My looks do not define me-Part 3/Christmas update

Hello and welcome to Part 3 of this series, hope you are enjoying the festivities and will have a lovely Christmas and New Year. To be honest I have struggled to get into the Christmas spirit this year due to having to study for exams which is just depressing at this time of year and also the lack of snow compared to last year doesn't help.

Don't really have any updates as such compared to my own situation, but have some definite ideas for features which I hope to post after Christmas when things are a bit calmer. One thing I can say is that I may be getting my braces removed soon (thank goodness!) I think my teeth look great but they took impressions (one of the most horrible things) and if my teeth are lined up then they will take them off BUT I will have to wear a clear plastic retainer over my teeth all the time apart from when eating. This will keep my teeth in position until a time if I decide to have surgery on my jaw, not sure what will happen if I decide not to have surgery *shrugs*.

Now back onto the main part of update since I've already talked about music and TV shows I might as well talk about my favourite video games.

I've recently played and completed The Legend of Zelda-Skyward Sword and it has definitely jumped into my top games list. This game is a must buy for anyone with a Wii (though be warned that you need either the wii motion plus attachment or a wiimote with motion plus built in, which is probably more recommended) It is hard not to compare it to the other Zelda game on the Wii-Twilight Princess but it is so much better. Not to say Twilight Princess isn't a good game in fact it is probably one of the best Wii games but there are too many things about it which I dislike. Skyward Sword did not excite me whenever I first saw trailer/images of it but have to say I was completely wrong Nintendo have managed to take a step back and take a series that has been going on for 25 years and make it feel fresh. The motion controls work a treat and even weak enemies now offer a challenge, no more waggling or repeatedly pressing buttons to beat them, they also make using other items (which I won't spoil) more immersive as well. Other changes have been to the overall gameplay instead of it is essentially being do A, B and C, get to dungeon, complete and move on it has been changed so that getting to the dungeon is almost as much of a challenge as the dungeon itself which is great. The dungeons themselves have been I guess you could say streamlined in that they appear shorter and less complicated but I enjoyed them more for that as you weren't messing about for ages lost trying to figure out where to go. The bosses are also much improved and generally offer more of a challenge/are designed better than the ones from previous games, Finally the story is one of the best reasons to get this game it is great for newcomers as it is the first game in the Zelda timeline and for Zelda fans as they will understand and recognise things from later games. The story is great because it makes you actually care for what happens to the characters and coming up to the finale I wasn't thinking about completing the game I was doing it for the characters (however cheesy that may sound). Whilst I don't agree with the scores of 10/10 or 100% because I don't believe the game is perfect, I do think that anyone who gives it a negative review needs to get their head checked as this is an amazing game and I hope that they do a direct sequel in order to answer some unanswered questions.

Two other Zelda games that I love are Ocarina of Time because everything about it is iconic and Wind Waker for its graphics and just as a brilliant game.

Batman Arkam Asylum has to be my favourite superhero game ever and takes that title from the brilliant Spiderman 2 game. This is a completely original game not based on any movies or comics that I know of and  the developers had the great idea of making it so that rather than have you running about the whole of Gotham city the story revolves around the Arkam mental asylum which is on an island. This is great decision because whilst it doesn't take much time to get from one side to the other, it is filled with diverse locations and hidden secrets. The game really makes you feel like Batman, taking down rooms full of bad guys with guns one by one, using every gadget that Batman has at his disposal and beating rooms of thugs up despite being heavily outnumbered. One of the best things about this game is the fighting system. There are also challenge rooms which are separate from the main single player campaign, these challenge you to either fight rounds of increasingly challenging thugs or in the predator missions you have to take down all the thugs in a room using specified methods e.g. take out two thugs using explosive gel at the same time. The only negative points about this game are that the finale whilst not bad is a bit disappointing in that it is so simple and also the detective mode is so good that you will probably have it on the majority of the time and hence miss the brilliant graphics.

I've always loved the Mario Kart games and during my GCSE exams I developed an addiction for Mario Kart Wii, whenever I wasn't revising I was generally playing it. It added bikes into the mix for the first time which was quite controversial. This backfired a bit as bikes were generally seen as being better than the karts due to their tight turning and ability to wheelie for a boost at anytime and I definitely prefer them. The online was a great example of what online gaming on the Wii should be like and the majority of the time there weren't any problems. With great single player including time trials which told you when you had beaten the basic developer records and also what the world records were (although some people unfairly exploited glitches to get ridiculous times), a great multiplayer and a large selection of characters, vehicles and levels it is definitely one of the best games in the series. Unfortunately the dreaded blue shell still remains and so it is a very real frustration to be leading for the entire race only to get hit with one or more of these and come last.

These are obviously not all my favourite games but this is a lengthy enough post as it is, thanks for reading.

Life's too short

I don't know if anyone has watched this program but those who have probably know that it is rather cringe worthy and tends to toe the line with what its acceptable on TV. For those who don't know it is a fake documentary about Warrick Davis who is a little person. In real life he is a successful actor, happily married, well liked etc. but in the documentary it is a completely different story. Most of the time it does just attempt to be as cringe worthy as possible but it also has some good messages.

In tonight's episode Warrick went on a date, his date was also a little person, he went to the restaurant and she was already there, the waiter just assumed that she was his date because they were both little people and this got Warrick upset and rightfully so.

The fact is that people shouldn't make assumptions that people with medical conditions can only have relationships with people who have the same medical conditions and I think any person that thinks people like Warrick should only be allowed to date other people with the same medical condition (and I'm sure there are people like this) should be ashamed of themselves.

It is as ridiculous as saying that blue eyed people should only be allowed to date other blue eyed people. As cheesy as it sounds it is definitely true that what's inside counts and people with conditions should be allowed to date anyone without people making comments or assumptions. If people can't see pass their looks or their condition then that is their loss.

I will continue this theme on what people's "opinions" involving people with genetic conditions and other things in a longer update soon.