A teenage boy comes in to a costume shop and says, "I'm looking for a costume for a Halloween party I'm going to this evening. Is there anything you'd reccommend?"
"Well," says the cashier. "How about a knight costume? I can give you a metal suit of armor, a silk cape, and a real sword for $50."
The boy hadn't wanted to spend quite that much, so he asked the cashier if he might have something a little cheaper. "Well," the cashier replies. "I can give you one with plastic armor, a cloth cape, and a rubber sword for $25."
This was still a bit more than the boy had wanted to spend, so he asked if the cashier might have something cheaper still. "Well," the cashier replies. "I can give you one with cloth armor, a felt cape, and a cardboard sword for $10."
This was still a little too expensive, so the boy asked one more time if there might be anything cheaper still. "Well," says the cashier. "For $5 I can give you a can of red paint, a paintbrush, and a broomstick."
"Well, that sounds good, but what kind of costume is it?" the boy inquires.
"You can brush the paint on your head, put the broomstick in your mouth, and go as a candy apple."
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the junkyard...
Here is a Pound Puppies fanfiction, which was a collab between fellow writer
brave kid and I(He had the initial idea for the story and title, and I wrote it up), which is a continuation of a series he and I will be writing in the future, which began with our first story, "A Walk on the Flip Side." In this story, the Pound Puppies are planning a Halloween party, which the Super Secret Pup Club are very excited about; presently, Squirt comes by and tells the pups the story of the Headless Dogcatcher, who wears a pumpkin for a head and roams the streets at night, nabbing any dogs or cats he can find and taking them away forever. The pups are quite scared by this, until their old friend Freddie comes by, claiming not to be scared, upon which Cupcake holds a wager with him to stay in the junkyard where the dogcatcher was last seen all night. But will they end up with more than they bargained for? Please enjoy, and a hap-ha-Happy Halloween to all!
BTW, here are a few pics of the story's characters:
Freddie, the friendly but scary-looking pup who first appreared in the episode, "Nightmare on Pound Street." His Halloween-based outfit very much conveys his personality.
Here also is a pic of the Pup Club, dressed as the members of their favorite superhero team the Canine Crusaders for Halloween, and striking heroic poses. Patches is dressed as his favorite hero Captain Mongrel, Rebound as her favorite hero Madame Woof, and Cupcake as her favorite hero Lady Rova. In the story, they wear these costumes when going to the junkyard, with the notion that the Headless Dogcatcher wouldn't dare tangle with superheroes!
This precious little game, based off the famous Artist Collection franchise, is something of a cross between Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, and an RPG. Players play as an adorable small, big-headed dog who's trying to save their younger sibling(players choose from a brother or a sister), who has contracted a mysterious illness, by traveling to a faraway island in search of the legendary flower that's said to be the cure. Players choose from 40-odd breeds of dog(some of which have color variants), including a few rare breeds, such as Weimaraners, Bull Terriers, Flat-Coated Retrievers, Shiba Inus, Cairn Terriers(they're super-cuddly!), and Australian Shepherds.
Players travel through grassy plains, deserts, and icy tundras, using their dog skills by sniffing out hidden items, and howling to ward off dangerous animals. In a similar manner to the aforementioned Animal Crossing, players also have the ability to catch bugs and fish. Players will befriend the islanders who live in the various towns, and will sometimes be given mini-quests by them, thus being rewarded with a woof(this game's currency) once each task is completed. Players can also dress up their dog in various hats, scarves, glasses, etc.
Pros:-A nice, enjoyable game with virtually no learning curve.
-Absolutely BEAUTIFUL graphics!
-Cute, lovable characters with lots of personality.
-Lots of fun quests, and nifty items to be found.
-A sweet, touching storyline which is more than elevated by the game's theme song.
(A box of Kleenex is highly reccommended.) :*)
Cons:-Like most RPGs, this game can be a bit tricky; without a strategy guide of some sort, a person might be stuck for what to do in certain situations. (Fortunately, there are many such strategy guides available online!)
-This game has no autosave feature, relying instead on "save spots", which can sometimes be tricky to find.
-Some of the puzzles found in various areas can be tricky to solve(e.g. I lost count of how many times I went through that puzzle in the ice level before I finally got it right. :-p)
Overall, a sweet, heartwarming game that's also a lot of fun. If you like dogs and you like RPGs, this is the game for you!
Squishy Tank is a nifty little puzzle game starring many of these bizzarely cute little tanks who need extra protection because they're, well...squishy! Players help the Squishy Tanks by breaking up different colored blocks, with certain amounts of each color needed to finish each level. There are also various special items(such as the tornado pictured below) that aid gameplay in such ways as increasing time, getting rid of a bunch of blocks at a time et al.
The game modes include Time Attack mode, Survival mode, Quest mode, and Story mode, the latter of which follows the Squishy Tanks through various humorous escapades. Also included are various unlockables, such as 3 different mini-games(one of which being a humorous nod to the legendary Space Invaders) and costumes to dress the Squishy Tanks in(the descriptions of some of which being humorous allusions to Bob the Builder, DragonBall Z, Ghostbusters et al.).
Pros:-A fun, amusing, hard-to-put-down game(You may ask me how I know, LOL :-D).
-Easy gameplay with virtually no learning curve.
-Very humorous overtones.
Cons:-Honestly, what's there to complain about in a game about cute Squishy Tanks?
Overall, this is an enjoyable, humorous game that's every bit as likeable as its adorable little protagonists. If you like puzzle games and you like funny games, and particularly if you like funny puzzle games, this is the game for you!
This madcap little game(known as Gabu Gabu Planet in Japan) is similar to the various Katamari series games, with one key difference-instead of rolling up everything in sight, you're devouring everything in sight!
In this game, you play as one of 4 giant alien monsters(although never referred to as such, they look kind of like dogs), each with different eating abilities:Gabu who's well-rounded, Bari who specializes in biting, Pero who specializes in licking, and Chuchu who specializes in sucking.
You select one of them to play as, and battle the other three in various levels, such as a city, a carnival, a shopping mall, undersea, and many more. The object is to try get the highest score by eating more than the other monsters, and battling them when your paths cross.
You'll only be able to eat small items initially, but by eating enough of the power-up items found in each level, you'll gain the ability to eat bigger items. Eating three objects with the same attributes(water, fire, electricity, etc.) will briefly transform you into a giant creature of the same attribute, capable of crushing everything in your wake. Also, making several perfect bites in a row will briefly make you invincible and enable you to double your scores.
Pros:-A humorous, clever, and highly original game concept.
-The graphics are excellent.
-Exciting and entertaining arcade-style gameplay.
-You can win various(very nifty!) outfits for your monsters by clearing stages and meeting certain qualifications, adding to the game's fun factor.
Cons:-The game's storyline(in story mode) is very inane and makes no sense. Honestly, IMHO, it seems like a game like this wouldn't really need a storyline. A minor hiccup which fortunately in no way deters from the games enjoyability.
Overall, an enjoyable and exciting game with very high replay value.
