The Mario Party franchise kicked off on the Nintendo 64, debuting in Japan in 1998 and reaching North American shelves the following year. Nintendo built the game around the N64’s four controller ports, leaning into the console’s natural strength as a couch multiplayer machine. For a console party game of its era, the title’s library…
Things I Like: Myles MacKenzie (Metroid Prime 4: Beyond)
Myles McKenzie was the first of Samus Aran’s allies to show up in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. He’s definitely the dorkiest, and arguably the cringiest, member of the group. Still, I can’t say I hated the character by the time the end credits rolled. While your future allies show up in more dramatic and heroic…
Fun Facts and Trivia About Firefighters
Firefighting is widely regarded as one of the world’s oldest organized emergency professions. Ancient Rome operated a publicly funded force known as the Vigiles, established by Emperor Augustus roughly 2,000 years ago. These early responders also served as night watchmen and performed functions similar to those of a police force. Despite the popular image of…
Things I Like: Masters of the Universe (1987 Film)
I was born in 1988, so by the time I was old enough to really enjoy He-Man, he had already been kind of dethroned by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I know my brother Brandon enjoyed it, as we still had merchandise used for birthday parties tied to this very film when I was very…
Fun Facts and Trivia About Pirates
The word “pirate” has roots in the ancient Greek term peiratēs, which carried the sense of an aggressor or someone launching an assault, a reminder that the concept of sea raiding stretches back thousands of years. The Caribbean era was far from piracy’s origin. Mediterranean seafarers were contending with sea raiders as early as the…