I wish to make a complaint

Penny Arcade Crapitude

2008-05-27T15:34:18Z

I'd like to post a scathing review of the Penny Arcade game (Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness), but after playing the demo, there's no way I'd be willing to pay a single penny for it, let alone $20. I'm a big fan of the webcomic, but this game does not live up to the quality of its source material. It seems to suffer from many of the faults that the PA crew themselves complain about when seen in other games. If someone who has played both the demo and the real game can confirm that the demo is exactly the same as the beginning of the actual game, I'll gladly skewer the first half hour or so of gameplay.

Do Politics Belong in Video Games?

2006-11-06T20:04:45Z

This past week, Final Fantasy XII was released in the US. I had been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to play the game specifically to see how well the new combat system worked, so I began my journey in the world of Ivalice the same day I had it in my hands. After a few hours of playing, I noticed something a bit odd about the plot: I couldn't quite figure out who were the protagonists and who were the antagonists. On the one hand I was angry at the country of Archadia for invading Dalmasca, but on the other hand I was angry at the Dalmascan's who were involved in resisting of the occupation since Archadia claimed their intent was peace.

It wasn't until I was wandering around in the underground section of Rabanastre that I suddenly realized the significance of the plot. Underground Rabanastre has a moderately Arabian style which reminded me that the original designs for FFXII had distinctly Arabian architecture and costumes. Everything clicked into place and I suddenly realized that the plot at the beginning of the game was a thinly veiled reference to America's (and its allies') war on terror.

I have not written this to discuss the war on terror, the correctness of liberals or conservatives or how much intelligence I lack for not sooner realizing this game's connection to current events. I have written this to ask the question that arises. The fact that Final Fantasy XII covers current political events that strongly polarize the world begs me to ask the question:

"Do politics belong in video games?"

It seems like a rather simple and straightforward question with a simple of straightforward answer, but after careful thought, my answer becomes a muddy mess of "I don't know." Do politics belong in video games?

Since Final Fantasy XII places players in control of Dalmascans involved in the resistance, it immediately makes one more sympathetic to their cause while placing Archadia as the well meaning but imperialistic enemy. In other words, the game is, at least at the very beginning, very much critical of America and its war on terror (perhaps the tone or message of the game changes later on, but I haven't played long enough to say for certain). Video game-playing adults who do not agree with the message of FFXII might get upset at the plot and might not purchase the game, but what will happen with parents who do not like this message but bought this game for their children?

ESRB ratings have absolutely nothing to do with a political message in a game. Most parents don't have the slightest inkling of the actual content of games they buy for their children. I can imagine parents getting upset at discovering a video game their child plays has a political message with which they do not agree. Cries of "corrupting our youth" and "subversive messages in video games" come to mind. Perhaps some letters to congressmen over the "anti-American" content of games, maybe even a press conference from Mr. Jack Thompson.

While the message in FFXII is most likely to upset conservatives, video games with anti-liberal messages could just as easily pop up. What would happen if the new Trauma Center for Wii took a position firmly against euthanasia? I can imagine many parents who believe in the right to die would be extremely upset to discover their children playing a game espousing the contrary view.

Liberal or conservative, communist or democrat, atheist or religious, human or intergalactic alien, there are enough messages that could easily show up in video games to anger people of all political persuasions. Now more than ever, video games are being criticized for their content that some people hold offensive and throwing political messages into the fire will only increase the ire of critics, but just because video games are the media on which is currently focused the "ire du jour" does not mean that self censorship is excusable. This is particularly important to keep in mind if one considers, or wants video games to be at some point in the future considered art.

The argument of classifying some video games as art has been going back and forth for years now. Games developed by designers such as Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Fumito Ueeda would seem to indicate one way, while the professional critic, Roger Ebert, states another. Whether or not a person considers video games as a viable art form, if developers were to begin censoring the messages of their games it would be impossible to ever consider video games art.

Once censorship begins, every aspect of a piece of art becomes compromised or watered down, often losing the actual purpose of the work. William Randolph Hearst was unsuccessful in completely preventing the release of Citizen Kane, but what if he successfully sued to have its plot changed? What if J. D. Salinger's publisher said they wouldn't release Catcher in the Rye unless he removed all the curses and references to sex? What if, while Michelangelo was creating David, he was ordered to chisel the statue wearing clothes? I am not trying to claim that there are any video games that are anywhere on par with these peerless works of art, I am merely trying to demonstrate that censorship can only harm them. Asking video games to censor their message, even if it is self-censorship, would forever deny them the right to exist as art.

So what can be done? Without censorship, there are bound to be complaints when people realize there are political message they don't agree with in video games. If we censor video games, or allow them to be censored, we restrict them to mindless time-passing entertainment and ensure they will never be able to reach the form of art. Neither option will make everyone happy.

I think the only successful option is to have parents more involved with their childrens' entertainment. Video games should be not be used as a babysitter. Parents playing video games with their children can be an amazing bonding experience. If parents encounter something they feel strongly against, it is a great opportunity to discuss the issue with their children. Parents should not immediately condemn a video game as soon as they see a message contrary to their own, but use it to show their children what they believe is right.

Unfortunately, many parents cannot sit and play video games with their children. Many don't have time for a calm peaceful dinner at the kitchen table, or even time to talk to their children about their days were. Does this mean that we should start expecting complaints about political messages in video games? Does this mean we should start expecting more censorship? I hope not. What do you think?

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Microsoft in talks to purchase Malware Company

2005-06-30T16:01:11Z

As reported by news.com, Microsoft is in talks to buy Claria, the company responsible for Gator and a host of other malware programs. According to the article: "The offer price on the table as recently as Wednesday was $500 million, according to people who have been briefed on the talks."

Microsoft has been attempting to upgrade its image regarding security for the past few years. Security experts and the general public have been blaming the pandemic of spyware on Microsoft's insecure operating systems and web browser. These talks clearly demonstrates that Microsoft approves of spyware. No matter what improvements they may make to their systems, purchasing a spyware company for 500 million dollars sends out a message that pursuits in illegal malware will be rewarded!

Many point out that Claria makes programs that are much less obtrusive than Gator and Microsoft is interested because of that. This does not change the fact, however, that their software is installed without a user's knowledge and collects information from a user's computer without his or her consent. Others speculate Microsoft is interested in purchasing Claria to get their programs off the market, but once more, this is rewarding Claria for its bad and arguably illegal behavior!

How can a company that says they care about the computer security be trusted if it is purchasing the very software that is attacking its customers? It does not matter why they are purchasing the company; by rewarding those who create it, Microsoft is giving spyware its seal of approval!

Comic Book Review: Maus: A Survivor's Tale

2005-02-19T01:50:29Z

I’ve wasted thousands of dollars in my lifetime on things that failed to live up to their hypes. I'd like to save people time and money by offering my opinion on anything and everything I use in my life. I’ve created “I wish to make a complaint” with the intent of letting people know about the real quality of goods in America from a consumer perspective, instead of an industry expert. See something important I didn’t mention? Disagree with what I’ve said? Feel free to comment on it; I welcome all criticism!

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale

Written and Drawn by Art Spiegelman

First released in 1973, Maus is a controversial, yet highly acclaimed comic book series about dealing with the Holocaust. Although it is simple in both narrative and art, it has many levels of complexity that can be carefully picked apart and analyzed to provide an even deeper meaning than face value.

Though Maus does have much about the Holocaust, it does not so much focus on the tragedy as it is does on the way life has been affected by it. The comic alternates between New York during the 70’s and Poland during the 30’s and 40’s. It chronicles the survival of Vladek Spiegelman during the Holocaust and his relationship to his son as he recants the horrors during that time. The author depicts all characters as anthropomorphized mice, cats and pigs, which is a bit odd at first, but an oddity the reader will soon adjust to. Despite the seemingly children oriented visuals, this is not meant for youngsters. Maus has frequent graphic depictions of death and violence.

Maus is not like other stories about the Holocaust. Although primarily relating Vladek’s life during the Nazi occupation of Poland, I found that the plot frequently focused on the interactions between the different generations. The comic starts off a bit slow and I even found myself a little bored with some of the events in the first chapter. All this changed, however, in chapter two, at which point I was unable to put this book down. The characters become so interesting, and the events depicted so horrific, one cannot help but continue on reading. Despite the fact that the reader already knows the outcome of the events in Poland, the tale is so masterfully written and the characters are so expertly developed that one cannot help but keep on reading.

The interactions between Arty and Vladek are astonishingly well developed. There were many times in the comic where I could have substituted my father and myself in place of Vladek and Arty. It is obvious that the author put much effort and care into developing the realism of his characters. Maus also does a very good, if somewhat controversial job of confronting stereotypes both in its use of animals to represent ethnicities and his of realistic characters.

The artwork usually takes a very simplistic and minimalist approach. Though it is very interesting and stylistic, I did have problems distinguishing characters from one other due to the simplicity of their animal features. Thankfully, the dialog was often clear enough to avoid any real confusion about who everyone was.

Though primarily aimed at adults, it is conceivable that young teenagers could get much from the comic book. It is advisable, however, that parents review it first before allowing their children to read it. Aside from the obvious happenings of the holocaust, there are many mature themes and events depicted that should be carefully explained to youngsters.

I am giving Maus a Buy or Read rating. The storyline and characters are top notch and will tightly draw you into the story. Although not as revolutionary or controversial as it was when first released, Maus still covers ground that many do not tread in the world of comics. It deals with complex themes and stories in an extremely mature and dignified way that can be appreciated by people who would never have even considered comics as a legitimate form of art. Although the majority of the characters are Jewish, Art Spiegelman does a great job of gearing the writing so that everything can be understood even if the reader has no knowledge of Jewish customs and lifestyles. This is a true work of art that can be enjoyed by all.

DVD Review: Hero

2005-02-17T05:06:01Z

Hero (American Release)
Directed by Yimou Zhang
Written by Feng Li, Bin Wang, Yimou Zhang

FILM

Hero is a mildly entertaining wuxia movie with heavily stylized cinematography and a tad too much melodrama. This film is neither a membrane powerhouse nor a chop-socky fest, but rests somewhere in between, with a script more powerful than a typical eastern kung fu flick, and martial arts superior to what you would find in an western action film. If it was not so overdramatic, it would’ve been an exceptional film, but the heavy handed ham of many scenes make it difficult to take most of Hero seriously.

Told primarily through flashbacks, Hero centers around a master swordsman, Nameless, named so because of the strict naming conventions of the warring states of China. At the start of the film, Nameless is summoned to see the King of Qin (a state in China before its unification), having killed the three most deadly assassins of an opposing state. The remainder of the movie consists of Nameless recounting his exploits to the King. Scenes are often revisited and told from different perspective, sometimes with drastically different events taking place.

The main focus of this movie is color. Each flashback has a different color that it focuses on, connected with the emotions that are laden within the scenes. It may sound out for a film to focus so much attention on the color, but this ends up being one of the most impressive aspects of the film. In addition for helping to convey the mood of scenes, they give an impressive artistic perspective on the film. The colors practically seep out of the film into your brain. Yimou Zhang even said in an interview (included in the DVD extras) that he expects when people think back on Hero, they will remember colors, and this is what he wants. As impressive as the colors are in the film, they are not able to cover up the problems of the film.

One of the biggest annoyances of the film is the over-the-top nature of everything that’s done. Although this is good thing to use during action sequences, parts of the film become absolutely ludicrous as a result. There are entire shots that are put in for no purpose other than to make things more dramatic. One scene of the film involves several thousand people asking questions in unison. It is supposed to be a serious scene, but I found myself unable to stifle giggles while watching it. The script too is unnecessarily melodramatic. Characters often act with the desperate attention grabbing monologues you’d expect to only find in a Shakespearean play. Fortunately, the story and characters are interesting enough to maintain interest in the plot. The script has enough interesting events and surprises to keep you watching, and the characters are rather likeable once you get past their oratorical prose. There has apparently been some controversy voiced about the theme of the script, as it is pro-totalitarian (a complaint that has been voiced about some of his prior films). Although there is certainly legitimacy to these complaints, I do not feel that the political subtexts made me enjoy the film any less.

This movie is not quite an action film, but not quite a drama. Unfortunately, instead of taking the best parts of both worlds, it merely touches on bits and pieces of each; a jack of all trades, but master of none. Some of the action in the movie is absolutely spectacular, but much of it is boring and slow compared to other wuxia films. This is partially caused by casting actors with no martial arts experience in combat roles. There are many scenes where real and computer generated objects are stuck on-screen merely to obscure the action that is going on. It’s a rather irritating cheat that’s found in many scenes. People looking for a kung fu fix will not be able to find it in this film.

My greatest enjoyment of this film actually came from its brilliant soundtrack. Composed by Dun Tan, the music is a mixture of traditional Chinese and modern theatrical music. Its effects are absolutely stunning. It perfectly accompanies the film, sometimes tightly integrating into action, at other times complementing the emotions on-screen. I would’ve loved if the film came with an isolated soundtrack, instead of containing an advertisement to buy the CD.

DVD

Although the DVD has several extras, much of it is just marketing hype for the film and its stars. Audio is available in Mandarin 5.1 Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital DTS, English and French, but subtitles are only available in English and Spanish. Storyboards for three scenes in the film can be viewed while watching the shots, which was rather interesting. Two featurettes were included, one on the making of Hero, another about the people involved with Hero and previous work they’ve done. Though the making of Hero did contain some interesting parts, it was primarily an advertisement for the film. The other featurette is consists of Quentin Tarantino and Jet Li discussing previous films that the cast and crew was involved with, and spoke very little about Hero itself. It offered nothing but a series of advertisements.

I am giving Hero a Consider Watching rating. If you’re looking for a film that isn’t too cerebral, but has some action to it, this film will entertain you. It probably won’t appeal to fans of action or kung fu movies, because the action in the film has been done better, and people interested in a drama might become annoyed with the frequent interspersed action sequences. The film is not terrible, but what it tries to do has been done more proficiently before.

Hero gets a mediocre 42 thumbs up.

DVD Review: Millennium Actress

2005-02-15T01:23:26Z

Millennium Actress (American Release)
Directed by Satoshi Kon
Written by Satoshi Kon and Sadayuki Murai

FILM

I have never in my life seen a film quite like Millenium Actress, and I doubt that I will ever again find one. Although the core of its tale is a simple story, the film plays out in an astonishing way that comes close to revolutionizing the art of storytelling. By juxtaposing different times and events, the movie tells the story without the viewer ever knowing for sure what is real and what is not. Each time you peel away one layer of the plot, another pops up to explain both everything and nothing at the same time. The film has much to offer on many different levels, with a myriad of styles that will please audiences of all kinds.

Millennium Actress is about the unusual life of a Japanese actress, Chiyoko Fujiwara. The majority of the film takes place through flashbacks as Chiyoko relates her life for a documentary. She began acting in films while she was a teenager and goes on to star in many films ranging from period pieces to science-fiction. The focal point of her life, however, is not her career, but the love that she lost.

Though it sounds like a simple setup and story, its implementation is astonishingly well-done, and breathes fresh new life into film itself. The flashbacks are not a true telling of Chiyoko’s life. Instead, they combine elements of her life, elements of her movies, and interactions from people of the present to form an surprisingly coherent story. Many paradoxes and anomalies occur in the narration, but this film has nothing to do with time travel. Real events suddenly shift to film, people are sometimes juxtaposed with counterparts from Chiyoko’s films, and people from the present sometimes talk to versions of themselves from the past. As confusing as it sounds, though, through masterful writing, it is not often that you will find yourself confused as to the events that are transpiring.

The characters in the film are just as well thought as movie’s method of exposition. The realism of their personalities serve to pull you into the film even further. Everyone has complex motivations that are masterfully displayed through their actions. The progression of time further evinces the wonderfully created characters. People grow old, emotions about them change from the events of their life, but you can always see how they become who they are. Though Chiyoko is rather aged as she recants her life, you can still see the hints of the shy young girl she was at the start of her film career.

The advancement of time is displayed well both in the characters’ personalities and their looks. The drawing for aging process is done exceptionally well done. It is always easy to see the progression of people as they age throughout the film. In fact, the visuals as a whole for this film are exceptionally done. The drawings and animation are stunningly realistic, even in action scenes. People are very distinctive, and the movie does not suffer from the frequent “same face, different hairstyle” as can often be seen in Japanese animation. There are a few scenes with drastically experimental art-styles, but they are never overwhelming to the point where they distract you from the film.

The music is a rather eclectic mix of traditional Japanese, techno, and modern cinema. Much of the time it fit well, but there were a few instances where the music pushed out of the film with its oddness to distract me from the events of the screen. This did not happen too often so it does not greatly harm the film.

With all its complexities, one would think that you have to be a master film connoisseur to appreciate the film, but this could not be further from the truth. The phenomenal script boils down to a simple love story that can be followed by anyone, but is significant enough to stand on its own. There is one major flaw, however, with the film revolving around the script. Clocking in at a scant 87 minutes, the film is too short to completely explore all it wishes to cover. I am not complaining that the movie was “so good it should be longer.” The truth is that not everything that should’ve have been covered in the film was touched on. There were a few parts of Chiyoko’s character that I wish had been explained a bit more, and the ending is a tad sudden and could’ve used a bit more foreshadowing. Still, the length is only a small complaint, and still leaves Millennium actress as a work of art.

The movie seems to offer a challenge to the viewers; since the audience is often unaware of the actual events that have transpired, it tries to convince people that what really happened does not matter. It is challenging you to question the importance of actual events over memories, and it does a wonderful job of presenting it. The ultimate goal of the film may very well be to leave the audience doubting the importance and truth of reality itself.

DVD

The audio for Millennium Actress on DVD is only in Japanese, but comes in 2.0 or 5.1 dolby digital. Subtitles are available in English or French. The DVD includes an impressive video on the making of Millennium Actress which offers profound insight into Satoshi Kon and this film. Although parts of it are mired in Japanese quirks, you come out with a much greater understanding of the film and Satoshi Kon’s other works. Considering the short length of the film, this extra is surprisingly long. This release also contains the American trailer for Millennium Actress. Although unimportant compared to the rest of the DVD, the trailer bears mention merely because of its poor quality. Dreamworks may have made the trailer on a shoestring budget, as it is horrifically confusing, littered with poor grammar and incomplete phrases, and really tells the viewer nothing about the film. Though this doesn’t impact the DVD in any way, I think it serves to demonstrate the general lack of interest by American companies in allocating the necessary resources to promote foreign films in this country

I am giving Millennium Actress a resounding Buy rating. It is a powerful film with a revolutionary style of storytelling that anyone can enjoy. The numerous layers of this film warrant multiple viewings to fully understand everything it has to offer. It has many ideas that will make you think long after the film is over, and dares to ask the difficult question “Is reality more important than one’s memories.” The script, characters and visuals are a masterpiece of modern Japanese animation. The movie has so much to offer that no one should pass up watching this work of art.

Millennium Actress gets 42 thumbs up, my highest rating ever!

Book Review: Mind Over Back Pain

2005-02-13T01:34:09Z

Mind Over Back Pain
By John Sarno, MD

This is an odd little book that after reading left me quite confused as to what the author was attempting to accomplish. Though a bit old at this point (it was printed in 1984), it presents some revolutionary ideas about the causes of back pain, and suggests that there are startling non-medical methods of treatment. Through his use of simple language and non-medical writing, Dr. Sarno makes this book understandable to all, yet useful to none. Mind Over Back Pain does not seem to have any particular aim other than to give a small introduction to his theory. This book does not have any particular group that could make use of its information.

This short book is a discussion of Dr. Sarno’s experiences with back pain, and a condition he calls Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) that he feels is the cause of most back pain. The first two chapters discuss back pain as it is currently known. Chapters three and four are about TMS itself, and the final chapter supposedly deals with treatment and cures. The last chapter is what would interest most people, but it is also the chapter that contains the least amount of information. At no point does Dr. Sarno come out and explicitly state how to cure TMS. He merely alludes to changes in mind and ambiguously refers to physical therapy. I would imagine that anyone who picks up this book is either suffering from back pain, or a medical expert seeking new cures to the problem. Since there is no real discussion of the treatment or cure of TMS, the overwhelming majority of people who this book should be aimed at have no reason to read this book.

In Mind Over Back Pain, Dr. Sarno states that it has been medically proven that stress can affect the circulatory system. His particular theory on back pain is that the problems with circulation from stress cause poor circulation to and from muscles, which leads to oxygen deprivation and a buildup of waste materials in muscles, thereby causing intense pain. By asserting a direct connection between a state of mind and medical condition, Dr. Sarno is touching on ground that many are afraid to tread. Even today, connections between psychology and medicine are considered controversial and hotly disputed.

When making such an enormously disputable, one must back it up with evidence; opinions alone are not enough to sway minds. The book falls rather short here, as it offers only a handful of cases, and very little statistical evidence. Furthermore, some of the numbers offered can be considered suspect, as they appear to be from specially handpicked groups of his patients. Quite often, Dr. Sarno gives evidence from memory which is unacceptable for any sort of proof. I am not disputing whether or not Dr. Sarno’s theories are correct, but he does not offer anywhere near the necessary evidence to convince me of TMS being the cause of back pain. This lack of evidence combined with the easy language leads me to suspect that this book is not aimed at medical professionals. With its complete lack of curative information, however, this book is obviously not aimed at the layman either. As such, I have absolutely no idea who should be reading this book.

I am giving Mind Over Back Pain an Avoid rating. Although Dr. Sarno has many interesting ideas on the problem of chronic back pain, he fails to provide enough evidence to effectively convince anyone, or to explain how to cure it. His theory of TMS did sound perfectly plausible, and I would definitely be interested in hearing about his treatment, but I cannot get enough information from this book to judge TMS’s legitimacy or determine how to fix it. Dr. Sarno has written a follow-up book, Healing Back Pain, which I have not yet read. If that book does indeed indicate how to cure TMS, then there is absolutely no reason for this book to still be on the market, and there is certainly no reason to read it.

Mind Over Back Pain gets a poor 42 thumbs up.

Video Game Review: Tony Hawk's Underground 2

2005-02-11T01:40:39Z

Tony Hawk’s Underground 2
For The Playstation 2, XBOX, and Gamecube (Playstation 2 version reviewed)
Rated M for Mature

Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 is the sixth iteration of the insanely popular Tony Hawk skating video game saga. Sadly, the series has become so derivative of itself, even the major retooling found in this game cannot bring the series back from the pits of mediocrity. The game primarily features the same moves and controls from all its past outings (both good and bad), with a couple of new tricks thrown in to try to pretend this game offers something new. The tedious gameplay, uninspired plot, uneven levels of difficulty and poor level design left me wishing this series had finished a long time ago.

THUG2 at its core is a skateboarding game. The controls for skating are still relatively tight, combos are even more insane than previously and a few new tricks were added to the move-set. Two single player modes exist, a story mode that was used in THPS4 and THUG, and classic mode that plays like the first three games. There are multiplayer modes on all three systems, and online play for the PS2 version. A diverse soundtrack is included with the game, and the ability to pick which tracks you want to listen to and randomize the play list are nice features .The game also contains interesting create-a-skater, create-a-park, create-a-move, create-a-goal options. Although you can’t create new content anywhere near the complexity of what comes with the game, you can still create some truly impressive new content. New levels can be uploaded to Activision’s servers and can then be downloaded by other players.

With all the extra features that THUG2 contains, it’s a real shame to find that the actual game lacks polish. With all the moves that are in its repertoire, controls for the series have become so complex that players frequently execute wrong tricks because of similar commands (trying to do a wall grind and instead doing a sticker slap was a frequent problem for me). When you’re trying to perform a combo chain for the nth time, only to ollie when you were supposed to acid drop because of similarly mapped controls, you’re bound to get annoyed. The controls aren’t the only cause of the game’s difficulty. Many of the game’s goals are ludicrously difficult, requiring repeated attempts. There were several goals on the last level of the game that required hours each of constant repetition for me to complete. There is a difficulty setting available but it merely affects the score required on point based goals, thereby offering no assistance to players who are unable to do a constant grind on an electrical wire that encircles an entire level. Confusingly, the story mode goal point values and their difficulties seem to have no relation whatsoever. Many goals with high point values are immeasurably easier than goals with low point values. It seems almost as if points were randomly assigned to goals.

One of the biggest draws to the Tony Hawk games has always been the long combos one could string. While this is still an important factor in this game, the new levels in the game do not seem to be built for this purpose. Whereas previous games featured unrealistic levels that were designed specifically for skating, the developers seem to have forgotten that THUG2 is a skateboarding game, and instead focused on creating more realistic landscapes with less possibilities for scoring. There are walls in weird places that seem placed just to make comboing more difficult, weird angles on grindable objects that lead your skater to fall off when he should be continuing on, and places where there just doesn’t seem to be anywhere to trick.

A new technique introduced in THUG1 was the ability to step off your board and walk around. This gameplay element has remained in THUG2 with horrific results. The abysmal on-foot controls make me wish I could never get off my board, but most of the levels in the game require you to traipse around in places you could not go while skating, ultimately leading to massive control and playability problems. Further complicating matters is the on-foot camera, which does not follow your character properly and does not have the necessary range and speed of motion for you to control it yourself. Perhaps if the levels were not designed to necessitate walking and off-board merely became an option instead of requirement, I would’ve enjoyed the game a bit more, as I did have some fun playing levels from previous games.

The graphics for THUG2 are the most impressive of the Tony Hawk series, but they still come off looking a little flat and boring. I believe this is caused by attempts to make levels in the game more realistic looking, as levels included from previous games possessed a much more visual punch. The sound for the most part is quite good. The music selection is broad and customizable. The sound effects aren’t terrible, but there are a few effects here and there that could’ve used a bit of tweaking (explosions sound like muffled thuds, skating over brick produces an car-like sound from your board).

Although you wouldn’t expect a sports game to hinge on its plot, THUG2 pushes the brainless and banal tale of the “World Destruction Tour” down player’s throats with the story mode. The plot is as stupid as it comes (an underground tournament to cause damage in cities throughout the world), the jokes are hard to come by, and the acting is terrible as all the characters are voiced by their real life counterparts, none of whom are actors. The humor, which you would assume to be the center of such a nonsensical plot is horribly forced and more often than not will leave you questioning how it’s supposed to make you laugh. It’s not a matter of the humor being too crude, the problem is that the script was obviously written by a bunch of people in their forties trying to come up with ideas that would make the youths of today laugh. To top it all off, they gave Bam Margera, who comes off even more annoying than in his television shows, a starring role in the script. There is thankfully no story whatsoever in the classic mode, so if for some reason you wish to torture yourself by playing through this game, you can do it without the “let’s attract gen-x” story.

The multi-player is actually the highlight of the game, not because it is particularly well done, but merely because the rest of the game is so hurtful to play. Split-screen can make things playing a tad difficult, but playing for free over broadband works out nicely. It can be difficult, however, to find good games and people. In my online experience, I found most games to be on player created levels, many of which are even worse than the one’s that come packaged with the game. Some levels seemed built specifically so that if you don’t know where things are, you have no chance of keeping up with the game. If you can play online with people you know, however, you can generally stick to well designed levels and people who aren’t going to spend the whole game asking for you to e-mail a naked picture of yourself.

I am giving Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 a Avoid like the plague rating. Although it tries to reinvent itself with some new features and moves, the game bites off more than it can chew. The over-complicated controls, poor level design, annoying difficulty, and agonizing off-the-board action make this game a brutal play at best. It seems like Activision tried to put too much into this game, and didn’t give each important part the attention it needed to make this title enjoyable. Maybe they’ll fix things for THUG3, but I’m not holding my breath.

Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 gets 42 thumbs up, my worst rating ever.

TV Show Review: American Dad (Pilot)

2005-02-09T00:14:50Z

American Dad (Pilot)

Almost anyone will agree that the sitcoms on TV these days are uninspired, unoriginal, predictable, and use the same recycled jokes over and over. While I agree that comedy on TV needs an overhaul, American Dad proves that even when trying to do something different, you can still end up with a generic pile of garbage. The uninspired characters, cookie cutter plot, and jokes that could’ve been torn out of any garden-variety sitcom form the same old mindless comedy you’ve seen a million times before, only this time it’s animated. American Dad ends up being just as bland as the shows it purports to parody.

American Dad tells the story of the Smiths, an average American family with average American problems. The “American Dad” in question is Stan Smith; a conservative rough and tough man’s man who works for the CIA. He worries about his son Steve’s lack of manliness, laments his daughter Hayley’s profuse liberalism, and tells his weak-minded wife, Francine, how to act and what to think. Stan’s personality and interactions with his family were outdated long before Al Bundy had begun to offend the world. Also along for the ride are a goldfish with the brain of a randy German Olympic skier, and an alien who is apparently too lazy to go back home. If you were to remove the fish and the alien, you’d have generic sitcom #527. Get rid of just the fish, and you have Alf without the laughs or originality. Characters like Stan, Francine and the goldfish are slight tweaks on the people you would expect to see in the average sitcom, but still too close to a mirror image to evoke real laughter or interest. Steve, Hayley and Roger the alien would perfectly fit into any other TV show. With such a boring group, viewers can find nothing of interest in the characterizations.

In the pilot episode, we see Steve having trouble dating girls, but his luck improves when he gets help from his father. When Hayley doesn’t want to do her college reports, she hires the family alien to write them for her, and pays in chocolate. Of course, at the end of the episode, everyone learns their lessons, and they go back to one happy family. Although there are a few things out of the ordinary that occur (mostly Stan’s use of his CIA skills in solving his families’ problems), the plot could be a template for any other bland comedy. Such mindless drivel has been seen a million times over since the sitcom was first created. The plot fails to introduce anything of interest to the show.

The only things that could save a program with such problems are the jokes. Unfortunately, these are just as much a letdown as the rest of American Dad. The jesting is mostly the same lifeless refuse you can get on any other sitcom, with a tiny bit of pointless shock humor. One would expect a show coming from the creator of Family Guy, Seth McFarlane, to be ripe with cutting edge offensive techniques, but with shows like South Park which are a million times more biting and intelligent, American Dad comes off somewhere in between Sesame Street and confusingly stupid.

I am giving the pilot for American Dad an Avoid Like the Plague rating. The show reeks of blasé dullness you can find in most other comedies on TV. It comes off as generic sitcom with no intelligence whatsoever. What little shock it has seems half-hearted and has nowhere near the impact of more intelligent shockers like South Park or The Simpsons. There is simply no reason to watch a show that tries to break new ground, but ends up copying all the mistakes of its predecessors. Without a major retooling before the show’s official start, this would appear to be a complete waste of time for everyone involved.

American Dad gets 42 thumbs up my worst rating ever.

DVD Review: The Terminal

2005-02-07T05:01:38Z

The Terminal (American Release)
Rated PG-13 (Parental Guidance suggested under the age of 13)
Written by Andrew Niccol, Sacha Gervasi, and Jeff Nathanson
Directed by Steven Speilberg

FILM

The Terminal is a mildly entertaining comedy with some quirk, a few laughs, and as much gratuitous sappiness as Steven Spielberg could pack into 2 hours. Although much of the movie seems to have been given a lot of attention to quality, it seems very likely that the film was rushed from script straight to shooting without completely reviewing what had been written, as the film is full of plot holes, lacks continuity, and contains boring and unrealistic characters who change as necessary to further the plot. Despite all its faults, I did enjoy watching The Terminal, and I think many other people will as well. If you can suspend your belief, and look beyond the plot holes, lack of cohesion, and generic do-good Spielberg characters, you will find a fun time.

The Terminal takes place in JFK Airport. Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a man from a fictitious country who speaks only Russian, gets off a plane and discovers that he is not to be allowed into America. Through a combination of political unrest in his nation’s country and a completely literal interpretation of immigration law, Viktor is not allowed to enter the U.S., but is not allowed to take a plane anywhere else. The movie then tells the tale of Viktor’s confinement in an airplane terminal; his culture shock, language barrier, life adaptations, and general confusion with America.

Even more puzzling than Viktor’s assimilation into our culture is confusion right at the films start. Viktor, who does not understand enough English to know his passport has been denied, is able to understand that he is not allowed into America, and not allowed to return to his own country. His fluency in English fluctuates quite a bit depending on the needs of the script.

More confusion is derived from Frank Dixon, the head of the Immigration and Nationalization Services at JFK (Stanley Tucci), who keeps Viktor trapped in the airport for no reason other than he can. Of all the characters in the movie, Frank is the most undeveloped and confusing. It seems that he was placed into the movie merely to provide a visible antagonist to stop Viktor from entering the US. This role could’ve been interesting and entertaining, but instead his character was given the minimum of attention at the writing stage, and he comes off as completely baffling, unreasonable, and a man whose whim changes as the plot dictates. The remaining characters in the film are a bit easier to understand, but just as realistic. In fact, it could be argued that everyone else contains the same personality, but are merely located in different bodies, a typical problem with Steven Spielberg films. Each person tends to display an initial gruffness, but soon warms up to turn into a good person deep down, and since the film is PG-13, the only explanation for such vapid and sickeningly sweet characters is poor writing.

With all its failings, there are redeeming qualities about the movie. Despite the repetition of the same jokes throughout the movie (language and culture shock), I found the humor to be entertaining, just don’t expect any revolutionary comedy from this film. Another high point is the stellar performance given by Tom Hanks was written as a drab, boring, and hackneyed character. If not for his talent, I doubt there would’ve been much a reason to give this film a second thought.

DVD

The DVD contains no special features, no extras, no commentary, and no outtakes. The audio comes in English or French, and there are English, French, and Spanish subtitles. 5.1 Dolby DTS and digital are available, but since there isn’t a single action seen in the movie, there is very little reason for this. Simply put, there is absolutely nothing special about the DVD. There’s the film, and nothing else.

I realize that I have spoken much about the negatives of this film, and said little about its worth. It is not a great film, but it is OK. A comedy is designed to make a person laugh, and if it does that, then a mediocre script can be accepted. I am giving The Terminal a Rent rating, because it did give me a few chuckles. Perhaps if the movie was trimmed down, and the comedy was compacted, it would’ve made a very good film, but the long length only served to emphasize its flaws.

I am giving The Terminal a mediocre 42 thumbs up.

News Outlet Review: Fox News Film Coverage

2005-02-05T04:56:25Z

Fox News Film Coverage

Whether you are a radical liberal or a hard-line conservative, you will be horrified at the Fox News’ Journalistic Integrity when dealing with Movies. On February 4, 2005, a Fox News anchor revealed the ending to the much hyped film Million Dollar Baby. According to the newscasters, Rush Limbaugh found aspects of the film to be controversially “liberal,” and therefore began speaking out against the movie. Fox News apparently felt that this was an important enough issue to bring up with the world by explaining in detail the final events of the film. While I would love to take a few choice swings at Mr. Limbaugh, I did not hear him firsthand, and therefore have no right to judge what he purportedly did. I therefore concern myself with Fox News’ inappropriate discussion of Million Dollar Baby. Whether or not a person agrees with the liberal events of the film should not condemn him or her to have it spoiled merely to further a media outlet’s political, sociological and religious views.

I rarely watch Television News programs as I prefer to get my news from other sources. The TV in the lunch room at work is frequently turned to Fox News or CNN, and when I happen to wander inside, I frequently glance up to see what is being shown. When I went in on February 4th to get water from the cooler, I had the misfortunate of glancing up at Fox News’ program, and witnessed them revealing an apparently shocking ending to a film I greatly desired to see, but had been as of yet unable to watch. Although this has in no way deterred me from seeing the movie, there is no question that going in knowing the events of the film will greatly decrease my viewing enjoyment.

There are many possible ways that Fox News could have pointed out to its viewers the liberal themes within Million Dollar Baby without compromising anyone’s foreknowledge of the film. Instead of giving a full account of the ending, they could have easily brought up the issues that were dealt with. Perhaps they could’ve mentioned that there was a controversy, and directed viewers who did not mind having the major plot points revealed to a web site that contained all information they deemed necessary. At the very least, Fox News should have warned viewers what they were about to discuss so people who did not want the movie spoiled could mute the TV, change to another channel, or turn it off altogether.

After detailing the ending of Million Dollar Baby to their audience, Fox News went on to complain about Hollywood’s history of supporting liberalism. It was insinuated that those who are involved in the selection of academy awards will choose Million Dollar Baby to win best picture merely to spite Rush Limbaugh and the conservatives of America. Although I have not watched Fox News enough to confirm or deny their purported role of giving the viewers the facts and letting them decide in the majority of their news, it is obvious to anyone who witnessed this broadcast that their coverage of cinematography is an attempt to force their views upon anyone watching their programs, and stamp out any works of art from people who do not believe to the letter what Fox News demands.

I am giving Fox News’ coverage of films an Avoid Like the Plague rating. This incident has clearly demonstrated that Fox News has no interest in the happiness of its viewers and merely uses its broadcasts as a soapbox to convey its political agendas. They will ruin anyone’s potential enjoyment of a film merely to let their criticisms of others be heard. No matter what side of the political fence you sit on, Fox News is not the place to go for information about movies.

Fox News gets 42 thumbs up, my worst rating ever!

CD Review: Fugazi: The Argument

2005-02-04T03:57:11Z

Fugazi: The Argument

I bought Fugazi’s Argument 4 years ago, and I haven’t put it down since. I don’t think there is an album that I’ve ever listened to more times than this one. To call it an excellent work of art does not even begin to explain its quality, myriad of different levels, and sheer genius. Describing it as a “must have” album would be like describing your significant other as merely “a person you love.” Simply put, The Argument is one of the most amazing musical experiences I have ever had.

The Argument was my first real introduction to the world of Fugazi. When I first listened to the album, I could not quite understand what I was hearing. It was amazing, powerful, and unlike anything I’d ever heard. I replayed the first track, Cashout, over and over again, utterly confused at how a song that was so musically complicated could end up sounding so simple and fiercely enjoyable. The rest of the album follows en suite. No matter what the tempo, the songs were jaw dropping. Although there are certainly some songs on the CD I prefer over others, I cannot select a single track that disappoints.

Often when you find an artistic album, its fun is sacrificed for the technical aspects of the music, but not The Argument. Fugazi’s skills allow you to nod along with the groove of their slow songs, and let you rock out (jump around, mosh, or whatever dancing you prefer) to the fast ones. Forever abandoning the myth that enjoyable music needs simple (power) chords, Fugazi has demonstrated that you don’t even need guitars to pick out chords (several of their songs do not have a single point where a guitar plays more than one note at a time). Their complex guitar and bass-work convalesces into distinct and interesting melodies which even the musically inept can appreciate, but can be carefully picked apart and analyzed by theorists. Similarly, the rhythms laid down by the drums seem rather simple (and therefore easy to keep your toe tapping in accord), but are often amazingly complex in style and substance.

The album’s lyrics are just as polished as music. Covering everything from landlords to governments, and psychology to war, the songs frequently boil down to many problems that people don’t think about, or don’t want to. Although Fugazi could be accused of oversimplification, many of the songs are merely rejecting grey areas that people throw up to hide their evils.

This album oozes careful thought and planning. Each track musically and thematically leads into the next, but they do not bleed into one another like so many CD’s do these days. From the beginning explosion of Cashout, The Argument thrashes around a bit, and then mellows out into The Kill and Strangelight. From there the album ramps up again into Nightshop, which contains both a fierce peak, and a relaxation into the final song. Everything comes around full circle, musically and lyrically, with the last song and title track. The Argument uses similar techniques to Cashout, but possesses lyrics that cover the entire breadth of the album’s ideas, and summarizes them into one word: argument.

I am giving Fugazi: The Argument a Buy rating. I’ve never heard anything like this album, and probably never will again. It contains amazing tunes, thought-provoking lyrics, and a passion for music that is so often forgotten by today’s artists. It is an amazing CD that can be enjoyed by the casual music listeners and aficionados alike. Its inexpensive price (a result of Fugazi and Dischord’s DIY mentality) only makes the deal sweeter. Anyone’s musical collection would greatly benefit from this work of art.

Fugazi: The Argument gets 42 thumbs up, my highest rating ever!

Video Game Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time

2005-01-30T05:26:06Z

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time
For the Super Nintendo Entertainment System

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been around since the 1980’s, and have had rather cyclic popularity, competing with the likes of Power Rangers and Pokemon. Their initial comic book spawned multiple TV shows and movies, action figures, assorted memorabilia, and of course, quite a few video games. One of my favorites is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time for the SNES. Though I still get a great deal of enjoyment when I take this cartridge off my shelve, I question as to whether people who are not fans of the original TMNT will have much fun with this game.

TMNT 4 was released in 1992, thirteen years before this review was written. Video game technology has obviously jumped leaps and bounds since then, but back when this game was released the graphics and sound were top notch. A port (with improvements) of an arcade game by the same name, TMNT 4 was a prime example of the technical prowess of the SNES. The turtles were faithful recreations of their animated counterparts in the glory of 16-bit pixels, the music was a series of toe-tapping remixes of the TV shows theme song, and there were even frequent bits of voice littered throughout the game. Back in 1992 you could not ask for a more polished game. Games today completely blow every technical aspect of TMNT 4 out of the water, so the rating of this game boils down to nothing but the gameplay.

The setup is simple. Shredder, the turtles’ arch nemesis, has stolen the statue of liberty. You have to beat up him and his army to get it back. Commence the beating. Before starting, you select which of the turtles you wish to use. Their attack powers, weapon lengths, attack speeds and walk speeds vary from turtle to turtle, but they are all fairly balanced, and picking one is more of personal preference (but most people will swear by Donatello, who has the longest reach of all the turtles).

TMNT 4 was created back in the simple days of video games, before the time of complex button combinations that had to be memorized. The gameplay is fast and frantic, but a little easy and short-lived (the game can be completed on hard mode in less than a half hour). If you stand still for a second, you’re either getting yelled at by the computer to move on, or you’re dead. Swarms of foot soldiers will descend upon you, although no more than four on-screen at a time. Thankfully, you can take along a buddy for help. The arcade version allowed for up to four people to play cooperatively at a time, but on the home system this number was chopped down to two. Still, a buddy playing along can help you out of any jam you might get yourself into. The game also has a 2-player competitive mode, but it pales in comparison to the fun you can have playing cooperatively.

The turtles have a handful of moves they can execute, although at its core, the combat in the game is rather simplistic, especially when compared to today’s beat-‘em-up games. This is not, however, a detriment; it is actually this games prime attraction. At no point do complex controls or frustrating gameplay get in the way of fun. The level design is rather bland, and frequently has the same background across the entire level. Most of the time, you’ll be too busy beating up the foot clan to notice this, but it can make things a bit more boring than they would be otherwise. Two levels put the turtles on vehicles, one of which uses the impressive SNES mode 7 graphics. This serves to add a little flavor to the game, but these levels play almost identically to their on-foot counterparts. The most memorable part of the game is the first battle with shredder. It takes place from his perspective, and the only way to inflict damage upon him is to throw enemies towards the camera, a nice effect accomplished with SNES scaling.

As fun as this game is to play, many will find it too simplistic to enjoy. Still others will not even consider picking it up, since it does not possess the 3D graphics of modern games. Of course, not everyone will ignore a quality game because of it’s age. There is a good chance that if you’ve ever enjoyed this game in the past, you will still enjoy it now, and many people who enjoy quality gameplay will get a kick out of this game whether or not they even heard of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It is still possible to find used copies of this game online or in used video game stores. Perhaps there are even unopened copies here and there. I am giving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time a Buy rating if you are a fan of the turtles or quality classic games. If, however, you are only interested in modern 3D games, you’d best Pass it by.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time gets 42 thumbs up.

Services Review: Blockbuster Online Unlimited DVD Rentals

2005-01-29T03:04:09Z

Blockbuster Online Unlimited DVD Rentals

After eyeing the success of Netflix, Blockbuster decided to take their business beyond their stores and throw their hat into home delivery DVD rentals. I subscribed to their service for two months and two weeks and walked away impressed with some aspects, but disappointed with others. Whether or not Blockbuster Online Unlimited DVD Rentals works for you mainly will depend on what kind of DVD viewer you are.

The Blockbuster Online Unlimited DVD Rentals plan lets you rent DVD’s without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. After signing up, you can choose which DVD’s you wish to rent. Blockbuster will then ship the three DVD’s that are highest on your list that are in stock, purportedly in one to three business days. Once you’ve finished with a DVD, you mail it back to Blockbuster with the included mailer. Once blockbuster receives back a DVD, it is crossed off your list and they ship you the next highest one on your list that is available. The first two weeks of membership are a free trial, after which you begin getting charged the monthly fee, which is currently $14.99 a month. You can cancel at anytime, but you will not receive a refund for any days left in the month you cancel.

I don’t believe I completely understood the significance of this program when I first signed up for it. I peeked around the Blockbuster site and added a handful of DVD’s to my list. A few hours later, it suddenly dawned on me how many movies and TV shows I had just been given access to. I jumped back onto the Blockbuster site, and probably spent several hours scouring their rentals for all the movies and TV showss I had wanted to see throughout my life but never got around to viewing. I was amazed at how many DVD’s Blockbuster had there. I am an avid movie fan, and watch everything from action blockbusters to low-budget foreign indie films. Only one of the DVD’s that I searched for was not in their library, and it was a foreign films. My top two choices were out of stock at first, but Blockbuster sent me number three through five on my list. Two of the DVD’s arrived two business days later, the third came after one more day passed. It took about two days for my return DVD’s to make their way to Blockbuster’s warehouse, after which time they sent me my next choices.

The first month and two weeks of my subscription was a blast. Everything was delivered posthaste, and I gorged myself on more movies than was probably healthy for my sanity. Although a fair number of the DVD’s I wanted were out of stock, I always got at least one of my top five choices. Upon entering the next month of my subscription, things changed. Netflix cut their price, and to keep up, Blockbuster lowered theirs as well. With this decreased price, however, came a noticeable drop in service. DVD’s began arriving 4-5 business days after Blockbuster received my old ones. There was even a time when Blockbuster logged one of my DVD’s as having been returned, but then did not send a new one out for two more business days. One DVD took two weeks to get to my door, but I suspect that was caused by issues with the post office, not Blockbuster. One of the DVD’s sent to me was the incorrect one, but it turned out that I had it on my list anyway, so it wasn’t that big of an issue.

I also began finding that more and more off my top choice DVD’s were out of stock, but this could just have been random luck. At one point, the top available DVD on my list was number 16. After one more month passed I decided to cancel my subscription.

Whether or not you will enjoy Blockbuster’s Online Unlimited DVD Rental service will ultimately depend on what kind of movie viewer you are. If you can watch a few movies a week without any problem, you will quickly get fed up with Blockbuster’s slow delivery. If, however, you are only a casual movie viewer, watching one or two a weekend, this system may be just for you. It’s a nice alternative to having to tromp down to your local video store, it completely eliminates late fees, and assuming you rent enough movies a month, you can end up saving money over traditional video rentals. I therefore give Blockbuster Online Unlimited DVD Rentals a Pass for the die-hard movie fans, but advise the more casual movie viewer to Give it a try.

Blockbuster Online Unlimited Movie Rentals gets 42 thumbs up.

Video Game Review: Katamari Damacy

2005-01-28T04:44:42Z

Katamari Damacy
For Sony Playstation 2
Rated E for Everyone

Katamari Damacy contains no violence or monsters. There are no half naked women wielding guns, no pumped men running around beating up zombies, no evil overlord trying to kill everyone or enslave the world. This game has no explosions, blood, eviscerations, cop killing, or generic hackneyed world-affecting plots. I’m sure that many of you are wondering what exactly this game has. Simply put, Katamari Damacy has hours of incredible entertainment.

To know Katamari Damacy is to love Katamari Damacy. Apparently hearing the clamor of gamers for a video game that isn’t the same old recycled scenario and gameplay that we’ve seen and played a million times over, Namco has unleashed Katamari Damacy upon the unsuspecting masses. While perhaps not the widow-maker that online RPG’s are, Katamari Damacy is so hopelessly addictive that it will eat up countless hours of your time.

From the campy opening filled with singing ducks and dancing pandas to the indescribably odd story, Katamari Damacy is brimming with quirk that could only come from Japan. As the tale goes, the King of All Cosmos was drunk one night, and accidentally destroyed all the stars in the galaxy. It falls to you, his thimble-sized son, to repopulate the night sky by rolling Katamari around earth until they are large enough to become full fledged stars.

The concept and controls of Katamari Damacy are quite simple. You roll around a ball, called a Katamari, with the two analog sticks. When your ball rolls into something that is small enough, the object becomes attached to your ball. Keep on rolling and your ball increases in size and can then pick up larger “stuff”. Most levels have a target size for your Katamari, but others have odd goals such as “get as many crabs as possible” or “pick up the largest cow you can find.” After a level is complete, the King of All Cosmos takes your Katamari and turns it into a star, or a constellation.

I can’t possibly convey to you with words how astronomically entertaining playing this game is. You simply must experience it for yourself. With the simple controls, rolling the Katamari is a breeze. Racing around swallowing things up in your ball can often be frantic and fast paced, but at the same time you always need to be thinking about what kind of items you are able to already pick up, and remembering to ignore items that are too small to significantly affect your Katamari’s size. The combination of frantic action and forethought makes Katamari Damacy the most innovative puzzle game since Tetris.

Running through the game once shouldn’t take too long; I’ve heard that it’s possible to do it in less than ten hours. Once you’ve beaten the game, however, there are quite a lot of reasons to continue playing the game. All of the standard levels have best times to beat, and there are wearable presents hidden on many of the levels. You can also unlock Eternal Levels, which allow you to play the standard levels in the game with no time limit, giving you a chance to explore everywhere, and pick up everything you possibly can. The game actually tracks every single type of object you’ve picked up, and you can view the items and a short description. For a real challenge, try getting 100% of the items picked up.

Although the game’s graphics are not on par with the current generation of games, there is a certain charm to the minimalist and cubist visuals. The style is consistent throughout the game, even giving characters in the 2D cut-scenes the same square appearance of the in-game polygonal people. This game truly shows how unimportant impressive graphics are in creating an entertaining video game.

Though the visuals are certainly not a pixel-pushing powerhouse, the physics are nothing short of jaw-dropping. When you pick up an object, it doesn’t magically disappear into your Katamari, you actually see it become part of your baby star. Objects stay at the same angle orientation as when they first touched the Katamari and are then treated as part of the ball’s surface. This means that if you have a lopsided Katamari, it’ll be much more difficult to roll. Picking up awkward objects like pencils or power-line poles can seriously dampen your speed when you have to push the Katamari up onto them to continue rolling. The ability of the game to drastically change your perspective on size is also rather impressive. You start of levels tiny, picking up things like paper clips, but eventually grow to be able to roll up animals, people, houses, and finally skyscrapers. The camera follows the changing sizes rather well, always maintaining the feel of growth.

Although there is a 2 player mode, the only level available is rather mundane compared to the single player levels. It is fun for a few moments, but the real heart of the game lies in single player. Frankly, I find watching someone else playing the game (and yelling at them when they don’t pick up what I want them to pick up) to be rather entertaining, and as a result don’t even see the need for a 2 player option.

The music is just as quirky as the game itself. Although cute and interesting with the frequent repetition of the songs, I grew bored with them. Many will praise the music for its originality, but I felt it could have benefited from a few more tunes thrown into the mix.

I am giving Katamari Damacy a Buy rating. It is an original and fresh idea in the world of video games. It serves up a fresh new heaping of gameplay never before seen, and executes it with quality, tight controls, impressive technology, and a strong attention to details. With all the extra things to do after beating the game, you can play this for months without completing everything in the game. Stormsweeper pointed out to me that Katamari Damacy comes with an MSRP of $20. With a price lower than many games with a fraction of it's quality, there is no excuse to not pick up this game. Although I could continue to ramble on about the greatness of this game, I’d rather go play it some more. I still need to unlock a whole bunch of stuff.

Katamari Damacy gets 42 thumbs up, my highest rating ever!

DVD Review: Futurama Season One

2005-01-27T04:54:58Z

Futurama Season One
Created by Matt Groening
Created and Executive Produced by David X Cohen

In 1999, Matt Groening released Futurama, the follow-up to his wildly successful The Simpsons. Though it only lasted four seasons, the show possesses a rabid fan-base that has continued to make Fox & company money. The sales of Futurama DVD’s represent no small part of the Futurama capitol, and with good reason. The Futurama Season One DVD set is brimming with outstanding extras to make every fan of the show drool with delight, and of course contains the spectacular TV show itself to draw masses of new people into the Futurama fold.

TV PROGRAM

Futurama occurs in a warped 1930’s vision of the future (the series is named after the Futurama exhibit in the 1930’s world fair). Though predominantly taking place in the year 3000, the show primarily concerns itself with events and people from our time. Celebrity guest stars appear as their heads preserved living in glass jars, and references to the society we live in are referred to as ancient history. Although it makes frequent references to the annals of science fiction, you do not need to be a fan of sci-fi to appreciate the show. In fact, you don’t even have to like science fiction to love Futurama, so great is the span of its humor. Although some episodes in season one are a bit more plot driven that two and three, the laughs still come a mile a minute.

If you are one of the few people who sees a cartoon and assumes it has been created for children, it is time that you reexamined your assumptions. Futurama is made for teens and adults, not just for its adult content, but also for the level of intelligence of much of its humor and references to pop-culture. Who but an adult could appreciate Rich Little as a guest star? (Actually, Rich Little appears in Season 2, but I thought it would be useful to reference him here to make a point)

If you are worried that I’m making the series sound too intellectual, do not fear, there are plenty of fart jokes, sexual innuendos, and slapstick comedy to go around. The breadth of their comedy covers any type of humor a person can appreciate. This show truly has something to make everyone laugh.

The style of animation takes a consistent minimalist approach similar to The Simpsons that works out quite well. There is still, however, an opportunity to wow the viewers with shots created with 3D modeling, such as the opening sequence. Futurama does not even have problems with consistent character models that so plague the early episodes of most animated shows, everything is spot on right from the start.

The voice acting, though not quite finalized in the first few episodes, end up stabilized by mid-season. It should come as no surprise that this was attained so quickly since the voice talent in this show is phenomenal. Billy West, John DiMaggio and Tress MacNeille take center stage leading an all star cast of voice actors. Even the legendary Frank Welker has reoccurring roles in the series. Futurama has what is arguably the finest group of voice actors since The Simpsons.

If you enjoy humor in all of its forms, Futurama is for you. If you haven’t yet seen this phenomenal series, now is the time. You cannot resist, it is your destiny!

DVD

I’m sure there are many longtime fans of Futurama who do not understand the significance of the Futurama DVD release. After all, Futurama airs nightly on Cartoon Network. Why pay for something when you can watch it for free? The truth of the matter is that Futurama Season One is packed so full of phenomenal extras, it could be justified to buy the DVD’s just for the great goodies.

Center stage in the DVD’s is the outstanding commentary. Every single episode contains commentary, and much of it is as entertaining as the show itself. I do not think I have ever seen commentary that comes near the quality of Futurama’s. Creator Matt Groening, Executive Producer David X Cohen, and voice actor John DiMaggio comment on most of the episodes, and they are always joined by writers and directors who were involved with Futurama. All the episodes have hordes of people involved in the commentary to regale you with tales of the show, spout off improv comedy, insult each other, talk technically about the show, and generally entertain you in any way they can. There were very few moments when there was silence, which I find to be a rarity in DVD commentary. The commentary is top notch, and provides hours upon hours of entertainment.

In addition to the commentary, most episodes have deleted scenes. Some of them obviously didn’t make it in due to a lack of quality, but there are quite a few that are just as funny as the material that makes it in. The DVD’s also contain the animatics, script, and storyboards for the pilot episode, a behind the scenes featurette, and a concept art gallery. Audio comes in English, French or Spanish, and there are English and Spanish subtitles. Basically, this DVD is packed to the brim with extras that no self respecting Futurama fan could live without.

I am giving Futurama Season One a Buy rating. The show itself is phenomenal, with comedy oozing out of every inch of the TV, and extraordinary extras only make it better. Whether you are an old Futurama fan who hasn’t gotten around to picking up the DVD’s or someone who hasn’t yet been bit by the Futurama vampire, you must pick it up.

Futurama Season One gets 42 thumbs up, my highest rating ever!

Book Review: Atlas Shrugged

2005-01-26T04:57:45Z

Atlas Shrugged
Written by Ayn Rand

Weighing in at a hefty 1069 pages, with inscrutably small font packed tightly onto each page, Atlas Shrugged may be the longest work of fiction I have ever read. I would like to think that the ridiculous amount of time that I read this novel was well spent, but I cannot. Instead I find myself wishing for a time machine so that I could go back and stop myself from even picking this book off the store shelf. While I would love to speak of only this book and not touch any of Ayn Rand’s objectivist philosophies, the two are so intertwined that I have no choice but to discuss both, which makes it all the easier for me to find fault with this novel. While the Atlas Shrugged was not entirely mindless elitist schlock, I consider myself lucky that upon completing this review will never have to touch it again.

In case you have not already figured it out, I am going to give this book a terrible review. For those of you who are interested solely in my rating, you can skip the rest of the review, I’ll tell it to you now: Do not pick up this book! With that out of the way, let me tell you why you should never read Ayn Rand’s classic American novel.

One-dimensional does not even begin to describe the flatness of the personalities of all characters in the story. Their lack of realism knows no bounds. The villains in the novel are made to possess every single characteristic that Ayn Rand hates, while her heroes and heroines are perfect beyond conception. The perfection of her protagonists is to hammer in the belief that those who follow objectivism can do no wrong. Consequently, the protagonists’ inhumane stupidity serves to illustrate Ayn Rand’s inability to produce coherent challenges to her philosophies. She knows that if she were to give her opposition any foundation in reality that there would be no valid arguments to defend her beliefs.

The main focus of the plot is outlined within the first few chapters, and does not change throughout the entire book. Time and time again, you see the same plight affecting the protectors of objectivism, but they persevere through, and come out afloat. A few pages later, once they’ve finished celebrating their victory, an almost identical problem arises that threatens their happiness. Lather, rinse, repeat fifty times. The climax of the book is a fifty-six page monologue rehashing all of the ideas of objectivism that Rand has spoke of throughout the book. Fifty-six pages of nothing but one character speaking on and on about the problems with the world, which he of course claims can all be solved by objectivism. These fifty-six pages were so boring that it took me an entire week of forced reading before I completed them.

Ironically, I did not find fault with Ayn Rand’s writing style. I thought her actual writing to be interesting, and frequently had a sort of fake-stiffness lilt to it that I would assume to be intentional to emphasize her plot. Despite the intricate details and minutiae her book covered, I never found fault with her vocabulary. She wrote in a way that was easy to understand, but still possessed poise enough to be considered writing. If it weren’t for her actual writing finesse, I would have put this book down after the second chapter. It is a shame that the content of the novel does not match the quality of her writing.

Objectivism is a philosophy that Ayn Rand created and is the focal point of all her writing. Its primary tenant is that greed is good. Ayn Rand felt that if everyone worked only for his or her own benefit, the world would be a perfect utopia. Let us assume, for the moment, that all people who worked for themselves and only themselves greatly benefited as a result of following objectivism. Since Ayn Rand refuses to allow for any people incapable of fending for themselves, it would mean that people with mental or physical handicaps would have no place in society. People incapable of sustaining themselves, even through no fault of their own, would die off. Ayn Rand’s philosophies ignore the potential for crime, act of nature, act of god, and random luck. She makes no exceptions for power corrupting, exploitive monopolies, or people with any personality faults. If you wish to live in an objectivist world you can make no mistake, for it would damn you to the hell of insolvency. Rand’s objectivism does not even make sense on paper, be thankful you don’t have see it fail in the real world.

I am giving Atlas Shrugged an Avoid like the plague rating. If, for some reason, you feel the need to explore objectivism, I recommend you read another one of her books; one that is shorter. I’ve heard that The Fountainhead contains all of the information you could ever need to know about objectivism and is a much more sensibly sized book. I cannot promise you this is true, however, as I will never read anything written by Ayn Rand again.

Atlas Shrugged gets 42 thumbs up, my worst rating ever!

CD Review: Bad Religion: The Empire Strikes First

2005-01-25T04:51:24Z

Bad Religion: The Empire Strikes First

Bad Religion has been around for ages, and probably has had more ups and downs musically than any other punk band. Thankfully, their latest, The Empire Strikes First lies closer to the quality end of the spectrum than it does to the mediocre edge, but does not quite capture the greatness of their early or mid-career tunes.

With a good mix of fast and furious songs and a couple of slower and mellow tunes, Bad Religion has tried to rekindle the spirit of their middle years. Unfortunately, they’ve used a bit too many of the musical techniques that they picked up during their tryst on Atlantic. Tracks like Atheist Peace, To Another Abyss, God’s Love, and Empire Strikes First reek of the generic tones that plagued Bad Religion throughout the quagmire of their last few albums on Atlantic. On many of the album’s other tracks, it seems as if BR has completely ignored the verses, instead using them simply to shout off their lyrics, waiting for all the tone and musical interest to congregate in the short bursts of chorus, like in All there Is, Angeles is Burning, and Quickening. I don’t have issues with verse simplicity; a 4-chord Ramones song can hold my interest indefinitely. It just seems like Bad Religion is too often using verses to merely as a tool for their lyrics, pushing the music to the background both in volume and quality.

Though there is quite a bit of garbage to wade through on this album, there are a few good songs, and two songs that a full of the spirit and rebellion of BR’s days of yore. Sinister Rouge has an interesting haunting tone that is emphasized by an interesting (but slightly overpowering) full choir. Social Suicide, though using a chord progression found in many punk songs, still ends up being interesting by throwing in some weird rhythms and tempo changes.

By far, the two greatest songs on the album are Beyond Electric Dreams and Boot Stamping on a Human Face Forever. Although Beyond Electric Dreams uses some unnecessary effects on vocals, the odd distortion used on the guitars sits perfectly with the complex harmonies belted out. Boot Stamping on a Human Face Forever is probably a completely new direction for Bad Religion musically. It's a shame the rest of the album doesn't follow its inventiveness or passion. I can’t remember a BR song this mellow. Nor can I think of a song where Greg belts out lyrics with such emphatic emotion or wild abandon. Of all songs on this album, this one has the tightest connection between lyrics and music. You can actually feel the miasma trapping the brains of the people sung of in this track.

Thankfully, all of the lyrics on this album radiate the poignancy and thought-provoking skills of Boot Stamp. Empire Strikes first features a less preachy tone than has been present in the last few BR albums making it shine a bit more. I would consider the purpose of these songs to be more educative than most of the band’s previous offerings, more intent on teaching people what is wrong with the world than telling people what they are doing wrong. As usual, they reference many of the most important social and political issues occurring in the world with flair you’ve come to expect. Continuing in the fashion of The Process of Belief, this album finds Bad Religion’s proclivity towards perspicacity that beleaguered a copious number of their albums has mercifully been quashed (trans. They don’t use as many big words). No longer does one need to keep liner notes in one hand and a dictionary in the other. The lyrics are definitely impressive, but sadly not enough to pull up all the disappointing songs.

I am giving Bad Religion: The Empire Strikes First a listen at your friend’s house rating. Although this album is far from their worst, it does not quite possess the magic, power, and intensity of their earlier albums. I definitely think it is worth a listen, but too much of it pales in comparison to their former glory for me to recommend spending your money on. While there are a few good songs to the album, I cannot justify purchasing an entire album for only a few tracks. If you give it a listen first, maybe you can weed out the best songs and buy them in separately online. There is no reason to pay full price for an album where the majority of songs aren’t worth more than a single listen.

The Empire Strikes First gets a mediocre 42 thumbs up.

Video Game Review: Resident Evil 4

2005-01-24T04:54:47Z

Resident Evil 4(American Release)
For Nintendo Gamecube
Directed by Shinji Mikami
Produced by Hiroyuki Kobayashi
Rated M for Mature (17+)

Advertisements for Resident Evil 4 command you to “Forget what you think you know,” and I could not agree more. Casting away many of the problems that have plagued Resident Evil throughout the years, RE4 reinvents the series in ways that no one could ever imagine. The quality of this game catapults it out of the stagnant Survival Horror genre into the “must have” category. The exhilarating gameplay, mind-boggling graphics, cataclysmic difficulty, atmospheric sound, and a horde of unlockables make it a must have game for Gamecube.

The first evidence of RE4 shirking off its repetitive roots is prominently shoved in the players’ faces immediately upon starting the game when it is revealed that The Umbrella Corporation, the sinister company behind all the evil in previous Resident Evil games, is no more (let this be a lesson to all who try to take over the world using a publicly traded company!). Longtime fans mourning the demise of Umbrella need not fear, for the plot and dialogue for this outing are just as cheesy, if not more, than previous RE episodes. Leon Kennedy, of Resident Evil 2 fame, has apparently begun to work for the government and is currently searching for the president’s daughter who has been kidnapped. The game begins with him entering a small town in Europe in search of the girl, and the plot continues from there with all the dignity and poise of a classic B movie. I’m sure that many will enjoy the dialogue and story, but it was a bit too weak for me to be completely happy. The plot is the weak link of this game and ultimately holds it from attaining perfection, but thankfully the game itself is such a blast that after a few minutes of play, you won’t care.

To say that the gameplay for RE4 has been improved from past games doesn’t do justice to the quality of action in this game. Combat is fast, furious, and an utter pleasure and the main aspect of play; exploration merely serves as an opportunity to catch your breath in between all the action. Focusing on fighting in this game makes it shine, as combat is complex and polished. No longer do the monsters slowly trundle towards you and attack by falling on you. Enemies will race towards you and use knives, maces, and guns to take you down. If an axe is tossed at you can shoot it out of the air. Another great feature added to combat is the ability to interact with the environment. Resident Evil games have never allowed the ability to jump which has caused great limitations to movement that can be taken in combat. This limitation is eliminated in RE4 with the introduction of the A button’s context sensitive actions. When you’re surrounded by enemies with nowhere to run, there is frequently an escape route with the A button. Leap over fences, jump through windows, drop off of high ledges, do anything you can imagine to get away from the monsters.

Frankly, you’ll need all the help escaping you can get. Resident Evil 4 is the most difficult game I’ve played since Ninja Gaiden for XBOX. You will die. You will die often. You will die painfully. You will die, and then die again. According to my end game statistics I died 66 times playing through the game, but in reality it was probably twice that as there were quite a few times where I would die and then stop playing instead of saving. Although dying was frustrating, there were very few times when it could be blamed on cheapness. The majority of my deaths were caused by sloppy gameplay, or the inability to adjust quickly to constant changing battle situations. It is truly impressive when a game is so difficult without making the player throw down the controller in frustration. An easy mode would have made me a bit happier, but the quick continue system allows for a quick recovery after dying. Ironically, there is a hard mode you unlock after beating the game. Hard mode isn’t the only hidden feature. There are quite a few thinks to unlock in this game, most of which I’ll never see because of the sheer mind-numbing difficulty. Completing the game to unlock extra goodies will take longer than one would think. This is by far the longest Resident Evil game ever created. There were so many times when I was certain that I was reaching the end of the game only to find that there was a new sprawling area to explore. I had a clear time of 16 hours and 31 minutes, but the amount of time I spent playing was probably closer to 20-25 hours (again, due to not saving after frequent deaths).

Combat is not the only place where the changes in this game shine. The camera is a revolutionary type of 3rd person, with a wide angle of vision around Leon when exploring, but pulling in tight during combat for precision aiming. The control is tight, allowing for easy maneuvering and fast paced monster fighting. There are, however, a few quirks to the controls. The inability to attack while moving and a lack of strafing can cause quite a bit of frustration at times. Equally frustrating is the inventory system’s weapon handling. Although vastly improved over previous Resident Evil games, switching weapons is a tedious process that slows down the pace of combat. The diverse number of weapons and their uses further complicates the problems, requiring you to frequently switch weapons in the middle of the battle, ultimately bogging down the action with repeated menu navigation. Though annoying, these problems are not great enough to stop the gameplay from being absolutely stellar.

When Satoru Iwata spoke of current games reaching the graphical limitations of human perception*, he must have been thinking about Resident Evil 4. This game is simply the best looking game I have ever played. While it may not have the polygon count of Doom III or the normal mapping (syn. bump mapping), RE4 simply looks the best! Jaw-dropping vistas, swarms of enemies on screen, astonishingly realistic fire, and an impossible to believe attention to detail, this game pushes the Gamecube to the limit without any noticeable slowdown. Although being ported to PS2 later in the year, I cannot imagine how the visuals will come anywhere near the quality found on the Gamecube.

The sound effects are definitely on par with the graphics. From bullet ricochets to huge giant explosions it is obvious that the sound designers paid careful attention to detail; everything sounds just as you’d expect in a big budget movie. Even your enemies provide impressive sound as they bark commands to each other while chasing you. The voice acting is well suited to the script. The actors seem to pour out their lines with just the right amount of over the top emotion one will only find in a quality B movie. The music fits in perfectly with the game. It never takes center stage, instead remaining in the background enhancing the overall mood. Often you will find that there is no musical accompaniment, the developers instead choosing to go with ambient noise. It is obvious that the music is there to add to the experience which works perfectly.

I am giving Resident Evil 4 a buy rating. The game is top notch in every way possible, and the insane attention to detail in every gameplay aspect leaves players with an insanely satisfying experience. With all the extras to unlock and a variety of diversions to occupy your time (I spent several hours fooling around in the shooting range), there’s no way you can experience all this game has to offer with a rental. People with an aversion to gore should probably steer clear as there’s buckets of blood to go around. Everyone else should make sure to pick this one up. Whether or not you’ve enjoyed past Resident Evil games, this game will be sure to please anyone who likes action.

Resident Evil 4 gets 42 thumbs up, my highest rating ever!

*I cannot find a link to his exact words. I’d appreciate if someone could get me a url to insert

DVD Review: Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

2005-01-22T23:47:36Z

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (American Release)
Written and Directed by Mamori Oshii
Based on the works of Masamune Shiro
Rated PG-13 (Parental Guidance suggested for children under 13)

FILM
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is a visually stunning existential* romp through some of the headier debates of techno-philosophy, interlaced with a murder mystery and sporadic bouts of action thrown in for good measure. This is one of the rare sequels that surpass the original film in every way (although it is important to note that I do not think highly of first Ghost in the Shell). The film takes place several years after the first movie, Ghost in the Shell. Batou and his partner Togusa are investigating a series of grisly murders committed by robots without any that appear to have been caused by defective products. Batou’s former partner, Major Kusanagi, is nowhere to be seen, having evolved beyond humanity and vanishing into the matrix (syn. internet) at the end of the first movie.

The movie is primarily a series of quotations and philosophical discussions designed to provoke thoughts on religion, technology, and the significance of society and technologies ever increasing connection. I am unfortunately not well read enough in either Eastern or Western literature to recognize or understand all of the allusions and quotations from the film. This did not decrease my enjoyment of the movie, but I do feel one will get more from the film by being up to literary snuff.

The foundation of the movie is not so much a theme as it is four open-ended questions to the viewer:
-When making robots more and more like humans, at what point does a robot become a human?
-When making humans more and more like robots, at what point does a human become a robot?
-Is a robot alive?
-Is a human alive?

Although the some of the answers would seem fairly obvious, the film does a good job of bringing up ideas and throwing in situations that have the potential to leave the viewer doubting some of life’s concrete facts (I was shocked by the profound logic used when the movie suggested that humans were not alive).

The characters in this film are just as cleverly written as the philosophies they spout. The characters reek of well planned dialogue and actions, from the stoic Batou, ever trying to stamp out what humanity remains of himself, to Togasa who is trying to cling to what humanity is left in the world (and let’s not forget Batou’s basset hound who exhibits the most vibrant signs of life in the film). It is obvious that delicate care was taken to carefully create and maintain the personalities of everyone in the film.

Much like in many of Mamori Oshii‘s other films, the plot and action often take too much of a backseat in GITS 2, which is a shame, because what exists of them are interesting and well done. Though the movie has many scenes that are visually jaw-dropping, I had some problems with the integration of 2D and 3D animation. Quite often the characters seem to be paper thin cutouts in front of 3D backdrops, often not even seeming to be in the same plane of existence. Additionally, there are places where the 3D animation appears to be choppy and stilted.

Although the movie ties up all of the plot’s loose ends, the film peters out to nothing after the climax, almost completely lacking a dénouement. This is not odd for an Eastern film, but I still feel more could have been done with the ending that would’ve enhanced the movie overall.

DVD
Though the film itself is quite impressive, the poor quality of the DVD detracts from complete enjoyment of the movie. The DVD is in widescreen and has Japanese audio available in both stereo and 5.1 sound. I rarely watch foreign films dubbed, but the lack of an English language option will most likely deter people who do not like reading subtitles. The only English subtitles included are for the hearing impaired. Since I have no hearing disabilities, I found it somewhat annoying to have the subtitles broken up by text such as “[Helicopter approaching]”, and have most of the dialogue prefixed by the name of the person speaking. Ironically, the cues for the hearing impaired are rather pathetic. Many sounds are often ignored (the sound effect transcriber apparently became lazier towards the end of the film), and I even found sound cues that were downright incorrect. The subtitle/closed-captions will ultimately disappoint both hearing and hearing impaired.

The DVD also contains director’s commentary and a “Making of” featurette, both of which were sub-par, as well as the original Japanese trailer. Though the commentary had interesting tidbits about some of the techniques they used to produce the visuals for the film, they seemed to spend more time speaking about unimportant things such as their disappointment with the animation on cigarette smoke, and the color that was used on a dog’s behind. Furthermore, the commentary discussed features of the DVD that were apparently available in Japan, but were not released in the American version. The featurette was more of an eclectic collection of comments from people involved with the film, and contained almost no information on the making of the film. Ultimately, the DVD itself is a big letdown, and show’s Dreamworks lack of commitment to the film’s fans.

I am giving Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence a “Buy” rating. The film is thought-provoking, brilliant, and a visual monster. Though annoying at times, I did not feel that the flaws of the DVD were enough to warrant passing over the film. There is much of the movie the will be missed on a first, or even second viewing, necessitating buying the DVD as opposed to renting it. Action fans should probably skip this film; despite the American advertisements, this is not an action packed thrill-ride. Fans of Science Fiction, philosophy, and intellectually stimulating films should definitely view this movie.

GITS 2 gets 42 thumbs up, my highest rating ever!

*The word "Existential" is tossed around quite often these days. Most of the time it is used incorrectly. I find it is commonly used in place of the phrase "philosophically esoteric", instead of its real meaning, which is “Of or as conceived by existentialism or existentialists.” Although this film is philosophically esoteric, I used the word “Existential” for its true meaning in this review.