short post while jessica's playing dragon quest viii. www.gamesarefun.com, the site i visit for video gaming news, has introduced a blogging system for its staff and users. i've started one up and i'm thinking of shifting the video game related stuff over there. then again, i may just duplicate so i can have completeness here. anyway, the link to my gamesarefun.com blog is: http://www.gamesarefun.com/userblog.php?id=81. out.
back on the video gaming wagon after not feeling into them for a while. not that i swore games off or never played or anything, but instead of coming home and diving right in, i had to think of what i felt like playing, and nothing was ever coming to mind. guitar hero kept me occupied during this span and it still get more play time than most games.
however, i'm back into rpgs...not the newest, mind you, but it's still a good one: grandia II for the sega dreamcast. i'm far enough into this one that i can say with conviction that it's a pretty damn good game. the story follows ryodu, a "geohound" that has been hired to escort a songstress of granas (the god of light) to a ceremony that is supposed to stop valmar's (the god of darkness) rebirth. stuff happens during the ceremony that gets ryodu mixed up in the battle between light and darkness.
the plot is ok and it has a few interesting points, but it ends up going cliche about halfway through. that's not necessarily a bad thing, but if the story was the only thing this game had going for it, it would have fallen by the wayside. luckily that's not the case. what keeps my attention is the battle system. it's turn-based+. if you played the first grandia on the playstation, then the battle system is familiar. each participant in the battle has bar for timing attacks. the time it takes to go from "rest" to "command" is based on stats. at the "command" stage you choose your attack and then the turn progresses to the "act" stage, where the character does what you commanded. it's hard to describe, but it allows you to time your attacks so that they cancel your enemies' attacks, among other things.
as far as aesthetics go, the music is good and the graphics are great. one thing i had forgotten about this game is that it came with a soundtrack. being the video game nerd that i am, i actually used to listen to this cd quite a bit...right along with the soundtracks to the lunar games, final fantasies 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. even though the view is overhead 3/4, the world is nice and colorful and the sprites are pretty top-notch. during battles, special attacks and magical effects are nicely represented, but i sometimes want to skip the sequence on the more drawn out ones.
all in all i think grandia II is a well-rounded game. i'm having fun playing it and the battles are something i don't begrudge. in fact, i've actually cleared every "dungeon" i've gone through so far. that probably explains why my characters are pretty high in level already. i'd give this game a solid 9.
the other game usurping my time? shadow of the colossus for the ps2. this game is nice. the perpective is sweet, the graphics look better than xbox360's offerings as of late, and there aren't any regular enemies...just bosses. you even get to ride a dumb horse (i have a somewhat humorous anecdote about said horse....ask me about it sometime). i'm looking forward to finishing this one as well, so more dialog is probably coming (as per usual). out.
well, i've been a comic-reading fool lately, both old and familiar reads to brand-new stuff. for one thing i reread dc's kingdom come a few days ago. i had forgotten how good it was. anyway, currently on my reading list is vol. 2 of madman by mike allred, alan moore's captain britain trade, and various other new series (mini and ongoing) and one-shots. i want to type about some of them here....sort of a revisit to the last posts. and now on to the reviews...i may be cheeky and repost this on the reviews page, too. i'm not sure yet. oh yeah, beware of spoilers.
Nextwave
well, as with anything written by warren ellis, i expect to be entertained and always look forward to the next thing up his sleeves. nextwave is no different. i've only read the first issue, but it was good. nice dialogue and humor, especially since these are lower-tier characters in the marvel universe. there's even some fun at their own expense. this team is part of h.a.t.e., a s.h.i.e.l.d.-like organization headed by dirk anger, a nick fury-esque guy. the art is good, the story is great, this is a grade a comic.
House of M
so this was the x-men's most recent giant crossover and i have to say that it was quite good. there were some nice twists to discover and some really good questions posed. for example, if you wake up tomorrow in a utopian world, but still remember the world you should be living in, should you do anything to change it back the way it was? everyone has what they always wanted, why change it back? but the problems went even deeper and the solution was something so drastic that the x-men won't be the same...unless they're able to "undo" everything. professor x is still missing with no leads on where to find him and the total mutants on earth has dropped from close to a million to under 1000. grading on this one is a little different since it had the main storyline and lots of minis to support. main storyline: grade a comic, supporting stories: grade b to c comics.
Spider-Man: The Other
this one passed me by and i had to play catch-up, but i'm glad i did because it was kickass. spidey's not feeling too good lately and he finds that his time is quite short, according to the doctors and his super-brained friends. to top it off, one of his most dangerous enemies is back from the dead to "feed" on the spider. spider-man sucks it up and accepts that it's his time to die and faces off against morlun, the enemy. after being beaten into submission (even beyond recognition...even had his eye pulled out), spider-man is saved by the paramedics and cops, who take him to the hospital. morlun bides his time and goes to see spidey and finish the deed. mary jane tries to stop him, but she gets smacked away and is about to be eaten by morlun, as well. in a last ditch move, spidey goes all out, showing some new powers, and takes morlun down. that effort was all he could take and he dies. the avengers take him back to stark towers and before anyone knows it, something crawls out of peter's skin and escapes (think of something shedding its skin). so spider-man actually dies, but comes back with some slick new abilities. he's embraced the spider and now has to face "the other," his antithesis that came back along with him. this one was partially written by j. michael straczynski, so i knew what to expect. this is definately a grade a comic.
X-Men: Deadly Genesis
this mini ties into "decimation" storyline that's resulted from the house of m. all of the energy from the humanizing of 98% of the mutant population has been shifted around and awakens an old enemy from space. this new villain is an omega-plus class mutant, so he's a badass. he knows the original x-men, but none of the members that joined after giant-size x-men. i'm about to give away a couple of major spoilers here. first, the new villain was actually kid vulcan, a member of an unknown team professor x assembled to find the original x-men that went missing (sparking the giant-size team...they were actually the third set). it sounds all well and good, but they add another twist that marvel's been using to tease readers forever. it turns out that the summers brothers have one more sibling. that sibling happens to be this new villain...he's the elusive third summers brother who had actually lived with the shi'ar race (because their father, corsair aka christopher summers, was taken by the shi'ar and that's what orphaned scott and alex). this series isn't over yet, so i can't give it a final grade, but at this point i'd say it's a grade b comic.
i think that's going to do it for now. i'm sure more will be coming since i've been reading all sorts of books lately. perhaps some video game reporting, too. i've been going through grandia 2 for the dreamcast and jessica's trucking through dragon quest 8 for the ps2.
ok, here are some more comics to look out for. these are non-marvel....probably mainly dc/vertigo/wildstorm, but there may be some image in here, too.
Batman: Year One Hundred
new mini-series by paul pope, writer/penciller for 100%, one of the coolest books i'd read in a long time. it's 2039 in gotham city and the grandson of commissioner jim gordon is investigating a murder of one of his officers. all signs point to batman, but what's the real story?
Kid Eternity
this is a collection of an older vertigo mini-series by grant morrison. sounds like there are some heavy religious themes involved in this story.
The Exterminators
i don't have a synopsis of this one, but the artwork and general premise sounded interesting at the very least. worth a try.
Captain Atom: Armageddon
captain atom, a dc character, was somehow teleported to the wildstorm universe and discovers that, unlike his native earth, humans fear the super-heroes. he comes across many wildstorm people including the authority. this mini-series details his encounters.
The Portent
this is a brand-new series focusing on a swordsman who comes to a crossroads of sorts. looks interesting, but i'd like a few more details. will check it out, though.
Hysteria: One Man Gang
image comics series of a city split between gangs. if one group encroaches another, a full-out turf war ensues. looks to have lots of martial arts and ass-kicking.
Bad Planet
sci-fi image mini-series where arachnid aliens are trying to overrun the earth and one alien warrior is willing to fight them off.
Season of the Witch
image mini-series with a sword-and-sorcery flair. this series follows jessica, a new witch training to become a spell sword. she and her companion have started a rebellion against their tyrannical king.
Industry of War
image story...this may be a one-shot or a series. two military agents have been tasked to seek out and recover some experimental military equipment that got out in the public, namely in the possession of an ex-paroled gang member. what's more, the equipment was programmed with an assassination mission that has been reactivated, so along with finding the equipment, the agents must stop the assassination. billed as sci-fi political thriller.
Grounded
image mini-series. think of a high school for kids of super heroes. these kids have powers, too, so there shouldn't be a dull moment.
Bomb Queen
from image's website: "For a decade, the egomaniacal super-villain known as Bomb Queen has ruled the city, made the laws and bent the people to her blood lust and sexual perversion. However, despite years of death, destruction and moral decay, the people of New Port City prefer Bomb Queenıs methods. All hell breaks loose when a hero comes to town and turns Bomb Queenıs world upside down. This hero has to die or Bomb Queen will lose her rule!"
purpose of this entry is completely self-serving. i want to list upcoming comics so i don't forget ones that sound interesting. added bonus is that you'll see some stuff that piqued my interest.
FF presents: Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius - Everybody Loves Franklin
this story details the adventures of everyone's favorite super-powered son, franklin richards. this book is written and drawn by Chris Eliopoulos, creator of Calvin and Hobbes, and the art style in franklin... is quite similar. it looks like an all-around fun read.
Marvel Annihilation (Crossover)
this is one of those blockbuster crossovers from marvel. this time it focuses on the cosmic side of the marvel universe. it has a prologue, 4 individual mini series, and a 6-issue series to close. books are: annihilation: prologue, silver surfer, super skrull, nova, ronan the accuser, and aniihilation.
Civil War (Crossover)
think of this as part 3 to marvel's major crossovers Avengers: Disassembled and House of M. in the aftermath of the house of m, 98% of the mutants are powerless (from the Decimation crossover) and a super-hero registration act has been proposed. half the marvel universe is for it, the other half not. this crossover is the build-up and conflict as a result...hero against hero across the board.
X-Men: Deadly Genesis
professor x is missing after House of M and this is the search for him. however, an all-new mutant threat has emerged and he knows the original x-men (none of the giant-size group, though). speculation states that the new threat may finally be the revealed third summers brother.
Book of Lost Souls
marvel ongoing series written by j. michael straczynski. the protagonist is a man who lived 100 years ago and was transported to the current century by a failed suicide attempt. it sounds dark and mysterious, not the typical super-hero fare i usually read.
Nextwave
new marvel series written by warren ellis. not much more to say than the previous sentence. it's a team of heroes (c- and d-list) doing their thing.
Wolverine: Origins
new ongoing series that needs no explanation. the first Origin was great, so i have high hopes with this one.
Spider-Man: The Other
spidey crossover where he has to face the only foe he's never defeated. i missed this one, apparently, because it's just now finished.
Act One: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #19 and Amazing Spider-Man #525
Act Two: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #20 and Amazing Spider-Man #526
Act Three: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #21 and Amazing Spider-Man #527
Finale: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #22 and Amazing Spider-Man #528