Hello there!
Not too long from now is Christmas, and a couple days afterwards, the end of 2013. This year has been...weird, to say the least. Some of the most remarkable things occurred, but some of the most horrible & vile things have happened as well. There’s been plenty of new life brought into the world, but an equal amount of life has also been released from the mortal coil. For me, this year has been a tough one. The first half was nice (Genericon 2013, My 26th Birthday), but the other half has been tough (The death of Kay, my family friend that perished mid-June, the death of Nelson Mandela, My Grandfather getting lung cancer (A new development that happened around the beginning of the month), and a host of other troubles). I’m still struggling with finding a job, but I’ve since then managed to acquire a car with my Mother’s help. So I’ve had some nice things happen since the death of our family friend, but I’ll tell you that it’s gonna be a long time before things get back to normal around my neck of the woods.
Okay, I have two announcements. The first is that I’m planning on possibly redesigning/re-purposing my blog. I’m not quite sure if I’m actually going to go through with this, since I enjoy the feel that it has right now. With that said, I feel that a change of some sort needs to happen. Maybe the content needs to be narrowed down a little, but maybe more kinds of things to get reviewed, I’m not sure. All I know is that a change of some sort is going to occur, and whether you think it’s a good change or bad change will ultimately be up to you.
The second announcement is that, starting in January, I’ll be starting off a music review festival! It won’t be quite as massive as my chunk of anime reviews I did this year, as I’ll only be posting up 1 review a week . On top of that, I’m splitting up the festival: January & February will compose the first half, March will be a break (Filled with revisions of past posts for the most part), then April & May will be the other half. You’ll see plenty of appearances of bands/singers that have appeared so far (Type-O Negative, Devin Townsend, etc), but you’ll also see appearances from some new groups as well.
Before I end this post, I just wanted to say that a couple weeks ago I reached a milestone of 200 posts. I forgot about it because I was busy with stuff at that time, so I figured I’d talk about it really quick. Not only that, since my blog will be 3 years old next May, I thought I’d put a quick list down, and show off the highest viewed posts I’ve done since the inception of my corner of the internet. I think you’ll be quite surprised.
2011
Kekko Kamen (Currently at 26 views)(Link: “***”)
2012
Uncle Yo! Fluffy Delicious DVD of Unbridled Entertainment (Second Edition) Review (Currently at 103 views)(Link: “***”)
Rammstein: Reise Reise (Japanese Edition) Review (Currently at 111 views)(Link: “***”)
Chobirs Anime/Manga Comparison (Currently at 80 views)(Link: “***”)
Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Review (Currently at 96 views)(Link: “***”)
Type-O Negative: World Coming Down Review (Currently at 51 views)(Link: “***”)
Type-O Negative: The Origins Of The Feces Review (Currently at 754 views)(Link: “***”)
Top 5 Heavy Metal Songs To Make Out To (Currently at 62 views)(Link: “***”)
Getbackers Review (Currently at 97 views)(Link: “***”)
Rammstein: Reise Reise (Japanese Edition)(Revised) Review (Currently at 170 views)(Link: “***”)
Desert Punk Review (Currently at 368 views)(Link: “***”)
Mad Bull 34 Review (Currently at 75 views)(Link: “***”)
Burn Up Scramble Review (Currently at 67 views)(Link: “***”)
Katatonia: Dance of December Souls Review (Currently at 53 views)(Link: “***”)
2013
Devin Townsend: Ocean Machine - Biomech Review (Currently at 79 views)(Link: “***”)
Girls Bravo Review (Currently at 80 views)(Link: “***”)
La Blue Girl Review (Currently at 364 views)(Link: “***”)
R.I.P. - Yoteslaya (Currently at 361 views)(Link: “***”)
Well, that’s all I got to say. I hope you enjoy the rest of this month, and I look forward to seeing you all next year. Until then, stay Otaku!
Friday, December 20, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Review
Merry Christmahanakwanzaa again!
It’s getting closer & closer to Christmas, ladies & gentlemen. We’re just inching closer to our stocking, presents, and plenty of holiday merriment. I’m really looking forward to seeing what I got this year, but I’m holding in my excitement...I think. Anyways, it’s been quite some time since I reviewed a movie on this blog, and considering it’s Christmastime, I found it to be appropriate to review another Christmas flick. Last year I reviewed the terrifying Star Wars Holiday Special (Click on “***” to read it...if you dare), so I figured that a good holiday flick was the right thing to look at. With that said, grab a cup of cocoa, sit in front of a decorated tree with a laptop, and take a look at my review for the odd yet charming National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Story/Setup
It’s a few weeks before Christmas, and the Griswold family (Headed by Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, and his wife Ellen, played by Beverly D'Angelo) is getting ready for the Hoildays at their house. At first is seems that all is going well, until the shit begins to hit the fan. For starters, a good chuck of his family shows up at the house, and most of them aren’t necessarily the nicest or the most polite (With the exception of his Father, who seems to be the most decent out of his relatives). Not only that, but his annual bonus from his job hasn’t showed up yet, and he’s been planning on building a pool in his backyard with his bonus money. To complicate things even further, as he’s trying to recreate a “Good Old Fashioned Family Christmas” (His words), things keep screwing in some manner or another (Christmas tree bursts into flame, turkey ends up incredibly dry, etc). It’s all hilarity, hijinks, and tragedy (Off the silly kind), until things somehow get fixed, and everything is back to normal. As normal as things get for the Griswolds, however.
For the most part, the story is good. You’re given the setup, context, and everything else needed for a normal/goofy Christmas movie. My only complaint is that there seems to be too much going on. It seems like there is a lot more to the story, despite how simplistic it all appears. There seems to be too many things happening, both on screen & off screen. By the end of the movie most of what’s happened has been resolved, but it seems like something either went missing, or wasn’t touched on at all.
Setting
Christmas Vacation mainly takes place in the city of Chicago, as well as the surrounding suburbs. Although there are plenty of other places the movies goes to (Like a tree farm, corporate office, and a convenience store), the focus of the movie is mainly on the Griswold’s house, which looks about as standard as any other suburban house. In all honesty, I wish that the time in each locale was a little more even, and not so lopsided. With that said, each place has it’s own look & feel, so at least there’s a variety of locales.
Characters
The characters in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation are it’s biggest strength, but also it’s biggest weakness. I’ll start off with the weakness aspect, and let me just say that I didn’t like most of them. In fact, I hated just about everybody, mainly Clark’s extended family. This hate ranges from the mildly annoying (Clark’s Grandmother), to the infuriatingly unlikable (Clark’s Uncle, who accidentally burns down the Christmas Tree towards the end of the movie). The rest of Clark’s family is really more mediocre that anything to loathe, but I’ll give the movie the benefit of the doubt, since it seems like it was meant to be that way. The only other character that’s not really likable is Clark’s boss from his job, but he eventually turns a new leaf (I won’t spoil it for you, but suffice it to say, it’s cheesy & goofy).
Now, despite my dislike/hate for many of the characters, there are some that are likable. Clark is a little bit of a jerk, but deep down he cares for his family, and really loves them also. His wife Ellen definitely cares a lot of the holiday burden on her shoulders, as she looks incredibly stressed out (And acts a little stressed out also). With that said, you want her to be happy, and succeed with her holiday planning. Clark & Ellen’s kids, Audrey & Russ, are insufferable at times, but in the end they’re likable to the point where you really don’t want them to suffer.
Despite me saying that I hate Clark’s extended family, there are two of them that I actually do like. The first is Clark’s father, and he seems to be the only relative that has a brain. He’s understands the trouble that Clark & his family are going through during the holidays, and while he doesn’t do anything to physically help, he’s quick to lend out some fatherly wisdom to Clark & anyone else who’ll listen. The other family member I like is Clark’s brother, Eddie. On the surface, you’d expect that Eddie is an unlikable person. He constant wears a cheap blue leisure suit, and acts a bit on the sleazy side, but deep down he has a big heart. It’s clear that he loves his own immediate family, and loves Clark & his family, it’s just that he’s a little lazy sometimes. Not only that, but when he does put in effort for something, he’s either over the top (Especially near the end), or doesn’t do it enough.
Length
National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation runs at a little over an hour and a half long. 1 Hour & 37 minutes long, to be exact. It’s a good amount of time for this movie, as the story fits perfectly within the allotted length of time.
Availability & Pricing
This is one of the most plentiful Christmas movies you can find. While you’ll probably find it in various stores like Best Buy, FYE, and the like, you’re best bet is to go to Amazon. As I’m typing this, there are 30 new copies available, with the prices starting at $7.60. There are even more used copies available, as there are 83 DVDs, and the prices start at almost 4 dollars. This one is really more of a judgement call, so pick which one you think is best.
Extras/Other
The DVD comes with deleted/bonus scenes, trailers, etc.
General Impression & Rating
Among the pantheon of goofy Christmas movies, National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation deserves it’s place in said group. It’s not the king of funny holiday films (For me, that crown is shared between Scrooged & A Christmas Story), as there are a couple problems here and there. With that said, I still laugh everytime I watch this, and I highly recommend this movie to people who don’t like your standard, sappy Christmas film.
National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation gets a 8 out of 10.
See you all later this week, when I’ll give you my final thoughts on this year. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
Sorry for posting this later than normal. I was too tired to finish it last night, so I finished up what was left this morning/afternoon/evening (This all depends on when you’re reading this). Hope you don’t mind.
It’s getting closer & closer to Christmas, ladies & gentlemen. We’re just inching closer to our stocking, presents, and plenty of holiday merriment. I’m really looking forward to seeing what I got this year, but I’m holding in my excitement...I think. Anyways, it’s been quite some time since I reviewed a movie on this blog, and considering it’s Christmastime, I found it to be appropriate to review another Christmas flick. Last year I reviewed the terrifying Star Wars Holiday Special (Click on “***” to read it...if you dare), so I figured that a good holiday flick was the right thing to look at. With that said, grab a cup of cocoa, sit in front of a decorated tree with a laptop, and take a look at my review for the odd yet charming National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Story/Setup
It’s a few weeks before Christmas, and the Griswold family (Headed by Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, and his wife Ellen, played by Beverly D'Angelo) is getting ready for the Hoildays at their house. At first is seems that all is going well, until the shit begins to hit the fan. For starters, a good chuck of his family shows up at the house, and most of them aren’t necessarily the nicest or the most polite (With the exception of his Father, who seems to be the most decent out of his relatives). Not only that, but his annual bonus from his job hasn’t showed up yet, and he’s been planning on building a pool in his backyard with his bonus money. To complicate things even further, as he’s trying to recreate a “Good Old Fashioned Family Christmas” (His words), things keep screwing in some manner or another (Christmas tree bursts into flame, turkey ends up incredibly dry, etc). It’s all hilarity, hijinks, and tragedy (Off the silly kind), until things somehow get fixed, and everything is back to normal. As normal as things get for the Griswolds, however.
For the most part, the story is good. You’re given the setup, context, and everything else needed for a normal/goofy Christmas movie. My only complaint is that there seems to be too much going on. It seems like there is a lot more to the story, despite how simplistic it all appears. There seems to be too many things happening, both on screen & off screen. By the end of the movie most of what’s happened has been resolved, but it seems like something either went missing, or wasn’t touched on at all.
Setting
Christmas Vacation mainly takes place in the city of Chicago, as well as the surrounding suburbs. Although there are plenty of other places the movies goes to (Like a tree farm, corporate office, and a convenience store), the focus of the movie is mainly on the Griswold’s house, which looks about as standard as any other suburban house. In all honesty, I wish that the time in each locale was a little more even, and not so lopsided. With that said, each place has it’s own look & feel, so at least there’s a variety of locales.
Characters
The characters in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation are it’s biggest strength, but also it’s biggest weakness. I’ll start off with the weakness aspect, and let me just say that I didn’t like most of them. In fact, I hated just about everybody, mainly Clark’s extended family. This hate ranges from the mildly annoying (Clark’s Grandmother), to the infuriatingly unlikable (Clark’s Uncle, who accidentally burns down the Christmas Tree towards the end of the movie). The rest of Clark’s family is really more mediocre that anything to loathe, but I’ll give the movie the benefit of the doubt, since it seems like it was meant to be that way. The only other character that’s not really likable is Clark’s boss from his job, but he eventually turns a new leaf (I won’t spoil it for you, but suffice it to say, it’s cheesy & goofy).
Now, despite my dislike/hate for many of the characters, there are some that are likable. Clark is a little bit of a jerk, but deep down he cares for his family, and really loves them also. His wife Ellen definitely cares a lot of the holiday burden on her shoulders, as she looks incredibly stressed out (And acts a little stressed out also). With that said, you want her to be happy, and succeed with her holiday planning. Clark & Ellen’s kids, Audrey & Russ, are insufferable at times, but in the end they’re likable to the point where you really don’t want them to suffer.
Despite me saying that I hate Clark’s extended family, there are two of them that I actually do like. The first is Clark’s father, and he seems to be the only relative that has a brain. He’s understands the trouble that Clark & his family are going through during the holidays, and while he doesn’t do anything to physically help, he’s quick to lend out some fatherly wisdom to Clark & anyone else who’ll listen. The other family member I like is Clark’s brother, Eddie. On the surface, you’d expect that Eddie is an unlikable person. He constant wears a cheap blue leisure suit, and acts a bit on the sleazy side, but deep down he has a big heart. It’s clear that he loves his own immediate family, and loves Clark & his family, it’s just that he’s a little lazy sometimes. Not only that, but when he does put in effort for something, he’s either over the top (Especially near the end), or doesn’t do it enough.
Length
National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation runs at a little over an hour and a half long. 1 Hour & 37 minutes long, to be exact. It’s a good amount of time for this movie, as the story fits perfectly within the allotted length of time.
Availability & Pricing
This is one of the most plentiful Christmas movies you can find. While you’ll probably find it in various stores like Best Buy, FYE, and the like, you’re best bet is to go to Amazon. As I’m typing this, there are 30 new copies available, with the prices starting at $7.60. There are even more used copies available, as there are 83 DVDs, and the prices start at almost 4 dollars. This one is really more of a judgement call, so pick which one you think is best.
Extras/Other
The DVD comes with deleted/bonus scenes, trailers, etc.
General Impression & Rating
Among the pantheon of goofy Christmas movies, National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation deserves it’s place in said group. It’s not the king of funny holiday films (For me, that crown is shared between Scrooged & A Christmas Story), as there are a couple problems here and there. With that said, I still laugh everytime I watch this, and I highly recommend this movie to people who don’t like your standard, sappy Christmas film.
National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation gets a 8 out of 10.
See you all later this week, when I’ll give you my final thoughts on this year. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
Sorry for posting this later than normal. I was too tired to finish it last night, so I finished up what was left this morning/afternoon/evening (This all depends on when you’re reading this). Hope you don’t mind.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Love Hina Spring Special Review
Hi guys!
Since some of you are probably tired of the cold and the snow, I thought I’d continue with some of these “warmer” reviews. Perhaps in a continuation with tradition around this time, I thought it would be appropriate to review another title in the Love Hina series, and sure enough, I managed to acquire today’s title earlier this month. With that said, let’s dive into the Love Hina Spring Special, and see if it can warm us up!
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“The Toudai entrance exams have finally come (again) for Keitarou. With all his confidence Keitarou sits for the paper but ends up falling asleep and dreaming about Narusegawa. Waking up with barely any time to complete the paper, Keitarou thinks he will fail the paper and tries to escape from Hinata Inn and forget all the memories with it. By a stroke of luck he meets Seta, but ends up in a faraway island with the whole cast trying to look for him.”
From what my understanding is, this movie was based off of a section of the manga (I’ve only read two out of the five omnibuses). At first, I thought this sounded like a great idea for a short OVA. Because I haven’t read the section of the manga that this movie seems to take place in, I really can’t say much. Having said that.....
The premise feels rather weak. In fact, this feels like a standard cookie-cutter story, regardless of the show in question. On top of that, there’s more of a serious tone to things (More on this in the Characters section), and the sidestory involving Nyama (Again, see the Characters section below) feels forcibly attached, and rather weak as well.
Setting
In a change of scenery, the spring special takes place on a tropical island within the south seas, with only a few scenes at the Hinata Apartments/Tokyo University. It’s pretty much like any other tropical island in real life/anime: There’s palm trees & beaches, grottos & waterfalls, and other standard objects you’d find in a place like this. The only difference is that this particular island has the ruins of an ancient civilization, and said civilization had a particular affinity for turtles (Like Tama). It does shake things up a little, but otherwise the island is nothing special.
Characters
The cast within this OVA movie is that same as that from the main show & Christmas special. While it’s nice to see the original cast again, there’s some big character changes, mainly the fact that they all aren’t anywhere near as funny. Most of the time when a character does or says something funny, it either stumbles or falls completely flat on their face. Shinobu, for example, is usually bubbly & cheery. In this movie/OVA, she’s more whiney & sniveling, and is nowhere near as funny/cute.
The spring special does introduce one new character, and that is Nyama. About as young as Shinobu, she seems to act a lot like the previously mentioned character. She cute & shy, but Nyama feels rather tacked on, like she was made more as a afterthought, and she just conveniently happened to show up on this special. With that said, she is likable, if a little bland.
Animation
As per the main show and the Christmas special, the spring special still has that Ken Akamatsu style of animation (Cute/sexy girls, dorky/gruff guys, lots of colors). Nothing more, nothing less.
Voice Acting
See my Love Hina & Love Hina: Christmas Special review for details. Although there is the new character, Nyama, her voice sounds so plain that it’s really not worth mentioning (I swear that the voice actor that does Shinobu also voices Nyama, but I’m not quite sure).
Episodes & Episode Length
As with the Christmas special from last year, the Love Hina Spring Special is a single, full-length movie. Running at 1 hour long, it works with what the special is trying to do, although I would have loved a little more time so the sidestory could be shown more.
Availability & Pricing
Like the Love Hina: Christmas Special I reviewed last year (Click “***” to read it), this special also hasn’t been re-released by Funimation. I got my copy from Amazon, but that’s where things get interesting. As I’m typing this, there are only 10 new copies available, with prices ranging from $22.50 to 46 dollars (The 22 dollars I don’t necessarily mind, but 46!?). You’re best bet is to go for a used copy (Which is what I did), as there are 23 copies available, with the pricing starting at 6 dollars, which is far more reasonable that the prices for the new copies.
Extras/Other
This DVD comes with the standard collection of trailers, videos, etc.
General Impression & Rating
I liked Love Hina, and I liked the Love Hina Christmas Special, but this.....I’m not so sure. I definitely don’t downright hate this movie, as there was a moment or two that I did like, but I find this to be the weakest entry in the Love Hina franchise (Out of the ones I’ve seen so far). It feels as if this special wasn’t in Ken Akamatsu’s list of important titles pile, but it also feels as if he wanted to do something with it. If you like Love Hina, then pick this up. Otherwise, just leave it on the dusty shelves of antiquity.
Love Hina: Spring Special gets a 5 to 7 out of 10.
See you next time, when we’ll look at one of the most charming Christmas movies ever produced. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
If I’m still alive around this time next year, chances are I’ll review the last entry in the Love Hina franchise, Love Hina Again.
Since some of you are probably tired of the cold and the snow, I thought I’d continue with some of these “warmer” reviews. Perhaps in a continuation with tradition around this time, I thought it would be appropriate to review another title in the Love Hina series, and sure enough, I managed to acquire today’s title earlier this month. With that said, let’s dive into the Love Hina Spring Special, and see if it can warm us up!
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“The Toudai entrance exams have finally come (again) for Keitarou. With all his confidence Keitarou sits for the paper but ends up falling asleep and dreaming about Narusegawa. Waking up with barely any time to complete the paper, Keitarou thinks he will fail the paper and tries to escape from Hinata Inn and forget all the memories with it. By a stroke of luck he meets Seta, but ends up in a faraway island with the whole cast trying to look for him.”
From what my understanding is, this movie was based off of a section of the manga (I’ve only read two out of the five omnibuses). At first, I thought this sounded like a great idea for a short OVA. Because I haven’t read the section of the manga that this movie seems to take place in, I really can’t say much. Having said that.....
The premise feels rather weak. In fact, this feels like a standard cookie-cutter story, regardless of the show in question. On top of that, there’s more of a serious tone to things (More on this in the Characters section), and the sidestory involving Nyama (Again, see the Characters section below) feels forcibly attached, and rather weak as well.
Setting
In a change of scenery, the spring special takes place on a tropical island within the south seas, with only a few scenes at the Hinata Apartments/Tokyo University. It’s pretty much like any other tropical island in real life/anime: There’s palm trees & beaches, grottos & waterfalls, and other standard objects you’d find in a place like this. The only difference is that this particular island has the ruins of an ancient civilization, and said civilization had a particular affinity for turtles (Like Tama). It does shake things up a little, but otherwise the island is nothing special.
Characters
The cast within this OVA movie is that same as that from the main show & Christmas special. While it’s nice to see the original cast again, there’s some big character changes, mainly the fact that they all aren’t anywhere near as funny. Most of the time when a character does or says something funny, it either stumbles or falls completely flat on their face. Shinobu, for example, is usually bubbly & cheery. In this movie/OVA, she’s more whiney & sniveling, and is nowhere near as funny/cute.
The spring special does introduce one new character, and that is Nyama. About as young as Shinobu, she seems to act a lot like the previously mentioned character. She cute & shy, but Nyama feels rather tacked on, like she was made more as a afterthought, and she just conveniently happened to show up on this special. With that said, she is likable, if a little bland.
Animation
As per the main show and the Christmas special, the spring special still has that Ken Akamatsu style of animation (Cute/sexy girls, dorky/gruff guys, lots of colors). Nothing more, nothing less.
Voice Acting
See my Love Hina & Love Hina: Christmas Special review for details. Although there is the new character, Nyama, her voice sounds so plain that it’s really not worth mentioning (I swear that the voice actor that does Shinobu also voices Nyama, but I’m not quite sure).
Episodes & Episode Length
As with the Christmas special from last year, the Love Hina Spring Special is a single, full-length movie. Running at 1 hour long, it works with what the special is trying to do, although I would have loved a little more time so the sidestory could be shown more.
Availability & Pricing
Like the Love Hina: Christmas Special I reviewed last year (Click “***” to read it), this special also hasn’t been re-released by Funimation. I got my copy from Amazon, but that’s where things get interesting. As I’m typing this, there are only 10 new copies available, with prices ranging from $22.50 to 46 dollars (The 22 dollars I don’t necessarily mind, but 46!?). You’re best bet is to go for a used copy (Which is what I did), as there are 23 copies available, with the pricing starting at 6 dollars, which is far more reasonable that the prices for the new copies.
Extras/Other
This DVD comes with the standard collection of trailers, videos, etc.
General Impression & Rating
I liked Love Hina, and I liked the Love Hina Christmas Special, but this.....I’m not so sure. I definitely don’t downright hate this movie, as there was a moment or two that I did like, but I find this to be the weakest entry in the Love Hina franchise (Out of the ones I’ve seen so far). It feels as if this special wasn’t in Ken Akamatsu’s list of important titles pile, but it also feels as if he wanted to do something with it. If you like Love Hina, then pick this up. Otherwise, just leave it on the dusty shelves of antiquity.
Love Hina: Spring Special gets a 5 to 7 out of 10.
See you next time, when we’ll look at one of the most charming Christmas movies ever produced. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
If I’m still alive around this time next year, chances are I’ll review the last entry in the Love Hina franchise, Love Hina Again.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Duke Caribbean: Life A Beach Review
Merry Christmahanakwanzaa!
We’re now into the second week of December, inching closer & closer to my favorite holiday. Many other people are equally excited for Christmas, but the one thing I bet that some of you aren’t happy about is the snow. For some, the cold creates discomfort, and perhaps a broken bone or two. If you’re living a really chilly area, you’re probably a little more pissed off. See an opportunity to warm hearts, and maybe create a smile or two, I thought “What would be the perfect thing to review to accomplish such a feat?” Well, if you remember my little teaser from my last review, then you know that today’s subject is Duke Nukem once again, and today we have the final official expansion. So get your sunscreen on your face, your swimming trunks & Hawaiian t-shirt ready, and enjoy my final Duke Nukem review of Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach!
Story
Taken from the Duke Nukem Wiki:
“Aliens have set up a new breeding ground in the Caribbean, terrorizing the islands. Duke, being on vacation, quickly responds to the situation. Players once again take the role of Duke Nukem through one new episode set in the hot Caribbean, destroying the aliens who wrecked his vacation.”
As per all the other expansions (And the original game), this has a simple & easy story.
Setting
In a big change from the previous Duke Nukem games, the levels in Life’s a Beach are much more lighthearted. In fact, the whole expansion is much more bright & sunny, but I’ll talk about this more & more throughout the rest of the review. With the levels, you journey through a variety of Caribbean-themed levels, including a beach side hotel, a cruise ship, and a casino. You even come across the alien lair, and even then it feels a little sunny. These’s levels are bright, colorful, and don’t have the serious look & feel that the other levels have (With maybe the exception of Nuclear Winter).
As for the level design, it’s a rewind back to Duke It Out In D.C. Some of the levels have a confusing layout (Nowhere near as bad as Duke It Out In D.C., but can still be a little confusing), while the others are made more simplistically than the rest (On par with maybe Nuclear Winter, but not in a bad way). Overall, despite some level changes, they’re pretty fun to move around through.
Characters
As per the norm, Duke Nukem takes center stage in this expansion. In an interesting change, Duke isn’t voiced by Jon St. John, but instead is voiced by Dave Manuel. Dave does an incredible impersonation of Jon St. John, and if you put the two voices side by side, you won’t be able to tell the difference. I should also say that this version of Duke Nukem is much cleaner than the DN3D edition: he only uses 1 or 2 swear words (Ass, and I believe bitch/shit is the other word), and his Caribbean-themed one-liners make him sound considerably goofier & hokey. Duke Nukem also has a new set of attire, thanks to the Caribbean makeover that has been applied to everything else. Just take a look at the picture below to see what I mean!
Gameplay
Gameplay has essentially remained the same as that from the previous Duke Nukem expansions, and by extension, Duke Nukem 3d. You still wander around, shoot aliens, pickup key/items/weapons, etc. However, there have been changes.
For starters are the aliens. Due to the graphical changes made, they all look relatively different (With the exceptions of the Protozoid Slimers & Sentry Drones, who still look the same). The Pig Cops now wear shorts, Hawaiian t-shirts, and sunglasses, the Assault Troopers look like the little guy from Fantasy Island, etc. There are also 3 new enemies introduced in the expansion: Seagulls that drop duces on you but are easy to kill, Inflatable Sea Monsters ridden by Pig Cops (They deal a lot of damage, but are easy to kill like the Seagulls), and Beach Babes, who really aren’t enemies, but act more like distractions. There were also supposed to be Iguana enemies, but they weren’t put into the final edition of the game (Screenshots were placed on Sunstorm Interactive’s website, but have long since been taken down).
Weapons have also been changed, as they all have been reskined & renamed. The Pipebombs have become Pineapples, the Rocket Launcher has become the Coconut Launcher, etc (Physically they look different, but they function just like their normal counterparts). Items that went to the inventory also received a new coat of paint, as Steroids are now Hot Sauce, and the Portable Medkit has become a Crate of Bananas (The only item to not receive any Caribbean change is the jetpack, as you can only get that item right at the end). Even the keycards can’t escape the Caribbean theme, as they’ve now become credit cards (Which are named Vista, which is a parody of Visa Credit Cards).
In a rather odd inclusion, many of the exit symbols are placed on a little wooden ship. The name of the wooden ship, by the way, is Kobayashi Maru, which was the name of the training vessel from Star Trek. Star Trek fans on the development team, perhaps?
Graphics & Sound
Graphically, Duke Caribbean: Life’s A Beach runs on the same Build Engine as all of the other DN3d games. What is different is the various textures used. A host of new Caribbean/Tropical themed textures have been created for this mod, including new signs, bamboo, etc. They really do convey the expansion’s warm & inviting feel. You do come across older textures, but these are taken aback so that the new ones stand in the spotlight.
As for the sound quality, it’s improved a little. Some of the redesigned weapon make new noises, but that’s not what’s improved the most. Each of the levels in the expansion have new, Caribbean-themed music made for them. The introduction, for example, is a mix between the original Duke Nukem 3d theme, and Hawaii Five-O (Click “***” to listen to it). The other little songs have steel drums, saxophones, and other instruments you’d hear when you’re in the Caribbean. There’s only 1 song that sounds like something from DN3d, but even then it somehow manages to sound fun.
Overall & Rating
If Nuclear Winter was the worst expansion, and Duke It Out In D.C. is the okay expansion, then Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach is the best of the three expansions. It has the best theme, best look, and even the best character so to speak. If you’re looking for a familiar hero with a new twist, then go right for Duke Caribbean: Life’s A Beach, and enjoy your fun in the sun!
Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach gets a 9 out of 10.
See you all later this week, when it’ll be springtime around the Hinata Apartments. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
Quick Little Fact: You can find the original DN3d game, along with the expansions, under the moniker Duke Nukem: Megaton Edition. It’s currently priced at $9.99, which is a great price when you consider the content it has (And how hard it is to get physical copies of the expansions now). If you would also like to look at my two previous Duke Nukem expansion reviews, then click on the links below (In order of release).
Duke It Out In D.C.: “***”
Duke - Nuclear Winter: “***”
Quick Little Fact 2: Duke Caribbean - Life’s a Beach & Duke - Nuclear Winter were released within a day of each other (Caribbean on December 30th, and Nuclear Winter on the 31st). Coincidence?
Friday, December 6, 2013
Twisted Sister: A Twisted Christmas Review
Hello everybody!
Well, we’re into the first week of December. Trees are decorated, snow is on the ground, and I can swear to the heavens above that I hear sleigh bells from time to time. Since I’m wanting to get into the holiday season a little more, why not review some Christmas music? If you know me, however, then you know that this won’t be a normal review of Christmas music. So grab some eggnog, a cookie or two, and enjoy this review of Twisted Sister’s only Christmas album, A Twisted Christmas.
Background
This album was tough to find information on, as there’s no source that’s given me anything clear (Even Twisted Sister’s website doesn’t give up info, but that’s due to the album part of the website is not up yet). The following facts below are scraps that I’ve found, both on Wikipedia, and on other metal sites (Apologies if it seems rather haphazard).
First released in October of 2006 (A little early, don’t you think), A Twisted Christmas was put out because the band considered all of the Christmas music that was coming out at the time was too generic or weak. Bringing in the old Twisted Sister Crew, Dee Snider also brought in iconic female rock/metal singers Lita Ford and Doro Pesch as backup for the vocals. The album itself is also a tribute to past/present rock & metal bands: all throughout A Twisted Christmas, there are riffs in many of the songs that were influenced by bands such as AC/DC & Black Sabbath.
Again, sorry for not putting in as much depth in this department as I normally do, but information on this album was tough to locate.
Songs
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas: For starters, I kinda love the beginning of this. The band seems to parody a lot of the lame sounding Christmas songs sung by B/C grade singers. Once they kick things up a notch, things become a little more intense, and resembles more of the typical Twisted Sister we’ve come to know & love. About halfway through, the songs becomes much faster, and doesn’t lose any Holiday spirit in the process. Overall, it’s a nice song to start off this album.
Oh Come All Ye Faithful: If you listen carefully to this song overall, you’d swear that it sounds an awful lot like another song of theirs, We’re Not Going To Take It (Which is a good song in it’s own right. Click “***” to listen to it). Well, your not wrong with the assumption. This version of Oh Come All Ye Faithful uses the previously mentioned song’s tune as the base, and the band just puts their own spin on things. This song is perhaps my favorite off of the album, as I generally think of We’re Not Going To Take It at the same time I listen to this. Oh, and there’s a rendition of Hava Nagila at the end, and that song is just nuts!
White Christmas: White Christmas is another song that uses a piece of music, only this time it uses a piece of Twisted Sister’s only library. If you listen closely, you can hear that parts of the guitar riff sound like riffs from I Wanna Rock (Again, another good song. Click “***” to listen to it). It’s a little bit harder to discern, since they only use a piece of that guitar riff, and if you’re not familiar with I Wanna Rock, you won’t notice it at all.
I’ll Be Home For Christmas: Now we’ve come across the first song with guest vocals, and in this case it’s iconic female rocker Lita Ford. She really gives it her all when she sings: her voice still sounds good to this day, and it’s very complimentary to Dee Snider’s own singing (Their two voices match up nicely, much like her teamup with Ozzy Osbourne for If I Close My Eyes Forever. Click “***” to listen to that song). The instrumentation goes for a slower pace, but one that doesn’t sound so sluggish, and really hammers home the feelings that the song wants to give away.
Silver Bells: Yet again we come across another song with a piece from another band. This time around, a part of the guitar riff comes from AC DC’s Problem Child (Which is just okay in my opinion. Click “***” to listen to it). The piece of the guitar riff that they use fits surprisingly well, as they only use it during the beginning of Silver Bells, and during the chorus for the most part (There’s only 1 section of the chorus that doesn’t use it, and it’s towards the end). Unlike most renditions of the song, this one opts for a faster pace, and creates a lot of holiday excitement.
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus: Let me just come out and say that I’ve always been a little creeped out by this song. Infidelity & the holidays don’t mix in my book. With that said, only a band like Twisted Sister (Or maybe Weird Al Yankovic) could turn a creepy song into something that’s fun, and possibly a little funny as well. Like Silver Bells, this one opts for a faster rendition, but I don’t quite think it fits. As much as I don’t like the original, I found that the slower pace fits better than a fast pace. Oh, and some of the guitar work in this is very reminiscent of Judas Priest’s You Got Another Thing Coming (Click “***” to listen)
Let It Snow: Once again, another song with a piece from another band. With Let It Snow, many of the guitar riffs are based off of Black Sabbath’s Children of the Grave (Which is a bitchin song, so click “***” to give it a listen to). Unlike White Chirstmas, you’ll notice the guitar riffs that are use much more easily. Not only that, but with how Twisted Sister play thing song, it makes Let It Snow sound like something that you could hear during a holiday blizzard, complete with a hear of wild horses galloping through the weather.
Deck The Halls: We now arrive at the last song to use riffs from another band, but this time the source is a little unexpected. In this case, some of the guitar riffs used are based off of Thin Lizzy’s classic tune, The Boys Are Back In Town (Click “***” to listen). This song is also classic Twisted Sister, in that it harkens back to their early days (Right around the time of Under The Blade to Stay Hungry). It’s very basic, and rather trashy (Due to the Christmas theme, it’s never lewd or crude), yet it has that craftsmanship that only Twisted Sister can provide, and that’s good!
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting): A classic song in it’s own right, Twisted Sister has put it’s hard rock/metal touch on it, and has created it’s own beast of a song. You still have the original message & feelings of the older song, but now you have a 80's/modern spin on the instrumentation. The guitars & drums add a intensity that the original version didn’t have, yet it’s not overpowering. Dee Snider’s singing is still top notch, as he brings a lot of emotion to the holiday table.
Heavy Metal Christmas: A fitting tribute/parody/remix of heavy metal and the holidays, Heavy Metal Christmas is a fun spin on the iconic 12 Day of Christmas. The instrumentation is strong but simple, yet that’s not what makes this song a treat. As per the name of the song, Heavy Metal Christmas offers you new Yuletide gifts & goodies. Instead of a partridge in a pear tree or any of the other old-school gifts, you’re now given a tattoo of Ozzy Osbourne, cans of hairspray, black mascaras, and all other items that belong in any metal head’s closet.
We Wish You A Twisted Christmas: A nice & quick way to end A Twisted Christmas, We Wish You A Twisted Christmas is a quick 36 seconds of singing by the band, along with a choir used as back up. I should quickly point out to you that I didn’t hear Doro Pesch singing at any other point in the album, so I can only assume that she sang in this little jingle. Disappointing really, since she has a pretty good voice.
Overall Impression & Rating
Twisted Sister hits the ball out of the park with this album. If there was any problem with A Twisted Christmas, it would be the goofy/corny nature of Twisted Sister, mixed with the wholesome nature of Christmas music. Apart from that, the band put their twisted (Pun totally intended) spin on all of the songs, and created something that’s actually very fun to listen to, or maybe even sing along with! If you like Holiday music that’s different, then give A Twisted Christmas a go.
Twisted Sister: A Twisted Christmas gets a 8.5 out of 10.
See you all next time, when we’ll visit our old pal Duke Nukem one last time. Until then, stay Otaku!
Well, we’re into the first week of December. Trees are decorated, snow is on the ground, and I can swear to the heavens above that I hear sleigh bells from time to time. Since I’m wanting to get into the holiday season a little more, why not review some Christmas music? If you know me, however, then you know that this won’t be a normal review of Christmas music. So grab some eggnog, a cookie or two, and enjoy this review of Twisted Sister’s only Christmas album, A Twisted Christmas.
Background
This album was tough to find information on, as there’s no source that’s given me anything clear (Even Twisted Sister’s website doesn’t give up info, but that’s due to the album part of the website is not up yet). The following facts below are scraps that I’ve found, both on Wikipedia, and on other metal sites (Apologies if it seems rather haphazard).
First released in October of 2006 (A little early, don’t you think), A Twisted Christmas was put out because the band considered all of the Christmas music that was coming out at the time was too generic or weak. Bringing in the old Twisted Sister Crew, Dee Snider also brought in iconic female rock/metal singers Lita Ford and Doro Pesch as backup for the vocals. The album itself is also a tribute to past/present rock & metal bands: all throughout A Twisted Christmas, there are riffs in many of the songs that were influenced by bands such as AC/DC & Black Sabbath.
Again, sorry for not putting in as much depth in this department as I normally do, but information on this album was tough to locate.
Songs
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas: For starters, I kinda love the beginning of this. The band seems to parody a lot of the lame sounding Christmas songs sung by B/C grade singers. Once they kick things up a notch, things become a little more intense, and resembles more of the typical Twisted Sister we’ve come to know & love. About halfway through, the songs becomes much faster, and doesn’t lose any Holiday spirit in the process. Overall, it’s a nice song to start off this album.
Oh Come All Ye Faithful: If you listen carefully to this song overall, you’d swear that it sounds an awful lot like another song of theirs, We’re Not Going To Take It (Which is a good song in it’s own right. Click “***” to listen to it). Well, your not wrong with the assumption. This version of Oh Come All Ye Faithful uses the previously mentioned song’s tune as the base, and the band just puts their own spin on things. This song is perhaps my favorite off of the album, as I generally think of We’re Not Going To Take It at the same time I listen to this. Oh, and there’s a rendition of Hava Nagila at the end, and that song is just nuts!
White Christmas: White Christmas is another song that uses a piece of music, only this time it uses a piece of Twisted Sister’s only library. If you listen closely, you can hear that parts of the guitar riff sound like riffs from I Wanna Rock (Again, another good song. Click “***” to listen to it). It’s a little bit harder to discern, since they only use a piece of that guitar riff, and if you’re not familiar with I Wanna Rock, you won’t notice it at all.
I’ll Be Home For Christmas: Now we’ve come across the first song with guest vocals, and in this case it’s iconic female rocker Lita Ford. She really gives it her all when she sings: her voice still sounds good to this day, and it’s very complimentary to Dee Snider’s own singing (Their two voices match up nicely, much like her teamup with Ozzy Osbourne for If I Close My Eyes Forever. Click “***” to listen to that song). The instrumentation goes for a slower pace, but one that doesn’t sound so sluggish, and really hammers home the feelings that the song wants to give away.
Silver Bells: Yet again we come across another song with a piece from another band. This time around, a part of the guitar riff comes from AC DC’s Problem Child (Which is just okay in my opinion. Click “***” to listen to it). The piece of the guitar riff that they use fits surprisingly well, as they only use it during the beginning of Silver Bells, and during the chorus for the most part (There’s only 1 section of the chorus that doesn’t use it, and it’s towards the end). Unlike most renditions of the song, this one opts for a faster pace, and creates a lot of holiday excitement.
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus: Let me just come out and say that I’ve always been a little creeped out by this song. Infidelity & the holidays don’t mix in my book. With that said, only a band like Twisted Sister (Or maybe Weird Al Yankovic) could turn a creepy song into something that’s fun, and possibly a little funny as well. Like Silver Bells, this one opts for a faster rendition, but I don’t quite think it fits. As much as I don’t like the original, I found that the slower pace fits better than a fast pace. Oh, and some of the guitar work in this is very reminiscent of Judas Priest’s You Got Another Thing Coming (Click “***” to listen)
Let It Snow: Once again, another song with a piece from another band. With Let It Snow, many of the guitar riffs are based off of Black Sabbath’s Children of the Grave (Which is a bitchin song, so click “***” to give it a listen to). Unlike White Chirstmas, you’ll notice the guitar riffs that are use much more easily. Not only that, but with how Twisted Sister play thing song, it makes Let It Snow sound like something that you could hear during a holiday blizzard, complete with a hear of wild horses galloping through the weather.
Deck The Halls: We now arrive at the last song to use riffs from another band, but this time the source is a little unexpected. In this case, some of the guitar riffs used are based off of Thin Lizzy’s classic tune, The Boys Are Back In Town (Click “***” to listen). This song is also classic Twisted Sister, in that it harkens back to their early days (Right around the time of Under The Blade to Stay Hungry). It’s very basic, and rather trashy (Due to the Christmas theme, it’s never lewd or crude), yet it has that craftsmanship that only Twisted Sister can provide, and that’s good!
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting): A classic song in it’s own right, Twisted Sister has put it’s hard rock/metal touch on it, and has created it’s own beast of a song. You still have the original message & feelings of the older song, but now you have a 80's/modern spin on the instrumentation. The guitars & drums add a intensity that the original version didn’t have, yet it’s not overpowering. Dee Snider’s singing is still top notch, as he brings a lot of emotion to the holiday table.
Heavy Metal Christmas: A fitting tribute/parody/remix of heavy metal and the holidays, Heavy Metal Christmas is a fun spin on the iconic 12 Day of Christmas. The instrumentation is strong but simple, yet that’s not what makes this song a treat. As per the name of the song, Heavy Metal Christmas offers you new Yuletide gifts & goodies. Instead of a partridge in a pear tree or any of the other old-school gifts, you’re now given a tattoo of Ozzy Osbourne, cans of hairspray, black mascaras, and all other items that belong in any metal head’s closet.
We Wish You A Twisted Christmas: A nice & quick way to end A Twisted Christmas, We Wish You A Twisted Christmas is a quick 36 seconds of singing by the band, along with a choir used as back up. I should quickly point out to you that I didn’t hear Doro Pesch singing at any other point in the album, so I can only assume that she sang in this little jingle. Disappointing really, since she has a pretty good voice.
Overall Impression & Rating
Twisted Sister hits the ball out of the park with this album. If there was any problem with A Twisted Christmas, it would be the goofy/corny nature of Twisted Sister, mixed with the wholesome nature of Christmas music. Apart from that, the band put their twisted (Pun totally intended) spin on all of the songs, and created something that’s actually very fun to listen to, or maybe even sing along with! If you like Holiday music that’s different, then give A Twisted Christmas a go.
Twisted Sister: A Twisted Christmas gets a 8.5 out of 10.
See you all next time, when we’ll visit our old pal Duke Nukem one last time. Until then, stay Otaku!
Monday, December 2, 2013
The Top 5 Games of 2013
Hi guys! Well, it’s December, the month of Christmas (Hanukkah, if you’re Jewish), and the end of the year. Last year around this time, I did a bunch of content to conclude 2012, and I thought I had achieved some success with that. This year I plan on putting up some content to finish up 2013, but this time around I plan on posting up only 6 posts. I rushed somewhat to post the 9 articles/reviews last year, so by limiting myself to 6 posts will give me a little more time to flesh things out. To start things out, let’s me tell you about my top 5 video games of this year that I played & enjoyed. Last year’s was pretty interesting, and I how you find this one to be interesting also.
5) Max Payne 3
Most of you are probably scratching your heads on this one. “Uh, wasn’t this released last year?” you’re more than likely asking. Both of these reactions are very legit, but let me explain my reasoning. I requested this game for my 26th birthday, along with my number 4 spot on this list. I haven’t really gone back to do a second playthrough of it yet (Since I finished it around mid-April, I believe), but I’m planning on it.
In the meantime, I thought Max Payne 3 was a blast! The singleplayer was quite riveting. There was a good story (Filled with plenty of twists & turns), great cast of characters, and familiar yet different gameplay. I didn’t try the multiplayer, but from what I’ve heard it was a nice experience. You know what, I’m gonna go back & play it again! See a review for this in a couple months!
4) Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm
If I enjoyed Wings of Liberty, then I really enjoyed Heart of the Swarm. After waiting for almost 3 years after the conclusion of WoL, HotS was well worth it!
Heart of the Swarm is something of a different creature when compared to Wings of Liberty. Whereas Wings of Liberty was a typical war story, Heart of the Swarm tells the tale of Kerrigan’s rebirth into humanity, and her path of vengeance & reunification into the swarm after Raynor “died” early on. HotS is also different from Wings of Liberty in that it feels like Warcraft 3 from 2002/2003. In just about all of the missions you get to control Kerrigan, and by adjusting her skills in between missions & leveling her up, her role in battle changes. You can also adapt certain species within the swarm to have special abilities, like jumping up walls or widened explosive radius.
Heart of the Swarm brought to the table all of the things that made Wings of Liberty great, and added it’s own positive qualities to create a great product. Now, time can only tell on the final installment of the epic trilogy, but I’ll let you know, I’ll be waiting for it to come to my doorstep.
3) The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing
Of all the games I played this year, this was the most surprising to me. A dark & gritty RPG in the vein of Diablo 1 & 2 (Sorry Diablo 3, for while you are/were a blast to play, you didn’t quite have the look as you used to), The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing was also a game in it’s own realm. Using the stories & mythology of Dracula, mad scientists, werewolves and such, the in-game world was full of danger, darkness, and ancient secrets that mankind shouldn’t attempt to unearth. Not only that, but you also have a battle companion that follows you throughout the campaign, and she can fight in either melee or ranged (Much like yourself, but I’ll cover that in the eventual review), and use special abilities (You also gain special abilities, but again I’ll cover this in the review). There’s also a bunch of Easter eggs, many of which apply to classic horror literature & horror movies, not to mention some Easter eggs that reference real-world things as well. There are some small flaws with The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, but they don’t weigh down the experience in any way!
2) Borderlands 2/Duke Nukem 3d: Megaton Edition/Shadow Warrior Classic Redux
I couldn’t really choose between any of these, and so I gave all of these games their own spot. With Borderlands 2, the game’s lifespan has been increased tenfold with all of the update & downloadable content. You’ve got the two downloadable characters (Gaige & Krieg), the four story DLCs, various skins & heads, and the two level increases (Which also included other goodies as well). These updates really make playing the game multiple times viable, with each run through giving you better & better loot. I’ve gotten four characters up to the new maximum level of 72, and I got two more to go.
With Duke Nukem 3d: Megaton Edition, we get something a little different. Right away, you’re given the original game (Plutonium Pak: First 3 episodes & 1 mission pack episode), which is all well and good. What really makes this a worthwhile purchase is that you also get the three official expansion packs of Duke Nukem 3d (Duke It Out in DC, Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach, Duke: Nuclear Winter), which are now almost impossible to locate physically. These three packs are a blast to play, each of them providing a different experience (Even Nuclear Winter, which is the worst of the three, has a fun moment or two). If you’re a fan of Duke Nukem, or at the very least interested in Duke Nukem, then I suggest you go & buy this edition.
As for the Shadow Warrior Classic Redux, it’s pretty much in the same boat as the DN3D: Megaton Edition. The mission packs are hard to find online because they were never released physically (Granted, that was due to controversy when the main game first came out, but that’s for another time), but with the Classic Redux release, they’re both included in the package, along with the original game. If you want a change of theme, but not a change of pace, then give Shadow Warrior a go!
1) Rise of the Triad: 2013 Edition & Shadow Warrior 2013**
Back in the early/mid 90s, Rise of the Triad was a fun shooter. Wacky weapons (Split Missile & Excalibat anyone?), bizarre powerups (Dog Mode?), complex & weird level design, and goofy/interesting enemies (Magical monks) created for a memorable experience. It was memorable enough for Interceptor Entertainment to recreate the game for the modern gaming audience, and a couple months ago released Rise of the Triad: 2013 Edition. Although shorter than the original game & coming with some small graphical problems, the game very much reminded me of the source material. It was fast paced, full of tense gunfights, deadly traps & puzzles, and some of the goofiest humor ever seen in a game (Although they seem to have laid down more humor in this iteration). If any of you are tired of the current state of First-Person-Shooter, then I suggest you give this old-school inspired game a go!
In regards to Shadow Warrior: 2013 Edition, I can only say that it is a game that everybody should play, or at the very least try. Despite some of the small troubles it has (Emphasis on the word small), it has some of the best gameplay I've ever seen! Visceral melee combat & fast-paced gun battles against some of the most unique & imaginative monsters in gaming, and Ki-based magical powers complement one of the most original & competent stories ever written for a video game. I won't spoil it for you, but if you're not shedding at least a single tear by the time the game is through, then you have no emotion or feeling.
See you all this Friday, when this Christmas gets a little twisted. Until then, stay Otaku!
**
Updated on December 12th, 2013 on 8:01 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time)
5) Max Payne 3
Most of you are probably scratching your heads on this one. “Uh, wasn’t this released last year?” you’re more than likely asking. Both of these reactions are very legit, but let me explain my reasoning. I requested this game for my 26th birthday, along with my number 4 spot on this list. I haven’t really gone back to do a second playthrough of it yet (Since I finished it around mid-April, I believe), but I’m planning on it.
In the meantime, I thought Max Payne 3 was a blast! The singleplayer was quite riveting. There was a good story (Filled with plenty of twists & turns), great cast of characters, and familiar yet different gameplay. I didn’t try the multiplayer, but from what I’ve heard it was a nice experience. You know what, I’m gonna go back & play it again! See a review for this in a couple months!
4) Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm
If I enjoyed Wings of Liberty, then I really enjoyed Heart of the Swarm. After waiting for almost 3 years after the conclusion of WoL, HotS was well worth it!
Heart of the Swarm is something of a different creature when compared to Wings of Liberty. Whereas Wings of Liberty was a typical war story, Heart of the Swarm tells the tale of Kerrigan’s rebirth into humanity, and her path of vengeance & reunification into the swarm after Raynor “died” early on. HotS is also different from Wings of Liberty in that it feels like Warcraft 3 from 2002/2003. In just about all of the missions you get to control Kerrigan, and by adjusting her skills in between missions & leveling her up, her role in battle changes. You can also adapt certain species within the swarm to have special abilities, like jumping up walls or widened explosive radius.
Heart of the Swarm brought to the table all of the things that made Wings of Liberty great, and added it’s own positive qualities to create a great product. Now, time can only tell on the final installment of the epic trilogy, but I’ll let you know, I’ll be waiting for it to come to my doorstep.
3) The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing
Of all the games I played this year, this was the most surprising to me. A dark & gritty RPG in the vein of Diablo 1 & 2 (Sorry Diablo 3, for while you are/were a blast to play, you didn’t quite have the look as you used to), The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing was also a game in it’s own realm. Using the stories & mythology of Dracula, mad scientists, werewolves and such, the in-game world was full of danger, darkness, and ancient secrets that mankind shouldn’t attempt to unearth. Not only that, but you also have a battle companion that follows you throughout the campaign, and she can fight in either melee or ranged (Much like yourself, but I’ll cover that in the eventual review), and use special abilities (You also gain special abilities, but again I’ll cover this in the review). There’s also a bunch of Easter eggs, many of which apply to classic horror literature & horror movies, not to mention some Easter eggs that reference real-world things as well. There are some small flaws with The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, but they don’t weigh down the experience in any way!
2) Borderlands 2/Duke Nukem 3d: Megaton Edition/Shadow Warrior Classic Redux
I couldn’t really choose between any of these, and so I gave all of these games their own spot. With Borderlands 2, the game’s lifespan has been increased tenfold with all of the update & downloadable content. You’ve got the two downloadable characters (Gaige & Krieg), the four story DLCs, various skins & heads, and the two level increases (Which also included other goodies as well). These updates really make playing the game multiple times viable, with each run through giving you better & better loot. I’ve gotten four characters up to the new maximum level of 72, and I got two more to go.
With Duke Nukem 3d: Megaton Edition, we get something a little different. Right away, you’re given the original game (Plutonium Pak: First 3 episodes & 1 mission pack episode), which is all well and good. What really makes this a worthwhile purchase is that you also get the three official expansion packs of Duke Nukem 3d (Duke It Out in DC, Duke Caribbean: Life’s a Beach, Duke: Nuclear Winter), which are now almost impossible to locate physically. These three packs are a blast to play, each of them providing a different experience (Even Nuclear Winter, which is the worst of the three, has a fun moment or two). If you’re a fan of Duke Nukem, or at the very least interested in Duke Nukem, then I suggest you go & buy this edition.
As for the Shadow Warrior Classic Redux, it’s pretty much in the same boat as the DN3D: Megaton Edition. The mission packs are hard to find online because they were never released physically (Granted, that was due to controversy when the main game first came out, but that’s for another time), but with the Classic Redux release, they’re both included in the package, along with the original game. If you want a change of theme, but not a change of pace, then give Shadow Warrior a go!
1) Rise of the Triad: 2013 Edition & Shadow Warrior 2013**
Back in the early/mid 90s, Rise of the Triad was a fun shooter. Wacky weapons (Split Missile & Excalibat anyone?), bizarre powerups (Dog Mode?), complex & weird level design, and goofy/interesting enemies (Magical monks) created for a memorable experience. It was memorable enough for Interceptor Entertainment to recreate the game for the modern gaming audience, and a couple months ago released Rise of the Triad: 2013 Edition. Although shorter than the original game & coming with some small graphical problems, the game very much reminded me of the source material. It was fast paced, full of tense gunfights, deadly traps & puzzles, and some of the goofiest humor ever seen in a game (Although they seem to have laid down more humor in this iteration). If any of you are tired of the current state of First-Person-Shooter, then I suggest you give this old-school inspired game a go!
In regards to Shadow Warrior: 2013 Edition, I can only say that it is a game that everybody should play, or at the very least try. Despite some of the small troubles it has (Emphasis on the word small), it has some of the best gameplay I've ever seen! Visceral melee combat & fast-paced gun battles against some of the most unique & imaginative monsters in gaming, and Ki-based magical powers complement one of the most original & competent stories ever written for a video game. I won't spoil it for you, but if you're not shedding at least a single tear by the time the game is through, then you have no emotion or feeling.
See you all this Friday, when this Christmas gets a little twisted. Until then, stay Otaku!
**
Updated on December 12th, 2013 on 8:01 P.M. (Eastern Standard Time)
Monday, November 25, 2013
Ah My Goddess: Flights of Fancy Review
Hey guys, it’s the final week of November! Starting today, I’m going over all the content I have planned to review for December. It’s nowhere near as much as I had last year, but hopefully I’ll have more time to make the reviews in question better. With that said, here’s another review of a show that I bought from Connecticon. I had a much easier time going through this one than I did with Tenchi In Tokyo. So, grab some wine and a little chocolate, and enjoy this lighthearted review of Ah My Goddess: Flights of Fancy (A.K.A. Season 2).
Story/Setup
Starting just after season 1, we find that normality has returned (I’m using the word returned rather loosely) to the lives of Keiichi Morisato, and the goddesses Belldandy, Urd, and Skuld. However, with the arrival of a new goddess, old friends & new enemies, life immediately goes back to a quirky state, where something oddball happens just about everyday. For better or worse, the gang’s bond strengthens, and life stays is wonderful yet weird self.
Yeah, the story isn’t necessarily one of the most in-depth. However, it’s simplistic, easy to understand, and you can get into everything rather quickly.
Setting
As with season 1, Flights of Fancy takes place in what I believe is Tokyo. I say “Believe”, because I don’t think the show actually says where it takes place (If it does, then I’ve never noticed). The temple/house where the group lives is one of the most inviting places you’ll ever see. It’s calm, serene, and it just beckons you to live there, or at the very least stay for a day or two. The city & school are rather lively, as there are lots of people around, and things are abuzz with activity.
There are plenty of other places the show goes to, including a country vacation home, a hot spring resort, and a extra-dimensionally enhanced version of the group’s living room (Watch episode 20 to understand). Though they aren’t the focal points of the show, they still have the same positive qualities as the other places.
Characters
The cast within Flights of Fancy is the exact same group of characters that came from the first season. You’ve still got Keiichi, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and all of their friends & enemies. For the most part, the character’s character (That looks & sounds weird, I know) has remained the same: Keiichi is still a humble & nice guy, Belldandy is still sweet & naive, etc. The 2nd season introduces one new character, and that’s Peorth, another goddess that lives with the gang for a bit. She’s actually a lot like Urd (Sultry, sexy, and kinda has an eye for Keiichi), but she has a rivalry of sorts with Belldandy, and doesn’t seem to have as many inhibitions. She’s not in the spotlight as much as you think, but when she’s on screen, she has a presence.
Animation
The animation quality remains the same as that of season 1, but for anyone who’s never seen the first season, here’s a quick tidbit. The animation goes for a realistic/bright color pallet, which in turn creates a warm & inviting atmosphere (Despite the more serious moments). The backgrounds & environments look nice, and the characters look & move great (Especially the ladies). For what the show is trying to do, the animation fits with everything else.
Voice Acting
Flights of Fancy, unlike Tenchi In Tokyo, contains all of the original voice actors. They do the exact same voices in this show that they did in season 1 (Which actually wasn’t that bad), and so there really isn’t much else to say.
Episodes & Episode Length
Like Tenchi In Tokyo from last week, Ah My Goddess: Flights of Fancy is a long show. 24 episodes that run at 22 to 24 minutes each, to be exact. Whereas Tenchi In Tokyo feels long, this series go by at a slightly quicker pace. Perhaps because it’s 2 episodes shorter than Tenchi In Tokyo, or because of the faster pace of the series in general, I don’t know.
Availability & Pricing
The availability of Ah My Goddess: Season 2 is a curious case. The original season was released by Anime Works, and like many of the series they put out, are now difficult to find. In regards to season 2, it was re-released back in 2011 by Funimation under their S.A.V.E. (Super Amazing Value Edition) program. You can find it in places like Best Buy & FYE, or on websites like Amazon, where new copies currently start at 18 dollars, which is a really good deal.
Extras/Other**
The complete collection of Ah My Goddess: Flights of Fancy comes with a bunch of stuff, including commentaries, interviews, and trailers for other shows. It’s a good amount of bonus content, and will definitely satisfy anyone who finished the show, but want something else afterwards.
General Impression & Rating
Ah My Goddess: Flights of Fancy is perhaps one of the sappiest titles I own. I’m not a fan of romantic comedies, mostly because of how irritating they can be. Every once in a while, a title will come along, and whether because of it’s story or originality, Ah My Goddess hooked me in. Hell, I watched this series twice before I finished Tenchi In Tokyo! It does have it’s faults, but they in no-way tarnish how funny, sweet, and charming Ah My Goddess is.
Ah My Goddess: Season 2 gets a 9 out of 10.
See you next time, when the holiday season arrives on our doorstep. Until then, stay Otaku!
**
I know that most of what I said in this section is a repeat from last week’s review (Apart from the name change), but I honestly couldn’t think of anything different to say.
Story/Setup
Starting just after season 1, we find that normality has returned (I’m using the word returned rather loosely) to the lives of Keiichi Morisato, and the goddesses Belldandy, Urd, and Skuld. However, with the arrival of a new goddess, old friends & new enemies, life immediately goes back to a quirky state, where something oddball happens just about everyday. For better or worse, the gang’s bond strengthens, and life stays is wonderful yet weird self.
Yeah, the story isn’t necessarily one of the most in-depth. However, it’s simplistic, easy to understand, and you can get into everything rather quickly.
Setting
As with season 1, Flights of Fancy takes place in what I believe is Tokyo. I say “Believe”, because I don’t think the show actually says where it takes place (If it does, then I’ve never noticed). The temple/house where the group lives is one of the most inviting places you’ll ever see. It’s calm, serene, and it just beckons you to live there, or at the very least stay for a day or two. The city & school are rather lively, as there are lots of people around, and things are abuzz with activity.
There are plenty of other places the show goes to, including a country vacation home, a hot spring resort, and a extra-dimensionally enhanced version of the group’s living room (Watch episode 20 to understand). Though they aren’t the focal points of the show, they still have the same positive qualities as the other places.
Characters
The cast within Flights of Fancy is the exact same group of characters that came from the first season. You’ve still got Keiichi, Belldandy, Urd, Skuld, and all of their friends & enemies. For the most part, the character’s character (That looks & sounds weird, I know) has remained the same: Keiichi is still a humble & nice guy, Belldandy is still sweet & naive, etc. The 2nd season introduces one new character, and that’s Peorth, another goddess that lives with the gang for a bit. She’s actually a lot like Urd (Sultry, sexy, and kinda has an eye for Keiichi), but she has a rivalry of sorts with Belldandy, and doesn’t seem to have as many inhibitions. She’s not in the spotlight as much as you think, but when she’s on screen, she has a presence.
Animation
The animation quality remains the same as that of season 1, but for anyone who’s never seen the first season, here’s a quick tidbit. The animation goes for a realistic/bright color pallet, which in turn creates a warm & inviting atmosphere (Despite the more serious moments). The backgrounds & environments look nice, and the characters look & move great (Especially the ladies). For what the show is trying to do, the animation fits with everything else.
Voice Acting
Flights of Fancy, unlike Tenchi In Tokyo, contains all of the original voice actors. They do the exact same voices in this show that they did in season 1 (Which actually wasn’t that bad), and so there really isn’t much else to say.
Episodes & Episode Length
Like Tenchi In Tokyo from last week, Ah My Goddess: Flights of Fancy is a long show. 24 episodes that run at 22 to 24 minutes each, to be exact. Whereas Tenchi In Tokyo feels long, this series go by at a slightly quicker pace. Perhaps because it’s 2 episodes shorter than Tenchi In Tokyo, or because of the faster pace of the series in general, I don’t know.
Availability & Pricing
The availability of Ah My Goddess: Season 2 is a curious case. The original season was released by Anime Works, and like many of the series they put out, are now difficult to find. In regards to season 2, it was re-released back in 2011 by Funimation under their S.A.V.E. (Super Amazing Value Edition) program. You can find it in places like Best Buy & FYE, or on websites like Amazon, where new copies currently start at 18 dollars, which is a really good deal.
Extras/Other**
The complete collection of Ah My Goddess: Flights of Fancy comes with a bunch of stuff, including commentaries, interviews, and trailers for other shows. It’s a good amount of bonus content, and will definitely satisfy anyone who finished the show, but want something else afterwards.
General Impression & Rating
Ah My Goddess: Flights of Fancy is perhaps one of the sappiest titles I own. I’m not a fan of romantic comedies, mostly because of how irritating they can be. Every once in a while, a title will come along, and whether because of it’s story or originality, Ah My Goddess hooked me in. Hell, I watched this series twice before I finished Tenchi In Tokyo! It does have it’s faults, but they in no-way tarnish how funny, sweet, and charming Ah My Goddess is.
Ah My Goddess: Season 2 gets a 9 out of 10.
See you next time, when the holiday season arrives on our doorstep. Until then, stay Otaku!
**
I know that most of what I said in this section is a repeat from last week’s review (Apart from the name change), but I honestly couldn’t think of anything different to say.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Tenchi In Tokyo Review
Hello anime fans!
I purchased today’s show back at Connecticon this year, and it was the last show I bought from that con I completed. It was perhaps the most conflicting thing I’ve ever watched, as it has many good things about it, along with some bad things as well. All together, this created for a fun, weird, and slightly uncomfortable experience. With that said, let’s look at the 3rd entry in the Tenchi franchise, Tenchi In Tokyo, and see if it’s as conflicting as it’s legacy says it is.
Story/Setup
Taken from the wikipedia page:
“On a bright and otherwise cheerful morning, Tenchi Masaki assembles his extended household in the backyard of the family home for a group photograph. To their confusion for the suddenness of this, Tenchi makes a shocking revelation: after careful thought, he has made up his mind to move to Tokyo for two years on behalf of his grandfather, Katsuhito, to train as a kannushi, so that he may better care for the family Shinto shrine. The reaction is a predictably devastating one, with Tenchi's father, Nobuyuki, even forcibly considered a replacement. His son's unyielding stance on the situation spares him the trouble, however, and with that the girls' come to terms with arrangements.
That afternoon, Tenchi and Katsuhito commute to Tokyo to meet with Dokuzen Tsuchida, the priest who the apprenticeship will be served under. After the two are sent to participate in an exorcism, which ultimately enlists the girls to perform, Tenchi goes to bed, ready to attend the school the following day. Much to the delight of Yugi, a supernatural child monitoring him high above the skies of the city, Tenchi takes a seat beside Sakuya Kumashiro, a girl who takes an almost immediate liking to him.”
While this is a cohesive story like all the other shows, Tenchi In Tokyo moves along at a considerably slower pace. For example, you meet all of the girls in the first episode, and it isn’t until the 6th or 7th episode when you find out how they all arrived at Tenchi’s house. When you first meet the main villain (Yugi) of the show, you’re only given tiny bits & pieces of her character. It’s not until about halfway to exactly halfway through the show where you’re given a clearer vision of her goals & background, and even then it’s not until about a couple episodes towards the end when you fully learn about her. This is a disappointing aspect of the show, but it’s not the only thing that disappoints me.
Setting
In a strange move, Tenchi In Tokyo remains mostly on Earth, both at Tenchi’s house and the City of Tokyo. Tenchi’s house, and the surrounding countryside, look’s much like what you’d see from the previous series. The only exception to Tenchi’s house is Washu’s lab: you only get glimpses this time around, and from what I was able to see, it wasn’t as out-there as it was in previous iterations. Tokyo looks & feels rather standard, but it’s nothing ugly. There’s more of a realistic approach to everything, and is actually kind of charming.
Again, this show mostly takes place on Earth, but there are some trips into space. Earlier in the series the group travels to the moon, and later on Ryoko has a journey in space with an new ally for a few episodes. The moon looks as you’d expect, but the episodes where you see Ryoko in space takes you to a variety of planets & locales. There’s even an episode where she breaks into the Galaxy Bank, which is a rather behemoth structure.
Overall I was a little disappointed with the approach to the setting (I wished it was more like Tenchi Muyo/Tenchi Universe), but it’s really nothing to pitch a fit about it.
Characters
Here is where I have the biggest gripe with the show. Like Tenchi Universe, Tenchi In Tokyo has changes within the cast’s profile, but these are some of the biggest character changes I’ve ever seen in a show. For example, Tenchi** and his grandfather are not descended from Jurian royalty, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are the rest of the changes:
- Ayeka is no longer searching for her brother & is more emotional like Ryoko (Not this version)
- Ryoko is far more emotional than past incarnations, requires air to breathe when she’s in the vacuum of space, and actually hires Washu to work with her
- Sasami is even more child-like than her Tenchi Universe incarnation, prone to fits of shouting when she gets angry or upset (She still retains her skills of cooking & cleaning)
- Washu is far more stable than incarnations from the past, has less of an ego (She still has her moments, but they happen nowhere near as often), and did not create Ryoko
- Mihoshi is still clumsy, but she now acts incredibly child-like, almost to the point where she could be considered a child
- Kiyone is more manipulative & gets angry more quickly at Mihoshi, and also seems to be more attached to Tenchi than she was in Tenchi Universe
Just about all of these changes are completely unnecessary. In fact, most of the changes have caused me to dislike almost all of the characters (Except for Washu, which is actually a pleasant change, and Sasami, but that’s because I’ve always been a fan of her). I understand changing the characters a little with each iteration, but this is far too drastic a change.
There are also some brand-new characters in Tenchi In Tokyo. The main villain, Yugi, is highly mysterious, and holds a grudge towards Tenchi’s family. Sayuka is another key player in the show, and is the girl that Tenchi falls for after he moves to Tokyo. She’s very attractive and intelligent, but she’s also incredibly emotional in ways that are good, as well as bad (She’s very clingy, and can get rather upset if noone replies to her affections). We round out the new characters with Yugi’s minions: Hotsuma, Matori, and Tsugaru. They all have their own personalities & features, but they are utterly loyal to their master. With perhaps the exception of Yugi, none of these other characters are interesting, but they do add some substance to the series because they’re new.
Animation
The animation in Tenchi In Tokyo is pretty good! It’s a minor improvement over the original OVA, and a big improvement over Tenchi Universe. Although the color palette seems to be roughly the same in terms of color variety, it doesn’t quite have that grainy/muted look that the older shows had (Much more so with Universe than the OVA). Colors seem brighter, characters & things move more fluidly, and overall still feels like it was hand-drawn (The show came out in 1997, when computers started to take over the animation process). My only complaint about the show’s animation is the faces. For the most part, all of the faces seem to look the same. This is much more noticeable among the female characters of the show (Especially among the main girls of the show), as the male cast of the show have faces that are somewhat different from one another. I wouldn’t call this bad, but I would say that it’s very noticeable, and maybe a little odd.
Voice Acting
For the most part, the voice acting remains the same. Most of the voice actors you know from previous Tenchi entries have stayed along, with only three characters (Tenchi’s Father & Grandfather, and Kiyone) have different voice actors. Bob Papenbrook is the new voice for Tenchi’s Grandfather (And Tenchi’s father.......lazy move, isn’t it?), and Wendee Lee is the new voice for Kiyone. Wendee Lee does a good job with the role she was given, as she really embraces the character, but Mr. Papenbrook doesn’t do as good of a job. The only difference between the two roles he was given is a slight change in pitch (Tenchi’s Father sounds a little louder, while his Grandfather is slightly quieter), and I consider this to be nothing more than a money-saving move, and a bad one at that.
Episodes & Episode Length
Tenchi In Tokyo shares something in common with Tenchi Universe, and that’s length. This show is 26 episodes long, with each individual episode running at about 22 to 24 minutes. Tenchi In Tokyo will last you for a pretty long, as this one took quite a while for me to view (More on this in a bit).
Availability & Pricing
Like Tenchi Muyo & Tenchi Universe, Tenchi In Tokyo was re-released last year along with the two previously mentioned shows. You can find this show in places like Best Buy & FYE relatively easily, or online at places like Amazon. Currently on Amazon, the complete collection starts at 25 to 30 dollars for a new copy, which is actually pretty damn good for the amount of content on it. The older Geneon/Pioneer editions are harder to find, but not impossible. Every once in a while I’ve been able to find individual DVDs (From what I’ve seen, pricing usually ranges from about 7 to 10 dollars, and sometimes 12 to 15), but finding the complete collection from Geneon/Pioneer is relatively easy to find on Amazon. New copies start at 40 to 45 (More expensive than the Funimation re-release, but possibly worth it), while used copies start at the more respectable 7 dollars. I would highly suggest the Funimation re-release, but if you’re interested in the older release, I’d say go for it.
Extras/Other
The complete collection of Tenchi In Tokyo comes with a bunch of stuff, including commentaries, interviews, and trailers for other shows. It’s a good amount of bonus content, and will definitely satisfy anyone who finished the show, but want something else afterwards.
General Impression & Rating
Tenchi In Tokyo definitely deserves it’s reputation, but for me, it doesn’t completely deserve it. At it’s best, the show feels like the other Tenchi series before it (Charming, Goofy, Sexy, etc). At it’s worst, it can either be above average. At it’s very worst, it can be somewhat uncomfortable to watch. If you are willing to put some of it’s problems on the shelf, then you’ll find a fairly respectable show. As for me, I enjoyed watching the series, but Tenchi In Tokyo is the entry I enjoyed the least.
Tenchi In Tokyo gets a 6 to 8.5 out of 10.
See you next time, when I’ll review a show that was easy to watch. Until then, stay Otaku!
**
I’ll quickly tack this on: Tenchi for the most part has remained the same (Apart from not being Jurian), but there’s a point where he becomes incredibly insensitive/asshole, and after that seems to return back to normal, but seems oblivious of the other girls’s feelings, and is somewhat unstable as far as his emotions are concerned (Nowhere near as much as Ryoko is). If you haven’t seen the show, watch it and you’ll understand.
I purchased today’s show back at Connecticon this year, and it was the last show I bought from that con I completed. It was perhaps the most conflicting thing I’ve ever watched, as it has many good things about it, along with some bad things as well. All together, this created for a fun, weird, and slightly uncomfortable experience. With that said, let’s look at the 3rd entry in the Tenchi franchise, Tenchi In Tokyo, and see if it’s as conflicting as it’s legacy says it is.
Story/Setup
Taken from the wikipedia page:
“On a bright and otherwise cheerful morning, Tenchi Masaki assembles his extended household in the backyard of the family home for a group photograph. To their confusion for the suddenness of this, Tenchi makes a shocking revelation: after careful thought, he has made up his mind to move to Tokyo for two years on behalf of his grandfather, Katsuhito, to train as a kannushi, so that he may better care for the family Shinto shrine. The reaction is a predictably devastating one, with Tenchi's father, Nobuyuki, even forcibly considered a replacement. His son's unyielding stance on the situation spares him the trouble, however, and with that the girls' come to terms with arrangements.
That afternoon, Tenchi and Katsuhito commute to Tokyo to meet with Dokuzen Tsuchida, the priest who the apprenticeship will be served under. After the two are sent to participate in an exorcism, which ultimately enlists the girls to perform, Tenchi goes to bed, ready to attend the school the following day. Much to the delight of Yugi, a supernatural child monitoring him high above the skies of the city, Tenchi takes a seat beside Sakuya Kumashiro, a girl who takes an almost immediate liking to him.”
While this is a cohesive story like all the other shows, Tenchi In Tokyo moves along at a considerably slower pace. For example, you meet all of the girls in the first episode, and it isn’t until the 6th or 7th episode when you find out how they all arrived at Tenchi’s house. When you first meet the main villain (Yugi) of the show, you’re only given tiny bits & pieces of her character. It’s not until about halfway to exactly halfway through the show where you’re given a clearer vision of her goals & background, and even then it’s not until about a couple episodes towards the end when you fully learn about her. This is a disappointing aspect of the show, but it’s not the only thing that disappoints me.
Setting
In a strange move, Tenchi In Tokyo remains mostly on Earth, both at Tenchi’s house and the City of Tokyo. Tenchi’s house, and the surrounding countryside, look’s much like what you’d see from the previous series. The only exception to Tenchi’s house is Washu’s lab: you only get glimpses this time around, and from what I was able to see, it wasn’t as out-there as it was in previous iterations. Tokyo looks & feels rather standard, but it’s nothing ugly. There’s more of a realistic approach to everything, and is actually kind of charming.
Again, this show mostly takes place on Earth, but there are some trips into space. Earlier in the series the group travels to the moon, and later on Ryoko has a journey in space with an new ally for a few episodes. The moon looks as you’d expect, but the episodes where you see Ryoko in space takes you to a variety of planets & locales. There’s even an episode where she breaks into the Galaxy Bank, which is a rather behemoth structure.
Overall I was a little disappointed with the approach to the setting (I wished it was more like Tenchi Muyo/Tenchi Universe), but it’s really nothing to pitch a fit about it.
Characters
Here is where I have the biggest gripe with the show. Like Tenchi Universe, Tenchi In Tokyo has changes within the cast’s profile, but these are some of the biggest character changes I’ve ever seen in a show. For example, Tenchi** and his grandfather are not descended from Jurian royalty, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are the rest of the changes:
- Ayeka is no longer searching for her brother & is more emotional like Ryoko (Not this version)
- Ryoko is far more emotional than past incarnations, requires air to breathe when she’s in the vacuum of space, and actually hires Washu to work with her
- Sasami is even more child-like than her Tenchi Universe incarnation, prone to fits of shouting when she gets angry or upset (She still retains her skills of cooking & cleaning)
- Washu is far more stable than incarnations from the past, has less of an ego (She still has her moments, but they happen nowhere near as often), and did not create Ryoko
- Mihoshi is still clumsy, but she now acts incredibly child-like, almost to the point where she could be considered a child
- Kiyone is more manipulative & gets angry more quickly at Mihoshi, and also seems to be more attached to Tenchi than she was in Tenchi Universe
Just about all of these changes are completely unnecessary. In fact, most of the changes have caused me to dislike almost all of the characters (Except for Washu, which is actually a pleasant change, and Sasami, but that’s because I’ve always been a fan of her). I understand changing the characters a little with each iteration, but this is far too drastic a change.
There are also some brand-new characters in Tenchi In Tokyo. The main villain, Yugi, is highly mysterious, and holds a grudge towards Tenchi’s family. Sayuka is another key player in the show, and is the girl that Tenchi falls for after he moves to Tokyo. She’s very attractive and intelligent, but she’s also incredibly emotional in ways that are good, as well as bad (She’s very clingy, and can get rather upset if noone replies to her affections). We round out the new characters with Yugi’s minions: Hotsuma, Matori, and Tsugaru. They all have their own personalities & features, but they are utterly loyal to their master. With perhaps the exception of Yugi, none of these other characters are interesting, but they do add some substance to the series because they’re new.
Animation
The animation in Tenchi In Tokyo is pretty good! It’s a minor improvement over the original OVA, and a big improvement over Tenchi Universe. Although the color palette seems to be roughly the same in terms of color variety, it doesn’t quite have that grainy/muted look that the older shows had (Much more so with Universe than the OVA). Colors seem brighter, characters & things move more fluidly, and overall still feels like it was hand-drawn (The show came out in 1997, when computers started to take over the animation process). My only complaint about the show’s animation is the faces. For the most part, all of the faces seem to look the same. This is much more noticeable among the female characters of the show (Especially among the main girls of the show), as the male cast of the show have faces that are somewhat different from one another. I wouldn’t call this bad, but I would say that it’s very noticeable, and maybe a little odd.
Voice Acting
For the most part, the voice acting remains the same. Most of the voice actors you know from previous Tenchi entries have stayed along, with only three characters (Tenchi’s Father & Grandfather, and Kiyone) have different voice actors. Bob Papenbrook is the new voice for Tenchi’s Grandfather (And Tenchi’s father.......lazy move, isn’t it?), and Wendee Lee is the new voice for Kiyone. Wendee Lee does a good job with the role she was given, as she really embraces the character, but Mr. Papenbrook doesn’t do as good of a job. The only difference between the two roles he was given is a slight change in pitch (Tenchi’s Father sounds a little louder, while his Grandfather is slightly quieter), and I consider this to be nothing more than a money-saving move, and a bad one at that.
Episodes & Episode Length
Tenchi In Tokyo shares something in common with Tenchi Universe, and that’s length. This show is 26 episodes long, with each individual episode running at about 22 to 24 minutes. Tenchi In Tokyo will last you for a pretty long, as this one took quite a while for me to view (More on this in a bit).
Availability & Pricing
Like Tenchi Muyo & Tenchi Universe, Tenchi In Tokyo was re-released last year along with the two previously mentioned shows. You can find this show in places like Best Buy & FYE relatively easily, or online at places like Amazon. Currently on Amazon, the complete collection starts at 25 to 30 dollars for a new copy, which is actually pretty damn good for the amount of content on it. The older Geneon/Pioneer editions are harder to find, but not impossible. Every once in a while I’ve been able to find individual DVDs (From what I’ve seen, pricing usually ranges from about 7 to 10 dollars, and sometimes 12 to 15), but finding the complete collection from Geneon/Pioneer is relatively easy to find on Amazon. New copies start at 40 to 45 (More expensive than the Funimation re-release, but possibly worth it), while used copies start at the more respectable 7 dollars. I would highly suggest the Funimation re-release, but if you’re interested in the older release, I’d say go for it.
Extras/Other
The complete collection of Tenchi In Tokyo comes with a bunch of stuff, including commentaries, interviews, and trailers for other shows. It’s a good amount of bonus content, and will definitely satisfy anyone who finished the show, but want something else afterwards.
General Impression & Rating
Tenchi In Tokyo definitely deserves it’s reputation, but for me, it doesn’t completely deserve it. At it’s best, the show feels like the other Tenchi series before it (Charming, Goofy, Sexy, etc). At it’s worst, it can either be above average. At it’s very worst, it can be somewhat uncomfortable to watch. If you are willing to put some of it’s problems on the shelf, then you’ll find a fairly respectable show. As for me, I enjoyed watching the series, but Tenchi In Tokyo is the entry I enjoyed the least.
Tenchi In Tokyo gets a 6 to 8.5 out of 10.
See you next time, when I’ll review a show that was easy to watch. Until then, stay Otaku!
**
I’ll quickly tack this on: Tenchi for the most part has remained the same (Apart from not being Jurian), but there’s a point where he becomes incredibly insensitive/asshole, and after that seems to return back to normal, but seems oblivious of the other girls’s feelings, and is somewhat unstable as far as his emotions are concerned (Nowhere near as much as Ryoko is). If you haven’t seen the show, watch it and you’ll understand.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Nirvana: Nevermind Review
Hello everybody!
Originally, I had intended to review Metallica’s album “And Justice For All” on today’s post, but I have since decided to save that review for another day as part of a special event for next year (Hint Hint!!). With that said, I had to look through my library of music for a new album. I was having a bit of trouble looking for the right album, until I stumbled upon my folder for Nirvana, and within the folder was an album that was practically staring me in the eye. Not wanting to disappoint, I figured that perhaps it was time to review their iconic album Nevermind. Hope you like it!
Background
First formed back in 1987, the band that would be known as Nirvana was composed of 3 core members: singer/guitarist/songwriter Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic (Who was also the co-founder of the band), and drummer Dave Grohl (Who went on to have a successful career after the band parted). The band immediately established themselves with the growing Seattle Grunge scene of the late 80s, and in 1989, released their first album Bleach. Though it did quite well amongst music critics, the album never charted in the U.S. on it’s first release.
Their next album, Nevermind, was released on September 24, 1991. Wanted to make music outside of the confines of the Seattle Grunge scene, Kurt Cobain instead drew influences from bands like the Pixies, along with their use of song volume dynamics.
“Despite low commercial expectations by the band and its record label, Nevermind became a surprise success in late 1991, largely due to the popularity of its first single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". By January 1992, it had replaced Michael Jackson's album Dangerous at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album also produced three other successful singles: "Come as You Are", "Lithium", and "In Bloom". The Recording Industry Association of America has certified the album Diamond (over 10 million copies shipped), and the album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Nevermind was responsible for bringing alternative rock to a large mainstream audience, and has been ranked highly on lists of the greatest albums of all time by publications such as Rolling Stone and Time.”***
Songs
Smells Like Teen Spirit: What I am about to say may in fact be the most blasphemous I’ve ever said on this blog, and perhaps ever. A comment so black, so unholy, that even the devil would go “No!”. With that said, here we go.......................I think Smells Like Teen Spirit is overrated.
*Hides behind riot shield. Looks up after 5 minutes.*
Huh, guess that wasn’t as bad as I thought. *Sits back in chair*
It’s not that I think that this song is bad, because it isn’t. The slow & grungy instrumentation, combined with Kurt’s distorted voice & oddball lyrics, creates a weird but interesting song. My problems with the song is twofold: the lyrics are odd, and they don’t feel like effort was put into them. It almost seems like Kurt was have a hallucination, and just wrote down what he was hallucinating about. Secondly, Smells Like Teen Spirit has received too much radio time. Despite being one of 4 single hits off Nevermind, this one has garnered the most attention, leaving the other 3 in the dust & shadows.
In Bloom: A crucial difference between this song and Smells Like Teen Spirit, is that In Bloom has a faster pace to it. The instrumentation is faster, Kurt Cobain’s singer is faster (Not by much), and the pacing in general is just faster. On top of that, this song is considerably less chaotic that the previous tune. In Bloom sits on a considerably more stable foundation than SLTS, and it doesn’t feel like Mr. Cobain is rambling on this time around. A nice song regardless!
Come As You Are: Remember my comment in the first song, saying that Smells Like Teen Spirit is a overrated song? Well, consider Come As You Are to be the exact opposite.
Granted, I’m a little opinionated in this regard, as I consider this song to be the best off of Nevermind. It’s got a great mix of slow & fast instrumentation, it’s grungy but not overpoweringly so, Kurt Cobain’s singing flows along nicely, and is just as stable as the previous song. The main reason why I think Come As Your Are is so underrated is because of radio play. Smells Like Teen Spirit gets tones of air time, as well as In Bloom & Lithium, but Come As You Are doesn’t get quite as much. Sure, you hear it on the radio from time to time, but it doesn’t come on the airwaves enough, making it something of a black sheep among this album’s hit singles. Doesn’t make it bad though!
Breed: Though this song isn’t one of their hit singles, Breed is definitely a tune that I’ve heard on the radio plenty of times, and I can’t blame the radio stations! It’s fast-paced, the instrumentation is intense, and Kurt’s singing has an edge that can cut all four of the elements at once! Though it feels more like punk (That’s just me) than grunge, Breed is more that dingy enough to hang out with the grungy kids.
Lithium: What surprises me is just how laid back Lithium sounds. About 1/4 to ½ of the song has some rather mellow instrumentation & vocal work, while the rest comes back to the typical loudness of previous songs. If I had any problem with Lithium, it would be it’s pacing. The mellow sections going along rather smoothly, and the pace is very steady. When it gets to the faster sections, it feels more random & chaotic. If the song focused more on the mellow sections, and just had one or two faster moments, the combination would be perfect.
Polly: Easily the most basic song on Nevermind, Polly is brilliant in how simplistic it is. Coming in at almost 3 minutes, this song is composed of nothing more that Kurt Cobain singing, and him playing the guitar (There is drum work, but it’s hardly used, so I don’t count it). Polly never raises it’s tone, and opts for a laid back sound & feel. If this song was anymore laid back, it would fall out of the chair.
Territorial Pissings: If Polly was a laid back song, then Territorial Pissings is the exact opposite. A 2 minute & 23 second bombastic display of noise, confusion, and nonsense, this is the weakest song of Nevermind, and I have nothing more to say about it.
Drain You: For starters, the name of this song is something you expect to hear a porn star say during a movie shoot. Secondly, Drain You seems to backtrack back to Lithium in terms of pacing. For the most part, the instrumentation moves by at a fast pace, but this time there’s a sinister vibe to the instruments, almost as if they tap into the dark. The only real “mellow” parts of the song (I’m using the word loosely in this regard) are when Kurt just lowers his voice. He still keeps his singing in key with the instrumentation, but it’s his tone that changes. Not one of my favorites, but nothing bad.
Lounge Act: When I first heard this, I thought that Nirvana had ripped off The Offspring, so I listened to it again. Nope, still think they ripped off The Offspring!
Yeah, as you can kinda tell, this isn’t my favorite song. While I was a fan of The Offspring back in the late 90s & early 2000s, I don’t like them anymore. To this song’s credit, the instrumentation & vocals flow along smoothly, with the volume changing flawlessly. However, I call this song a Offspring rip-off because it sounds too much like that band. The instrumentation has that punk vibe, and Kurt Cobain’s singing, while not completely matching that of vocalist Dexter Holland, occasionally matches up with the tone of the previously mentioned singer. Not my favorite song, but one that’s at least well done.
Stay Away: I was relatively close to calling this song a jumbled mess. The instrumentation seems to go all over the place, and Kurt Cobain’s singing ranges anywhere from loud to mumbling (Not to mention some odd lyrical choices). However, I decided to listen to Stay Away a couple more times, and afterwards, I’ve decided to “reluctantly” not call this song a jumbled mess. The reason I recanted my belief on the song is that the title matches perfectly with the instruments & singing. If you want people to stay away, sometimes to need to look/sound like a mess.
On a Plain: For a song named On a Plain, you’d expect something that sounded somewhat peaceful, and that was something I was thinking when looking at the title. Boy was I proven wrong!
For one thing, this sound never let’s up in volume. Apart from the first few seconds, and a little over the halfway point, On a Plain assaults you with some loud instrumentation. Secondly, Kurt’s singing rarely lets up in terms of noise. He pretty much keeps his voice at the same volume for most of the song, apart from a break or two. Lastly, this song sorta shares the same jumbled vibe that Stay Away has, only this one seems to be more stable & cohesive.
Something in the Way: Nevermind concludes with Something in the Way, one of the slowest songs I’ve ever heard. You get a very apathetic vibe from Something in the Way, as the only instruments you hear include a guitar (Played by Kurt, I think), and some drums played by Dave Grohl. As you listen to this song, you feel as if the band almost didn’t want to perform this piece, as it’s dark energies would have overcome them to the point that they’d never be able to see light again. Yet at the same time it’s that dark aspect that lends to the brilliance of Something in the Way. Not only that, but the way the song feels matches surprisingly well with the title, thus completing a perfect circle of darkness & depression.
Overall Impression & Rating
Nevermind was an album that was a product of it’s time. A dirty little rock that, when polished, became a shiny gold nugget. The album has only gotten better as time passes, and despite the passing of Kurt Cobain & some flaws with certain songs, Nevermind is a intriguing little title that more than deserves it’s place in the pantheon of legendary albums.
Nevermind gets a 8 to 8.5 out of 10.
***
Taken from Nevermind’s Wikipedia Page (Click “***” to read)
*****
Is it just me, or is a naked baby in a swimming pool chasing a dollar bill on a fishing line as an album cover a little creepy?
Originally, I had intended to review Metallica’s album “And Justice For All” on today’s post, but I have since decided to save that review for another day as part of a special event for next year (Hint Hint!!). With that said, I had to look through my library of music for a new album. I was having a bit of trouble looking for the right album, until I stumbled upon my folder for Nirvana, and within the folder was an album that was practically staring me in the eye. Not wanting to disappoint, I figured that perhaps it was time to review their iconic album Nevermind. Hope you like it!
First formed back in 1987, the band that would be known as Nirvana was composed of 3 core members: singer/guitarist/songwriter Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic (Who was also the co-founder of the band), and drummer Dave Grohl (Who went on to have a successful career after the band parted). The band immediately established themselves with the growing Seattle Grunge scene of the late 80s, and in 1989, released their first album Bleach. Though it did quite well amongst music critics, the album never charted in the U.S. on it’s first release.
Their next album, Nevermind, was released on September 24, 1991. Wanted to make music outside of the confines of the Seattle Grunge scene, Kurt Cobain instead drew influences from bands like the Pixies, along with their use of song volume dynamics.
“Despite low commercial expectations by the band and its record label, Nevermind became a surprise success in late 1991, largely due to the popularity of its first single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". By January 1992, it had replaced Michael Jackson's album Dangerous at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album also produced three other successful singles: "Come as You Are", "Lithium", and "In Bloom". The Recording Industry Association of America has certified the album Diamond (over 10 million copies shipped), and the album has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Nevermind was responsible for bringing alternative rock to a large mainstream audience, and has been ranked highly on lists of the greatest albums of all time by publications such as Rolling Stone and Time.”***
Songs
Smells Like Teen Spirit: What I am about to say may in fact be the most blasphemous I’ve ever said on this blog, and perhaps ever. A comment so black, so unholy, that even the devil would go “No!”. With that said, here we go.......................I think Smells Like Teen Spirit is overrated.
*Hides behind riot shield. Looks up after 5 minutes.*
Huh, guess that wasn’t as bad as I thought. *Sits back in chair*
It’s not that I think that this song is bad, because it isn’t. The slow & grungy instrumentation, combined with Kurt’s distorted voice & oddball lyrics, creates a weird but interesting song. My problems with the song is twofold: the lyrics are odd, and they don’t feel like effort was put into them. It almost seems like Kurt was have a hallucination, and just wrote down what he was hallucinating about. Secondly, Smells Like Teen Spirit has received too much radio time. Despite being one of 4 single hits off Nevermind, this one has garnered the most attention, leaving the other 3 in the dust & shadows.
In Bloom: A crucial difference between this song and Smells Like Teen Spirit, is that In Bloom has a faster pace to it. The instrumentation is faster, Kurt Cobain’s singer is faster (Not by much), and the pacing in general is just faster. On top of that, this song is considerably less chaotic that the previous tune. In Bloom sits on a considerably more stable foundation than SLTS, and it doesn’t feel like Mr. Cobain is rambling on this time around. A nice song regardless!
Come As You Are: Remember my comment in the first song, saying that Smells Like Teen Spirit is a overrated song? Well, consider Come As You Are to be the exact opposite.
Granted, I’m a little opinionated in this regard, as I consider this song to be the best off of Nevermind. It’s got a great mix of slow & fast instrumentation, it’s grungy but not overpoweringly so, Kurt Cobain’s singing flows along nicely, and is just as stable as the previous song. The main reason why I think Come As Your Are is so underrated is because of radio play. Smells Like Teen Spirit gets tones of air time, as well as In Bloom & Lithium, but Come As You Are doesn’t get quite as much. Sure, you hear it on the radio from time to time, but it doesn’t come on the airwaves enough, making it something of a black sheep among this album’s hit singles. Doesn’t make it bad though!
Breed: Though this song isn’t one of their hit singles, Breed is definitely a tune that I’ve heard on the radio plenty of times, and I can’t blame the radio stations! It’s fast-paced, the instrumentation is intense, and Kurt’s singing has an edge that can cut all four of the elements at once! Though it feels more like punk (That’s just me) than grunge, Breed is more that dingy enough to hang out with the grungy kids.
Lithium: What surprises me is just how laid back Lithium sounds. About 1/4 to ½ of the song has some rather mellow instrumentation & vocal work, while the rest comes back to the typical loudness of previous songs. If I had any problem with Lithium, it would be it’s pacing. The mellow sections going along rather smoothly, and the pace is very steady. When it gets to the faster sections, it feels more random & chaotic. If the song focused more on the mellow sections, and just had one or two faster moments, the combination would be perfect.
Polly: Easily the most basic song on Nevermind, Polly is brilliant in how simplistic it is. Coming in at almost 3 minutes, this song is composed of nothing more that Kurt Cobain singing, and him playing the guitar (There is drum work, but it’s hardly used, so I don’t count it). Polly never raises it’s tone, and opts for a laid back sound & feel. If this song was anymore laid back, it would fall out of the chair.
Territorial Pissings: If Polly was a laid back song, then Territorial Pissings is the exact opposite. A 2 minute & 23 second bombastic display of noise, confusion, and nonsense, this is the weakest song of Nevermind, and I have nothing more to say about it.
Drain You: For starters, the name of this song is something you expect to hear a porn star say during a movie shoot. Secondly, Drain You seems to backtrack back to Lithium in terms of pacing. For the most part, the instrumentation moves by at a fast pace, but this time there’s a sinister vibe to the instruments, almost as if they tap into the dark. The only real “mellow” parts of the song (I’m using the word loosely in this regard) are when Kurt just lowers his voice. He still keeps his singing in key with the instrumentation, but it’s his tone that changes. Not one of my favorites, but nothing bad.
Lounge Act: When I first heard this, I thought that Nirvana had ripped off The Offspring, so I listened to it again. Nope, still think they ripped off The Offspring!
Yeah, as you can kinda tell, this isn’t my favorite song. While I was a fan of The Offspring back in the late 90s & early 2000s, I don’t like them anymore. To this song’s credit, the instrumentation & vocals flow along smoothly, with the volume changing flawlessly. However, I call this song a Offspring rip-off because it sounds too much like that band. The instrumentation has that punk vibe, and Kurt Cobain’s singing, while not completely matching that of vocalist Dexter Holland, occasionally matches up with the tone of the previously mentioned singer. Not my favorite song, but one that’s at least well done.
Stay Away: I was relatively close to calling this song a jumbled mess. The instrumentation seems to go all over the place, and Kurt Cobain’s singing ranges anywhere from loud to mumbling (Not to mention some odd lyrical choices). However, I decided to listen to Stay Away a couple more times, and afterwards, I’ve decided to “reluctantly” not call this song a jumbled mess. The reason I recanted my belief on the song is that the title matches perfectly with the instruments & singing. If you want people to stay away, sometimes to need to look/sound like a mess.
On a Plain: For a song named On a Plain, you’d expect something that sounded somewhat peaceful, and that was something I was thinking when looking at the title. Boy was I proven wrong!
For one thing, this sound never let’s up in volume. Apart from the first few seconds, and a little over the halfway point, On a Plain assaults you with some loud instrumentation. Secondly, Kurt’s singing rarely lets up in terms of noise. He pretty much keeps his voice at the same volume for most of the song, apart from a break or two. Lastly, this song sorta shares the same jumbled vibe that Stay Away has, only this one seems to be more stable & cohesive.
Something in the Way: Nevermind concludes with Something in the Way, one of the slowest songs I’ve ever heard. You get a very apathetic vibe from Something in the Way, as the only instruments you hear include a guitar (Played by Kurt, I think), and some drums played by Dave Grohl. As you listen to this song, you feel as if the band almost didn’t want to perform this piece, as it’s dark energies would have overcome them to the point that they’d never be able to see light again. Yet at the same time it’s that dark aspect that lends to the brilliance of Something in the Way. Not only that, but the way the song feels matches surprisingly well with the title, thus completing a perfect circle of darkness & depression.
Overall Impression & Rating
Nevermind was an album that was a product of it’s time. A dirty little rock that, when polished, became a shiny gold nugget. The album has only gotten better as time passes, and despite the passing of Kurt Cobain & some flaws with certain songs, Nevermind is a intriguing little title that more than deserves it’s place in the pantheon of legendary albums.
Nevermind gets a 8 to 8.5 out of 10.
***
Taken from Nevermind’s Wikipedia Page (Click “***” to read)
*****
Is it just me, or is a naked baby in a swimming pool chasing a dollar bill on a fishing line as an album cover a little creepy?
Monday, November 4, 2013
Call of Duty: World at War Review
Hi everybody!
With Borderlands 2 month completed, we can get back to some normal reviews, and with Call of Duty: Ghosts coming out in just a day or two, I thought it would be nice to review another title in the Call of Duty series. Looking through the list, I can across a title that has tragically fallen into the shadows. A title that came about due to the success of Modern Warfare, but fell short because of it’s subject matter (And perhaps a couple other things). So, as a way of celebrating it’s 5-year existence, here’s a review of the vastly underrated Call of Duty: World At War.
Story
World at War is split into two separate campaigns, with one for the Americans, and one for the Russians. The American portion takes place during the final years of the Pacific Campaign, and the Russian portion begins with the invasion of Stalingrad by the Germans, then transitions into the invasion of Germany & the conquering of Berlin. Both stories are completely separate from one another, have their own vibes & feelings, and would actually work as their own game if stretched out properly.
Setting
Like I said above, World at War takes place in the Pacific, Stalingrad, and Germany (Including Berlin), with each locale having it’s own vibe. For the first in Call of Duty’s history, the player fights the Japanese Imperial Army in their own territory. Much of the combat in the American portion takes place within the jungle, where ambushes are rather common. You also come across the Japanese amongst mortar pits, cliff/ridges, beach heads, trenches, and small villages (The last level of the American Campaign takes place within Shuri Castle). There are also plenty of bunkers within the Pacific Theater, and they’ll often pose a danger to you & your squad unless you have some high explosives or a flamethrower.
Stalingrad is only given a single level, but it is the bleakest level I’ve ever gone through. Once a glorious city filled with life, now it’s a ruined husk. As you traverse a portion of the city, everything is suffering through various stages of decay, with the worst sight you see is a fountain filled with the bodies of Russian soldiers (The fountain of bodies is where the players begins the Russian portions of the game). It’s a dark but quick romp, and the action never let’s up.
After Stalingrad is completed, you trample over & through the German countryside. There’s forests & fields, the German town of Seelow (A focal point during the war), and the city of Berlin. Berlin changes things up a bit, as the fighting becomes more up-close, mirroring the urban warfare that the Russians went through. Not only that, but you can see the remnants of the Nazi regime everywhere. From the posters to the flags, you can tell that they’re still trying to hold up their beliefs, even as they are getting demolished by the Red Army.
Characters
Though Call of Duty has been accused of not having characters, World at War is something of an exception. True, there are only a tiny few characters, but there are characters. Sergeant Tom Sullivan and Cpl/Sgt Roebuck are very tough individuals. They have little humor in their character, they know that the job needs to get done, and have a respect for those under their command. Corporal Polonsky is a much younger individual. He knows how to fight & get his hands dirty, but he’s a little more optimistic that the soldiers around him, and there’s a vigor that doesn’t seem apparent in the other characters (Both in the American portion & Russian portion).
The Russian portion of World at War only has two notable characters, but they are key characters. First is Captain Viktor Reznov: you can tell that the man has gone through hell, as his voice sounds quite serious, and the humor that rarely comes from him is rather dark. Reznov is also quite merciless, as he enjoys killing off the Germans. The other character with the campaign is Private Chernov. Chernov is much like Corporal Polonsky from the American campaign: he’s more optimistic than everybody else. The one thing that separate Chernov from Polonsky is that Chernov is more hesitant to blindly kill, and to a certain extent wishes for peace more than war.
Gameplay
Gameplay for the most part has remained the same as Modern Warfare (And the other releases from the Call of Duty franchise), but there are a couple differences. For starters, the enemy A.I. has some different quirks. While not realistically intelligent, both sides have certain qualities that separate them from one another. The Japanese, for example, have more of a stealth bent, often hiding in tall grass or trees. They are also more likely to charge the player if their officers are shot. The Germans are more gun-ho than the Japanese, as they’ll stand their ground a little more stubbornly. Though small, there is a difference between the two A.I. forms.
This next aspect applies to the A.I. in general, and was one of the complaints when the game first came out. The A.I. has a habit of throwing out numerous grenades, and they often land where the player doesn’t expect it. Most of the time you can avoid them easily, but there are times where they somehow land right in front of you, and it immediately explodes. Whether this is because of the selected difficulty, or because of the game’s coding, remains unknown.
Another aspect that is different is the mission style of the two campaigns. For the American side, you have a relatively even mix of stealth & action. There’s plenty of missions that range from sabotaging a supply post, to taking over an airfield, and working with a crew of a PBY Catalina Black Cat to take out Japanese boats, as well as rescuing American sailors. The Russian campaign is more rough-and-tumble, and you’re always right up in the thick of it. There’s only one mission that requires stealth, but then it’s only for the first part of it. Practically the entire Russian portion of the game is loud, bloody, and brutal. Speaking of bloody.....
World at War is perhaps the most violent Call of Duty game to date! Arms & legs can be shot off easily, and ugly gory stumps take their place. When an enemy is wounded, they’ll often activate a death animation. Sometimes they’ll wriggle around in agony, or they’ll pull out a pistol, trying to kill you before they die. To ramp up the blood factor, pools of the crimson liquid can accumulate around a body, creating a more grisly scene.
Seeing as how this is a WWII game, World at War’s arsenal is quite authentic, and it covers all sides. Long time fans of Call of Duty will recognize many of the guns immediately, and in a pleasant surprise, the MG42 (Long been a stationary weapon in previous entries) is a weapon you can finally pick up & use. In another pleasant surprise, this game marks the first time you can use Japanese guns of WWII. Breaking historical accuracy, all of the guns the Imperial Army use work perfectly, but it is nice to finally use weapons like the Type 100 SMG or the Arisaka bolt-action rifle in a FPS. New additions to the game arsenal include bayonets for many of the rifles, and the M2 Flamethrower, which has unlimited ammo, but can only be used in bursts.
Now it’s time to go into multiplayer. The major thing about WaW’s multiplay is that it still had dedicated servers, and thus has more stable games to connect to (Dedicated Servers still exist, if you were wondering). With that said, the game remains the same as Modern Warfare. You still have a selection of perks (With many having a WW2 theme) and weapons (With a minimalistic selection of perks for each primary gun), as well as tactical/lethal grenades to pick out. What is drastically different is that multiplayer includes tanks to drive (Simply create a game that has this option, or join a server that has them available. Also, World at War is the only Call of Duty to date that has driveable vehicles), and special tank perks you can select to give you a special ability (Better turret speed, increased speed, etc). Though the more recent Call of Duty games have improved multiplayer, World at War’s multiplay is still fun to romp around in.
The last aspect of World at War I’ll quickly talk about is the introduction of Zombie Mode. Known originally as Nazi Zombies, this mini-game pit one lone player or a group of four against a ever increasing horde of the dead. While this mode was quite the treat when it first came out, this particular version hasn’t aged well, as much of the content in the newer editions isn’t within this one. Though it’s more minimalistic, Zombie Mode in World at War can still be fun to play, especially if you don’t want to deal with the larger levels in Black Ops/Black Ops 2.
Graphics & Sound
The graphics of World at War is something of a interesting creature. With Modern Warfare released the year prior, that game had it’s own look and feel, and World at War is much the same way. Whereas Modern Warfare looks & feels like a action movie from the 80s/90s, World at War looks & feels like a gritty war film. The game does not attempt to have a over-the-top look & vibe, and the graphics reflect that. Not many bright colors are used, and a more gritty looking pallet is used instead. On top of that, everything looks very serious, and nonsense is rarely if ever used or seen. World at War was also released back when the texture issues today were nowhere near as apparent, and there’s more of a fresh look as well.
The sound quality is fantastic! There’s a musical score that sounds pretty damn authentic (Minus a little used in the American campaign and some of the Russain campaign as well), weapons & explosions sound realistic, and the voice acting is great! For the first time in the Call of Duty series, you hear the player character speak, and there is some Hollywood power behind some of the roles. You have Kiefer Sutherland voice the no-nonsense Sergeant Roebuck, while Gary Oldman draws out the power & fury of Captain Viktor Reznov. They really bring something to the table, and overall sound like they want to do the role they were given.
Overall & Rating
It’s such a shame that World At War never quite received the respect it deserved, because this was a solid game. Granted, there are a couple issues here and there, but they’re small enough that they really don’t impact the game as a whole. Coupled with a multiplayer that has no strings attached, and a fun mini-game that has improved overtime, and World at War is a game that still has some weight to it. Even if you’re not interested in the FPS genre, at least give the first few levels a try.
Call of Duty: World At War gets a 8 to 8.5 out of 10.
See you all next week, when we’ll look at one of the most iconic grunge albums of all time. Until then, stay Otaku!
With Borderlands 2 month completed, we can get back to some normal reviews, and with Call of Duty: Ghosts coming out in just a day or two, I thought it would be nice to review another title in the Call of Duty series. Looking through the list, I can across a title that has tragically fallen into the shadows. A title that came about due to the success of Modern Warfare, but fell short because of it’s subject matter (And perhaps a couple other things). So, as a way of celebrating it’s 5-year existence, here’s a review of the vastly underrated Call of Duty: World At War.
Story
World at War is split into two separate campaigns, with one for the Americans, and one for the Russians. The American portion takes place during the final years of the Pacific Campaign, and the Russian portion begins with the invasion of Stalingrad by the Germans, then transitions into the invasion of Germany & the conquering of Berlin. Both stories are completely separate from one another, have their own vibes & feelings, and would actually work as their own game if stretched out properly.
Setting
Like I said above, World at War takes place in the Pacific, Stalingrad, and Germany (Including Berlin), with each locale having it’s own vibe. For the first in Call of Duty’s history, the player fights the Japanese Imperial Army in their own territory. Much of the combat in the American portion takes place within the jungle, where ambushes are rather common. You also come across the Japanese amongst mortar pits, cliff/ridges, beach heads, trenches, and small villages (The last level of the American Campaign takes place within Shuri Castle). There are also plenty of bunkers within the Pacific Theater, and they’ll often pose a danger to you & your squad unless you have some high explosives or a flamethrower.
Stalingrad is only given a single level, but it is the bleakest level I’ve ever gone through. Once a glorious city filled with life, now it’s a ruined husk. As you traverse a portion of the city, everything is suffering through various stages of decay, with the worst sight you see is a fountain filled with the bodies of Russian soldiers (The fountain of bodies is where the players begins the Russian portions of the game). It’s a dark but quick romp, and the action never let’s up.
After Stalingrad is completed, you trample over & through the German countryside. There’s forests & fields, the German town of Seelow (A focal point during the war), and the city of Berlin. Berlin changes things up a bit, as the fighting becomes more up-close, mirroring the urban warfare that the Russians went through. Not only that, but you can see the remnants of the Nazi regime everywhere. From the posters to the flags, you can tell that they’re still trying to hold up their beliefs, even as they are getting demolished by the Red Army.
Characters
Though Call of Duty has been accused of not having characters, World at War is something of an exception. True, there are only a tiny few characters, but there are characters. Sergeant Tom Sullivan and Cpl/Sgt Roebuck are very tough individuals. They have little humor in their character, they know that the job needs to get done, and have a respect for those under their command. Corporal Polonsky is a much younger individual. He knows how to fight & get his hands dirty, but he’s a little more optimistic that the soldiers around him, and there’s a vigor that doesn’t seem apparent in the other characters (Both in the American portion & Russian portion).
The Russian portion of World at War only has two notable characters, but they are key characters. First is Captain Viktor Reznov: you can tell that the man has gone through hell, as his voice sounds quite serious, and the humor that rarely comes from him is rather dark. Reznov is also quite merciless, as he enjoys killing off the Germans. The other character with the campaign is Private Chernov. Chernov is much like Corporal Polonsky from the American campaign: he’s more optimistic than everybody else. The one thing that separate Chernov from Polonsky is that Chernov is more hesitant to blindly kill, and to a certain extent wishes for peace more than war.
Gameplay
Gameplay for the most part has remained the same as Modern Warfare (And the other releases from the Call of Duty franchise), but there are a couple differences. For starters, the enemy A.I. has some different quirks. While not realistically intelligent, both sides have certain qualities that separate them from one another. The Japanese, for example, have more of a stealth bent, often hiding in tall grass or trees. They are also more likely to charge the player if their officers are shot. The Germans are more gun-ho than the Japanese, as they’ll stand their ground a little more stubbornly. Though small, there is a difference between the two A.I. forms.
This next aspect applies to the A.I. in general, and was one of the complaints when the game first came out. The A.I. has a habit of throwing out numerous grenades, and they often land where the player doesn’t expect it. Most of the time you can avoid them easily, but there are times where they somehow land right in front of you, and it immediately explodes. Whether this is because of the selected difficulty, or because of the game’s coding, remains unknown.
Another aspect that is different is the mission style of the two campaigns. For the American side, you have a relatively even mix of stealth & action. There’s plenty of missions that range from sabotaging a supply post, to taking over an airfield, and working with a crew of a PBY Catalina Black Cat to take out Japanese boats, as well as rescuing American sailors. The Russian campaign is more rough-and-tumble, and you’re always right up in the thick of it. There’s only one mission that requires stealth, but then it’s only for the first part of it. Practically the entire Russian portion of the game is loud, bloody, and brutal. Speaking of bloody.....
World at War is perhaps the most violent Call of Duty game to date! Arms & legs can be shot off easily, and ugly gory stumps take their place. When an enemy is wounded, they’ll often activate a death animation. Sometimes they’ll wriggle around in agony, or they’ll pull out a pistol, trying to kill you before they die. To ramp up the blood factor, pools of the crimson liquid can accumulate around a body, creating a more grisly scene.
Seeing as how this is a WWII game, World at War’s arsenal is quite authentic, and it covers all sides. Long time fans of Call of Duty will recognize many of the guns immediately, and in a pleasant surprise, the MG42 (Long been a stationary weapon in previous entries) is a weapon you can finally pick up & use. In another pleasant surprise, this game marks the first time you can use Japanese guns of WWII. Breaking historical accuracy, all of the guns the Imperial Army use work perfectly, but it is nice to finally use weapons like the Type 100 SMG or the Arisaka bolt-action rifle in a FPS. New additions to the game arsenal include bayonets for many of the rifles, and the M2 Flamethrower, which has unlimited ammo, but can only be used in bursts.
Now it’s time to go into multiplayer. The major thing about WaW’s multiplay is that it still had dedicated servers, and thus has more stable games to connect to (Dedicated Servers still exist, if you were wondering). With that said, the game remains the same as Modern Warfare. You still have a selection of perks (With many having a WW2 theme) and weapons (With a minimalistic selection of perks for each primary gun), as well as tactical/lethal grenades to pick out. What is drastically different is that multiplayer includes tanks to drive (Simply create a game that has this option, or join a server that has them available. Also, World at War is the only Call of Duty to date that has driveable vehicles), and special tank perks you can select to give you a special ability (Better turret speed, increased speed, etc). Though the more recent Call of Duty games have improved multiplayer, World at War’s multiplay is still fun to romp around in.
The last aspect of World at War I’ll quickly talk about is the introduction of Zombie Mode. Known originally as Nazi Zombies, this mini-game pit one lone player or a group of four against a ever increasing horde of the dead. While this mode was quite the treat when it first came out, this particular version hasn’t aged well, as much of the content in the newer editions isn’t within this one. Though it’s more minimalistic, Zombie Mode in World at War can still be fun to play, especially if you don’t want to deal with the larger levels in Black Ops/Black Ops 2.
Graphics & Sound
The graphics of World at War is something of a interesting creature. With Modern Warfare released the year prior, that game had it’s own look and feel, and World at War is much the same way. Whereas Modern Warfare looks & feels like a action movie from the 80s/90s, World at War looks & feels like a gritty war film. The game does not attempt to have a over-the-top look & vibe, and the graphics reflect that. Not many bright colors are used, and a more gritty looking pallet is used instead. On top of that, everything looks very serious, and nonsense is rarely if ever used or seen. World at War was also released back when the texture issues today were nowhere near as apparent, and there’s more of a fresh look as well.
The sound quality is fantastic! There’s a musical score that sounds pretty damn authentic (Minus a little used in the American campaign and some of the Russain campaign as well), weapons & explosions sound realistic, and the voice acting is great! For the first time in the Call of Duty series, you hear the player character speak, and there is some Hollywood power behind some of the roles. You have Kiefer Sutherland voice the no-nonsense Sergeant Roebuck, while Gary Oldman draws out the power & fury of Captain Viktor Reznov. They really bring something to the table, and overall sound like they want to do the role they were given.
Overall & Rating
It’s such a shame that World At War never quite received the respect it deserved, because this was a solid game. Granted, there are a couple issues here and there, but they’re small enough that they really don’t impact the game as a whole. Coupled with a multiplayer that has no strings attached, and a fun mini-game that has improved overtime, and World at War is a game that still has some weight to it. Even if you’re not interested in the FPS genre, at least give the first few levels a try.
Call of Duty: World At War gets a 8 to 8.5 out of 10.
See you all next week, when we’ll look at one of the most iconic grunge albums of all time. Until then, stay Otaku!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Bragging Rites (9)
Hi guys!
Got two new awesome pieces of loot to share with you, and one of which has made an appearance in the past. Enjoy!
See you all next time. Until then, stay Otaku!
Got two new awesome pieces of loot to share with you, and one of which has made an appearance in the past. Enjoy!
See you all next time. Until then, stay Otaku!
Type-O Negative: October Rust Review
Hi everybody!
Well, today is Halloween, the holiday of ghost, ghouls, and candy! A holiday in which all sorts of demons, zombies, and other monsters wander the streets of our fair towns, knocking on the doors of the living, and ask for sugary sustenance. Once they consumed their sweet goods, they retreat back to the shadows, and wait until the year after to walk again.
Although I dedicated this month to reviewing Borderlands 2 DLC, I thought it might be nice to treat you all to a bonus review. It’s been quite some time since I posted up a music review, so I thought that it was about time to put one up, and since we have a spooky holiday on our hands, I came to the conclusion that Type-O Negative was the perfect band to return to the scene. With that said, let’s dive into the dark yet lovely October Rust. Trick or Treat!!
.jpg)
Background
After the success of 1993's Bloody Kisses, Peter Steele predicted that the follow-up to the album. would accentuate Type O Negative's melodic side, specifically for the purpose of making money. On August 20th of 1996, their new album would be a testament to that. Featuring more ballads than their earlier work, October Rust had less of the punk/metal sound of previous or subsequent albums, although it contains a heavier version of Neil Young’s classic song Cinnamon Girl.
It should be noted that the drum work on October Rust (And later on World Coming Down & Life is Killing Me) was programmed. Despite be credited as work done by the band’s drummer Johnny Kelly, an interview in 2007 with the band’s keyboarder & co-produced Josh Silver, stated that the drumming was all programed for October Rust, as well as the two albums mentioned above. Curiously, this album also employed the use of abrupt endings and segues to some of the songs, which is an odd thing to do in music.
Songs
Bad Ground: Put in as a joke, Bad Ground is nothing more than 38 seconds of low-level buzzing, which was meant to make it sounds like the speakers were plugged in wrong.
Untitled: The first of two little recordings, this is just the band members goofing around (Laughing because of the first track), and thanking the listener for buying the album. Nothing more, nothing less.
Love You To Death: We begin the music properly with this title, a hauntingly beautiful piece that oozes lounging & loss. The very beginning of the songs seems to bring in the fall wind, as the piano & sound effects feels as ethereal as air. When Pete begins singing, his voices adds a coldness to everything. Even when he raises his voice at certain points, the song feels like frost creeping all over your body. The guitar work does an excellent job of accentuating the emotion within the song, and the drum work is just subperb!
By My Druidess: From something cold, to something hot & sensual, Be My Druidess is an erotic tune that’s perfect for making love in Mother Nature’s wilderness. Everything in this song, from the instrumentation, to Pete Steele’s voice, heavily convey nature, mysticism, and love. If I had one gripe with it, and it’s a small gripe, it’s that Pete says the line “I’ll do anything, to make you cum” one to many times. Given the nature of this song however, I won’t complain any more than that.
Green Man: We go on through Be My Druidess, and come across another nature-based song. A little humor is added in at the beginning, as you hear the sounds of a garbage truck pulling up to a stop, someone putting garbage, and the truck heading off before the instruments & singing start. The sound effects were put in as a in-joke: when Pete Steele was growing up, one of his jobs was that of a garbage worker. He was nicknamed the “Green Man” by those who knew him, mainly due to the green jumpsuit he wore while on his routes.
As for the song itself, it’s great! The slow pace of it feels rather natural, and it makes everything feel warm & inviting. Not the erotic kind of warm that Be My Druidess gave off, but more like the kind of warmth you’d feel from friends & family.
Red Water (Christmas Mourning): The best word to describe this song is slow. Red Water never ever picks up the pace, and instead moves along sluggishly. The instrumentation is slow, and Pete Steele’s singing is slow. With that said, the sluggishness actually works in the song’s favor. Many Christmas songs are of a slow pace, and this song replicates that quite well. On top of that, the mournful nature of Red Water would not work well in a faster paced tune. Many of us feels sad around the holidays (Especially for those who’ve lost family members), and this song acts like a balm to ease our pain...so to speak.
My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend: If there was a song off October Rust, or in the band’s collection of songs in general, that fans of Type-O Negative would recognize immediately, it would be My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend. What’s curious about this song is that it moves away from the doom/gothic nature of the rest of the album, and feels more at home on a 1960s psychedelic rock album instead. Regardless, this is perhaps the most up beat yet dirtiest song on October Rust. The psychadelic rock elements create a rather happy vibe, but due to the erotic nature of the lyrics, and Pete Steele’s voice work, it creates sort of a conflict in the song, but in a good way.
Die With Me: Die With Me is an interesting song. For starters, it’s pacing has slowed down a bit, seemingly between Red Water & My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend. All throughout the tune, it goes between slow & brisk, and it knows when to do so. Secondly, this is another sad song, but nowhere near as depressing as Love you to Death or Red Water. Die With Me deals more with being separated from a significant other, and wondering if she still loves you in the end. Again, this song is sad, but it has a string of hope within somewhere.
Burnt Flowers Fallen: Burnt Flowers Fallen is one of two simplistic songs on this, the other being right after the Cinnamon Girl cover. The simplicity of this song comes down to 3 things: Pete Steele’s singing hardly changes in volume (He goes between a soft kind of loud, and something similar to whispering), the lyrics hardly change (There’s about 3 or 4 lines used), and the instrumentation hardly changes at all (Only about 3 or 4 beats are used). Although I find this to be a good song, Burnt Flowers Fallen is definitely one of the weaker tracks on October Rust.
In Praise of Bacchus: For a song title In Praise of Bacchus, it feels very pessimistic. Right out of the gate, you hear Pete Steele singing the line “Hey Bacchus/She Hates Me”, and immediately you feel a little uncomfortable. This whole song feels rather uncomfortable, but I can’t seem to step away from it for some reason. Perhaps is because Pete’s trying to make the song sound a little uplifting, or maybe it’s because the instrumentation tries to sound mystical & ethereal, like how Love You To Death did. Regardless, In Praise of Bacchus is a good song, but you might want to wash yourself afterwards.
Cinnamon Girl: Here’s the song that harkens back to Type-O Negative’s previously harder material. The lyrics themselves haven’t changed, as the band going along with Neil Young’s original lyrics. What has changed is the song’s tone: the instrumentation creates a more heavy atmosphere than the more lighthearted rock approach in the original, and Pete Steele’s voices adds a erotic vibe to the atmosphere if the song. Not quite as erotic as Be My Druidess was, but not necessarily subtle either.
The Glorious Liberation of the People's Technocratic Republic of Vinnland by the Combined Forces of the United Territories of Europa: For starters, this song’s name is long! Secondly, this is the only instrumental piece that Type-O Negative has done (As far as I know, at least). Third, this tune goes by rather quickly, playing at just over a minute (1 minute & 7 seconds). With that said, the instrumentation & sound effects combine to make a great, but very short, listening experience.
Wolf Moon (Including Zoanthropic Paranoia): We again come back to nature with the mystical-themed Wolf Moon, a tune that harkens back to primal love, to lust, and perhaps, to carnage. The instrumentation is slow, but not sluggish like in Red Water. There’s more of a faster pace in the song, as evidenced by the guitar work, and to a lesser extent the drumming. Pete Steele’s voice knocks this out of the park, as his voice is intertwined with passion and ferocity. Another great song to make out to with the one you love.
Haunted: Haunted marks the end of the songs on October Rust, as the last clip is just another sound file, but I’ll get to that in a second. The songs itself is a perfect closer to this album, and it’s one of Type-O Negative’s longest songs. Clocking in at a little over 10 minutes, the slowness of the instrumentation create a haunting atmosphere, as if the song itself was inhabited with the spirits from beyond. Pete’s singing once again sends it out of the park, as his voice feels like a cold wind caressing all over you, leaving you chilled to the bone. Keep a blanket around for this one!
Untitled (2): Like the second part of the CD, this is just another sound byte of the band. In this case, it’s Pete Steele talking for 9 seconds, saying that he’ll see you during the next tour, and saying that he hopes the album wasn’t too disappointing. A nice sendoff, actually.
Overall Impression & Rating
October Rust is about as perfect as a metal album gets! The gripes I had with it were small, and easily forgettable because of how good the music is. This album is what really propelled Type-O Negative into the spotlight a little more, but they never sold out because of it. If you are a metalhead, then this is a requirement to keep the “Metalhead” title!
October Rust gets a 9.5 out of 10.
See you in November, when we’ll look at the black sheep of the Call of Duty series. Until then, stay Otaku!
Well, today is Halloween, the holiday of ghost, ghouls, and candy! A holiday in which all sorts of demons, zombies, and other monsters wander the streets of our fair towns, knocking on the doors of the living, and ask for sugary sustenance. Once they consumed their sweet goods, they retreat back to the shadows, and wait until the year after to walk again.
Although I dedicated this month to reviewing Borderlands 2 DLC, I thought it might be nice to treat you all to a bonus review. It’s been quite some time since I posted up a music review, so I thought that it was about time to put one up, and since we have a spooky holiday on our hands, I came to the conclusion that Type-O Negative was the perfect band to return to the scene. With that said, let’s dive into the dark yet lovely October Rust. Trick or Treat!!
.jpg)
After the success of 1993's Bloody Kisses, Peter Steele predicted that the follow-up to the album. would accentuate Type O Negative's melodic side, specifically for the purpose of making money. On August 20th of 1996, their new album would be a testament to that. Featuring more ballads than their earlier work, October Rust had less of the punk/metal sound of previous or subsequent albums, although it contains a heavier version of Neil Young’s classic song Cinnamon Girl.
It should be noted that the drum work on October Rust (And later on World Coming Down & Life is Killing Me) was programmed. Despite be credited as work done by the band’s drummer Johnny Kelly, an interview in 2007 with the band’s keyboarder & co-produced Josh Silver, stated that the drumming was all programed for October Rust, as well as the two albums mentioned above. Curiously, this album also employed the use of abrupt endings and segues to some of the songs, which is an odd thing to do in music.
Songs
Bad Ground: Put in as a joke, Bad Ground is nothing more than 38 seconds of low-level buzzing, which was meant to make it sounds like the speakers were plugged in wrong.
Untitled: The first of two little recordings, this is just the band members goofing around (Laughing because of the first track), and thanking the listener for buying the album. Nothing more, nothing less.
Love You To Death: We begin the music properly with this title, a hauntingly beautiful piece that oozes lounging & loss. The very beginning of the songs seems to bring in the fall wind, as the piano & sound effects feels as ethereal as air. When Pete begins singing, his voices adds a coldness to everything. Even when he raises his voice at certain points, the song feels like frost creeping all over your body. The guitar work does an excellent job of accentuating the emotion within the song, and the drum work is just subperb!
By My Druidess: From something cold, to something hot & sensual, Be My Druidess is an erotic tune that’s perfect for making love in Mother Nature’s wilderness. Everything in this song, from the instrumentation, to Pete Steele’s voice, heavily convey nature, mysticism, and love. If I had one gripe with it, and it’s a small gripe, it’s that Pete says the line “I’ll do anything, to make you cum” one to many times. Given the nature of this song however, I won’t complain any more than that.
Green Man: We go on through Be My Druidess, and come across another nature-based song. A little humor is added in at the beginning, as you hear the sounds of a garbage truck pulling up to a stop, someone putting garbage, and the truck heading off before the instruments & singing start. The sound effects were put in as a in-joke: when Pete Steele was growing up, one of his jobs was that of a garbage worker. He was nicknamed the “Green Man” by those who knew him, mainly due to the green jumpsuit he wore while on his routes.
As for the song itself, it’s great! The slow pace of it feels rather natural, and it makes everything feel warm & inviting. Not the erotic kind of warm that Be My Druidess gave off, but more like the kind of warmth you’d feel from friends & family.
Red Water (Christmas Mourning): The best word to describe this song is slow. Red Water never ever picks up the pace, and instead moves along sluggishly. The instrumentation is slow, and Pete Steele’s singing is slow. With that said, the sluggishness actually works in the song’s favor. Many Christmas songs are of a slow pace, and this song replicates that quite well. On top of that, the mournful nature of Red Water would not work well in a faster paced tune. Many of us feels sad around the holidays (Especially for those who’ve lost family members), and this song acts like a balm to ease our pain...so to speak.
My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend: If there was a song off October Rust, or in the band’s collection of songs in general, that fans of Type-O Negative would recognize immediately, it would be My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend. What’s curious about this song is that it moves away from the doom/gothic nature of the rest of the album, and feels more at home on a 1960s psychedelic rock album instead. Regardless, this is perhaps the most up beat yet dirtiest song on October Rust. The psychadelic rock elements create a rather happy vibe, but due to the erotic nature of the lyrics, and Pete Steele’s voice work, it creates sort of a conflict in the song, but in a good way.
Die With Me: Die With Me is an interesting song. For starters, it’s pacing has slowed down a bit, seemingly between Red Water & My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend. All throughout the tune, it goes between slow & brisk, and it knows when to do so. Secondly, this is another sad song, but nowhere near as depressing as Love you to Death or Red Water. Die With Me deals more with being separated from a significant other, and wondering if she still loves you in the end. Again, this song is sad, but it has a string of hope within somewhere.
Burnt Flowers Fallen: Burnt Flowers Fallen is one of two simplistic songs on this, the other being right after the Cinnamon Girl cover. The simplicity of this song comes down to 3 things: Pete Steele’s singing hardly changes in volume (He goes between a soft kind of loud, and something similar to whispering), the lyrics hardly change (There’s about 3 or 4 lines used), and the instrumentation hardly changes at all (Only about 3 or 4 beats are used). Although I find this to be a good song, Burnt Flowers Fallen is definitely one of the weaker tracks on October Rust.
In Praise of Bacchus: For a song title In Praise of Bacchus, it feels very pessimistic. Right out of the gate, you hear Pete Steele singing the line “Hey Bacchus/She Hates Me”, and immediately you feel a little uncomfortable. This whole song feels rather uncomfortable, but I can’t seem to step away from it for some reason. Perhaps is because Pete’s trying to make the song sound a little uplifting, or maybe it’s because the instrumentation tries to sound mystical & ethereal, like how Love You To Death did. Regardless, In Praise of Bacchus is a good song, but you might want to wash yourself afterwards.
Cinnamon Girl: Here’s the song that harkens back to Type-O Negative’s previously harder material. The lyrics themselves haven’t changed, as the band going along with Neil Young’s original lyrics. What has changed is the song’s tone: the instrumentation creates a more heavy atmosphere than the more lighthearted rock approach in the original, and Pete Steele’s voices adds a erotic vibe to the atmosphere if the song. Not quite as erotic as Be My Druidess was, but not necessarily subtle either.
The Glorious Liberation of the People's Technocratic Republic of Vinnland by the Combined Forces of the United Territories of Europa: For starters, this song’s name is long! Secondly, this is the only instrumental piece that Type-O Negative has done (As far as I know, at least). Third, this tune goes by rather quickly, playing at just over a minute (1 minute & 7 seconds). With that said, the instrumentation & sound effects combine to make a great, but very short, listening experience.
Wolf Moon (Including Zoanthropic Paranoia): We again come back to nature with the mystical-themed Wolf Moon, a tune that harkens back to primal love, to lust, and perhaps, to carnage. The instrumentation is slow, but not sluggish like in Red Water. There’s more of a faster pace in the song, as evidenced by the guitar work, and to a lesser extent the drumming. Pete Steele’s voice knocks this out of the park, as his voice is intertwined with passion and ferocity. Another great song to make out to with the one you love.
Haunted: Haunted marks the end of the songs on October Rust, as the last clip is just another sound file, but I’ll get to that in a second. The songs itself is a perfect closer to this album, and it’s one of Type-O Negative’s longest songs. Clocking in at a little over 10 minutes, the slowness of the instrumentation create a haunting atmosphere, as if the song itself was inhabited with the spirits from beyond. Pete’s singing once again sends it out of the park, as his voice feels like a cold wind caressing all over you, leaving you chilled to the bone. Keep a blanket around for this one!
Untitled (2): Like the second part of the CD, this is just another sound byte of the band. In this case, it’s Pete Steele talking for 9 seconds, saying that he’ll see you during the next tour, and saying that he hopes the album wasn’t too disappointing. A nice sendoff, actually.
Overall Impression & Rating
October Rust is about as perfect as a metal album gets! The gripes I had with it were small, and easily forgettable because of how good the music is. This album is what really propelled Type-O Negative into the spotlight a little more, but they never sold out because of it. If you are a metalhead, then this is a requirement to keep the “Metalhead” title!
October Rust gets a 9.5 out of 10.
See you in November, when we’ll look at the black sheep of the Call of Duty series. Until then, stay Otaku!
Monday, October 28, 2013
Tiny Tina's Assault On Dragon Keep Review
Well ladies & gentlemen, we’ve done a lot of things on Pandora. We’ve killed Handsome Jack, fought against swashbuckling pirates, entered a badass tournament & won, and even went on a rather poor hunting trip. After all that work & adventure, I think it’s time to sit down, relax, and enjoy some geeky fun with a few friends. Luckily, our pal Tiny Tina has provided us with the perfect opportunity to do so. With that said, grab the Cheetos & Mountain Dew, your favorite nerdy shirt, and sit down for Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep. Roll for initiative!!!
Story
Taken from the Borderlands wiki:
“Taking place after the event of Roland's death, Tina and the first group of Vault Hunters decide to play a game of Bunkers and Badasses, Pandora's equivalent to the table top game "Dungeons & Dragons". Tina serves as the "Bunker Master" and narrator of the DLC, and changes the world in dynamic ways as the story progresses, such as altering the appearance of locations and adding characters and bosses.
The plot involves the new Vault Hunters playing characters within the campaign, each responding to Tina's narration in their own way. Their quest is to rescue to the queen from an evil sorcerer and restore peace and tranquility to the land.
The journey to Dragon Keep ultimately has Tina coming to terms with Roland's death and ends with a possible hint to the setting of future DLC.”
So much better than Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt’s story!!!!
Setting
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep has a setting that’s about as unique as Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty, maybe even more unique. For starters, there are hardly any textures from the main game used, apart from a couple character models & terrain/building parts. Everything that you see is completely brand new, and serve to convey the fantasy theme. You journey through typical, yet nice set-pieces. There’s Flamerock Refuge, the main hub of the expansion. There’s also a forest, a graveyard, a dwarven mine, and it all concludes onto of a wizard’s spire, surrounded by storms & dragons. Gearbox definitely hit it out of the park with this one!
Characters
Characters are interesting in this DLC. For starters, we have a fair majority of the cast from the main game return to this expansion (Ellie, Mad Moxxi, etc). They all have been given new skins to match the theme of the DLC, but their attitude & mannerisms have remained largely the same. The player characters themselves finally speak for the first time in this expansion. They each have their own set of lines, which are spoken when given a cue to do so. At one point, they break the fourth wall with Salvador, and he talks for a little bit.
Gameplay
Gameplay is a bit of a different creature in this DLC. While you still wander around & shoot things, the fantasy setting puts a spin on every quest you play. There’s a quest where you kill a golem to get Roland’s sword back, a quest where you decimate a village of orcs, and a quest where you charge up a magic wand. There’s also plenty of quests that lampoon pop culture, as well as praise the best elements. Some of these quests include reviving a player that gets killed by another player, storming into a Game of Thrones parody, and trying to pick up a gun from Moxxi (And failing almost every single time). Overall, doing every quest in the expansion was fun........except for one.
Called “Fake Geek Guy”, this side-quest is found early on in the expansion. After Mr. Torgue is found in the stocks, he asks if he can join the group and play. Lilith takes serious offense at this, citing that he’s a “Big muscle-bound guy that takes care of his body”, and calls out his geek cred. After Tiny Tiny tells you to find the “3 Questions Of True Geekiness”, you search for these questions, and Mr. Torgue attempts to answer them. This quest mirror’s the real life “Fake Geek Girl” controversy, and I get the tone they’re trying to create with this quest, but here’s my problem with it. Not every geeky guy thinks this way. More often than not, I’ve met many geeky guys that not only like girls that are geeks, but are glad that girls are becoming more geeky. As I always say: “If the passion is in your heart, they you’re already in”.
Vehicles don’t return in this DLC, but given the kinds of environments you travel through, I get why. Even then, it would have been cool to have a fantasy style mount, such as a horse or small dragon. Luckily, the fast-travel posts are still in this game, so you can quickly appear in each location. Speaking of new creatures.....
The enemies in Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep are completely brand new. All of them are fantasy themed, such as skeletons, wizards, and orcs. Every single enemy in this game bring a lot to the table, and also have their own new battle tactics (Wizards cast spells, Orcs tend to charge right in, and skeletons swing swords or shoot bows). You constantly have to change your weapon loadout for each encounter you come across, as no specific selection will work.
The Seraph Vendor & Seraph Guardian return for one last encounter. The Seraph Guardian this time around is actually a quarter of Dragons, each of which correspond with a different element & ability. This is by far the toughest of the guardians, and fighting them alone is an incredible challenge. However, the loot they drop is impressive, and the Seraph Crystals they drop can get you items such as this:
Loot in this DLC is heavily fantasy themed, much in the same way as loot from Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty was pirate themed. You’ve got a E-Tech shotgun from Torgue that shoots exploding swords (BTW, this is the only E-Tech gun that Torgue manufactures), a pistol that gets you drunk, and a smg that sometimes slips from your hands. I’ll say that, in this regard, Tiny Tina’s themed loot matches that of Captain Scarlett in terms of flavor.
Eridium’s usage has been expanded in Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep. In Moxxi’s place within Flamerock Refuge are slot machines that take 2 pieces of Eridium per pull, but otherwise act the same as the normal slot machines. There are also special chests that have 2 d20 dice on top, and if you pay 5 Eridium, you can have both dice roll instead of one, and the higher number will determine the quality of loot within.
I should quickly point out that Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep is the longest of the DLCs. If you’ve forgotten how long the other DLCs were, here’s a quick list:
Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty: 8 to 10 hours
Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage: 8 hours (Maybe less)
Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt: 3 ½ hours
With that out of the way, this DLC lasts for 10 to 15 hours. Given how much content is in this expansion, it’s not surprising that it takes that amount of time. Hardcore fans of Borderlands 2 might be able to zoom through this in close to a day, but I managed to spread this expansion out over the course of 2 to 3 days.
This last point is a little more minor, but it doesn’t hurt to talk about. The vending machines this time around have become imbued with the essence of fantasy: Zed’s medical machine has become Zed’s Apothacary, Marcus Guns has become Marcus Cannons, etc. Not only that, the New-U posts now have fantasy themed lines they say when you’re resurrected. It’s a nice refresher, actually.
Graphics & Sound
While it uses the same engine as the main game, there’s not that many textures from the source material (Apart from a tiny few). Instead, this expansion uses many new textures, for the background/setting, as well as the enemies, and stays very close to the fantasy theme. There’s also a completely new soundtrack (The other DLCs reused certain songs from the main game), complete with tracks such as follows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IHIPEceP8list=PLrwWaT3GWAEfZhT_nzxytofd7SB9NssBM&index=51
Overall & Rating
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep was a fun romp. The love of D&D, fantasy, and pop culture is very evident in everyplace, and everything. Anybody who’s geeky will definitely find something they know about in this expansion, and even casual geeks will at least be able to identify something small. If you have a love of fantasy & geeky things, then I highly suggest getting this expansion.
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep gets a 8.5 out of 10.
See you all next time. Until then, stay Otaku!
*
Sorry for posting this a little later than normal. I went to a party this past weekend, and I was still tired this morning. Also, my bad for not posting anything Breast Cancer Awareness related in my past couple posts. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find current videos for the subject. Luckily, I managed to find something. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsyE2rCW71o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5txBaPR-TM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF-UEUCJ60w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feCcW8__N94
Story
Taken from the Borderlands wiki:
“Taking place after the event of Roland's death, Tina and the first group of Vault Hunters decide to play a game of Bunkers and Badasses, Pandora's equivalent to the table top game "Dungeons & Dragons". Tina serves as the "Bunker Master" and narrator of the DLC, and changes the world in dynamic ways as the story progresses, such as altering the appearance of locations and adding characters and bosses.
The plot involves the new Vault Hunters playing characters within the campaign, each responding to Tina's narration in their own way. Their quest is to rescue to the queen from an evil sorcerer and restore peace and tranquility to the land.
The journey to Dragon Keep ultimately has Tina coming to terms with Roland's death and ends with a possible hint to the setting of future DLC.”
So much better than Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt’s story!!!!
Setting
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep has a setting that’s about as unique as Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty, maybe even more unique. For starters, there are hardly any textures from the main game used, apart from a couple character models & terrain/building parts. Everything that you see is completely brand new, and serve to convey the fantasy theme. You journey through typical, yet nice set-pieces. There’s Flamerock Refuge, the main hub of the expansion. There’s also a forest, a graveyard, a dwarven mine, and it all concludes onto of a wizard’s spire, surrounded by storms & dragons. Gearbox definitely hit it out of the park with this one!
Characters
Characters are interesting in this DLC. For starters, we have a fair majority of the cast from the main game return to this expansion (Ellie, Mad Moxxi, etc). They all have been given new skins to match the theme of the DLC, but their attitude & mannerisms have remained largely the same. The player characters themselves finally speak for the first time in this expansion. They each have their own set of lines, which are spoken when given a cue to do so. At one point, they break the fourth wall with Salvador, and he talks for a little bit.
Gameplay
Gameplay is a bit of a different creature in this DLC. While you still wander around & shoot things, the fantasy setting puts a spin on every quest you play. There’s a quest where you kill a golem to get Roland’s sword back, a quest where you decimate a village of orcs, and a quest where you charge up a magic wand. There’s also plenty of quests that lampoon pop culture, as well as praise the best elements. Some of these quests include reviving a player that gets killed by another player, storming into a Game of Thrones parody, and trying to pick up a gun from Moxxi (And failing almost every single time). Overall, doing every quest in the expansion was fun........except for one.
Called “Fake Geek Guy”, this side-quest is found early on in the expansion. After Mr. Torgue is found in the stocks, he asks if he can join the group and play. Lilith takes serious offense at this, citing that he’s a “Big muscle-bound guy that takes care of his body”, and calls out his geek cred. After Tiny Tiny tells you to find the “3 Questions Of True Geekiness”, you search for these questions, and Mr. Torgue attempts to answer them. This quest mirror’s the real life “Fake Geek Girl” controversy, and I get the tone they’re trying to create with this quest, but here’s my problem with it. Not every geeky guy thinks this way. More often than not, I’ve met many geeky guys that not only like girls that are geeks, but are glad that girls are becoming more geeky. As I always say: “If the passion is in your heart, they you’re already in”.
Vehicles don’t return in this DLC, but given the kinds of environments you travel through, I get why. Even then, it would have been cool to have a fantasy style mount, such as a horse or small dragon. Luckily, the fast-travel posts are still in this game, so you can quickly appear in each location. Speaking of new creatures.....
The enemies in Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep are completely brand new. All of them are fantasy themed, such as skeletons, wizards, and orcs. Every single enemy in this game bring a lot to the table, and also have their own new battle tactics (Wizards cast spells, Orcs tend to charge right in, and skeletons swing swords or shoot bows). You constantly have to change your weapon loadout for each encounter you come across, as no specific selection will work.
The Seraph Vendor & Seraph Guardian return for one last encounter. The Seraph Guardian this time around is actually a quarter of Dragons, each of which correspond with a different element & ability. This is by far the toughest of the guardians, and fighting them alone is an incredible challenge. However, the loot they drop is impressive, and the Seraph Crystals they drop can get you items such as this:
Loot in this DLC is heavily fantasy themed, much in the same way as loot from Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty was pirate themed. You’ve got a E-Tech shotgun from Torgue that shoots exploding swords (BTW, this is the only E-Tech gun that Torgue manufactures), a pistol that gets you drunk, and a smg that sometimes slips from your hands. I’ll say that, in this regard, Tiny Tina’s themed loot matches that of Captain Scarlett in terms of flavor.
Eridium’s usage has been expanded in Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep. In Moxxi’s place within Flamerock Refuge are slot machines that take 2 pieces of Eridium per pull, but otherwise act the same as the normal slot machines. There are also special chests that have 2 d20 dice on top, and if you pay 5 Eridium, you can have both dice roll instead of one, and the higher number will determine the quality of loot within.
I should quickly point out that Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep is the longest of the DLCs. If you’ve forgotten how long the other DLCs were, here’s a quick list:
Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty: 8 to 10 hours
Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage: 8 hours (Maybe less)
Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt: 3 ½ hours
With that out of the way, this DLC lasts for 10 to 15 hours. Given how much content is in this expansion, it’s not surprising that it takes that amount of time. Hardcore fans of Borderlands 2 might be able to zoom through this in close to a day, but I managed to spread this expansion out over the course of 2 to 3 days.
This last point is a little more minor, but it doesn’t hurt to talk about. The vending machines this time around have become imbued with the essence of fantasy: Zed’s medical machine has become Zed’s Apothacary, Marcus Guns has become Marcus Cannons, etc. Not only that, the New-U posts now have fantasy themed lines they say when you’re resurrected. It’s a nice refresher, actually.
Graphics & Sound
While it uses the same engine as the main game, there’s not that many textures from the source material (Apart from a tiny few). Instead, this expansion uses many new textures, for the background/setting, as well as the enemies, and stays very close to the fantasy theme. There’s also a completely new soundtrack (The other DLCs reused certain songs from the main game), complete with tracks such as follows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IHIPEceP8list=PLrwWaT3GWAEfZhT_nzxytofd7SB9NssBM&index=51
Overall & Rating
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep was a fun romp. The love of D&D, fantasy, and pop culture is very evident in everyplace, and everything. Anybody who’s geeky will definitely find something they know about in this expansion, and even casual geeks will at least be able to identify something small. If you have a love of fantasy & geeky things, then I highly suggest getting this expansion.
Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep gets a 8.5 out of 10.
See you all next time. Until then, stay Otaku!
*
Sorry for posting this a little later than normal. I went to a party this past weekend, and I was still tired this morning. Also, my bad for not posting anything Breast Cancer Awareness related in my past couple posts. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find current videos for the subject. Luckily, I managed to find something. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsyE2rCW71o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5txBaPR-TM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF-UEUCJ60w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feCcW8__N94
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)