Woady's World

Top Ten Thursday: Videogame Villians

2011-04-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

10 Characters who define the word Evil

This List May Contain Spoilers

10. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)

I'm pretty sure there are going to be some people who are going to argue with me over putting Sephiroth at #10. Don't get me wrong, he's a pretty evil guy, he killed Aerith, burned villages and almost destroyed the world. He just lacks some of the spunk and tenacity that the other 9 people on this list have. Classic tale of hero, gone rogue after discovering truth behind certain events in his life, Sephiroth was lost after that.

9. Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda Series)

The archenemy of Link, with the Triforce of Power in his hands and his sorcery, he's always ready to give Link a hard time. Even when he doesn't appear at the beginning of a game, he still manages to be the mastermind behind everything. He's ugly, twisted and has a thirst for power. Hell once he finally takes over Hyrule, he burns down to the ground and doesn't even think twice.

8. Dracula (Castlevania Series)

No matter how many times the player defeats Dracula, he just won't stay down. In the beginning he was just an evil vampire sorcerer but he started to learn newer tricks. In later games, he'll kidnap someone dear and close to the hero and then force you to trek through his massive castle, each and every time. Then once you reach the end, he'll spring his trap on you and the victim.

7. Dr. Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog Series)

How many evil genius out there kidnap woodland creature and use them for his evil plans, just this guy. He's always concocting some evil plan to stop Sonic or take over the world, and each time he fails he comes back with a bigger and better plan.

6. Dr. Wiley (Mega Man Series)

Wiley has continued to plague Mega Man and gamers with 8 different robot masters with every new Mega Man game. Then even when you make it to Wiley's Castle, he still finds a way to mess with you, from disguising himself to framing others. There isn't much Wiley won't do in his quest to take over the world.

5. Ridley (Metroid Series)

Ridley attacked Samus' homeworld and killed her parents, that's evil enough for the most part. He also gives new meaning to never giving up, Samus has killed Ridley many times but that has never stopped him from trying to kill her over and over again.

4. Wesker (Resident Evil Series)

There is nothing worst than being betrayed by your fellow comrade. It wasn't until the end of Resident Evil did we learn of Albert Wesker's true intentions. Thanks to the T-virus he used on himself to keep him alive from the events of the first game, Wesker has comeback time and time again, stronger with each confrontation. While it remains to be seen if his death in Resident Evil 5 is permanent, we'll just have to wait and see.

3. Bowser (Super Mario Series)

For 25 years, gamers have had to rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of this dinosaur menace. He is the original recurring villain, who never gave up and probably never will until he finally takes over Mushroom Kingdom. With newer games, he is now teaching one of his 8 children (Bowser Jr) all the tricks of his trade. How evil dads do you see in video games?

2. Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid)

This boss caused many gamers to switch their controllers to the second player slot just so you can land a hit on him easier. He can read your mind and make you feel like your going crazy while battling him. From "changing" your tv setting to making your controller move across the floor (if you put it down that is). Psycho Mantis was a complete mindf*** of a boss battle.

1. Kefka (Final Fantasy VI)

What sets Kefka aside from everyone else on this list, is that he actually succeeds in destroying the world and acquiring godhood. He was one of the first people to undergo Magitek experimentation, which increased his magic potency and broke his sanity. Kefka isn't afraid of killing anyone that stands in his way, in fact he enjoys it. His theme song "Kefka" really shows off the sadistic joy he gets from killing people. He poisoned the kingdom of Doma, killed the Emperor's general, and attacked the world of Espers and stole their power for his own. Kefka is truly one of the most evil people in video game history.

Game Review: Comic Jumper

2011-04-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

Repetitive Gameplay and Great Humor All Together in One Package.

Comic Jumper is a Xbox Live Arcade Title from Twisted Pixel, the creators of The Maw and Spolison Man. Comic Jumper tells the story of Captain Smiley, who has lost his comic book, due to being poorly recieved and now must guest star in other comics to make enough money to get his own comic book again. You'll venture into 4 different kinds of comics, Fantasy, Modern, Silver, and Manga, you do all this with your abrasive partner, Star.

Comic Jumper is for the most part a rail-shooter the only difference is that you control the speed at which you move along the stage, at times. You run around firing guns in every direction, similar to Geometry Wars or any other 8-way shooter out there. From time to time you have sections where you can perform melee attacks and the occasional quick-time event is thrown in. It should be noted that Comic Jumper is a very, very, very repetitive game. You spend each of the game's 11 levels just running and gunning, the game doesn't stray from this mechanic at all. Some people will probably be turned off by this fact alone, but there was one aspect of the game that makes dealing with the repetitive nature not seem as bad, the dialogue. Comic Jumper is a very humorous game, veteran voice actor Chris Sabat (Dragonball Z and tons of other anime fame) brings the characters of Captain Smiley and Star to life. The dialogue spoken between Star and Smiley throughout each level is so funny, my sides started to hurt after awhile. Star (he's biologically attached to Smiley) is always criticizing Smiley for every little thing he does, from how bad his aim is to how stupid of a hero he is. I feel Star makes this game, without him Comic Jumper would just be a very repetitive run and gun game, that I probably would of passed on. Another thing Comic Jumper does great with the dialogue is how it makes fun of each of the different kinds of comics, from the racial stereotypes of older comics to the bizarre nature of manga, this game really hits the jokes on the dot.

Comic Jumper features tons of unlockable content from the usual concept art to audio tracks. A couple things the game does offer I find pretty unique is that you can unlock additionally levels for Spolison Man and some really fun cast "interviews." Replaying Comic Jumper after you complete the main story can be kind of stretch since you don't unlock anything new by beating the game. All you unlock is challenges for each of the levels you've completed as you progress in the story. These challenges usually require you to complete a section or survive as long as you can without getting hit. They're ok challenges for maybe the hardcore gamer who wants to show off how good he is at dodging bullets, but they're mostly stuff you already did in the levels.

Comic Jumper is a fun game to play at first, but it can quickly become too repetitive for some people to handle. The dialogue saves this game in more ways than one, it made me want to keep on playing just so I can hear whatever Star has to say next. The game only costs $800 points these days, so for that price tag it's not too bad a deal, just remember you'll be doing the same thing over and over again for at least 3-5 hours.

Top Ten Thursday: Badass Video Game Characters

2011-04-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Ten Characters that Don't Know the Meaning to Giving Up

This list may contain SPOILERS about the game the character stars in

One thing to take note of before you read this list, this list DOES NOT include any villains. I will be doing a separate top ten list for best villain characters. A badass character isn't just someone who can blow stuff up, you got to have more than that. Although it helps if you can blow stuff up and clear out a room full of baddies. You also got to have confidence, whether it's the kind you lay out in the open or a more silent form of confidence. These ten characters all have the stuff it takes to be a true badass.

10. Max Payne

This man introduced bullet-time to the video game world, the ability to slow down time to make sure you don't miss a single shot. Nothing could stop Max Payne from seeking revenge on the people who not only killed his family, but also betrayed him. He was shot in the back, fell down a long hole, and took several baseball swings to the face, all that couldn't stop him from getting his revenge.

9. Leon S Kennedy

Sure Chris Redfield was the first out the door and has starred in more games, but Leon has risen to become the true hero in the Resident Evil universe. In Resident Evil 2, he was just some rookie cop on his first assignment and he managed to escape with his life, only to return several years later as a secret agent for the US government. From giant monsters to Mr. X nothing could stop Leon from reigning hell.

8. Gordon Freeman

The silent protagonist that is Gordon Freeman, he doesn't need fancy one-liners or a big hulking body. All he needs is his crowbar and a gun to wreck hell on the Combine. The thing that makes Gordon Freeman a badass is the fact that he is a nerd like pretty much every gamer. No military background or any previous combat experience, just some random guy who picks up a crowbar and starts beating the crap out of enemies.

7. Dante

Dante gave new meaning to fancy showmanship, he beat up demons whiling eating a slice of pizza. He fell off a huge tower and preceded to beat the crap out of a bunch of demons on his way down. He defeated his own brother to save the human world (being half-demon himself). With his cocky attitude, nothing can cause Dante to back down from any challenger.

6. Samus Aran

Before any of the other characters on this list were created Samus Aran was the original badass bounty hunter. She was also the original silent protagonist (not counting the recent Metroid: Other M game), who went from planet to planet fighting Space Pirates and her arch-rival, Ridley to keep the galaxy safe from the Metroids and Mother Brain.

5. Master Chief

He battled two races of creatures, the Covenant and the Flood, to save mankind from being overrun. A man of few words, but what he lacked in speech he made up with his fist. He took out the original Halo ring, killed Guilty Spark, and saved the human race. Now he just sleeps waiting for the next time the world is in need of his services.

4. Ryu Hayabusa

The original ninja badass became only more badass when he got to star in his first 3D game, Ninja Gaiden. From lightening fast swordplay to hacking away at his enemies limbs, not much could stop Ryu from defeating his enemies with his fancy swordplay, not even his big breasted partner.

3. Duke Nukem

Duke is like Master Chief's half brother, he takes down aliens races all by himself, only Duke does it whiling spitting out one-liners, drinking beer, and having sex with lots of women. The best way to describe Duke is that if you piss him off, he'll rip your head off and shit down your spine.

2. Solid Snake

When Solid Snake isn't listening to his codec or crawling in a box, he's beating up some pretty crazy enemies. From taking down giant Metal Gears to fighting strange people (Psycho Mantis , Beauty and Beast unit, Vamp), nothing can stop him, not even old age.

1. Kratos

The world of Greek Mythology doesn't have too many people left, you know since Kratos practically killed everyone. They say that sometimes the best hero is an anti-hero and Kratos fits that bill to a tee. They say no mortal can kill a god, but Kratos proved that it can be done time and time again.

Game Review: Costume Quest

2011-04-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

Double Fine Brings Its Quirkiness to the RPG World.

All Reviews May Contain Spoilers of the Story. Read at Your Own Risk

Costume Quest takes place on Halloween and tells the story of a boy or girl (your choice) that sets out on a quest to save their sibling. There are monsters that have invaded the human world and are trying to steal all the candy. When they go trick or treating, the house they visit has a monster who mistakes the sibling you didn't pick as being a piece of candy and kidnaps them. This thrusts our hero into a quest to rescue his/her sibling, so he/she won't get grounded by the parents.

Costume Quest is the first game from Double Fine after Brutal Legends, it's an old school turn-based RPG game; similar in style of older Final Fantasy titles or the newer Blue Dragon game. This game is very simple to play, and trust me when I say it, this game is basically holding your hand all the way through it. I had no issues with this, having played pretty much every RPG in Square Enix's catalog over my 23 years of life. I enjoyed being able to go back and play a nice and simple RPG game without some convoluted game mechanic. Your team attacks first then the enemies, and as you attack the game will flat out tell you when to hit one of the face buttons to do extra damage. No having to learn exact timing (a la Mario and Luigi series), so for people who may not be too familiar with turn-based RPG's, they can use Costume Quest as a good starter game. In the game you collect costumes to give your character and his companions different abilities from the cool robot costume to the more bizarre unicorn costume. Each one brings a unique ability to the battle and helps keep the battles fresh. In addition to the main quest of the game, each of the 3 areas you visit offer various side quest. From collecting creepy treat cards to bobbing for apples, these quests offer some fun things to do when you don't feel like rescuing your brother/sister.

The visuals of Costume Quest have a great charm to them. It's a very cartoony look which works great for the bizarreness that tends to come from Tim Schafer games. My only really big gripe with the game is that their is absolutely no voice acting of any kind. All the text in the game must be read and is not spoken to you. This isn't a huge problem but I feel that a lot of the comedy can be lost on people, when it's not spoken to them. Games like Grim Fandango and Psychonauts were amazing games because of the great voice acting present in those games. The game does feature some really funny dialogue, I just felt it would of been better with voice acting.

Costume Quest doesn't reinvent the RPG genre in anyway considering some of the games released these days, it does the exact opposite, but that's half the charm of it. At a $15 price tag, it can be kind of a hard sell since the game will last you roughly 5-8 hours, but it can offer a nice calm and simple experience in a world plagued by over-the-top action games. Now get out there and save your brother....or your sister whichever you want.

Anime Week in Review: Black Blood Brothers

2011-04-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

Vampire's fighting and some light comedy come together in Black Blood Brothers.

All Reviews May Contain Spoilers of the Plot and Characters. Read at own Risk.

Black Blood Brothers tells the story of Jiro Mochizuki, a.k.a the Silver Blade, who fought and defeated the Kowloon King and his children in a war many years ago. The show takes place 10 years later as he travels to Japan with his little brother, Kotaro, in hopes of taking up residence in The Special Zone, a secret city for vampires. Once he arrives in the city, he finds out that the surviving Kowloon children are plotting to invade and take over The Special Zone. As Jiro and Kotaro venture to The Special Zone they encounter past enemies and new enemies that threaten the safety of The Special Zone.

Black Blood Brothers is a entertaining show with some comedy thrown into the mix. Though the show does copy some of the elements from lots of other anime. In the first episode, Jiro awakens from his slumber and uses his special powers to defeat the Suppression Team. Only to become weakened after having been in the ocean for many hours because Kotaro fell in. He doesn't lose all his powers completely but in his first battle after recovering he is still injury and struggles to defeat one vampire. I have nothing wrong with this mechanic I just find it's funny that so many anime tend to follow this same script (see Elfen Lied for example). The action in the show is fun to watch even thought only maybe 6 of the 12 episodes really have any great fight scenes in it. The final fight scene during episode 12 is the best one in the series. When Jiro isn't fighting other Black Bloods (vampires), he hanging out Kotaro and their compromiser, Mimiko. This is where most of the comedy can be found, from Jiro making odd remarks to Mimiko about her virginity or beating up Kotaro for not listening. These moments help create a balance between the story and action to help pace it.

The show is available on DVD and Blu-Ray. in a complete series set with all 12 episodes on 3 discs. This review is about the DVD release of Black Blood Brothers. Funimation included the usual special features they put into most of their DVD releases. You get the usual sneak peeks at other shows from Funimation and textless songs. Something neat that Funimation included was the original Japanese commentary for every episode from the Japanese release. This show like most other shows have both English and Japanese audio options with English subtitles. The English dub is create in my opinion like most Funimation dubs, so you anime purists give it a chance please. J. Michael Tatum provides the voice of Jiro and Leah Clark as the voice of Kotaro, both do a great job with their charactrs, as does everyone else in the show. The video options is just your standard picture quality, nothing too fancy, though the Blu-Ray release does support 1080p HD. The animation in the show its self is good and nicely drawn. When Jiro cuts a vampire's head off, it actually looks like he cut off a vampire's head.

Black Blood Brother is great entertaining show that any fan of vampires or sword fighting should check it out. At only 12 episodes it's a great pick up for anyone looking for something quick and fun to watch. So which side do you pick the Black Blood or the Kowloon Children?

RightStuf - DVD
RightStuf - Blu-Ray
Amazon - DVD
Amazon - Blu-Ray

Top Ten Thursday: Videogame Soundtracks

2011-04-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Here it is everyone, my first post for Top Ten Thursdays, Videogame Soundtracks

Creating a list about the ten best videogame soundtracks can be really challenging to put together (trust me this wasn't a cakewalk).There's so much great music that exists in videogames, narrowing down to just ten can be difficult. This list will only include specifics games and not series in general unless stated other wise. I also stayed away from games that had any kind of licensed music in it. I feel the music that was created specifically for the game has much more of an emotional meaning behind. I'm sure there will be people who will have an objective opinion about some of the games on my list, but that's fine. I mean what is a top ten list without some object opinions.

Honorable Mentions:
Here are a couple games that didn't quite make the list but deserve to be mentioned.

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

Most of you probably have no idea which game I am referring to, but trust me Fragile Dreams has one of the best, if not the best soundtrack for any Wii game. Fragile is a game about Seto who is the only person left in the world as he searches for a silver-haired girl. The music conveys the themes of loneliness and emptiness perfectly, but there's also this sense of empty happiness that makes you want to smile.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis)

The music in the original game was some of the best musical work back in videogames early days. Each stage had its own theme from the upbeat Green Hills Zone to the more mellow Marble Zone. All 7 worlds were given a life of their own through music.

The Pokemon Series (the main series)
The main Pokemon game series features some great music. From the memorable "capture" music to the music that plays when you ride your bicycle. Its a happy game of journeying out on your own to become a Pokemon master.

Without further ado, here are the Top 10 Videogame Soundtracks;

10. Nier
Nier is not a very happy game, every time you succeed something bad happens. The game never lets you feel happiness from succeeding. The music does a perfect job of conveying this feeling. From the rock sounds of the Boss Themes to the classical overworld music, Nier is a game that leaves you with an empty feeling of happiness, but also sorrow and depression.

9. Shadow of the Colossus
The music that plays during each of the epic boss battles is made stronger by the fact that most of the game is spent in silence. Your journey across a barren land in silence then once a colossi appears the orchestra will hit you like a ton of bricks. These two things together help create what is considered one of the greatest games of all time.

8. Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid has the best soundtrack of any stealth based game on the market (take that Sam Fisher!!). The theme song used in all the MGS is in my opinion the most heroic piece of music in video game history. Try to listen to it and not have a rush of heroism flow through your mind. With Rika Muranaka's "The Best Is Yet to Come" ending song, the game leaves you with many feelings and thoughts about the world around you.

7. Super Mario World
Mario games have always had great music and feature some of the most recognizable music in video game history. With Super Mario World, Koji Kondo took all the music we loved from the Mario games of the NES era, remixed them and made them better with Mario's first SNES adventure.

6. Halo
Music in Halo leaves you with a feeling of importance and weight. The world is in trouble and Master Chief is the only hope the humans have. Every time I hear the theme song, I can picture Master Chief fighting through waves and waves of enemies. Halo is a game where music really showcases the importance of the world's situation.

5. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda series has always had an amazing soundtrack, but it wasn't until Link's first 3D adventure did the music really start to shine. With over 80 tracks, Ocarina of Time featured music for every moment whether it was character themes or music to represent specific areas of the game. Koji Kondo really out did himself this time around. I dare anyone to listen to the Lost Woods theme and not feel happy or Zelda's theme and not feel comfort, go on I dare you.

4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
From the classical sounds of exploring the castle to the metal infused boss battle music this game had it all. Castlevania SOTN was the second Castlevania game Michiru Yamane scored and still remains to be her finest work to this day.

3. Kingdom Hearts
Yoko Shimomura (of Super Mario RPG fame) had her work cut out for her when scoring this game, but no worries she did an amazing job. Shimomura took existing themes from Disney movies and remixed them making it her own creation.

2. Chrono Trigger
This masterpiece of game was scored by two amazing composers, Yasunori Mitsuda (Xenogears) and Nobuo Uematsu (practically every Final Fantasy). From amazing character theme tracks (Frog and Robo) to softer songs (Wind Scene), Chrono Trigger had all kinds of music and every single track is worth listening to over and over again.

1. Final Fantasy VII
Here we are at number 1 and most you (the ones who know me) probably saw this one coming a mile away. This game is Nobuo Uematsu's greatest work, every single track tells a different part of the game's story. This game gave birth to two of the most famous pieces of music in videogame history, Aerith's theme and One-Winged Angel. To this day and age almost every single person who has played Final Fantasy VII still remembers these two tracks. I've listened to this soundtrack over 40 times all the way through and each time I feel like I am reliving my very first playthrough of this masterpiece of a videogame.

Game Review: Torchlight

2011-04-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

Runic Games Diablo clone comes to the Xbox Live Arcade in all of it's repetitive glory.

All reviews may contain spoilers of the games story and ending.

Torchlight on XBLA is a port of a 2009 PC game, the guys over at Runic Games did a great job on the port. Torchlight tells the story a hero (your character) who comes to Torchlight and is immediately thrown into conflict. Your recruited by Syl to help her find her mentor, Master Alric. You come to find out that Master Alric is the man behind the attacks on Torchlight. You set out on a quest to stop him by going down a spiraling staircase of randomized dungeons. That is basically the entire setting for Torchlight, there is no visiting the outskirts of town or taking a boat across the river to reach a new country. You spend the entire game going deeper and deeper below Torchlight. This is a nice mechanic for such a simple game and the developers do change up the scenery every five levels to keep it a fresh.

Torchlight is an action role-playing game, similar to games like Diablo (having been developed by two of Diablo's designers). You choose between playing three different classes, Destroyer (melee focus), Alchemist (magic focus), and Vanquisher (ranged focus). The only thing that really separates these characters are the stat increases you get when you level up. You run around hacking-and-slashing at enemies as you progress through each level of the dungeon. This gameplay mechanic is very repetitive and for some people it can cause the game to become very boring after awhile. I'm a fan of the hack-and-slash genre, having played games like Dynasty Warriors and N3, so I wasn't too bother by the repetitive nature, but others may not feel the same way.

The graphics are very nice and not too hard on the eyes. They're similar to the style of graphics used in World of Warcraft, a more cartoony visual than a realistic one. The music is a nice listen and fits the world of Torchlight with its fantasy themed soundtrack. Some people were concerned that the controls on the XBLA version wouldn't convert well, but no worries they did a great job. You use the X button to do all your attacks, you map spells and skills to the other buttons, and the bumpers are used to replenish your HP or Mana. Torchlight doesn't offer too much replayability, once you beat the game all you unlock is an endless dungeon themed after the main story's dungeon.

Like most videogames, Torchlight has it's share of flaws, but don't let that stop you from enjoying a fun game. At a fifteen dollar price tag you're getting a lot compared to some games you pay sixty dollars for. With three different characters to try out and about a 6-8 hour story, Torchlight will give you enough reasons to come back for more.

Anime Week in Review: Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance

2011-04-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

Evangelion 2.22 is the second movie in Hideaki Anno's Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy and this movie is an awesome thrill ride of mech action that any fan of anime needs to check out.

The Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy is a remake of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series. The intentions of this film series is to give fans of the original series or movie a new outlook on the story, as well as bring in new non-fans of the series and make it more accessible to them. I don't blame them, the story in the original TV series did get very weird at times specially towards the very end. To avoid any spoilers I'm going to keep my synopsis brief and let you guys decide if you want to find out what happens in the end. I highly recommend you do pick this up and the original movie. Evangelion 2.22 continues the story from where Evangelion 1.11 left off as NERV continues to battle the Angel threat to Tokyo-3. The story of the Evangelion series follows Shinji Ikari, a young boy who has been chosen as the Third Child. The pilots of the Evangelions are children of around the age of fifteen years old. In the first movie, Shinji was seeking the approval of his father, the second movie doesn't really alter this story mechanic. He relationship with his father has grown since the second movie with his father actually making attempts to spend time with Shinji this time around. The movie also continues to focus on NERV (the organization Shinji works for) and there battles with Angels. The movie can be broken down into roughly four battles through out the film. This is where the movie as a whole really shines, the battles are amazing to watch and keep you on the edge of your seat till the final blow is dealt. No battle ever feels repeated, each Angel has it's own unique attacks and appearance to keep things fresh and never dull.

The biggest addition to the series is the introduction of Mari Makinami, a brand new character to the Evangelion series. I was a bit disappointed because the movie has a bunch of marketing relating to this new character but the film doesn't really feature her all that much. She only appears in roughly three different scenes of the film for at most only five to ten minutes at a time. Though she is involved in a very sweet battle scene at the end of the movie. The movie does make up for this by introducing a fan favorite from the original series, Asuka Langley Shikinami (the last name was Soryu in the original). She's a great addition to a cast of very shy and dramatic characters that were introduced in 1.11. She is self absorbed and almost always make fun of Shinji (I think it's because she secretly likes him). The one thing I couldn't understand is that they didn't have her speak any German, it's not a big deal but I know fans of the original will complain about this.

Funimation does yet another superb job of dubbing with Evangelion 2.22. The entire voice cast from the Evangelion 1.11 returns. With Trina Nishimura as Mari and J. Michael Tatum as Ryoji Kaji joining the cast. Tatum wasn't the original voice actor for Kaji, but did a great job just like Aaron Krohn did ten years ago. Trina does a great job of voicing the mysterious Mari even if her character only speaks a handful of lines. The video quality is done in 1080p HD 16 X 9, so I highly recommend everyone pick it up on Blu-ray if your able to. I've seen only a small amount of anime on Blu-ray but the Evangelion movies make my jaw drop every time I see them. Audio is offered in two formats Dolby TrueHD English 6.1 and Dolby TrueHD Japanese 6.1. Subtitles are only offered in English, so unfortunately if you speak any language other than English you won't be able to understand the movie. Inside the case is a twenty page guidebook that gives you information on characters and other aspects of both movies. Funimation does offer a good amount of bonus features this time around which is nice since most of the time they only include trailers for other shows. Special features include a U.S cast commentary, deleted and alternate scenes, Japanese trailers and TV spots and a rebuild of evangelion 2.02 feature. The rebuild of Evangelion 2.02 feature shows scenes from the movie as they were being produced in the studio. Your basically watching the movie "come to life."

Evangelion 2.22 is a must buy movie for fans of the original and newcomers to the series. Great action and a much easier story to follow this time around make for a great viewing experience that every anime fan needs to enjoy over and over again. Remember you mustn't run away, go pick up your copy today.

RighStuf.com
Amazon.com

Game Review: Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy

2011-03-29T18:35:00.000-07:00

To start off Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (the 012 is pronounced duodecim) is a must buy game for anyone who loves Final Fantasy and fighting games, and wants to see the two of them combined into an awesome gaming experience.

Dissidia 012 is a follow-up to the original Dissidia Final Fantasy on the PSP but the story is actually a prequel, telling about the events that took place before the original story. The story revolves around six new characters, Kain Highwind from FF4, Tifa Lockheart from FF7, Vaan from FF12, Laguna Loire from FF8, Yuna from FF10 and Lightning from FF13. The previous 22 characters (main heroes and villains from the first 12 Final Fantasy) are all present in the story but the six new characters take the spotlight in the story mode this time around. You'll play with each character in a different chapter has they try to return to the Sanctuary, where Cosmos waits, and how they each deal with "endless battles" and looking for a way to deal with it. For anyone that never played the original Dissidia, the central story of the game is that Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony and Chaos, the God of Discord are waging war. They both have summoned warriors from different worlds to battle in a classic clash of light versus darkness. The story in Dissidia runs about 15-20 hours long, but the biggest shock comes from when you complete the main story. You unlock the entire campaign from the original Dissidia and it supports all the new features that Duodecim introduces. So, for people who missed out on the first game you are basically getting two games for the price of only one.

The gameplay in Dissidia is pretty simple to understand once you start playing but it can be a bit hard to understand from just reading about it. Each battle is a classic one vs one battle, with the occasional assist character thrown in. You have two types of skills, bravery attacks and HP attacks. The goal is drain your opponents bravery by making it your own, you do this by attacking with your bravery attacks (O button attacks). Then once you acquire enough bravery you can hit the opponent with a HP attack (Square button) to drain their HP equal to the amount of bravery you posses. It seems a bit confusing, but once you actually play your first battle it all begins to make sense. The fighting mechanics are much simpler than playing a Street Fighter or Tekken. The moves are easy to pull off and execute but you'll still have to learn timing and placement to hit the opponent, especially when the enemies level gets really high. As you attack your opponent with bravery attacks, you'll acquire EX points once the gauge is full you can go into EX mode. Once in EX mode if you hit an opponent with a HP attack you can execute a finishing move to deal more damage to the opponent. The EX mode attack is general the characters signature move from their respect game. The gameplay between the two games remains mostly unchanged but Dissidia 012 does add several new features to the combat. The biggest new feature Dissidia 012 adds is assists, now as you attack your opponent an assist gauge will fill up. Once you get one bar you can have your assist character attack the opponent with their bravery attack or take damage for you if you're being attacked. If you let the gauge fill up to two bars then you can have your assist pull off their HP attack. Another new feature is the EX Revenge, if you have a full EX bar and your being hit you can activate EX revenge to freeze your opponent in place. This allows you to get a jump on the enemy and counterattack effectively. The game can also be played two different ways, Action RPG or RPG. Action RPG mode is the standard way of playing the game, where you freely move your character, and attack and dodge on your own. RPG mode plays more like a classic Final Fantasy battle system, each button on the PSP is mapped to a different action, like X for defending or Triangle for moving towards your opponent. It's an interesting way of playing but it felt constricted to me, so I recommend just playing the normal way. The only issue I had with the gameplay is that as the opponent's level raises the difficulty seems to spike at times. Fighting an opponent at level 1 or 5 feels really simple but fighting someone at level 15 or 20 you can really feel difference.

The place where Dissidia shines is in its roster and how different each character feels. SquareEnix really did a great job of making every character feel different, from close range characters (Tifa and Cloud), long range (Laguna and Kuja), and even someone who relies almost entirely on counters (Exdeath). For fans of Final Fantasy all characters learn moves based on attacks from their respect games, Cloud has all his limit breaks, Lightning uses 3 of her Paradigms, and Yuna has her summons. Dissidia offers tons of replayability every character can be leveled up to 100, learning new moves as they progress and the game is always rewarding you with some form of experience after every battle.

The graphics in Dissidia 012 continue to show why SquareEnix is one of the best companies in making CGI cinematics. The opening cutscene is gorgeous, one that I would watch over and over again. Even the in-game graphics are very impressive to look at compared to other PSP games. The one area I'm a bit disappointed in is the voice acting and I'm a voice acting fanatic. At times the voice acting in the game comes off a bit weird and odd, but their are characters who voice actor does a great job (see Kefka or Kain).

The multiplayer is the one area I didn't get a chance to try out and it's the same reason why I never get to try out most mutliplayer features on the PSP; it doesn't support infrastructure. I don't understand why almost every PSP game only uses Ad-Hoc, it can be hard for people to find others locally playing the same game as you. I do know the mutiplayer is a basic one vs one system, using whatever levels and gear you have earned in your save file.

Dissidia offers some pretty neat features outside of the core gameplay. If you have a save file from the original Dissidia you will be asked if you want to transfer over your characters and levels. This is a pretty neat feature that allows you to start off with your characters already upgraded and to not lose all the hours you have put into the original game. The game also awards you the more you play with a Play Plan and Accomplishments. The Play Plan is a feature where you pick what kind of gamer you are, either casual, hardcore, or advanced. Once you picked a Play Plan the game will give you a specific number of battles to complete in a day. As you complete battle after battle you'll get EXP boosts and items the more you play in a day. Also you pick a day of the week you play most; then on that day every week you get a boost in everything from EXP to AP. The Accomplishments in the game are similar to achievements on Xbox360 or trophies on PS3. These range from basic goals, like completing a story chapter, to more advanced goals, like chaining six battles together. As you complete Accomplishments you'll acquire new items to equip your characters with. These little extra features are a great way to drive some players to complete tasks for special rare items. The game also features tons of unlockable content everything from new costumes to unlocking the villains as playable characters. There's lots to do here.

In closing Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy is a great game on a system that will probably be obsolete within the next year and half with the new NGP coming out this winter. It's a welcome addition to any RPG fan's library. The gamplay, deep RPG mechanics, and lavish graphics really shine in this game. The story like most Final Fantasy's is very off the wall and most people will likely be confused as to what is going on, but don't let that stop you from experiencing a great game. So which side do you choose, light or dark?

Anime Week in Review: Shin-Chan

2011-03-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

OK a few things before I begin this review. Every Saturday I am going to post an anime week in review for any anime shows that I watched during the previous week. I figured instead of everyday talking about a different disc each day for one show, it would be better for you guys and myself to just write one review for anything watched during the week. So, without further ado here is my first review.

The anime series Shinchan tells the story of Shin Nohara, a 5 year old child who loves eating chocolate biscuits, performing his ass dance (yes that is what it is called), and giving his parents a hard time. The show also involves his family, classroom friends, principal and favorite TV show character; Action Bastard. Shinchan is basically the South Park or Simpson's of Japan. The show doesn't have any main ongoing storyline for the whole series especially considering that the show only has 50 episodes in America where as Japan has over 700 episodes and counting. The main plot of the show is to give Shin the spotlight and occasionally the supporting cast to get into all kinds of antics from getting the last carton of cheap eggs or getting off a planet ruled by British talking dogs. Shinchan is a show intended for adults, so put the kids to bed before you watch this. Various moments of nudity, mostly Shin's ass or occasionally his penis pop up at random moments as well as the occasionally vulgarity. Don't let those reasons stop you from checking it out. This show has it all and it's not afraid to show it or mock it for that matter of fact. The great thing about Shinchan is that the dubbers over at Funimation were basically given liberty to do pretty much whatever they want with the shows dialogue. Since in the original Japanese format the jokes in the show all relate to Japanese people and culture which would be completely lost on American audiences.

That's what makes this show, so much fun to watch, the dialogue. It's witty at times and the references are spot on. The writing staff at Funimation sure did a great job writing content and making sure that the dialogue would be able to match lip flaps. That's another area where the show succeeds on the dubbing job is amazing on par with shows like Cowboy Bebop or any Miyazaki film. All the dialogue matches perfectly with the lip flapping. The running gags in the show are great too, like their neighbor being a dropout or one of Shin's friends that everyone thinks is gay. The dialogue is what makes this show, take it away and all you have is a 5 year old who likes to show his ass and dance around. The animation is a bit on the crappier side but what do you expect from a show that started back in 1990. I will admit the animation used on Shinchan is very different from the anime that shows up these days but that's where a lot of the appeal and love for the show comes from. For you Star Wars geeks, there is a great episode of Shinchan that pokes fun at Star War in all it's glory on par with Family Guy or Robot Chicken's parodies of Star Wars. I've only watched the first season so far, so I still got another 26 episodes to watch this coming week. Next Saturday I'll just briefly touch base on the second season but expect more of the same.

In closing, Shinchan is a great comedy show in a world where comedy is few and far between (most anime have action or dramatic stories with only bits of humor). It's a great show that any fan of anime should checkout at least a few episodes of in their lifetime. Whether you like watching a 5 year old insult his mom's breast size or watching a depressed wife beat up a stuffed bunny to release anger, Shinchan offers it all. So party party and bring the whole Shinchan family along.