...shoulda paid attention...
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
What to do when you find a celebrity talking about something you do? (8/28/11)
So yeah, was running through a few things today...and I came across this...
Now, as you may recall, I was talking an awful lot about the conference, and planning on writing a full blog, but couldn't get the permission to put up images of people on the blog, no matter how hard I tried...
Fortunately for me, Kyle Hebert threw this up on his YouTube account, so, hey, any rights to share said material is null and void.
So yeah, I made more than a few of those condom packs, and working that table is how I got into Anime Blues Con in Memphis, Tennessee for free, and that's voice actor, Kyle Hebert, voice of Street Fighter's Ryu, talking about them. Thought I'd share.
-Sara
p.s. Always practice safe con sex...you never know what kind of foreign infections you can pick up at those. The highly feared, but never spoken of, otakumydia is the big one, but there are many more.
Now, as you may recall, I was talking an awful lot about the conference, and planning on writing a full blog, but couldn't get the permission to put up images of people on the blog, no matter how hard I tried...
Fortunately for me, Kyle Hebert threw this up on his YouTube account, so, hey, any rights to share said material is null and void.
So yeah, I made more than a few of those condom packs, and working that table is how I got into Anime Blues Con in Memphis, Tennessee for free, and that's voice actor, Kyle Hebert, voice of Street Fighter's Ryu, talking about them. Thought I'd share.
-Sara
p.s. Always practice safe con sex...you never know what kind of foreign infections you can pick up at those. The highly feared, but never spoken of, otakumydia is the big one, but there are many more.
Sara's Top Eleven Comic Book Movie Adaptations (7/31/11)
So, it's been a while since I've made one of these, hasn't it. Up on the docket today, any graphic novel or comic book film that's been re-made as a film has been pretty hit or miss up until 2005. After that point, they've been steadily getting better with three awesome films this summer, and only one true dud. My list is probably gonna be vastly different than most people's, mostly because I'm sticking to the one per franchise rule (otherwise this list would be entirely Batman and Avengers, and we can't have that).
Now, know this...in large part, I haven't read the stories these are based off of, with a few exceptions, which I will note. As such, I cannot discuss adaptation entirely. On the flip side, this does account for why some simply aren't on here.
Also, I couldn't entirely narrow it down to ten this time...so eleven it is. You don't like it, deal with it. Somethings are just better than honorable mentions and deserve a damn number.
You will also not see any manga adaptations or animation at all on this list. I love them as much as the next person. Anime is great, and I adore the DCAU, but I'm sticking to live action, and mangas that have made it to live action American releases are Dragonball and Speed Racer, one of which would never make it on the list, the other, though I love it, deserves to be mentioned elsewhere.
Final rule of note, some movies have comics published before the movies as prequels or in between another medium and film. While there are some great examples of movies that have comics come out first (i.e. Push), they are actually not based off the comics, but spring from the same idea instead. If this were about Super Hero Movies, Push would probably be on it though, so check that out.
First off, some honorable mentions need to go out to some films that deserve more notice than they received.
The first of these goes to Hellboy, which while it's Cthulian backdrop was enough to make me take notice, Nazis, Demons, and John Hurt (who is right up there with Sean Connery in awesome voices...someone should really make a dueling CGI dragon video with their respective dragon characters...).
The second goes to Daredevil. No, not the really bad movie...the really bad movie's director's cut, which is actually pretty awesome, all things considered. Besides, what else proves that Happy Hogan and Foggy Nelson are somehow related?
The final film to get a nod I personally like that should get a mention is Wanted. Not a great film, no, but an interesting one nevertheless. I always really loved the way it ended, and if you haven't seen it, you should ignore anything you've heard ill about it and go ahead and check it out.
So, let's talk the actual list now. As always, this is my list, so my opinions, and again, no animated and I'm still going by one per franchise rule, so no duplicate characters or additional titles in a series of films...so yeah, only one in the Marvel Studios Avenger's line up.
11. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
This was one of the tougher choices for the list, as it, Turtles Forever, and TMNT were all right there. It eventually came down to part of the creation of the no animated films rule, so the live action won out. Who of us over the age of twenty didn't grow up with the Turtles in some form or fashion? The first film was a big part of that.
Encompassing all the wackiness of the cartoon and bringing in quite a bit more of the grit of the comics than they realistically could have had in the original cartoon, this movie told the story of the turtles origins, their first encounter with the Foot Clan, and their leader, the Shredder. It also featured the "true" origin of Splinter which I liked later on, that he was Yoshi's pet, and not Yoshi himself.
Some great fight scenes, and some really good humor too. It's available in every format, and you should check it, and its sequels, out if you haven't already.
10. X-Men First Class
So, I recently went into how much I liked this movie (more into why I thought it should have been an LGBT film, but off topic), and all I can say is go see it if you haven't yet...it's very good, and should still be in some theaters. Definitely the best X-men film in my opinion, though sadly not the best comic film of the summer. Also...you know, Matthew Vaughn...who I'm sure will show up more...
9. RED
A cast to kill for and an interesting plot to run with, RED was a great story about what happens to spies when they retire...not something covered very often. Every single scene is done awesomely, and Helen Mirren was awesome in every single scene she showed up in.
This was the best (again, my opinion) action movie of the year last year. It's got some awesome hand to hand with Bruce Willis and Karl Urban going at it, and definitely some of the coolest gun usage in a while. Check out the trailer below for just a taste.
8. Road to Perdition
While I did say no manga based films would be on the list, Road to Perdition is an American comic inspired by Lone Wolf and Cub, an incredible manga, so it gets an out. It also gets this because it's just a kick ass movie, that lit up the awards crowd long before The Dark Knight made its way to the screen.
This is an awesome films about fathers and sons, the mob, and how the violence you do affects those you love. I don't want to spoil any of this, so if you haven't seen it, this is one I do recommend seeing immediately.
Now, you may be wondering why it's so low though. This movie, as well as A History of Violence, have very little to do with traditional comic books. Granted, comics can be about anything...as evidenced by the new Prince Harry comic, but these films, while good, either have little to do with what we think when we think of comic books. Sin City, Surrogates, and 300 also tend to suffer from this, and though I liked them too, they don't make their way on to this list for the same reason.
7. Men in Black
A drastic departure from what it was as a comic, Men in Black is a prime example of why I love Tommy Lee Jones. He's a great mentor character, he can make bad movies watchable (seriously, Man of the House and Batman Forever, ignore anything but Tommy Lee Jones on screen, and you're watching a good film).
Then there's the whole premise...international agency that polices extraterrestrials (and other paranormal threats in the comics) on Earth (for benevolent reasons in the films, not so in the comics). That's wonderfully absurd in theory, and truly awesome on screen. I'm actually really excited about the third title in the series that's been recently announced...I just hope it's not as bad as the second.
6. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
In case you're like one of the ten geeks who don't know what Scott Pilgrim is, it's a graphic novel series out of Canada about the geek culture, romance, and growing up.
Note: As you may have noticed, in my "Still Alive...Mostly..." blog, I said this was edged out of the top three, I meant top five, sorry for any confusion.
The movie follows the same story line, though much more condensed sadly (this is where adaptation's gonna be a bitch to the rating). The series was awesome, the movie though was much to short, much too hurried, though still awesome. The film really well follows the books up to about the time Roxy shows up, and it's here you can see that the movie was being made before the series was finished. Had they broken up the film into two parts, with the first being "vs. The World" and the second being "vs. the Universe", it could have been a much better adaptation.
That said, the latter half is still very good and there's a great drinking game there for every time it makes a gaming reference (though be careful, alcohol poisoning is VERY dangerous). Enjoy.
5. Kick Ass
Stop reading and watch this...
This is how I first found out about the film, and from that instant on I had to see it. If you didn't...either two reasons, you're not a geek OR you're dead. If you're reading this, I'd go with the prior...though if it's the latter, good for you, I heard that was tricky.
The adaptation leaves out a bit from the comic's first volume run (I don't know how important it will be to Volume 2's story yet), but it's not entirely missed, and it does make up for it a bit. I like the love story subplot, though it's vastly different in the books. Also, a few interesting side characters, notably Dave's friend, Todd, don't appear in the books.
Oh, and it's directed by Matthew Vaughn. So, pretty high up there because of that too.
Now this is where my choices generally start to diverge, specifically with the top two. Remember, this is my list and thus my opinions, not yours...I would love to hear how your's are different, but do not say I'm wrong because my tastes are different than yours. Thanks.
4. Captain America: The First Avenger
So, this is easily the best comic book film of the summer so far and possibly the best period. While it does complete the original plot of the comic quite well, and this is definitely the first time it's been done properly, this is a great movie even without the comic or the Avengers Series it exists in. The fact that it does exist within it though is awesome.
Since this movie is still in theaters and is only two weeks out, I don't want to get into spoilers just yet, but it's a great film. It also marks the fourth comic book hero Chris Evans has portrayed, making him the runner up to the current record holder in playing comic characters, though his co-star, Hugo Weaving, is one of the many right on his tail for such.
Speaking of...
3. V for Vendetta
While most would point to Watchmen as the better Alan Moore adaptation, I much prefer V. Looking past some of the modernization material, which granted, makes a lot of sense regardless of even what the source's creator believed it to be (an allegory of American Liberalism vs. Conservatism), it's still a fantastic piece.
Some of the other changes are also understandable for fluidity's sake. Changes in Finch and Gordon's characters work, though I wise they kept the part about his relationship with Delia in. I adore how they handled the Valerie aside. Granted, it's shorter than her original autobiography, but the essentials were kept, and it was simply beautiful, especially in contrast with what was happening to Evey in the film.
Also, I really hated "Fate" from the book, and I was really glad to see it was removed by making John Hurt's version of Adam Sutler (Susan in the book) a much more devious, scheming, sadistic bastard, along with his henchman, Mr. Creedy, who gets the best overhaul of the lot.
I make a note to watch it every Guy Fawkes day, but you should see it now if you haven't already.
*Flame Shields to maximum*
2. Batman Begins
I love The Dark Knight as much as the next geek. It's the better film in a lot of ways. It's success, it's plot, it's acting...nearly everything. But part one of the trilogy is still better in my opinion.
For starters, I really, REALLY, like origin stories. I love sequels too, but something about the hero's journey starting out and eventually coming to a place where they can be that hero is really nice. And, yes, while it can be argued that The Dark Knight too was a double origin story of the Joker and Two-Face, the protagonist had really no growth or change throughout, which is rather sad.
Then there's Liam Neeson. There's a lot of reasons this guy plays gods a lot...he's just that powerful with his acting, and him playing Ra's al Ghul was awesome as all get out, especially as that was one of my favorite characters in the comics and animated series (if he really does show in Rises, this could be replaced, or could switch places with number one).
This film does a lot to reestablish Wayne's background, and does a lot of the Year One building of his character that previous films had left out, and the fact that Dark Knight didn't continue this trend really bothered me, and was the most disappointing part of it...he was just Batman throughout...the only time his humanity poked through was when he was talking to or about Rachel. Rather sad really, but it's this lack of character growth that makes Begins the much better piece to me.
Finally, we move into number one, the only film I can truly say I personally like better than Batman Begins and I know I'm gonna get spammed for it, but here we go...
1. Catwoman
...Catwoman?
The hell...?
No, no, no, that's wrong...the real number one please?
1. Stardust
Sorry for the confusion...Michelle Pfeiffer can cause that.
This film flew way under the radar for most everyone, with me only becoming aware of it when Sarah Michelle Gellar showed up as an option for the female lead. I'm still not sure why was such the case as this was a really great fantasy film.
Another one of those casts to kill for, Stardust brings together Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Strong (Sinestro, Frank D'Amico from Kick Ass), Ian McKellan, Ricky Gervais, Peter O'Toole, Jason Flemyng (the current record holder for comic book performances), Henry Cavill (the next Superman), Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian from the Narnia films), Nathaniel Parker, Claire Danes, and Charlie Cox in it's high fantasy/Victorian era worlds.
I honestly can't say enough for why you should see this film if you haven't already, so here's the trailer...
Now, the adaptation of this is nearly perfect. There are a few omissions and additions, specifically Captain Shakespeare, who's just awesome. Robert DeNiro as a sky pirate is worth the entire price of the ten dollar movie ticket. The most notable change comes in the ending. The film pulls out all the stops in a final battle, where as the book has no such climax. Also, the epilogue is different as well, and again, I prefer the films to the original, mostly due to being a romantic.
If you haven't seen any of these, I suggest that you do so as soon as you can...each is worth it for its own reasons, especially Stardust. Share your thoughts and feelings on each, and if there's one I missed (and didn't mention at all) that you feel should've made it on the list, let me know. If you feel that one of these shouldn't be on the list for some reason, share those thoughts, too (and because something else should be is not a good enough reason).
-Sara
Now, know this...in large part, I haven't read the stories these are based off of, with a few exceptions, which I will note. As such, I cannot discuss adaptation entirely. On the flip side, this does account for why some simply aren't on here.
Also, I couldn't entirely narrow it down to ten this time...so eleven it is. You don't like it, deal with it. Somethings are just better than honorable mentions and deserve a damn number.
You will also not see any manga adaptations or animation at all on this list. I love them as much as the next person. Anime is great, and I adore the DCAU, but I'm sticking to live action, and mangas that have made it to live action American releases are Dragonball and Speed Racer, one of which would never make it on the list, the other, though I love it, deserves to be mentioned elsewhere.
Final rule of note, some movies have comics published before the movies as prequels or in between another medium and film. While there are some great examples of movies that have comics come out first (i.e. Push), they are actually not based off the comics, but spring from the same idea instead. If this were about Super Hero Movies, Push would probably be on it though, so check that out.
First off, some honorable mentions need to go out to some films that deserve more notice than they received.
The first of these goes to Hellboy, which while it's Cthulian backdrop was enough to make me take notice, Nazis, Demons, and John Hurt (who is right up there with Sean Connery in awesome voices...someone should really make a dueling CGI dragon video with their respective dragon characters...).
The second goes to Daredevil. No, not the really bad movie...the really bad movie's director's cut, which is actually pretty awesome, all things considered. Besides, what else proves that Happy Hogan and Foggy Nelson are somehow related?
The final film to get a nod I personally like that should get a mention is Wanted. Not a great film, no, but an interesting one nevertheless. I always really loved the way it ended, and if you haven't seen it, you should ignore anything you've heard ill about it and go ahead and check it out.
So, let's talk the actual list now. As always, this is my list, so my opinions, and again, no animated and I'm still going by one per franchise rule, so no duplicate characters or additional titles in a series of films...so yeah, only one in the Marvel Studios Avenger's line up.
11. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
This was one of the tougher choices for the list, as it, Turtles Forever, and TMNT were all right there. It eventually came down to part of the creation of the no animated films rule, so the live action won out. Who of us over the age of twenty didn't grow up with the Turtles in some form or fashion? The first film was a big part of that.
Encompassing all the wackiness of the cartoon and bringing in quite a bit more of the grit of the comics than they realistically could have had in the original cartoon, this movie told the story of the turtles origins, their first encounter with the Foot Clan, and their leader, the Shredder. It also featured the "true" origin of Splinter which I liked later on, that he was Yoshi's pet, and not Yoshi himself.
Some great fight scenes, and some really good humor too. It's available in every format, and you should check it, and its sequels, out if you haven't already.
10. X-Men First Class
So, I recently went into how much I liked this movie (more into why I thought it should have been an LGBT film, but off topic), and all I can say is go see it if you haven't yet...it's very good, and should still be in some theaters. Definitely the best X-men film in my opinion, though sadly not the best comic film of the summer. Also...you know, Matthew Vaughn...who I'm sure will show up more...
9. RED
A cast to kill for and an interesting plot to run with, RED was a great story about what happens to spies when they retire...not something covered very often. Every single scene is done awesomely, and Helen Mirren was awesome in every single scene she showed up in.
This was the best (again, my opinion) action movie of the year last year. It's got some awesome hand to hand with Bruce Willis and Karl Urban going at it, and definitely some of the coolest gun usage in a while. Check out the trailer below for just a taste.
8. Road to Perdition
While I did say no manga based films would be on the list, Road to Perdition is an American comic inspired by Lone Wolf and Cub, an incredible manga, so it gets an out. It also gets this because it's just a kick ass movie, that lit up the awards crowd long before The Dark Knight made its way to the screen.
This is an awesome films about fathers and sons, the mob, and how the violence you do affects those you love. I don't want to spoil any of this, so if you haven't seen it, this is one I do recommend seeing immediately.
Now, you may be wondering why it's so low though. This movie, as well as A History of Violence, have very little to do with traditional comic books. Granted, comics can be about anything...as evidenced by the new Prince Harry comic, but these films, while good, either have little to do with what we think when we think of comic books. Sin City, Surrogates, and 300 also tend to suffer from this, and though I liked them too, they don't make their way on to this list for the same reason.
7. Men in Black
A drastic departure from what it was as a comic, Men in Black is a prime example of why I love Tommy Lee Jones. He's a great mentor character, he can make bad movies watchable (seriously, Man of the House and Batman Forever, ignore anything but Tommy Lee Jones on screen, and you're watching a good film).
Then there's the whole premise...international agency that polices extraterrestrials (and other paranormal threats in the comics) on Earth (for benevolent reasons in the films, not so in the comics). That's wonderfully absurd in theory, and truly awesome on screen. I'm actually really excited about the third title in the series that's been recently announced...I just hope it's not as bad as the second.
6. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
In case you're like one of the ten geeks who don't know what Scott Pilgrim is, it's a graphic novel series out of Canada about the geek culture, romance, and growing up.
Note: As you may have noticed, in my "Still Alive...Mostly..." blog, I said this was edged out of the top three, I meant top five, sorry for any confusion.
The movie follows the same story line, though much more condensed sadly (this is where adaptation's gonna be a bitch to the rating). The series was awesome, the movie though was much to short, much too hurried, though still awesome. The film really well follows the books up to about the time Roxy shows up, and it's here you can see that the movie was being made before the series was finished. Had they broken up the film into two parts, with the first being "vs. The World" and the second being "vs. the Universe", it could have been a much better adaptation.
That said, the latter half is still very good and there's a great drinking game there for every time it makes a gaming reference (though be careful, alcohol poisoning is VERY dangerous). Enjoy.
5. Kick Ass
Stop reading and watch this...
This is how I first found out about the film, and from that instant on I had to see it. If you didn't...either two reasons, you're not a geek OR you're dead. If you're reading this, I'd go with the prior...though if it's the latter, good for you, I heard that was tricky.
The adaptation leaves out a bit from the comic's first volume run (I don't know how important it will be to Volume 2's story yet), but it's not entirely missed, and it does make up for it a bit. I like the love story subplot, though it's vastly different in the books. Also, a few interesting side characters, notably Dave's friend, Todd, don't appear in the books.
Oh, and it's directed by Matthew Vaughn. So, pretty high up there because of that too.
Now this is where my choices generally start to diverge, specifically with the top two. Remember, this is my list and thus my opinions, not yours...I would love to hear how your's are different, but do not say I'm wrong because my tastes are different than yours. Thanks.
4. Captain America: The First Avenger
So, this is easily the best comic book film of the summer so far and possibly the best period. While it does complete the original plot of the comic quite well, and this is definitely the first time it's been done properly, this is a great movie even without the comic or the Avengers Series it exists in. The fact that it does exist within it though is awesome.
Since this movie is still in theaters and is only two weeks out, I don't want to get into spoilers just yet, but it's a great film. It also marks the fourth comic book hero Chris Evans has portrayed, making him the runner up to the current record holder in playing comic characters, though his co-star, Hugo Weaving, is one of the many right on his tail for such.
Speaking of...
3. V for Vendetta
While most would point to Watchmen as the better Alan Moore adaptation, I much prefer V. Looking past some of the modernization material, which granted, makes a lot of sense regardless of even what the source's creator believed it to be (an allegory of American Liberalism vs. Conservatism), it's still a fantastic piece.
Some of the other changes are also understandable for fluidity's sake. Changes in Finch and Gordon's characters work, though I wise they kept the part about his relationship with Delia in. I adore how they handled the Valerie aside. Granted, it's shorter than her original autobiography, but the essentials were kept, and it was simply beautiful, especially in contrast with what was happening to Evey in the film.
Also, I really hated "Fate" from the book, and I was really glad to see it was removed by making John Hurt's version of Adam Sutler (Susan in the book) a much more devious, scheming, sadistic bastard, along with his henchman, Mr. Creedy, who gets the best overhaul of the lot.
I make a note to watch it every Guy Fawkes day, but you should see it now if you haven't already.
*Flame Shields to maximum*
2. Batman Begins
I love The Dark Knight as much as the next geek. It's the better film in a lot of ways. It's success, it's plot, it's acting...nearly everything. But part one of the trilogy is still better in my opinion.
For starters, I really, REALLY, like origin stories. I love sequels too, but something about the hero's journey starting out and eventually coming to a place where they can be that hero is really nice. And, yes, while it can be argued that The Dark Knight too was a double origin story of the Joker and Two-Face, the protagonist had really no growth or change throughout, which is rather sad.
Then there's Liam Neeson. There's a lot of reasons this guy plays gods a lot...he's just that powerful with his acting, and him playing Ra's al Ghul was awesome as all get out, especially as that was one of my favorite characters in the comics and animated series (if he really does show in Rises, this could be replaced, or could switch places with number one).
This film does a lot to reestablish Wayne's background, and does a lot of the Year One building of his character that previous films had left out, and the fact that Dark Knight didn't continue this trend really bothered me, and was the most disappointing part of it...he was just Batman throughout...the only time his humanity poked through was when he was talking to or about Rachel. Rather sad really, but it's this lack of character growth that makes Begins the much better piece to me.
Finally, we move into number one, the only film I can truly say I personally like better than Batman Begins and I know I'm gonna get spammed for it, but here we go...
1. Catwoman
...Catwoman?
The hell...?
No, no, no, that's wrong...the real number one please?
1. Stardust
Sorry for the confusion...Michelle Pfeiffer can cause that.
This film flew way under the radar for most everyone, with me only becoming aware of it when Sarah Michelle Gellar showed up as an option for the female lead. I'm still not sure why was such the case as this was a really great fantasy film.
Another one of those casts to kill for, Stardust brings together Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Strong (Sinestro, Frank D'Amico from Kick Ass), Ian McKellan, Ricky Gervais, Peter O'Toole, Jason Flemyng (the current record holder for comic book performances), Henry Cavill (the next Superman), Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian from the Narnia films), Nathaniel Parker, Claire Danes, and Charlie Cox in it's high fantasy/Victorian era worlds.
I honestly can't say enough for why you should see this film if you haven't already, so here's the trailer...
Now, the adaptation of this is nearly perfect. There are a few omissions and additions, specifically Captain Shakespeare, who's just awesome. Robert DeNiro as a sky pirate is worth the entire price of the ten dollar movie ticket. The most notable change comes in the ending. The film pulls out all the stops in a final battle, where as the book has no such climax. Also, the epilogue is different as well, and again, I prefer the films to the original, mostly due to being a romantic.
If you haven't seen any of these, I suggest that you do so as soon as you can...each is worth it for its own reasons, especially Stardust. Share your thoughts and feelings on each, and if there's one I missed (and didn't mention at all) that you feel should've made it on the list, let me know. If you feel that one of these shouldn't be on the list for some reason, share those thoughts, too (and because something else should be is not a good enough reason).
-Sara
My Favorite Games, Vol. 3.0 - Interlude and Season 2 Wrap Up (6/19/11)
As of right now, I still owe my readers four Final Fantasy reviews. FFXII, FF, FFX, and FFIV. However, I've also completed, and will add to the list FFVII, possibly FFIX (I'm still in the middle of it), and FF Tactics, so...here's what I'm gonna do, abbreviated reviews of the first four below, open the floor to questions about them, and most likely come back to the games later in "The Fantasy Strikes Back".
Anyway...FFXII. I love this game...I love Ivalice...there is not a truly bad game in the sub series to be found. A2 and Revenant Wings leave a lot to be desired, but they're much, MUCH better than some of the sub-series games...Dirge of Cerberus.
FFXII is Square Enix's love letter to the original Star Wars Trilogy. Robot Chicken and Family Guy think they put on wonderful...let's call them homages...to those three films, but seeing it done in high fantasy rather than in comedy still takes the cake in my book.
Anyway...FFXII. I love this game...I love Ivalice...there is not a truly bad game in the sub series to be found. A2 and Revenant Wings leave a lot to be desired, but they're much, MUCH better than some of the sub-series games...Dirge of Cerberus.
FFXII is Square Enix's love letter to the original Star Wars Trilogy. Robot Chicken and Family Guy think they put on wonderful...let's call them homages...to those three films, but seeing it done in high fantasy rather than in comedy still takes the cake in my book.
Music is wonderful, and the acting is far superior to its predecessor. Every single character has a place...yes, even Penolo...on the team, and nothing is wasted. Gameplay isn't the richest experience, though...as once you've completed the initial areas...the game becomes little more than an exercise in walking around. It's far too easy, especially when you run across the glitch that allows you to unlock the ENTIRE LICENSE BOARD, as I did.
Good game overall, and you would be remiss to look it over in lieu of other RPG's, even in the Final Fantasy series.
Final Fantasy, the first game in the series, was a major change in all of gaming, but...I didn't play it til Dawn of Souls, so, I couldn't see first hand how much it effected gaming til roughly, 2006. That said, it's a great game, with one of the best stories in gaming. Sadly...the lack of any real characterization on the part of the party leaves a lot to be desired. I really wanted to check out 4 Warriors of Light and see if it did what FFIII DS did for FFIII's party, but I already know that they changed a large part of the story...hmmm...maybe one day.
FFX is right up there with FFIV and VII in terms of gameplay for me. The fact that their gameplays are absolutely identical could play a major part in that. I think this game has the best of the sub-games of any in the series...Blitzball, and actually has a few interesting plot elements I wouldn't have expected them to take (not because they're really stupid, well...some are...but because they add some real depth to the world).
Don't worry though, I haven't lost my mind, Tidus pisses me off just about as much as Cloud most of the time, but I still give him a little praise for what he is and what he does in the story. Unlike Cloud, who's guilty for what he did, and just wants to clean up his mess, Tidus, is literally dead, and having absolutely nothing better to do, decides he'll run around with this merry little band of guardians and their sacrifice, who he gives his all to save, both from themselves and their situation. That's actually pretty admirable.
Finally, FFIV will definitely get a review down the road...the thing is, and the reason the FF series games are being delayed for the time being, is I want to play The After Years and the in between story first. Having played through the Ivalice Alliance, I've actually gained a lot of respect for FFXII. Alternatively...FFVII has actually lost a little after Dirge of Cerberus. Until then though, FFIV gave us Active Time Battle, revolutionized RPG's, and told an amazing as hell story nearly twenty years old now. The Final Fantasy Series is still trying to emulate what it, Final Fantasy V, VI, and VII did successively for the series and gaming in general. IV really opened the door to the following three, and did it really well. If you haven't played it, stop whatever you're doing...go buy it for whichever system you have that it's available for, and enjoy.
So, if you have any questions about the games mentioned here, my feelings on them...please ask away...I promise I'll get into more concrete reviews later, and have fun gaming.
Final Fantasy, the first game in the series, was a major change in all of gaming, but...I didn't play it til Dawn of Souls, so, I couldn't see first hand how much it effected gaming til roughly, 2006. That said, it's a great game, with one of the best stories in gaming. Sadly...the lack of any real characterization on the part of the party leaves a lot to be desired. I really wanted to check out 4 Warriors of Light and see if it did what FFIII DS did for FFIII's party, but I already know that they changed a large part of the story...hmmm...maybe one day.
FFX is right up there with FFIV and VII in terms of gameplay for me. The fact that their gameplays are absolutely identical could play a major part in that. I think this game has the best of the sub-games of any in the series...Blitzball, and actually has a few interesting plot elements I wouldn't have expected them to take (not because they're really stupid, well...some are...but because they add some real depth to the world).
Don't worry though, I haven't lost my mind, Tidus pisses me off just about as much as Cloud most of the time, but I still give him a little praise for what he is and what he does in the story. Unlike Cloud, who's guilty for what he did, and just wants to clean up his mess, Tidus, is literally dead, and having absolutely nothing better to do, decides he'll run around with this merry little band of guardians and their sacrifice, who he gives his all to save, both from themselves and their situation. That's actually pretty admirable.
Finally, FFIV will definitely get a review down the road...the thing is, and the reason the FF series games are being delayed for the time being, is I want to play The After Years and the in between story first. Having played through the Ivalice Alliance, I've actually gained a lot of respect for FFXII. Alternatively...FFVII has actually lost a little after Dirge of Cerberus. Until then though, FFIV gave us Active Time Battle, revolutionized RPG's, and told an amazing as hell story nearly twenty years old now. The Final Fantasy Series is still trying to emulate what it, Final Fantasy V, VI, and VII did successively for the series and gaming in general. IV really opened the door to the following three, and did it really well. If you haven't played it, stop whatever you're doing...go buy it for whichever system you have that it's available for, and enjoy.
So, if you have any questions about the games mentioned here, my feelings on them...please ask away...I promise I'll get into more concrete reviews later, and have fun gaming.
-Sara
The Legend of Zelda - The Books of Glory (an introduction to the Zelda Mangas) (8/21/11)
About two weeks ago, just after I posted my top eleven comic book adaptations, I wrote about what makes up a full story in response to queries and uproar about why I put some films above others. In that, I made the claim that some stories, ones that we as the gamer, and in larger circles, geek, community put on pedestals as the greatest don't fulfill those requirements. Most of the Legend of Zelda games were among them.
Yeah, I know this is unpopular to say, especially since Zelda is, well, it's Zelda. The mother of action adventure/pseudo RPG's. The first example of epic storytelling in action gaming (it predated Dragon Quest by almost four months and text games had almost a decade head start, but action style games commonly seen on consoles, it was the first). But, even still, it was not complete story.
The main reason was lack of any form of love story...even platonic love or love between side characters. This wasn't really formed until Link's Awakening, and even still, we've only seen it happen ONE other time in the entire series, Majora's Mask.
One could argue that Link and Zelda are a couple by the end of most of the games. That at the end, the two heroes live happily ever after as the new king and queen of Hyrule...but...save for Zelda 2's possible ending (which, hey, that was the first time they'd ever met, so, not sure I'd go with romantic as much as "it's been a really, REALLY long time since..."), the two have never once been close in any way other than compatriots in battle. Midna and Marin have been closer to the green capped hero than the princess.
As such, I blame Link.
No, it's not a girls stick together thing...but, let's face it. It's really hard to communicate with someone who doesn't communicate outside of barbarian screams, wild gestures, and nodding. To that end...I think Link should really have a voice.
After the Other M debacle, I know many of us are still wary of these characters having voices, especially, since the last time they did give Link one...this happened...
Even so, outside of the CD-I games and the abomination above, every time Link's been given a voice in comic or manga form, it's been done extremely well. Especially those done by Akira Himekawa, a shared pen name by two mangaka.
Now, I'm not going to get into detail on each of the books yet (I will in due time, promise), but each follows the major plot points of the games they relate to, with a few minor modifications for story telling purposes (the change of location of Shiek's reveal is a big one that makes a lot of sense). The only major change to the stories are now we know Link's responses and thus, a lot more about his character.
For now, I'm only going to urge you to check out the books one last time, and open the floor to a conversation about Link having a voice before jumping into the series, proper. I encourage you to share any thoughts you have on it, or on the books if you've checked them out.
-Sara
Yeah, I know this is unpopular to say, especially since Zelda is, well, it's Zelda. The mother of action adventure/pseudo RPG's. The first example of epic storytelling in action gaming (it predated Dragon Quest by almost four months and text games had almost a decade head start, but action style games commonly seen on consoles, it was the first). But, even still, it was not complete story.
The main reason was lack of any form of love story...even platonic love or love between side characters. This wasn't really formed until Link's Awakening, and even still, we've only seen it happen ONE other time in the entire series, Majora's Mask.
One could argue that Link and Zelda are a couple by the end of most of the games. That at the end, the two heroes live happily ever after as the new king and queen of Hyrule...but...save for Zelda 2's possible ending (which, hey, that was the first time they'd ever met, so, not sure I'd go with romantic as much as "it's been a really, REALLY long time since..."), the two have never once been close in any way other than compatriots in battle. Midna and Marin have been closer to the green capped hero than the princess.
As such, I blame Link.
No, it's not a girls stick together thing...but, let's face it. It's really hard to communicate with someone who doesn't communicate outside of barbarian screams, wild gestures, and nodding. To that end...I think Link should really have a voice.
After the Other M debacle, I know many of us are still wary of these characters having voices, especially, since the last time they did give Link one...this happened...
Even so, outside of the CD-I games and the abomination above, every time Link's been given a voice in comic or manga form, it's been done extremely well. Especially those done by Akira Himekawa, a shared pen name by two mangaka.
Now, I'm not going to get into detail on each of the books yet (I will in due time, promise), but each follows the major plot points of the games they relate to, with a few minor modifications for story telling purposes (the change of location of Shiek's reveal is a big one that makes a lot of sense). The only major change to the stories are now we know Link's responses and thus, a lot more about his character.
For now, I'm only going to urge you to check out the books one last time, and open the floor to a conversation about Link having a voice before jumping into the series, proper. I encourage you to share any thoughts you have on it, or on the books if you've checked them out.
-Sara
Let's talk about Lollipop Chainsaw (8/17/11)
So, it's been nearly a month since we first got a few screens from Suda51's new game, Lollipop Chainsaw. To be blunt...my first thought was...wow, it's Buffy done in an Anime Style.
Today, the first trailer for the game was released at GamesCom. Now, I not only stand by my original statement, I'm debating calling shenanigans.
Before we get in depth about the trailer and the images though...we need to discuss something much more important, something I've been waiting for a while to get to (mostly, until it became relevant). I am a Buffy fan. As such, I could spend an entire series of blogs talking about nothing but the main series, the comic follow ups, the spin off, the really cheesy film, the book and comic apocrypha, character relationship, cast and crew projects (which is where I originally thought this was gonna come up as we got closer to the Avengers), everything about the California Vampire Slayer.
For those who haven't seen a single episode of the series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is about Buffy Summers, a fifteen year old high school cheerleader from L.A. who was called to become the new slayer, a mythical demon hunter possessed of preternatural powers. However, I doubt I could do it as much justice by just explaining it...so, here's this.
Yeah, that's Season 1 of the series in a nut shell. Since, I do want to eventually come back and revisit the series as a blog of its very own...let's focus on the things that are easily related to the new Suda51 game, Lollipop Chainsaw, so, what we know about the setting and the characters.
Buffy
- Cheerleader
- High School
- California Girl
- Slays Vampires
- Unconventional Relationship with Boyfriend (in her case, Vampires)
- Helped by friends, family, and her Watcher
Juliet
- Cheerleader
- High School
- California Girl
- Slays Zombies
- Unconventional Relationship with Boyfriend (he's a disembodied head)
- Helped by family members
Granted, this is an archetype started before Buffy that Whedon and company perfected, but it's still suprisingly similar. Especially given with the setting. San Romero High (as it George, of Night of the Living Dead) and Sunnydale High have a very similar look to them. So much so, that the gym and classroom settings could be HD upgrades of the Xbox Buffy the Vampire Slayer game. Take into account that Torrance High School's, the shooting location for Sunnydale, mascot is the Tartars (Russian Knights) and San Romero's appears to be the Knights...it's kinda starting to appear a bit sketchy.
Then there's the nail in the coffin. Filmmaker James Gunn's involved. For those of you unaware who this is, he wrote the remake of Dawn of the Dead as well both Scooby Doo live action films (which starred Buffy's actress, Sarah Michelle Gellar), and wrote, directed, and acted in Slither (which also starred Whedon actor, Nathan Fillion).
While the idea of an Anime-esque Buffy does sound pretty fucking awesome...there's also the issue of what that means to the iconic character. This is a character easily connected to modern feminism, and now we're making sure we get to see her panties in every shot. I know, I know, Japan has a different outlook on this, and that Juliet isn't Buffy, though any argument that she's not at least inspired by her would be heavily doubted. However, even with that, this subversion is a very peculiar element of the game. I can only hope that it at least makes mention of Buffy (either, a special thanks nod to Joss Whedon or some reference to it at least, possibly even Gellar herself voicing Juliet since she's on the payroll of the WB now).
Also, if you've never seen Buffy at all, go check it out on Hulu or Netflix. It's well worth it.
-Sara
Today, the first trailer for the game was released at GamesCom. Now, I not only stand by my original statement, I'm debating calling shenanigans.
Before we get in depth about the trailer and the images though...we need to discuss something much more important, something I've been waiting for a while to get to (mostly, until it became relevant). I am a Buffy fan. As such, I could spend an entire series of blogs talking about nothing but the main series, the comic follow ups, the spin off, the really cheesy film, the book and comic apocrypha, character relationship, cast and crew projects (which is where I originally thought this was gonna come up as we got closer to the Avengers), everything about the California Vampire Slayer.
For those who haven't seen a single episode of the series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is about Buffy Summers, a fifteen year old high school cheerleader from L.A. who was called to become the new slayer, a mythical demon hunter possessed of preternatural powers. However, I doubt I could do it as much justice by just explaining it...so, here's this.
Yeah, that's Season 1 of the series in a nut shell. Since, I do want to eventually come back and revisit the series as a blog of its very own...let's focus on the things that are easily related to the new Suda51 game, Lollipop Chainsaw, so, what we know about the setting and the characters.
Buffy
- Cheerleader
- High School
- California Girl
- Slays Vampires
- Unconventional Relationship with Boyfriend (in her case, Vampires)
- Helped by friends, family, and her Watcher
Juliet
- Cheerleader
- High School
- California Girl
- Slays Zombies
- Unconventional Relationship with Boyfriend (he's a disembodied head)
- Helped by family members
Granted, this is an archetype started before Buffy that Whedon and company perfected, but it's still suprisingly similar. Especially given with the setting. San Romero High (as it George, of Night of the Living Dead) and Sunnydale High have a very similar look to them. So much so, that the gym and classroom settings could be HD upgrades of the Xbox Buffy the Vampire Slayer game. Take into account that Torrance High School's, the shooting location for Sunnydale, mascot is the Tartars (Russian Knights) and San Romero's appears to be the Knights...it's kinda starting to appear a bit sketchy.
Then there's the nail in the coffin. Filmmaker James Gunn's involved. For those of you unaware who this is, he wrote the remake of Dawn of the Dead as well both Scooby Doo live action films (which starred Buffy's actress, Sarah Michelle Gellar), and wrote, directed, and acted in Slither (which also starred Whedon actor, Nathan Fillion).
While the idea of an Anime-esque Buffy does sound pretty fucking awesome...there's also the issue of what that means to the iconic character. This is a character easily connected to modern feminism, and now we're making sure we get to see her panties in every shot. I know, I know, Japan has a different outlook on this, and that Juliet isn't Buffy, though any argument that she's not at least inspired by her would be heavily doubted. However, even with that, this subversion is a very peculiar element of the game. I can only hope that it at least makes mention of Buffy (either, a special thanks nod to Joss Whedon or some reference to it at least, possibly even Gellar herself voicing Juliet since she's on the payroll of the WB now).
Also, if you've never seen Buffy at all, go check it out on Hulu or Netflix. It's well worth it.
-Sara
Strange Things are Happening to Me...(A Week In Review) (8/11/11)
So, I really liked doing the last "a week in review", Still Alive...Mostly..., as it gave me the chance to talk about a bunch of little stories I didn't really want to write a full blog about. They also gave me a lot of idea, chiefly, the featured Top Eleven Comic Book Movie Adaptations, so maybe this will too, especially since I'm still bogged down in Cave Story...I hate those water cavern areas.
Anyway, let's start off with the next piece of Skynet...SOINN. SOINN is a modern robot that looks as though it was built to be a R.O.B. 2.0, however it has the ability to learn and adapt to its surroundings. Ok, so far, not much to be worried about...adaptation isn't anything tremendous. Single celled organisms can adapt to their surroundings extremely well. However, evolution is also adaptation, specifically within a community, something this thing has in the form of the internet. Yeah, now I'm a bit worried. Apparently SOINN can connect with other robots and online databases to learn new skills...as long as one of those isn't kill all humans, I'm cool with it.
So, someone in California wants Sesame Workshop to go ahead and admit that Bert and Ernie are in fact partners/boyfriends whatever. As someone who falls neatly into the LGBT community, I can understand wanting to see a character or characters like me on a show that had such impact on me in my formative years. However, then he took it a step further calling for them to be married now that New York, where the children's show is based, has passed legislation that allows same sex marriage. I've got no problem reading into subtext of fictional characters...hell, it's kind of fun sometimes...but I'm not about to demand that something be made official simply because I think it could do well politically and socially when the artists behind it don't feel that way. However, the sentiment that LGBT characters could be featured, maybe not Bert and Ernie, on the show I do think might be appropriate. The same could be said about any demographic though...I don't recall seeing any gamers on the show either.
I, like nearly everyone else with access to a computer, smartphone, or "smart" device have enjoyed Rovio's Angry Birds. Now, Tactile Entertainment has given us a reason for the great war between Pigs and Birds with their new game Pigs in Trees. While obviously not directly related to its insanely popular predecessor, the game does have a similar art style and premise, so much so, that if this game develops any fan support, it could be known as the unofficial follow up to Birds.
Seth MacFarlane, of Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show fame, and having recently pushed into development a Flinstones reboot, has thrown his weight around again to bring back Cosmos. For those of you too young to remember or not obsessed with the original series, it featured Carl Sagan discussing everything from evolutionary theory and the big bang to global warming and they Pythagorean Theorem, on prime time television in 1980 (granted, it was on PBS, but it was still a mega-hit, and still holds the record for most number of views for the broadcasting station ever). And this is gonna be on Fox...this is gonna be really interesting, I must say.
Finally, Cowboys and Aliens didn't earn it's way on to my top comic adaptations list...it's not horrible, but it feels rushed, I hate how it ends, and it's filled with so many cliches that you can't help but roll your eyes. On the other hand though...gave me a great idea for an arm cannon blaster prop if I were ever going to make a Mega Man film or even cosplay, and then there's Harrison Ford on Jimmy Kimmel.
As always, comments are welcome, and I think I'm gonna do more about these, and now I kind of want to talk about Cosmos, more specifically Symphony of Science, a web series of auto tunes based around it and other science based television documentary series. Though, I think I'm going to try and do one on The Legend of Zelda Mangas first...
-Sara
Anyway, let's start off with the next piece of Skynet...SOINN. SOINN is a modern robot that looks as though it was built to be a R.O.B. 2.0, however it has the ability to learn and adapt to its surroundings. Ok, so far, not much to be worried about...adaptation isn't anything tremendous. Single celled organisms can adapt to their surroundings extremely well. However, evolution is also adaptation, specifically within a community, something this thing has in the form of the internet. Yeah, now I'm a bit worried. Apparently SOINN can connect with other robots and online databases to learn new skills...as long as one of those isn't kill all humans, I'm cool with it.
So, someone in California wants Sesame Workshop to go ahead and admit that Bert and Ernie are in fact partners/boyfriends whatever. As someone who falls neatly into the LGBT community, I can understand wanting to see a character or characters like me on a show that had such impact on me in my formative years. However, then he took it a step further calling for them to be married now that New York, where the children's show is based, has passed legislation that allows same sex marriage. I've got no problem reading into subtext of fictional characters...hell, it's kind of fun sometimes...but I'm not about to demand that something be made official simply because I think it could do well politically and socially when the artists behind it don't feel that way. However, the sentiment that LGBT characters could be featured, maybe not Bert and Ernie, on the show I do think might be appropriate. The same could be said about any demographic though...I don't recall seeing any gamers on the show either.
I, like nearly everyone else with access to a computer, smartphone, or "smart" device have enjoyed Rovio's Angry Birds. Now, Tactile Entertainment has given us a reason for the great war between Pigs and Birds with their new game Pigs in Trees. While obviously not directly related to its insanely popular predecessor, the game does have a similar art style and premise, so much so, that if this game develops any fan support, it could be known as the unofficial follow up to Birds.
Seth MacFarlane, of Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show fame, and having recently pushed into development a Flinstones reboot, has thrown his weight around again to bring back Cosmos. For those of you too young to remember or not obsessed with the original series, it featured Carl Sagan discussing everything from evolutionary theory and the big bang to global warming and they Pythagorean Theorem, on prime time television in 1980 (granted, it was on PBS, but it was still a mega-hit, and still holds the record for most number of views for the broadcasting station ever). And this is gonna be on Fox...this is gonna be really interesting, I must say.
Finally, Cowboys and Aliens didn't earn it's way on to my top comic adaptations list...it's not horrible, but it feels rushed, I hate how it ends, and it's filled with so many cliches that you can't help but roll your eyes. On the other hand though...gave me a great idea for an arm cannon blaster prop if I were ever going to make a Mega Man film or even cosplay, and then there's Harrison Ford on Jimmy Kimmel.
As always, comments are welcome, and I think I'm gonna do more about these, and now I kind of want to talk about Cosmos, more specifically Symphony of Science, a web series of auto tunes based around it and other science based television documentary series. Though, I think I'm going to try and do one on The Legend of Zelda Mangas first...
-Sara
Other Gaming Websites and ScrewAttack... (8/11/11)
So, if you follow gaming industry news at all, the last forty-eight hours have been pretty interesting for the Escapist, home to Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's Zero Punctuation series and Bob Chipman / The Game Overthinker's Other Shows, have essentially been at social network war with James Portnow and Daniel Floyd of Extra Credits, contributing partners to their site for the past year, over unpaid wages for content production. As the Escapist is one of the sites I've followed for a while now, and it's always second or third on my most visited sites (switching between it and Hulu, with this site sitting pretty at first), and I've followed Floyd and Portnow's series since it's inception (...well...when it was first featured here on ScrewAttack), I'm not really sure what to really say about the situation...so, I thought about other situations similar to this.
The parallel I've seen a lot of people draw is to that of Jeff Gerstmann, formerly of GameSpot who went on to found Giant Bomb after being fired, reportedly due to pressure from Eidos after a negative review of Kane and Lynch. This is a good one, as it again had to do with money, though this was an external force imposing it's will on the company. While the financial recession and the medical and personal issues that occurred leading up to the Extra Credits team requesting their funds prompted it, it was still the two parties directly at odds.
So...what others have been like that? Well, there's of course plenty similar to the GameSpot/Gerstmann debacle, but this Escapist/Extra Credits one...well, there has been only one that I can think of right off hand. Co-founder Tom leaving ScrewAttack and what's been done since.
Now, I can only explain the situation as I recall, and I welcome any correction from ScrewAttack or the older g1's if I get this wrong, but in 2008, the business partnership fell apart between Tom and Craig. The reasons for this are still rather murky, though as I understand it, Tom either wanted more money or more power within the company, something Craig was unable and/or unwilling to give at the time due to the current situations for both the company and their working relationship at the time.
In this situation, I still believe Craig took the higher road, trying to explain why things occurred the way they did to their fan base, both on Gametrailers and we, the g1's, the metaphorical "Timmy, your mother and I are getting divorced and here's why" as it were. Having taken the time to go back and again watch the video made to the community on "The Healing Touch", I still feel Tom has not made clear his motives, and as such, I genuinely feel that ScrewAttack and Craig were the wronged parties of the situation.
Having seen more recent examples of cast and crew leaving the site due to financial reasons (mostly, better financial opportunities elsewhere) and what Craig's done to maintain the staff, going so far as to run ads of corporate sponsors as part of Hard News and other shows of the site, I believe that Craig did try to do everything in his power to ensure that the site didn't have to suffer that loss in 2008, something, sadly, I do not think Alexander Macris, CEO of The Escapist, even tried to do. For him, it's sadly been a pattern of behavior stretching back over the past few years, and it has been forcing contributors to leave the site to try again at focusing on putting out great content.
For doing such though, I want to commend Craig for always trying to do what's best for the company and the crew, seemingly regardless of his own desires, something other industry running bodies, as well as those among other industries sadly, seem to be lacking lately.
If you're interested in learning more about the situation over at The Escapist, a member of their forums has done a great job of maintaining a constant source from all sides. Check it out.
As always, please share any thoughts in the comments, especially if I have any facts wrong at this point. Thanks.
-Sara
The parallel I've seen a lot of people draw is to that of Jeff Gerstmann, formerly of GameSpot who went on to found Giant Bomb after being fired, reportedly due to pressure from Eidos after a negative review of Kane and Lynch. This is a good one, as it again had to do with money, though this was an external force imposing it's will on the company. While the financial recession and the medical and personal issues that occurred leading up to the Extra Credits team requesting their funds prompted it, it was still the two parties directly at odds.
So...what others have been like that? Well, there's of course plenty similar to the GameSpot/Gerstmann debacle, but this Escapist/Extra Credits one...well, there has been only one that I can think of right off hand. Co-founder Tom leaving ScrewAttack and what's been done since.
Now, I can only explain the situation as I recall, and I welcome any correction from ScrewAttack or the older g1's if I get this wrong, but in 2008, the business partnership fell apart between Tom and Craig. The reasons for this are still rather murky, though as I understand it, Tom either wanted more money or more power within the company, something Craig was unable and/or unwilling to give at the time due to the current situations for both the company and their working relationship at the time.
In this situation, I still believe Craig took the higher road, trying to explain why things occurred the way they did to their fan base, both on Gametrailers and we, the g1's, the metaphorical "Timmy, your mother and I are getting divorced and here's why" as it were. Having taken the time to go back and again watch the video made to the community on "The Healing Touch", I still feel Tom has not made clear his motives, and as such, I genuinely feel that ScrewAttack and Craig were the wronged parties of the situation.
Having seen more recent examples of cast and crew leaving the site due to financial reasons (mostly, better financial opportunities elsewhere) and what Craig's done to maintain the staff, going so far as to run ads of corporate sponsors as part of Hard News and other shows of the site, I believe that Craig did try to do everything in his power to ensure that the site didn't have to suffer that loss in 2008, something, sadly, I do not think Alexander Macris, CEO of The Escapist, even tried to do. For him, it's sadly been a pattern of behavior stretching back over the past few years, and it has been forcing contributors to leave the site to try again at focusing on putting out great content.
For doing such though, I want to commend Craig for always trying to do what's best for the company and the crew, seemingly regardless of his own desires, something other industry running bodies, as well as those among other industries sadly, seem to be lacking lately.
If you're interested in learning more about the situation over at The Escapist, a member of their forums has done a great job of maintaining a constant source from all sides. Check it out.
As always, please share any thoughts in the comments, especially if I have any facts wrong at this point. Thanks.
-Sara
The Full Story (8/10/11)
So a lot of people saw my Top 11 Comic Book Movie Adaptations thanks to the ScrewAttack feature (thanks, guys), and many weren't happy with most of my choices. As such, I want to explain how I judge films, and hopefully, you can understand a bit better. This is also how I judge stories entirely and why some games that some may not have thought of at all belong on my personal top ten lists.
As the title was meant to suggest, there's a lot that goes into a good film and good game's story. Chief among these is, is some version of the Hero's Journey. Love it or hate it, some form of it has to be in anything in which you follow the protagonist's story from beginning to end. It can be back story that you glean only from statements, and have to guess at their full extent. However, even in those cases, there's often more to the journey shown in the film. You may not agree that this is exists in any complete film...but, I'd like you to name five films that don't have it in some way. I'll open it up to games with stories, too (so...no really early Arcade games or sports games where stories simply can't exist except what you give them). In case you don't have a good grasp of the Monomyth theory, this list does pretty good at explaining it, and at the same time keeping it neutral of setting and characters (save for Campbell's titles). The great thing about this though, is that every protagonist has some motivation, and this in essence, speaks of that motivation, regardless of their actions.
The second thing a complete story must include is thematic elements. Drama and Comedy are the big two, but there's also Tragedy, Suspense (which encompasses Terror and/or Horror), Romance, Adventure, and Action. A truly complete story has each of these covered to at least a complete extent (so, terror can't be defined as a monster jumping out of the closet becoming a quick comedic scene...the protagonist has to feel fear for the duration of the scene).
Sadly, not many movies can do all of this, and there's a lot of reasons why...some of my list can't even do this, or have a lot of trouble seeing it all. Let's look at what is my number two, Batman Begins. Drama, definitely. Tragedy...it's Batman, so, duh. Suspense, yeah, you don't know who's really in charge til he shows himself. Romance, pushed to side, but Rachel Dawes. If you've seen the movie, you should understand. Adventure and action...seriously? If this is in question, you need to have your head checked. Comedy though...it get's really tough. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman make the quick quip but, for the most part, it's really tough. The only scene that can really be pointed to as this is funny is Bruce meeting Lucius Fox in the R&D department for the first time.
As I said, it's really hard to do...the latter half of my list, seven through twelve simply couldn't do it all (a few got close, X-men First Class and RED), but they simply couldn't do it. Others, focused more on the dramatic, leaving out comedic almost entirely. When it comes to action and adventure heavy films, you can rarely count drama out entirely...but Kickass tried, even it's heavy drama and terror scenes to be comedic.
To put this into perspective though...it takes watching both Star Wars A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back together (and at that point, you might as well watch the original trilogy back to back to back) to get every aspect, out of every Zelda game, only two have really gotten every aspect in (because, while heavily implied...Link and Zelda...not a couple), and if I ever make a top Zelda list, they sit at the top. Neither's Ocarina of Time nor A Link to the Past (though the former comes close thanks to Saria, Malon, and Ruto...but not all the way, sadly). It's one of the reasons I argue Link should probably have a voice at this point (if you disagree...go, read, as these are gonna come up again really soon; I haven't read Phantom Hourglass yet, but the rest are awesome, but discussion for another time).
Now, just because I really like story, this is not the only reason I like films, however, a good story doesn't hurt in my eyes and a bad story can bother me. It explains why I like Halo when I'm not a big fan of first person shooters (yeah, requires the books...but still, their officially part of the canon...so...) and why I dislike Watchmen (when there's named the Comedian, and I don't laugh at all during a movie...there's a problem...I though the book had some funny moments, but not the film, and I hated the psuedo-love story between Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II).
So, I hope this gives everyone a bit more perspective on why the list is the way it is, and how I determine what I like a bit better. Still working on some of the Indie Download Games (some of them are quite difficult and pretty long drawn out...that, and I spent a lot of time on Iji collecting everything and Cave Story's always been killer to get 100%), so it may be a bit longer til you see it. I also would like to reread the Zelda books before getting to them...tracking down Phantom Hourglass may be an issue there, though. As such, I'm not sure what's next...we'll see.
As always, please, share your thoughts in the comments section, and if you have any indie games you think I might be missing going into Free Games part 2, go ahead and send me a message. Right now, I've got about eight really good ones in my opinion, but there could be more.
-Sara
As the title was meant to suggest, there's a lot that goes into a good film and good game's story. Chief among these is, is some version of the Hero's Journey. Love it or hate it, some form of it has to be in anything in which you follow the protagonist's story from beginning to end. It can be back story that you glean only from statements, and have to guess at their full extent. However, even in those cases, there's often more to the journey shown in the film. You may not agree that this is exists in any complete film...but, I'd like you to name five films that don't have it in some way. I'll open it up to games with stories, too (so...no really early Arcade games or sports games where stories simply can't exist except what you give them). In case you don't have a good grasp of the Monomyth theory, this list does pretty good at explaining it, and at the same time keeping it neutral of setting and characters (save for Campbell's titles). The great thing about this though, is that every protagonist has some motivation, and this in essence, speaks of that motivation, regardless of their actions.
The second thing a complete story must include is thematic elements. Drama and Comedy are the big two, but there's also Tragedy, Suspense (which encompasses Terror and/or Horror), Romance, Adventure, and Action. A truly complete story has each of these covered to at least a complete extent (so, terror can't be defined as a monster jumping out of the closet becoming a quick comedic scene...the protagonist has to feel fear for the duration of the scene).
Sadly, not many movies can do all of this, and there's a lot of reasons why...some of my list can't even do this, or have a lot of trouble seeing it all. Let's look at what is my number two, Batman Begins. Drama, definitely. Tragedy...it's Batman, so, duh. Suspense, yeah, you don't know who's really in charge til he shows himself. Romance, pushed to side, but Rachel Dawes. If you've seen the movie, you should understand. Adventure and action...seriously? If this is in question, you need to have your head checked. Comedy though...it get's really tough. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman make the quick quip but, for the most part, it's really tough. The only scene that can really be pointed to as this is funny is Bruce meeting Lucius Fox in the R&D department for the first time.
As I said, it's really hard to do...the latter half of my list, seven through twelve simply couldn't do it all (a few got close, X-men First Class and RED), but they simply couldn't do it. Others, focused more on the dramatic, leaving out comedic almost entirely. When it comes to action and adventure heavy films, you can rarely count drama out entirely...but Kickass tried, even it's heavy drama and terror scenes to be comedic.
To put this into perspective though...it takes watching both Star Wars A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back together (and at that point, you might as well watch the original trilogy back to back to back) to get every aspect, out of every Zelda game, only two have really gotten every aspect in (because, while heavily implied...Link and Zelda...not a couple), and if I ever make a top Zelda list, they sit at the top. Neither's Ocarina of Time nor A Link to the Past (though the former comes close thanks to Saria, Malon, and Ruto...but not all the way, sadly). It's one of the reasons I argue Link should probably have a voice at this point (if you disagree...go, read, as these are gonna come up again really soon; I haven't read Phantom Hourglass yet, but the rest are awesome, but discussion for another time).
Now, just because I really like story, this is not the only reason I like films, however, a good story doesn't hurt in my eyes and a bad story can bother me. It explains why I like Halo when I'm not a big fan of first person shooters (yeah, requires the books...but still, their officially part of the canon...so...) and why I dislike Watchmen (when there's named the Comedian, and I don't laugh at all during a movie...there's a problem...I though the book had some funny moments, but not the film, and I hated the psuedo-love story between Nite Owl II and Silk Spectre II).
So, I hope this gives everyone a bit more perspective on why the list is the way it is, and how I determine what I like a bit better. Still working on some of the Indie Download Games (some of them are quite difficult and pretty long drawn out...that, and I spent a lot of time on Iji collecting everything and Cave Story's always been killer to get 100%), so it may be a bit longer til you see it. I also would like to reread the Zelda books before getting to them...tracking down Phantom Hourglass may be an issue there, though. As such, I'm not sure what's next...we'll see.
As always, please, share your thoughts in the comments section, and if you have any indie games you think I might be missing going into Free Games part 2, go ahead and send me a message. Right now, I've got about eight really good ones in my opinion, but there could be more.
-Sara
Sega, the dream from long ago and the nightmare of today (7/29/11)
Before I get started on this blog, I want to apologize for two things. One, my schedule this last week has been horrendous (I pulled in over sixty hours this week alone), so, I haven't been able to write at all. The second...the Anime Blues Con blog is called off. As you may recall if you follow my blog, I was requesting picture usage of specific people. Key images that were written around would be unusable, specifically, panty boy Cloud, and because of such, the piece would not be as good as it could be. The next con I attend, I will assuredly get permission to post them when taking images.
That out of the way...let's talk about Sega.
I love Sega...always have, always will. The first console that was mine and mine alone was the Sega Genesis. Two of my top ten games period (which, yes, I will eventually make the list of top ten once I get around to putting them all into the my favorite games section; so far I've got six on the list, not counting the one that was recently replaced by its spiritual successor, or the ever eleventh, so six more to go) are STILL only available on the Dreamcast only. So, when I read that they lost fifty million dollars in THREE months, I want you to understand how devastating that was to me, and just how much this next part really sucks.
Sega...it's time to throw in your lots (and your towel, too) and become a second party distributor. There's never going to be a Dreamcast 2 (even my dreams no longer hold on to that wish). Shenmue's probably never going to be finished. Sonic Games are practically shovelware at this point. I really hate it, but I want you, and your franchises, to survive.
The question is who?
Sega has had partnerships with all three console holders at one point or another. As they fell, they signed off on exclusive console titles, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, Shenmue 2, Jet Grind Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta, and Virtua Fighter 4, each building up a partnership with Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft each (a partnership with Microsoft had been forged earlier in the Dreamcast's technology)l
After those exclusives though, they rapidly started porting and advancing series over all platforms, notably first with Sonic Heroes. This was the first mistake of many after their dropping out of the console race. I personally really enjoy Heroes, its well put together gameplay wise (story's nutty as hell, and lengthening the title by reusing levels is never cool, but great gameplay), and could have opened a door to what Sonic games post Adventure 2 could be. Instead...we got Shadow the Hedgehog, proving just how much can go wrong when you try to make a game for every system out there rather than focusing on just one.
By that time, Sega had already begun to lose its fan base, and only a few Hail Mary's (Billy Hatcher, MadWorld, Bayonetta, and the Total War Series) and the devotees of Sonic have been all keeping the company's doors open. I believe the Overthinker said it best in one of his pre-ScrewAttack episodes, Sega's house has been destroyed and repurposed into a horrid abomination. There is still hope though, as evidenced by the games mentioned above, the occasional decent Sonic game...but it's minute, and gets smaller with each passing game.
As of now, them becoming a part of something larger may be their only reasonable option, as it would grant them more technology at their disposal, and give them more focus on one console again. Any of the three of them might love using the company for it's bevy of intellectual properties might be best suited to running them, so let's look at each and discuss which might do the best work with the company.
Honestly, I'm going to disregard Sony for a number of reasons. For starters, Sony is a big cause of their downfall, both with the Saturn and the Dreamcast. Also, Sony's the 3rd Place runner at this point, and unless the Wii U is just horrid, that doesn't look to be changing. Also, it tends to fill the niches Sega would in any other company on its own so far.
Nintendo and Sega had a long running rivalry in the nineties, but as Nintendo pulled ahead after the 16 bit war, and Sony's dominion over gaming had begun, both giants began to crumble. Nintendo has definitely been able to turn in around with the Wii and DS, the additions of intellectual properties like Sonic, Nights, Samba de Amigo, Alex Kidd (seriously, you know it would be awesome), Golden Axe, and Space Harrier, Nintendo could do some really good work with. Sonic and Mario's rivalry lived out today in Olympic format could become something much more as they race through the galaxy and team up in a true platforming adventure.
Microsoft, on the other hand, really could use the younger themed IP's to build on to the youth base for their console, something severely lacking for them at this point with the exception of licensed titles and poor Rareware sequels. They could also play host to some of the more mature titles in Sega's catalog, Shenmue, Panzer Dragoon, Bayonetta, After Burner, OutRun...hell, even Eternal Champions (now that would be awesome, Eternal Champions vs. Killer Instinct).
To put these simply, merging with either group comes down to two questions: What's better for Sega and what's better for the combined company? I believe Nintendo would be better for Sega, while Microsoft would be better for the company as a whole.
So, I know I've rambled on long enough...which would you rather see, or do you have another option that I haven't thought of yet? Share it in the comments. Also, Top Ten Comic Book Movies is up next (probably by tomorrow), then Free Gaming, part 2 (still working through a few downloadable titles).
-Sara
That out of the way...let's talk about Sega.
I love Sega...always have, always will. The first console that was mine and mine alone was the Sega Genesis. Two of my top ten games period (which, yes, I will eventually make the list of top ten once I get around to putting them all into the my favorite games section; so far I've got six on the list, not counting the one that was recently replaced by its spiritual successor, or the ever eleventh, so six more to go) are STILL only available on the Dreamcast only. So, when I read that they lost fifty million dollars in THREE months, I want you to understand how devastating that was to me, and just how much this next part really sucks.
Sega...it's time to throw in your lots (and your towel, too) and become a second party distributor. There's never going to be a Dreamcast 2 (even my dreams no longer hold on to that wish). Shenmue's probably never going to be finished. Sonic Games are practically shovelware at this point. I really hate it, but I want you, and your franchises, to survive.
The question is who?
Sega has had partnerships with all three console holders at one point or another. As they fell, they signed off on exclusive console titles, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, Shenmue 2, Jet Grind Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Orta, and Virtua Fighter 4, each building up a partnership with Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft each (a partnership with Microsoft had been forged earlier in the Dreamcast's technology)l
After those exclusives though, they rapidly started porting and advancing series over all platforms, notably first with Sonic Heroes. This was the first mistake of many after their dropping out of the console race. I personally really enjoy Heroes, its well put together gameplay wise (story's nutty as hell, and lengthening the title by reusing levels is never cool, but great gameplay), and could have opened a door to what Sonic games post Adventure 2 could be. Instead...we got Shadow the Hedgehog, proving just how much can go wrong when you try to make a game for every system out there rather than focusing on just one.
By that time, Sega had already begun to lose its fan base, and only a few Hail Mary's (Billy Hatcher, MadWorld, Bayonetta, and the Total War Series) and the devotees of Sonic have been all keeping the company's doors open. I believe the Overthinker said it best in one of his pre-ScrewAttack episodes, Sega's house has been destroyed and repurposed into a horrid abomination. There is still hope though, as evidenced by the games mentioned above, the occasional decent Sonic game...but it's minute, and gets smaller with each passing game.
As of now, them becoming a part of something larger may be their only reasonable option, as it would grant them more technology at their disposal, and give them more focus on one console again. Any of the three of them might love using the company for it's bevy of intellectual properties might be best suited to running them, so let's look at each and discuss which might do the best work with the company.
Honestly, I'm going to disregard Sony for a number of reasons. For starters, Sony is a big cause of their downfall, both with the Saturn and the Dreamcast. Also, Sony's the 3rd Place runner at this point, and unless the Wii U is just horrid, that doesn't look to be changing. Also, it tends to fill the niches Sega would in any other company on its own so far.
Nintendo and Sega had a long running rivalry in the nineties, but as Nintendo pulled ahead after the 16 bit war, and Sony's dominion over gaming had begun, both giants began to crumble. Nintendo has definitely been able to turn in around with the Wii and DS, the additions of intellectual properties like Sonic, Nights, Samba de Amigo, Alex Kidd (seriously, you know it would be awesome), Golden Axe, and Space Harrier, Nintendo could do some really good work with. Sonic and Mario's rivalry lived out today in Olympic format could become something much more as they race through the galaxy and team up in a true platforming adventure.
Microsoft, on the other hand, really could use the younger themed IP's to build on to the youth base for their console, something severely lacking for them at this point with the exception of licensed titles and poor Rareware sequels. They could also play host to some of the more mature titles in Sega's catalog, Shenmue, Panzer Dragoon, Bayonetta, After Burner, OutRun...hell, even Eternal Champions (now that would be awesome, Eternal Champions vs. Killer Instinct).
To put these simply, merging with either group comes down to two questions: What's better for Sega and what's better for the combined company? I believe Nintendo would be better for Sega, while Microsoft would be better for the company as a whole.
So, I know I've rambled on long enough...which would you rather see, or do you have another option that I haven't thought of yet? Share it in the comments. Also, Top Ten Comic Book Movies is up next (probably by tomorrow), then Free Gaming, part 2 (still working through a few downloadable titles).
-Sara
Still Alive...Mostly...(a week in review) (7/25/11)
So, it's been a pretty busy week for me personally (I literally just got off a twelve hour shift as I write this), and I have a lot I really want to talk about, but don't have a lot of stuff that I can write a full blog, so this is gonna be a quick grab bag of topics as they come to me, a few quick updates on some projects, and maybe some great discussion starters...we'll see.
Starting off, let's talk movies, specifically Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 and Captain America. Both are phenomenal, and if you haven't seen them, you should. HP7, parts 1 and 2, I will break the first rule of book adaptations into film by saying that it's actually better than the book (and I love Harry Potter and Book 7 a lot, so that's really hard to say). Captain America is the BEST superhero movie of the summer, and easily one of the top three best superhero films, and comic book films in general, out today (bumping out Scott Pilgrim; to put this in perspective, a blog about the Top Ten Comic Book Movies is coming out shortly).
Following that, Anime Blues Con recap is still in the works. I'm trying to get picture permissions for starters (I really want one of Cloud Strife, strip club janitor to make it in). I will say this though, going to an anime convention with the association I did is a lot of fun, especially since you have this monopoly on condom water balloons.
Another Free Gaming is on it's way out. I'm playing through a few of them again now, specifically, Cave Story at the moment. I've got one or two others to play through, but they shouldn't take too very long if work lets up some.
The Guild season 5 launches Tuesday and Red vs. Blue season 9 just started. Halo based web-series are generally funny (not a big fan of Arby n' the Chief, but that's just me I think) and any chance to have more Felicia Day content makes me happy.
I just got a free game on XBLA from Bing Rewards. That was nice of Microsoft, and since they're stealing content from Google, just as easy for me...makes an interesting little game in and of itself. For fifty searches, you receive ten points. Pick one thing, i.e. Captain America, and using only related searches, see where you get after the fifty searches are completed. Backtracking is the only changes allowed. I got to Garage Workshops through Burlesque Dancing and Crayons.
Brad/Unaware Steve is back on ScrewAttack? Awesome...haven't watched SideScrollers yet, but I'm hoping he's back for a while, though not at the expense of his music career. Five Times August is really good for when you're trying to relax and just write...kinda weird, I know, but the truth.
Comic Con was this week, and I'm really excited about the Avengers, but look at what Disney is doing with it's new Marvel Television branch...Cloak and Dagger, Hulk the TV series (2012), Jessica Jones, and...Mockingbird? As in Hawkeye's on again, off again love interest and occasional partner from SHIELD who turned costumed superheroine? Ok. My question is...does it all still take place in the shared universe? That would be amazing, to say the least.
Does anyone else miss the Legend of Zelda having a magic meter? I've been looking at the recent footage of the game, and you have a shield meter, a "activity" meter, and the standard hearts health meter, but no magic. That really bites...I liked being able to burn my enemies to a cinder, freeze them in place, or launch arrows of holy light at demons most foul. Am I alone in this? Twilight Princess did the same thing and it annoyed me quite a bit, and I'm hoping pieces I've seen are before you get the meter, similar to not getting it til after the second dungeon in Ocarina.
For Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom to be titled such, not a lot of Ultimate Marvel Characters being shown to be in it yet have there. Granted, there's not a lot of unique characters in it, but there were some redesigns which changed character powers...Ultimate Hulk for example has different powers that the original Marvel Universe Hulk. Ultimate Green Goblin is actually a better example of this even, as he gains much more than super strength and an added bit of crazy, transforming into the Goblin in that universe. Just a thought though. Also, Ultimate Nick Fury, Mega Man, Zangief, where are you three, already?
Anyway, I think that's enough ranting for now. Again, Free Gaming, part 2, Anime Blues Con, and Top Ten Comic Book Movies are coming as they're ready and my schedule allows
-Sara
Starting off, let's talk movies, specifically Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 and Captain America. Both are phenomenal, and if you haven't seen them, you should. HP7, parts 1 and 2, I will break the first rule of book adaptations into film by saying that it's actually better than the book (and I love Harry Potter and Book 7 a lot, so that's really hard to say). Captain America is the BEST superhero movie of the summer, and easily one of the top three best superhero films, and comic book films in general, out today (bumping out Scott Pilgrim; to put this in perspective, a blog about the Top Ten Comic Book Movies is coming out shortly).
Following that, Anime Blues Con recap is still in the works. I'm trying to get picture permissions for starters (I really want one of Cloud Strife, strip club janitor to make it in). I will say this though, going to an anime convention with the association I did is a lot of fun, especially since you have this monopoly on condom water balloons.
Another Free Gaming is on it's way out. I'm playing through a few of them again now, specifically, Cave Story at the moment. I've got one or two others to play through, but they shouldn't take too very long if work lets up some.
The Guild season 5 launches Tuesday and Red vs. Blue season 9 just started. Halo based web-series are generally funny (not a big fan of Arby n' the Chief, but that's just me I think) and any chance to have more Felicia Day content makes me happy.
I just got a free game on XBLA from Bing Rewards. That was nice of Microsoft, and since they're stealing content from Google, just as easy for me...makes an interesting little game in and of itself. For fifty searches, you receive ten points. Pick one thing, i.e. Captain America, and using only related searches, see where you get after the fifty searches are completed. Backtracking is the only changes allowed. I got to Garage Workshops through Burlesque Dancing and Crayons.
Brad/Unaware Steve is back on ScrewAttack? Awesome...haven't watched SideScrollers yet, but I'm hoping he's back for a while, though not at the expense of his music career. Five Times August is really good for when you're trying to relax and just write...kinda weird, I know, but the truth.
Comic Con was this week, and I'm really excited about the Avengers, but look at what Disney is doing with it's new Marvel Television branch...Cloak and Dagger, Hulk the TV series (2012), Jessica Jones, and...Mockingbird? As in Hawkeye's on again, off again love interest and occasional partner from SHIELD who turned costumed superheroine? Ok. My question is...does it all still take place in the shared universe? That would be amazing, to say the least.
Does anyone else miss the Legend of Zelda having a magic meter? I've been looking at the recent footage of the game, and you have a shield meter, a "activity" meter, and the standard hearts health meter, but no magic. That really bites...I liked being able to burn my enemies to a cinder, freeze them in place, or launch arrows of holy light at demons most foul. Am I alone in this? Twilight Princess did the same thing and it annoyed me quite a bit, and I'm hoping pieces I've seen are before you get the meter, similar to not getting it til after the second dungeon in Ocarina.
For Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom to be titled such, not a lot of Ultimate Marvel Characters being shown to be in it yet have there. Granted, there's not a lot of unique characters in it, but there were some redesigns which changed character powers...Ultimate Hulk for example has different powers that the original Marvel Universe Hulk. Ultimate Green Goblin is actually a better example of this even, as he gains much more than super strength and an added bit of crazy, transforming into the Goblin in that universe. Just a thought though. Also, Ultimate Nick Fury, Mega Man, Zangief, where are you three, already?
Anyway, I think that's enough ranting for now. Again, Free Gaming, part 2, Anime Blues Con, and Top Ten Comic Book Movies are coming as they're ready and my schedule allows
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