2013 in Review: The Best - 2013 Awards (3/3)

Hey guys! Chill here. Welcome back. Today I'll be talking about what Club Penguin did best in the past year.

Best Parties of the Year
Marvel Superhero Takeover

That's right, parties. Normally I would only do one but I have two equal favorites this year. Anyway, the first one is the Marvel Superhero Takeover. It improved a TON on what 2012 started. Although the power gloves weren't as great as the first's, the robots were awesome and fun to mess with, and have snowball fights. Superhero Bounce was awesome and paved the way for future party games which are now more or less a staple. Adding to that the awesome decorations and music and you've got yourself an amazing party. It doesn't even really feel like a takeover.

Teen Beach Movie Summer Jam

This party was FANTASTIC. Although it wasn't too great for a Music Jam (just like the Make Your Mark: Ultimate Jam) it was amazing for a Summer Party, which we've finally got for the first time since 2008, after which Club Penguin started to make things more "equal" for users all across the world, getting rid of things that celebrate events or cultures in certain places, like the Summer Party or Winter Fiesta. Anyway, the Teen Beach Movie Summer Jam had some amazing music, decorations, and the highway and surf wave were both awesome. Add to that TONS of cool free items, most of which were available for non-members as well! I can't really think of anything bad at this party.

Best Catalog of the Year
August 2013 Penguin Style

While January's edition of Penguin Style was terrible, August's was pretty great. Although some of the items are on the "meh" side at first, new items like the Pink Ice Cream and Green High Tops are pretty cool. Also, tons of returning Summer favorites - I've ALWAYS loved Summer on Club Penguin. Not to mention this catalog features the return of my favorite wig of all time, The Side Swept. There's also the hidden gem the Hawaiian Shirt which hasn't been seen since 2008. Cool, huh?

Best Game of the Year
Card-Jitsu Snow
Well it was really the ONLY game of the year besides Spy Drills so yeah... but at least it fits here. The latest addition to the Card-Jitsu series is a great one, even if it is really different. It has some nice music, TONS of prizes, cool new characters (Sly for the win!) and there's even four different environments you'll find yourself battling Tusk and his frosty fiends in. Sensei even helps out in the final battle which is really cool - especially when all of the ninjas do a combo with Sensei. Even though it's hard and you'll find yourself losing often, the game in itself is fun to play. And it's not all bad if you lose - you can still get coins.


Best Party Game of the Year
Puffle Chase
That's an easy decision. Operation: Puffle's Puffle Chase was AMAZING! It was a quick and fun game that made you want to play over and over again. Add to that you got some great items from playing, and even more items if you had a Gold Puffle, and tons of coins. Seriously, I got rich just from playing THIS GAME.

Best Room Makeover of the Year
Everyday Phoning Facility
You may be thinking, "But Chill! The Everyday Phoning Facility is such a boring room!" Well, it WAS. The Everyday Phoning Facility went from a dull drag to an awesome hangout. What used to be an empty gray room is now an awesome office. It's also a LOT less suspicious to hide the EPF. I mean seriously, if there's an empty gray building you know it's hiding something. But this is a bit more secret - if it weren't for the Director ASKING YOU if you want to join the EPF. Aye aye aye...

Best Mascot Visit of the Year
Rockhopper in September
ROCKHOPPER!!!! Rockhopper's always been a lovable character - in fact he was the original mascot. Before 2008, when the Penguin Band and Gary became mascots, he was the ONLY mascot. He came on his ship the Migrator several times a year for a week or two, bringing goodies and Treasure Hunt. But this year... where was Rockhopper? Rockhopper was nowhere to be seen until September, NINE MONTHS after his last appearance at the Holiday Party 2012. So I think it's safe to say everyone was glad to have him back.

Best Mascot Change of the Year
Rookie...?
None of the mascot changes CP made this year were really good - in the case of Rockhopper and Gary, they kind of lost it. Other changes were nothing more than adding a body item, as was the case with Aunt Arctic, Cadence, Sensei, and Rockhopper as well. Others like PH got a full wardrobe re-do. These outfit changes really aren't enough to warrant the best change. So I'll have to go with Rookie, who didn't get changed at all. Congrats Rookie! Err, woohoo?

Best Video of the Year
Star Wars Takeover - Official Cinematic Trailer
Ironic that the party I named WORST of the year has the BEST video of the year, eh? When I first saw this trailer, I was BLOWN AWAY, and it got me so excited for the party. Epic animation, plus music, and... yeah... Comical villains (Darth Herbert coughing, stormtrooper sneezing and then getting elbowed by another stormtrooper)... It was amazing. Too bad I can't say the same for the party it goes with...

Well, that wraps up 2013 in Review. I'll be getting reviews out for Operation: Puffle, the Holiday Party, and the Prehistoric Party soon, along with a few other posts.

What did you guys like best about 2013? Leave a comment!

Chill is out, peace!

2013 in Review: The Worst - 2013 Un-Awards (2/3)

Hey guys! Chill here. In part two of my three-part 2013 series, I'll be talking about the worst we've gotten. Let's get going!

Worst Party of the Year
Star Wars Takeover
The Star Wars Takeover was a piece of junk. There really was nothing good about it besides the music, some party rooms, and a few items. The games were irritating, boring, or go from insanely hard to insanely easy. The Dock was the only room that was decorated on the island. I was hoping for something epic, like an outer space sky and futuristic buildings. Did I mention the lightsaber game? THAT was annoying. There are no rules so it's basically just a guessing game. A lot of the items have very weird looking beaks. This party could've been a LOT better in many ways. If this comes back, I hope CP decorates the actual island, makes the games more fun and less repetitive and difficult, and get rid of the weird beaks on items, that is if they haven't added it to our actual avatars by then. 

Worst Catalog of the Year
January 2013 Penguin Style
This catalog had tons of terrible items. While some of them were okay, none of them are becoming my personal favorite anytime soon. While it DID finally add Items for Everyone, there are tons of ugly items. Fuzzy Coat and Tights anyone?  How about the Green Overshirt or The Too Cool? This catalog also made the brand new art style, which penguins were trying to get accustomed to, not look any better. This catalog also, unfortunately, started making Penguin Style catalogs where the items are not related to the party at all. The only thing that even hints the (at the time) upcoming Prehistoric Party were two backgrounds. On the bright side it did have Arctic White.

Worst Game of the Year
Spy Drills
Zzz... oh sorry, I fell asleep because of how boring this game was. While it does bring back the old Field-Ops games (and I really have nothing against those) it is incredibly boring and hard. If you want to earn medals (then again there haven't been new EPF items for a long time so you don't really need them) you have to complete a three-op challenge and if you mess up a single one, you're done for. And that stinks because the challenges are pretty hard already. While this isn't necessarily a BAD game, it's very boring and I don't think it's anyone's favorite, or will be anytime soon.

Worst Party Game of the Year
Infiltrate the Death Star

Ha! You thought Spy Drills was boring? Wait until you hear about Infiltrate the Death Star, a party game at the Star Wars Takeover. Basically all that happens is you move the blocks to get the key to the "exit". That's all. It's very easy and very boring. PLUS, we've already seen this before. Club Penguin already used this game as "Ice Jam" on the Beta Team and "Unlock" during Operation: Blackout. All they did was change the graphics - oh, and add an R2-D2 Puffle which is apparently there to "help" you even though it does nothing. This is hands down Club Penguin's worst party game this year.

Worst Room Makeover of the Year
Mine Shack
The new Mine Shack is... ehhhh... well, kind of out of place. What used to be the exterior of a mine is now the entrance to a school. They also removed the interactive garden features which I found to be pretty fun while passing the time. It just seems weird how suddenly advanced it is, and now it has PAVEMENT. Why? I don't see cars on Club Penguin! The only time cars really belong are during parties that call for them, such as this year's Marvel Superhero Takeover, or by extension Teen Beach Movie Summer Jam. It just seems really out of place and I think Club Penguin could've made another room for the School's entrance instead of slapping it on the Mine Shack.


Worst Mascot Visit of the Year
Rookie at the Halloween Party

Don't get me wrong, I like Rookie. He's one of my favorite characters. But I just can't see why in the world Club Penguin chose HIM of all people for the Halloween Party. In Gary's absence Rookie visited instead, and ordered way too much candy and some of it was cursed. So yeah. The thing is I don't see how Rookie fits in at Halloween ANYWHERE - a goofy guy who always messes up? At least Gary sort of fit, considering scientists ARE a part of Halloween. Mad scientists, anyway. They could've easily not had anyone at the Medieval Party and have Gary here instead. Or even have Rookie at the Medieval Party! It would make sense, he could botch some potions or something. Even the Penguin Band could've been a better choice with Ghosts Just Wanna Dance, and they didn't get ANY appearances this year besides the My Penguin launch, and Rookie already had one when the school opened in July.

Worst Mascot Change of the Year
Rockhopper
Unfortunately Rockhopper seems to be a little bit... kooky. Ever since September when he returned he's been acting very strange and seems more like a real pirate than a friendly visitor to the island. For example, Rockhopper talks about battles at sea and stealing treasure from monsters more often than he does finding treasure like he used to. Also, he seems to be somewhat of a liar now. There are TONS of origins for his new coat, all told by the captain himself - one tells of it being made by a sewfish, while another talks about him trading for it with a seagull. Maybe Rockhopper decides his previous story isn't adventurous enough and makes a different one. For all we know he could've found it in the back room of the Clothes Shop. Speaking of Rockhopper's sanity, who in their right mind would put CHRISTMAS LIGHTS IN THEIR BEARD?

Worst Video of the Year

PUFFLE CHICKEN!!!!!!

Uhh, yeah... I have NO clue what Club Penguin was thinking when they made this video. And I have NO clue what Club Penguin was thinking when they said, "Hey, I have a great idea! Let's post that Puffle Chicken video to our YouTube channel! They'll love it!". So yeah. This video is just really weird and uh... yeah. I really have nothing else to say. It's just... yeah. Even though I really like the Puffle Chicken itself, there really is nothing good about this video. I think it was made as a joke to trick players when they tried to click on the Ultimate Mega Dragon potion for the Medieval Party potion video, which explains its weirdness.

Next I'll talk about the BEST Club Penguin had to offer in these categories. See you guys then!

Chill is out, peace!

Top 10 Items That Should Return

Hey guys! Chill here. Today I'll be talking about, in my opinion, the top 10 rare items that should return. Please note this will only include items that COULD possibly return, so party hats and pins are excluded.

10. Newspaper Hat

Hey look, it's a classic Newspaper Hat! It was only released once sometime in 2007 and never came back. I think this is a cool casual item that could be used again. You may have seen this item worn by Loustik005, a French moderator.

 9. Red Hard Hat

Most of you probably know about the Red Hard Hat. It was given out in 2008 to all players who participated in the Club Penguin Improvement Project, or CPIP. It's probably more like a Beta Hat/Snow Beta Hat item, but hey, Club Penguin never said it couldn't come back, right?


8. Blue Lei

Okay, okay, I know Club Penguin would get a LOT of backlash for re-releasing this but... why not? It's a cool item. It was first given out at the Summer Party 2006, and then again at the Summer Kickoff Party 2007. It also looks really nice on your penguin so why not bring it back?

7. Hawaiian Lei

The Hawaiian Lei was only released once, back at the Winter Luau in 2006. It's probably more famous than the Blue Lei, and even though it's newer, it's a lot more rare. It also showcases my favorite colors.

6. Pilgrim Hat

This festive item was available in the Penguin Style editions of November 2006 and 2007. It's a perfect item to celebrate Thanksgiving with, unfortunately as of 2008 it hasn't been sold anymore, presumably due to Club Penguin attempting to be more politically correct by renaming and cancelling parties, so it's unlikely we'll see this ever again.

5. Magician's Cape

This is one of the older capes, being released in the October 2007 Penguin Style catalog. This one looks really cool and strays a little from the set-in-stone design of the other capes. Plus, it really screams Disney. Emperor Zurg, anyone?

 
4. The Inflatable Ducks

Now here's something cool! The Inflatable Ducks were pretty cool items. The Yellow Duck was available at the Summer Party 2006 and the Water Party 2008. Meanwhile the Green Duck was available between the Yellow Duck's releases at the Summer Kickoff Party 2007. In August 2010 and 2011 we got a Blue Duck, but you can't beat the classics! Besides yellow is more fitting.

3. Blue Bunny Ears

Pink Bunny Ears? Green Bunny Ears? Yellow Bunny Ears? Nope, we want the BLUE Bunny Ears! In my opinion, this looks the most Easter-ish out of all the Bunny Ears. Plus I just like how it looks!

2. Ice Cream Apron

And the item that For some reason, the Ice Cream Apron was an item that always stuck with me. It was available at the Summer Kickoff Party 2007, Water Party 2008, and 3rd Anniversary Party. It was essentially replaced in 2011 by the Ice Cream Vendor - which unfortunately is very glitchy. I always thought the Ice Cream Apron was cooler - bring it back, CP!

1. Holiday Scarves

And the items I think that should return the most of all... The Halloween Scarf and the Christmas Scarf! These items are SUPER cool. The first one is a Halloween item, while still keeping the wintery feel Club Penguin had back when they launched in 2005, 2006, and 2007. The second one is obviously a Christmas item. This items are both really cool in my opinion. The Halloween Scarf was only available at the Halloween Party 2007, while the Christmas Scarf was available at the Christmas Party 2005 and Christmas Party 2007.

Anything that you think should've been on this list but wasn't? Got your own top 10 lists? Shoot us a comment!

Chill is out, peace!