Anime Download Of 2011

Kung Ku Kintae YouTube Impression

2011-08-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

it’s free, funny and mature so there’s no reason not to checkout Kung Fu Kintae on YouTube

E.A. Gray is the type of person fans of pop culture, South Park and Family Guy should have a beer with. Why? Just watch Kung Fun Kintae on YouTube and viewers will discover an animated series with animation and humor to match those mentioned above with a maturity level that would embarrass a third grader. It’s great, but why? Let’s take a quick look.

The Story – Two episodes so far for kung fu master Kintae as he takes on the nefarious Chuckie Chan and his plot to distribute his evil cereal, Crack Cereal, and then a confrontation with some Vader wanna-be. The story segments are short but he humor and references are in full bloom. The character cuss, drop f-bombs in such superb manner, it’s just freaking funny. There are references to Last Dragon (love the amateur rendition) Dragon Ball Z, Enter the Dragon, Star Wars, Coming to America and even some Final Fantasy music thrown in. It’s full of little references like these and the core fight of Kintae vs. Chuckie Chan and involvement with the mysterious Mr. Who is fun and easy to digest. Turn brain off and enjoy.

The Animation – Series like South Park and many Adult Swim titles come to mind but the best reference point is actual PaRappa the Rapper, the old PlayStation game. The characters are flat, cutout looking and it’s seen when characters move and even the color style is bright and vivid, simple like PaRappa and South Park. The fight scenes are funny to boot, it works and works well on many levels.

The Voice Work – Gotta mention this as the characters sound awesome and music is mixed in well, it rocks. Best has to be Chuckie Chan, what a nice stereotype he is.

Overall E.A. Gray has created one hell of a funny series that is unique yet so familiar. Fans of South Park, Family Guy and especially the more indie Adult Swim content should check it out. Unique and it’s free, can’t beat that. Watch Episode 1 Now.

Basic Anatomy for the Manga Artist Impression

2011-08-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

A lesson in anatomy targeted at manga but useful for any artist.

Christopher Hart does it again. Basic Anatomy for the Manga Artist takes a complex topic, human anatomy, and spins it in a manner which is easy to digest for any aspiring manga artist while remaining invaluable as a long standing reference guide. The large format and vivid visuals help to drive home the core lessons and it offers great starting off points for artist to explore as they develop and continue their own style. Let’s take a look at the contents of this latest guide and see how they can impact each artist.

Introduction – What the books about and what readers will get from it. Introduction folks, pretty self explanatory but nice to see the table being set by Mr. Hart.

1 – Basic Head Elements – Before working on the body, Hart takes a look at the skull, the muscles and tendons and all components of the head from eyes to nose, mouth, ears and their placement. A few specific examples (vampire boy, yeah!) round out the lessons but the point is a well constructed head looks great on a great body. While not as deep in the facial expressions of his former books what this does is build upon those other offerings and allow the reader to get into the core content, the body.

2 – The Foundations of the Body – Readers explore the skeleton and its various aspects as well as positions and how shape changes while tackling various height aspects of characters. The full body male and female muscle diagrams should be printing and hunt around the reader’s preferred drawing location as they are excellent references and what muscles are where and how they should be emphasized.

3 – Topographic Anatomy – Building on those muscle diagrams and looking at how their moving, flexing and posture is shown with skin on top, this is all about the action poses and looks of the character and really gets the mind working and thinking about how the body should be drawn for characters in motion.

4 – Body Symmetry and Asymmetry – Not every body part is perfect and aligned so this makes drawing easier in knowing differences in arms, legs, not too drastic, but subtle can work. Much more detail in this chapter as these lessons are detailed and really will help separate the casual artist from the truly hardcore and dedicated.

5 – How Movement, Light and Perspective Affect the Body – One of the final pieces is adding in the proper shadow and position to bring a character to life. The muscle, tone and bone structure change when movement and light is added so pay attention to grab your targeted fan base with realistic looking characters that live in their environment. Beyond just anatomy, this chapter is universal to every type of art as light and shadow should always play a part.

6 – Putting it all into Practice – The light at the end of the tunnel, the end game. Seeing these examples from Hart drives home the lessons and tips he provides.

Overall Basic Anatomy for the Manga Artist is a solid, solid entry in the learning to draw manga field of books. The lessons hit the topics intended and teach a fair amount about the skeletal and muscular framework of characters and how the manga style lives on top of and is affected by these. What a reader takes from these lessons varies on that reader’s art style but the base that Hart establishes here is solid and a great foundation for new and experience artist.

Catherine on PlayStation 3 Impression

2011-08-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

A mature blending of anime and gaming in the curvaceous Catherine

Catherine blends awesome animation, addictive and challenging puzzles with conversation trees that will determine the outcome for poor old Vincent. Known more for their niche and hardcore RPG’s it’s great to see publisher Atlus putting out a true, next-gen, HD title that is so different and rewarding. Anime fans will be craving a games free version of the haunting tale while gamers will spend hours solving similar puzzles with new and deadly twists. So what’s this love triangle of Vincent, Catherin and Katherine all about? Let’s take a look.

Gameplay – One game and story with three distinct presentations. Vincent is a 32 year old not really sure where he’s going with pressure from his girlfriend Katherine to marry and a chance encounter and relationship with the young, vibrant and seductive Catherine. On top of these relationships and issues Vincent is losing sleep as his dreams are haunted with puzzles, towers he must scale before the bottom drops out and he … well what’s next he has no desire to find out. He chats about both of these issues with his buddies and friends at the Stray Sheep bar where he engages in various conversations with different choices to pick and can even send email and text messages to change relationships. Life is not easy for Vincent and he’s also wondering what the recent rash of male deaths in their sleep is about, does it relate to the odd dreams with sheep and puzzles he keeps encountering?

So the tale is about Vincent and he has three types of gameplay, well two really. First are the very nice animated story sequences that deserve their own DVD treatment while there are large conversation pieces where the choices made determine the story outcome, the morality scale means good or bad choices. The final and meatiest piece of gameplay are the puzzle sequences where Vincent must climb. These are challenging but lack true variety in appearance. It’s a lot of trial and error mixed with some skill so expect frustration. It’s a mix of three very different experiences that works as weaved around Vincent and his ladies. One note is on the puzzles the controls and camera can get very annoying but it just takes a bit getting used to … just hate dying so much while learning.

Graphics – The in-game graphics, conversation pieces are polished and solid but not spectacular. Motions are robotic and the overall feel is just a bit off. This is the polar opposite of the gorgeous animation sequences that move the story along and will drive gamers to solve puzzles to see what’s next. Each character comes to life and these sequences make the connection with Vincent and the preferred lovely lady all the easier to establish. The puzzle sequences are well done but can’t be admired in any sense as gamers will be frantically trying to climb to avoid falling so pause to check out the detail, it’s quit good and Vincent’s character sports decent detail down to his boxers.

Sound – The soundtrack is a mixing of almost house tunes and remixed classical pieces (included CD is ok, not great, just ok). As gamers work to solve the puzzles the music will blend into the background so it’s not a huge loss but those few quirky tunes will stand out. The voice work is great as there are some very recognizable gaming and anime talents at work here (official site will clue in names, check it out). Each primary and secondary character deliver their roles spot on with the right levels of enthusiasm, sarcasm, experience, anger and rage. It’s quite tasty especially as the story and situations escalate but some of the best lines have to be from the sheep … you’ll see.

Design – The mixing of three unique experiences works and does so very well. Telling a story via text based choices, animated scenes and challenging puzzles is quite an accomplishment as it’s not just a puzzle or text game or anime for that matter it’s a mixing of three. The puzzles are brutal in their challenge so gamers really need to pay attention to conversations and tips to advance. It’s like a hardcore workout where the puzzles get gamers pulse up and sweat going while they then cool down a bit during the conversation, relax with the anime then ramp back up in the puzzles again. Well designed indeed, unlike Vincent’s love life.

Miscellaneous – The bonus content is to die for. Soundtrack, boxers and that pillow case, good luck explaining that to your wife or girlfriend (or boyfriend, wait he won’t mind).

Overall Catherine is a unique gaming experience that anime fans should dig for its slick content and story as well as accessible puzzles while gamers will enjoy the frosted side of a challenging puzzler with mature content, an adult story. It’s quite a mixture and fun to play, only question is which C(K)atherine would you choose?

Alert App for Gamers and Anime Fans; Worth it?

2011-08-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

A new app that helps fans aggregate the best of their Facebook feeds, but is it any good?

Many gamers and anime fans follow their favorite series and games on Facebook from Angry Birds to Deus Ex: Human Revolution to Bleach but while content is always ever flowing from publishers into Facebook how can fans keep up? One answer looks to be Alert; an app available on iPhone that takes content from Facebook and puts forth that user’s content, non friend content, into an easy to use and digest feed. Why should Facebook users, gamers and otaku alike, look to use another app when they have Facebook? Let’s take a look at what makes Alert special. (Please note this app was brought to my attention by an acquaintance from the creative company behind Alert to which I’m looking to see how practical it is to my interest.)

What is Alert? Without repeating the websites or App Store, it’s an app that pulls users Facebook content into a new interface. There are four tabs/pages.

News – List of top trending and most recent post from pages users like, have interest in. Similar to the feeds being sorted on Facebook where users can like and comment on content. This looks and feels very much like Facebook but being able to sort by categories, and create categories starts to show the potential. Gamers could create genre of games they follow, or blogs on games they follow while anime fans can group their favorite series and pages on Facebook. This layout and flexibility is worth the price of admission for Facebook users tracking the latest on a Facebook heavy content such as an Angry Birds or a game running a contest. Full of potential, yes, but only limited by how creative the user can get.

Events – A list of weekly, monthly and future events for users likes? Very nice especially for conventions as Alert shows the dates, times locations and of course offers the options to add to calendar and check out location on maps. Sometimes the best events happen and users have no idea, this helps to correct that and will make users start to narrow their focus on upcoming events. Real bonus is that it urges content providers, companies, to really promote their content on Facebook knowing that Alert is going to, well alert their fans.

Menu (Table of Contents) – A fairly quick and easy way to search for content on Facebook and add it as a ‘like’ to the users Facebook page. The tab is called Menu but it’s more a Table of Contents of the users information. Users can create a new page list (category mentioned earlier) and add pages. The search works well and the summary page of search results looks great and is easy to navigate. A nice feature is the ability to click on a link and be taken to that link within the Alert interface with the option to jump into Safari if desired. Love this feature as clicking on links on iPhone can be a pain when it just opens Safari on its own. Once a page is liked users can then view photos and video content in this area also. Deleting is done via the tried and true hold down finger on icon-click X to remove, so familiar and friendly also.

Account – Final and most boring tab as it contains a tutorial (use it) and ability to send feedback.

Bottom Line for Gamers – Games are a mainstay on smart phones with a large Facebook presence and consoles titles have moved the same direction. There are always contest and games going on, local events, fan sites and more on Facebook so for gamers to clean the clutter (friends content) seen in the tradition Facebook interface, well Alert shows it’s true potential here. Game videos, images, updates and news all sorted and easy to access with events also shown, it’s pretty solid and when the potential for exclusive content exist then the gamers will flock. This last piece is more a suggestion at this time as we’ve not observed exclusive gaming content but when looking at the landscape of exclusive and free content on Facebook now as well as content for pre-orders of games, well the imagination can run wild with what publishers could offer via Alert. It’s free and if gamers have liked all their favorites then it makes sense to download Alert and see how it gathers their content.

Bottom Line for Anime fans – Very much in the same arena as gamers, the anime fan can gather all their favorite content and keep updated on new content from their favorite pages. Replace the word ‘game’ with ‘anime’ and the bottom line for anime fans is the same as for gamers. It’s a chance to pull all the most recent content into one easy to use interface, but what else? Ah, a word to the …

A word to publishers/developers – These groups have embraced Facebook as most main games, anime, publishers and creators have their own Facebook page and serve up content along with news, images and videos. The field is crowded as ever so if a fan of say, Naruto, looks at their iPhone to read the latest news on Naruto there is a very good chance it’s buried under their friends post or their favorite music. Alert looks to, looks to, solve this by pulling this content and adding the categorization of content but it’s the exclusive content mentioned the Alert site that could really shine here. From the Alert site;

“Be first to get news, events and exclusives from your favorite brands. Then share in real-time back to Facebook.”

Publishers could promote an event and reward Alert users, die-hard fans, they could engage a more engaged audience tracking their content to get the word out. Download codes for episodes, avatar items and more could be offered to the first ‘x’ amount of replies. See this is where alert can become all that more valuable to both publishers, companies and their loyal fans.

Overall Alert is an app worth downloading for Facebook users with a decent ‘like’ list. The potential for more is there on the exclusive front but for now it really does do a good job of pulling in the content the user likes in easy to digest portions. As a gamer and otaku, Alert offers me the chance to stay on top of my uncluttered news and info from Facebook. I like it and see no reason others should not give it a try … and provide feedback, make this app evolve to serve you.

Pokemon Adventures Diamond and Pearl Platinum manga vol. 2 Impression

2011-08-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

A new set of trainers continue their journey in the latest Pokémon manga

Sorry, not gonna happen. Nobody, nobody is ever going to catch them all at this rate. Pokémon keeps on rolling in the video game, anime and manga departments with new characters, settings and pocket monsters to catch. The latest manga is Pokémon Adventures: Diamond and Pearl Platinum and we’re taking a look at volume 2 of this adventure. With a comedic duo escorting a young heiress (she’s rich) the adventures feel familiar yet fresh and new with story by Hidenori Kusaka and art by Satoshi Yamamoto. What does this latest adventure offer? Simple; more of what fans love with new twists, let’s take a look.

A case of mistaken identity make hopeful comedic duo trainer Diamond and Pearl travel with young Lady, only daughter of the wealthiest family in the Sinnoh Region, as she looks to gather the materials from the peak of Mount Coronet to construct an emblem bearing her family crest. Lady believes the two trainers are her hired bodyguards while Diamond and Pearl think Lady is their tour guide on their all expenses paid tour which they won in a contest. Meanwhile the real bodyguards are trying to track down Lady. As Lady takes on gym leaders to earn badges, grow stronger, the trio finds themselves on the cycling road with a certain young lady unable to ride a bike who runs into Stunky causing a bit of an odor problem. After a bit of a cave-in issue Lady finds herself entering a talent competition and being rescued by a very eloquent trainer who just screams of being seen again. After a quick trip to a lost tower the group must make their way through the mountain to access the proper route to reach the summit and they encounter some very mysterious Pokémon. The journey continues but a larger plot is in the works as the nefarious Team Galactic is on the move with their own interest in Lady and Mt. Coronet … and just when will the actual bodyguards catch-up with Lady?

So first the art. Yamamoto does an excellent job of delivering Pokémon perfect art that is sharp and on-par with the best Pokémon art out there. Action is great looking, Pokémon look true to form while characters each sport a unique look and familiar looking clothing. Only drawback is the limited background art. There are tons of action lines and dramatic effects but only sparse true detailed backgrounds but can’t complain as the stars are the little monsters and their powers. Now the story, it’s a new cast and setting but similar concept. Trio of young kids on an adventure where a Team X (Galactic this time) gets involved for larger, more diabolical reasons. The twist is Lady’s reason for travelling and the mix-up in thinking Pearl and Diamond are her body guards and also for this duo thinking Lady is their guide. Add to this the way Diamond and Pearl use paneled comedy routines to explain what is going on, rules and concepts, and what readers get is a great entry into the Pokémon universe that does not require prior knowledge. The story is fun and relationships are easy to believe and get behind and there are of course hidden lessons about friendship and other kid appropriate content.

Pokémon fans you and old can sit down with the latest manga and truly enjoy a new adventure yet feel right at home with an old friend. Great art, fun story and some oddball humor mixes to make a unique Pokémon adventure.

Dungeon Siege III Impression

2011-08-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

An old-school feeling action-RPG that lets gamers get in and play and do so with easy … gotta love Dungeon Siege III

The gap between action-RPG’s on PC vs. console has closed, not just gotten closer but closed. Want proof? Look no further than Dungeon Siege III from Square Enix and gamers will find a game as deep, engaging and fun ad any Diablo wanna-be, which DSIII is not (a wanna-be folks). The game is fun, easy to engage in and deep with hours of time just waiting to be spent. So what’s the hook, why is Dungeon Siege III so much fun not to mention a joy to play? Let’s take a look.

Gameplay – The more classic dungeon crawling action-RPG fare hits consoles and does so wonderfully. Gamers are provided with a choice of four heroes in the initial story each with their own tale tied around the restoration of the kingdom of Ehb. Actions in gameplay and conversations will impact the overall story arc but it is the action that shines. The action is third-person and ranges from castle and town battles to dungeons (thus the title folks). Fight solo or with up to three friends in online co-op while completing the story in two-player co-op in local mode. Dropping in and out of battle is very arcade reminiscent as the second player can do just that, drop in. The action is driven by the story but it’s enough to move the gamer along in killing many baddies. It’s a hack-n-slash adventure and pure fun to play with hordes of enemies swarming and bright and vivid special attacks and spells going off from a very customizable character.

It’s an action-RPG that takes place from a third-person perspective where gamers can customize their chosen character from arms to armor while tacking the main story, playing with friends and taking on a slew of side-quests. The multiplayer is fun but limiting in one main area; no co-op with same class characters so if jumping in with a buddy be ready to roll as Robin instead of bashing as Batman.

Graphics – Zooming in reveals a surprising amount of detail and each main character sports a unique look. Weapons are unique; the environment is solid with little details thrown in. The animations are smooth and the effects eye popping and pretty, yes pretty. The game looks and plays smooth but it’s not setting new standards in realism as its main goal, being an action-RPG is to take the formula Diablo rocked and make it look better, crisper, sharper and Dungeon Siege does this in spades.

Sound – If it’s got Square Enix on the cover then there’s a good chance the music is solid and so it is here. The background music fits the mood and sounds great and it’s evened out by a cast of less than enthusiastic voice actors. Not bad by any stretch but not fully engaged which is a shame given the dearth of talent doing games, anime, etc these days.

Design – Almost cookie cutter in the single-player campaign with levels to complete, quest to undertake and weapons to customize. The multi-player, online as well as co-op, add variety but there is nothing amazing or new in this overall package. A well designed game that will hook the gamer with its’ addictive and easy to get into gameplay which is an accomplishment in the every evolving, more complicated landscape of console gaming.

Miscellaneous – Ease of use; what this means is how accessible Dungeon Siege III is in that gamers can jump right in with minimal tutorials and ramp up time. Get to hacking and slashing in no time and it’s a ton of fun. Not the best game in any one category but one that captures what gaming is about and that’s the joy of playing.

Overall Dungeon Siege III offers up a very satisfying dungeon crawling action-RPG experience that PC gamers are spoiled with. The sound is solid, controls responsive and overall experience is a lot of fun and when a friend jumps in, all the better. Bottom line is unless you’re a franchise fanatic give this a rental first as the re-playability only goes so far as doing same story with new characters and playing with buddies.

Katanagatari vol. 1 Blu-ray DVD combo Impression

2011-08-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

Family heritage and duty lead to an epic animated journey.

Katanagatari from NIS America is one of the companies newer anime titles and the most unique. Its mixture of unique animation and art combines with a time and story that reminds of titles like Kenshin yet is so unique and exquisite. A truly enjoyable anime but not one for every fan so what’s to love? Let’s take a look.

Story – 1,000 katana; crafted by master blacksmith Shikizaki Kiki and a journey to collect them. The Shogun has enacted a policy known as Katana Hunting in order to obtain all 1,000 katana including the 12 powerful Klesha Bringers, the last 12 katana forged. The order for this collection was in fear of rebellion. The location of these 12 is only partially known and now Togame, a Shogunate official, seeks the blades with the help of Yasuri Shichika, the 7th generation Kyoto Ryu. With his older sister Nanami, Yasuri lives on an isolated island due to his father’s role in bringing down a rebellion but now a the request of this strange girl he is about to step foot off the island to obtain the 12 katana which his unique sword skills, where no sword is used, the blade is his body, are the only way to obtain the blades. Togame has her own agenda and she is forced to address her past dealings with the treacherous Maniwa Ningun, a group of 12 elite ninja on her road to collecting these 12 unique katana. The journey will be long and our travelers will change so let the battles begin.

This is just the beginning of the story as each encounter reveals more and more layers. Yasuri has an innocence and brutality that adds for humorous moments and it’s not always to read what Togame is thinking (writing a book of the journey, obsessed with catch phrases) and all the characters are like this. The Ningun range from formidable to pathetic and add spice to the journey which spans Japan and sees many varied battles. It’s a simple story of two travelers working to gather 12 katana and taking on the owners in grand battles. They must dodge the Ningun and manage to have a good amount of fun doing so. As unique as the art is so too is the story which is a nice trip back to a time long forgotten in Japan.

Animation and Art Style – Bright and vivid, this anime belongs framed and hung on fans walls; it’s that beautiful. From the opening animations it’s easy to see this is no normal anime with unique looks for characters that is anime but then again, it’s not. The use of dark eyes, not just pupils but all black or one color along with unique costumes brings a vibe of Metropolis or Astro Boy, a look and feel used in Cashern but not many other traditional anime, period. The feudal Japanese setting is also a site to behold showing off the various climates of the great nation, the regions and how varied they are. It’s a visual smorgasbord of all Japan has to offer and it animates beautifully where each battle and movement is like a planned choreographed dance and the awkward and funny moments really spring off the screen. It’s just plain beautiful to watch and admire in still motion.

Voice work and Music – The voice work is wholly Japanese but quite solid as Togame is serious and hilarious while Yasuri delivers himself well as a closed off country bumpkin. Each character is portrayed as they look to be expected but the score; well the score is quite delicious. The episodes are longer, almost 40 minutes in length and the conversations also quite drawn out at time leading to some very noticeable and epic tunes that the viewer can’t help but notice … and enjoy.

Miscellaneous – The animation and art style is so unique and beautiful, it really stands out among a fairly crowded anime market and the included art book is just a joy to read and display on bookcases across the otaku world. The original story, setting and art make this a unique package that anime fans owe it to themselves to watch.

Overall this first collection of Katanagatari is excellent. It’s both DVD and Blu-ray, has a gorgeous art book and episode guide and a package to match the beautiful animation and story enclosed. Really highly recommended and a great watch.

Pac-Man and Galaga Dimensions on 3DS

2011-08-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

Let the retro 3DS craze begin with two classics, Pac-Man and Galaga

Another collection of old arcade games? Another collection or revamped arcade games? Well, yes on both fronts but worth the price of admission people as Pac-Man and Galaga Dimensions on Nintendo 3DS is all that’s great about both titles where the new truly outshine the old and some 3D is thrown in for good measure. It’s a trip down memory lane that shows just how far these titles have come from their first table top adventures. Gamers of all ages, get ready for a trip down memory lane and a trip to create your memory lane.

Gameplay – Six games, two newer and more unique with four showing the original and recent iterations of these two franchises. First is Pac-Man with three flavors from Tilt which is more a platformer where gamers tilt the 3DS to change the game, advance our chomping hero in an almost Sonic manner while Championship Edition shows off the recent revamp available for download and finally there’s the original coin-op version. All three are unique with the best easily being Championship Edition. Tilt is by far the biggest departure from the franchises origins.

Second is Galaga with its 3D tilting, targeting, shooting (first-person-ish) 3D Impact which just feels way to odd and off for this gamers enjoyment. The original Galaga shows its age with waves of aliens attacking while Legions is such a great an fresh take offering gamers a more free reign of movement and lasers firing all different directions. It’s more like an update to Asteroids than to Galaga but the waves of enemies brings it back to its roots.

Graphics – Let’s start at the beginning. The originals have never looked so old and slow due in large part to the layout of the screen, its size and positioning. They are spot on what they were in the past but still dated. Both Tilt and 3D Impact look solid with expected more to date graphics but the thoughts and images of both Sonic and Starfox kept coming to mind. The middle children again take the cake as Championship Edition for Pac-Man looks and plays great with tons of great on-screen effect while Legions is just as impressive looking a visual fest. The entire package of games runs the gamut of looks so it’s a mixed bag overall.

Sound – From old to new, the signature sounds are all accounted for and updated in later titles. These are the sounds, the music and effects, which will bring back so many memories.

Design – Tilt and 3D Impact being the new kids are more tech demos for what the 3DS can do and, while fun, take a bit getting used to. For portable games just a bit too much moving needed. The originals suffer from constrained screen space so poor design choice there but the middle children, now they look good. Legions and Championship Edition are the two titles that make this cart worth purchase and play outstanding on the 3DS.

Miscellaneous – Seeing such three very different ages of the same game is a nice history lesson in game development and design. From the originals to their revamps to new 3D targeted adventures it’s amazing to see how such iconic games change over time yet remain true to their roots.

Overall Pac-Man Championship Edition and Galaga Legions make this 3DS cart a must-buy. The original games pale to the updates while the 3DS targeted Tilt and 3D Impact are fun but overall not as addictive. A solid outing from Namco Bandai but if only 1 more game could have been squeezed in, and then we’re talking.

Dual Pen Sports on 3DS Impression

2011-08-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Own a 3DS? Like sports games? Go now and get Dual Pen Sports.

Dual Pen Sports is a nice fit on the Nintendo 3DS with its mixture of quick to play games, variety of game types and use of the 3D features in the system. It comes with two stylus but note only one can touch the screen at a time so gamers may prefer to stick with one as this gets the job done in most of the sports. So how well does this new sports outing perform and why should fans of both quick to play sports games and Nintendo’s handheld pickup a copy, well, let’s take a look.

Gameplay – Create an avatar, pick it’s outfit then get to competing in touch screen sporting events where score and accuracy count and the competition gets tougher as you go. Events range in variety from Rank match to Score Try (a daily event and practice mode) and multi-player using the local play functionality. Soccer, archery, baseball, boxing and skiing shine while parachuting and basketball get a bit frustrating but player choices will vary. With daily challenges and quick gameplay there is much for gamers to enjoy.

Graphics – Gamers have a limited number of options when designing their avatar but as they proceed in-game more costumes, outfits and rewards are unlocked making characters unique in look and feel. Being a 3DS game the third dimension aspects vary from event to event and do enhance gameplay but not by much as turning 3D off takes nothing away and actually makes it easier to hit goals in some instances. The depth in the archery game for instance is neat at first but unneeded as gamers get more serious about reaching goals. The look reminds very much of Wii Sports and it’s on this audience for whom this game was designed, in both look and feel. No grand textures here, just good ol bright and vivid avatars that are both simple in look yet functional in design.

Sound – Sport sounds are good and crowd, clapping is ok but overall this is not a spectacular sounding game … just has sound as it’s needed but nothing more.

Design – The 3D features add nice depth to the various sporting events but this very easily could have been just a DS game with no 3D. Good launch timeframe title but not groundbreaking. Not every game is rock solid but the boxing, archery and soccer interfaces and functionally offer great fun and challenge.

Miscellaneous – The inclusion of dual stylus is intriguing but ultimately just novelty. Since the screen can’t use two at once and to use two gamers much place the 3DS down, well this just ain’t that portable. That being said if games don’t try to innovate then gamers get nothing new, so there is a bright side just not a selling point right now.

Overall Dual Pen Sports offers quite a few enjoyable sports games that are quick and accessible with a variety of gameplay modes showing off a bit of what the 3DS can do. The sound and graphics are not winning any awards but for a newly launched system this is not a bad entry by far to take a stab at for 3DS owners.

Change comes to DC Comics; The New 52

2011-08-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

The New 52 from DC Comics. What’s it mean, let’s take a gander

52, yes fifty-two! DC Comics, on August 31st 2011, will do something very bold and release, renumber the entire DC Universe line of comics. This means 52 issue #1’s and a new look, a more updated and relevant look for Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Justice League and more. It’s a radical idea but just how radical is it really? How many offshoots, one time stories and re-tellings have readers seen over the years? The core mechanics for each character and their universe are set; this is not a combining of a Super Batman type hero but a new telling. So what’s it mean, what are some of the details? Let’s take that gander we mentioned.

New Issues – 52 x market value = get to work and earn some dough for a slew of new comics that allow readers to get on from the first floor. Action Comics, Detective Comics … who has a copy of #1? It’s a new beginning but not a new venture like Image Comics back in the 90’s. These are established characters that are getting revamps and if readers are fans of the various animated shows for DC properties then these new issues will feel warm, comfy and cozy.

New Costumes – Jim Lee, Cully Hamner and Mark Chiarello are the minds behind over 50 new costume designs that make modern those that are iconic. Easy task, not quite but with these three doing the heavy lifting the faith is there.

Diversity – Interesting angle from DC, but the focus on a diversified cast across the board means minority characters are not just throw ins but solid primary characters. As DC points out they include; Cyborg, Static Shock, Blue Beetle, Batwing (aka the Batman of Africa), Firestorm, Mr. Terrific, the Atom and Voodoo, and LGBT characters like Batwoman, Apollo, Midnighter, and Voodoo.

Imaginations Unleashed – Creative minds such as Geoff Johns and Jim Lee are just two of the folks behind these new 51. There is a ton of top level, bright, brilliant and amazing minds collaborating on these various titles. They bring their own takes and re-takes to each series so this is a lot of experience and plain awesomeness put towards these new #1’s.

Going Digital – DC Comics has long been available on smart phones and tablets and this reach makes the consumption by readers all the easier, portable and easier on the pockets.

Overall the future looks very bright and exciting. Personally I’ve always loved the Elseworlds, ‘what if’ stories found annually for established characters and now fans get a chance to see this concept in a standard format which plain rocks. It’s a new take on so much, so many characters that it’s close to overwhelming so get ready DC fans, the future is about to get very wild with the new 52.

Thundercats on Cartoon Network Impression

2011-08-12T17:01:00.000-07:00

A new take on a classic 80’s cartoon; say hello to the new Thundercats

So Cartoon Network has taken another classic series and re-invented it in the form of the new Thundercats, now airing on Friday’s at 8:30. All the characters are here but of course this more fleshed out story has more emotional moments and feels more epic. We meet Lion-O’s father (voiced by the original Lion-O) as well as a very strong Jaga, brother Tygra, Cheetara as fast and sleek as ever, a less vocal Snarf and one nasty looking, army leading Mumm-ra … and this is just the tip of the iceberg. So what’s the story like and how about the acting and animation? Let’s take a closer look at this new series first episode.

Story – The Thundercats are a vibrant race living on Third Earth, at war with the lizards for decades lead by a wise king with his impetuous young son, Prince Lion-O. Unlike his more mature older brother Tygra, Lion-O is always seeking out legend, especially fabled technology. Along with his pet Snarf he wanders the city exploring and getting into trouble until a much more grand form of trouble arrives. Soon technology makes a horrible re-appearance and a legendary evil awakens to destroy one king, enslave a race and set in motion a young prince’s fate. Lion-O takes up his role, helped along by Jaga and accompanied by Tygra and the Cleric Cheetara. The only way to stop the ancient evil known as Mumm-ra, Lion-O must find the ancient Book of Omens and set things right. A son’s vengeance for his father, a father betrayed by a close friend. Will he succeed; well that’s the fun of this new journey.

So the first episode pays homage to bits and pieces of the original series just look out for one mechanical bears arm for instance. The fleshing out of Lion-O’s family and background is nice and he is much younger, less buff, in this journey which is refreshing. No more does he age during space travel, to which the elimination of technology, putting the entire civilization on Third Earth to start with and tying Mumm-ra to the Sword of Omens as well as the book makes for a much more ‘anime’ story to be told. It was enjoyable to see one particular blind watchtower Thundercat and it cannot be emphasized how nice a non-talking Snarf is, heck even Wiley-Kat and Kit are less annoying but we do miss Panthro. Unlike the re-creation of He-Man a few years back the story, the back-story and history of the Thundercats is deep and this tale makes for one heck of a journey, not a tale of Lost Kittens which, really, is what the original series was all about.

Animation and Art Style – Core character design is very similar to the original series, even many of the settings are. The characters show their age more in body build and the clean animation is a joy to watch and on par with the best animated TV shows coming out of Japan. A bold statement, yes, but watch and you shall see, its one fine looking series. Sadly the awesome intro from the original cannot be matched even today in the quality it provided, one of the best US cartoon intros ever … EVER. The quality of the animation serves the source material well and should be approved by new and old fans alike.

Voice work and Music – The age appropriate card comes into play again with a cast that delivers solid lines and emotion while mixing in a nice sense of humor. Sounds sharp, sounds good and this extends to the effects and surprising for a TV series, the score. There are some fairly epic and emotional tunes in this first episode (and subsequent).

Miscellaneous – Nods to the original are scattered about from a mechanical arm to a blind watch tower guard … yeah, nods to the original rock.

Overall this new Thundercats is quite good, better than the recent revivals of Transformers (all of them as they get really mixed and away from original G1 series), G.I. Joe (on The Hub, check it out) as well as He-Man from a few years back and even Voltron. This is how a revival should go, rock solid.

Ready Player One Novel Impression

2011-08-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

In a bleak future where the masses struggle, a simple game, a grand hunt, holds the key to riches, fame and a better life. Are you Ready Player One?

Ernest Cline has crafted and epic adventure with Ready Player One that is part game, part fantasy, part sci-fi and wholly awesome. In a fairly believable future a grand game left by a deceased genius holds the key to vast riches and control of the one system, Oasis, which governs just about everything. This online utopia is an escape for all of civilization and when its ownership is put up for grabs with just a few puzzles to solve, well then who’s going to win? Mr. Cline, you have created a grand adventure that was a true joy to read and brought back many fond memories from the 80’s and 90’s but what is it about Ready Player One that was so enjoyable? Let’s take a gander shall we …

The Story of Wade Watts – Just another high school student living his life in the stacks (stacked up mobile homes, trailers, etc), a life of poverty that leaves little hope for much more than indentured servitude once graduation approaches. Wade attends a virtual high school, one located in Oasis, an online world, a universe of worlds, created and owned by the genius James Halliday. Everything is done in Oasis, which began its life as a game but grew to more than anything every anticipated outside of Halliday’s head. Upon his death the mysterious Halliday left a video, a message to society, a message of hope that begins a grand game … which stalls for five years. Halliday has created a game that lives in Oasis and is based on his love for 80’s pop culture. A new culture, gunters, springs to life and these hunters are obsessed with Halliday’s riddle, his easter egg, but in five years since it’s announced nobody can make sense of the first clue, nobody can find the first of three gates needed to receive the ultimate prize and for five years the hunt begins to simmer … until Mr. Watts becomes very, very famous. Wade deciphers and solves the first riddle, his name appears on the online leader board and its go time all over again and with every avatar in the world and a massive, dirty, corporation on his heels will Wade win the prize or die, literally, trying? The prize is grand, his friends are few and Wade must stay one step ahead of an entire world to win this game. Only one thing to ask, are you ready player one?

So main plot line is the solving of Halliday’s puzzle and core character is the fairly normal Wade Watts. There are plenty of supporting characters, four other really main gunters as well as an evil corporation and some other cool folks who join the fray. The evolution of Wade is fun to follow and the pacing is well done setting the stage, stepping up the action and slowing it down when needed for explanation. There are points where the reader will think they know what’s coming next, but boom, Cline blows it up but good and it’s this change of pace that keeps the pages turning. Wade is also a character with flaws which makes him strong and relatable while the overall world of 2044 is pretty freaking depressive so this ultimate lottery anyone can win is very intriguing. The most impressive and enjoyable aspect of Ready Player One is all the references to the past, the little history nuggets. There are sights and sounds, smells even the reader who grew in the 80’s and 90’s will recognize. Pizza parlors, games on coin-op machines, movies and music, oh yeah, this is the true joy of Clines creation and that icing that makes this cake a delicious consumption.

Why Should Gamers Care? – The journey, it’s as great as any RPG tale out there and it’s just great storytelling which is now at the core of what makes a great game. The references to old games, Pac-Man, Adventure, etc is fun and refreshing and readers will find themselves wanting to take part in this epic quest. Like any great MMO, RPG, adventure game or movie Ready Player One manages to hook the reader and bring them into a grand world just as any great game does. There are so many references to games of days gone by that I’ve no doubt readers will find themselves revisiting some on their free time, just a great ready for gamers and adventure novel fans alike.

Why Should Otaku Care? – While the amount of anime references are not as large the sheer pop culture volume and gaming hook will makes fans of otaku also as it’s all about great story and in this aspect Cline delivers. Imagine this tale as an animated features, say about 12 episodes with all the cultural references and music in place, it would ROCK! My heart fluttered at the mention of 2-3 specific giant robots and the MMO angle bridges gaps in Eastern and Western game making. It’s a great read folks (I said this a few times already right).

Overall, Ready Player One is one hell of an enjoyable read, so props to Ernest Cline. I mention I numerous times above as I’m first a fan of games and anime and as such I loved this novel. Few books work their ways into my heart, make me want to continue to adventure with the protagonist and this is one of them. We could all be Wade Watts from his depths of despair to his peaks of triumph and the memories his adventure stirs are worth the price of admission. Now, when do we get that mentioned anime series???

Blue Exorcist manga vol. 2 Impression

2011-08-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

Rin gets into the swing of things at True Cross Academy

Many manga, most actually, can be grouped based on their core story, art, character types and action to name a few items. It’s rare when a manga feels new and original so it’s with great pleasure to talk about Kazue Kato’s creation, Blue Exorcist. While it does share the spiritual and school angle of other manga, Blue Exorcist feels fresh and original with an art style, story, pacing and characters that are fun and engaging. In a manga landscape full of copies and imitations, Blue Exorcist has managed to separate itself while touting some very strong, established, story elements. How is this possible, let’s take a look at volume 2 of Blue Exorcist and see how the son of Satan is fairing.

As Rin continues class, taught by his twin brother Yukio, and joined by Shiemi Moriyama, a new challenge presents itself in the smart and rough looking Ryuji Suguro. Another exorcist in training, Suguro is dealing with a heavy past that makes him loathe the apparent slacker Rin. The two hard heads clash but in a sideways manner end up helping each other, and this assistance will be needed when an offsite study session turns deadly and the young class of exorcist are attached on school grounds by deadly, high level demons. As Rin adapts another hurdle, the blue night, is put in his path. 16 years ago many holy men and women were consumed by a mysterious demonic blue flame. Suguro’s family, his shine was a victim as were many others. Now it’s even more imperative that Rin hid his secret as being the son of Satan just got a whole heck of a lot worse.

Volume 2’s in manga are a beautiful thing. The impact and revelations of volume 1 have passed and the core characters end up settling into a more normal routine that will last a few volumes (in longer series) as well as set the stage for future events and introduce more key characters. Blue Exorcist volume 2 does just this by bringing Shiemi into the fold, introducing Suguro and providing more back-story with the events of the blue night. This is the story provided in volume two as the introduction of Suguro also serves as the telling of an event 16 years prior that made many angry, was the loss of many lives and just so happens to tie into the birth of Rin and his brother, it must right? Story points accomplished in volume 2 folks. More characters, back-story and main character development and it flows very well, works very, very well.

The art is excellent as seen in volume 1 with great design and some reasoning behind the design (as seen with Suguro). The world of True Cross Academy is very detailed and serves as its own character and the way in which demons and spiritual entities are drawn is a nice, if not familiar, fresh take on the supernatural. As readers may be able to tell this manga fan is a big fan of Blue Exorcist and why not, it’s got everything from action, great characters, compelling story and oozes of sleek design. Love it!

Network Awesome Streaming Early Anime

2011-08-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

Curious about the early roots of anime? Check in with Network Awesome NOW to view some of these early works

Every watch Steamboat Willy or any other early cartoons here in the States? It’s fun to see how characters and concepts grew and evolved from their earliest roots and so it is with Japan also. Network Awesome is showing, right now, some of the earliest works of anime and they are free to view and enjoy. The shows range from pre to post-war content (propaganda?) to the more familiar Astro Boy so tune in and enjoy.

Overall impression of these works is the same as when viewing earlier English works. They are so similar in their origins, animation style that it’s amazing how divergent they became. The use of animation for propaganda in wartime is not new and it’s quite interesting. Along the lines of how early baseball cards were packaged with tobacco. Things that are largely viewed for kids, cartoons, started as content for adults. Somehow being animated makes it less violent? Tune in and enjoy a piece of history that really needs to be enjoyed, observed and consumed. Know your roots and the roots of that content you love.

From Network Awesome; “Network Awesome is proud to present a unique exploration of the roots of Japanese animation! This series runs this week from Aug 8-12 and then forever after on our archives. The series begins today with our earliest film, "Our Baseball Match" directed by Chuzo Aoji in 1931, then highlights the work of Kenzo Masaoka, features the first full-length color film from the era, the rare "Panda and the Magic Serpent" from 1959, and ends with Osamu Tezuka's brilliant Astro Boy series from 1963.”

Thursday - After the War: Koneko no Rakugaki – 1957, Panda and the Magic Serpent / The Tale of the White Serpent - 1958

Friday - Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy: Astro Boy: The Birth of Astro Boy (Episode 1) – 1963, Astro Boy: Colosso (Episode 1) - 196

Rurouni Kenshin OVA: Trust & Betrayal Live Streaming, August 20th

2011-08-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

Nico Nico Douga presents a live stream simultaneously in Japan, Canada and the United States

Free streaming anime is a thing of joy and one to be shared. Checkout the excellent Rurouni Kenshin OVA: Trust and Betrayal thanks to Nico Nico Live. From the press release here are some details which I’m also working through;

“This once in a lifetime streaming event will go LIVE on August 20th (Sat) 14:00~16:05 in Japan and on August 19th (Fri) 22:00~24:05 US pacific standard time in North America. This special event is part of the celebration for Rurouni Kenshin's 15 year anniversary since its original TV airing in Japan. This is also a launch event for the August 24th Blu-Ray Release of Rurouni Kenshin OVA: Trust & Betrayal (Tsuioku-hen) simultaneously in both Japan and North America. Audiences in Japan, U.S.A and Canada can enjoy this LIVE STREAM event together with Japanese Audio and English Subtitles.”

So yeah, it’s that simple. Check out Animplex Rurouni Kenshin page for details of this and future releases (OVA Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection (Seiso-hen) anyone :) and be sure to Watch It Here.

Futurama volume 5 Blu-ray Impression

2011-08-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

Wanna go on an updated Bender?

So Family Guy goes off the air, is gone for years but gets amazing backing online and soon sees a revival to the franchise thanks, in large part, to Adult Swim. Now Family Guy along with American Dad and The Cleveland Show, are mainstays on Fox. Another show began to forge a similar path, first on Adult Swim but now on Comedy Central and that show is Futurama. Now on season 8, the franchise has indeed found new life but being on Comedy Central at a later (10 PM) time slot it’s not quite received the same success as Family Guy but none the less, it should not be ignored by anime and comedy fans. So what’s to love about these past three, new, seasons? Let’s take a look at the revival that was volume 5 (the first collection of Season 6, work with me folks).

The Story – The crew returns and must be re-born via the professors birth machine and some robot adventures wrap in the crew being back and ready to resume the franchise with all new, updated pop cultural references. Leela is trapped with Zapp in a Garden of Eden, the iPhone/App fad is taken on with eyePhone’s and then Bender and Amy do their thing (who has Amy not been with?). Some catching up is also done on the topic of robosexuals, the secret history of Leonardo da Vinci and, who guessed, an alien invasion, cats folks, an invasion of cats. Futurama gets going without missing a beat in all the years of direct to DVD movies.

These are just the first few episodes, 13 total in this volume and while we can talk about each that’s not really the purpose here. Fact is the older Futurama episodes aged better than Family Guy and these new episodes feel natural and flow very well. It’s not as popular as The Simpsons from whose creators brain it sprang, and it’s not approached Family Guy either but it’s still a solid animated show with fun story points, good characters and plenty of cultural references to chuckle at.

The Animation and Voice Work – The animation is sharper, a bit brighter and solid in HD but overall it’s the same. The series looks better but the same and the voice work, excellent as always. There is a strange continuation with Futurama that is refreshing and nice, it’s all so familiar and good … mmmmm, tasty.

The Humor – Robosexuals, eyePhones … yeah, the humor is on target and now that it’s on Comedy Central the vulgarity gets a bit of a ramp up which a series such as Futurama needs. If viewers were a fan of the original seasons there is nothing new that will turn them off but on the flip side there is nothing to attract folks who did not dig the original.

Overall Futurama is and has been back stronger than before. Thanks to a series of direct to DVD movies the gap for the new Futurama was not as large as that faced by Family Guy and there was more story to consider but it works. The only downside is the channel and timing placement but that’s a nitpick for someone who want things nice, easy and early.

Remnant Knights from GameSamba Impression

2011-08-11T16:28:00.000-07:00

Looks like anime. Taste like anime. Is it anime … almost. Say hello to Remnant Knights anime fans, it’s time to play

UPDATE: August 16, 2011- GameSamba announced today that its free-to-play MMORPG, Remnant Knights, is entering open beta. Servers will be made available for play starting at noon PST on Tuesday, August 16th. All players who create accounts at www.remnantknights.com will gain immediate access to the open beta. During this final phase, players will be able to reach level 60. In addition, all zones will be made available for players to enjoy and explore.

GameSamba’s online game Remnant Knights sports a very unique, anime look and feel and follows many of the known story conventions found in RPG’s and fantasy anime in general. They’ve partnered with anime publisher FUNimation to form a strategic alliance that will promote a game with content in line with the anime FUNimation puts out, so totally worth brining up as it’s go time folks. Beside the anime roots found in Remnant Knights why else should anime fans and gamers care? Let’s take a look.

What is Remnant Knights – It’s GameSamba’s flagship title that’s anime inspired in look and feel. It’s an MMORPG (massive multi-player online role-playing game) which just ended its beta but will soon (when?) enter it’s next phase. From GameSamba, “created by Min Communications, the game will feature a story by Eisner Award winning Marvel Comics writer Jim Krueger” so it’s got that going for it, which is nice. It’s also a free game where money is made by micro-transactions (buying equipment, etc). Choose a character class and get to adventuring. Yeah, not much more is known beyond this and what is available on the site but having the cajones to hook up with FUNimation means they are in this for real.

Why Should Anime fans care? – FUNimation is making an effort to bridge gaps in the anime/gaming communities with GameSamba and if they think it’s worth investing time in so should fans of anime. Sounds lemming-ish but this is no walk off a cliff. As otaku we’ve seen successful franchises go bye-bye thanks to the closure of anime/manga companies so any business venture for anime is risky and must be researched. As fans of FUNimation and anime in general and knowing the companies track record, well I’ll be blunt in saying we owe it to ourselves, to the industry to take a look at what looks to be a promising crossover.

Why Should Gamers care? – It’s another online MMO offering that’s ‘free’ yet from the screenshots and video has promise to be solid. Nobody is claiming this is WoW or even WoW lite but if they are partnering with FUNimation (they are) then the content will not be all kiddie either. More to come from why gamers should care as we delve into the game a bit more.

Overall Remnant Knights has promise from a variety of angles. Time will tell how well it does but as gamers and anime fans there is zero reason not to jump on board. The fare is light and you can get off anytime.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 pre-order goodness

2011-08-11T16:24:00.000-07:00

Why pre-order CoD: MW3? Simple, free stuff folks, free stuff!!!

From time-to-time there are games and pre-order bonuses that need to be mentioned and this is one of them. GameStop is hooking up Modern Warfare 3 pre-order peeps with chances to win early pre-order items. Some opportunities have expired, just check out the site but there are still two more chances so GO NOW!!!

Rio DVD and Angry Birds Rio Impression

2011-08-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

Who knew watching a blue macaw could be this much fun and that flinging him (and other birds) could be even better

Rio is the tale of a blue macaw heading back to his homeland where he discovers his roots long since forgotten while Angry Birds Rio takes the same macaw, named Blu, into a world where flinging birds is a joy and necessity to save those he cares for. Sounds odd but don’t think too much about this latest crossover of feature film and mobile game. The film is superbly animated while the game takes the Angry Birds formula and creates a unique take on the films story. Let’s take a closer look at the film then chime in on some Angry Birds.

Story – How does a blue macaw, the last of his kind, end up in Moose Lake, Minnesota? Illegal smugglers is how and this is how the last of his kind blue macaw named Blu ends up with Linda, his owner and friend since the time he was a wee little bird. After fifteen years a Brazilian ornithologist named Tulio visits explaining Blu is the last of his kind and he, along with Linda, are needed in Rio de Janerio to help bring back the species with the last female macaw named Jewel. Before things can ‘happen’ Jewel wraps Blu into her escape plan and a group of smugglers target the duo for their value. Nigel, a psychotic cockatoo helps in the abduction and the hunt is now on. Both Linda and Tulio search the city but the crowds for carnival impede their progress while Blu and Jewel must navigate around without Blu knowing how to fly. Will the two be freed? Will the smugglers win and will Blu ever learn to fly? All answers will take place in Rio.

Kills not being able to tell more of the story but that would be to spoil it. The intro to Rio sets up Blu’s back-story quite well and gets viewers to know his relationship with Linda fairly quickly. This smoothly transitions into the trip to Brazil where the bird napping happens and the story kicks into gear. Relationships are developed and a fun cast of characters makes it all click. Rio is fun and happy mixing comedic bad guys with likeable avian.

Animation and Art Style – Animated films such as Rio have become the norm replacing the days of hand drawn features and the level of detail has skyrocketed. Rio offers a blending of humans and animals that most films avoid as the focus is on one or the other. Rio adds a level of detail that is amazing to see from the detail of Blu’s claws to the individual feathers. The birds sport realism yet have personality as Blu is an awkward bumbling shut-in while Jewel is feisty and independent. The slums of Rio also sport realistic details and the humans living in this world come in all shapes and sizes and remind very much of The Incredibles in design. Besides the characters and slum settings the actual carnival parade is amazing to behold with vivid colors and amazing music that is just so Brazil. The character design style is familiar but the merging of detailed and personality driven humans and animals really makes Rio shine (the flying scene around the Jesus statue, very cool and shows great detail and scale in the city of Rio de Janeiro).

Voice work and Music – Samba never sounded or looked so good. The sounds of carnival, the music of the land, samba, is alive and well and hooks in the viewer which is a good thing. Why? Because the character driven songs are forgettable. There are some interesting fusions of hip-hop and South American sounds but overall the music is so-so. The voice acting is quite solid with famous names such as Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway and George Lopez. Nobody really stands out but it’s an overall group that knows and performs their roles quite well. Jamie Foxx and Will i Am are good together but just not on screen enough.

Angry Birds – Angry Birds Rio takes the bird flinging action and replaces pigs with monkeys and birds in cages waiting to be freed. There are six levels composed of 90 stars each with hidden awards and trophies. To date there is Smugglers’ Den, Jungle Escape, Beach Volley and Carnival Upheaval. Each brings in the look and feel of the film with both Blu and Jewel helping out with unique dynamics to themselves. The signature Angry Birds look meshes with that of Rio for a unique Angry Birds experience. Great sound also accompanies this package which could have cashed in with a clone of the movie but instead went that extra few miles to create a solid gaming experience that is on par if not surpassing both the original Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons.

Overall, Rio delivers the goods. It’s a great family film that mixes incredible animation, a great story and characters with solid music and a game tie-in that expands the experience. Rio and Angry Birds work well together, or separate, it’s a can’t miss.

Q1 2011 gaming report – Nintendo DS, 3DS and PSP

2011-07-28T16:08:00.000-07:00

A look back at DS, 3DS and PSP for the months of April, May and June 2011

A true crossroads in the handheld space; Q2 2011 is seeing a big shift as the usually solid lineup presented on DS shifts to 3DS while the PSP is rocked by one sweet E3 announcement leading to even slower (?) game development on the platform. Yes, handheld gaming is in flux as two systems begin their swan song and the third is just getting ramped up. How did handheld gamers fare in these three months, let’s take a look.

Nintendo DS – Sound the death bell, the DS will fade folks as developers look to take advantage of the 3DS. The death will be seen in quality titles, not volume, but this has been the case for a long time on the DS as the great entries are few and far between.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's World Championship 2011: Over the Nexus – The formula remains the same and having an annual tournament dependant on this title helps. Yu-Gi-Oh! may not get the fanfare of Pokémon but dang it’s fun and addictive and not going anywhere.
Emily The Strange – Comic fans will know this strange broad and her puzzle adventure looks and plays great, very true to the source material. Under the radar, no doubt, but original and fun.

Nintendo 3DS – First quarter just saw the release of the 3DS so this is the first round of true launch titles and it’s really not a bad offering as many show off what the system can do while offering good if not great gameplay experiences. Price of the system is still an issue but finally getting the store and browser up and running help.

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D – An expansion of a mini-game experience that fans will love but casual gamers, not so much. For true RE fans.
Dead or Alive: Dimensions – As Street Fighter delivered the goods so does Dead or Alive with an excellent fighting game entry on the 3DS.
Dual Pen Sports – Not every game works great but ones, like archery, are addictive experiences that will bring gamers back to the simplicity games on Wii created. It’s a great use of both screens, 3D features and multiple stylus.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – A remake that warrants buying the 3DS all by itself. Don’t know about Ocarina of Time? Shame, shame on you!

PlayStation Portable (PSP) – New system on the way but same lack of support. Love the PSP but it just never gets the love this little powerhouse should have. Graphically updated ports of PS and PS2 titles would have been a great gameplay .. oh well.

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II – Awesome fighting game with tons of unique, perfect-for-anime characters. Portable gaming is all about fighting games folks (and RPG’s).
Patapon 3 – Best franchise on PSP continues to beat to its own drum
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection – Another re-release, remake, but one that works yet again and brings together all the various IV pieces, good times.

Overall, 3DS gets an A thanks to Zelda moving up the grading curve while PSP and DS get C and D respectively. Just not enough on the DS to warrant a passing grade while PSP just does what it does with remakes and sequels. Second quarter of 2011 was a difficult one for handhelds but with 3DS on board and new PSP on the way things will get better … right?

Q1 2011 gaming report – PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii

2011-07-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

A look back at PS3, Wii and 360 for the months of April, May and June 2011

As E3 floats by and events such as Comic-Con are upon gamers it’s time to take another look back at what was the second quarter of 2011 for the PS3, Wii and 360. Each system is fighting for gamer’s dollars and with no major holiday in sight, the months of April, May and June are truly the beginning of the dogs days of summer … or are they? It’s been said many times over the past few years that the trend of no top notch titles in summer is gone, headed the way of the dodo. Good games do indeed come out in spring and summer and this year is no exception. Now the realm of exclusives has shrunk but overall gamers must be pleased with the offerings below as well as solid downloadable titles such as Beyond Good & Evil HD, Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls and Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury. So let’s take a look at those sweet games that hit in Q2 of 2011.

Multi-platform – Another solid quarter for those cross-platform games and the differences are really minimal with download content being the exclusive flavor-of-the-month. A truly nice mixture of new titles and return appearances.

Dungeon Siege III – A very classic feel to the DS franchise where gamers pick a class and get unique adventures to share with buddies or solo. There are times this feels like the great grandchild of Gauntlet. Overall fun and solid, not a game of the year title, but a solid rental and/or purchase.
Red Faction: Armageddon – The first-person struggle continues on Mars but this time the big bad aliens make an appearance. Solid entry, again not spectacular but does most everything right.
Alice: Madness Returns – Alice is the star in a twisted tale of Alice in Wonderland. She’s older and still not all there but with as great as Alice is, in looks and controls, her overall setting could have used a bit more work.
Shadows of the Damned – A mature game for the gamer looking for an immature experience that’s fun, funny and just plain out there. Junk references are everywhere and it’s hard to surprise with demon and underworld settings given recent games in this broad genre but Shadows still pulls out a few ‘did they just say/do that’ moments.
F.E.A.R. 3 – Alma is one creepy little girl who worked her way into gamers dreams with the first F.E.A.R. and by part 3 she will be haunting their waking moments. Twisted and sporting a true story, no some contrived fluff, part 3 is a rock solid horror, psychological first-person romp in a time of somewhat stale military only FPS’s.
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 – Another one? Yup and it plays like those before and like all the Dynasty Warriors before and … well it’s just a guilty pleasure at this point. A good game; read my lips, guilty pleasure here!
L.A. Noire – It’s not a GTA clone or a CSI wanna-be but rather a truly unique crime thriller that works and works well. Not many games, if any, out there that doe what L.A. Noire does and its mixture of action and puzzle solving is awesome. A different gaming experience.
DiRT 3 – Off-road racing in HD that rocks online.
Portal 2 – First Portal surprised and set very high standards to which part 2 delivers. A game where brain power really counts, awesome!
Mortal Kombat – Another re-boot for the franchise that rocks and hell, it has Freddy in it … Freddy!
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition – Oh my goodness gamers, it’s the arcade edition of an awesome game, I mean what’s not to love, like, want?
Duke Nukem Forever – Kidding, this game is poo.

PlayStation 3 – Most third-party titles are multi-platform now so it’s up to first part and first party owned companies to deliver the console exclusives and this quarter Sony kicked out three gems of different genre.

inFamous 2 – Assume the role of jacked-up Cole yet again in an adventure that builds on all that was awesome from the first inFamous.
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs – A move towards a more fictional setting does not detract from a solid third-person shooter. It’s a very accessible game for those new to the franchise and really pulls off some solid displays of graphical beauty.
MotorStorm: Apocalypse – Right up there with DiRT 3, Apocalypse is an amazing racer with wide variety of vehicles to control. Throw in some weapons and the feeling of Twisted Metal comes to mind.

Xbox 360 – Man it seems if there’s no new Halo or Fable that the exclusive stable is try for 360 but thanks to the Kinect gamers get one awesome if not short gaming experience and, well that’s really it.

Child of Eden – The movements, music and gameplay all collide for an engaging experience that engages almost every sense (sorry, no smell-o- vision). A game that must be experience by Kinect owners.

Nintendo Wii – Same as with 360, if there ain’t no Mario, Zelda or Samus, first party games, then the Wii struggles. Sega works hard for Wii and it shows with their one noteworthy mention.

Conduit 2 – A true Wii developed first-person shooter that feels similar to the first but makes enough updates and upgrades to warrant another purchase.

Overall, a trend becomes the norm when it just won’t’ go away, keeps happening and gamers are seeing this with fewer exclusive titles and great multi-platform releases. The PS3 clocks in with a solid B by offering up three good tiles while both Wii and 360 go the C+ route for lack of exclusive. All three systems can be bumped up by ½ a grade to B+ and B’s thanks to the solid multiple offerings so a good quarter overall on the console front with a few game of the year candidates emerging (Portal 2 and L.A. Noire).

Blue Exorcist Episodes 2-4 Impression

2011-07-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

Viz Anime is serving up some devilishly tasty anime with Blue Exorcist

We took a look at the premier’s episode of Blue Exorcist on Viz Anime a few weeks back and since there are now well over 10 episodes to watch. So how is the series stacking up to the lofty sights set in episode 1? Quite well as we see in episodes 2-4. These three episodes, when combined with episode 1, would make up the average DVD 1 release for an anime so let’s take a look at the three as a whole.

Story – As Rin and Father Fujimoto flee pursuing demons the truth about Rin’s lineage is revealed. He is the son of Satan and as such, and coming into his power, is sought to return to his father’s side, something he has no desire to do. As choices come to a head Rin makes a choice that leads to a tragic loss and enrollment at a very unusual school. Sent to originally assassinate Rin, Mephisto Pheles ends up agreeing to let Rin train as an exorcist so that he may seek is revenge. Rin enters the exclusive True Cross Academy with the Koma Sword and heavy heart in tow. As he settles in, the transformed Mephisto teaches Rin about his cram school and his first teacher is a bit of a surprise. An encounter with some low level demons while arguing with his twin brother Yukio reveals even more about Rin’s past while the duo must work as a team to help free Shiemi from her cursed garden. The daughter of the schools supply shot carrier her own burden and soon finds herself next to Rin in class, learning to be stronger.

The action seen in episode 1 rolls along in episode 2 with everything coming to a head. The actions of these episodes lead to enrollment and introduction to True Cross Academy while episode 4 starts to extend the core character set with a new introduction and evolving of Rin’s powers. The story is unfolding nicely revealing more about key characters, introducing new ones and exploring the overall world that both Rin and Yukio inhabit. The past and present are front and center and even being four episodes in feels like nothing as there is so much more to be seen. Nice progression to what looks to be a hell of an anime ride.

Animation and Art Style – Awesome; yes the characters are unique and bring style that fits the topic and just rocks. The action unfolds incredibly and the entire battle between demons and Father Fujimoto’s exorcist shows a glimmer of what is to come. The inner power of Rin is not even touched on all that much yet it’s hinted at with excellent animation and style. True Cross Academy itself is a living, breathing character that has so much personality and depth to be explored. Yes folks the art style and animation in Blue Exorcist marries modern day Japan and society into supernatural in a manner that reeks of awesomeness.

Voice work and Music – Online, nobody can hear you scream … in English that is. The sub-titles are ok but it’s a shame if viewers don’t fully understand Japanese as the voice talent is rock solid showing off anger, sadness and emotion that brings the characters to life. Opening and closing themes rock but the background music, while decent, is not super memorable.

Miscellaneous – Can’t say it enough, getting anime of this quality for free online is just plain sweet!

Overall, with the shock of whom and what he is behind him, Rin can now focus in with viewers on his life at True Cross Academy. The strange world he is now part of, it’s mysteries and intrigue are the path that lies ahead and for an anime only four episodes in there is much promise here. Mix this story with solid animation, great action and some outstanding music and this is indeed an anime to sell your soul for … ok, lend the soul but keep it long term.

Child of Eden with Kinect Impression

2011-07-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

Your body is the weapon in Child of Eden

Ignore its lack of length; the time Child of Eden gives gamers is pure visual bliss that shows why Kinect is needed by gamers looking for something new. In much the manner that Wii Sports (cough, bowling) made the odd named system a must have for casual and non-gamers, so too will Eden hook many a hardcore gamers with its mixture of solid gameplay and visual/audio fusion.

Gameplay – Familiar with Rez, a cult classic from creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi? Don’t worry if not because even as Child of Eden is the spiritual successor, Rez is not a needed prerequisite to truly enjoy Eden. It’s a shooter that utilizes Kinect in beautiful manners where gamer’s arms control weapons which in turn set the tone, beat and pace of the music. Yes it can be played with a normal controller but this is why Kinect is needed gamers, Child of Eden delivers gameplay that takes getting used to but flows once played for a few hours. Gamers move their body creating the beats while flailing about and destroying the baddies.

Graphics – Trippy and amazing in HD, the graphics match the music which matches the gamer’s progress and makes Eden a truly visual immersive experience. Some of the settings, backgrounds and ‘characters’ are plain entrancing and gorgeous. Showing off the power of both Kinect, 360 and what an HDTV can do, rock solid.

Sound – Get ready to play for the music as the beats rock and are truly worthy of a CD purchase. The music is hands down the main reason to play Child of Eden but only by a bit over the visuals and overall gameplay, it’s just a rock solid package.

Design – The use of Kinect is perfect and the manner and levels in which the story of Eden unfolds is enjoyable and well done. The overall game length is frankly too short so hopefully download content is on the way. A game that truly shows off what Kinect can do and how free gamers can be in a gamers game, not some casual offering. Yes the learning curve is a bit steep but when taking on a game where gamer’s body is the sole controller with various firing options, well it’s like stepping into that first game of Mario Bros. all over again, simple yet difficult.

Miscellaneous – The music is awesome and the use of Kinect is rock solid. What a great way to use a newer controller and have one hell of a fun time doing it.

Overall, owners of Kinect owe it to themselves to own Child of Eden. It’s a visual and auditory feast that, while short, will make gamers love their gaming choice and learn to move their body in new ways while saving Eden.

Neko Ramen manga Impression

2011-07-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Tokyopop may be no more but the fun of a ramen making cat can still be enjoyed

Gone bye-bye is Tokyopop but picking up a volume of their manga can still bring joy to the manga fan looking for something new, something a bit more stand alone not needing 5, 10 or 30+ volumes to complete. One such manga is from the creative mind of Kenji Sonishi and it reads more like traditional newspaper comic strips here in the states. Neko Ramen: Hey! Order up! and Neko Ramen: Curry is also delicious! are just the first two volumes of this funny manga and they work great by themselves. So what’s so tasty about this ramen infused treat? Let’s take a gander.

A cat that runs a ramen stand. Yes, Taisho is a cat that makes ramen in his own ramen stand. Repeat customers Tanaka is witness to Taisho’s search for the perfect ramen menu that leads to awkward moments expected when a cat tackles human tasks. Is he a cat? Yes, but he talks and cooks ramen. Is he odd? Yes, he a cat that cooks ramen and dabble sin curry. He has issues with his poster modeling father, dogs, failed business and bad menu choices as well as what to do with his rental space in-store. It’s odd, it’s downright silly, heck it’s a cat that makes ramen.

Not much of a story summary but the reason is simple; Neko Ramen is about a cat that makes ramen and the odd situations that occur. The format keeps it simple with a mostly 4 panel top to bottom strips that will feel very familiar to American newspaper comic reading. Taisho is simple a cat making some ramen and trying to be a success and it’s through Tanaka readers see the funny stuff unfold. Funny stuff is the key here folks as the day-to-day situations he encounters as a ramen making cat are funny. The 2-3 page story segments show a funny history, stuff that just does not make sense. There are cultural story points some readers won’t get due to their basis in and with Japanese food but don’t’ fret, the majority is fun and funny. The art style only adds to the simplicity with a simple style that seems perfect for an Adult Swim run.

Neko Ramen is yet another reason why Tokyopop will be missed. It’s a unique manga that is closer to US comic strips than much of the mainstream manga still being published. Oh well on this front but these books are worth the read if you can find them.

VIZManga.com Announced

2011-07-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

VIZAnime.com rocks, so why not rollout with the manga version … as long as it’s not only in Japanese

Love me some free anime so VizAnime.com rocks and now it’s time for VizManga.com with a little twist. Where VizAnime hooks up free, non-dubbed content (some English), VizManga is an extension of the app of the same name which has been out for a while. The prices of each manga are less than the hard copies and of course there is no worries about storage but the free content is limited … oh well. It’s still as solid addition to what Viz has been doing and here is their official press release from last Friday …

“VIZ MEDIA LAUNCHES VIZMANGA.COM – Extension of VIZ Media’s Digital Platform Expands Manga Audience to All Web Users in U.S. and Canada San Francisco and San Diego, CA, July 22, 2011 – VIZ Media, the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in the North America, announced the launch of VIZManga.com at their 25th Anniversary Party last night in San Diego during the annual Comic-Con International convention. The website joins VIZ Media’s existing digital manga platform and launched with 40 series currently available on the VIZ MANGA App for iOS devices, including the wildly popular titles NARUTO, BLEACH, BLUE EXORCIST, OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB and VAMPIRE KNIGHT. With this expansion of the platform, fans can browse and access their digital manga from VIZManga.com and through the VIZ Manga Apps for the iPad™ and iPhone™/iPod™ touch. With one account, registered users will be able to view their purchases across even more devices than ever.

“Our digital publishing team wants manga to be available to as many fans as possible, no matter what device or digital experience people prefer,” said Brian Piech, Vice President, Digital Publishing. “Making our extensive library of the best titles direct from Japan available on VIZManga.com is a natural extension of our current VIZ MANGA apps available on all iOS devices. One purchase can now be read across multiple devices.”

VIZ Media’s digital manga platform allows for universal access for fans from their iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or now, VIZManga.com. Pricing for manga titles on the web will be identical to the VIZ MANGA app. The first chapter of all manga titles will be available as a free preview. Through July 31st, all Volume 1 manga titles will be 40% off.

The VIZ Media digital platform now has an online destination for reading manga on desktop/laptop computers and on Android-powered devices with built-in web browsers. The VIZ Manga App continues to be the top app for reading manga on iOS devices and features a rapidly growing library of the most popular manga series in the world, currently offering 40 series and over 300 volumes, with new additions and free Chapter 1 previews added weekly.”

So bottom line … owners of the App will love the site, same content they’ve already purchased in yet another format (buy once, read anywhere indeed) and there are 16 Shojo, 12 Shonen, 2 Shonen Jump Advanced, 5 Shonen Sunday and 5 Viz Signature series to be had with more on the way so plenty of manga goodness (I’d start with Blue Exorcist). It’s an excellent way to sample a full manga at a low price without the full paperback commitment (every dollar counts). Check it out and chime in.

Pokemon Rumble Blast on Nintendo 3DS October 24th

2011-07-25T18:09:00.000-07:00

Catching them all, all them toys, on the Nintendo 3DS this October 24th

A new Pokémon game is always a major event and while Pokémon Rumble Blast is not a traditional Poke-RPG the fact it’s on the Nintendo 3DS is cause for notice and potentially celebration for Poke-fans. Besides the 3D aspects gamers can look forward to a number of social play features and of course over 600 Pokémon to game with. From Nintendo, here is more on Rumble Blast …

“An action-packed Pokémon adventure in 3D without the need for special glasses, the game lets players battle against waves of opposing wind-up Toy Pokémon, connect and play with friends, and collect more than 600 Toy Pokémon. As players advance through each stage in Pokémon Rumble Blast, their Toy Pokémon will face dozens of Toy Pokémon at once, creating fast and furious real-time battles. Players must also face off against giant Boss Pokémon, whose massive size and strength offer special challenges. Certain defeated Toy Pokémon can be added to the player’s team, and players may also collect special Toy Pokémon, each with its own unique stats and abilities. Players can collect more than 600 Toy Pokémon in all, including those from the recently released Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version games. Players can quickly and easily switch between the various Toy Pokémon they collect throughout the game.

Pokémon Rumble Blast offers two ways for players to wirelessly connect with each other. Using a local wireless connection, they can enjoy a cooperative play mode that allows them to battle through levels together and more easily befriend defeated Toy Pokémon. Using the Nintendo 3DS StreetPass feature, they can challenge the Toy Pokémon of players they pass in their daily travels and view other players’ Mii characters in the game.”

So it’s an action based adventure with a world and franchise that’s rock solid and the formula sounds great. Unlike Ranger and Mystery Dungeon / Rescue Team, Rumble Blast looks to create a fast-paced experience that is not an expansion on the RPG formula but an entry into a newer genre for the franchise. Risky yes, but high reward also. There is much to be gained and little to be lost in this venture so check back for more news and chime in on initial thoughts.

Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition

2011-07-25T17:19:00.000-07:00

Loving some Dark Knight pre-order, special edition goodness

What’s not to love gamers? Joker, Riddler, Catwoman, (a cool) Robin, Two-Face and of course Batman are all making it into Batman: Arkham City which will hit stores this fall and in addition to a prequel comic from DC Comics gamers now get to see the sweetness that is the special edition. Let’s take a look at what true bat-maniacs can look forward to direct from the source …

The package will be available in limited quantities for $99 beginning Oct. 18, 2011 in North America for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows PC. The Batman: Arkham City Collector’s Edition will include the following extensive bonus content:

Custom Batman statue produced by Kotobukiya
Collectible art book
Early access to the Iceberg Lounge Challenge Map and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns skin
Batman: Arkham City album from Water Tower Music including original songs by hit artists, available via digital redemption
Bonus DC Universe animated original movie, Batman: Gotham Knight
Four collectible cards

Batman: Arkham City builds upon the intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, sending players soaring into Arkham City – five times larger than the game world in Batman: Arkham Asylum – and the new maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds. Set inside the heavily fortified walls of a sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City, this highly anticipated sequel introduces a brand-new story that draws together a new, all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay features to deliver the ultimate experience as the Dark Knight.

The Hub at Comic-Con

2011-07-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

Beginning today at Comic-Con, checkout what The Hub has going on

Comic-Con is as nuts as any public event full of fans, costumes, panels and oh so much more but one station making some noise, the newer kid on the block, is The Hub who’s bringing a whole new generation of animation fans the joy of Transformers, G.I. Joe, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony and more (Jem anyone?). Nobody can doubt Transformers is hot and Transformers Prime is the latest animated iteration that mergers the movie with G1 characters and even the recent animated shows and now fans can find out how it’s made. Also up is the 45th Anniversary of the Original Batman Series starring Adam West. While not animated this show is as campy and fun as in decades past so it fun to see this brought to light. Here is the official info, check it out if in San Diego and if not, well tune in folks.

Thursday, July 21

“The Making of ‘Transformers Prime’” (3:30 p.m., Room 24ABC) – Executive Producer Roberto Orci, whose credits include the films Cowboys & Aliens, Star Trek, and the TV series “Fringe,” and “Hawaii Five-O,” will join Executive Producer Jeff Kline and the show’s Dave Hartman, Duane Capizzi, Jose Lopez, Therese Trujillo, Vinton Heuck and Mike Vogel (Hasbro Studios) to discuss the creative process behind the show nominated for six Daytime Emmy Awards (including two Emmy Award wins). Featuring a first-season highlights clip and a sneak peek at exciting footage from an upcoming episode, the panel will discuss all aspects of the show, including character and set development, design, and the Emmy-nominated writing of this epic series that have made this show a fan-favorite. Following the discussion, fans will engage in a Q&A with the panelists.Produced by Hasbro Studios, “Transformers Prime” (Saturdays at 7 p.m. ET on The Hub) continues the legendary battle between arch rivals Optimus Prime and Megatron who once again face-off in their epic rivalry for control of the Earth. The half-hour animated series features iconic characters of the franchise as well as introduces new human characters to the action series that has helped to redefine Transformers for a whole new generation of fans.

Friday, July 22

“45th Anniversary of the Original Batman Series” (6:00 p.m., Room 23ABC) – Holy Comic-Con panel, Batman! The three stars of the iconic 1960s TV series “Batman” are coming to the San Diego Comic-Con for the very first time. Adam West (Batman), Burt Ward (Robin) and Julie Newmar (Catwoman) reunite to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the landmark television series presented on The Hub TV network Mondays-Thursdays at 11:30 p.m. ET. The cast will share memories from the show that made camp cool, as well as introduce and discuss their favorite scenes followed by an audience Q & A. When it premiered on ABC television in January 1966, Batman became something of a phenomenon. Rarely had a television series vaulted to the top of the ratings as quickly, or established an audience so broadly based and intensely loyal. Today the adventures of the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder are more popular than ever allowing new generations to discover the classic series.

“The Aquabats Super Show!” (8:30 p.m., Room 5AB) – The Aquabats continue their never-ending quest to right wrongs, destroy boredom and seek justice for all as they invade their first-ever Comic-Con panel! The greatest crime-fighting force ever assembled -- MC Bat Commander, Crash McLarson, Jimmy the Robot, Ricky Fitness and Eagle Bones Falconhawk -- will share with their legions of fans information about their long awaited new series from the creator of “Yo Gabba Gabba” coming this fall to The Hub TV network. Following a Q&A with the audience, panel attendees will have a chance to win tickets to the special Aquabats concert at the House of Blues on Saturday night. Produced by FremantleMedia Enterprises and The Magic Store, “The Aquabats Super Show!” will feature a hybrid of concert footage, live-action skits and animation, as The Aquabats battle evil with music and superhero powers unlike any seen before.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader Blu-ray Impression

2011-07-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

Third time’s the charm, or we should say it’s a charm to go back for a third time to Narnia

The land of Narnia is magical and amazing to behold in HD and the latest film, The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader on Blu-ray combo pack, is a film families and fans should embrace. The world is grand and it’s one both gamers and anime fans will also enjoy for the ties it has to both genre. What’s to love about this seafaring voyage? Let’s take a look …

The Story – It’s once again a normal life for the Pevensie siblings as they leave Narnia in the hands of Prince Caspian. As Edmund and Lucy remain with relatives, notably cousin Eustace, it’s Peter and Susan who have moved on to greener pastures that school and America permit. As another encounter with the annoying and push Eustace escalates a unique painting of a ship begins to move and soon the trio of Edmund, Lucy and Eustace are swept back into the world of Narnia. Soon floating in water the group is rescued by Caspian and find themselves on the deck of the Dawn Treader, that’s on a mission to continue the rebuild Caspian began. Eustace finds himself in the world he’s mocked his cousins for ‘creating’ while Edmund and Lucy return to the world they love. Their new calling is to assist Caspian in the search for the seven lords of Telmar, those men loyal to his father who went into exile. The journey is not easy as each adventurer must take on their own internal demons all the while trying to solve a mysterious green mist that consumes Narnian’s. As with all trips to Narnia the going will be difficult and no one adventurer will come out unscathed on this, the voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Of the three Narnia films this has to be the second best after the original (Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe) but viewers can’t jump right in without feeling a bit lost, if, they have not viewed the other films. The emotional conflict faced by Edmund is not as deep as that faced by Lucy. Edmund has dealt with many of his issues in the past but not Lucy and it’s fun to see this play out but it’s Eustace who steals the show. He is very annoying, like a little pig that views will detest and his transformation and relationship with the mouse Reepicheep, will change that view. Caspian continues his journey also and getting the (needed?) help of the king and queen of Narnia helps. A grand tale that sees the end of one journey and a brief appearance by old foes and friends shows a turning of the page in the tale of Narnia. As the kids grow older the fantasy of Narnia fades into reality. A grand journey that’s fun and very enjoyable and full of additional content if viewers want to pick up the book.

The Acting and Effects – Edmund has grown and his acting really shines while Lucy does a solid job fighting her inner demons. Eustace does an excellent job of going from brat to sympathetic character while Caspian portrays himself with a royal, humble air that’s refreshing and comes off very well. The voice work, notably Reepicheep, is spot on great while secondary characters all sound, well they can be heard which is all that’s really needed. The animated characters and settings are creative and leave little to the imagination coming out great in HD. Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a visual feast that puts viewers into grand settings, a world that feels real yet so alien and this combined with solid acting make for a great family experience.

Why Gamers Should Care – The world of Narnia is just ripe for an epic RPG that spans multiple movies/books but sadly that has not happened. The reason for it however is why gamers should care as there are amazing settings, story and engaging characters that move these movies along and engage the viewer. These aspects, the framework for an engaging and emotionally attaching game are hard at work in Narnia. As an alternative to gaming the Blu-ray of Voyage of the Dawn Treader makes a great watch.

Why Anime Fans Should Care – The same rules apply to anime fans as they do for gamers thanks to an epic fantasy world but the animate short ‘The Untold Adventures of The Dawn Treader’ if fun to watch and an offshoot, cousin of what anime fans love.

Miscellaneous – Narnia is a series that seems lost in the shadow of Potter and Transformers but shows high production value and a visual adventure that really rewards fans of the books. The bonus content allows those non-readers to get more into Narnia, explore a world really only touched on in the feature film and it looks outstanding in HD, big nosed, high pitched voiced cousin’s aside.

Overall, Voyage of the Dawn Treader is everything there is to love about fantasy. Dragons, monsters, magic, heroes and villains along with talking animals (awesome). A high production value and a story that’s easy to digest even with all that’s left out from the source material. Great looking in HD with a digital copy and actors who seem to get their characters and how they feel. Fans of the franchise should already own this combo pack but for those on the fence take it for a swim, it’s one heck of a fun few hours.

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New iPhone Apps: Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? and Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree

2011-07-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

Will kids be entertained or turned off by these two new iPhone Apps?

Oceanhouse Media has put out some very enjoyable apps including The Lorax and Dr. Seuss’s ABC and they are at it yet again. Two recent releases bring children’s literary joys to user’s smart phones yet again with more than just reading to be done. These interactive books will engage the young ones in a user’s life and help them learn new words and sounds. What are these apps all about, let’s take a look.

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss – Ah, the wonderful sounds Mr. Brown can do from Moo Moo to Coo Coo. Hear the sounds the Mr. Brown can do, see them leap off the screen and come to audio life. Kids can hear and see how each word is say, how each sound sounds in a very interactive tale. Have the story read to you, read it yourself or put it on auto where the pages are turned as the tale is read. The narration is solid and the overall experience is very straightforward and in line with previous Oceanhouse releases. A solid entry for a well known tale of sounds.

Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree by Eileen Christelow – Most kids have heard the tale of a group of bad little monkeys jumping on a bed but what about those sitting in a tree? In this second tale of monkeys gone bad, mama monkey takes her five little ones out for a picnic by the river only to see her little ones hang from a tree teasing Mr. Crocodile. The ending is not as gruesome as it may sound, it’s actually quite fun and the vivid artwork comes to life in the same manner as Mr. Brown with text read to or by the viewer and solid narration throughout. While not as recognized as Dr. Seuss’s works the series of Five Little Monkeys books are fun and enjoyable for kids.

Overall both of these newer additions by Oceanhouse continue the trend of solid smart phone and tablet offerings that fill a gap needed for kids these days. Interactive media that teaches and entertains without rotting the brain. Rock solid and highly recommended at about ½ the price of the print books.

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Ga-Rei-Zero Blu-ray Complete Series Impression

2011-07-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

The paranormal gets personal with sword wielding friends

Very few anime start and hit as hard as Ga-Rei-Zero from FUNimation. The action ramps up to insane levels and no life is spared and just when things reach a fever pitch with characters viewers just met … it’s time to see where it all started. Not for the young of age, the action and violence gets crazy but there’s also one solid story to follow, let’s take a look.

Story – Teenage exorcists with swords and other extraordinary weapons help protect Japan from things that go bump in the night. Most threats are lower level but these supernatural entities can ramp up pretty fast leading to exorcist such as ‘sisters’ Kagura and Yomi to take-up the fight with their teammates. This government backed counterattack unit takes on these threats but are not always the hunters. Kagura comes from a family with special holy powers and a demon bonded to their spirits used to fight evil. As her mother passes she taken in by the slightly older teen Yomi and her father. Kagura’s father is all about the job so Kagura must learn to be stronger and it’s under Yomi she accomplishes this. Yomi too comes from a family of spiritual users and with her sword and spirit beast she fights these evil spirits until she is one day possessed by one and turns on her former team, fiancé included. As Yomi cuts down those she once loved will Kagura have the heart, the sprit and power to stop here big sister or will Tokyo burn at the hands of one who once protected her?

Fast and furious my friends. The story starts off in the future then backtracks to show you who these characters are and the relationships the form so while starting with a bunch of who’s the viewer is very quickly made to care. The core to the story is both Kagura and Yomi. Both share much in common, truly become family but both end up targeted due to their family background. The tragedies that unfold feel gut wrenching and this is a testament to how well the tale engages the viewer. The action, bloodshed and gore seen in episode 1 are not the norm but it hits home like a punch to the gut with action not fully understandable at first. Crazy battles show many characters falling until a clash of sword wielding girls the … whoosh, back to the past. The growth of Kagura as a fighter and Yomi as a sister makes the ending very cool, very epic. It’s a great story with great pacing, just very well done and full of action (as well as relationship moments to crack up for).

Animation and Art Style – While not as slick Persona Trinity it’s not that far off. The Tokyo setting rocks and is well detailed with awesome creature designs and action that plain rocks. The style is fluid and the emotion of each character can be felt. Designs look great with little signature appearance points to each character that break them out of the usual paranormal anime mold. Yes these are two girls in school uniforms with swords but their personalities shine more than their outstanding looks. The action unfolds in darker environments leaving the character building to mostly daytime settings so very well done on using lights and darks. At times Ga-Rei-Zero feels like two anime, in a good way, very pleasing to watch.

Voice work and Music – The emotional range is quite excellent as the anger, pain and suffering collide with happiness and true joy in Ga-Rei-Zero. Going from such high paced action to the background story really required a lot from these voice actors and they do an admirable job. The music is standard anime opening/closing fare that’s not too memorable but the sound effects are great and with the proper sound system in place really rock the house with the action that is brought so well.

Miscellaneous – Not many anime would take the chances of starting at the end but Ga-Rei-Zero pulls it off in spades. The lack of intro songs showing characters in the first few episodes leaves the viewer wondering what’s going on, who should be alive, why did that person die, who are these people while setting up the back-story that is soon to unfold. Hooked from the press of play is what Kagura and Yomi do and after 1-3 episodes there is no point in not finding out what just happened.

Overall, Ga-Rei-Zero is sure to please supernatural anime fans with a thing for sword wielding schoolgirls. The action is amazing from the word go and the relationships built feel real and connect with the viewer. There are sad moments followed by gruesome with ‘what-the’ moments thrown in and its pulled off quite well, not to mention looking pretty in HD. Highly recommended action; that’s what Ga-Rei-Zero is.

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RideBack Blu-ray Complete Series Impression

2011-07-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

When ballet, terrorist and motorcycle mechs collide

Rin was born to a dancer and all her life she knew nothing but the joy of dancing but an accident ended her dream. In FUNimation’s RideBack, Rin is introduced to robotic motorcycles called ridebacks which allow her to touch those sweet dancing sensations but how does this translate into an anime, let alone one full of terrorist and corrupt governments? Let’s take a look.

Story – A fallen ballerina set rise again. Rin held so much promise; a prodigy in her mother’s footsteps, but a knee injury crushes her dancing dreams and sets her on the path of ‘normal’ student until fate intervenes. Walking by her schools rideback club (mech-like, transformable motorcycles), Rin is introduced to a world where she can soar once again. As a test ride goes wrong Rin soon finds she has a true talent for driving the rideback Fuego. Ridebacks were first introduced during military rebellions which shaped the current social and political landscape and their military past soon catches up with Rin. Terrorist using ridebacks hold one of Rin’s friends and as she rides to the rescue she’s wrapped up into a world of terrorist and government where past relationships clash to affect the future. Rin must embrace this new life to clear her name and protect those she loves as her desire to ride, to soar, is so close to being stripped from her.

How does a ballet dancer get dubbed a terrorist? Just ask Rin as that’s the core story to RideBack where the mech motorcycle is as central a figure as character. The story, upon reflection, feels like the perfect infomercial for rideback showing its military past, public uses and policing effects. It’s a device which changed the political landscape, one that’s more than just a weapon or vehicle. There is a lot of story thrown into RideBack and the entire series would have served very well as a political/military throw down between, well that would be a spoiler, let’s just say using Rin as a way to tell a grander tale is how RideBack unfolds. Through Rin the abilities of the vehicle, its history and present all come to light. Sadly while she is a sympathetic character Rin is not too relatable as she’s a gifted, well provided for prodigy that loses her ability only to find another special one. She is not the average teenager-turn-hero but someone who comes off as cold as the vehicle she rides. So ballet dancer, bad knee, rideback, terrorist, political intrigue, social unrest and some sweet battles … and with all this there’s just something missing.

Animation and Art Style – The ridebacks themselves are a bit odd looking, motorcycles with arms, but seeing them in action shows the sense of beauty and grace seen in ballet … at least when Rin’s the rider. The world created is that as we see today, normal settings, solid detail that’s well above normal long running anime serious but not quite movie level and the mechanical level on the ridebacks is pretty sweet. Viewers could see one of these being constructed, never mind what type of OS would control its core CPU. The characters sport a unique look that feels anime, is anime, but just feels off. The same feelings of disconnectedness seen with Rin are amplified with the character designs. They are just not that striking to remember or really care too much about; not bad, just forgettable.

Voice work and Music – Opening theme is excellent and ramps up the action as Rin pushes on the throttle while the closing them is just soft and subtle enough. With FUNimation the voice work is almost 100% great and this is not an exaggeration. They pull from a stable of very talented voice actors who know what they are doing and anime fans will notice so many from prior series both from FUNimation and others. RideBack is just as solid but the soundtrack is so-so, does not really pop out of the speakers.

Miscellaneous – Was Rin really right? She feels cold and devoid of emotion through much of the anime and is not very relatable for viewers (unless you’re a broken dancer riding a cool mech). The story in RideBack would have been well told with just the political pieces, military past in place or even using a gifted, normal rider. Rin was supposed to bridge this gap but something with her just misses on the emotional level.

Overall, RideBack is not a bad anime it’s just not one that captured this viewer. The story is unique in how it brings together so many separate parts and the history is solid, worthy of a show itself but tread cautiously with RideBack, you will either love it or just be ‘eh’ to it.

FUNimation hooking up Deadman Wonderland, Steins;Gate and more

2011-07-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

Deadman Wonderland will rock … as for Steins;Gate, yeah, you too.

While FUNimation continues to expand their excellent anime coverage and release catalog there are two titles that just need to be called as they were recently announced as acquisition releases for the company. These two series allow for gamers to expand into another media and for fans of a once thought dead (pun intended) Tokyopop properly to live again. What’s got this otaku all excited? Deadman Wonderland and Steins;Gate, that’s what. There is much more from FUNimation besides these two titles so be sure to check out their news section often.

Deadman Wonderland is coming to DVD in North America. Yes, the Tokyopop manga with style and action galore is getting the release treatment and for those who have followed the series this is something to be joyful and giddy about. Here’s a quick synopsis of Deadman Wonderland …]

“An adaptation of Jinsei Kataoka and Kazuma Kondou's Deadman Wonderland manga, the dark story is set after the destruction of most of Tokyo by an earthquake and centers on Ganta Igarashi, a middle school student framed for the murder of his classmates. Igarashi is sentenced to Deadman Wonderland, a bizarre brutal and bloody privately operated prison that is one part incarceration and one part public spectacle – a thoroughly twisted tourist destination! The series is animated by Manglobe and directed by Koichi Hatsumi.”

So it’s coming to DVD and will stream online later in 2011 and the best part is seeing what happens to Ganta since the manga left us cutoff. The opening theme is already a multi-play on my iPod and just oh so sweet highlight the action to come. The series is 12-episodes and we can only hope it lives up to the hype and excellence the manga produced.

Steins;Gate is more a wildcard since I’ve heard more about it than been exposed. It has a gaming hook that those hardcore J-Gamers will recognize. From FUNimation, “The series is based on the visual novel and later adventure game created by 5pb and Nitroplus, the same team that created Chaos;Head. The anime adaptation is produced by White Fox, directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki and Takuya Sato.” It’s a newer anime, airing in 2011 in Japan so the style should rock but the gamer hook, the series origins will be very interesting to follow.

FUNimation announced more titles including B Gata H Kei – Yamada’s First Time, [C] – Control – The Money and Soul of Possibility, Baka and Test -- Summon the Beasts and Cat Planet Cuties. Yes, 2011 and beyond is shaping up nicely for FUNimation and anime fans.

Steve Niles talks F.E.A.R. 3

2011-06-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

Horror reaches the perfect first-person peak in F.E.A.R. 3 as writer Steve Niles details

F.E.A.R. 3; a true horror gaming experience, a bloody thrill ride that’s perfect for the proper age group. A tale of twisted terror crafted by Steve Niles who took time to reveal his thoughts on working on F.E.A.R. 3, the franchise, working with John Carpenter, his view of 3D and more. Sit back and enjoy a trip inside the mind of Niles.

Q: Did you have a chance to go to E3?

Niles: I didn’t go this year but I went last year when they were doing the big F.E.A.R. 3 promotion. I actually went there with John Carpenter as well. It was nuts; I thought Comic-Con was crazy, nothing compares to these game shows. The thing they do at E3 that they’ve been doing for a while Comic-Con is playing music so every booth was thundering their own music so on top of the crowd you can’t hear anything. It was really fun and fun seeing fans react to John Carpenter because he does not do that many public appearances. Having him there to sign video game posters was pretty cool.

Q: How was it working with John Carpenter?

Niles: I have to admit I was really nervous. It’s one of those things where whenever you meet your heroes you want them to be cool because basically if they’re not, that’s my entire childhood destroyed. So I was really nervous meeting him and he turned out to be the nicest guy in the world and really generous. A lot of directors and filmmakers don’t like to talk about their old work very much but I was able to ask him questions about Dark Star, Halloween and The Thing and he was completely open talking about that. It was really great and just working with him was like sitting around with one of my friends who I’ve collaborated with for years and just jamming on story and having fun. It was definitely one of those situations, working with him; it was a sin to call it work because I was having a lot of fun.

Q: How were you approached to work on F.E.A.R. 3 given you’re having played the original F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. 2?

Niles: It was really boring. What ended up happening was John and I had been working on a movie that didn’t happen for either of us, me as a writer and him as director, we both ended up not participating in the movie but we got along really well. We talked about video games and I know we talked about F.E.A.R. as we both played every single game. Then my rep calls me and says do you have any interest in writing this video game called F.E.A.R. 3 and it was just this perfect timing and everything where I said yes on the spot and I said would it be ok if I invited a friend? They were like who is your friend and I said it’s John Carpenter. The whole thing fell together in about a week. I’ve never had a project fall together quite as easy as this and it helps so much as me and John had both played F.E.A.R. 2 which ended very strangely. Our first question was do we get to work with those characters and that storyline; it was just one of those things that was perfect timing.

Q: How did the established story help or hinder your creativity with F.E.A.R. 3?

Niles: For me it helped. It’s different from when I write my own comics or if I work on Batman. You’ve got a whole toolbox full of stuff to play with and what Warner Bros. and Day 1 Studios really wanted from us was, they wanted you know to not really wrap things up but kind of start bringing all the threads together which really you know as a fan playing the game was a sense that I had. There’s all these characters that have sprung out of these events from a long time ago now, how do we make them all come together and sort of form a semi-conclusion to what could be a trilogy. That’s what they wanted us to do so honestly it was a challenge like anything else but I already had the curiosity there especially. The F.E.A.R. games were one of the few that I did actually finish. What winds up happening towards the end is that one of the characters that we’ve been introduced to somehow manages to impregnate Alma so we’re talking about a ghost now possibly having a human child and that’s what John and I were given to work with so I was thrilled. We talked to everyone for a while on what we were going to do and everybody just agreed that the core characters that everyone cares about are Alma, Point Man from the very first game and then Becket from game 2. So what we did was end up just finding a really good theme and the theme is family. All these people whether they’re created in a lab or not, are related and as twisted as it is it’s still a family. That was very much the theme we pitched and like I said Warner Bros. and everybody was really great and open about the whole thing.

Q: Alma was one of those characters that felt pulled from a Japanese horror film like The Ring or Ringu with that creepy long haired girl. How do you take a character like that and make the gamer care enough to get that emotional involvement with the game?

Niles: With this one, using the example of J-Horror, the Japanese horrors, is perfect. Trying to get any sympathy for a monster or ghost it can be pretty tough especially when we have two games of massacres behind them but what we found was that Alma is a ghost because something horrible happened to her in life and it happened to her when she was a child so one of the things we did in F.E.A.R. 3 was underline what made her what she is, and like Frankenstein’s monster as much as you’re afraid of them you have a lot of sympathy for them. The same things works for The Creature from the Black Lagoon, he’s killing people but he wouldn’t have killed people if these scientists hadn’t messed with him, or King Kong, where he’s taken out of his element and turned into a monster. Alma is very much like that as she’s a horrifying ghost with really terrifying powers but at the very core she’s a little girl who suffered. I think that’s something we can all have sympathy for.

Q: Did you find it easy working with the game developers; were they receptive to your ideas?

Niles: The toughest thing is I took the first couple weeks to figure out; I was very confused about the technical stuff. I would have to learn how a video game was built from the ground up and what we finally decided to do was John and I just wrote a screenplay. We wrote a screenplay about F.E.A.R. 3 and the technical guys took what we did and figured out how to work it into the scope. I didn’t have to sit around worrying about stuff like that. The worst it got was I wrote in a character that I first came up with on the spot, I’m used to writing like that. In a comic book it doesn’t matter, you write a character and they just draw it up but with this they had to call me and tell me “well you can’t just create new characters because you have to build new assets.” So once we functionally understood each other then things went really smooth and if anything they kept pushing me for more and more.

Q: You mention screenplay. Do you see the F.E.A.R. franchise and video games in general going in that direction as a movie or direct to TV movie like on SyFy?

Niles: It is an entertainment medium in that it’s very interactive but the line between interactive and a movie are blurring every day. I honestly believe video games, as the writing improves, as the story, as they learn more ways to tell story, I think that video games themselves are a vital way to tell stories in the future especially as we move forward. I can see us having basically movies that we interact with like video games. As for F.E.A.R. 3, yeah I do, I think that especially, I hope now, that we clarify what the F.E.A.R. 3 universe is and who are the active characters and then there’s some stuff we came up with, I think it’s a really viable story for any medium. I could definitely see a F.E.A.R. movie and I did a mini comic for this.

Q: What about technology such as 3D and motion controls? Did these technologies come into play with your writing?

Niles: We didn’t work on that with this. My own personal opinion on 3D is I think it’s something people want people to want. We’ve been here before, we were here in the 50’s and I think at the end of the day, for video games 3D makes a lot more sense than for movies. When I’m in a movie theater the only thing I want flying in my face is a good story, that’s it. If things are popping out of the screen it just seems like a separate experience. 3D is something for an amusement park not a movie, but for video games, yeah. I didn’t have to deal with that on this and as far as the technical issues I did, it was really great because I would just call Day 1 and describe what I wanted in very pedestrian terms and they would tell me what the technological solution was. We did have a few situations where I came at them with ideas. There’s a couple inherent problems with horror video games, one in particular that really bothered me which was one of the first things I brought up with them and they solved it immediately. It had been something they were really worried about and all that is, horror works when you’re really surprised so if you play a level through and the monsters always in the same place, how’s it going to scare and surprise you? That’s what I knew from playing Resident Evil and old games like that is once you memorized it the fears were gone because you know they were coming. Day 1 came up with some really, really interesting solutions for that by randomizing certain events within the game so that nobody knows when stuff is going to pop up. I love, it’s a great simple solution to the problem. When I played that game (Resident Evil) I would sit and wait and edge up trying to trigger it (dogs through hallway window) because I knew it was going to be there as opposed to the first time I played it and threw the controller into the air. NOTE: This randomization system is called the Degenerative System.

Q: What is it about horror and the supernatural that inspires you? How did you get into this genre of writing be it personal interest or an event from your past?

Niles: It’s just a personal thing that I love. I love watching horror, I love being scared so very early on when I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to scare other people the way I’d been scared. The thing I constantly love about horror is horror I get to do …you can play with any themes you want to and you really do have a captive audience. Everyone is sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to see what you’ll do. There’s no particular reason. I’ve always tried to figure out but for me it’s just the genre that I’ve been able to do the most in. I’ve tried comedy, super heroes, all that kind of stuff and have fun with it but the horror stuff I do is just from decades of enjoyment of it, how much fun I have watching, reading other peoples work and it’s just really fun to participate in.

Q: Did the video game medium allow you to do something scary, gruesome, just twisted that you would not be able to do in comics or movies, anything just way out there?

Niles: There are things that are added elements. With comics I kind of can do what I want. Movies, not so much. I can write you a grocery list of things you can’t do in movies that I was able to do in the video game, it’s just much more wide open. The other thing about video games is because there’s a good rating system that people actually pay attention to, parents are savvy to it and people know where to look, we don’t have that hesitation about putting stuff out there. When you do a movie, even an R movie, they judge it as if children are going to watch it, it’s very strange, which is why now you can’t even have smoking in a movie. Smoking makes it an R, automatically. We just don’t have those censorship rules for video games right now and I hope that’s something that stays because I do stuff for adults. The stuff in F.E.A.R. 3, the whole thing, it’s a bloody scary ride and there’s a lot of stuff in there that might be questionable for little, little kids but for older teens and adults it’s perfect.

Q: How would you sum up F.E.A.R. 3 for someone unfamiliar with the franchise and the horror it entails?

Niles: One of the things I love about F.E.A.R. the most is that it does this great job of combining something that we’re very used to in video games and, the first-person shooter dealing with a bunch of military conspiracies then it gets really weird. What I really like about it is it plays with a very standard comfortable situation in games, which again is a great thing to do with horror, and this it slowly just starts to get stranger and stranger. I just think that F.E.A.R. 3 is one of the most honest, up front, straight forward horror experiences you can get in a video game right now. There’s always that safety with games like Resident Evil because you’re standing away from the character. With F.E.A.R. 3 you are in the nightmare; you just can’t beat that

On this one I’m noticing as I play it that the soundtrack is exceptionally fear inducing. They’ve changed up the soundtrack a little bit and there’s a couple things they do that just get your blood pressure up so much, the way it would watching a horror movie, I’m really impressed with it. There is one of the simplest things I don’t have in comics that I wish I did; the ability to have sound and music to set the mood and bring tension up to the surface. It’s amazing and in this game I meant to ask about that as its noticeable better in this game. NOTE: Composer is Jason Gravesfrom score to sound effects and he also worked on Dead Space.

Q: How do you like final product?

Niles: I got my copy and I’ve been playing it through. If I didn’t like the game I wouldn’t be here talking, I love it. I’m really enjoying it and I’m so glad I was a fan of the first two games so I have something to compare it to and I just think this is the next logical progression for this game. If I had nothing to do with this game then I’d be buying it tomorrow.

Dan Vs. The Magician Video Clip

2011-06-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

Check out this exclusive clip of Dan Vs. The Magician on The Hub

BioShock: Rapture novel preview

2011-06-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

Take a look at an excerpt from Tor Books BioShock: Rapture

With BioShock: Infinite not hitting until 2012 what are gamers to do to fulfill their cravings for more of the extraordinary Irrational world? Simple, pick up BioShock: Rapture from Tor Books this July. Check out the preview and check in with author John Shirley at Comic-Con in San Diego. Good times so get reading and learn more about BioShock.

"John Shirley is the Bram Stoker-award winning author of Black Butterflies, as well as an acclaimed songwriter and screenwriter. He’s perhaps best known for penning the script of Alex Proyas’ noir masterpiece The Crow, and he brings his talent for dark, cinematic storytelling to this new project. Shirley will be signing San Diego Comic-Con the week his novel comes."

Robin is playable in Batman: Arkham City

2011-06-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

The Boy Wonder looks a bit tougher as he makes his Arkham City debut

That’s the new, it’s time for Robin to get in on the action along with Batman and Catwoman in Batman: Arkham City. Here are the official details …

Tim Drake Version of Robin Confirmed as Playable Character in Batman: Arkham City Challenge Mode: Pre-Order at Best Buy North America for Exclusive Access to the Robin Pack!

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today confirmed that Robin will be a fully playable character in the new and improved challenge mode in Batman: Arkham City. The Tim Drake Robin pack is currently available exclusively to North American fans who pre-order the game from Best Buy on any of the platforms for which the game will be available: Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Games for Windows PC and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

Robin will come complete with his own unique gadgets and special moves, and will be playable in all challenge maps in the game, as well as two additional challenge maps that are included with the pack – Black Mask Hideout and Freight Train Escape. The pack will also contain a bonus Red Robin character skin.

Batman: Arkham City is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license. Fans can visit www.batmanarkhamcity.com to sign up to receive updates regarding the game and join the discussion on the community site at http://community.batmanarkhamcity.com to participate in forums, read upcoming developer diaries and stay abreast of all the latest Batman: Arkham City news.

Alice Madness Returns download costumes

2011-06-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

Crazy, yeah a bit, but with these downloadable costumes gamers would be crazy not to play

In Alice Madness Returns gamers are treated to an adventure unlike any other telling of Alice in the world of Wonderland to date. Is she insane or do all her delusions exist (thus making them not so much delusions, right?). These images how off the impressive costumes Alice can put on and the powers they contain. From the creepy to disturbed to just plain cool looking what’s not to love? Take a look.

Green Lantern Blackest Night hardbound Impression

2011-06-19T15:32:00.000-07:00

With Green Lantern hitting theaters it’s time to go back and take a look at Blackest Night, an excellent tale of the various Lantern Corps.

The new Green Lantern feature film is getting reviews that are … less than spectacular which is sad for both Ryan Reynolds and Hal Jordan. Green Lantern is so much more than the film shows and for viewers new to the franchise do not judge on the film alone. The collected comics found in hardbound form for Green Lantern: Blackest Night is an excellent read that recounts what the Green Lantern Corp is all about while setting up the other seven corps of Rage (red), Avarice (orange), Fear (yellow), Hope (blue), Compassion (purple), Love (pink-ish purple) and Death (black). These seven along with Will (green) make-up the seven corps and Death as technically Death is not a corps in the sense of the others but that will be explained. Blackest Night is not an introduction as the film is but rather a telling of a great story with excellent art and pacing that is wonderful for fans both old and new.

The Story – Writer Geoff Johns takes readers into a world where there are seven corps formed from the emotional spectrum. Hal’s reason for wielding the ring are revealed and as the dead begin to rise a new battle and revelations loom on the horizon. The dead rise and confront those they left behind and behind it all is the mysterious black lanterns and each of the dead wear their rings and wiled a power born of aggression. As this darkness engulfs the entire galaxy the various corps must come together as only the full emotional and color spectrum can overcome the blackness created by death.

Consisting of a solid introduction, prologue and eight comic issues there is much more to Blackest Night than the paragraph above reveals but reading is the joy of revealing so no ruining here. Johns shows his chops and history with a tale that shows deep history for so many DC Universe characters from Hawk to Aquaman and the sheer number of characters involved never gets to be too much which is a true accomplishment. Johns manages to keep the story centered on Hal while branching just enough to bring in primary story threads and hinting at much more going on. This is the central tale in a large branched tree. For fans and noobs alike the movie may be fun but to see the true power of the rings, of the corps, well it does not get any better than Blackest Night, a well told story.

The Art – Ivan Reis makes the dead look gross-alicious. Skin hanging off and limbs bent each direction, oh yes this is no easy look at the dead heroes of the DC Universe, it’s not pretty or nice, it’s just dead. There are times readers can almost smell the decay and dirt, it’s just a well drawn comic that Reis brings to life. Each hero and villain looks as iconic as ever and the style is overall rock solid but that’s not the most impressive aspect. Nope, it’s the large group shots from all the Lantern Corps to all the heroes of earth in large action packed shots. Hours must have been spent on these layouts and they look outstanding. The included cover gallery collection and a scattering of the pencil drawings just enhances the overall experience and seeing pencils vs. final product also shows off the chops of the inkers and colorist. It’s a rock solid story well told and brought together with awesome art that is very poster worthy.

More Green Lantern – While Blackest Night does a good job of recounting the core points in Hal’s past if readers are looking for more check out the Green Lantern App with movie trailer, comics, previews and tons of features that will leave nobody and I mean nobody lacking in Green Lantern lore.

Overall, there is a ton of history to Green Lantern and not just Hal Jordan. The movie has its focus and picks its core story points to explore but keeping it simple may have helped. How about a Star Wars style scrolling recap of what’s happened? Can’t change the past but for those who love DC comics and Green Lantern, well they should already own Blackest Night but for comic fans in general and those who had to see the move then go out now and buy or download this story. It’s only part of the larger DC Universe but so much fun to read and enjoy.

Emily the Strange Strangerous on Nintendo DS Impression

2011-06-15T04:42:00.000-07:00

The Dark Horse gal gets a puzzling adventure on the DS which will delight series fans and puzzle fanatics alike

Released in the UK, Emily the Strange: Strangerous is a DS title not to be missed by fans of the Dark Horse property or puzzle game fans. This collection of puzzle games is weaved into a tale of missing kitties which puts Emily on the road to saving the world. Yeah, it’s strange but that’s what Emily does best and gamers need to pay attention.

Gameplay – Emily is strange, always dressed in black, saying odd things and hanging out with her four black cats, Mystery, NeeChee, Sabbath and Miles. Upon waking from a dream of catnapping, Emily finds her feline friends are indeed missing. As Emily follows clues and solves puzzles she must move between the real world and a parallel dream world using the abilities of her found kitties to assist her. A story mode with 6 chapters, 65 puzzles, multiple worlds, tools and accessories and her kitten acquired abilities will be at Emily’s disposal in a puzzle adventure that’s gripping and plain fun.

Graphics – Black, red and all shades of gray. Seeing Emily come to life and settings seen in the comics is a thing of beauty and outside the solid gameplay, the reason to own Strangerous. Many puzzle games are just skinned re-treads but Strangerous offers up an art style that’s unique and which made Emily jump off bookshelves in the first place. Not every game needs state of the art graphics, some just need a solid base that works and works well.

Sound – The music carries a strange vibe, as expected, and it’s haunting at times with some catchy beats. After a while these tracks will get repetitive as will the well placed sound effects but overall its’ a solid sounding DS cart, just nothing overly memorable.

Design – The story is solid and fun as Emily hunts for her missing kittens and the puzzles she encounters go from easy to very challenging with a nice ramp in difficulty. Moving from night to day, real world to dream world also adds multiple layers to many decent puzzles. Using each kitties abilities and seeing through their eyes makes this more than a skinned puzzle adventurer. There is good, solid depth and originality not to mention style to Emily the Strange.

Miscellaneous – Using the DSi to scan barcodes, to create Zonster’s (patchwork monster dolls, had to look it up) means owners of the system get some very unique content. The scanning in itself becomes a game worth playing and very addictive in this mobile gaming world.

Overall, Strangerous needs to come to the states as it’s a solid puzzle adventure outing with a beautiful art style and core creative true to its source material. Emily the Strange is a wonderful read and getting to play her in a world so true to her origins, well it’s a fans enjoyment but one not to be missed by gamers for solid puzzling fun.

2011 Pokemon Video Game Washington D.C. Area Regional Championships

2011-06-15T04:27:00.000-07:00

Local winners get their opportunity to compete for the Pokémon National Title

The 2011 Pokémon Video Game Regional Championships served up some great gaming this past weekend with 048 competitors earning invitations to compete in the National Tournament in Indianapolis, IN, this July. The 2011 Pokémon Video Game Washington D.C. area Regional Championships in Chantilly, VA saw these 48 players gain their spots after hours of intense completion. The Dulles Expo Center hosted three age divisions, Junior, Senior and Masters and while the next step is Nationals the ultimate goal is the 2011 Pokémon Video Game World Championships this August in San Diego, CA.

Here is a full list of the top four winners in order of finish in each division:

JUNIOR DIVISION

1st Place - Brendon Zheng (Age 8)

Fresh Meadows, NY

2nd Place - Ryan Pascual (Age 9)

Fairfax, VA

3rd Place - Alex Cohen (Age 10)

Egg Harbor Township, NJ

4th Place - Grace Arnold (Age 10)

Frankfort, IL

SENIOR DIVISION

1st Place - Aaron Zheng (Age 13)

Fresh Meadows, NY

2nd Place - Vincent Taylor (Age 13)

South Brunswick, NJ

3rd Place - Nitesh Manem (Age 13)

McLean, VA

4th Place - Noah Lawson (Age 13)

Acton, MA

MASTERS DIVISION

1st Place - Wolfe Alexander Glick (Age 15)

McLean, VA

2nd Place - Mitchell Horning (Age 18)

Baltimore, MD

3rd Place - Alvin Hidayat (Age 19)

Rockville, MD

4th Place - Tyler Hagan (Age 16)

Dayton, OH

Here are some official details of the remaining road and rules …

These Pokémon champs join other Pokémon video game players competing in Regional competitions in six cities throughout the U.S. for a chance to battle at the National Championships. The list of cities hosting 2011 Pokémon Regional video game tournaments includes:

May 14 - Seattle, WA

May 21 - San Jose, CA

May 28 - Dallas, TX

June 4 - Atlanta, GA

June 11 - Washington, D.C.

June 18 - Newark, NJ

July 8 - Indianapolis, IN *

*Last Chance Qualifier for Nationals

It is not necessary to win a Regional Championship event to attend the National Championships, so even players who haven't participated in a Regional tournament are welcome to travel to Indianapolis to play in the Last Chance Qualifier July 8 at the Indiana Convention Center for a chance to compete in the National Championships that weekend. The top eight Pokémon Trainers in each division at the National Championships will earn an invitation to the ultimate stage-the 2011 Pokémon Video Game World Championships in San Diego on August 12-14. Players at the World Championships have a chance to win international travel packages, trophies, and special Pokémon prize packages.

For more information about the Pokémon Video Game Championship series, including rules, tournament locations, dates and times, prizes, and more please visit www.pokemon.com/vgc.

Square Enix announces new Halo action figures

2011-06-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

New adventure for Master Chief and a visit to the past are not the only things new for Halo

Square Enix has announced it’s going to get Halo fans even more jazzed for action figures. Their wording is a bit different but their announcement that they are expanding their Halo action figure line should be taken with joyful thoughts as Square Enix knows how to do action figures. These figures are on display at E3 2011. Take a look at the new images as well as some oldies but goodies. Below is the official description from Square Enix of these two new figures.

“HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED PLAY ARTS -KAI- MASTER CHIEF (Envisioned by Square Enix Products) is an original take on Master Chief based on the iconic character from Halo: Combat Evolved. The beloved character is re-imagined with sleek lines common to the sci-fi style, iconic of other Square Enix products. While the characteristics of Master Chief remain true to the original video game, the added details and minor alterations result in delicately crafted parts with unmatched realism. The robust build adds a sense of fictional reality and massiveness present in Japanese sci-fi entertainment.

In addition to HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED PLAY ARTS -KAI- MASTER CHIEF, Square Enix Products is scheduled to also release a limited edition SPARTAN MARK V (Black). Both figures are slated for a late 2011 release.”

Trailer for Trigun Badlands Rumble

2011-06-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Vash is back to clean up a mess from his past

Trigun was, and is, an awesome anime. The animation quality is a bit dated but the core story and characters still rock. With Trigun: Badlands Rumble the series gets a nice reboot in the form of an animated feature ten years after wrapping the original series. This means better animation, a few new voice actors but most important is the exposure to anime fans who may not be familiar with the source work and thus will go check it out. FUNimation has more on Trigun but check out the trailer, linked above and below, it's hot. Dates and cities to be announced soon.

Should Wii care about U

2011-06-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Nintendo unveils the new Wii U console but will gamers get the next evolutionary step in gaming or …

Nintendo has fired the first salvo in the next console war, in a manner, with the announcement of the Wii U console. In a manner because the Wii U moves Nintendo into the world of HD and more but it’s still looking to compete for dollars but not in the manner that PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 duke it out. The Wii was odd at first but a hit with casual gamers and has found its way into many households but will this new system follow? The short answer is yes, let’s take a look at some features and reasons why.

Apple Effect – The Wii did what no other hardcore gaming console could, penetrate the average household. The sales numbers don’t lie and the casual gaming aspect hooked non-gamers of all ages. With that penetration and brand recognition Nintendo now has a chance to do what Apple has done with iPod and that’s make Wii owners want the next evolution of their systems. With the features listed below, why not. It’s a gaming system but so much more and the new controller, well that’s a system in itself. Price will be king in this court to see if Nintendo rules.

New Controller – A 6.2-inch screen on a controller? This isn’t the little take with you controller slot from Dreamcast, it’s a fully functional, stand-alone system in itself. Take Wii U with you and play outside the TV. See your lie in a game of golf, throw ninja stars, play games against others, browse the web, interact with games … this is all from the video shown at the Nintendo press conference and it’s not all the controller does but it’s like having a DS married with a touch screen smart phone rolled into one slick looking package. There are a few aspects to call out but having this puppy in action this is more than a new controller, it does look to be a new evolution for all types of gamers.

Non-gaming Controller Actions – Sharing photos, ‘tossing’ them to the TV, drawing tablet and video conferencing. The Wii U is a multi-media console and will allow the viewing of photos and the video shows an image being tossed from the controller to screen. The gaming aspect of this, especially in card games, is very cool to think about but again it’s the casual appeal. The ability to do some video chatting is in itself priceless and an untapped market that products like Skype has targeted but have yet to really move off the PC. Now gamers can get a non-PC that plays games and does video conferencing. Solid and hot, what an impressive feature.

Gyroscope – Seen in use with fitness board and a few games the balancing feature, the built in gyroscope should be very cool when implemented correctly.

HD – Late to the game, yes, but this is a big factor as traditional gamers can now get all the first party games in true HD, not some jacked up GameCube looking funk (while there are solid Wii titles they are not HD). Third party publishers will be happy to see and hear this especially since many of them (look at Ubisoft support) have development kits. A list is not provided here are this has been heard from publishers and seen on various releases. Point is Nintendo seems to be supporting third parties from the word go which has not always been the case.

Backwards Compatible – Yup, play all those Wii games on the Wii U. This key feature began with PlayStation 2’s support of PlayStation games and has become a necessity for new consoles due to the established user base. The 3DS launched with a handful of titles but hundreds of DS carts to pick from while PS3 20GB system is fully backward compatible and Xbox 360 plays select Xbox games. Good to hear this from Nintendo.

Zelda – Link has never looked as good as he does in the short clip seen at the presser and this is reason enough for gamers to buy the Wii U.

Overall the Wii U is exciting but this is just one gamers list of early observations. There is still more time to see how this plays out but rock solid effort by Nintendo and all level of gamers are looking to benefit, if the price is reasonable. Lot of features, its gotta be affordable for the new Wii created gamers.

Durarara!! Part 3 DVD Impression

2011-06-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

With gobs of style and substance, what’s not to love about Dorarara!!

Durarara!! volume 3 on DVD from Aniplex has all the style and craziness of Baccano! but set in a modern day Japan, Ikebukuro region, where a Headless Rider, a Slasher and rival gangs roam the streets and the best sushi comes from a Russian. Sound a bit out there? It is but this is the rare anime that hits on every aspect and makes the viewer want more, hooks them from intro to closing. What’s it all about, let’s take a look at volume 3 beginning with episode 18.

Story – As Masaomi recalls his past the issue of the present come into focus. The Ikebukuro gang wars kick into high gear as Masaomi’s Yellow Scarves begin hunting the Dollars without any real focus on who they are drawing in others. One such person is Anri who is revealed in her past involvement with the scarves and a certain headless rider which puts her in hot water resulting in Shizuo stepping in and getting a nasty attack due to this. Things are really escalating as Izaya sits back and enjoys the chaos while avoiding direct involvement. Meanwhile Mikado is caught in the middle seeing so many in his life caught up in this war. Very soon he, Masaomi and Anri all learn who each other really are as Masaomi moves to face his past by taking on his present Yellow Scarves issue. All issues come to a head and present events work their way out with some friendly Russian advice.

Beautiful thing about this third volume is that it can be enjoyed without the earlier volumes but not recommended as viewers will miss on the sheer awesomeness of Durarara!! The story works itself out nicely with dips into the past, character development and explanation wrapped around an evolving plot that feels well paced. The story has enough out there moments that will delight viewers and its basis in a modern Japan just adds to the craziness and coolness of the series. The story is fairly simple and has a ton of characters, many not even mentioned here, and it’s this episodic angle that is easy to get into and keeps the focus on a region and group of characters rather than just 1-2 main. Solid story, solid and very much fun to watch.

Animation and Art Style – The comparison to Baccano! totally makes sense as it’s the same development team. The character design is spot on similar and the intro sequence featuring stylish music and action along with character names is there also. The style is detailed and characters look outstanding with realistic settings that are well detailed and characters sporting clothing styles and looks that don’t lack in detail. The emotion each character feels is excellently relayed and certain moments (bonus episode 25, looking your way) will leave viewers laughing at how outrageous they are. An outstanding and unique look and feel only seen in titles such as Baccano! and Fooley Cooley.

Voice work and Music – Awesome, nuff said. The background music serves its purpose but it’s the intro and ending sequences that are just a delight to hear and really get viewers jacked for what’s to come. The mixing in of events from the prior episode works really well in the intro and the voice work, English track, is perfecto! Durarara!! shows how far voice actors in the states have come as this is a true art form now, real actors putting real emotion into animated characters. LOVED how well every character sounds and anime fans will be able to pick out the voice acting vets.

Miscellaneous – As companies like Tokyopop shutdown it’s still great to see studios such as Aniplex getting into the publishing act on their own, in conjunction with Bandai and FUNimation, to give fans the fresh, new content from Japan. The anime industry has hit a nice point with better prices on more recent releases, collections that offer more episodes for a slightly higher price point and better packaging. Rock solid seeing new titles to keep the industry going strong.

Overall it’s very easy to recommend Durarara!! volume 3 on DVD. The excellent voice work, music and style mix with a well paced story that utilizes extraordinary characters and an everyday setting in a package that is complete. Durarara!! is a complete anime and if that doesn’t sum it up for fans then, well you sadden us.

Udon releases Atelier Series: Official Chronicle art book

2011-06-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

Udon releases a beautiful collection of art from the Atelier RPG franchise

Gaming fans, especially those loving Japanese style role-playing games, know the Atelier series of games. This franchise keeps the graphics old-school in nature with tons of traditional RPG action from dungeon crawling to weapons and accessory management. The gaming aspects are the very definition of what a J-RPG is and the art style is worthy of a wall scroll, anime series, manga and yes, art book. The Atelier Series: Official Chronicle from Udon is one such art book collection and is available now. The art is truly beautiful and captures the essence of many of the aspects that make an RPG a true J-RPG in look. The characters, classes and settings fit into the fantasy realm and are great to look at even without knowledge of the games. A great RPG starts with great character development be it out of the box characters or those designed by the gamer in MMO’s such as World of Warcraft. Fans of the alchemy based RPG series will love to add this to their bookshelf but even non-fans should take a look, its simple stunning to view.

From the press release, “The 272-page, full-color art book collects character designs, promotional art, pin-ups, profile data, and creator interviews from eleven Atelier games:”

Atelier Marie: The Alchemist of Salburg
Atelier Ellie: The Alchemist of Salburg 2
Atelier Lilie: The Alchemist of Salburg 3
Atelier Judie: The Alchemist of Gramnad
Atelier Violet: The Alchemist of Gramnad 2
Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana
Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana 2
Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis
Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy
Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland

E3 Spider-Man: Edge of Time screenshots

2011-06-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

A look at some of the new pics for Spider-Man’s next adventure.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time is looking quite nice. Taking the Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 versions of the web crawler and combining them into a time-rift spanning adventure sounds perfect for a comic and should translate well as a video game. The fact is that comic based video games are getting better production and development efforts due in no small part to the rise in cost to make games. No more slapping a big name on a cookie-cutter titles and calling it a day. With writing from Peter David (co-creator of Spider-man 2099) there is no doubt the story will rock and from the looks of these new images the game too shall look amazing. Check back for more as E3 week is just getting started.

not simple manga Impression

2011-06-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

A sad but gripping story about a boy and his search for meaning

Part of Viz Signature IKKI Means Comix, not simple is a tale that is flat out engaging. Natsume Ono weaves a tale that hooks the reader from page one and manages to make the reader care about Ian and his not simple life. This is the type of story that will make readers think, look at their lives and wonder how tragic and un-guided life can be at times.

Ian is unique and has no clue just how challenging and difficult others view his life. Ignored by his father, used by his mother and searching for his sister, Ian meets a writer named Jim who decides to capture his life in a novel. Ian’s family relationships’ are not normal and his relationships complicated. Feeding his mothers alcoholism yet never knowing the reason or that the way he pays for this addiction is wrong; the impact he has on others, his tragic end. Everything about Ian is unique and those he meets are impacted by his presence. Jim captures all these events in a novel titled ‘not simple’ but Ian’s life was anything but.

Ah, to tell the story would be to ruin it. Ian is a tragic figure, a sad one that readers will care about. The pacing of this story, the use of images works and is very powerful. The art style is unlike anything in manga, simple and impactful. The emotion seen in Ian, Jim’s internal conflicts and the hate and disgust of worthless parents, it all comes across amazingly in simple yet amazing art. Simple, yes; not simple, yes. How can Ian not know how odd his life is? Simple, it’s his life, what else does he know. Does a poor man know he’s poor if never exposed to being rich? Ian is tragic yet he remains so positive. He shows what it means to live, to want something as simple as family no matter his situation. Ian’s end is sad yet fitting.

Not too many times will a manga, a story, leave me thinking but not simple has. Its impact, flow and art I find simple amazing. Call me a sap but this level of storytelling, simple at times, to the point, is so impactful that I’ve got to recommend it for anyone looking for a mature tale that is not traditional and typical manga as US fans expect. Ian is the anti Forrest Gump but his impact is nothing less than equal to the character Tom Hank’s brought to life. Amazing read, amazing art and a package that just clicks.

SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs Impression

2011-06-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Does SOCOM 4 move the franchise into the upper-tier of next-gen warfare?

The SOCOM franchise has always been a solid military excursion enjoyed with friends but it's never quite moved into the echelon of the Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises. With a pedigree stretching back to PlayStation 2 and solid offerings on the PSP what can the series do to reach new gamers and establish itself as the must-own military offering on PlayStation 3? Should it deliver a richer single player story? More online options and modes? Utilize new technology? The answer is yes to all but what else and will it be enough? Let’s take a closer look at the latest offering, SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs on PlayStation 3.

Gameplay – A military based shooter that plays from an over-the-shoulder perspective and offers a single player campaign as well as a handful of online modes. The previous SOCOM console titles as well as the Fireteam Bravo on PSP, focused on a more realistic squad based shooting experience, which is of course present in SOCOM 4 but the story-telling moves to new, more accessible levels this time around. The single-player experience mixes in unique personalities and a decent storyline that will hook gamers looking for a solid single-player experience. The online modes allow for jumping in alone or joining a clan and will feel recognizable to fans of past SOCOM’s. Not much more to add on the gameplay front as both single and multi-player modes present an objective, a team and multiple methods to accomplish those goals.

Graphics – The environments, from jungle to city/town, vary from detailed to cookie cutter meaning … well the game looks good at times, looks normal, expected, at others. This is the real world so there are no amazing, out of this world settings, but overall it’s a solid effort with some good explosion and weapon effects. The character models stand out as these are no longer no-personality blank soldiers, they are real people with emotion that the gamer will look to connect with. The look of these characters helps and is a strong point in SOCOM 4.

Sound – While the faces may seem a bit ‘off’ in their chatter the voice work behind them is rock solid and helps drive the story and emotion. Sound is outstanding especially with a solid, surround system in place as explosions rock, literally, with the proper bass. It’s a good sounding game but the soundtrack is forgettable.

Design – The single player campaign mode is welcome if a bit out there on story compared to the realism SOCOM brought in the past (relatively speaking). There are times the action seems more Rambo than operation take-out-Bin Laden. The inclusion of female operatives based on services, Korea, which utilize them, is another interesting angle for a military shooter.

Miscellaneous – The Move controls and sharp shooter are pulled off well and while it would make sense to talk more about this aspect of SOCOM 4, one just has to wonder where are the helmets? How many special ops folks would go into a hot zone without a standard issue helmet … just annoying to see this.

Overall SOCOM 4 feels closer to the Call of Duty, Medal of Honor titles in story and pacing than past SOCOM’s but is just a bit short. The 3D and PlayStation Move offerings work but feel like the add-on’s they are. At its core this is SOCOM and fans of the franchise will enjoy the experience but for war gaming fans this is a nice excursion that holds much, much promise. SOCOM 4 is solid and fun, while it lasts but the real hope lies in the groundwork laid for SOCOM 5.

Trailer - Tomb Raider Turning Point, Debut US Trailer

2011-06-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! Lara is looking EPIC, this is one game to keep an eye on

Catwoman is playable in Batman: Arkham City

2011-06-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

The sultry love interest gets to belt out some beatings as Catwoman is indeed playable in Batman: Arkham City

Yes, Catwoman is playable in Batman: Arkham City and from the trailer and new screenshots she has a slew of her own moves and style. A female character with the gumption to go up against Batman and all his baddies who retains her strength, femininity and assets while be downright awesome. That’s the assumption and there is no reason to doubt she will deliver.

Dance in the Vampire Bund vol. 1 DVD Impression

2011-05-31T17:05:00.000-07:00

Vampire, human and more living side-by-side; will peace or trouble follow?

With the popularity of creative works such as the Twilight Saga there’s no shortage of vampire tales surfacing but not every tale is a copy-cat. As vampire stories go, FUNimation’s Dance in the Vampire Bund does an excellent job of mixing action and intrigue along with solid character design and animation. It’s anything but a copy of the formula seen in Twilight but fans of vampire stories should definitely checkout this Blu-ray/DVD combo pack for a number of reasons. Let’s take a look why.

Story – A series of mysterious attacks in Japan prompt the population to believe vampires do exist. As the debate rages the revelation is made by the queen of the vampires, Mina Tepes, that the mythical figures are real and in society. The beast of legend are very real and want to establish a colony of their own in Japan, their very own bund, land to live and be free. Mina reconnects with her long lost servant, Akira Kaburagi, who has lost his memory yet as he begins to recall these lost memories he works to serve the queen in body, heart and soul. Mina may look young but she is a fierce leader who plays the political games of both humans and vampire with cold and calculated moves. Her only undoing lies in the lost memories of Akira and a blood legacy she has yet to learn. Will Mina be able to maintain control of her kingdom, protect those under her care while remaining with Akira or will the rival royal clans succeed in their conquering of Mina and all vampire?

The story centers around Mina and Akira, both personal and political (for Mina) and while there are other rivals, conflicts and adventures these two are front and center. The story packs a ton of action but the real joy is the mystery, the curveballs thrown at the viewer. Some assumptions can be made but there are many twist and turn not seen. As much as I’d like to revel more I sadly cannot because the true joy of Dance in the Vampire Bund comes from the story. Vampire clans, earth clans and secrets galore, what a joy … especially given the twisted ending.

Animation and Art Style – The gothic look expected is present in Mina’s dress with traditional school uniforms also present, the rest, well its modern day Japan. As the various vampire clans make their appearances, viewers are treated to a collection of period looks and dress. Dance oozes style and class which is also present in each characters design. The core design is nothing new or spectacular in its originality from anime that have come before but it is solid. Characters look good even if they fit some of the personality stereotypes seen throughout anime. A haunting style that is gothic and enchanting, this is a vampire anime to savor in many aspects.

Voice work and Music – Mina has a childish voice that fits during her transformation with a well delivered mixture and range of emotions. Akira pulls off the same excellence with just a lack of surprise you’d expect from a human missing his memory and thrown into these situations. The trickle down in voice work is equally as solid thanks to what many anime fans will recognize as some established voice actors. The intro and ending sequence are excellent for the theme, very solid sound anime.

Miscellaneous – The fact Mina wears such a young look makes this a unique vampire tale. Her purpose is legit as revealed but seeing a vampire tale that takes this risky approach with such a mature child is refreshing when compared to so many pretty and mature vampire tales on the market.

Overall, Dance in the Vampire Bund is a solid vampire story that anime and vampire fans alike will enjoy. Some viewers may have a hard time dealing with Mina at first but she will grow on the viewer as the story does. There is much to this anime, a deep and detailed world that’s only hinted at in these episodes. There is much more than seen but what is revealed is worth savoring.

Power Rangers Samurai Activities

2011-05-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

Enjoy another side of Power Rangers: Samurai with a coloring sheet, recipe and exercises

Love them or not, there is no denying the staying power of the Power Rangers. The most recent iteration is Power Rangers: Samurai follows yet another group of young adventures and has impacted yet another generation of young TV viewers so in order to take the fun off the TV set we’ve got a few features for fans to enjoy. Check out the included coloring sheet, ready to print and enjoy and dealing with the food groups. Also we’ve got one egg-tastic recipe and a handful of exercises to help Power Rangers fans train like the Samurai.

Emily’s Egg-cellent Eggs In A Nest!

Ingredients:

1 Organic Egg

1 Slice of Whole Wheat/Grain Bread

¼ cup Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese (you can use soy or rice cheese)

½ tablespoon of oil

Salt and Pepper

1 Kiwi

Directions – Cut a 1 to 2 inch hole in the center of your bread. Heat a skillet with the oil over a medium flame. Place the bread in the skillet and after about 2 minutes or until the side facing down is brown, flip the bread and crack the egg in the hole. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, until the egg is almost firm. Flip. Sprinkle cheese on the top of the egg and cover with a top. After 2 minutes, or when cheese is melted transfer to a plate. Slice the kiwi as your side healthy fruit and more Omega 3s! ENJOY!

Click to enlarge and print

Power Rangers: Samurai Training Exercise

Green Ranger Jacks – Put your hands on your waist. Put your feet shoulder width apart. Jump and bring your knees up and together and land with your feet together. Then jump your feet out to where you started, and do it again! Do 5 Ranger Jacks, then rest, then do 5 more.
Yellow Ranger Cobra Pose – Start by sitting on your knees with your hands on your waist. Put your hands out in front of you. First dip your head down towards the floor, then push up with your hands and arch your back like a cobra! Do it in reverse to end up back on your knees. Do it 3 times slowly.
Pink Ranger Upper Body Stretch – Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Bend your knees, turn to your right, and stretch your left hand out in front of you as far as it will go, and stretch your right hand behind you at the same time. Repeat on other side. Do 5x each side.
Blue Ranger Crab Crawl – Sit down on the floor. Put your feet out in front of you, put your hand behind you. Raise up your body on your hands and feet, and crawl around like a crab! Try and crawl on your hands and feet for 3 mins.
Red Ranger Mirror Stance – Stand facing a friend (you can also do it at home in the mirror by yourself!). Decide who is going to lead – the other person tries to copy the leader exactly. Watch the move first, and then we can try it together. Step right, crossing over your feet and your hands. Then step right again and uncross. Try and be a perfect mirror! Now go the other way. Practice until you can follow your partner.

X-Men: Destiny Character Bio: Grant Alexander

2011-05-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Grant Alexander joins the X-Men: Destiny crew.

Gamers have already been introduced to Aimi Yoshida and now it’s time to meet the next member of the crew in X-Men: Destiny video game hitting consoles this September. Grant Alexander goes from the football field to battling alongside Aimi and others in the third-person action/RPG. The concept of controlling ones evolution will add an unique twist as these characters are not locked into an already established doctrine of moves, nope; the sky is indeed the limit. More to come as additional characters are introduced.

Name: Grant Alexander

Background: Sandersville, Georgia

Ambition: To be a football superstar

Back Story: Grant is in San Francisco hoping to land a starting spot for the University of California, Berkeley, Varsity Squad. Oblivious to the world tensions, Grant doesn’t see that the peace rally and threatening protesters around him have any connection to his life. When he discovers his own mutant powers, Grant is faced with the realization that mutant/human relations are absolutely his problem.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Reveal Trailer

2011-05-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

Need I say more; it's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 reveal trailer

Army of Darkness Defense on iPhone Impression

2011-05-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

The cult classic and one-liner-rific makes its mobile debut with Defense

Its castle defense time as Ash must defeat waves of Deadites to protect the Necronomicon in Army of Darkness: Defense. Fans know what this means but for those not familiar with the excellent action of Bruce Campbell (Burn Notice) in Army of Darkness of the Evil Dead trilogy, well this is Plants vs. Zombies revamped with a great license. The concept is simple, defend a book from enemies, but the question is how does it play out? Let’s take a look.

Gameplay – Gamers assume the role of Ash as he runs around with his boomstick (shotgun), killing invading Deadites (living dead, zombies, skeletons, etc) as they move from the right to left where the Necronomicon (a book) sits in a cage. To assist Ash in his battle gamers must deploy units from peasants to archers heroes like Arthur. The setting is the castle; the opponents are various forms of Deadites and creatures from the movie. Keep the book safe while deploying soldiers who march until they fight. Money is obtained from killed enemies and battle lost when either Ash dies or the book is taken. The core mechanics have gamers protecting point A with enemies coming from point B. After each battle gamers are given the choice to level up various abilities for Ash, his soldiers or castle features.

Graphics – Compared to the source material this is pretty lighthearted in look and feel. Character look robotic in movement and have a comic, super deformed look that is fitting for the simpler format of a mobile game. Characters sport a nice level of detail and are easily identifiable even in large scrums.

Sound – Background music is recognizable from the film but who may I ask would remember this music? No, the real beauty of Defense is it’s utilization of Bruce Campbell’s perfectly delivered one-liners and other quotes from the movie.

Design – Basic but it works. As with Plants vs. Zombies and other ‘defense’ games the concept of protecting a home base from hordes of enemies is simple but it’s the execution, using this license, to integrate Ash and his allies into battle that works well. Nothing super new here but just solid gameplay.

Miscellaneous – It’s been a while since Army of Darkness was relevant outside of its cult following so it was an interesting choice for a game but at its current price and for the solid gameplay delivered is quite a well delivered package.

Overall Army of Darkness: Defense offers up a great portable gaming experience which takes tried and true mobile gaming formulas and tweaks them with the humor, characters and settings seen in the film. Fans of Army of Darkness will enjoy the plethora of one-liners and gamers will dig the familiar yet new gameplay. A solid outing which delivers the goods like a fistful of boomstick.

Bleach: Soul Resurreccion coming to PlayStation 3

2011-05-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

Bleach fans finally get a true next-generation gaming treat

While video games for hit titles Naruto and Dragon Ball Z have fared well on recent gaming systems there is another equally solid and stylish anime which has failed to receive the gaming love its fans deserve. Bleach is the title and while it’s been seen on Nintendo Wii in a ni-fu, ni-fa experience and on DS in older-school RPG and fighting game formats it’s still lacking in that solid, next generation experience.

Bleach: Soul Resurrección will hit PlayStation 3 this August and will be published by NIS America. Tite Kubo’s manga and anime follows the character Ichigo Kurosaki as he becomes a Soul Reaper (deputy actually) and the battles that follow with lost souls called Hollows and their various forms. There is a ton of back-story already laid out and Resurrección takes up well into the storyline where battles rage against the Arrancars (top level, advanced Hollows folks). Fans will know exactly what this means but for gamer’s familiar with Naruto and Dragon Ball Z, you can expect a very stylish action oriented gaming experience that’s heavy on story, contains an amazing anime look, signature moves and voices from the anime as well as 21 characters from the anime/manga. It’s an action-adventure title with story and mission modes and some leveling up chances through a character map.

More to come as the title was just recently announced so check back for more. From these early screenshots and the trailer (found on Resurrección site) Ichigo looks to be getting a solid PS3 outing. For fans, we can only hope this is true.

Checkout VizAnime.com for free Bleach episodes.

Catherine video game character bios part 2

2011-05-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Vincent and his sultry ladies are not the only characters in the upcoming Catherine video game

What would a guys dilemma be without a group of buddies to get him drunk and feed him muy macho advice on sticking with the solid girlfriend or going with the sexy vixen. Oh, a flirtatious waitress also helps … right?

Erica

Sex: Female

Age: 32

Occupation: Waitress

The bar's ray of sunshine, bringing warm smiles and cold drinks to her customers. Erica is the waitress at the Stray Sheep. A friendly sort, she often joins in the conversations of her customers. She, Vincent, Jonny, and Orlando all grew up together, and she always makes it a point to stop by their table and share the latest gossip. She's aware of Toby's crush on her, and she's more than a little amused by his puppy love.

Toby

Sex: Male

Age: 23

Occupation: Mechanic

A novice in the ways of love, constantly seeing life through rose-colored glasses. Toby is a coworker of Jonny, and began coming to the Stray Sheep in order to make new friends. He may lack some maturity, but he is a kind-hearted young man looking to settle down with the first woman to capture his heart. He has a thing for older women, and is currently smitten with Erica, the waitress at the bar.

Orlando

Sex: Male

Age: 32

Occupation: Systems Engineer

A laid-back guy enjoying a carefree lifestyle. Orlando is a regular at the Stray Sheep and is a longtime friend of both Vincent, Jonny, and Erica. Having been married and divorced, he has a rather cynical view of love and marriage. He lives for himself, going with the flow, and the way he comports himself corresponds with his easygoing nature. He has some sardonic advice for Vincent on the subject of women, possibly as a result of his own experiences with the fairer sex.

Jonny

Sex: Male

Age: 32

Occupation: Used Car Restorer/Dealer

An idealistic man searching for his soulmate. Jonny is old friends with Vincent, Orlando, and Erica. He too is a regular of the Stray Sheep, and he works at his father's used car dealership, which he hopes to inherit. He maintains an outwardly subdued demeanor, but he has an optimistic view of the value of true love and holds fast to the idea of waiting for his "one true love" before getting married.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron images

2011-05-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

Stylistic but how will El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron play?

The art style and coloring is like something out of a dream. In the upcoming El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron gamers take control of Enoch, a young man chosen by God to go to heaven and serve as a scribe on the Council of Elders. He is soon tasked with preventing Gods plan to flood the earth by becoming an arbiter and pursuing the Grigori, a group of fallen angels. That’s the setting; Enoch must save humanity from a great flood by capturing the Grigori who were originally appointed to watch over earth. The action is from a side, 2D view at times, playing like a platformer while other times its third-person with a Devil May Cry feel and utilizes a style that seeps religious. The sound, the look and feel is all so relaxing and the religious themes may not spark the debates and objections of years past but there will still be some who object.

What will set El Shaddai apart from other third-person adventures is how it utilizes this unique content and theme. The style is there but how will the substance play out? Time will tell but for fans of anime, both story and style, this is one very interesting title to keep an eye on.

AnimeSentinel has now gone mobile!

2011-05-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

Giving this a try, an easy to create so very curious to see how it goes. We shall see, and please chime in with impressions of similar products.

AnimeSentinel has now gone mobile! Go to http://www.noticeorange.com/r/AnimeSentinel4 to get an app for your phone.

It's free and it has alerts so that you'll know whenever AnimeSentinel has anything new. What could be better?

Tokyopop is dead, long live Tokyopop

2011-05-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

With Tokyopop closing its doors, what happens to all our favorite running manga?

With Tokyopop shutting down publishing operations in the US manga fans will now be left wondering what’s next? What now for those titles that hooked us, made us fans? I have a few, listed below, that I love to follow and now I’ll be wondering if a publisher like Viz or Bandai can pick up the slack? Recently the industry has seen Borders file for bankruptcy which means no more reading (and sometimes purchasing) of manga by kids, teens and adults alike, nope, the content is harder to find. Manga is going mobile with tablets and when there are series such as Naruto spanning 40+ volumes it tough to purchase at $10-15 a pop so a lower price online makes sense, but this brings us back to Tokyopop.

Where Viz and even Bandai have stronger, more recognizable titles such as Naruto and Bleach (both Viz), Tokyopop had a largely Go-Bots lineup to Viz’s Transformers. Solid and fun but only a few titles that were rock solid wow titles. Many of the books from Tokyopop were not as mainstream but no less brilliant. Shorter, less know tales were rock solid, great reads and it’s this aspect which will be missed the most. They published more comic oriented titles as well as a gay lineup in Blu but that is all gone now. So as the sun has set on Tokyopop what does this mean for manga fans and those titles in limbo?

Meaning for Manga Fans – Simply put, less players in the game. Viz is the biggest name left and talk about a rock star. They put out tons of printed books but have shifted to iPad and other tablets with lower price points on established titles. The space it will save fans is great but more previews are needed. Manga fans will have a harder time finding new titles from a variety of publishers thanks to how licenses are tied up and this is the biggest question for Tokyopop (since they shutdown their website). What happens to all those great license? Years ago this happened to Dragon Ball Z where the rights got lost in limbo before finally being picked up years later by FUNimation. It’s sad and scary to say the truth as fans are left to suffer.

The other aspect of Tokyopop was its risk taking, its rising stars opportunities to unknown artist and creators, its ties to manga software, to more Western manga-ish titles and to the works of Korea and China. It’s a shame really but the dollar speaks.

Best case scenario is the manga rights of the bigger titles get transferred over for continued publishing and that those smaller titles get released to seek new publishing methods. The hope is out there also that Tokyopop somehow finds a way to move all its manga operations online, go 100% digital in its manga distribution at a lower price point but this does not seem to be in the plans.

Which titles are we most heartbroken to see sitting in purgatory, let’s take a quick look.

Samurai Harem – Awesome art and a great tale with tons of pretty ladies and even with all the panty shots and big boobs the awkward tale of love was a joy to follow.
Happy Café – Not the best art, nor an all original story but it was charming and fun. This manga would make you happy.
Maid Sama – LOVE the art and story, the characters and settings and it plain sucks this tale is over too soon.
Princess Ai – Beautiful art and while the story is a bit odd the art and style it brought rocked.
WarCraft & StarCraft – Boooo as there was some excellent work done for both franchises and now it’s gone but we hope Blizzard forces these rights elsewhere.

Tokyopop, you will be missed as you made the industry all the more exciting and competitive. Hope to meet again even if it’s only in digital form.

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan Impression

2011-05-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Rikuo Nura will be the Third Heir of the Nura Clan … or will he? His answer depends on it being night or day.

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan from Viz Anime is rock solid and fun to watch (and read, it’s subtitled). Fans of anime set in modern-ish day Japan with a heavy spiritual angle should check out Nura. Rikuo Nura tries to be a normal junior high student but when you’re the Third Heir of the Nura Clan of yokai, well it’s not always easy. With over 20 episodes available online fans get devour many hours biting into this delicious anime, but is it worth the time? Let’s take a look at the first four episodes as seen on Viz Anime.

Believe in them or not, yokai are real and inhabit the world, rarely interacting with humans. Some humans have relationships with these yokai, form pacts and even lead them. One such human is Rikuo Nura, Third Heir of the Nura Clan, but this junior high student is eager to avoid his lineage and become just a normal student. This is difficult when living in a house full of yokai and with a personality that is human by day and powerful yokai by night. Rikuo has strong blood in his veins, blood which contains a personality of a powerful yokai who can lead the Night Parade of a Thousand Demons, one worthy of the title of Lord of Pandemonium. Yes, Rikuo has quite a dilemma on his hands. His friend at school decide to form a paranormal patrol unit while allied clans take their chances on rebelling. This is not even considering clans of rat yokai and un-associated yokai that are out to do bad things. Throw in a classmate who just happens to be an omniyoji and life is anything but easy for Rikuo. Destiny cannot be avoided, a lesson Rikuo will need to embrace quickly.

Quick touch points on the first four episodes, equivalent of the first DVD collection, and here is what anime fans get. An introduction, some initial action, characters introduced and the stage set for more. Solid folks this is what the beginning of a series like Nura is supposed to do. Rikuo is a strong character in both his forms, truly two different characters with different agendas. His friends, both yokai and human, are also well developed with cheesy classmates and yokai that are both funny, mischievous but also deadly serious when action presents itself. The story so far is a focus on Rikuo’s desire to not be and to be the Third Heir. The split personality is front and center in a political yokai world where there are many agendas, alliances and dangers. The four episode in particular shows off how Rikuo must deal with uprisings and attacks on his human side. There is something larger brewing but the beginning is all about setting the stage which episode 1-4 do rather nicely.

What about the art, animation and sound you say? So glad you’ve asked. The animation carries a style very similar to most shonen targeted titles. Compare to the overall animation quality of a Naruto or One Piece, not a movie quality but a solid TV quality with great character design, action and settings. Seeing the variety of yokai and supernatural characters is fun and part of what makes this genre of anime so great, seeing legend come to life. The Japanese voice work is rock solid with a great range of emotion and the opening track is solid anime fare. The background music was noticeable in a nice way in that it matches the pace of action as needed but does not detract from said action. Well done for a series of this type.

Overall the story is shaping up to be engaging, fun and action packed with demon battling aplenty and awkward school situations to boot. The sound and animation quality are solid, not top notch but well above middle ground. A great online offering which should not be missed and would be very worthy of purchase on dubbed DVD.

Gods Eater Burst on PSP Impression

2011-05-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

How many games let you eat some tasty gods?

Gods Eater Burst has got to be one of the oddest titles in a long time for a video game. The box art is equally as busy and … interesting but don’t let that hide this addictive PSP experience. In the vein of Monster Hunter, Gods Eater Burst puts gamers in control of a custom created character tasked with saving the remnants of humanity and doing mucho weapon and equipment customization while killing monsters, in this case ones called Aragami. What makes Burst an enjoyable gaming experience, let’s take a look.

Gameplay – The Gods players must eat and burst (?) are called Aragami. These Gods come in a variety of sizes and powers and must be defeated with special weapons called God Arc. Gamers assume the role of their designed character as a member of Fenrir, a task force who wield these weapons to take on Aragami and protect humanity. As a game it boils down to leveling up your character, improving their weapons and taking on missions. There is a single-player mode but the fun resides in battling with buddies and continuing to level up, improve your character. The action is third-person and battles can be ranged with the weapons component of the God Arc or up close with its sword/melee abilities. The customization is key as gamers can work with weapons, guns, bullets, skills and shields to customize to no end. Throw this into 225 missions, 47 enemy types and tons of anime style cut scenes that have a very Persona feel, and gamers have one beastly gaming experience with no end in sight.

Graphics – The anime scenes are great and they have a very Persona, slick feel to them that just begs for a longer anime story. The in-game graphics feel pulled from the Persona series also and while it gets the job done there are better textures on the PSP. The custom characters and weapons look solid as do the Gods that need some bursting and eating but this whole post-apocalyptic setting, been there, done that. Bland. A good looking game that’s above middle-ground but not quite up to the level seen by titles such as those put out by Square Enix or Sony.

Sound – Voice work, when used, is solid and the battle sounds are well done as well. The soundtrack moves the action along but as the game progress it gets lost in the background. Not bad, not memorable, just there.

Design – The comparisons to Persona also extend to the slick character design which just looks rock solid. The amount of customization available is outstanding and while the levels are a bit drab the monster variety is pretty sweet, odd, but sweet. The addictive gameplay is the best piece of this games design in the hours lost adventuring and upgrading. The gun/sword evokes memories of Final Fantasies past and makes the gamer more than just a close or long range fighter.

Miscellaneous – The comparisons to Monster Hunter are very accurate in relaying the overall experience, yet for all the success of these style games in Japan, they still have trouble catching on here. There are differences in gaming taste from shore to shore but when gameplay is so solid one has to question why the lack of success? Marketing, system penetration, preference; yup, open to debate.

Overall Gods Eater Burst offers up hours of addictive gameplay with solid graphics, decent sound and an anime style that will attract a certain gaming group. It’s success in Japan is the main reason gamers are seeing it here in the States but know this, don’t miss out on Burst if MMO’s and games like Monster Hunter joyed you. Solid portable gaming, period.

Ridge Racer 3D Impression

2011-05-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

A Nintendo system launch; Ridge Racer enter stage left

Ridge Racer 3D for the Nintendo 3DS is the perfect launch title. It delivers solid gameplay that’s familiar and fun while showing off a bit of what the new system is all about. There is nothing truly new or revolutionary under this hood, just a reliable, dependable game that delivers the goods yet again.

Gameplay – Gamers can race in Grand Prix or take the action into versus mode or even race ghost data obtained from whomever gamers pass on the street with a 3DS turned on with data. At its core, at its heart this is the same Ridge Racer gamers have come to love … or not. There are upgrades to cars and opponents and gamers will be challenged, a perfect racing fix on the new 3DS. The races can be flattened from 3D giving a normal gaming race feel so don’t worry about your eyeballs going all over the place. Its Ridge Racer drift racing on the 3DS and it works well, very well.

Graphics – It’s in 3D and passes by pretty fast but contains just enough detail to move the game along. Ridge Racer is not about amazing environmental details, it’s about racing and the cars look solid as do the tracks. The use of 3D or flattening to 2D will not detract from the gameplay experience. Sadly as DS owners know by now, the graphic power of Nintendo’s handheld just can’t compare to those of the PSP or PS2. Portable GameCube graphics and not always the best, is what DS offers and Ridge Racer is at the higher end of the third party spectrum but not quite on the level of the Street Fighters of the world (yet).

Sound – Enjoy the techno tracks, some iconic to Ridge Racer, others not so much but all move the races along, very nice. The commentator is drinking too much Red Bull, but the encouragement and race updates is nice for those needing a good pick-me-up.

Design – The courses are all familiar as are the controls and the use of the control stick is refreshing. Going 3D or not will neither truly add or take away from the gaming experience. Being able to get ghost data via StreetPass is nice, but how many gamers are actually walking around with the system on sleep?

Miscellaneous – It’s Ridge Racer in 3D at a console launch. Not much more to add, nice game, nice effects, fun and entertaining … yup, that’s it.

Overall Ridge Racer has always been a fun racer that gamers and their buddies can lose hours playing. 3D is no exception as the formula remains true to its roots with plenty of modes, good graphics and sound and gameplay that’s just addictive. This is not the be-all-end-all of 3D titles on 3DS but it is a nice launch title to put the system through its paces.

Giving Mobile a Try

2011-05-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

Giving this a try, an easy to create so very curious to see how it goes. We shall see, and please chime in with impressions of similar products.

AnimeSentinel has now gone mobile! Go to http://www.noticeorange.com/r/AnimeSentinel4 to get an app for your phone.

It's free and it has alerts so that you'll know whenever AnimeSentinel has anything new. What could be better?

Tomb Raider Trilogy on PS3 Impression

2011-05-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

Lara may have lost some luster over the years but this trilogy shows Ms. Croft at her finest.

Before Lara goes back to her past in the reboot of the Tomb Raider franchise it’s time for gamers to get caught up with the future of the past. The new Tomb Raider is set to follow a younger Lara, one growing into her adventuring and while the future of this Lara is not set it is possible for gamers to get some older Lara adventuring in with Tomb Raider Trilogy. This collection takes two PlayStation 2 titles in Legend and Anniversary and combines them with PlayStation 3 Underworld in one incredible package. Incredible is the word to use form a value standpoint as these are three recent, relevant games that have been cleaned nicely. What’s to love in re-visiting Lara’s most recent adventures? Let’s take a look.

Gameplay – Three games, one Lara. This collection brings together Lara Croft’s last three console offerings, two from PS2, and one from PS3 in a collection that really is a great bargain. Take control of Lara Croft in three third person adventures which chronicle her re-vamped adventures, her first re-boot from the very, very beginning on PlayStation. These three games polished Lara, made here relevant again. The controls feel a bit off, stiff, in Legend but improve in Anniversary and Underworld. Gameplay revolves around solving puzzles, fights/gunplay and platforming, a challenge that will keep fans of the genre happy.

Graphics – A picture is worth a thousand words and the included gallery of images shows off how the look and feel has been upgraded. Underworld is slightly better looking than the original but it will take a very keen eye to see these tweaks. The real beneficiary is Anniversary as it was a later generation PS2 offering and benefits more than Legend in its graphical update. The environments have been polished, made more realistic as have the characters and their movements. The really noticeable changes revolve around the use of shadow and light in-game, very nice improvements. These games were not just ported over in their older state.

Sound – The voice work is polished and soundtrack immersive. There were never any gripes with how the Tomb Raider franchise sounded and that continues in this collection.

Design – Three games and all improved. Underworld is essentially the same game that PS3 owners received before but the graphic overhaul on the two PS2 offerings is well done. A great collection indeed and one that shows how a game can progress in design from one iteration to the next. Controls get better, graphics get better, and everything gets just a bit better from game to game.

Miscellaneous – The included Tomb Raider theme is nice but otherwise this collection is all about Lara’s three latest adventures which no gamer should be without.

Overall for just under the price of one game, gamers get three. There is a lot to like in this collection and as we’ve seen with other collections it’s a win-win. Gamers get games they may have passed on individually at a better price and developers get to polish off the old to promote the new. Music offers greatest hits collections and seeing games do the same with trilogies is great. Tomb Raider, Gears of War, Grand Theft Auto … who’s next, we want more collections!