The Sega Genesis

The Sega Genesis is my favorite "Retro" Game Console. I have very fond memories of this console, and very sincere regret as well.

 The Sega Genesis was Released in North America in August of 1989. The Sega Genesis had 3 Distinct Model Changes. I originally had a model one, and a friend of mine had a model 2 that we played the hell out of. I have only seen a model 3 online, but when I see one in person, for a decent price, it will be added to my collection. The controller also went from a 3 button to a 6 button due to the popularity of the fighting games such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat on the Genesis.

 I do not remember when I got my original Genesis, I would venture a guess and say Xmas of 89, as I remember being 15 and playing my favorite games, more on those later. What I do remember is loving playing my Genesis and in 1995 I traded it in to Funcoland (Which later was bought up and became Gamestop) for a Brand New Sony Playstation, and while I was happy for a few months playing my shiny new games, regret began to set in and would not begin to be resolved until August of 2013.

 6 of my most favorite video games ever, were on the Genesis:

  #1. Road Rash
  #2. Road Rash II
  #3. Road Rash 3

        I loved the Road Rash series, and I remember when I went to trade in my Genesis and games, I told my friend, if they did not have Road Rash for the Playstation, I was keeping my Genesis and the 3 Road Rash Games. Unfortunately for me, they did have Road Rash, and I let the console and games go.

  #4. Shining Force
  #5. Shining Force II

       I loved the Shining Force games as well, they were Segas answer to Final Fantasy, which I played on my NES (Which I still have from 1986) and I remember playing them for hours upon hours.

  #6. Shining in the Darkness

       This game is a Dungeon Crawler, which I purchased on layaway from Sears back in 1991. Again, I spent hours upon hours playing this game. The game had you going through dungeons and caverns in a first person view, and I remember having piles of graph paper "maps" I had made while playing.

 There were also, of course the incredible Sonic the Hedgehog Games a serious rival to Mario, Altered Beast, Vectorman, Aero the Acrobat which my friend and I played on her Model 2, and so many others.

 I have beat myself up and complained for 18 years about the extremely poor decision I made that day in 1995, and the Genesis was the only console I ever got rid of, I never made that mistake again.

 Over the years I bought complete in box NES games I wanted, I dabbled in PC Gaming with Wolfenstein, Doom, Unreal and Quake. I also continued to pick up the new consoles, Playstation 2, Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube, Xbox 360 (which is where I found another absolute favorite game series F.E.A.R.), Nintendo Wii and in December of 2010 I bought myself a Playstation 3 as a Xmas present to myself. However, no matter how much fun I had, no matter how many new games I played and enjoyed, nothing could fill that void in my soul where my Sega Genesis memories lived.

 In the spring/summer of 2013 I found myself craving playing the older "retro" systems. I started playing my NES again, bought a Super Nintendo, which I never had but only borrowed from a friend and played. And as I again played those older systems, Regret and Sadness over the Genesis set back in. Then, for my birthday in August of 2013, my wonderful 19 year old daughter bought me a Model 2 Sega Genesis. I was so happy and excited, and played and played the games. We found all the Sonic Games at the Thrift store, and shortly there after I got ahold of a Model 2 Sega CD and the 32X add ons.

Here is my Genesis today:

 This is the absolute favorite game system, and this will never ever go anywhere else again. Now I just need to full fill my quest to complete the replacement of the 6 favorite games I had, and as of today, I only need 5. after a year and a half, I found Road Rash II in Complete and absolute great condition at a pawn shop down the street.

I am aware, I could go online at any given time and find these games, but there is just something more satisfying about finding them "Out in the Wild".

 There was a day back in the fall of 2013, when I was playing Grand Theft Auto V on my Xbox 360, and I just found myself craving playing the Genesis, so I shut down the 360 and went and played Sonic on the Genesis. While GTA V is a great game, it still does not compare to the the best game console ever made, the Sega Genesis.

Body Count: Manslaughter

Body Count: Manslaughter

 I first heard Body Count in 1992. In high school and my teens, once I found Heavy Metal Music, I didn’t listen to anything else for years. I got a call from my friend Mark, that his cousin Jamie had bought a CD he did not care for, andhe said it was more my kind of music, and he was looking to unload it for $10.00 (1/2 the price of a new CD at the time). I hopped in my Trans Am and cruised on over to Jamie’s to look at said CD. Jamie stated he was a fan of Ice-T’s Hip Hop/Rap Music and had bought the album under the assumption it would be more of the same, He was wrong.

From Wikipedia:

 While Ice-T was primarily known for his work in the hip hop genre, he had long been a fan of various genres of rock music, Ice-T co-wrote the band's music and lyrics with lead guitarist Ernie C, and took on the duties of lead vocalist. Ice-T stated that "I knew I couldn't sing”, but then I thought, 'Who can sing in rock 'n' roll?”

 I remember really, really liking the CD, and immediately became a Body Count fan. Body Count has released several albums over the last 22 years, Born Dead in 1994, Violent Demise: The Last Days in 1997 (My Personal Favorite), Murder 4 Hire in 2006 and, Most Recently Manslaughter in the Summer of 2014.

 I had been anticipating Manslaughter for months, after I had read and interview Ice-T did with a Magazine, and they released the track There’s a Bitch in the Pit online as a preview. I bought the CD at Best Buy in July 2014, Once I came home I opened it up and ripped it right to the computer (I do this with all my CD’s, so there is a fresh unblemished copy saved) and Burned myself a copy. I put it in the CD player of the car the next morning on the way to work. In a word, “Awesome” the CD stayed in the CD player for weeks, I do swap it out back and forth with a Judas Priest/Rob Halford/Tim “Ripper” Owens Mix CD I made, but still listen to it, 3-4 days a week in the car on the way to and from work.

One of the things I really like about the album, is all the songs start and stop without Skits, or Fade In/Fade Out Effects, Etc. Just Body Count, making sweet love to your ears with their instruments. I have never been a fan of Bands using fade in & out effects, Noises, etc. things that cannot be replicated in concert, without other means aside from your instruments.

Manslaughter, Release June 10^th 2014 by Sumerian Records is 50 Minutes and 15 Seconds of pure ear candy. I highly recommend this album to anyone who is a Heavy Metal fan!

Track List:

1.  Talk Shit, Get Shot

2.  Pray for Death – A track that immediately brings to mind my lying, back stabbing, cheating whore of                                 an exwife and I picture her and I while the song is playing. 

3.  99 Problems – A metal remix of Ice-T’s song from his 1993 Home Invasion Hip Hop album

4.  Back to Rehab

5.  Manslaughter – My favorite track on the album

6.  Get a Job

7.  Institutionalized 2014 – A great cover, with new Lyrics of the Suicidal Tendencies Classic

8.  Pop Bubble

9.  Enter the Dark Side – Another of my favs
10. Bitch in the Pit

11. Black Voodoo Sex – A call back to the Song Voodoo on the First Album
12. Wanna Be A Gansta
13. I will Always Love You
14. 99 Problems - Different Mix, More Guitars

Welcome to Me, to You and to Them.

I have been meaning to get a blog online for awhile now, I am hoping it will get me back into sitting down and writing, so I can finish at least 1 of the 2 books I started writing a couple years ago. A little about me.

I am a Gamer: I love Video Games, All of them. and as much as I enjoy the Current lineup, I do appreciate the "Retro" systems more. One day I found myself playing Grand Theft Auto V, and just felt like I would rather be playing my Sega Genesis. So I shut down the Xbox 360 and Loaded up some Sonic CD on the Sega, and played the rest of the night away.

I am a Rocker: I love Heavy Metal, but appreciate all music. My absolute favorite band, if I could only listen to one band for the rest of my life, would be Pantera! But Judas Priest, Alice Cooper, Overkill and Body Count round out my personal top 5. I am also a Musician, I play Guitar and Sing as well.

I am (still sort of) a Car Guy: I have a Bad Ass Pontiac Firebird Formula that I personally Built, Customized, Modified, Raced (mainly Autocross and Road Racing), Show at Car Shows, has been featured on company websites. I say still sort of, as it hasn't left the garage in going on 7 years now. I have almost 20 years in the automotive industry. I have worked for General Motors, Hot Rod Shops, Car Customizers and Local parts and repair chains.

I am also, a Genius: I finished high school at 15. But, I didn't go to college until my late 20's, and work a worthless dead end job today. Sometimes even the smartest people don't make the right choices.


What you can Expect: My blog isn't going to be all puppy dogs and rainbows. Some days I may post positive things, some days I may share my thoughts, some days I will rant like a lunatic. I see so much stupidity in a day, it's scary. It makes me want to build a home underground in the middle of no where, and stay away from the general public. Anyway, I am sure I will post something, at some point, that will piss anyone, including you, off.  I will post stuff about the thing I am above, mostly games and music, but since I work in Retail, I am quite sure there will be days I post about all the morons I have to deal with, both on the otherside of the counter, AND behind the counter.

I am not going to promise regular posts, but will try for at least once a week. If anyone cares to comment, bitch, compliment or you don't have anyone else to talk to, please feel free to comment below.

Wicked Dave