MLG EXTREME -- GONE!

*kaboom*
BAWWWWWWWWWWWW

Yo guys,

MLG EXTREME turned four a month ago.  Good, right?

Wrong.

I removed pretty much every single episode of MLG EXTREME, albeit a few remain.  Why you may ask?  Well, they are now embarrassing.  Sure, back in the day I thought what we were doing was good, but I've decided to pull them because:

1. They're awful
2. They do not portray a positive gaming atmosphere

So, what does that mean for SHF?

Well, we are more than likely not going to finish MLG EXTREME, and to be honest our Halo gameplay video days are, for the most part, over.  There's just nothing left to do in them.  I've decided that PC gameplay videos, like the stuff we did with Heroes and Generals and Minecraft, are going to be our primary focus.  You'll get some Xbox gameplay, but my capture device does not include HDMI imputs, so you won't be seeing any Xbox One stuff until I can figure that out.

In reality, it seems that the entire community of fine people I had the pleasure of working with or watching has evaporated.  Consumed with the real world and a lackluster game market, there isn't much motivation to create anything anymore.  Just like with most of the old content creators, the prime of SHF is, probably, behind us.

I'm still away at Uni, so we're going to be quiet until summer.  Stick around and I'll see you all (hopefully) then.

Peace,
Scott

Not Dead

Hey all,

So I know this thing hasn't been updated in a year, and I know that SHF hasn't had any new content in a very long time, but I can explain.

Since I'm now off at University, real life is slapping me in the dick.  Being a professional student for 8 months and holding a full time job for 4 months out of the year is a real time consumer, so from now on I guess SHF content will be patchy.  You can probably look forward to some dumb stuff from us over the holidays, but that's it until summer.

I appreciate your support and I miss you all.  Maybe use this valuable time to go outside?

Peace,
Scott

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from all your friends at SHF!  No holiday card or video this year, but we're with you in spirit!  Now get off the fucking computer and go spend time with your family.

Much Love,
Scott

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Review

Credit: bestofbothminds

I've made previous posts about Zelda games before, so I'll spare you the nostalgia trip.  Warning: spoilers ahead!  (Also if you want some background music to listen to this, then click here.)

After a brief hiatus from the game, I've finally completed LoZ: Skyward Sword!  Right off the bat I can say it was a super worthy addition to one of the greatest gaming franchises out there.  Beautiful story, art, music, puzzles, you name it: it was there!  Let's break down the game:

For those of you who didn't know, my personal obsession with gaming started with Ocarina of Time.  I think it's safe to say that game is still an industry standard.  It's solid at every front and is a strong contender for the Greatest Game Ever Made.  So making Zelda games in the wake of the OoT juggernaut is quite the task.  While Nintendo will never be able to recreate OoT completely, they can sure do their best to keep the basic Zelda experience fresh.

Nintendo is the most creative video game company currently on the face of the Earth, so I came into Skyward Sword expecting nothing but the best in terms of a fresh adventure.  In the end, I got everything I expected-- new puzzles and gadgets as well as refreshed classics such as bombs, the hook shots, and the good ol' bow and arrow.  Mixed in with new gameplay elements such as timeshift stones, it all culminated into a very real challenge that puts your mind to the test.

I still found myself in the same routines as previous Zelda games--occasionally hitting a rough spot where I would spend 3 hours looking for a path or an object that ended up being right in front of me.  In Twilight Princess, I remember spending hours looking for the next part of a path in the Water Temple.  This time, I remember getting caught up in the Lanayru Desert.  Thankfully, a lot of frustration and wasted time was cut short thanks to Fi: your lovely companion for the duration of Skyward Sword.  Informative and thankfully quiet (I'm looking at you, Navi), Fi was an excellent guide.  You could ask her for hints as well as observations about your surroundings.  If you forgot about your objective, Fi was also just a question away.  She also made great observations about enemies (especially bosses) and compared your success rates and pointed out weaknesses.

Let's talk about the story for a bit before we go any further.  I'm very glad Nintendo made Skyward Sword a prequel--it actually sets a few things straight, such as why you always have the reincarnations of Gannon and Link.  Nintendo set the stage immediately.  You start off as sleepyhead Link again--late for something or another.  It's also the day of some annual ritual where the victor is essentially Zelda's boyfriend.  In this game, Zelda is your childhood friend who plays the part of the Goddess in this festival.  Your first opponent is Groose--your typical retarded jock who wants to get in Zelda's pants.  He knows that Link is a threat, so he kidnaps your bird, which is part of the festival in this floating sky city.  Link finds his bird and kicks the shit out of Groose and his cronies.  Link gets alone time with Zelda, gets the sailcloth, and is about to score with Zelda before she pushes him off the Goddess statue and you're forced to land in a little area perfectly with your sailcloth (which was very, very frustrating).  Things are all fine and dandy until Zelda is swept down beneath the clouds to a place where no Skyloft resident has ever ventured---to the ground.  There it is where you begin your pursuit of Zelda, who is also being pursued by Ghirahim.  It later turns out that Ghirahim is serving Demise, this game's version of Gannon.  Though Demise's name just sort of pops up in the story, he was actually The Imprisoned the entire time.  You kick Demise's ass in a pretty boring boss battle and send him back to his place.

Let's talk about overall gameplay/dungeons/fights.  First, I have to compliment Nintendo on the controls.  The WiiMotion Plus or whatever it's called was a great tool of precision.  The ability to actually control the angle of your strikes made this much more enjoyable than the old days of mashing B.   Nintendo utilized this technology to the fullest.  Although there was occasionally some frustration with the WiiMotion Plus, I can't really say anything bad about it.  It was pretty smooth.

As for the dungeons/temples/fights, there were a lot of fresh experiences.  As you probably guessed, they took place in different climates of Hyrule--mainly desert, volcano, and forest.  But other favorite climates wiggled their way in there, too.  It was nice to be able to access them from the sky, dropping down from your bird into the zone.  You could then select where specifically you wanted to land from a series of Bird Stone save points.  The biggest problem I found was that you ended up having to clear each zone like 3 times.  It got boring after a while, even though the zones always extended a little more.  Overall I felt like it made the game feel 10 hours too long.  In previous games, the climates and zones were constantly changing.  Here, I always had the impression that I was playing the same thing over and over again, just trying to get whatever the hell it was that I needed.

Overall, I was very pleased with the boss battles.  While they weren't exactly too hard, they still took some time to adjust to and find the weaknesses.  One think I liked was that you had the ability to go and fight them again through a dragon who recreates the battles.  If you won 9 in a row, you got the indestructible Hylian shield, which I found essential for the Gannon fight.  The weakpoints were usually the same--and eye or some exposed heart after ripping off some armor.  But Nintendo didn't always plop you in a small room with these bosses--they made some very interesting environments to fight the bosses in--such as on the deck of a boat in a storm.  The angle of your strikes always played in to the fight, too.  The most disappointing battle I had to fight was Demise.  Although I died a lot trying to find his weaknesses, once they were discovered then Demise was short work.  The environment never really changed all that much and Demise never really transformed (except from The Imprisoned to Demise).

At the end the credits, you have the option to restart the game in hero mode--a hardened difficulty which will overwrite your current game's save.  Don't make the mistake I did--make a copy of your save and then restart in hero mode.  I was dumb and in a hurry and lost my 35 hours of gameplay.

Skyward Sword was a super worth addition to the Legend of Zelda series.  I was really rooting for it for GOTY last year and was disappointed that it lost out to Skyrim--most likely because Skyrim was multi-platform and had a larger audience.

I really hope the new generation of gamers pay attention to Zelda.  They need to remember that it's not the multiplayer or the endless slaughter of enemies in a poorly thought out campaign that makes a great game--it's the challenge.  And Skyward Sword will stretch your brain and patience to bring you that challenge.

The End of an Era

Hey guys,

First, listen to this.

Vacation time is stretching a little longer.  I know, I know.  But I do have some things I need to get off my chest.  I know no one actually reads this, but I'm still gonna post this anyway.

I love making videos.  It's become an obsession that I can't shake.  Problem is that SHF has stagnated.  This is completely my fault- all we've ever done is MLG EXTREME.  And that show has gotten out of control.  Whether I'm forcing content or going as far as being an online bully to squeeze out something funny for the show, it's just become too much.

Still though, I am craving success.  I haven't succeeded in much lately, online and IRL, but the declination of SHF has crushed me.  Now I'm not saying that I'm making videos to become internet famous.  That's far from my intent- I do it because I love Halo and everything and everyone that surrounds it.  I just need to make something that I'm proud of.  But MLG EXTREME is dragging SHF down with it.  That's why we've decided to end MLG EXTREME at episode 100.

You heard that right, folks.

For two and a half years we have kept you entertained with MLG EXTREME and it's been a thrill.  We've had our ups and we've had our downs.  But sadly, all great things must come to an end, and this is no different.

The people from the show aren't going anywhere.  Wizzle and I will still be around, joined by lesser active cast.  Right now we're planning a transition to more of a group effort.  In the past, I was fully in charge of everything that has been put up on SHF.  But I won't be running the show any longer.  Our group will be uploading their own content at free will.  This means that you'll get a lot more than just me behind every video.  Each experience will be different and exciting.  And as Halo 4 approaches in all of it's glory, we will be sure to pile behind that and push out every ounce of content that we can.

So don't think of this as the end.  It's not.  It's the beginning of something new.

Much love,
Scott

Summer Break 2012!

Yo homies,

So the good folks here at SHF are taking their annual summer break.  We're going to be away from YouTube for 2 weeks, so you should make good use of your time by watching older videos!

But fear not, for things will still be happening behind the scenes.  I've been working with an affiliate on a super cool project that I can hopefully show off upon our glorious return.  It's been progressing nicely and I'm stoked to see it come to reality.

Also, I'm sorry we didn't get an MLG EXTREME out this week.  We've been consumed in DayZ and a renewed interest in Minecraft!  Hopefully we'll be able to make it up to you.

Smell ya later.

Thanks,
Scott

New MLG EXTREME Episodes, Ender Hunt Finale, and a Machinima!

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven't updated this in a few weeks.  Laaaaaaaazy.  But things have been happening on the SHF front.

Anywho, let's get started.

The week of the 4th we released MLG EXTREME Episode 92: "Where's the Bear?"  It's an unusual break from Halo, but we thought we could have some fun in Red Dead Redemption.  You can watch it here.

Today (yeah, this episode was a day late) we put out MLG EXTREME Episode 93: "The Comeback Kids."  I really like this episode, mainly because we get to show off a bit.  While the show's roots come from our lack of skill, we really aren't that bad- as proven in this video.  You can watch it here.

On May 30th we wrapped up "The Hunt For The Ender Dragon."  I had a blast doing this series and we really hoped you enjoyed watching it.  It certainly increased the flow of content for SHF, running a total of 56 episodes (or 12+ hours of video).  As always, you can catch the finale as well as the complete series in our playlist.

Wizzle and I have been busy on some other projects recently.  One of them is a short machinima that we've had in our heads for a while.  While it is pretty stupid, it really shows off JT's Joker impersonation.  You can catch "Why So Serious" here.

While we still have a while, this is just a heads up that the ShawtyHullstineFilms crew is taking a vacation soon.  I'll let you know when, but there is the potential that we won't have any new videos for up to 3 weeks.

I think that's everything.  Enjoy!

Thanks,
Scott