Batman: Arkham Asylum

It took me a while to get around to playing this despite all the critical praise its received since release. The only thing I knew (and liked) about the game going into to was that its production had ties to excellent DC Animated Universe with Paul Dini writing the story and Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Arleen Sorkin reprising their roles as Batman, the Joker, and Harley Quinn respectively from The Animated Series. While nothing special, the story does set the mood nicely. Batman defeats the Joker and sees him off to Arkham Island and to the famous Arkham Asylum itself, going so far as to actually help escort the Joker into the intensive treatment center in the facility. However, Joker breaks free, overrides all of Arkham's security systems and essentially takes control of the entire facility. Knowing that Joker has more sinister intentions on his mind other than taking over Arkham, Batman ventures into the madhouse to set things right all the span of one crazy night. There's a definite Bioshock vibe to the game in terms of tone and world layout. There's attempts to frighten you with scripted sequences and environment details, audio tapes scattered around and tablets that fill in the story along with a creepy villain calling the shots behind the scenes.

The actually gameplay is very fitting of Batman. Sometimes you have direct encounters with the enemies but other times you use stealth tactics to take out the enemies without being seen. For the direct encounters you usually face thugs with baseball bats, cattle prods, knifes or their bare hands for weapons. When you fight these thugs you try to build up a combo. Every time you finish of a whole pack of thugs you always get an awesome moment where batman slowly K.Os the last enemy in slow motion. For the stealth encounters Batman uses his special array of gadgets to slowly knock out his enemies 1 by 1. Some of the weapons/gadgets include sonic, remote control, triple, double and regular batarangs, bat claws, explosive gel and a grapple gun. You use these weapons in a variety of ways to defeat your foes. Another cool way to defeat the foes is to attack them silently from behind. It really succeeds in making you feel like Batman and not just from the superhero aspects but from the detective aspect as well. It could've been fleshed out a little more, but checking out crime scenes for evidence and following trails with your "Bat-applications" is pretty cool.

The detective part is also where the game's collect-a-ton comes in. The Riddler has left a ton of things around the island for you to track down and riddles to solve and its a hell of a lot of fun to do. A lot of the riddles require more advanced equipment than you have when you first see them to get them, adding a metroid-equse layer to gameplay. The only real downside to game is the boss battles. Most of them feature really strong henchmen charging you. They're all beaten in the same manner and most of them employ that age old cheap-ass tactic of sending waves of regular enemies at you for no reason other than to get in the way. Other than that the game is handled extremely well. Arkham Asylum looks absolutely gorgeous, with art direction that easily rivals the best out there. The facilities and buildings of Arkham Island are expertly designed, ranging from high tech areas to gothic structures. Character models are highly detailed and I like how Batman becomes more and more beat-up as the game progresses and it shows on his suit and cape. The experience I had with the game was one of better I've had from the current generation of games and I only wish I would have played it sooner.

Invader Zim

Its been a while since I sat down and watched this show. I forgot how much I loved it. Jhonen Vasquez is well known for his graphic novels that have an...interesting sense of humor and style. They're not exactly kid friendly so I have no idea what the hell Nickelodeon was thinking when they got Jhonen to produce an animated series for them. But, it kinda worked out because we got an edgy, dark, and really unique series. Invader Zim is about Zim, who is sent on a fake mission to conquer Earth by his leaders because he completely screwed up their first attempt at universal domination. On Earth Zim and his faithful SIR-unit robot sidekick Gir study the human population (who are largely stupid and disgusting) and they come up with stupid ideas to enslave or destroy said population. Zim's schemes are often thwarted by the plans own flaws or by Zim's arch-nemesis Dib, a school kid whose freakishly obsessed with paranormal research. The two often come at odd and usually hilarity ensues.

Its hard to really find something to say about invader Zim that hasn't already been said. The most intriguing thing about the show is how its sense of humor is so unique and clearly of the shows own creation. Most of the humor tends to come from the odd use of a variety of animals (notably piggies and mooses) as well a wonderful disregard for human life. Jhonen Vasquez's whacked-out style works perfectly for the an animated series. His style has more appeal for adults than children, with its dark and sometimes morbid tones and sometimes shocking violence. There's also reference upon reference to science fiction stories and movies along with plenty of jokes that'll fly over the heads of the younger viewers. All these factors seem to have been too much for the figureheads at Nickelodeon too handle as they pulled the plug on the show in its second season.

The characters all have these quarks that would only work with them. Zim has a tendency to go on long rants about his plans and his delusions of grandeur always make him a delight to listen to, thanks in part to Richard Horvitz impeccable voice work. His sidekick GIR may be the only character that can get away with just saying random crap all day. He's adorable and he's one of those characters who's fun to watch do anything, having that right level of idiocy that makes him funny as opposed to annoying. Dib can fall into the annoying category from time to time but his insane attempts to get everyone to see that Zim is an alien are a treat. You really have to feel bad for the poor kid that just wants to help the human race, who in return, think of him as a freak. Its a shame that Nick couldn't handle the show, because it was really starting to get intriguing towards the end, with story arcs popping up here and there along with a greater importance on continuity (and an episode where Zim eats waffles). The show's cancellation was a tragic lost (especially with the pure junk that Nick put it in its place), but at least for a while we got to watch one of the best animated shows in the last decade.

Fall Out Boy - From Under A Cork Tree

Fall Out Boy is one of my favorite modern bands after The Killers and Maroon 5, despite not being a particularly original band. From what little I've heard of it, Their debut album "Take this to your Grave" wasn't the shining example of something different and I'm pretty sure any punk band could've whipped those chords out. Their second album "From Under a Cork Tree" was responsible form shoving Fall Out Boy into the mainstream. It's nothing special technically, but it does showcase Fall Out Boy doing a few things that nobody else is doing right in rock/punk scene. Mainly, the lyrics are a step above anyone else. For a pop punk band Fall Out Boy writes some of the most original lyrical content.

The first track is good, a typical pump you up for whats to come piece. It's an easy, dancing along piece that will catch you instantly and not let go. I recall hearing the main single "Sugar, We're Going Down" one too many times before the album came out so I'm sick of that song. Besides, it's just not very good except for the lead in lines to the verses. The following track "Of all the gin joints" is much better than the single as it doesn't get tiresome, and if anything, it just gets more catchy every time I hear it. "Dance Dance" is another track worth mentioning because it's just a little different. I love the bridge that leads into the 2nd and last chorus. My personal highlights include "Nobody puts baby in the corner" and "XO". Their both fantastic tracks from start to finish. They both have this upbeat pace and have a slow paced flowing chorus that carries on towards the end to bring the album to a close.

I won't deny that there are some low points on the album such as the pseudo heavy metal screaming that they do from time to time. It just doesn't fit with this style of music is just painfully to listen to. Overall though this is a solid album, though it is far from flawless. They made a good, catchy, rock record. You can call it emo, you can call it pop punk, but that won't change the fact that it's really a very solid record. Some good guitar work, some very inaudible bass playing, some solid drums, good lyrics and a good voice. Some tracks that rock, and some that don't, but its all good.

Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns

Mewtwo Returns isn't a movie, its a TV special that was tarted up to direct-to-dvd movie status. As the title suggests, the special is a follow up the events of the first movie. From what I've been told, the English version is a direct translation of the Japanese script and if this is the case then the Japanese version of the series must be pretty boring. OK, the script is refreshingly intelligent so maybe its just the way the story progresses that is fairly dull. I mean, the movie features Ash and the gang having to deal with a large chunk of the Team Rocket organization (always a treat when it happened in the show) in addition to the team's boss Giovanni, but nothing really becomes of it. It's sort of a huge build-up to a big letdown. Mewtwo himself doesn't do much except continue to ponder his existence. Even when he finally does something, he just gives in. There are morals to story like in the first movie, but their now forced in your face or hypocritical and its actually kind of sweet. All-in-all the special is decent is worth at least one look. I know that I didn't have much to say, but there wasn't much to talk about.

Pokemon: The First Movie

Ah yes, lots of memories with this one. The first Pokemon movie was released at the peak of the craze the series commanded in the late 90s. I remember seeing this twice in the theaters and watching it countless times when it was on video. Just recently watched it for the first time in almost a decade and I found it to still be pretty good. I don't really have much to say here that hasn't already been said. This is the story of a human created advanced pokemon called Mewtwo and his quest for a purpose. Mewtwo then goes about attracting all the best pokemon and their trainers for a fight that the TV series main characters get involved with. Essentially, its the typical man creates beast, beast supercedes man, beast learns humanity stuff that movies churn out every couple of years. The movie is a tad darker than what was normally done in the regular anime series but it pulls it of fairly well and succeeds in conveying some form of emotions. On the flip side though, there are some god awful and just plain hypocritical morals that the film crams down our throats. Pokemon is the wrong franchise to try and drive home a "fighting is wrong" message or a racism stance for that matter. I've been told that none of that exists in the original Japanese version of the film which also features a better characterization of Mewtwo as opposed to dub version where he acts like a cold-hearted villain with a generic desire for world domination. I have no interest in going out of my way to see the Japanese version so I'll just take what I can get. The movie isn't as good as when I was a child, but its still a nice diversion.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

No More Heroes 2 is a bit of milestone for Suda 51 as it is the first sequel to one of his titles. Suda seemed to flip flop in various interviews over his desire for a follow-up to No More Heroes, but clearly he decided to go full steam ahead to continue the adventures of Travis Touchdown. The fact that this is his first sequel was fairly apparent as I made my through NMH2 as it is a decent yet not very fulfilling following up. The game more or less follows the same gameplay pattern as the first game. Travis once again finds himself having to kill a bunch of ranked assassins to reach the #1 rank." Like before, you have to hack and slash your way through a bunch of henchmen using various beam katanas. There's some new power ups for getting kills, most noticeably (and most fun) is Travis turning into a tiger and mauling enemies in one hit.

Unfortunately, a lot of the combat that shined in the first outing has been dumbed down, removed, or made nearly useless. First of all, doing a Dark Step (a sort-of counterattack) has been made so difficult this time around that it's almost completely absent from the game. This ends up making combat less about intense close range fights and more about dodging projectiles and when most of the enemies in the game have guns and shoot from off-screen, it turns into one frustrating mess). Travis's speed also seems to have been a bit toned down this time around as it just never feels as fluid as the first game. The bosses also take a slight dip in quality. They lack the sense of distinction and creativity of the original bosses. Gone are the lengthy monologues from the bosses of the first game, who managed to leave such a big impression and show surprising character development despite their limited screen time. Almost all bosses this time around are fought in generic environments, and the strategy to beating them all is mostly the same. The bosses are lacking any sense of a personality and most fail to leave any sort of impression. The game, quite simply throws the bosses at you. You see them, they attack you, you beat them, go the next level, lather, rinse, repeat.

One of the few improvements of the original is that open world aspect of the game has been completely removed. You no longer travel through the city to reach your destinations between battles, now you simply select them on a map screen. Though you can still do side jobs for money, this time around you don't need money to progress through the game, as ranked battles stages are now free. Money can be used to buy clothes and beam katanas for Travis, and also can be used to upgrade his Strength and Vitality by working out at the gym. Some of the new jobs are a lot of fun. The side jobs are cleverly designed "retro mini-games" that you play every time you begin a job or work out. They range from cooking burgers for people to killing bugs. Some of these are pretty fun but most of them are pretty terrible and only serve to make me happen that 8-bit gaming is in the past.

The big problem with the game is that the developers removed a lot of the previous game's features and didn't replace them with anything new. They've dumbed down the combat and bosses and removed the open world aspects and the game ends up giving us only like 5 more bosses in return. You can still do bonus killing missions for hire, but you don't get any real money for it, so motivation for doing them is pretty nonexistent. There's two additional playable characters, but they do anything worthwhile and seem like wasted space. Despite all these complaints, The core experience is still intact and I still had fun with this game. The gameplay, while not as magical is still fun especially when you start duel-wielding. And it's also great to see everyone back together and the dynamic between some of these characters is pretty awesome. It's just sad that we've got such a dumbed down experience. Suda said that if this going to more No More Heroes, its going to be on Nintendo's next console and even though this game was slight disappointment, I'll still look forward to it.

Diebuster OVA

Diebuster is the follow-up to Gunbuster. I watched this with same group of friends that I saw Gunbuster with and I can say that this time I enjoyed it as much as they did. This sequel is not so much a continuation of the original story, but an update/retread. It shares some common elements with the original OVA like the flight suit design and the general direction of the story, but mostly the film does its own thing. Diebuster is standard anime material, a young girl named Nono runs away from home to the a military where the mech pilots are chosen by the natural presence of supernatural abilities. Nono is lacking in that department but still manages to infiltrate the group. From there on, things grow more intense resulting in an insane space showdown that pretty much blows up the whole universe.

As an OVA based on a 6 episode series (that I've never seen), it is somewhat apparent there is less time to focus on the character development. Taking those 6 episodes and turning it into a film, the movie misses a lot of the emotional storylines and watching how these heroines got from point A to to point B in becoming talented pilots (or at least that's what I've been told). Like Gunbuster, Diebuster isn't a serious sci-fi series there's plenty of comedy (most notably the abuse of an old dog) and tons of fanservice material (including a retread of the shirt ripping scene from Gunbuster) and there's plenty of crazy nonsense to make you laugh (luckily the science lesson interludes don't make a reappearance). Anyway, I liked this one better than Gunbuster. The overall goal of the film is accomplished by showcasing two cool storylines and I think fans of the original who haven't seen this will definitely enjoy it. I think I'll try to catch the proper series so I can get the full story.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters

I remember seeing the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie with some friends when it was in theaters and all of us left the movie feeling like our brains had been jumbled up. But, the thing is... that's exactly what a movie based on Aqua Teen Hunger Force should do. It effectively left us feeling like our brains has been molested from what we just saw and there aren't that many movies that can claim that accomplishment (good or bad). For those who've never seen the show, its kind of hard to explain. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a show on Adult Swim starting 3 talking food items that's basically 11 minutes of pure nonsensical chaos loosely tied to paper thin plotlines. The movie, much like the TV series, has some semblance of a plot, but the fun comes from how the story takes several detours, along with side plots that wind up at being dead ends, and by the time the film ends, everything has become even more convoluted than when it started.

The plot of the movie sees Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad trying to assemble some exercise equipment called the Insane-o-Flex that subsequently goes on a rampage which the Aqua Teens attempt to stop (with extra emphasis on "attempt"). As I said the plot gets pretty damn screwy from there. Other characters from the series make appearances like the Mooninites, MC Pee Pants, and the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future. There's a major side plot that involves the origins of the Aqua Teens and of course this just devolves into a total mindfuck. The few times I've watched this on DVD, I was able to see that the movie has a layered sense of humor that I didn't necessarily pick up on the first time around. There are funny situations and jokes fired from every angle, but then there is the absurdest means of plot development. Its intentually confusing, but in its own way it's clever, along with being completely insane.

I can always appreciate what the Aqua Teens are up to, but I as much as I enjoyed this, I can't help but feel that the movie could have been more. About half of the joke of the movie seems to be the fact that the movie even exist in the first place. Also the movie doesn't really attempt to improve its quality in jump to big screen. Adult cartoon series-based movies like Beavis and Butt-Head Do America and South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut made incredible efforts to rise above the standards set by their shows, but Aqua Teen is content to deliver the same old same old. Like most tv show based films, the movie drags on a bit (running for the length of about nine 11 minute episodes of the show), but thankfully things pick back up for the completely bizarre grand finale. Its not perfect by any means, but it's a unique film based on a unique TV series, and it mostly gives fans exactly what they would expect.

Duck Dodgers: Staring Daffy Duck

Man, did this game bring back so many memories. I remember renting this for my Nintendo 64 at least 3 times in a row when I was younger, but never got a chance to buy it until a few weeks ago at the local flea market. I was sure nostalgia had made this game completely unable to live up to my expectations, but its actually still pretty good. As the title suggests, the game stars Daffy Duck (my all time favorite cartoon character) and is largely based on his "Duck Dodgers in the 24th and a Half Century" cartoon.

The game is a platformer in the vain of Mario 64, if only in the sense that you have to collect a number of atoms to access other areas of the game. From there, the game is pretty straightforward. The planets that Daffy will explore include a desolate Martian planet, a bustling city planet (yes a planet that is just giant city), Yosemite Sam's spaceship, an ice world, and Marvin's homeworld. The level design is fairly decent and easy to follow. Some of the levels progress into lots of little levels which can become a little tedious at times, but its quite manageable. One of the few disappointing aspects of the game is the mini games, most of which are located on the city planet. There's a basketball game and an arcade game that both suffer from horrific controls. Although Daffy has a bunch of weapons at his disposal in the cartoon, in the game he can jump and kick and sometimes gain access to a ray gun. Most of the enemies in the game can only be defeated by the gun which you never have during regular gameplay.

As the game was one of the last N64 games released, it makes since that its also one of the better looking games. Although nothing in the visual department is outstanding, there are some very nice effects in places that other developers might just not bother with the N64 hardware. There are also typically Looney toons-ish things throughout the game, like Daffy holding up an 'Epp!' sign before falling down to his death. The music also fits the WB style along with some pretty good voice actually that made up of classic clips and new recorded dialogue. The game doesn't break down any new barriers but it is a fine platformer that run through in an afternoon.

Teen Mom - Season 1

One show I enjoyed last year was MTV's 16 and Pregnant, a documentary series that followed the lives of several girls who were...well, sixteen and pregnant. Despite not being in the target gender demographic, I was intrigued by the hardships that the girls were going through and was shocked that MTV didn't try to sugarcoat any of it and instead offered the cold hard truth about teenage pregnancies. Teen Mom is the follow-up series, focus on who I assume were the four most popular girls: Maci, Amber, Catelynn and Farrah. The series gives us a continued look into the lives of these now-teen parents and the events are narrated by each girl first hand as they must balance their personal life while taking care of their new baby.

Out the four girls, the most interesting one is Catelynn, who gave her baby up for adoption. At first I wasn't too invested in her and her boyfriend Tyler because they didn't have a child with them. But how the adoption effects them is truly an engaging story. This was clearly a difficult choice for them, and they are very supportive of each other as they deal with the pain of not having their baby in their lives. Their parents are not as supportive as Tyler’s dad refuses to forgive his son for putting Carly up for adoption and the same goes for Catelynn's mom. Maci and Amber are similar girls as their stories largely deal with the stress that their boyfriends give them and the difficulties that they have trying to continue their education. Both girls try to work things out with their boyfriends for the sake of their children with varying results. Farrah is, without a doubt, the worst of the girls. She's the only one of the group that doesn't have a significant other and as a result spends most of her time dating and trying to keep her social life exactly the same as was before she got pregnant. Her mother is overbearing as hell, but she basically has put of with a spoiled brat as she dumps her child on her to go out with her friends. Farrah does get her priorities straight by the end of her story, but its quite an annoying tale to watch.

Like 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom doesn’t sugar-coat the reality of being a mother. It shows each girl rising to the challenge of having to grow up before they are ready, and there were some cringe-worthy moments that demonstrated certain levels of immaturity...mostly coming from Farrah. The show's never pretty, it’s just an intriguing look into the life of four teenage girls, who will have to learn to take care of a new baby. The seemingly genuine stories and situations make for a both captivating and entertaining look into life-after teenage pregnancy. 16 and Pregnant is coming back for a second season and it looks be just as captivating as this was.

No More Heroes

Suda 51 is well known for delivering unique game experiences. His previous work, "Killer 7" is usually noted as either one of the best or memorable games on the Gamecube. Its successor "No More Heroes" is pretty much noted for the same thing on the Wii, becoming one of those go to recommendations for people looking for great third party titles for the system. The story follows American oktau Travis Touchdown, an assassin trying to become the #1 assassin in the UUA organization. Travis is aided by the beautiful woman, Silvia Cristel. Silvia is willing to help Travis become #1 by setting up each ranked fight for him. Travis makes a deal with Silvia that if he becomes number 1, her and Travis will have sex. That's pretty much the bulk of the story for the entire game. As per usual with Suda 51 games, things get stranger and more interesting as the game goes on. Also just as usual for Suda 51 games and perhaps the best thing about the game is sense of style and personality...saving the game involves Travis taking a dump for instance. The cel-shaded graphics combined with a punk style make this game stand out from anything else on the market. The game is filled with references to anime, Star Wars, and pop culture in general. Suda's character designs are all very original and nice to look at and every character from Travis to the ranked assassins has his/her own peculiar and engaging personality.

The gameplay in of itself isn't as unique as the game's presentation as it's basically just a hack n slash mixed with some weak open world elements. The main stages have you slicing and dicing your way through a bunch of generic enemies to reach the boss at the end...that pretty much it for all the main levels, but they're a real treat despite the repetition. To defeat enemies, Travis combines his sword swinging skills with some good ol' wrestling moves. Surprisingly for a Wii game, generic attacking is not done by swinging the wii-remote instead the A button is for your sword and the B button is for punching/kicking. Get the enemies health low enough with sword attacks and an arrow will appear on the screen directing you to swing the wii-mote in a certain direction. Complete this action to slice your foes in half or decapitate them. These kinds of finishing moves cause the enemies blood to spray everywhere just to reminder you that this is an M-rated Wii game. After each one of these kills there will be a slot machine that spins at the bottom of the screen. If all three symbols match up Travis will enter Dark Side Mode and gain special powers (Each attack is named after a dessert for some reason) for quick kills. The bosses are another thing that make this game great, in fact they're pretty much the game's bread and butter. At the end of each stage you will fight a ranked assassin in order to move up in the assassin ranks. Each boss fight is different and a lot of fun and some of them can pose quite a challenge.

As for the open world aspect, its easily the biggest weak point to the game. Santa Destroy is presented as a large Grand Theft Auto-ish world to explore, but in reality all you can do is travel from location to location, kick dumpsters to find money and clothes, dig for money, and collect balls that you trade in for abilities. To enter each assassin battle level, you have pay a large sum of money and do so you get jobs. One job is unlocked after each assassin you defeat. These are typical jobs such as mowing lawns and wiping spray paint off buildings. The majority of these jobs are completed by using simple wii-mote gestures and they range from pretty enjoyable to outright terrible. It doesn't help they don't pay that much and the mini games get old quick. Luckily after you complete certain jobs you'll unlock assassin assignments to earn a bit more cash. These missions just involve killing standard enemies in a time limit and despite being not that different from the main part of the game, these also seem to get a little tiring. All the open world portion of the game does is make you beg to get on to one of main stages. Overall though, No More Heroes is a great game with style and personality that manages to mask some of its minor flaws. The sequel has just been released and I hope it'll be just as addicting as this little gem.

Two New Sites

I've started a new blog that anyone interested should feel free to check out.

http://dryoshimanworld.blogspot.com/

Yoshiman's World is going to be my "whatever comes to mind" blog. As my social life has picked up and there are things worth venting about now-a-days. Go here in if you want to hear me yap about my day, my game playthroughs, and my failure of a love life. I might use the blog to elaborate on some of my sorta reviews. Odds are this thing won't be updated that frequently though.

http://www.backloggery.com/yoshiman

The second site I'm running isn't much of a blog as it is a catalogue of video games that I own and the completion status of them. Go there if you're curious about what I'm playing, what games and systems I own and how far I am in them.