Torchlight Review

Hi guys. Well, I just recently completed my first run through of Borderlands 2 with a level 36 Gunzerker, and have gone through a good chunk of Torchlight 2 (I selected the Engineer as my first character, and I just made it into act 3). After completing a good portion of T2, I thought it would be a good idea to examine the original game and see how it laid the foundation for the sequel, much like my review of the original Borderlands. So, here's my review for Torchlight.

Story
Not normal for an RPG, the story of Torchlight is a bit weak. Here's the except from the Torchlight Wiki:


"The game is set in the small mining town of Torchlight. In the nearby mine, a mysterious mineral known as Ember attracts miners, adventurers, and monsters alike. The town is troubled by the recent corruption of the mineral, which can mutate anyone unfortunate enough to come across a corrupt piece. The prime example of this is seen by the corruption of the alchemist Alric, who turns on his companions and attempts to revive the legendary Ember colossus, Ordrak. The main storyline focuses around the player, teaming with Syl the sage, to stop the source of corruption within the dungeon. You will fight many monsters and champions along the way, while collecting epic loot and hoards of gold. "


That's the story in a nutshell. There's no grand evil, no worldwide plot, etc. It's all concentrated in one little town, where not much goes on, and there's not much character (more on this in a bit).

Setting
The setting of Torchlight is it's biggest strength, yet it's also it's biggest weakness. You first arrive in the namesake town, and it's just recently come under attack from creatures from the town's mine. After clearing out the beasts, the town returns to it's normal state of activity. Since the evil entities came from the mine, you waltz right in to whoop them a new one.

When you enter the mine, you've entered a dark, dank collection of caves, with the remnants of the town's mining operation in shambles. After clearing the mines, you enter an ancient set of tombs, filled to the brim with the walking dead, and covered with cobwebs and bookshelves filled with equally ancient scrolls & tomes. Once the tombs were cleaned, you come across the water-filled ruins of a magical civilization, with their power still active & apparent. After the ruins, you enter a giant cavern filled with a civilization of angry lizard folk, who don't take too kindly to you wandering around their home. From the lizard cavern, you enter an abandoned prison standing above molten lava, with remnants of the previous occupants still around. After clearing the prison, you arrive in the ruins of the ancient forges of the dwarves, who were wiped out by their misuse of Ember, and were brought back as undead savages. Once you slaughtered the dwarves, you enter the Black Palace, the home of Ordrak, the big baddie of the game.

The variety of environments adds a lot of flavor to Torchlight. Each of the dungeons have their own feel, and are completely separate from one another, making them their own world. However, a lot of things repeat in these environments in terms of static objects, and level formations when the dungeons are generated. That's not to say it's the same every time: it's just that it's the same a majority of the time, and makes thing feel repetitive (the quests are repetitive as well, but that a little later).

Characters
Another weakness in the game are the characters. Sorta taking a page from Borderlands, the classes have little character, and the NPCs have no character. The reason why I say sorta is that while Borderlands had some character, Torchlight has next to no character. What's worse is that what little character Torchlight has, there's not too much character. Alric, the primary villain, feels too much like a standard villain from the 1980s: his plan is obvious, he appears at obviously convenient plot points, and he's defeated too easily. Syl has even less character: she acts as a weak guide, but apart from that, there's nothing to her.

Gameplay
Here's where Torchlight succeeds. Harkening back to Diablo 1 & 2, this game is a balls-to-the-wall, grinding (in the entertaining way), and entertaining RPG. To start off, there's the classes, each of which fit the standard archetype. We have the:


Alchemist (Spellcaster)
Destroyer (Melee)
Vanquisher (Ranged)



Each class fits their respective role to a T, and have skills that suit their roles. For the most part, the characters are separate from one another in regards to their abilities (Each class has 3 skill trees with 11 skills each), but the one kink in the armor is that each of the classes share certain skills, and that ruins the otherwise uniqueness of the 3 classes.

However, you don't wander the world of Torchlight alone. You also have an animal companion (cat or dog) that follows you around, and fights with you. The pet has it's own inventory, and can pick up items just like you. In addition to that, the pet can be sent back to town to sell everything in it's inventory, can learn & use spells like the player (spells are separate from class abilities, and all classes can learn them), and can even be fed fish that will change it into various creatures with greater strengths & abilities than in it's normal form. Speaking of creatures...

Torchlight is filled with various baddies for you to slay, ranging from bat-like people, to oozes, to the undead, and finally to walking dragonfolk that breath swaths of flame. Just like D1 & D2, the monsters are ordered according to dungeon & difficulty, although there are certain exceptions in the form of the "hunt down & kill" side quests. Speaking of side quests...

In addition to the main quest to stop Alric, there's a small handful of side quests, organized mainly into hunting down unique monsters & retrieving specific items. The big problem with the side quests is that once they're exhausted, they're exhausted. Luckily, the side quests do provide extra XP, gold & magic items, and extra fame (sorta like a subset of experience, which gets you extra skill points when you reach a certain number after you've killed a bunch of unique monsters).

That's another plus for Torchlight. The game is practically floating in an ocean of items. You have magic arms & armor, magic rings & amulets, health & mana potions, town portal & identify scrolls, spells (you can only know 4 at a time, but you can learn/unlearn them as often as you want), and the earlier mentioned pet augmenting fish. There's even a variety of rarities in regards to the weapons, armor, rings, and amulets, just like Diablo 1 & Diablo 2.

The one final thing I'll point out about the gameplay mechanics, and that's the stash. Much like Diablo 2, the player has a stash in which he or she can deposit items if their isn't enough room in their normal inventory. Unlike Diablo 2, the stash can hold far more items than the incredibly small space that the D2 stash provided. On top of that, there's also a shared stash that all of your characters can access, letting them put in items, and take items out. This makes creating spare characters just for the sake of getting item space that much more pointless.


Graphics & Sound
Graphically, Torchlight is rather interesting. It looks charming, colorful, and dare I say this, cartooney. I know I mentioned cartooney looks back in my Serious Sam 2 review, but it wasn't completely noticeable in that game. In regards to Torchlight, the cartoon looks is very obvious, and the colors are very bright, much more so than Diablo 3 (check out that review's graphics & sound section for details). Where-in the greater use of color in D3 seemed unnecessary, the color usage & cartoon looks in Torchlight seems...appropriate. Torchlight is more lighthearted than D3, and seems less dark & disturbing. Dare I say this, Torchlight could even viewed & played by kids, and they might not even flinch!

The sound quality in Torchlight is definitely not cartooney. Despite the environment, the sound effects sound as gritty & full of depth as any other gothic RPG. Even the voice acting, little of it as there is, doesn't sound amateurish, although it does at times feel a little week.

Overall & Rating
I really liked the original Torchlight. Although it can get boring somewhat quickly, it makes it up by being incredibly entertaining before it gets to that boring state. The gameplay & graphics, not to mention the sound quality, also make up for this. Hell, even kids, with perhaps a little supervision, can enjoy the game.

Torchlight gets a 7.5 to 7.8 out of 10.

See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!




* Full blown Zombie trailer...Woot!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH_9GzaUW40

The Top 5 Longest Anime I Own Or Have Seen

Hi guys! I didn't realize this, but this post marks the 100th time I've put something on this blog! I'm pretty proud of myself, considering a couple months ago I celebrated the 1-year anniversary of creating this blog, and I didn't think it would last a year. Also considering the fact that I first created this as a anime review blog, today's post will be anime-related. Judging by the title of this post, here's a look at the top 5 longest anime I own or have seen.

5) Getbackers (49 Episodes)

Considering the circumstances of the number 5 selection (Click "***" to look at that review), 49 episodes is pretty impressive. Despite some of the more basic elements, Getbackers is a surprisingly epic show, and manages to capture the essence of what Shonen anime is. With the entire series reprinted just a few months ago (July 10th, to be specific), the show was brought back for Otaku to watch again.

4) You're Under Arrest (52 Episodes)

Passing Getbackers by a mere 3 episodes, You're Under Arrest is an example of a cop anime done properly. Ironically, You're Under Arrest is actually 2 shows: a 4-episode OVA to get people primed for the rest of the series, and the 48 episodes that take place after the OVA that continued the story of the first 4 episodes. Without getting into it (considering that I haven't reviewed it yet, but I'm close to), the show is filled with a great cast, the story (or stories) are easy to understand, and is composed of a variety of genres.

3) Maison Ikkoku (96 Episodes)

Rumiko Takahashi is considered to be one of the anime world's most iconic female animator & storytellers. Most of the shows that she created are very well known, but some have fallen by the wayside over the years, and became cult classics. Maison Ikkoku is a well known cult classic, and has the distinction of being shorter than Inuyasha (more on that in a little bit). I just recently found this show, and have begun to watch this relatively lengthy series. From what little I've seen so far, it's not that bad, and I kinda enjoy it.

2) Inuyasha (167 Episodes)

Another Rumiko Takahashi series, the one advantage Inuyasha has over Maison Ikkoku is that it hasn't fallen into cult classic status, but has definitely shifted out of the minds of some anime fans. Unlike Maison Ikkoku, the long running time has been something of a hindrance to the series. The amount of episodes definitely irked fans (167 episodes spread out over 6 seasons), as well as it's shaky use of the manga, but the big detriment to Inuyasha was the amount of filler episodes. I've never managed to watch the entire series, but when I did catch it, at least a 1/4 to 1/2 of the episodes I watched were filler. Despite the problems, Inuyasha has become an endearing anime series, with fans still saying that it's a great show.

1) Bleach (366 Episodes "Currently")

366 Episodes is simply incredible for a series to be composed of. Sadly, the heavy amount of episodes has caused it's popularity to decrease in recent years (at least for me, it seems like it started become less popular around 2010), not to mention the fact that at least half of the episodes are filler. There is a weird light at the end of the tunnel: earlier this year, it was announced that the manga would be ending after all these years, yet the anime would continue (at least that's what I've seen). I've personally enjoyed Bleach, whether filler or not.

With that quick celebration out of the way, it's time to get into something more serious. As you can obviously tell, I increased my reviews & other posts from 1 a week, to 2. I mostly did it out of boredom, but in the end I enjoyed doing the whole "2 posts a week" thing. However, I'm starting to run out of anime (I've still got at least 2 to 4 anime on DVD on backlog, and a horde of out-of-print anime I downloaded), and some of the future PC games I plan to review are a bit older, so figuring out how to get them to work is going to take some work. So, at least for a little while, I'll be going back to 1 review a week. I've actually found it difficult to do 2 reviews a week, especially since they're only placed apart by a day or two (as long as I'm not late), and actually going over two things (sometimes the same medium, sometimes not) can be a challenge. Don't worry though, I do plan on putting up a review for the original Torchlight later this week, but after that, it'll be back to 1 post at a time. I'll still be posting stuff up, so don't think that this is goodbye.

See you all later this week. Until then, stay Otaku!

MTGSalvation for Sale & Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Zombies

Hi everyone! If any of you are a Magic the Gathering fan, you've likely heard of MTGSalvation. One of the oldest MTG website (I believe the site was created in 2003 or 2005), MTGSalvation was a good source of previews, rumors, and gossip about Magic the Gathering. Today though, I caught the following post:

http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=449400

It'll be interesting to see what happens if the deal goes through. Even if nothing changes on the website, I'm very interested to see how attitudes change. Whether for better or worse, only time will tell.

Also, this came out...finally!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoZ2o_2QMOE

Again, see you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!

First Impressions: Torchlight 2

Hi guys! A couple hours ago, Torchlight 2 was released on steam, and I've been playing it for a little bit. Of course, it might take a bit for me to complete, since I'm working on Borderlands 2 at the same time. Luckily, I can give you my first impression of this quirky RPG.

Much like B2, the classes within Torchlight 2 have been improved. Whereas there were only 3 classes in the original game, the player now has 4 classes to choose from. We have the Berserker (Melee), Embermage (Spellcasting), Engineer (Melee & Spellcasting, and the first class I chose), and the Outlander (Ranged & Spellcasting). The classes also have more depth to them, also like B2: where as the 3 original classes only had 11 skills per skill tree (each class has 3 trees), the new classes have 7 active skills, and 3 passive skills (a new addition to Torchlight 2). Both the active & passive skills can have multiple points put into them (like Torchlight 1), making them stronger, and giving newer benefits when a certain amount of points are put in. The new classes feel like they have more weight to them, and act like they're more capable to take on the dangers of the world.

The world is something that's been heavily improved in Torchlight 2. While the original game was well sized, a player could go through it rather quickly if he or she knew what they were doing. On top of that, there wasn't much variety in terms of environments (You had the town, and the various dungeons). With this game, the gaming world has been greatly expanded, giving the player more areas to explore, and more variety in terms of environment. If you don't believe me, consider this fact: the first act will be completed in the same amount of time it took for you to beat the first game. If you don't believe me, go check out some of the interviews with the Torchlight developers.

Graphics are an interesting thing in Torchlight 2. The game uses the same engine from the original game, but it seems to me that everything looks a little smoother this time around. Luckily, it feels similar to the first game, and everything moves around just as fast (maybe a little faster). Speaking of interesting...

The story of Torchlight 2 is rather...there. Much like the first game, you're told that there's a big evil out there in the world, and that only you can stop it. Sadly, the story takes a backseat to the game, kinda like in the original Torchlight. I say kinda, because T2's story introduced you to the main villain right at the beginning, and without revealing anything, the main villain will be very familiar to those that played the original game. I'm also willing to be that there's some more twists & turns as the player advances in the game. Only time will tell.

See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!

First Impressions: Borderlands 2

Hi everyone! Well, as you obviously know, Borderlands 2 came out at 12:01 AM today, and already the internet is abuzz with positivity about the game. In time I'll put up a official review, but for now, I'll give you my first impressions.

Starting off are the characters. For my first, I decided to go for Salvador the Gunzerker (like the Berserker from Borderlands 1, but focuses on ranged attacks). He really suits the overkill style of play when you charge right in, and blast everything in sight without regard for one's self. The first thing I saw that separated him (and the other 3 classes) from the original characters is that there's 11 skills per skill tree instead of 7. This definitely changes things, as now there's more variability in structuring how you want to play the class. For me, I'm definitely focusing on the Gunzerking ability, and also maxing out reload speeds and ammo capacity.

Secondly, the guns in Borderlands 2 have been given more character & depth. In the original game, only paint jobs & slight changes to the gun's body separated them as far as looks were concerned. Now, each of the gun manufacturers have visually separate looks & feels, while at the same time keeping the core abilities from the original game. Some manufacturers have changed their focus since the last game, as all guns from the Torgue company now fire rockets, and Tediore guns are thrown away when emptied instead of reloaded (after they're thrown away, they explode, making them only partially useless).

Graphically, Borderlands 2 is definitely superior to the original game. While the first game wasn't ugly by any means, it seemed like there was more potential under the service. With this game, things seem more smooth, and everything just seems to move faster than in Borderlands 1.

The story is also superior to the original game. There's a bigger scope of things going on, resulting in a larger world to explore, and interacting with a larger group of NPCs that you'll actually care for. What also makes this game's story better is the fact that the main villain has more of a presence this time around, as his handiwork can be seen just about everywhere, and he'll taunt you when the opportunity present's itself.

There's a bunch of other things about Borderlands 2 that have been improved since the last time, but that'll have to wait until the review. Now, it's back to playing!!

I'll see you later this week, when I'll give you my first impressions for Torchlight 2. Until then, stay Otaku!

Borderlands Review

Hi everybody! With Borderlands 2 (and my possible jury duty) coming out in just a few days, I thought it would be appropriate to examine the original game, and see what made it such a surprising hit. So, without anything else to say, here’s a review for Borderlands.

Story
Taken from the Borderlands wiki:

“In the distant future, in the year 5252, several colonization ships head to Pandora, a planet on the edge of the galaxy. The colonists are drawn there in search of a better life as well as vast mineral resources said to be on the planet, free for the taking, akin to a futuristic gold rush. Some time after settling, the colonists discover that there is little the planet offers aside from some decrepit alien ruins. When the companies mining the planet leave, they let loose the criminals they had employed as forced labor and left any other colonists there. Some of the settlers seek to get rich quick by discovering alien technology. Most others are just trying to survive. After seven earth years, the planet's slow orbit brings a transition from winter to spring, and many horrifying creatures emerge from hibernation.

A beacon of hope for the remaining colonists emerges in the form of a mysterious alien Vault carved in the side of a mountain. This Vault is said to contain vast stores of alien technology and secrets. The only problem is that the people who discovered the Vault were completely wiped out by some sort of protective force. The only evidence of their discovery is a scattered radio transmission, proclaiming the Vault's majesty, but not its location.”

I should add that while the story to Borderlands is good, it’s never fully put out for the player, and it actually takes a back seat. Given the gameplay style (see below), it’s understandable.

Setting
Pandora is a bitter wasteland. After the companies left the planet, the various colonists & bandit clans had to fend for themselves, and the world decayed. The world is decrepit, but not in a oppressive way. Instead, there’s still life on Pandora, but the people tended to live in ruins, or dirty hovels. The wildlife lair in caves, and wander around look for their next meal. Doted all over Pandora is the wreckage & garbage of the various companies that once operated on the planet. Although the graphics drawn out the current state of Pandora, they contrast with what the player sees (more on that later).

The site of the play area is huge. Enough so, that the player eventually acquires a vehicle to traverse all over Pandora. Since the bandits also have vehicles, there’s a gun & rocket launcher for you to defend yourself against their ravenous attacks.

Characters
Characters are a strange thing in Borderlands. There’s little in the way of personality within the four classes (although they’ll make a comment once in a while), and while there’s a variety of characters scattered all over the game world, there’s not much to them, kinda like Serious Sam 2. Fortunately, there’s a small few who do have some character. There’s Claptrap, a small robot that acts as a guide in the game, and provides some of the comedy material. There’s Marcus, a grubby weapon merchant that can set aside his greed for the greater good if necessary, and the Guardian Angel, a mysterious entity that reveals the story as the player advances. There’s more to her than what is shown, and at the end of the game, there’s a big twist involving her, but to spoil it would be a crime. Suffice it to say, you won’t see it coming.

Although there isn’t much characterization, one thing I will say is that there is a lot of humor in Borderlands. None of the characters act serious in any way, and even if somebody is serious (like the villains), it feels like 80s cheese. If I were to sum up Borderlands, as far as characters are concerned, imagine Mad Max directed by Monty Python.

Gameplay
Much like Serious Sam 1 & 2, Borderlands is a balls-to-the-wall, FPS action game. Unlike those two games, Borderlands incorporates some light RPG elements to add a little variety. For starters, there are 4 classes that the player can choose from. They are:

Brick the Berserker (Heavy Offense)
Lilith the Siren (“Spellcaster”)
Roland the Soldier (Offense & Defense)
Mordecai the Hunter (Long Range Offense & Stealth)

Each of these classes have rather different styles of play. Brick likes to charge in with his fists & explosives, Lilith manipulates fire, electricity, and acid, Roland can charge in with guns blazing, but he can also provide ammo & healing if need be, and Mordecai hangs in the back, taking potshots with his sniper rifle or revolver.

To add to the RPG elements, each of the classes have 3 skills trees, each of which contain 7 skills. By putting in skill points (up to a maximum of 5), the player becomes stronger over time, and gains abilities like an increased change to ignite targets, or a permanent increase in ammo capacity for certain guns. Before the player can actually increase his skills, he or she must first put a single point into his “action” skill. Each of the characters have a unique skill that can determine whether or not the player will survive a fight. Brick can enter a rage mode, gaining increased damage with his fists & resistance to damage, Lilith can phasewalk all over the battlefield, Roland can deploy an autoturret, and Mordecai can use his pet hawk (named Bloodwing) to attack single targets for incredible damage.

Borderlands wouldn’t be a FPS with guns, and this game has a lot of guns. 17,000,000 guns, to be exact. They come in the form of Combat Rifles, Repeater Pistols, Revolvers, Rocket Launchers, Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, Submachine Guns, and rare alien guns with rechargeable ammo. To make the guns more unique, there are a variety of gun manufactures, each of which give their respective weapons different properties. The list of companies, and what benefits they give, are:

Jakobs: High Damage
Tediore: Fast Reloads
Vladof: High Fire Rates
Torgue: Good Damage, High Fire Rates, Recoil Reduction
Dahl: Recoil Reduction
Hyperion: High Accuracy
Maliwan: Elemental Damage (Fire, Electricity, Acid, Explosive)
S&S Munitions: Big Magazine Capacity & Elemental Damage
Atlas: High Damage & Fire Rates
Eiridian: Alien Weaponry, with infinite ammo (although it must recharge when depleted)

In a sense, the guns of Borderlands are a character onto themselves. They handle differently with each type, and the classes have their preferences. Brick enjoys Rocket Launchers & weapons with the explosive damage property, Lilith likes guns that deal fire, electricity, and acid damage, Roland employs Combat Rifles & Shotguns, and Mordecai likes Sniper Rifles & Revolvers. As the player uses certain guns over & over, he can gains bonuses for that gun type (reload speed, increased damage & accuracy, etc...).

The only flaw with the gun manufactures is that there's nothing that really separates each of the guns from one another. It's true that each of the manufacturers have different properties, as well as different paint jobs to signify what company they come from, but there's no difference between the form of the guns. If you have a Maliwan revolver and a Tediore revolver, for example, they'll look very similar, almost to the point of looking exactly the same (if both revolvers have different elemental properties, however, then the two guns with have different colors to show their different damage types).

The player also has grenades & shields at his disposal, and they have variety as well. Throughout the game, the player often find Grenade Mods, which imbue your explosives with different qualities (teleportation & healing tendrils are just two examples). Shields are also varied, with some granting a health boost, or a elemental nova forms after your shields are depleted (shields eventually regenerate after a certain amount of time).

The player will need those guns, grenades, & shields, as the various bloodthirsty inhabitants of the world are out to get you. There are rage-filled bandits, psychotic robots, and some of the weirdest wildlife you’ll ever see. With every kill, there’s a change that loot will fall from their bodies (money, guns, grenade or shield mods, etc), and there’s a chance that it could be crap, or it could be high quality.

Before I go on, I should mention the quest system. In addition to the primary quest, there is also a horde of side quests. Although the primary quest does net you experience, money, and loot, the side quests bring in not only more experience & money, but the chance to find one of a kind guns (some as quest rewards, some as treasure finds), or other bonuses, not the least of which are permanent carrying boosts to your inventory. Skipping the side quests might make your play experience faster, but with doing all the side quests, you'll be able to get about 10 to 15 hours of play time from Borderlands. About the only negative thing I can say about the side quests is that once they're exhausted from an area, they're aren't anymore to find, and thus going back to certain areas is a waste of time.

Graphics & Sound
Graphics are a plus in Borderlands. Drawing upon the Unreal 3 Engine, the game looks very good. Everything moves smoothly, and things rarely if ever slow down. The only problem, depending on how you look at it, is that the graphics are stylized in a cel-shaded manner. Cel-shading is a method of graphics manipulation that gamers will either like or hate. While it doesn’t make things look cartooney (ala Serious Sam 2), it is weird to look at.

Luckily, the sounds don’t go for the weird route. Of important note are the sound effects for the guns. They all have firing noises, reloading noises, and selection noises that differentiate themselves from the other gun types. Voice acting is also important, but it doesn’t quite have the impact as the noises the guns make, yet it’s easy to remember certain voices.

There’s other sounds as well. The bandits shout out insults, the various wildlife howls, growls, and screech, and there’s a host of other noises that’ll the player will hear as the journey all over Pandora.

Overall & Rating
Borderlands is a good game. A damn good one at that. It’s full of action, loot, humor, strange characters, and despite a little weakness in the characters, side quests, and odd graphics, the game is perfect. What makes Borderlands all the more surprising is that the developers (Gearbox Software) did not expect this game to get popular. With some of their previous properties, it’s understandable why they didn’t expect Borderlands to get big. After becoming a massive hit, Gearbox has become a well-known game company, and once that’s going to go places...given time.

Borderlands gets a 8.5 to 9 out of 10.

For the time being, this’ll be my last review for a while. If I get picked for jury duty, I’ll have little time to post up reviews. Also, I’m think of restructuring my work on this blog & such. Plus, Borderlands 2 will be out, and I’ll be distracted by that as well. So, until next time, stay Otaku!

Serious Sam 2 Review

Hi everyone! I'm still a little shaken up after what happened to Jerry "The King" Lawler last night, enough to the point that I had some bad sleep, so forgive me if I have a spelling error or two in this review. It's also getting closer to the day when I have to call the Jury Duty people and see if I'm going or not, so that's making me nervous. If I am going to serve, I'll be temporarily suspending reviews until my time is up, mostly because I'll be way too stressed & tired when I get home, and partially because Borderlands 2 comes out the day after the trial occurs (grrrrr!).

Now, with that out of the way, here's my review for Serious Sam 2.

Story
Taking place just after Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, we find 3 Sirians (the alien race mentioned in SS1) watching Sam's past exploits. After summoning them to their chamber, and calming him down, the Sirians inform our hero that they know that he's hunting down Mental (the villain mentioned in SS1), and they know the way to defeat him. They tell Sam about a medallion that's has been split into 5 pieces, and when they are combined, they give the bearer the power to destroy Mental's evil once & for all. After their story, Sam jumps from world to world, finding medallion pieces, killing swarms of aliens, and interacting with the worlds...weirder inhabitants.

When I talked about the story in my Serious Sam: The First Encounter review, I basically said that "while the story is interesting & provides a fair background, it isn't really touched upon much in the gameplay". This time around, we're given the background through the cutscenes at the beginning & end of each of the levels, as well as some tiny cutscenes provided in some of the levels. Even the 3 Sirians provide commentary, as well as the A.I. that follows you around, which has now been given a British voice. Points to Croteam for improving upon the story structure.

Setting
Taking a page from Serious Sam: The Second Encounter, SS2 incorporates a variety of worlds. This time though, SS2 has a bigger variety of places to travel to. These worlds are:

- M'Digbo (African/Tropical)
- Magnor (Swamp/Treetops/"Giant" Junkyard...I'll leave that last one to you)
- ChiFang (Oriental)
- Planet Kleer (Post Apocalyptic/Fire/Undead)
- Ellenier (High Fantasy)
- Kronor (Military/Industrial/Frozen)
- Sirius (Modern/High Tech)

The amount of settings beats SS1 & SS: TSE combined, and has a much larger selection of levels. What's even more improved over the original is that the various worlds seem more believable than the last game (more on this in a bit), and the worlds also seem to be more alive than last time.

Characters
Much like Serious Sam 1, Sam pretty much takes center stage in this game. With SS2, we're given a few more characters to observe. We have the 3 Sirians, which act somewhat like Sam's mentors during his quest. I liked these 3, as they provide a fair amount of the comedy material (more on that in a moment). Sam himself seems more lively in this game than the last game, as he talks a lot more, is a bit more snarky, and has more goofy & funny comments. There's also numerous NPCs in each world (except for Planet Kleer/Kronor/Sirius), but there's little to no personality within them, apart from when they say high to you, or when they yell out help as they run away from danger. Interestingly, there are certain times when the natives come to your aid, providing health, ammo, weapons, and/or armed assistance. Some more points for Croteam!

Gameplay
Here's an aspect of SS2 that's essentially the same as Serious Sam 1 and it's mission pack. I say essentially, because there's some changes in the mix. Not necessarily big changes, but changes regardless. To sum up, here's the list of how the game works from my last Serious Sam review:

1) Arrive in a level
2) Find weapons & ammo to kill stuff with
3) Kill stuff
4) Replenish ammo & health
5) Walk around & complete a small puzzle and/or uncover some aspect of the story
Bonus) Stumble across secrets

Serious Sam 2 pretty much follows this formula. However, what has changed is surprising. Such as...

Cutscenes: A relatively minor change. At the beginning of a level, and at it's end, there's a small cutscene that plays. Most of them are funny, but there's a small few that aren't, and actually don't quite make much sense.
Interactivity: Unlike the first game, Serious Sam 2 has more in it that the player can interact with, thanks to the game's new physics. Some of the secrets require that the player pick up barrels or crates to reach a ledge, and there's certain moments in some of the levels that require you to pick up an object, and do something with it (Example: In the Giant Junkyard level in episode 2, there's a massive bundle of TNT blocking your path. To remove said bundle of TNT, you walk around looking for a lit match, bring it back to the TNT, and throw the match at the fuse). This kind of interactivity is what advances gaming, but the physics engine leaves something to be desired (see below for greater details).
Gunfights: Just like SS2, Serious Sam 2's bread & butter is the over-the-top battles you have with the enemy. The only problem is that the battles don't seem as over the top as they were in the first game. That's not to say that the fights aren't challenging: some of the later levels (especially on the hardest difficulty) are pretty damn tough. It's just that there's more ammo, armor, and health provided during these fights than there were in the last game, making the fights in this game seem easier. To make things a little stranger, SS2 has adopted the multiple lives/checkpoint system. Basically, when you reach a checkpoint and die sometime after, you restart at that spot, as long as you have a life available (you get them either from secrets, or from getting 10,000 points). The version I'm reviewing is the PC version, where the whole multiple lives/checkpoint system is useless, considering that you can save, quicksave, load, and quickload.
Monsters: Just like the last game, Serious Sam 2 has a bevy of monsters for the player to maim, dismember, and explode. Weird thing is, some of the monsters are a bit more cartooney than they were the last time. For example: in the original Serious Sam, the suicide soldiers would run at you screaming (despite not having a head), carrying 2 bombs in each of their hands. In this game, the suicide soldiers are wearing blue overalls, and the two bombs have become a single bomb that has taken the place of his head. Luckily, this version still screams.

Graphics & Sounds
Perhaps the biggest change between SS1 & SS2 are the graphics. Running the Serious Engine 2, the game looks much better than the now primitive graphics of the first game, which is ironic considering the two games are only 4 years apart. New & more textures were used, a greater variety of buildings & scenery were added, and even some water effects were added in, but not to great effect.

All of this leads to perhaps the most recognizable of Serious Sam 2's quirks. With the first game, things were definitely out there, but they weren't wild. With SS2, became more cartooney in appearance. Some of the settings were very cartooney (M'Digbo, the last part of Magnor, Chifang, and Ellenier especially), the NPCs were cartooney, and some of monsters were cartooney (see above). This was one of the chief complaints from those who played the game (see below).

Another of the complaints, although not quite as major as the cartooney graphics, is the physics. As I stated above, the new physics engine added a new level of interactivity to the game, but ultimately it's just window dressing (ala Painkiller). It does feel realistic at first, but it fades away rather quickly. On top of that, much of the time it acts wildly (Case in point: in the fourth level of episode 1, there's a secret bag of gold on top of ledge, and there's plenty of boxes & crates below the ledge. Stacking the boxes/crates is easy, but it took me a bunch of tries to jump onto the ledge, thanks to having the boxes/crates be very sensitive to the player's movement).

Luckily, the sounds in this game aren't quite so cartooney. John J Dick (yes that's the man's name) continues to provide his voice for the game's main character, and it sounds just as awesome in this game as it does in the previous 2 games, as well as in Serious Sam 3 (more on that when I get to that review). There's plenty of other voice actors that provide some work, but they don't really matter. The other sounds are alright: explosions sound like explosions, monster grunts sound like monster grunts, etc.

Overall & Rating
Tragically, Serious Sam 2 was not as popular as Serious Sam 1. Most of the people that played SS2 said that it wasn't quite as good as the first game, citing the less intense battles, cartooney look & feel, and the increase in humor as the main detriments. While I don't agree with these people, I do understand why gamers didn't like it as much. The battles are indeed not as intense, everything does look & feel more cartooney than it's predecessor, and there is a lot more humor in this game than in the last one. However, I kinda liked these changes, and I honestly thought that this is how the game was naturally going to change into. When I saw & played the third game, I was incredibly surprised by how it actually changed, but that's for another time.

Serious Sam 2 gets a 7.7 out of 10.

See you all later this week, when we'll be taking a trip to the Borderlands. Until then, stay Otaku!

Jerry "The King" Lawler in the Hospital

Hi everybody. I still have Tuesday's review coming, but this post is a necessary one.

I haven't talked about this yet, but I'm a bit of a wrestling fan. I used to watch it in the early 90s with my father when I was little, and remembered a lot of the old school entertainers. After missing the rest of the 90s, and the early 2000s, I started to get back into it around late 2003. There weren't as many old schoolers around, but one of the few that was still active was Jerry "The King" Lawler. This guy had been in the business for decades, but when he stopped wrestling fulltime, he still used his snarky attitude & wit when he was sitting at the announce table. So it's with grim news that Jerry isn't doing so well.

Not too long ago, Jerry collapsed during Monday Night Raw's show up on Montreal, about an hour or two before. I don't completely have all of the details about what happened, so here's a link to WWE's website for you to take a look at.


http://www.wwe.com/


There is some good news about this. Michael Cole said just before Raw ended that Jerry is breathing okay, and his heart is beating okay. Sometime tonight (or sometime during the following week), Jerry will have a CAT scan done on his chest & brain to see what happened.

Jerry, I'm sending good energy you're way, and I'm sure that anyone that's reading this post will be doing the same.

See you guys tomorrow. Until then, stay Otaku!

Update: Turns out it was a heart attack that sent Jerry to the hospital. My thoughts, and the thoughts of some of my readers, still go out to you.

Update 2:  Taken from WWE's website:

(9/11/12, 12:20 p.m.)
"As of this morning, Jerry "The King" Lawler is in a cardiac care unit and all his vital signs are stable. WWE will provide additional information as it becomes available. We continue to wish Jerry all the best for a full recovery."

Update 3: Again taken from WWE's website:

(9/12/12, 5:29 p.m.)
"As of Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 12, 2012, Jerry "The King" Lawler remains in a cardiac care unit in Montreal. His vital signs continue to be stable. He is awake, recognizes family members and is communicating with them. We continue to wish Jerry all the best for a full recovery."

Update 4: A video from the king himself:

http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2012-09-10/jerry-lawler-tout-26051951

Update 5: Released earlier today:

http://www.wwe.com/videos/jerry-lawler-returns-home-to-memphis-raw-sept-17-2012-26052854


*
If anyone who remembers the old G4TV (when it was good), then watch this rant:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-inBfwOrWQ

Escaflowne Review

Hi everybody! Well, I’ve got only about 11 days before I call the jury duty people, so I’m a bit on edge. I’m still hopeful that they won’t bring me in, but there’s been a nagging feeling in the back of my head that I’ll get picked, so forgive me if I’m a bit cranky. On top of that, I’ve got some big reviews in the coming weeks, so my workload for the blog is swamped at the moment. Luckily with today’s review, I recently finished watching it, so let’s take a look at today’s subject matter, Escaflowne.

Airing in Japan from April 2, 1996, to September 24, 1996, Escaflowne tells the extraordinary tale of Hitomi Kanzaki, a rather ordinary high school girl that has more to her than meets the eye. You see, she has an incredible knack for fortune telling (she’s usually right with her results), and has a special pendant that keeps perfect time, but also has strange dreams of another world. The dreams turns out to be true, as one night a mysterious swordsman is transported onto her school’s track. He’s trailing a dragon that also somehow arrived in our world, and after promptly slaying it, he returns back to his world of Gaea, somehow taking Hitomi with him. After arriving in the world of Gaea, Van (the mysterious swordsman) tells his reluctant companion a little bit about his world, and also tells her about how Earth is known as a different name, and carries with it some stigma.

It’s when she arrives on Gaea that Hitomi discovered that her tarot abilities become empowered, enabling her to predict the future more accurately than before. She also discovers that the pendant she wears has unlocked latent psychic abilities, but she has little time to dwell on them. The dangerous Zaibach Empire is on the move, taking over surrounding territories, and destroying any who don’t side with them. After Van’s homeland is obliterated, Hitomi escapes with her comrade, and they set out to stop Zaibach’s spread of destruction. Eventually, they join up with a ragtag group of individuals (composed of a knight, thief, wily merchant, and a love-struck princess) who eventually get caught up in all of this. Oh, and Van’s childhood friend Merle (who’s a catgirl) tags along as well.

The first positive of Escaflowne is something that I don’t think I’ve talked before, and that’s the director. Kazuki Akane has been known for directing some of the more iconic animes series in the world, including Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and for obvious reasons, this show. Mr Akane has always managed to sculpt a series that comes across his table into an epic series, filled with depth, wonder, and all manner of good things, despite some shortcomings that aren’t necessarily his fault (see later).

The next positive are the characters. Let me be the first to say that Escaflowne has one of the most diverse casts I’ve ever seen in an anime. From the outside, Hitomi appears to be a very frail girl. That false frailty, however, hides a very strong individual, who’s quite the capable track runner, possesses a kind heart, and a quick mind. Van is a swordsman who’s haunted by the devastation of his home, and carries the burden of being his homeland’s kingdom, but can put his nose to the grindstone & cast aside petty things for the greater good. Even Merle, who’s mostly there for comic relief, has some depth to her. When things seem bleak, she heals those who are hurt or sick, and always seems to have a joke or two up her sleeveless sleeves (don’t ask), or a comment that embarrasses somebody.

The other cast of characters are varied as well. The knight is torn between his own desires & beliefs, and the duties to his country. The thief is a sneaky, smarmy individual, but he knows the lay of the land (much like Van), and always finds some info that’s needed for a specific situation. The merchant always has the good required, but has secrets hidden underneath his gilded persona, and the princess is a cauldron of emotion, constantly shifting from happy, sad, angry, etc. It’s these kinds of characters that drive a show forward, whether they’re the good guys or the bad guys.

Escaflowne’s third positive is the mix of genres. Unlike most of the shows I’ve reviewed, Escaflowne is manly a fantasy & sci-fi show, and that’s okay, because these two genres are the key focus of this show. Sure there’s moments of comedy, drama, and tragedy, but fantasy & science fiction take the center stage in Escaflowne. Right off the bat, we introduced to a character that is attuned to the arcane forces, and when Hitomi travels to Gaea, she comes across the same forces that she feels & uses. At the same time, she also comes across medieval giant robots, and ships that float in the sky, which composes the majority of the sci-fi elements. These also themes of metaphysics within Escaflowne, as the topics of dreams & fate frequently pop up and drive the story along. Speaking of story...

The story is this show’s next positive. Much like the characters, there’s a lot more going on under the surface. While the early episodes are a little slow, once Hitomi, Merle, and Van meet up with the other characters, things quickly accelerate, and the viewer is given more & more of the story & sub-stories. There are many moments that’ll catch you off guard, but there’s also a few moments that you’ll see a mile away (more on that in the negatives).

The animation is Escaflowne’s sixth positive. For a mid 90s show, Escaflowne looks damn good, and considering that animation during this time was fluctuating, that’s saying something. The character design are what you’d expect from a fantasy/sci-fi anime, but many of them have different clothes & armor, which signify where they come from. The faces, while a little flat at times, have a fair amount of detail. The giant robots look really good, as these behemoths stand over anything in front of them, and the various air ships fly about as gracefully as a butterfly, and as fast as a hummingbird. The equally various towns, cities, & ruins all look great, and at times seem slightly believable.

Voice acting is another thing that Escaflowne does well. Despite some of the plain sounding voices, everybody else sounds like they want to do this! Hitomi sounds very innocent most of the time, but she can evoke some hidden strength with her words when the situation demands it. Van almost always sounds like a strong, no nonsense individual, but when his emotions get a hold of him, his voice can waver. As for the bad guys, Van’s brother (long story) has a snarky, sinister undertone when he speaks, and on of the Zaibach war leaders talks like a raving lunatic.

The final positive of Escaflowne is it’s availability & pricing. Although the version I have is no longer available (I have the 2002 release of the whole show & movie. Before anyone asks, I’ll review the movie soon), there’s more recent editions that are available, more specifically the 2009 edition. There’s plenty of the 2009 collection over on Amazon, where pricing for a new copy starts at 24 dollars. There’s a small amount of used copies that start at 17 to 18 dollars, but the difference between the two is relatively small, so the deciding factor of a purchase will more than likely come down to if you want to save a few dollars or not.

Escaflowne is a damn good show. A near perfect one, in my opinion. It’s got so many good things going for it, it’s hard to find anything bad about it. However, there are bad things to find, and two of them in particular come immediately to my mind. So, without any interruptions, let’s take a look at them.

The first negative are some of the secondary character reactions to the situation at hand. When I saw what went on, I came to the conclusion that most of the characters in this show are incredibly naive, and will believe just about anything that’s told to them (an episode about halfway through really shows this off). On top of that, there’s moments when the characters (both primary or secondary) are just downright stupid. I can’t tell you how many moments there were when I wanted to find a brick wall, and proceed to bash my head again. Luckily, the stupid moments went away quickly, and there wasn’t too much damage done to my head.

The next negative isn’t quite as bad, but it is a little bit important. During the production of Escaflowne (which I’ll put up later as a separate), the original episode count was 39. However, due to some changes, the 39 episodes became 26 episodes. Because of this change, there’s no filler episodes. Even 1 or 2 filler episode would have been great, especially since there’s enough comedic elements that the potential is there.

Escaflowne gets a 8.5 out of 10. Kazuki Akane directed this, the cast is great, the concentration on fantasy & sci-fi works, the story is also great, animation quality is good, voice acting is also good, and it’s easy to find & buy, but there’s just some odd moments, and there’s no filler episodes.

See you all next week, when we’ll be getting serious with Sam again. Until then, stay otaku!

Just Cause 2 Review

To start things off, I’m doing a little bit better after the whole Jury Duty summons. I’m still dreading it all, but I have the strangest feeling that I may not have to actually go and serve. I hope that’s the case, since the trial in question starts on the 17th of this month, just a day before Borderlands 2 comes out (I’ll do a review of the first game soon). With that little bit of news out of the way, let’s dive into my review of Just Cause 2.

Story
Taking place a few years after the first Just Cause, we find that game’s main character, Rico Rodriguez (cheesy name, I know) being dropped into Panau, a fictional nation that’s part of the Malay Archipelago of Southeast Asia. In recent times, a brutal dictator has taken over, killing the previous leader (who was US friendly), and severing all ties to the United States. His first mission is to oust the new leader, as well as tracking down his old mentor, whom his handlers believe has gone rogue. After finding his handler, it’s revealed that he was deep under cover, enough so that he appeared to be a rogue agent. Rico’s mentor also reveals that something is amiss on the island, and the three groups on the Island (Roaches, Reapers, Ular Boys) are being backed by foreign entities. From here, the player travels all over Panau, expanding the territories of the 3 groups, and causing as much chaos as possible, leading up to the obviously expected encounter with Panau’s new ruler.

To me, this story just oozes 80s cheese. While the story makes sense, it’s just so lame, it’s hard not to laugh at even the less pathetic moments. This 80s cheese vibe also extends to the setting (see below), but overall I like the cheese coming off it all, but there are a few weak moments. They do slightly damage things that go on, but aren’t too detrimental to the overall experience.

Setting
Let me just come out & say that Just Cause 2's setting is huge. The entire nation of Panau is laid out for the player to traverse & interact with, and everything feels very alive. You have various terrains to move through, including deserts, snowy mountains, and tropical forests. There’s also plenty of coastline for the player to travel to as well, where there’s a lot of fishing villages & military fuel facilities. Another aspect that makes the whole game alive is the people. Although they populate the game, you don’t get to interact with any of them. To make the situation worse, they feel rather bland, as they don’t really have anything interesting to say, and even killing a few won’t necessarily cause any impact, save for when you’re near any military post.

Characters
Here’s where Just Cause 2 weakens. Simply put, there is little personality within any of the characters, whether minor or major. Even the main character, Rico, seems far to bland & superficial. What makes the situation worse is the god awful voice acting, but I’ll save that for when the time comes. As I played the game, I felt no sympathy or drive for any of the character, save for the leaders of the Roaches, Reapers, & Ular Boys, but even then it’s very brief (much like Alexis Sinclaire from Sin the Movie).

Gameplay
As I played through the game, the other that came to mind was Grand Theft Auto. That’s actually a good description, as both games have a massive world in which the player moves around very freely. In the beginning, the player has to acquire a few weapons, and cause chaos in order to get notice & move things along. Once the player has gained enough power & influence, the military presence increases when the Chaos level is raised (Chaos is what allows the player to gain newer weapons & vehicles, as well as gain more missions from the 3 groups, and to advance the game’s story).

Speaking of Chaos, the way to raise the level is very simple...blow up anything with the government symbol on it! From fuel tanks to radio towers, anything with the government symbol is fair game for destruction. Although raising the level of Chaos does advance the player & story, it also causes the military to become more active, bringing in stronger weapons & tougher vehicles.

During the game, there exists a wide variety of vehicle for Rico to use. Cars & trucks, helicopters, planes & jets, tanks, and armored vehicles are all available for the taking. The vehicle you order from the black market dealer are ungradable up to 6 times, increases that vehicle’s stats. All of the vehicles perform well, even when they aren’t ungradable, but if I did have one complaint, it would be the planes & jets. The controls for them are horrible, and even when you’re successful at getting one up in the air, any accidental movement changes may totally screw-up the pace you’ve created.

Speaking of upgrading, the black market dealer is a godsend. He can do three important tasks: bring in & upgrade weapons, bring in & upgrade vehicles, and extract Rico to any previously discovered area. All of these tasks are needed for the player to keep himself alive, and to reach any mission that’s too far away for him to walk, drive, or fly to.

One final thing I’ll talk about before I move to the next section is the mission. Much like the size of Panau, there’s a wide variety of things to do. From driving a hooker away from a general, to running down a paparazzi that’s taken embarrassing photos, to shooting down military satellites about to be launched, there’s a lot of things to accomplish. So much in fact, that despite beating the game, I’ve only completed about 25% of the things in the game. I still have about 75% more missions & secrets to find.

Graphics & Sound
Remember when I said that the voice acting makes the character more bland than they already are? I wasn’t kidding.

This has to have some of the laziest, half-assed, pathetic voice acting I’ve ever heard! None of the voice actors sound like they wanted to do this game, and for those very few who do put in some effort, it doesn’t last long (again, much like Sin the Movie).

Luckily, the graphics massively make up for the shitty voice acting. If the setting creates the body of the game, and the towns & active npcs form the blood, then the graphics are the organs & skin. There’s a lot of colors & textures used, and they don’t often clash with one another, except when the player is moving between two different terrains, but even then it’s relatively minor. The cities seem covered with colors, while the various rural villages use colors more conservatively. The military complexes definitely use color, but too much would have blemished the drab, bleak environments the complexes emanate.

Overall & Rating
Just Cause 2 is a damn good game. If it wasn’t for the bland npcs, and for the downright terrible voice acting, this would have been a near perfect game. With the 80s cheese coming from the story, a large & believable setting, varied gameplay, and nice graphics, it’s a shame that just two simple yet important aspects tarnish the game’s otherwise good construction. If you don’t believe me, take a look a some of the reviews of this game. Most people that have played say this game was great!

Just Cause 2 gets an 8 out of 10.

See you all later this week, when I’ll review a classic fantasy anime. Until then, stay Otaku!