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Street Fighter IV Review

Linda — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:39:23 +0000

Street Fighter IV Review. Capcom has brought one of their best franchises back with Street Fighter IV and it packs a punch, kick, and much more. Advances like high speed internet and awesome online console support via Xbox Live and the Playstation Network have elevated fighting games from being fanboy favorites to mainstream monoliths of gaming today. Capcom has managed to cater to the hardcore fans and make the game very accessible to new players. If you have not traditionally played many fighting games, now is the time to start.

One of my favorite features of SFIV is the trial mode in which players perform moves and combos. The trials for each character get harder as you continue to unlock them. This is a great way to familiarize yourself with each characters normal moves, specials, and combo mechanics. For the more serious fighter there is a training mode that allows you to display attack data such as damage and your controller inputs. In this mode you can practice against a dummy, CPU controller opponent, or even against a 10 second recording that you can make and playback. Other challenge modes include survival mode, and timed attack. In survival you keep fighting in stages without regenerating health, or regenerating a small % of health. In the timed attack mode you have to try to finish your opponents against the clock.

If you want to forego any training or challenge modes, no matter what your skill level is you can hop right into the game and have fun. There are 8 different difficulty levels in the arcade mode ranging from easiest to hardest. Each character has their own little hand-drawn anime story that includes an intro and ending, but to be honest they are my least favorite part of the game. Most of the stories hardly make any sense and they are super corny. There is a portion of the game where they use the in game engine for some story telling right before you fight your “rival”, right before the final boss fight. In my opinion the whole game’s story telling should have been in this manner. The single player mode offers up a good amount of challenge, but there is not much to keep you coming back in terms of storytelling. However, you do have to beat the game with varying characters to unlock the 9/25 hidden characters. If you want to unlock them as soon as possible you can set the difficulty to easiest, rounds to best out of 1, and time limit to 30 seconds. Personally, I don’t mind having to unlock characters, but it becomes a problem when you want to play the game at a friend’s place. If you bring your copy of SFIV to your friend’s apartment you will probably find that your favorite character has not been unlocked yet! The unlocks are linked to your specific console and cannot be copied over on a flash drive.

There are some new gameplay mechanics in SFIV that have not been in the previous titles. There are two meters at bottom of the HUD. The EX meter fills up as you attack and can be used to perform your character’s super move when it is full, or EX moves for ¼ of the full meter. EX moves are stronger forms of normal special moves performed by hitting two or more of the attack inputs while performing the same joystick movement. These moves perform more damage and some generate armor that can absorb one attack from your opponent and still come out. Super moves are unique attacks that do a lot of damage. It is fun to try to strike a balance between using the EX moves and when to save for your super. There is also the revenge meter which fills up as you get hit and can be used to perform the very cool looking ultra combos. These are unique attacks that have amazing animations that can rotate the camera angle and inflict loads of damage if pulled off correctly. The presence of the revenge meter means that the tides of battle can turn very quickly, but if you miss your ultra you leave yourself wide open for counterattacks. In addition to the meters SFIV also implements focus attacks. In order to perform a focus attack you hold down medium punch and medium kick. Your character begins to glow with a shadowy aura and you can release the buttons when you want the attack to come out. What is unique about the focus attack is that it can absorb one of your opponent’s hits, similar to certain EX moves. Landing a fully charged focus attack crumples your opponent and leaves them open to a big combo or an ultra/super attack. You can also cancel the focus attack by dashing out of it. This technique is used to absorb fireballs, fake out your opponent, and perform more complicated combos.

After unlocking your characters and getting used to the new gameplay mechanics you can hop into online play. You can play in non-ranked matches called player matches or you can play ranked matches. The ranked matches award battle points. When you beat an opponent with more battle points than you, they lose points and you gain points. The greater the disparity of battle points, the more is transferred. Capcom has also patched in championship mode, which is basically a tournament mode. There are different tier levels that you can work your way up as you continue to win. Sometimes it is hard to find a game in championship mode because you have to wait for someone who has also won x amount of previous matches and is in the same position as you in the tournament. Fortunately SFIV has a feature where you can play in the single player while still waiting for an online game. When a game becomes available you are pulled out of the singleplayer straight into the online lobby just like in the arcades. One of the things lacking is support for group lobbies. You can’t join a room with your friends and play your own little tournament. You are limited to playing with one friend at a time, and you cannot watch other people fight online. The netcode for SFIV is done very well and provides for a smooth online experience, but there can be some lag during peak hours if you are playing someone that is located far away from you. There are players of all different skill levels online and the challenge will keep you coming back for more. If you like the game and are looking to improve your skill the online portion of this game offers near endless lasting appeal.

Street Fighter IV is dubbed as the first 3D street fighter experience because the characters are rendered in 3D as well as the backgrounds. However, with the exception of the ultra combos the gameplay is limited to a 2D fighting field. At heart it is still a 2D fighter, except it is animated in 3D. Still, the character models and backgrounds in SFIV are brilliant and bring a fresh new face to a classic game franchise. One gripe I have with the character models is that some of them are just too buff! Half of them look like body builders that can barely scratch their own heads. The game has a lot of style and each character is unique. The ultra combo animations are very cool and allow you time to take in the beauty of the game.

Some say the only way to truly enjoy a fighting game is to play it on an arcade stick. Not everyone is going to dump the extra cash on a Madcatz Tournament Edition Fightstick, but there are cheaper alternatives such as the Hori Fighting Stick 3 that pack a lot of bang for their buck. With all that said, the game is perfectly playable with a normal PS3 or Xbox360 controller. It is all about personal preference. No matter what you use to play this game it is going to be fun.

One of the great things about this game is the devoted online community. There are several websites and forums such as Eventhubs and Shoryuken dedicated to Street Fighter games that you can use to learn and explore the true depth of this fantastic fighting game. Street Fighter IV is one of the best games this generation and is a must own for any fighting game fan, or casual gamer.

This game scores a 4.5 out of 5 in my book.

Guest Blogger: Oliver K.

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UFC Undisputed 2009 Review for Playstation 3

Linda — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:36:09 +0000

UFC Undisputed 2009 Review. Mixed Martial Arts is one of the fastest growing sports in the world today and the positive reception of Yukes and THQ’s UFC Undisputed 2009 for PS3 and Xbox360 shows that it is here to stay. 2009 is the year of arcade fighting games, with the console releases of Street Fighter 4, Blazblue: Calamity Trigger, King of Fighters XII, and Tekken 6. While you can’t play UFC Undisputed 2009 on your brand new Madcatz Tournament Edition Fightstick, you will find that it is a unique and rewarding fighting experience with a surprising amount of depth.

THQ is known for developing and publishing wrestling games, which in my opinion have clunky control schemes and cheesy animations. Needless to say my expectations for UFC Undisputed 2009 were not very high, but this game has been a pleasant surprise. The first thing you should do if you play this game is go through the tutorial. There are a lot of actions that you can do in this game and it can all seem confusing, but once you go through the tutorial it is pretty intuitive.

One of the best things about this game is the versatility of the control scheme. In the PS3 version the four face buttons control the strikes of your four limbs respectively. The R1 and R2 buttons are used to block high and low strikes, while the L1 and L2 buttons are used to direct in combination with the face buttons to direct your strikes high or low. You can even throw feints. Movement is controlled by the left analog stick while most of the grappling portion of the game is controlled by the right stick. The right stick is used to clinch with an opponent, take them down, and to perform ground transitions/reversals. Submissions can be attempted from certain positions by pressing R3. Both the fighter performing and defending the submission can opt to either button mash the face buttons, or rotate the right stick really quickly to sink in the submission or escape. I prefer to button mash to preserve the longevity of my dualshock 3 controller because the buttons are designed to be pressed over and over again, while the stick is designed for recognizing light and controlled movement. If the control scheme sounds a bit complicated, trust me it is not that bad once you get into a few fights and get the hang of it.

The game has a pretty extensive single player career mode. You must play as your own created character; you cannot fight as a young Chuck Liddell looking to establish yourself. The customization of your characters appearance is fairly weak. While you can achieve a fair amount of variability with the presets they have, I wish they had something like the sliders in Saints Row 2, so that you could truly customize your appearance, instead of putting together a strange Mr. Potato head fighter with preset pieces. However, the UFC roster characters have a lot of detail and really do resemble their real life models. There are 3 striking styles and 3 grappling styles you can choose from and each has their own benefits, but they were not all that different. The game would be better if the styles were more unique and you could mix and match your move set from varying styles. Once you create your fighter you move onto fighting on the undercard of UFC events against lesser known fighters. UFC president Dana White and match maker Joe Silva contact you via the games email interface to offer you fights.

One of the things you will notice as you play is that the commentary by Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan is spot on, and they even provide background information on many of the fighters, which adds to the effect of the game. Much of the game will be spent on your calendar where you decide whether to train, spar, attend other camps, or attend publicity events. Training your attributes like strength, speed, and stamina occur with the click of button and take up one week of your calendar. Skill points are earned by sparring, where the goal is to inflict as much damage as possible. These skill points are used to increase your fighter’s skills such as standing kicks offense, clinch striking defense, ground grappling offense and more. Attending training camps allows you to learn new moves if you can perform a set number of combos, or specific moves. The combo system is fairly limited when compared to games like street fighter, but you can string together 2-4 strikes together in quick succession before your opponent can block again.

The career mode lasts 7 years and once your fighter retires you can bring him into the online world to fight against the game’s roster of over 80 UFC fighters. The problem is that there are 5 weight classes in the game, and you can’t fight people outside of your weight class, which is no fun at all. Everybody wants to settle the pound for pound ranking debate right there in their living rooms. Playing the game online is much more rewarding because human players are more unpredictable than the game’s AI, and often times much more challenging. There are ranked matches where you gain “fans” by defeating other opponents which are used to level up for notoriety. There are weekly standings as well as overall standings for you high score junkies. I like to play in the player matches because you can request rematches with your opponents, unlike in the ranked mode. In most fighting games, once you finish the match online, you and your opponent go back to the character selection screen, but in this game, you have to request a rematch each time, and you can’t even change weight classes without starting a new session. I am a big fan of arcade fighters like Street Fighter 4, but I find playing a game like UFC Undisputed 2009 more rewarding when I win. In this game the fights last a lot longer which gives you time to feel out your opponent’s style and weaknesses. There is also the threat of flash knockouts or flash submissions, meaning the match could end at any moment if you are not careful.

One of the things I like to do is try to emulate the style of the fighter I am using. If I am Lyoto Machida, I try to stay on the outside and pick my shots. The game even has a mode called classic fights where you try to reenact the result of historic UFC fight, in order to unlock fight footage. The problem is that many of the fights they chose for the game are not even classics and it shows a disconnect between the developers and their subject matter. I still find myself coming back to this game every time there is a big UFC event to try to simulate the fights online; choosing the fighter I want to win. All in all this game may lack some polish but it is super fun to play and especially with friends at your place or online. This game is a good first outing for what will hopefully become an ongoing franchise. The UFC first approached major developer EA sports for their game, but EA turned them away. The UFC eventually went with THQ and Yukes, and the game has had great commercial success. EA Sports is now working on their own MMA video game to compete with the UFC. Iron sharpens iron in the world of combat sports and hopefully the same principles apply when it comes to developing video games.

UFC Undisputed 2009 gets an 80/100 in my book.

Guest Blogger: Oliver K.

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Killzone 2 Review for Playstation 3

Linda — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:00:46 +0000

Killzone 2 Review. After four years in development, Killzone 2 hit the shelves and did not disappoint. Not even a game crafted by a modern day Michelangelo could live up to the hype generated by Killzone 2. However, those of us that can get past our unreasonably high expectations will find that Killzone 2 is a very complete and enjoyable game.

The story mode is fairly generic, but it is engaging enough to keep you from skipping straight to the multiplayer portion of the game. There are some boss fights, but it won’t remind you of the epic battles you had in Shadows of Colossus or God of War. The campaign will take you around 6-10 hours to complete depending on your personal pace. Beating the game on the hard difficulty will also on unlock the very challenging elite difficulty, which has already claimed the spirits of even the most seasoned gamers. The singleplayer mode of the game has a cover system that you can use to avoid damage, similar to the Gears of War series, but this feature cannot be found in the multiplayer.

The style of this game’s multiplayer can be described as a mix between the ultra popular Call of Duty 4 and Team Fortress 2 (available on Orange Box). There are seven classes in Killzone 2. You can play whatever class suits your style such as a medic, engineer, sniper, and you can even combine the skills of two classes for further customization. There is also a ranking system that allows you to unlock different guns and perks to keep you coming back for more. Killzone 2 has its own version of all your classic multiplayer game modes, such as team deathmatch, capture the flag, assassination and more. You can play all these modes during the same match, as the modes alternate after certain objectives are met or you can join servers with the more traditional approach where the match runs the same mode throughout. Call of Duty 4 put first person shooters on the console map, and set the standard for all other shooters after it.

The aiming in Killzone 2 is sluggish compared to other shooters, but it is not a deal breaker. Guerilla Games has even released a patch to smooth out the aiming, however it will still take some adaptation on your part. Strafe aiming works well in this game. The default controller scheme is different than the Call of Duty 4 layout, but the alternative layout is almost identical. It is a lot more effective to fire from the hip and not the sights in close to medium range in Killzone 2 than in Call of Duty 4.

The graphics of Killzone 2 are some of the best this console generation has to offer. The character models and settings are very detailed. Killzone 2 manages to capture the feeling of battle, because there are so many things happening on your screen at once. The audio is equally engaging and the gunshots flying by, explosions at your feet, and squad mates yelling at you really draws you into the experience. I even get disoriented sometimes because there is so much going on; that’s how intense the game can be at times. The graphics of the multiplayer mode are not any competent than the singleplayer mode, unlike in games such as Resistance 2 where there is a noticeable drop in graphical quality. Killzone 2 is a unique experience and deserves to be played if you are interested in the first person shooter genre.

Killzone 2 scores a 85/100 in my book.

Guest Blogger: Oliver K.

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Day 4: What Just Happened?

Linda — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:00:16 +0000

Sunday, July 26th

Sunday is kids day, occasionally there’s something cool to see, but much of the time, programming is thin for those that aren’t children or parents. In my case, I had no plans for my day but obtaining random stuff, and specifically, my resident evil shirt.

I spent the morning eagerly anticipating the doors opening, and I was very bitter as they let in the upstairs without letting in the downstairs. I was irked. I was going to be very irked if this prevented me from my t-shirt. However, my friend on staff saved the day by getting in line before open (she still wasn’t first in line, if that tells you anything about how hard these were to get), and so finally, I was scheduled to play the demo and I would get my t-shirt.

Since I had some time to kill, I was hoping to get another Hitchhiker’s Guide towel. Alas, the booth was all closed up, they were out of everything. Slightly dejected, I headed to meet some friends and go to general fulfillment for some random stuff I’d gotten from panels I had attended. Afterward, the time was about right for checking in at the Capcom booth. My friend and I hang out and discover there’s a line of people just praying for no shows. I can’t say I’m surprised at this line, or that people would somehow fail to arrive for their appointment, so we chatted to pass the time.

It occurred to me slightly before I was going to start playing the demo that I hadn’t actually thought about playing the game yet, I just wanted the shirt. Resident Evil, Darkside Chronicles will be on the Wii, and it fills in some of the story during Resident Evil 2 and Code Veronica. You can play as Claire or Leon, and Claire seemed far more intelligent in the cutscenes/dialogues. The game is 1st person, and you point the Wii-mote at the screen to aim the reticle and shoot the zombies. Aiming is rather difficult, some of it intentionally to simulate panic, but it can be picked up after a few areas. The game physics are great, if you shoot a zombie in the knee, he crumples to the ground; I managed to shoot the hat off one zombie, which was pretty neat. In the short sequence, I saw regular zombies, dog zombies and bat zombies, so species were well represented. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the game and was definitely happy to get my awesome zombie shirt.

The rest of the day was much less eventful, some random swag grabbing and some quick purchases. Notably, I obtained 3 Spike and Mike Animation DVDs autographed by Spike himself! This pleased me greatly. The last minute “Con is closing” deals/giveaways were underwhelming, but I was so laden with stuff at this point, it was probably a good thing.

And that wraps up my San Diego Comic Con 2009 experience.

-Zack is returning for SD Comic Con 2010. See you there!

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Zack — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:00:14 +0000

Saturday July 25th, 2009

Comic Con Day 3: The morning was dedicated to getting some specific stuff before it disappeared. There was a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Towel with “And Another Thing” (the title of a new book to be released October 9th), and of course, “DON’T PANIC” which was way too awesome to pass up. It took much searching to find out I needed to go to the Hyperion Books booth, answer the question to Life, the Universe, and Everything, and then I got my towel! I was very happy.

Next quest was for my Resident Evil zombie shirt. I get in line to sign up for a demo, only to discover about 10 people from the front, that they are booked solid for the day, and I should try again tomorrow. Disgruntled, but determined to obtain one, I vow to show up bright and early on Sunday; the shirt will be mine!

Now for some panels. I try to get in to see Chuck, which I enjoyed very much last year, and wasn’t full last year, was completely overrun with people by the time I get there. More disgruntlement, as I didn’t have any plans until I started my volunteer shift at 1:30 and it wasn’t even 10:00 am yet. Back to Exhibit Hall for more random stuff gathering. However, since it was Saturday, the lines were crazy long, not much was gathered. I did get my sketch from Bill Plympton, but they were out of t-shirts, so I settled for a temporary tattoo and a hug from a booth babe. I continued to meander until 1, when I decided to go ahead and check in.

Pretty quickly, I was grouped up with other volunteers and headed upstairs to a holding room to get assigned a panel. However, there were more volunteers than panels available, and I was stuck with waiting… and waiting. 2 hours into my 3 hour shift, I find there’s an opening for the Boondock Saints 2 panel, and I volunteered as quickly as possible, since I was already going to miss 2012, Zombieland and Iron Man 2. Happily dispatched, I discover my assignment is to make sure there is no unauthorized recording of the trailer they were about to show. Nice to have an easy assignment, annoying because I wanted to watch the trailer.

Basically the whole cast from the first movie was there, except Willem Dafoe who is not going to be in the sequel. There are 2 primary new cast members, a new Saint, and a new agent, who was the apprentice of Willem Dafoe’s agent in the first movie. The weirdest part was seeing Ron Jeremy come out of the audience to join the panel on stage. Most of the discussions were crude and hilarious and probably not things I should reprint here. Based off of crowd reaction, and the glimpses of the preview I caught between yelling at people to put their cameras away, it looks awesome and I can’t wait until November 1st when it comes out!

This was the first year I didn’t see Kevin Smith; it made me sad, but the goal was to make sure I got in to the Mythbusters panel, and by the time I got off work, I wasn’t even sure I could get in. So we were off to watch a screening of 2 new shows, Human Target and Vampire Diaries. Human Target was a pleasant surprise of a show about a private detective/bodyguard named Chance (played by Mark Valley) who seems to put himself in more trouble than need be to help his clients. He’s assisted by his old friend/hired hand Guerrero, played by Jackie Earle Haley of Watchmen fame, and Winston, in a oddly similar role to his Pushing Daisies character. The pilot looks rather promising, and I look forward to catching it this fall.

Now for Vampire Diaries, or as I mentally call it, Twilight the Series. In reality, it has nothing to do with Twilight; it’s based of a different series of novels that predate Twilight by like a decade or something, but I couldn’t shake the feel of Twilight. Perhaps it was because I was in a hall surrounded by Twilighters, who no doubtedly will like it, maybe it’s because the young cast took acting cues from Twilight, despite probably being instructed to do the opposite, regardless, this is the only thing the entire convention I saw that I have no intention of seeing in the future (I don’t think 20 something males are the shows demographic, so I doubt any execs are too hurt by this assessment). I ditched out some of the beginning so I could pick up my badge for tomorrow so I didn’t have to wait in a horrendous line. When I came back part way in, it wasn’t hard to pick up what was happening. Girl’s family dies in accident, Good Vampire Boy (he doesn’t feed on humans) likes said girl (I think there’s a ring that allows him to wander around in the day). GVB has a brother, heretofore known as Bad Vampire Boy or BVB. He still feeds on humans, is much stronger and seems to have nothing better to do than torment his goodie goodie brother. Not surprisingly, there’s going to be a lot of relationship angst, battles, broken hearts, confusion, etc. Like I said, not my cup of tea.

Finally, what I had been waiting for, the Mythbusters panel! Adam, Jamie, Tori and Grant were there, but Kari had just given birth, so she couldn’t make it. The panel is hilarious, because they really act like they do on the show. You could ask Jamie what his favorite color is, and he’d end up going on some tangent pondering what each color means to him and you’d never get a straight answer. They had some teaser clips, and they are going to get to have fun with the rocket sled again and drive some cars off cliffs, which should be awesome. I’m definitely looking forward to next season.

Lastly, there was a screening of Watchmen Director’s Cut. It was very tempting to stay for it, but considering it finished after midnight, we decided we’d never make it and opted to head home.

I rate this day 3.5 out of 5

-Zack has one day left… can he make it?!!

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Comic Con Day 2: Comic Con’s Hell Day

Linda — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:30:37 +0000

Friday July 24th, 2009

Comic Con Day 2: Friday was the day I could finally get into Hall H (that’s the biggest room where most of the big studios are and what the Twilighters ruined on Thursday). Thanks to my friend giving me a Friday pass so I didn’t have to volunteer, and double thanks to them opening badge pick up early as I think the line was close to a mile long, I was able to, you guessed it, get in line for Hall H for the Warner Brothers panel. They were previewing Where the Wild Things are, The Book of Eli, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Box, Jonah Hex, and Sherlock Holmes.

Where the Wild Things Are is based of a kid’s book of the same name, which wasn’t something I read as a child, but the movie looks fascinating. All the creatures are people in big furry costumes, not CG and it does a wonderful job of maintaining the feel of being in a little boy’s fantasy world and not a movie studio’s big budget production. I have to say I’m very much looking forward to it.

Book of Eli was easily the surprise of the panel for me. I knew nothing about it, and it’s dark subject matter was a complete 180 from the previous movie. I was preparing for some dull panel, then walk out the Hughes Brothers (Menace to Society, Dead Presidents) followed by Mila Kunis, Gary Oldman, and Denzel Washingtion. Yes, Denzel was at Comic Con, and he was having a blast. He and Gary Oldman were making a bunch of random innuendo comments and cracking up on stage; it was awesome. Still don’t know what I think about the movie, but I’m much more willing to give it a go now than I was before.

Nightmare on Elm Street is, well, a new incarnation of Freddy Krueger. The movie looks like it should be scary again, and Jackie Earle Haley, aka Rorschach from Watchmen, will be playing Freddy, which is cool. I’ve always been a big horror movie fan, so I know I’ll want to check it out when it comes out.

The Box is directed by Richard Kelly, the creator of Donnie Darko and Southland Tales, which means I’ll go see it. It stars Cameron Diaz, James Marsden (Cyclops from X-Men), and Frank Langella. The story centers around a young couple (Diaz and Marsden) visited by a stranger (Langella) with a box and a proposition. Open the box, press the red button, and receive a million dollars (the movie takes place in the 70s, when that was significantly more money). However, once you press the button, someone you don’t know, somewhere, will die. If they refuse the box, they receive $100 just for listening. Of course, they push the button, receive the money, but mysterious consequences ensue. If you aren’t familiar with Kelly’s work, it’s always fascinating and bizarre, and it’s really not for everyone. But I love it and I can’t wait!

Jonah Hex stars Josh Brolin, Megan Fox, and John Malkovich, which is reason enough for me to see the movie. The plot was still a little vague after the preview, but Jonah (Brolin) is a scarred bounty hunter, Leila is his love interest/prostitute (Fox), and Turnbull (Malkovich) is the bad guy. It takes place in the wild west days, and things blow up and Megan Fox is hot and Malkovich is awesome by defaul, not the most glowing review, but I’m excited.

Last, but certainly not least, is Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. (Holmes), Jude Law (Watson), and Rachel McAdams (Irene). I’m a huge fan of all the cast members’ movies, and they really bring their characters to life. I especially enjoy Jude Law’s snarky Watson, but really, all the characters are very well acted. I’m definitely looking forward to it’s release. All in all, the WB panel was very impressive and I’m looking forward to quite a few movies.

I’m hoping to keep up all the fun by heading to the Big Bang Theory panel, which failed miserably as the line was so long, I wasn’t even allowed to stand in it. Plan B was the Attack of the Show panel, with Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira, and did I mention Olivia Munn? Anyway, that too failed miserably as the line already had more people than room capacity, and the room was full too. Back to the Big Bang Theory line, which was becoming a 24/Bones/Dollhouse line. I hang out with some random 24 fans for awhile, bitter and blaming Dollhouse fans (I mean, it is a Joss Whedon show, and few things create fanboys and fangirls like a Joss Whedon show) for his inability to see the 24 panel, and I’m sure they’re at least part right. I do finally make it in the room for the Bones panel, which was sad because David Boreanaz wasn’t there, but Emily Deschanel was, so I was plenty happy. It was mostly an amusing Q&A; I don’t follow the show too much, but I enjoy it when I catch it. I was primarily being an aforementioned fanboy waiting for Dollhouse.

Dollhouse was screening an unaired episode that takes place 20 years or so in the future, where word of the Dollhouse gets out, people are getting their minds remotely erased, and there’s a war between “actuals”, i.e. people who were still themselves, and the people who had their personalities wiped, knowingly or otherwise. I enjoyed the episode, some of my friends less so, but we’re all hoping that universe doesn’t come to pass. Eliza Dushku was there, and seeing will always be a highlight of a convention panel, and Joss Whedon has a lot of fun on stage, because we’re his people. We did cut out of the Q&A early though, because I needed to get my volunteer assignment for Saturday and get in line for Rifftrax.

The volunteer line was thankfully short, and I chose to work programming, which meant I could be in a room, as opposed to line control, where I would stand around and watch people in line. Easy choice, really. So I head up to find a very impressive line for Rifftrax and it’s slowly filtering in the room. I find a gap in the line, to which I’m politely informed isn’t actually the end of the line. So I get out, find yet another gap, only to discover this too isn’t the end of the line. This time, I do feel bad, at least kinda, but I stayed since I failed at this panel last year too, and if the line can’t move fast enough that there’s a 10 foot gap, I don’t consider it my fault, at least sort of.

For those that don’t know, Rifftrax is what became of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 people, and they still “riff” on movies to this day. For the panel, we were treated to a riff of an old Caterpillar (the construction equipment people) safety video entitled “Shake Hands with Danger”. Needless to say, the video was a little shocking, like the old driver’s ed video Red Asphalt, really poorly acted, and rather convoluted. So, like most safety videos. Afterwards, the Q&A was to help them decide on the next movie for them to do a riff of, and the decision was (I think) Dragon Wars, which is a terrible Korean sci-fi movie that apparently makes no sense.

Following Rifftrax was Sci-Fi Friday nights screening the new episodes of Eureka and Warehouse 13; watching their screenings has been a tradition of mine, as I would otherwise miss them during the convention. There’s not really any discussion, it’s just airing what you would see on TV on Friday (Eureka) and Tuesday (Warehouse 13). Definitely beat after that day, so it was time to head home, satisfied with a day of panels.

I rate this day a 4 out of 5.

-Zack is le tired

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Comic Con Day 1: Twilight Fans Devour Comic Con

Linda — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:30:15 +0000

Thursday July 23rd, 2009

Comic Con Day 1: This will forever be the day Twilight attacked and ruined a lot of things for a lot of people. I was hoping to go see the Disney 3D panel for Alice in Wonderland and Tron as well as the panel after it for a 3D preview of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Hole, and Final Destination. Twilight was after that, which I wanted nothing to do with. While I was waiting in line for my badge, my friends informed me that the Twilighters had taken over Hall H, and there’s no way any of us were going to get in until after that panel was over. So the consolation prize was to see a preview of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy.

I never know what to expect when an old (very old in the case of Astro Boy) comic, manga to be precise, is being redone as a CG spectacle, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The movie looks awesome! They have an excellent cast of voice actors, including Freddy Highmore as Astro Boy, Kristen Bell, Nicolas Cage, Nathan Lane, Samuel L. Jackson, and many more. The makers seemed to take great care in preserving the essence of the story while modernizing some elements, as it was created nearly 60 years ago.

Afterward, I decided I’d head to the Exhibit Hall and see about getting myself a Resident Evil shirt. I show up at the Capcom booth and I discover that instead of waiting in an interminable line, they do daily signups, and the signups are full for the day. Drat. I wander over to the Paramount booth where they are rotating give-aways hourly, and you just have to get in line. Considering they were giving out USB Star Trek badges, Tribbles, Transformers mp3 speakers and other things, it seemed like a good line to wait in. I meet up with my friends, and we wait, and wait. Finally, we get to obtain our Star Trek badges, then it’s to the back of the line to wait some more for the next thing. If you haven’t guessed by now, waiting is a recurring theme in your time at Con, you just have to make sure you’re waiting for something you want. After getting a Tribble, I decide I wanted to try and duck into the Burn Notice panel, see Bruce Campbell, then head over to Bill Plympton, a very cool and very odd independent animator.

I arrive near where the Burn Notice panel is and discover that the line is closed, and I can’t even wait in line anymore. So much for Bruce Campbell, but off to Bill Plympton. There was a line, but it wasn’t long at all, so I waited, and I was rewarded with some awesome animation shorts, a coupon for a discounted t-shirt, and an autographed sketch if I swing by the booth sometime and say hi.

After the panel, the plan was to see the Science Behind Science Fiction panel, and possibly the Legend of the Seeker panel if I made inside in time. We did indeed get in, and we were treated to a sneak peek at the 2nd season, which was cool, but due to the filming schedule, only a small portion of the cast was there. The series is based off of The Sword of Truth novels from Terry Goodkind, and if you’re a fan of fantasy shows, I recommend checking it out.

Then the panel I was waiting for, the ever geeky Science Behind Science Fiction panel. Basically, the science advisers for Eureka, Battlestar Galactica/Caprica, etc. discuss how real science shapes some of the things we see in the shows. It’s a panel that always makes my inner former science major happy.

My friend was working the Drawn Together panel, so we waited and watched that. I was never too big of a fan of the show, but some of the inappropriate stuff they did on stage, that I don’t think I should repeat, were really funny. After the panel, we were beat and decided to head home for the night.

I rate this day a 4.5 out of 5

-Zack loathes the Twilighters.

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2009 San Diego Comic Con Recap: Day 0

Zack — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:30:39 +0000

Comic Con Day 0: San Diego Comic Con is an impressive, wonderful, albeit slightly overwhelming experience with 125,000 of your closest friends. It’s 4, well 5 with preview night, days of non stop activities: from wandering the exhibit hall, to watching panels about your favorite shows, movies, comics, etc., from getting autographs to simply enjoying what downtown San Diego has to offer. Words can hardly do it justice; it’s something that everyone should try and experience at some point in their lives. Here’s my recap of the 2009 festivities.

And one quick note, as I failed to register in time for a 4-day pass, I decided to buy 1-day passes for some days and volunteer others, as that made it cheaper and enabled me to get into preview night. However, this meant I got to spend much of my mornings in line for a badge, which I’ll mention more later.

Wednesday, July 22^nd

Preview night is always a fun time. As a special deal for 4-day attendees and preregistered volunteers, the exhibit hall is open for 3 hours for a sneak peek at the all the cool stuff for sale, as well as your first chance of obtaining the numerous freebies that the major vendors hand out. I started by getting in line at the DC Comics booth. I had no idea what it was for, but there’s always something cool there, and that was the first of many, many lines throughout the trip. I was correct in that assessment, because at the front of the line was a preview issue of about a dozen different Vertigo comics. 1^st score of the con, and I’m only 20 minutes in.

Wander over to the WB booth, and I see the predictable crush of people trying to get free stuff from them. I decide I don’t want to and wander in other directions. Just like last year (This was my 4^th Comic Con), I found Max Brooks, author of Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, completely by accident. He was signing things again, and they now have Zombie Survival Guide T-Shirts for sale. So, of course, I bought one and had Max autograph it. Score again!

I met up with some friends after that. I discovered they had visited Cafe Diem, the restaurant from Eureka. Sci-Fi, er Syfy took over the cafe at the Hard Rock Hotel and turned it into Cafe Diem from Eureka, which was pretty awesome. They had a bunch of stuff for me, including a Syfy bag, a set of pins for their shows, a disposable camera, and possibly more, but I can’t remember. I stopped by the Capcom booth to try and get the Resident Evil shirt, but the line was too long, so I figured I’d try later. After some more wandering and obtaining of random free things, the convention center was closing for the night. All in all, it was a good day.

I rate this day a 4 out of 5

-Zack the Comic-con guru

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Video Games and Agression

Linda — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:30:32 +0000

The current contenders in this generation’s console wars are now Sony’s PS3, Microsoft’s Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii. But don’t count computers out! Now with online capabilities, gamers all across the world now have the option of playing online with each other. With the desire for entertainment to quench boredom, many people all over the world have invested much time and money into the world of video game entertainment. Now with more realistic gameplay and graphics, many parents are worries that their children may be getting the wrong idea. With popular games such as Halo, Bioshock, and Call of Duty flying off the shelves, it’s no wonder that America is worried about our youth.

The effects of video games and aggression have been a major topic of discussion since the 1990’s. While it is easy to blame violent media such as video games, music and movies, few take the time to see that the majority of gamers out there are capable of suspending their disbelief when playing violent games such as Half-Life 2 and Grand Theft Auto 4. A few gamers do view these game as an outlet for real life frustrations, but many more play these games simply because they are fun. If you are still worried about video games causing aggression in your kids, here are a few suggestions for getting more in tune with your child’s world:

Why not sit down and play the game with them? You don’t have to be good at the game; simply spending time with your child to understand why he or she finds these games so fascinating may open up some doors for you. Hey, you may even have fun while you’re at it!
Designate specific times when your child can play games so you can monitor their on and offline gaming behavior. Your child may be display different traits when playing co-op games that reflect the views and emotions of the entire group.
Talk to your child about your concerns.

Guest Blogger: Mark Casino
cares about your children.

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A Trendy Coffee Table Cube For Your Home

John — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:04:22 +0000

If you’re redecorating your home and want to go for a more modern look, consider a coffee table cube to replace that boring table. Aside from eco-friendly furniture within the household, items that are compact and constructed with great design are growing in popularity in many homes. Personally, my whole fascination with trendy furniture began with a simple bookshelf that had a very unique design and could be taken apart to become a desk. Whether you’re moving out to your own place or want to add some life to your current living space, skip the traditional coffee table with 4 legs and look into a coffee table cube.

The Metro Nesting Cube is a fine piece of furniture that can be transformed into a coffee table cube, side table, and storage shelf. Line them up horizontally or vertically to suit your needs. If you don’t need a table and are more concerned about saving space, stack them up and use it as a shelf. It is constructed of rubberwood and has an espresso-stained finish for an elegant, yet contemporary touch.

Coffee tables cubes will create quite the impression on your guests. Even if you’re really not into art or interior design, these types of home furnishings can possibly earn you some cool points from visitors. Go and donate that old table and pick up this nice piece of furniture!

-John

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