ESPN. Bored? Stupid? How about both?

Call of Duty: Black Ops has recently hit the shelves of video game retailers everywhere and has ended up doing quite well for itself. Easily out-doing It's predecessor Modern Warfare 2 by $100 million easy. But why is it doing so well though? It can't just be the fan-base, there has to be more to it than that right? I mean, in order to out-do themselves by such a significant number would mean that you've reached out to that many more individuals this time around one would think. 

So what exactly is behind the magic of CoD:BO? How about a kick-ass ad campaign?

If you weren't blown away by that then...well you're like me. Now don't get wrong on this one, I've heard nothing but praise from numerous friends and gamers alike, and I for one have never really gotten into the CoD series. Does that mean I can't appreciate it? Of course I can, and it certainly looks like an awesome First Person Shooter experience.

By now you must be wondering where ESPN factors into all of this right? Well I can tell you that it has nothing to do with that particular ad experience. However if you weren't aware, a certain famous basketball star has recently come under fire because of a "controversial" ad campaign attached to the said title. I'll be playing that said commercial in a second but let me say that when I use the term controversial, I use it very lightly.

 

And if you haven't managed to guess by now, the controversy surrounds Kobe Bryant. Past allegations aside, Mr. Bryant here seems to just be having fun in the commercial and that's a good thing right? Well according to the folks over at ESPN's 1st and 10, Kobe has made a grievous error by having anything to do with that commercial. Don't quite understand what I mean? Take a look see:

 

Obviously from the start you can feel that they're a little uneasy about the topic at hand, but the guy that really takes the cake is Skip Bayless. I'm not exactly known to just straight up call people idiots...well that's a lie but seriously, this guy is a fucking idiot! From the get-go he's starts going off on this moral crusade about how this isn't good for Kobe's image and how that reflects on his team, and the public eye. In fact one of his biggest complaints about the whole Bryant issue is the fact, that in the commercial Kobe is smiling while wielding an assault rifle in combat, and he compares that to the situation in Iraq with US troops. 

Hmm, lets break this down shall we? Yes we are at war, or are in a semi-post war situation in Iraq, that much is true. And yes Call of Duty is a game(game being the keyword here)that revolves around the premise of war. But really though...ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? You're really that bored, that you have absolutely nothing else to report on than a simple, straight-forward ad promoting a video game? An ad that just so happens to feature Kobe Bryant, an exceptionally talented basketball player. That's pathetic Mr. Bayless, as you seemed to have completely missed the point of the entire commercial. The only message being conveyed here is the quite literal representation of the in-game avatars being physically portrayed by the people behind the controllers/TV screens, in other words, YOU! Or in this case: Kobe Bryant, Jimmy Kimmel, a lawyer, construction worker, college student, etc. The idea being that anyone who's anyone, can pick up a controller, play this game, and have a good time.

Do you get it yet Bayless? Kobe hasn't done anything wrong by choosing to appear in this ad. In fact this has nothing to do with or in direct correlation to the war in Iraq, but more so just war in general and how Black Ops units enact their duty on the battlefield. Albeit with a bit more flair added to the mix to sensationalize the events within the video game. What this boils down to, is that you Mr. Bayless are over-analyzing(quite the understatement here)a harmless commercial, and for what? To stir up ridiculous and unfounded controversy for no reason what-so-ever, oh wait, It's because you have nothing else to do. Get a reality check you oaf.

On that note, the controversy behind video games and violence needs to stop. It's a subject that's full of hot air(or shit)and the people behind it should be ridiculed and feel embarrassed for not being more responsible as adults. At this point we're just beating a dead horse further into the ground, just let it go! And let gamers around the world enjoy our favorite pastime in peace.

"Alan, wake up..."

Alan Wake, the latest game produced by Remedy Entertainment, best known for their work on the Max Payne series. It was a highly anticipated title, originally announced in 2001 and slated for a release in 2006. However it wasn't until May of this year that gamers got to bask in all the glory that was 10 years in the making.

Alan Wake is a true survival horror title, a psychological thriller, and tells a wonderful story(cliched maybe, but still great). The title borrows elements from the TV series Twin Peaks, and stylizes It's story-telling reminiscent of Stephen King(who's referenced several times throughout the game, and not just in name either). The story follows Wake, a best-selling crime fiction author who as of late has been suffering from writers block. At the discretion of his wife Alice, the couple decide to vacation off in the quaint little town of Bright Falls who unbeknownst to Wake/the local townsfolk, harbors a deadly secret. Mysterious events begin to unfold from the moment you arrive, and during the course of these events Alice is kidnapped. You(Alan)make it your mission to find out what happened to her, why you're missing a week of time, and solve the mystery surrounding Bright Falls.

The first playable sequence is told through Wake's dream, and also provides a tutorial for the player. During this time you encounter the Taken, ordinary people who've been possessed by the "darkness." Light becomes an indispensable tool as you'll need it to burn off the darkness per-say in order hurt the Taken at all. Simply shining light onto them is alright but rather slow, a majority of the time you'll need to concentrate it for greater effect, but this also acts as your cross-hair in conjunction with your weapons. However it causes substantial strain on your light source/boost meter, and if it runs out you'll need to quickly swap out for fresh batteries(by Energizer, shameless sponsorship ads no less). On the flip-side of combat, you'll find various firearms(and stronger light sources)throughout this harrowing tale, starting with your basic six-shooter revolver, finding more powerful items along the way. 

As Alan Wake, you're also given various little glimpses into the future in the form of mysterious(plot-enabling but also very cool)manuscript pages from a book that you never got around to writing, save for the title. These allow the player to prepare for what lies ahead, always making you wonder "when?" and drives the story forward.

While this title has It's action-y moments, Wake being an average guy is grounded/bound by those rules. He can't run forever at top speed, and gets tired rather quickly, he also doesn't move with fluidity like a trained soldier, or the know-how to properly handle firearms. It very much plays out like a horror story/film, just an average guy thrust into a situation that's way over his head. He feels like an actual person, and not just a character.

Wake also gives the player A LOT of exposition(as expected from an author), there's usually never a moment where he isn't talking/thinking. One of the most interesting things I found was that this unfolds and feels very much like reading a novel(which I'm sure was their intent from the start), It's quite a rare feeling. Unlike most games that tell you a story but makes it seem more cinematic. However Alan Wake also unfolds episodically like a TV series, each chapter ending with music credits, and beginning with "...previously on Alan Wake..." proceeded by a recap of the previous chapter. Let me go off on a little tangent here, the "...previously on Alan Wake..." thing is so damn awesome! I've never seen a game do this before, and honestly even though It's a little flourish, It's that very thing that cemented this game in my head as great! Just the idea of a game being so like a novel and a TV series at the same time is pretty damn cool, and pulled off quite well. The ideas are separate yet they're together and never clash with one another, only fulfilling their respective roles when needed, It's masterful.

Alan Wake is a highly recommended title, the first in what Remedy Entertainment assures us is just the "first season" of a much bigger story. While it took 10 years in the making for this game to see the light of day, most gamers will probably be disappointed in how short a time it will take to complete(as in one play-through), about 8-12 hours depending. However this shouldn't deter you from experiencing one of the best games released this year. Aside from a few annoyances like: checkpoints being a little too far spaced, and laughably bad facial expressions/animations. It's a game that can honestly be picked up by anyone(unless you're scared or something)and adapted to easily enough, and will sink It's claws into you immediately from the get-go. A beautifully paced story with characters you can relate to, and an ending that will leave you wondering, and ultimately asking for more.

Inked Reviews: Superboy The Boy of Steel

Superboy, The Boy of Steel follows the events surrounding the return of Conner Kent to Smallville in the aftermath of the Final Crisis Story Arc. It's revealed that this Conner is a clone generated from the DNA of both Superman and Lex Luthor. While Conner fights on the side of good, he appears to be conflicted internally, always hoping to do good and morally weighing his choices based on the personalities from which he was born from.

Being an actual younger version of this universe's Superman, he's given the surname of Kent and lives on the Kent farm in Smallville with Clark's(and technically his mother)Martha, and Krypto, the super-powered Kryptonian dog. Conner has also been bestowed the Kryptonian name of Kon-El. He attends Smallville High like Clark once did, and just tries to fit in while juggling his responsibilities of a newly resurrected Super-Hero. 

During his return to Smallville, Conner tries to come to grips with the recent events that have come to pass. He searches for answers, mostly about Lex Luthor and whether or not he's actually capable of doing any good. Along the way he tries to salvage his relationship with Wonder Girl who tells him that in a moment of vulnerability when he was dead/away, she and Tim Drake shared a kiss together. Being unrealistically forgiving about it, Conner says that he understands and that he's sorry she had been put through all of the because of him, the former couple then share a kiss under the moon-lit sky. Conner also tries to re-forge his friendship with Tim Drake who's taken up the mantle of Red Robin, he reveals to Conner that he believes that Bruce(who's currently considered deceased)is alive or that apart of him still exists somewhere, and that he needs to find him/it. They both agree to help in each-others respective quests, and come to a rather quick, yet mutual understanding about the Wonder Girl incident.

Earlier on while attempting to follow in Clark's footsteps by doing some good, Conner helps out a teenage girl who falls though a wooden bridge while checking out a problem with her bike. We catch up with her later on, vandalizing a doctor's office during the later hours of the night. Conner intervenes and recalls that she's always asleep in class, bringing to light a rumor told to him where people stated that she was into "bad things."  She tells him about how her life is too stressful, having to take care of her wheel-chair bound mother, and that she attacked that specific doctor for not helping them out due to a lack of health insurance. The girl whose name is Lori, has her story interrupted when Lex Luthor arrives at her door and is shockingly revealed to be her "Uncle." Lori pleads with Lex to help her mother(his sister). Connor recounting the boasting of Luthor that humanity's advancement is held back by Superman, tells him the Superman is indeed off-world and challenges him to do some good by saving Lori's mother. Lex agrees but demands that Conner help him in the process or that he'll bring harm to Lori. Conner successfully manages to gather the necessary ingredients for the cure, Lex administers it to Lori's mother and for a minute all is well, she can walk again! Everyone, especially Conner is stunned, he couldn't believe that Lex had actually done a feat of good. However not all is as it seems, as Lex quickly gives her a shot of purple liquid that once again makes her bound to her wheel-chair, also putting her in a catatonic-like state. Conner is infuriated and attacks Lex, which is then in-turn saved by Brainiac(whom he had busted out earlier, when it was really all just Brainiac allowing him to do so)Lex states that only he knows the answer, and will never give it up unless Superman is dead.

The Arc ends with the newly reformed Teen Titans(Red Robin, Wonder Girl, Superboy, and Kid Flash)surrounding a campfire. Connor recounts his journey and comes to the realization that he'll never be like Lex, and needs to stop living up to the idea of becoming either just Lex or Clark, instead he needs to be his own man. He states that life is what you make of it and that everyone is responsible for shaping their own destiny.




My thoughts:

I personally liked this story. Having never really been into the Superboy story, knowing that it was very similar to Superman's. However this was an interesting resurrection tale(seems like all of DC is heading in this direction as of late). You really got to dive into the mind of Connor Kent. From his internal struggle to find out which of the two he was more like, and if he could or couldn't find a balance between them. And the personal journey to reunite with his comrades/friends, trying to absolve his past sins. What really caught me was the twist of Conner being not only cloned from Superman, but Lex Luthor as well. For me, this was a perfect introduction to Superboy and I'll probably end up checking out the follow-ups to this Arc!


Personal Thanks!:

I'd like to personally thank A Comic Shop (especially my friend Mike)for providing me with ample quantities of kick-ass material! Seriously, if you're in Florida, within the Winter Park area, and love comics...then stop on over. It's the best and only place to fulfill all your Comic-y needs! And I'd also like to throw a shout-out to Lewis Lovhaug a.k.a. Linkara for continuing to reignite my love for comics with your reviews, they kick-ass!

2 Monsters, 1 Manipulative-Sociopath = The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

For my raw thoughts while watching this piece of shit head on over to:
#vampsdontsparkle 


What more can I possibly say about this franchise(uttering that sentence made me sad because it really is one)that hasn't really already been said? Eclipse brings nothing all that new to the table, however it does on to further ruin the already established mythologies of the vampires and werewolves a like. Well I guess it does more so for the vampires, can you really be afraid of a monster that's made of glitter? I'm also going to establish now that I really, REALLY HATE Bella Swan(Wow. Beautiful swan, I could almost taste the creativity on that one Stephanie Meyer). How can any sane person identify with this manipulative, emotionless, sociopath(more on that later)? And the men that are supposedly in love with her...it hurts too much, but only because they're fucking idiots! 

Sadly, Eclipse has been the best(tread lightly with that word)of the series so far, which doesn't really say much. To paraphrase the Angry Video Game Nerd: "It's like saying the shit I took last night was better than the shit I just took a few minutes ago." Twilight at It's best is laughable garbage, It's poorly written porn for tweens. 

Honestly though, Eclipse was kind of a let down. The trailer had initially made it seem as though there was going to be a huge focus on action, when that was really all of the action in the film condensed together. I'm being completely serious here, If you've seen any trailer for Eclipse then congratulations! You've just watched the entire movie! Spoil alert but the epic fight lasts for about 5 minutes at the most, and is at the end of the crap-fest! That's right, the end of the movie! So what exactly are we being strung along for against our will in the first 90 minutes(believe it or not but this movie runs for 2 hours! Yeah it baffled me too)? A really boring love-triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob obviously *rolls eyes*. It pretty much goes like this:


Edward: Marry me Bella *stares blankly into nothingness*


Bella: I want us to fuck, and turn me into a Vampire(now imagine what a rock would look like trying to emote all of that)

Edward: No, and I don't want you to be a Vampire *stares blankly into nothingness*


Jacob: You should be with me Bella, I'm better for you(someone that can actually pass for acting)


Repeat that sequence for about 90+ minutes and you've got the bulk of this film down! In-between you get moments of exposition with other characters, but they're barely on screen for more than 2 minutes so you really don't care. Oh, and the Volturi kill a young girl who recently been turned because It's against the rules or some stupid crap like that, so is creating a Vampire army apparently...but I guess the Volturi were too busy pulling their heads out of their asses to deal with that rapidly rising problem though. What's up with the Volturi anyway? For being this elite and dominant force in the Vampire world, who supposedly uphold law, and tradition to the highest degree. You'd figure that they would have more screen time, in-fact I'm sure they're in 2 scenes for a combined total of 3, maybe 4 minutes at best. 


Whatever, I've gone on long enough. Eclipse sucks. It's written poorly, most of the talent is laughable, the plot literally goes no where for almost the entire film, and whatever exposition is given to us makes little, if any, to no sense at all. And this is the best of the series so far. Pathetic really, honestly I can't figure out why people like this shit.


Other Eclipse Reviews:
As I've stated in my previous review for The Last Airbender, I do these reviews because I'm inspired by others in the same craft. And I'd like you to check out what they had to say about Eclipse as well when you get the chance. These guys are awesome to watch, are highly entertaining and very talented! Thank you fellow critics!


Chester A. Bum(Nostalgia Critic)
The Cinema Snob
Spoony

The Last FAILbender

For my RAW thoughts on The Last Airbender, you may read them via Twitter @:

 

#thelastfailbender

Here we are fellow movie goers, we've done the impossible. The Last Airbender has set the bar for the new lowest point in movie adaptations. A title where the torch is not easily passed, reserved for only the shittiest of cinematic abortions, a title that was formerly held by the movie Ultraviolet. Yeah, you read it right. The Last Airbender is worse than Ultraviolet, never thought I would utter those words, at least not so soon anyway. It was inevitable that one day, a movie would come along and usurp the epic fail that is Ultraviolet, but why The Last Airbender?

So what about The Last Airbender makes it worthy of the shame once held by Ultraviolet? Pretty much everything having to do with this film. The characters are about as interesting as sticks, with the acting talent of rocks, including the main character Aang(pronounced Un-g in the film and not the proper An-g that we've come to know and love). In fact, the only character who manages to walk away with any kind of dignity is Zuko(we'll get to all of that later). The plot goes no where, or at least makes little to no sense what-so-ever. We randomly end up skipping around the time-line every 5 minutes in order to tell a "(poorly contrived)cliff-notes" version of the story. The source material(being the show)aside from names, and places were pretty much non-existent, cutting out integral parts of the story which would have given all the much more deeper meaning to the events surrounding this world. Even the important things they decided to keep were executed rather poorly, I'm not at all sure how anyone thought this project was going to succeed.

One of the first things I mentioned were how excruciatingly bland the characters were.  This is where The Last Airbender lost most of its audience, how can you expect people to give-a-damn about characters whose ability to evoke emotion is comparable to that of paint drying? The biggest disappointment of course being Aang, the main protagonist/hero of the story. Aang is suppose to be happy/carefree, and easily relate to a broad audience. In the film however, Aang seems detached from everything around him, and comes off as quiet and cold. The Avatar is suppose to be a being of great power and inspiration, serving as an example of good and balance, the adaptation's Aang couldn't inspire me to toast bread. However it seems as though this movie wasn't meant to be a spectacle of fun at all, even the character of Sokka(pronounced Saa-ka)who provides some much needed comic relief in between the seriousness of the mission-at-hand doesn't even crack a joke, sarcastic remark, or any semblance of humor at all. Why would you rid an important trait from a character whose very existence revolves around that very thing? The same thing can be said for Katara, the main female lead who's known for being strong, determined, very emotional, and preachy/nagging. The adaptation pretty much has her devoid of much of her emotional spectrum, somewhere between stone-faced and poorly faking an orgasm. Don't even get me started on Aasif Mandvi, you sir should stick to comedy because I couldn't take you seriously as a villain. I believe it was AngryJoe who said(which I'm paraphrasing): "it was like you where waiting for the punchline of a joke that never came." The rest of the cast I found hard to care about, since the main characters didn't stand out, how are the any of the support characters suppose to?  They seemed much like a part of the background that did something every once-in-a-while, like watching a tumbleweed pass by for a couple of seconds and forgetting about it near immediately after-wards.

All around it seemed as though The Last Airbender has been heavily miscast, with the exception of Dev Patal(known for his success in Slumdog Millionaire)as Prince Zuko.  While not being an idealistic choice for Zuko, Patal brings some much needed REALISM in his approach to the character and closely evokes his personality. With that being said, I still found his Zuko to be a bit boring, perhaps it could be chalked up to poor writing or something. Either way, he delivered it as best he could, and actually walked away with his dignity intact.

Adding to the list of fail is a poor attempt to adapt a 20 episode season, and condense it into a 90 minute film(which is impossible). First of all, 90 minutes...that's it? Why? Given the level of detail that is the story of Avatar: The Last Airbender, one would dictate that you can't really skip anything and would probably be best given an extension to at least 120 minutes minimum, while also breaking up the film into more parts. Speaking of skipping things, where are the Kyoshi(pronounced Ki-yo-shi)Warriors? They do play an integral part in the mythology and yet are no where to be found. Also, I really don't like the idea of meshing 2 completely separate events together for plot convenience, It's lazy writing/story-telling. If you aren't going to even attempt to tell me a cohesive story then just drop it and go, I don't entertain the idea of having various forms of media blatantly presenting to me as if I were the dumbest form of intelligent life in the world. The already established time-line of events dictates a specific order in the events to follow, so don't mess with it. The reason most adaptations fail is because more often than not, some director turns it into their "artsy post-modern take" on the subject, instead of adapting an accurate portrayal of an already established medium! 

Lastly the effects for the film while being pretty where highly unnecessary. Most of the time they didn't really even have a purpose aside from making an already unnecessary flourish look that much worse. All flourishes in each bending form has a purpose, all movements amount to something, at least they're suppose to. On screen it just looks like a bunch of people dancing around, looking rather foolish, and for what? "Look at me, I'm going to do a complicated 500 move dance, which in turn will make a [plot device] go 10 feet in your general direction." What happened in post? Why does everything move so slow? If I can throw a rock faster, more accurately, and more powerfully than you can bend it, what's the point in bending anything?

Honestly at this point, I don't know if I have anything left to say about this film. The Last Airbender was such a giant let-down for me, originally I had thought that with all of the bad reception its been getting, my expectations were so low that it would at least be okay. But no, it wasn't even that. In fact, it wasn't even bad to the point of it being a hilarious unintentional comedy like the remake of The Wicker Man, it was just atrocious as a film in general and also as an adaptation. That being said, I very rarely give movies a terrible rating because there's usually something redeeming to be said for them. Sadly Dev Patal wasn't enough to save this one, I even fell asleep during the climax of the film and had to watch that entire sequence over again. My final recommendation for The Last Airbender is to watch it once, if only to see what truly terrible cinema is


After-thought: The Fire Nation is suppose to be this ruthless, unstoppable, and undeniably intimidating force to be reckoned with. They're only trying to take over the world[insert M.Bison joke here]. Going back to the acting, why did everyone in the Fire Nation display the aggression of card-board? Geez, your talent is so bad they can't even portray anger correctly, is it really that challenging?

Other Reviews(My Inspiration)for The Last Airbender:

These guys inspire me to do what I do, and have also inspired this very review. If you could show them some love, and support them by watching their respective reviews and other material. Well it would just mean a lot!

AngryJoeShow
The Cinema Snob

First Anime Impressions!: High School of The Dead 1

"A mysterious, lethal disease is on the loose worldwide, resulting in a catastrophic death rate of humanity, and the increasing rise of attacks, caused by the living deadthe living dead.

In Japan, several high school students and a school nurseschool nurse have banded together to escape FujimiFujimi High School shortly after it was attacked by zombies. The group now attempts to figure who or what was responsible for this plague, and in the meantime, attempt to survive the present apocalypse.

The story is initially narrated through the eyes of TakashiTakashi Komuro, one of the students who had survived in the initial outbreak."

(Description and image link back to InstantZ.net) 

High School of The Dead originally sparked interest in me while strolling through my local Barnes & Noble.  Without even looking at the cover, all I could think about was: "...oh boy, another zombie apocalypse scenario..." Needless to say that's all it really is, just another story about "a zombie apocalypse," usually stories like these are taken from the point-of-view of an adult(usually male), following their part in the experience. I didn't really even give it a second thought and moved on.

Today while browsing the web out of boredom, I happened to stumble upon the anime series, which apparently was green-lit back in February of this year.  The animation studio Madhouse, known for collaborating with the CLAMP group(Chobits, X, and Card Captor Sakura to name a few)will be at the helm for this project. With the opening theme: "HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD" performed by Kishida Kyōdan & The Akeboshi Rockets, and ending theme: "Major Doubt!" by Maon Kurosaki(insert Bleach joke here)

High School of The Dead(classified as a Shounen-type story)is about the zombie apocalypse, in which an unknown global epidemic rapidly spreads, turning the population into the living dead.  However a turn in the typical "zombie" story presents itself right away(given the title and all), where the point-of-view is shifted from and adult perspective to that of a teenager.  

**********SPOILERS!**********

Takashi Kumuro(head strong, brash arch-type), a sophomore dealing with the inadequacies of being a teenager(typical teen-angst/drama)when quite literally all hell breaks loose as he witnesses the P.E. teachers viciously murdering each-other after being bitten by an unknown infected.  As terror and chaos begin to descend on the school, Takashi hails to his friends: Rei Miyamoto(love interest-arch-type, whose relationship is strained because she no longer reciprocates her feelings of love for Takashi)and Hisashi Igo(level headed arch-type, boyfriend of Rei)to escape the madness.  While hesitant at first they reluctantly flee with him, having witnessed the vicious murders first hand.  They manage to escape to the roof-top/observatory of the school, but not before Hisashi is bitten on the arm.  Realizing that he will eventually turn, Hisashi pleads to Takashi to end his life as he would rather not become one of "them."  Rei begs Takashi to reconsider, causing him a moments hesitation and allowing Hisashi to become one of "them," going against her wishes, Takashi reluctantly ends Hisashi's life by smashing his skull in with a bat(look at that, a survivor that isn't stupid!) Angry and distraught over the death of Hisashi, Rei takes her anger out on Takashi, inciting that he only did it because he secretly hated her for going out with Hisashi instead of himself.  Instead of fighting back, he simply states that she needs time to sort this through and that in the meantime he'll kill all of "them" so that they may escape.  Selfishly(not too harshly on that word since who wouldn't be in this scenario)and fearfully not wanting to be alone, Rei pleads with Takashi to not leave her side, they embrace in turn mending their past feelings for the time being.

**********END OF SPOILERS!**********

Honestly, I liked this one.  It seemed very surreal, and also while being a Shounen-type of story it doesn't add any over-the-top moves that defy the laws of the world.  It's very realistic in It's approach to the scenario and how the characters react to the violently changing world around them, much like The Walking Dead(a comic/recently turned TV series about the trials and tribulations of an apocalypse such as this one)

So, if you like zombies, and don't mind a little fan-service from time to time, give High School of The Dead a go.  It's slated for a 12 episode run, with the manga series up to 5 volumes so far, and still on-going!  I'll be keeping this one on my radar, with a follow-up article once the anime series concludes!

Update! Expansion!

Alright, I know I haven't been on in quite awhile but real-life caught up to me.  So I took a much needed break from the blogging scene and concentrated my efforts, but alas I have returned with news!

For starters the name of my blog has changed to something more suitable until I either get tired of that or come up with something better!  Also my blog is going to start expanding outside just the realm of just video games and pretty much focus on all things encompassing the geeky/nerdy spectrum, since you know, I'm not just one dimensional in my geekdom(not that anyone of you whom I follow on the internet are).  However I felt like it was time for a change(which can probably also be attributed to the fact that I just turned 24 not too long ago).

In the posts to follow I'll be focusing on initial first impressions, reviews, and much more.  All of this though is really just a front for something much more that's been in the planning stage for some time now.  I guess we'll have to ride the wind and see where this "project" goes!