Feb 292012
 

“Kamehameha” is a series of post where we examine various action scenes from movies, anime, and cartoons, to name a few. It’s name comes from one of the most famous special moves in Dragon Ball Z. We chose a DBZ reference because it’s the definition of an action show…minus the drawn out stare down filler.

Hey guys, this week’s “Kamehameha” is a bit different.  I won’t be doing any “analysis” of the scene below, just giving some thoughts.  This is the trailer of Sleeping Dogs (and yes, the trailer is just a live action short, but it still doesn’t diminish the badassery of Wei).  Sleeping Dogs is actually the game formerly known True Crime: Hong Kong. Activision dropped the game because it didn’t think the game would sell well (this was exacerbated by the fact the budget for the game was growing bigger and bigger).  Square Enix then bought the rights to the game, which will be released this Summer.  Sleeping Dogs is an open world game set in Hong Kong.  The plot revolves around an undercover cop named Wei Shen, who is sent to infiltrate the Triads.  From everything I’ve seen and read (here and here too), the game looks promising.  Open world (Assassin’s Creed) + cop drama (The Departed) + sweet melee system (Batman: Arkham City) + slo-mo shooting (Max Payne) + insane vehicular combat (Just Cause 2) = win.

Feb 292012
 

This week will be a little different (not so different I guess since I’ve done it before, and recently) as I’ll be doing an anime movie. However, unlike the other movies I’e done, which were linked to an anime, this one is a pure original work for the big screen. And boy, is it awesome. One big difference between this kind of work and Macross Frontier, the other movie I covered, is that there’s no base material or background knowledge that you can utilize going in; it’s a totally fresh adventure. Of course, that’s pretty normal for a movie, but Sword of the Stranger is a pretty stellar example of the genre. Sword of the Stranger is animated by Bones, which has done a lot of other work, some of which I’ve reviewed (and some of which is quite good). And the music is done by Sato Naoki, who also did the music for Eureka 7 (curiously another Bones production) and if you read my Eureka 7 review, you’d know I was a big fan of his music there. And honestly, it’s the same here, but we’ll get to that in a little bit…

If you're watching for anything, it better be this.

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Feb 282012
 

But Laevatein, it’s not Monday!

Yeah, I realize that, and I’m sorry; I’ve meant to get this article up yesterday, but I grossly underestimated what I needed to cover for the last three volumes. In fact, the next one is particularly dense, and my memory of the events of these novels isn’t as good as I’d like it to be. As a result, I’ll have to be a lot more succinct with this article, even though I can only really cover one novel this time.

At this point, I've also given up consistency. At least you have Kurz on the cover this time!

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Feb 282012
 

So here we are on this lovely Tuesday, but you ask yourself what do I have in store for you. Well if you are blind or just didn’t even read the title I am going to talk about this lovely, epic last season of the show House and my thoughts on the previous 7 seasons of the show. So to sum it all up: what I thought about the show House. Let us begin.

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Feb 272012
 

Oh, the Oscars, often the bane and joy of my existence depending on the films that win the night overall. This year, I was surprised how well I actually predicted the wins this year…well except for Rango. Apparently lizard-Westerns have more appeal than I gave them credit for.

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Feb 262012
 

It’s time for “Horror Hoedown Showdown!” Today’s horror treat is a review of NeverDead.  On the surface, NeverDead looks interesting; what game has an immortal protagonist?  Think about that for a moment: you CAN’T die!  However, while the premise seems interesting, all the appeal disappears once you start the game.

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Feb 262012
 

Feb 252012
 

Normally you would see a story in an RPG about some dude, his best bud, his childhood friend *cough*love interest*cough*, maybe your buddy’s older sibling, and the rest of a motley crew that’s best friends forever. And everything is all sunshine and rainbows… This is not a story about that dude. This is a tale about a spoiled brat and a lot of other unlikeable people he’s stuck with.

Maybe it’s the nostalgia kicking in, but I’d say that Tales of the Abyss was a favorite for the PS2 and one of the first Tales games I ever played. So when I heard about a 3DS port, I had to investigate.

Now bear in mind the following, most of the review will come from the game itself, analyzed from the perspective of someone who has never played ToA before, but I will touch on it from a perspective of someone who has been around the block before later on, so hold on for now.

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Feb 242012
 

We made it! Sunday is the Oscars! And we finally have made it to the last big category: Best Animated Feature. But this year, it looks a little bit like slim pickings, with two foreign films in the mix. But beggars can’t be choosers, so let’s wrap up this month of Oscars with one last look before the big night!

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Feb 232012
 

Hey guys and welcome to a new column called “Objection!”  (Yes, it’s named after Phoenix Wright’s catchphrase.) If you’ve been keeping up with the site, I hinted at this column in a post at the beginning of the month.  These posts will pit two writers (and possibly guest writers) against one another in a friendly debate over a specific topic.  Enjoy!

Judge: Welcome to the first “Objection!” I’m with Silverwolf and we’ll be debating who’s the better marksmen: Hawkeye or Green Arrow. Of course I’m on the Hawkeye bandwagon.

Silverwolf: And I’ll be defending Green Arrow.

Judge: Cool deal. Let’s begin. I think the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Hawkeye is that he’s a master of not only the bow and arrow, but various different forms of combat. He even had a cameo as Ronin. Green Arrow ain’t got nothing on that.

Silverwolf: Well, that’s where you’re wrong! Towards the end of Judd Winick’s run on GA, the Emerald Archer went to an island to train because his shooting skills couldn’t cut it alone. He actually mastered swordsmanship well enough to take on Deathstroke himself. He even learned how to make traps, fight hand to hand, and even some cooking techniques. He’s quite a multi-talented guy. Continue reading »