianon Park.
1. Kevin and Jenn 11:13 A.M. Won a trip for two to Barbados
2. Seth and Olive 11:25 A.M.
3. Vanck and Ashton 11:26 A.M.
4. Matt and Redmond 11:35 A.M.
5. Brooke and Scott 12:09 P.M.
6. Becca and Floyd 12:16 P.M.
7. Jessie and Francesca 12:58 P.M.
8. Tara and Joey 1:01 P.M.
9. London and Logan 1:19 P.M.
10. Shamir and Sara 2:10 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #3: "Bucket list stuff."
Original Air Date: April 13, 2017.
Getting $300, teams fly to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. On arrival, teams have to go to the Askari Monument and buy a newspaper and search through the classifieds for an advertisement with a picture of a boat, telling them to go to Zanzibar. On the island, they go to Mkokotoni Market where they find the Double U-Turn (Tara and Joey try to use it on Seth and Olive but the later team is too far ahead) and the Detour: Build It or Weave It. For both Detours, teams must travel across the bay on a dhow. In Build It, teams had to build wooden desks in an outdoor workshop. Once the desk was built within the carpenter's standards, they had to deliver it to a nearby school where they would then learn Swahili greetings from the teacher. After teams recited five phrases with proper enunciation, they would receive their next clue. In Weave It, teams had to observe a climber harvest coconut leaves from a tall palm tree. Then, they had to use the leaves to weave a basket based on a demonstration to earn their next clue.
Teams then go to the Darajani Market for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member received a shopping list of eighteen local food items written in Swahili. Using their own money (either United States dollar or Tanzanian shilling), they had to purchase all of the items and give the ingredients to the family chef outside of the market to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Emerson on Hurumzi Rooftop Tea House.
1. Seth and Olive 12:12 P.M. Won a trip for two to Amsterdam.
2. Tara and Joey 12:29 P.M.
3. Jessie and Francesca 1:00 P.M.
4. London and Logan 1:11 P.M.
5. Becca and Floyd 1:30 P.M.
6. Kevin and Jenn 1:59 P.M.
7. Brooke and Scott 2:19 P.M.
8. Vanck and Ashton 2:55 P.M.
9. Matt and Redmond 3:41 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #4: "Not this time!"
Original Air Date: April 20, 2017.
Receiving $200, teams have to go to the childhood home of Farroukh Bulsara AKA Freddie Mercury for the Detour: Lock or Knock. In Lock, teams had to go to Al-Tamimi Curio Shop and look through artisanal wooden chests, each one carved with a secret compartment into the main drawer, for a key with an attached piece of paper showing a symbol. Once they found the key, they had to find a cabinet with the same symbol and unlock it to release their next clue. In Knock, teams had to travel through the streets of Stone Town to locate three royal doors and knock on each of them to receive a wooden carving of a lion, serpent and a falcon. Upon collecting all three carvings, they then had to deliver them to a marked shop on Gizenga Street and exchange the carvings for their next clue.
Teams then take a ferry back to Dar-es-Salaam and go to the DASICO Umasida Dispensary for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to make a ladle strainer out of sheet metal. First, they must cut a circular piece of sheet aluminum to make a spoon. After that, they had to punch the center piece to make holes for the strainer. Then, they had to pound the metal into a perfect circle and attach a long piece of metal to create the handle. Once their ladle is correctly assembled, the supervisor would hand them their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Coco Beach.
1. Tara and Joey 2:10 P.M. Won $5,000 each.
2. Seth and Olive 2:11 P.M.
3. Kevin and Jenn 2:40 P.M.
4. Becca and Floyd 3:00 P.M.
5. Jessie and Francesca 3:49 P.M.
6. London and Logan 4:13 P.M.
7. Vanck and Aston 4:36 P.M.
8. Brooke and Scott 5:15 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #5: "That's the stuff."
Original Air Date: April 20, 2017.
Getting $320, teams fly to Ålesund, Norway. Once there, teams go to Høgsteinen Fyr Lighthouse, where they have to eat a Norwegian fish dish called rakfisk. Teams get the Fast Forward with their next clue. For the Fast Forward, one team had to board a helicopter from an adjacent field at Høgsteinen Fyr Lighthouse where they would soon discover they had to skydive 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above the skies of Ålesund with an instructor. Becca and Floyd do the Fast Forward. The other teams go to Slinningen for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to climb the side of a 13-storey tower made out of 31,000 wooden pallets, then nail down one pallet at the top of the stack to help create the world's tallest hand stacked bonfire festival called Slinningsbålet. Once completed, they would receive their next clue and climb back down.
Teams then get the Detour: Trolls or Troll. In Trolls, teams had to go to Kulturhus in Downtown where an actress gave them a scroll containing a poem and a map of downtown highlighting six images of sculptures. Using the map, they had to locate each building with the corresponding sculpture. At each location, they must recite the poem at the doorway, where a troll impersonator would give them a gigantic fake firework. Once they returned to Kulturhus with all six fireworks, the actress gave them a scroll containing the name of the next Pit Stop. In Troll, teams had to travel to Kayak More Tomorrow and paddle a kayak along Brosundet Canal to search among fishing lures for one imprinted with the name of the next Pit Stop. The Pit Stop is Mount Aksla. Where teams are told to keep going.
1. Becca and Floyd 10:15 A.M. No prize given this leg.
2. Seth and Olive 11:22 A.M.
3. Kevin and Jenn 12:01 P.M.
4. Jessica and Francesca 12:19 P.M.
5. London and Logan 1:03 P.M.
6. Vanck and Ashton 1:47 P.M.
7. Tara and Joey 2:22 P.M.
Leg #6: "Double U-Turn Ahead."
Original Air Date: April 27, 2017.
Receiving $240 and a Smartphone at the end of the last leg, teams are told to get to Milan, Italy. On arrival, teams have to get to Piazza Fontana for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to ride Tram Ristorante ATMosfera, a dining tram which tours Downtown Milan, to find three marked words along the ride: Cernobbio, Concordia, and Lago. However, only four team members could ride the tram at one time. During the ride, they received a plate of gnocchi and parmigiana melanzane, which they had to finish, in order to complete the ride. At the end of the ride, they recited the three correct words to the tram conductor to receive their next clue. If they failed to say all three words, they had to perform the task again. Teams then take a ferry across Lake Como and spend the night at the ferry terminal in Varenna.
Teams then go to Greenway dei Patriarchi, where they find the Double U-Turn (Seth and Olive use it on Kevin and Jenn who use it on London and Logan), and the Detour: Make a Mold or Grab a Hold. In Make a Mold, teams had to travel to Castello di Vezio and assemble a ghost figure by using a teammate as a wire mesh mold for plaster mold casting. After the plaster solidified to create the figure, they would be given the next clue. In Grab a Hold, teams had to travel by taxi boat to the village of Menaggio and find L'Angolo Benedetto Castelli, where one team member would climb 90 feet (27 m) up the face of a rock to retrieve their next clue, while their partner belayed the line from the bottom. Teams then take a taxi boat to Tremezzo and look for the Pit Stop: Teresio Olivelli Park.
1. Kevin and Jenn 3:12 P.M. Won a trip for two to Ushuaia, Argentina.
2. Jessica and Francesca 3:40 P.M.
3. Seth and Olive 4:10 P.M.
4. Tara and Joey 4:16 P.M.
5. Vanck and Aston 5:00 P.M.
6. Becca and Floyd 5:05 P.M.
7. London and Logan 5:31 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #7: "It's Amore!"
Original Air Date: May 4, 2017.
Getting $325, teams take an early morning bus to Venice. Once there, they have to the Piazza San Marco where they get the Detour: Sing It or Bring It. In Sing it, teams had to practice a traditional Italian serenade for gondoliers and then dressed as ones to perform the song on board a gondola tour along the Grand Canal. If the mandolin player was satisfied with their singing, he would give them their the next clue. In Bring it, teams had to work as porters and pick up a dolly of suitcases to deliver to the name of the hotel on their suitcases' tag, carrying them through the stairs and narrow alleys of Venice. Once all the suitcases were delivered to the hotel's porter, they would receive their next clue.
Teams then go to the Ca' Zenobio where they find the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to choose an actor from a Venetian masquerade performance, Commedia dell'arte, and paint an exact copy of their mask. If they could successfully recreate it to the satisfaction of the artist, they would be given their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Campo San Vio.
1. Jessica and Francesca 1:12 P.M. Won a trip for two to Grenada.
2. Seth and Olive 1:15 P.M.
3. Becca and Floyd 2:10 P.M.
4. Kevin and Jenn 2:12 P.M.
5. Tara and Joey 2:18 P.M.
6. Vanck and Ashton 3:50 P.M. NOT ELIMINATED/SPEEDBUMPED.
Leg #8: "That's disgusting!"
Original Air Date: May 11, 2017.
Receiving $200, teams head, by plane and ferry, to Patras, Greece. On arrival, teams head to the Arachova Town Square, where an unused Double U-Turn is along with the Detour: For the Bride or For the Groom. . In For the Bride, teams had to transport two containers of milk on a donkey through the streets of Arachova to find local cheese makers and exchange them for a piece of cheese. Both cheese had to be delivered to the bride. In For the Groom, teams must compete in a footrace with locals up the 252 steps of Egarsios leading to the Church of Saint George where they had to find a shepherd who would give them two pairs of animals (sheep and goat) to deliver to a groom. After executing the detour, teams received a plate, which should break for the next clue.
Teams then go to the Panatheniac Stadium in Athens. Here Vanck and Ashton hit their Speedbump: preparing a traditional skewered dish called kokoresti by wrapping sections of meat intestines. Then they join the other teams at the stadium to run a lap each then go to the Zappeion for the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to take part in becoming a member of the guard outside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and learn how to perform the changing of the guard routine of the Greek Presidential Guards known as Evzones. Under the supervision of the Presidential Guard, they had to perform inside the Zappeion hall with the right choreography to receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: a spot overlooking the Acropolis.
1. Kevin and Jenn 1:22 P.M. Won $7,500 each.
2. Tara and Joey 1:43 P.M.
3. Seth and Olive 1:44 P.M.
4. Becca and Floyd 2:56 P.M.
5. Jessie and Francesca 3:10 P.M.
6. Vanck and Ashton 4:15 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #9: "That it! No more nice gal!"
Original Air Date: May 18, 2017.
Getting $185, teams go to the Corinth Canal for a Switchback Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member has to repeat the Roadblock that was done here in Season 9 and bungee jump into the canal. Teams then fly to Hanoi, Vietnam. Once there, teams have to go to Tuong Dai Ly Thai To and search among people waving fans for one with a yellow marker. Then teams go to Quán Su Temple where they get the Detour: Bamboo Climb or Window Design.
In Bamboo Climb, teams had to transport a marked 15-foot ladder made of bamboo through the busy streets to an apartment building, and get it up a narrow stairwell. On the roof, they had to use the ladder to retrieve a birdcage, and then return both the cage and the ladder to the starting point to receive their next clue. In Window Design, teams had to carry three mannequins—a man, woman, and child—through the streets to a clothing shop, and dress and arrange them in the window, using a photo for reference. Once the judge approved their window display, they would receive their next clue. Teams then go to the Pit Stop: Thong Nhat Park.
1. Becca and Floyd 12:43 P.M. Won a trip for two to The Galapagos.
2. Seth and Olive 1:34 P.M.
3. Jessie and Francesca 2:01 P.M.
4. Kevin and Jenn 2:19 P.M.
5. Tara and Joey 2:59 P.M. NOT ELIMINATED/SPEEDBUMPED.
Leg #10: "Not like that!"
Original Air Date: May 18, 2017.
Receiving $250, teams take a bus from My Dinh to Ninh Binh. Once there, they have to get to Tam Coc Wharf and choose a bike as their only means of transportation for the rest of the leg. Teams then go to Bich Dong Temple, where teams have to pick up a Travelocity Roaming Gnome, and where Tara and Joey find their Speedbump: collecting 72 duck eggs from a nearby pond. Then they can join the other teams at the Roadblock.
In a Switchback to Season 3, one team member had to load a bicycle with a correct number of large and small shrimp traps, and deliver them to a fisherman 1 mile (1.6 km) down the road to receive their next clue. Teams then go to Ben Thahn where, in what I suspect is half of a Detour, they had to collect and deliver an offering of specified prayer items (including red napkins, candles, flowers, and fake money) up the Ngô Đồng River stream to a ceremonial dragon boat. One team member had to row the oars using the traditional way by using only their feet. Once they had given the offering, they would then go back to the pier, accompanied by their respective dragon boat, to receive their next clue. Then they have to climb approximately 500 steps along the Lying Dragon Mountain Trail to the Pit Stop: Hang Mua peak.
1. Seth and Olive 11:22 A.M.
2. Jessie and Francesca 11:59 A.M.
3. Kevin and Jenn 12:43 P.M.
4. Tara and Joey 1:10 P.M.
5. Becca and Floyd 4:51 P.M. ELIMINATED/DROPPED OUT Floyd suffered from heat stroke and had to be tended to.
Leg #11: "My breathe stinks."
Original Air Date: May 25, 2017.
Getting $200, teams fly to Seoul, South Korea. Once there, they have to go to the Gangnam District, where they have to dance Gangnam Style to get their next clue. Teams then went to Hanyang University Olympic Gymnasium. Here they found the Roadblock. In this Roadblock, one team member had to take part in sport stacking, quickly arranging cups into three specified formations in seven seconds or less to receive their next clue.
Teams then went to Mugyewon Arts & Crafts Centre where they made, buried and then ate some kimchi. Then teams go to OGN e-Stadium for the second Roadblock. In this Roadblock, the teammate who did not perform the first Roadblock had to play the video game Street Fighter V against a professional video game player. The racers underwent a coaching session before facing off against the professional players, which included Seon-woo "Infiltration" Lee and Lee Chung "Poongko" Gon, and had to defeat the professional gamer in one round of the game in order to receive their next clue. If the racer was unsuccessful after 10 rounds the professional gamer would continue playing with one hand behind his back; if the racer was unsuccessful after 10 additional rounds the professional gamer would continue playing blindfolded with one hand behind his back until he was defeated. After winning, teams go to the Pit Stop: Gavit Som.
1. Jessie and Francesca 3:14 P.M. No prizes awarded this leg.
2. Seth and Olive 4:58 P.M.
3. Tara and Joey 6:09 P.M.
4. Kevin and Jenn 7:21 P.M. ELIMINATED.
Leg #12: "Red Sox suck!"
Original Air Date: June 1, 2017.
Receiving $300, teams fly to their final destination city: Chicago, Illinois. Once there, they had to get to Chicagoland Speedway where one team member had to join a pit crew and change one tire on a NASCAR race car in 40 seconds or less. Once they successfully finished changing the tire, their partner had to drive one lap around the track in 48 seconds or less. Once both were completed, they would get their next clue at the winner's podium. Then they head to the Monroe Street Station where they have to find a city worker who will give them three riddles that will lead them to three locations (Chicago Water Tower, Buckingham Fountain and Wabash Avenue Bridge), where they will pick up postcards that, when combined will show their next destination: City Hall Rooftop.
Here a beekeeper will give them their next clue for the postcards. Teams then go to Wrigleyville Dogs where they make 10 Chicago-style dogs and then deliver them to a building across from Wrigley Field where Ernie and Cindy from Season 19 will give them their next clue. Teams then go to Wrigley Field where teams had to recall their placements in each leg of the race. One team member had to go inside the press box while the other had to enter the stadium's hand-operated scoreboard, which displayed the locations of the eleven Pit Stops in alphabetical order. Unable to see the locations displayed on the scoreboard, the team member inside the scoreboard had to install numbered signs in the proper locations on the multi-level structure to indicate their team's placement at each Pit Stop, guided by his/her partner giving instructions from the press box via one-way radio. Once the placements were correct, they had to go on the field to home plate where the umpire would hand them a worksheet with equations based on their placements throughout the race. The solution would give them a three-digit number corresponding to the section of seats to search for their final clue. Teams then go to the finish line: Milton Lee Olive Park.
1. Seth and Olive WIN.
2. Tara and Joey PLACE.
3. Jessie and Francesca SHOW.
The Review
This season was not bad but it could have been better. Number 16 for me. Thing is the concept of having teams meet at the starting line was done a couple of seasons earlier. Now it was done slightly better here in my opinion, but that's not the point. Point is it should be people who know each other before hand was the basis of the franchise and to throw that away? Especially since, from what I hear, next season will go back to original format. It just seems like a waste.
-Globetrotting: An Amazing Race Blog by R.C. Anderson for the website Reality Rewind, June 14, 2017.
uh...this is a bit awkward, considering that it was Koei who came up with the original treatment for Nioh IOTL, with Tecmo's Team Ninja brought on much later (the game had a development cycle of around thirteen years, from 2004 up to 2017) after Koei and Tecmo had merged IOTL. With that merger being butterflied ITTL, I can't see a realistic scenario in which Nioh ends up being the same game as OTL's game
Hmmm... I'll keep the post as is for now, and figure out a way to retcon it later. It is important to note that there are a lot of Japan-only games that haven't been touched on in this timeline, so there may have been some collaborations between the two companies, or some Koei staff that ended up at Tecmo ITTL. If there's no good way to make it work, I can always just butterfly Nioh completely, as it doesn't have a major impact on the timeline.
I always took for granted was Kurosawa kid idea and he worked it with Tecmo and then almost become a the last guardian ( and ended up being finished first) first time hearing was a koei idea all along