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Watching one TV show? Great! Watching two at the same time? It’s twice the fun! Here are 7 times we’ve been glued to our screens as our favorite characters from different shows come together: 1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel The Yoko Factor [embed] [/embed] Commando Riley was a nice guy and all, but even in spite of the whole Initiative deal, he was a bit too much on the straight and narrow for our favorite vampire slayer. Things hadn’t been the same in the Buffy universe since Angel left for Los Angeles, so we were all happy when he came to sort things out in The Yoko Factor. But what really made this an iconic crossover episode was the incredible fight scene (and subsequent fight scene!) between Buffy’s two boys, with Angel, of course, taking the victory. 2. Friends / Mad About You The One with Two Parts [embed] [/embed] In The Friends episode The One with Two Parts, we’re introduced to Phoebe’s identical twin sister, Ursula, who’s possibly even kookier than Phoebe herself. What some viewers didn’t know, however, is that Ursula, played by Lisa Kudrow, was already an established character on the hit sitcom Mad About You. Helen Hunt and Leila Kenzie make guest appearances in this episode as their Mad About You characters Jamie and Fran who mistake Phoebe for Ursula resulting in comedy and confusion all in one. 3. Grey’s Anatomy / Private Practice Before and After [embed] [/embed] After Meredith’s totally embarrassing ‘pick me’ speech in Grey’s Anatomy, Derek should definitely have run back into Addison’s arms. But it wasn’t to be and Addison up and left Seattle for Los Angeles, reuniting with old friends at their ‘Private Practice’. She didn’t stay gone long, however, returning to the hallways of Seattle Grace where the red-headed doctor was joined by Private Practice stars Audra McDonald (Naomi) and Taye Diggs (Sam Bennett) as they attempt to save the life of Addison’s brother. 4. Family Guy / The Simpsons The Simpsons Guy [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eecsja7KvEA[/embed] Finding themselves stranded a long way from Quahog, Rhode Island, the Griffin family end up in Springfield, home of The Simpsons. Initially bonding over a taste for Apu’s donuts, Peter and Homer eventually end up in a squabble about beer, and both families begin to notice quirks in each other which make them think twice about maintaining their friendship. Iconic? Definitely. This crossover episode highlights the evolution of animation, comparing classic family comedies to their modern counterparts. 5. Special Agent Oso / Handy Manny The Manny with the Golden Bear [embed] [/embed] As anyone with young kids knows, Special Agent Oso and Handy Manny are some of the best shows on the Disney Channel, but what happened when the two world’s collided? An iconic crossover was born! In The Manny with the Golden Bear, Oso is tasked with teaching a young boy to ride his bike, but uh-oh — the bike is broken! So a very special guest star is called in to save the day: Handy Manny and his tools. This episode is truly a kid’s favourite, teaching them the importance of working together as a team. 6. Community / Cougar Town Critical Film Studies [embed] [/embed] Although he’s one of the best characters in Community, Abed certainly has his quirks! With somewhat of an obsessive personality, Abed clings onto people, ideas, and even TV shows, with Courtney Cox’s Cougar Town his favorite. Cougar Town is mentioned throughout the series, but it wasn’t until the Critical Film Studies episode that Abed mentions he recently had a bit-part on the show. And he’s right! Carefully watch the Cougar Town episode Something Good Coming, and you can spot him in the background! 7. Mork & Mindy / Happy Days Pilot [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6EKSD5xM7M[/embed] As a Happy Days spin-off, it was only natural that we’d see a Mork & Mindy/Happy Days crossover episode at some point… we just didn’t think it would be so soon! The crossover occurred during the Mork & Mindy pilot episode, with alien Mork explaining to earth-dwelling Mindy that this was not his first time on the planet. In fact, during his previous visit, Mork had not only met The Fonz, but actually dated Laverne! Henry Winkler and Penny Marshall both make appearances through flashbacks.

There is nothing more fun and exciting than traveling, but one thing that thrills people equally is watching a good travel movie. A good travel movie inspires and motivates to travel to new and unexplored locations as it brings to light the unique places in the world. If you are Savvy Expeditioner and looking for some travel ideas for your next big travel experience, here are 5 must watch travel movies that will help you set your travel goals. 1. Into The Wild It is surely one of the most loved travelogues as it beautifully captures the beauty of nature, youth, the human mind, and adventure. With 8.1 on IMDB, this movie is a true story of Christopher McCandless, a college graduate who abandons his savings and hitchhikes to Alaska. While watching the movie you will be in awe of the confidence and bravery of the man who decides to leave his life of convenience and live in Alaska. The movie is all about his experiences with people that he meets along the way and each has their own story. By the end of the film, you will be motivated to travel and live a life away from the dependence on technology-led society, especially on your vacations. 2. The Motorcycle Diaries It will not be wrong to say that this film is an ode to South America. Soon after you begin to watch this movie you will be awestruck by the beauty of this continent, thanks to its awesome cinematography. The movie explores the motorcycle trip undertaken by Che Guevera and his buddy Alberto Granado and focuses on the human transformation of these two Argentine men. The movie beautifully covers Che Guevera’s life before he became famous and offers a unique perspective on what led him to become one of the most important political figures from a would-be doctor. The movie showcases an event-filled and arduous journey from Argentina across South America and finally to Miami. A planned day-trip ends up being a stretched-out month’s stay with only one dollar in this pocket because of the technical fault on the plane he flew in on. The movie also beautifully shows the mental journey of a young man learning about politics, philosophy, and poverty which makes him a well-known Marxist revolutionary. But at the end, the film is a tale of laddish and boozy fun. 3. The Beach It is Leonardo DiCaprio classic and offers breath-taking panoramic shots of Thailand. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Richard is an energetic and young backpacker who ventures to Thailand to find the allusive, idyllic and legendary beach that is home to international backpackers. Richard meets eccentric Daffy who tells him about the uninhabited island with breathtaking lagoon and hidden beach. Soon Daffy commits suicide, leaving a map that leads to the island. Intrigued and excited he sets out to find it. The crystal-clear water of Ko Phi PhiLeh and shirtless Leonardo DiCaprio are surely the treat to eyes for all. It will not be wrong to say that by the end of the movie you will be wanting to backpack and leave for Thailand to experience crystalline water, full-moon parties, and white sand beaches. 4. A Map for Saturday If you like real-life stories this documentary will surely offer some pearls of wisdom to the travelers. The movie beautifully documents the journey of a man as he quits his job to travel around the world and live out of his backpack. The movie beautifully showcases what it feels like to vagabond around the world. As a viewer, you will witness a lot of highs and lows of his trips at a personal level. If you are planning to undertake a long-term trip, then this movie will surely give you some tips and idea of what to expect from a backpacking trip. 5. Wild The movie is based on the book by Cheryl Strand and beautifully documents the journey of women on the Pacific Crest Trail. She travels the trail of 1,100 Km that covers the West Coast of the United States of America to bounce back after losing her mother. During the journey, she passes through crazy forests, dusty Mojave, snowy fields, and muddy trails only to achieve mental clarity. The movie is sure to inspire you to leave the comforts of your home and head out on an adventurous journey that is soul enriching. After you have finished watching these movies, you are sure to get the travel bug itching. You will surely feel the urge to pack your bags and head to vacations to explore the world. There is nothing more enlightening and enriching than traveling as the experiences make you wise and you are also opened to new insights.

The Surge is a new setting for the recent style of “ ” pioneered a few years back by Demon’s Souls. While most of the games in the genre have taken a turn to a darker, more macabre world (Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, et al), The Surge places its brand of action squarely into a dystopian future. You enter the storyline of the game expecting a new lease on a damaged life but quickly come to realize things are not what they seem. Throughout the game, Deck13 Interactive pioneers a few unique twists to the combat mechanics that feel both new and borrowed from other games and genres, but overall work out quite nicely. Preparing for the Apocalypse The gameplay is very involved. You can target specific parts of your opponent to acquire pieces that can be crafted into new equipment for yourself. The general action elements of the combat system are easy to pick up, but animations adjust in their style, speed, and utility based on the armor, equipment, and weapons you use. The game looks nice, sounds nice, and should be able to keep your attention as a time-killer if you’re waiting for something else to release. Unfortunately, it’s just not overly engaging on its own. Don’t get me wrong. The game is good. It’s a fun bit of action for an hour or so at a time, but I didn’t find it to be the kind of thing that I got roped into for a completely unintentional binge-gaming session. Robots and Grim Future I think the problems it ran into in that regard were two-fold. The story starts out pretty interesting, but starts to feel off-kilter and failed to hold my interest as things progressed as it was all very predictable. And the “Hardcore” aspect of this “Hardcore Action Game” just didn’t feel right. The game felt more like the difficulty lay in figuring out how to “game” the system instead of adapting to an unexpected opponent. The AI rarely, if ever, changes its approach. Tactics for defeating your enemies quickly become very “rinse and repeat.” The game just doesn’t have that sense of serious tension in combat that it needed to shine on its own. The game does show us that this formula can work in more than a melancholy, depressive medieval apocalypse. But, then again, do we want it to? Part of the original's appeal was that overbearing sense of dread around every corner. The Surge presented something of a jump factor where the unexpected cyborg may pop out at an unexpected or inopportune time, but it lacked continuous tension. But, all in all, if all you’re looking for is a cool bit of cyborg bashing, gear grinding and a little bit of maze-exploration, the game is good. The Looks and Sounds of The End Graphically, the game was pretty well done. There wasn’t anything overly spectacular about it, but it didn’t disappoint by any means. The developers did a good job in altering the environment in different areas so that nothing looked overly repetitive or recycled. The shadows were well utilized and sensibly placed – something I feel many games fail badly at, but which The Surge did very well. The sound is generally pretty good and keeps well with the ambiance of the setting, but could have had a little more variety to it. But the 300th time of hearing the exact same impact noise when you swat a cyborg you start to wonder if they couldn’t have invested a little more time in variety in the “attack noises” department. Well, considering most of what you’ll be doing in the game is beating on things. However, I may be being overly critical. There are plenty of games out there with this exact same issue. Modular Upgrades, Bullet Time and Exoskeletons Gameplay was a good bit of action styled, timed-swing beat-em-up with the unique aforementioned targeting mechanism that the game utilizes to mix things up a bit from the standard mold. Mix in some crafting, gear grinding, and RPG elements related to upgrading your equipment and you've got a game. Once you get into it and understand the core elements, it quickly becomes second nature. It has plenty of replayability in short bursts just for the fun of it, but you might find it hard to get truly engrossed in the storyline. The game was well developed, all things told, and I can’t say that I ran into any serious bugs during my run through it. If anything, I ran into one instance where an enemy I wanted to kill accidentally glitched through the wall and I couldn’t reach it. But, this game respawns all its enemies each time you run back to the base to modify your gear. So, a quick jaunt back to the lab and back was all it took to fix the fluke. The Surge : Final Thoughts The only real place I have to say the game was disappointing was with the storyline. I felt really excited at first. The game was showing me something in the very beginning with my character that I thought was going to see some serious development- then it just jumped into sci-fi trope land. I would have liked to see the game explore your characters underlying backstory and personal struggle more. Instead, you run into the action trope: a character who picks something up they’ve never handled before in their life and has somehow suddenly and inexplicably innately mastered it. All in all, pick it up if you’re looking for a well-made smash-em-up to fill time between the last thing you beat and your next anticipated release. It will keep you occupied enough to feel like it was worth the investment, but I can’t promise it will end up on your all-time favorites list.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 is a first person shooter developed by a relatively small studio (CI Games) whose prior works have pretty much revolved around a series of other Sniper titles and a brief dip into third person fantasy combat with Lords of the Fallen. That said, I went into this game with some pre-conceived notions about what I was expecting to play. So let’s talk first about what it is that the game really “is” and what it does. The Lone Sniper The entire function of the game is built around the idea of the player being a lone sniper out to get the bad guys and provides the player with tools and options to do so sight-unseen. In an attempt to provide the game with some degree of personal immersion, the story puts the player into a position where they are also pursuing a personal mission in the process of doing their job for the military. The game takes into account aspects of weapons handling that many other games regrettably neglect. It takes into consideration the significant effects of elevation, wind shear, breathing, and distance in scoping out and eliminating your target. They’ve also created an open world concept for the game that is different from past games in the series and, to an extent, it could be argued that this was an attempt to give the player more freedom in choice of their operations. Players also get to choose between three different skill trees as they gain experience and flesh out their play style. However…all of this seems pretty irrelevant when you take into consideration that there are other games out there that have done it better and are just more enjoyable. Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Brings Back Realism Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 certainly has some good points. It takes the ridiculously unrealistic and absurd aspects of sniping that are unfortunately a part of so many first person shooters and brings it back to reality. So if there is anything Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 should be admired for, it’s bringing back realism and sanity to a task that’s been made so gamified that it actually ruins the game it’s put in. So if your thing is that you want realistic sniping, go ahead and give this game a try. You will more than likely be pleased by that aspect of the game. Unfortunately, that’s about the only thing I can say about the game that really made me go “Wow, this is great!” There is a lot left to be desired in the rest of the game. The Devil's in the Details (Graphics) The graphics aren’t bad. They certainly look nice at long distances and they were appealing enough that it didn’t look dated, but with graphics, the devil really is in the details, and there were certain little demons running through the programming as I played the game that really killed the immersion. A few examples may be… Everything looks nice until the game deliberately zooms in to a kill-shot while sniping, then the entire animation when the bullet is supposed to strike the enemy looks cheap, poorly articulated, and in some instances even pixelish. This really destroys the immersion and takes a lot of the satisfaction away from what should have been a victorious moment.Hearing a helicopter fly overhead gives you a brief moment of anxiety as you rush to the nearest bushes…until you watch the helicopter fly directly over a series of trees/bushes that should bend and sway with the force of the approaching chopper…and instead they look exactly like they did when the chopper was nowhere in site. The execution is all very wooden and uninspired.A variety of graphical bugs have popped up almost routinely and kill the experience altogether. That said, I do feel like I need to say something about the overall programming of the game, which leaves a lot to be desired. Glitches, Bugs, and Long Load Times This game is unbelievably buggy. Everything from minor graphical glitches that phase out instantly to literally falling through the ground and disappearing beneath the map on multiple occasions. That by itself almost kills the game completely for me, not because of the inconvenience of the map glitch, but because that glitch then requires a complete re-load. And loading screens in this game are PAINFULLY long. When I say I’ve sat at a loading screen for a solid five minutes, I am not kidding. I have not seen loading screens this long in several generations of consoles. Sound in the game isn’t great either. It’s certainly not bad, but there needs to be a lot more “oomph” to certain things that just sounded too dull or under-emphasized and left me feeling a bit under-satisfied. Predictable Story & Character Development The story is pretty predictable and the character development…well. Let’s say they found the most painfully stereotypical writer they could to do the narrative for these characters. The characters don’t particularly have any personally heroic qualities to them that make you want to get attached to them, the acting is undeservedly melodramatic – characters will go from 0 to 100 on the drama scale and back again almost instantaneously – and the overall attitude of the main characters leaves a lot to be desired. I mean, if you were trying to create a genuinely unlikeable and groan-inducing character, that would have been easily achievable here. But, somehow, I don’t think that was the intention. Replayability isn’t really there either. Once I put it down… I was pretty certain I’d played enough of it and could move on to bigger and better things. Leaves a Lot to be Desired Overall, it’s not a bad game, but it certainly leaves a lot to be desired. If you’re looking for a realistic sniping game that does enough right in that regard to be a unique experience and get away from the complete and utter garbage fire that is “sniping” in most other FPS games, then definitely give it a shot. But if you’re looking for a fun, engaging storyline with a strong attention to immersion that will have you coming back every day eager for more…there are games out there that offer much more of that than Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 can muster.