GameRenjā

Kaizoku Sentai Gokiager!

2011-02-15T15:54:00.000-08:00

It was mindblowing. Those are the only words that can describe what I watched.

WE'RE ALIVE!

2010-12-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

Life's been busy lately. between Vulkan having writer's block and my School Finals it's been a rough ride. I'll be sure to get a lot of content up over my Christmas Vacation. Look out for it.

Also I'd really love to hear your opinions. We're here for you, the viewer, not ourselves so feel free to bash us or tell us we're doing a good job. Request something please! If you guys think something belongs or doesn't belong here say so, We're all ears.

Zettai Hero Project!

2010-11-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

A Tokusatsu inspired video game? You have our attention.

Zettai Hero Project: Unlosing Ranger vs. DarkDeath Evilman
Game: Z.H.P (Zettai Hero Project)
System: PSP (UMD and PSN)
Price: $29.99

ZHP is one of those obscure games that you can’t picture it coming to America. Why? Because It’s filled with numerous Japanese superhero (or Tokusatsu, Toku for short) references that the average gamer or American superhero fan wouldn’t know or understand. Luckily NIS America chose to bring this game over to the States in all it‘s Japanese glory. I’m going to try and keep this review as spoiler free as possible so feel free to read it all the way through. Although I do recommend watching the official trailer first. It does a much better job at explaining the game then I can (What do you expect. That’s it job). Anyways let’s dig into ZETTAI HERO PROJECT!

Story:
       The story is your basic hero setup. The evil Demon General: DarkDeath Evil Man is threatening to take over the world! A hero known only as the Unlosing Ranger must henshin up and save the world from destruction! …Well that’s how if would have happened if he hadn’t been hit by a car on his way to the final showdown. Ouch. As our “hero” slowly dies on the side of the road he passes his Morphing belt onto the first person he sees, Main Character. Main Character is, obviously, the hero of the game. Armed with Unlosing Ranger’s belt you must become the next hero who will take down EvilMan and save the world….hopefully.

GamePlay:
       ZHP is a “rouge like” game. This means that dungeons are generated randomly and anything can happen. This also means that the game can be really hard at times. Thankfully you’ve got more than just a fancy costume to help you fight evil. You can customize your hero with various pieces of equipment that you acquire throughout the game. Everything about your hero can be changed. From his Head, Arms, Torso, and Legs. Want Tank Treads? Go for it! (Unless you wanted a toyline of you made. Only secondary heroes use tank treads.) Feel like duel wielding swords? Go for it! Want a spiffy new mask that screams “dark hero“? DO IT ALREADY! Depending on the parts you have equipped your theme song also changes to fit your heroes theme. So far my favorites are the 8-bit and “Super Robot” versions. Eventually you get strong enough to take on DarkDeath again and as a little treat you fight him in an 8-bit RPG style like in Dragon Warrior! One of the characters even questions why the final boss battle looks so “craptastic”. Apparently it’s because the “main character sucks.” Coming from your mentor that’s not much of a compliment. Thankfully the other character says “Can’t we just sell it by saying “We’re going for a retro look?”” If you’ve seen the trailer than you know what’s gonna happen. Not going to spoil it but you don’t win...again. Oh well the only thing left to do is to modify your body by using chips and implants! A Cybernetic superhero? Kamen Rider would be proud. You do this by visiting a Clinic at your base. It’s a lot like the customization system from the MegaMan Battle Network games. You have to place chips on a grid that looks like your body. Depending on what chips you place your stats are affected. Simple as that.

Losing:

       Yes losing is a big part of this game. With a name like Unlosing Ranger you would think losing wouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately our main character is a wuss and you will die numerous times. When you die you loose all your items and you start back form level 1 (Your chip implants remain however). But before you rage and throw down your PSP in anger there is a benefit to this. You actually have two levels: Your regular level and your Total Level. When you die your current level is added on to your Total level and becomes a stat boost for your hero. You may be level 1 again but you’re now a much stronger hero than when you died. Your items can also be put into storage inside your house so if you have something really valuable you want to save it’s best to put it in there. Every time I died I didn’t get mad at all. If anything I felt stronger because of it and next time I entered the dungeon I could tell my character my was stronger as well. Despite the difficulty, through modding your body and leveling up you can overcome the challenges the game throws at you. There’s always a way to win.

Graphics:
     I’m not the kind of person to nitpick graphics but I must say ZHP has some nice visuals. The dungeons look really cool and the character sprites stick out in a way that makes them look really cool and unique. If you’ve played Disgaea or Prinny than you’re probably familiar with this style.

Sound:
     I LOVE this soundtrack. Even as I’m typing this I have my headphones plugged into my PSP. The Unlosing Ranger Theme is really catchy despite being in Japanese. Speaking of Japanese there is a Japanese audio track option for people who want to have the option of listening to the original voices. I like both vocal tracks. The English acting is all over the top and campy but the Japanese is the same way. It all comes down to what you prefer. On a side note the Japanese voices remind me of watching a Sentai show. Lot’s of over the top yelling and whatnot. If you’ve seen a Tokusatsu than you can probably get what I’m trying to say here.

Cameos:
     I feel like I can’t mention this game without mentioning the various anime and game cameos that are present. Prinny for example shows up at your base (One can even become your “wife”). Also anime characters such as Kirino from OreImo aka My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute have their own dungeons and beating these dungeons nets you a piece of equipment. In Kirino’s case it’s her schoolgirl uniform…creepy. I’m surprised this part of the game was localized. Anime such as OreImo (which just started airing in Japan and was based upon a book of the same title) are completely unknown in America. I only found out about it when I heard it was getting an anime about 2 months ago. Still the dungeons are fun and even if you don’t know the characters you’ll enjoy the challenge, and the reward at the end. (Btw OreImo is an awesome show. Check it out!)

   Overall this is an amazing game. If you told me about this game earlier I would have said it had zero chance of coming to America. Thankfully I‘m glad NIS proved me wrong on that part. It’s a really fun game and I recommend it to fans of NIS’ other releases or fans of the Toku genre. If you’re a Toku fan you’ll find references everywhere! Literally. On the main menu I found a lyrics list for Unlosing Ranger’s them and one of the lines said “It’s Morphin’ Time!” There’s also references to Dragonball, Ranma, and other anime scattered about. It’s really fun trying to see how many you can spot. If you can track down a copy definitely add it to your PSP collection. As of writing this there seems to be difficulty in finding this game in stores. I had to order my copy from Amazon because not one single store in my area had a copy, or had heard about it. I’d like to thank that random GameStop employee for staring at me in a daze for 30 seconds after I mentioned the title. You made my day. ZHP is available on UMD and PSN for $29.99. A great price for a great game.

Pros:
Long game, lots of replay ability
Dungeons are randomly generated so no two areas will ever be alike
Numerous combination possibilities for equipment
Funny dialogue
Dual Audio
Lots of hidden references

Cons:
Later dungeons can become unfair
One mistake can screw you over in a boss fight
BGM is sometimes louder than the voices
Moving takes a few minutes to get used to. Not a big deal to me but some will find it as a flaw.

I give this a game a 9/10 if you’re into superheroes or are a fan of grind fests. If you’re not then it still maybe a great game for you to try but I wouldn’t rush out to get because you might not get all the hidden references or understand why the plot’s so crazy awesome.

Until next time this is Aegis for GameRenja singing off!

(This review is also viewable on Blistered Thumbs' Forum. Yea I'm not letting Vulkan steal all the glory.)

Top Ten Mistakes Made In the Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War Series

2010-10-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

Recently something came to my attention. Blistered Thumbs is having opened positions! Well me a simple mortal man could never truly expect to reach into such ranks of greatness. However I am the worlds ultimate fool and will attempt to apply anyways. So I'm going to make a few quick reviews to show that I can belong to mount blistered thumbs.. Olympus, place.. God dammit you know what I'm trying to say.

For those of you who don't know Warhammer 40,000 is a minature game produced by games workshop that has been around for around 30 years now. The game Warhammer 40,000 came from their first game (to my knowledge) called Space Hulk which was basically the movie Aliens except the marines were bad asses in power armor! I'd explain more but likely in this scenario you wouldn't be reading this if you weren't already a fan of the miniature game or the Dawn of War series.

10. Some Horrible Portraits

Imagine if Morgan Freeman was in an RTS with a nice calming voice for his FX. Except his picture is him screaming.

This is a fun game series it really is (except soul storm.. I hate soul storm.) But here is an issue that should of never of been well... an issue. Some of the portraits are god awful. Some examples being the portrait having horrible art trying to show an entire squad member or in the example of the "Mek Boy" looking different from the unit itself. My favorites are likely the assault squad and librarian.. The assault squad basically showing a members backside and the librarian just making that AWFUL face at you. I know it's supposed to be him trying to do an epic battle shout but the sounds he makes are actually rather calm cool and collected.

Match my paint scheme dammit; Another thing I dislike and this some can be very disagreeable with but it would of been very nice. Could the damn portraits match up to the paint scheme? Likely a feature that would take more time and money but I wouldn't mind lower quality portraits if they looked like my paint scheme.

09. What chaos god do we worship again?

Insanity, Decay, Consistent Mutation and, Excess. Take your pick.

Alright this is something that seems to happen more so in the earlier games but as many are aware of the Warhammer 40k background. Chaos Cults tend to worship one god or all the gods. Its either All or one and as we also know some chaos gods hate others.. Now it is understandable not to make 5 separate templates for the same army (would of been nice however.) But the editor was completely asleep while writing the first expansion for the original Dawn of War called "Winter Assault." In this game you finally take control over the rest of the armies at war in the game (except space marines, they already got their own) each belong to one side of two. Simply Order and Disorder. The chaos space marines in this are dedicated Khorn in fact they're one of the most important chaos chapters in the game the "World Eaters." Well to try not to further nerd out Khorn hates magic/psykers. He's all about brute strength in fighting, loves melee, blood for the blood god, all that good stuff. So we have a sorcerer. Alright fair enough, maybe he is just savagely beaten every night to stay in line and to do as he's told. Oh wait now we have... Flamers of Tzeentch (a rival god to Khorne.) This honestly shouldn't happened, they should of kept with "Undivided" cults such as, Alpha Legion, Word Bearers, Black Legion and, etc, because only then it would make sense for the GIANT winged daemon of doom summoned from the blood god to not crush the puny Tzeentch daemons. Of course now a days things are different in the game and rivalry between chaos gods isn't really there anymore like it was. However the rule of Sorcerers not being able to take the mark of Khorne is still in place thankfully.

08. Yeah so about THAT Daemon...
"I am not your herald, warp spawn!" -Gabriel Angelos "Are you not? You released me." -Mysterious Daemon

This pisses me off to no end. At the end of Dawn of War we have this almighty Daemon with this complete absolute "Just as planned" thing going on, being powered by the sacrifices of those who died in battle on the planet Tartarus (naming a planet that is asking for bad luck) and being released due to the foolish action against the better advice of the Eldar (you would think "YOU`LL DOOM US ALL!"would be something to heed from a creature that lives thousands of years. So yes we have a threatening Daemon running around that had an entire planet as its shrine basically. Now you would think the epic ending leading up to what could of been an epic crusade would be perfect sequel bait! But, nope just that plot just vanishes. I checked if there was a book or something where the Daemon was killed but, nothing. I dunno maybe he's a special character in one of the army books? Overall this enrages me greatly.

07. Prologues are always nice

Please note this never actually happened.

I wont lie, playing "Dark Crusade" and "Soul Storm" I was a little confused as to what had happened previously in continuity. It wasn't exactly completely clear on every detail
on what happened in the previous game I.E who won in Dark Crusade? And what if I was new to the series? The games don't require the previous expansions or even the base game to work (I.E you can own just dark crusade and the same thing goes for Dawn of War II and its expansion soon to be expansions.) We only find out some of the things to happen in Dark Crusade and Soul Storm in "Chaos Rising" the expansion to Dawn of War II that the space marine commanders from "Dark Crusade" and "Soul Storm" were defeated, however it still doesn't explain the actual victor/victors of the conflicts. Well at least in Dark Crusade it told us what happened in the previous game. We also know that Captain Thule is the victor of Dark Crusade in Dawn of War II but if he was victor how is it the Imperial Guard commander was shown in the intro of soul storm?

Now I know from Dark Crusade and Soul Storm the objective was more to make the campaign like a table top campaign. But when you reference previous events and such it is really nice have clear detail as to what happened. Plus once again why if I was new to the series? In reality it does sound really fun to emulate dark crusade in an actual game store with others.

06. Eliphas is made a bitch

Ive been naughty and need to be taught a lesson <3

Alright I just needed to emphasize the level of WTF that image brings. Alright so Eliphas is a word bearer, basically a space Mormon except he will kill you. Eliphas is sly bad ass who is incredibly witty with his every remark. But apparently at one point in his career of summoning horrible daemons and spreading chaos amongst the galaxy he failed some how and was tortured for around 1000 years in a place called "The Basilica of Torture." Now in the strong hold defeat of Chaos in Dark Crusade we see a Daemon Prince communicate with Eliphas. Eliphas claims his worshipers were too weak and the prince simply responds "It is a poor shepherd who blames his flock. This is failure is yours and yours alone " At the idea of returning to the basilica Eliphas starts firing on the Prince in fear of returning to such a nightmare. In which the Daemon Prince replies "Fear not apostle the basilica is reserved for those who may redeem themselves." The prince makes some hand movements and Eliphas cries out "No!" Before exploding.

So he's dead right? You would think he was dead but do to his popularity amongst fans of the series they decided to bring him back in Dawn of War II's expansion "Chaos Rising." No a member of the Black Legion and not the Word Bearers but hey who said Chaos was organized? But this is never explained as to how he comes back and why hes now a member of the black legion. I actually would of liked to hear that! Oh and at the ending of the game you see him tied down (armor and all) about ready to be tortured by a more famous character in Warhammer Abbadon the Despoiler (aka the man who failed like 16 times to take over a planet right next to where he should be most powerful.) and cried out claiming that the Blood Ravens will fall. I just find it odd that they know of the characters popularity and just did THAT to him.

05. Proper Command

No, sadly I am not.

In more so an apparent problem in Dawn of War II there are some really off choices for commanders that I know they're there for multilayer reasons but c'mon! There is no excuse for not having Autarch as an option. They do EVERYTHING literally. They're trained in every art of war the eldar do. Also you could add a thing or two that they normally wouldn't have I mean after all relic you made up your own two Tyranid units (but I`ll try to excuse them from this since in the actual army Tyranids don't have many commander options.)

04. Stealth Suits of DOOM

Now for all Starcraft 2 players I want you to imagine this. You first units may be produced from your HQ, however in the case of Terran it would be reapers that only cost minerals that are always cloaked.

This was a huge problem when I used to play Dark Crusade. The first military unit produced from the Tau is INVISIBLE. You can actually win by producing 1 squad of Stealth Suits and just kill anything they put out, the moment it comes out. Just sweep in, shoot up their early units so they can't capture points, and shoot down workers to prevent them from doing anything. Added this with the fact they can use JUMP PACKS (Jet Packs) and eventually can be upgraded to go from anti infantry to anti vehicle and building. By the time that comes along you`ll likely have turrets and your appropriate diction units around but you have to rush to proper tech for detection it seemed in many cases. That and if you ever mass them up (note that if they can be detected they wont stand a chance against a proper army) and give them their Fusion guns (anti vehicle and building gun) You can actually wipe out key structures and jump away well before an army can come to counter them (but that will of course be YOUR fault for not building ANY defense near you key buildings.)

03. The good the bad and just rip out my freaking ears now
KHAAAOOSSS ITH STRONG
Image from http://thunderspoons.blogspot.com/

The dawn of war series has hired some really good voice talent. But it also some horrible, horrible voice talent. Some this could easily be due to bad directing but some of the voices and dialog to go with them.. Makes you wish for a quick painless death. Actually you'd settle for painful if it meant getting away from some of these voices quicker. For this example let's use the much more famous speech (since I couldn't find a video of unit audio clips.)

It's a bit amazing that this is worse than a balance issue.
Oh and let's not forget this little speech
“Look! Rhinos! RHINOS! Our enemies hide in METAL BOXES, the cowards! THE FOOLS! We… We should take away their METAL BOXES!”

02. Flying units

I can't see where I'm going.

Flying units just didn't fit in well and that's actually really sad to say. They looked akward in some cases when they were being kept in one play, whenever they moved the animation had a tendency to be a bit choppy and finally the ultimate in fail, On occasion obstacles would still register as being in their path! It's a little weird when they ignore everything till suddenly a tree in their way somehow. However it was nice to see they were all fragile to prevent them from unbelievable harassment. Flying units feel like a last second decision that just wasn't properly done.

Oh and The Tau Barracuda is a bit OP.

01. Soulstorm (Game)

Don't judge a book by its cover. Or else you would think this would be the most epic game EVER.

Now I know this is a cheap spot but listen. Soul Storm wasn't exactly very well made. Along with this it has everything on this list in full force basically of the fallowing 2, 3, 4, 7, 8(like every expansion,) 9, 10, and a bit of 5. It introduced #2 and is the source of the video of #3. Oh and the source of "Metal Boxes" meme. Oh and let's not forget the huge deal it made about planetary conquest when in reality it was the same thing as Dark Crusade's system, not a thing different. I thought it was going to make every planet a big as Kronus from Dark Crusade! Well instead the game WAS basically as big as Dark Crusade! That is a huge let down man. I know Dawn of War II was in production and this was to hold everyone over but Ive seen fan mods with more love and care!

HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY NES!

2010-10-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

Let's celebrate 25 years of awesome!

Rebirth of Mothra

2010-10-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

The only subtitle in this entire movie

Alright it’s almost Halloween so it’s time to pop in some kaiju films and have some fun. So grab some snacks and join us as we look at one of the greatest daikaiju to ever live, Mothra.

Got those snacks? Good let's go!

So why Mothra? Well simply because we both find Mothra to be a kickass monster. She can hold her own against King Ghidorah and Godzilla, Has some awesome powers and she looks petty damn nifty doing it.

Rebirth of Mothra is the first in a trilogy of Mothra films made around 1996. Mothra as we know her is only in the first movie and is succeeded by her son, Mothra Leo. Yea that’s right Mothra has a SON. Although the dub calls him a girl throughout the entire film. Even the film's cover says 'She's Mothra/She's back/And She's mad'. Sadly these are the only movies that have a male Mothra in them. Anyways let’s see if these films are good enough to bear the Mothra Seal of Approval.

Characters:

The Kids: They’re your typical little kid “heroes” Annoying and useless. Moving on.

The Parents: Again useless. Next

Moll and Lora: Mothra's twin fairy guardians. I actually like these two. Instead of in the past where the fairies have been twin copies of each other, Moll and Lora are two different characters. They argue, and have their opinions and they dress differently too. It’s a nice change of pace.

                      Belvera: The evil fairy who wants to destroy the Earth. No reason given.

                                           Mothra: needs no introduction

Fairy Mothra: A tiny version of Mothra that Moll and Lora ride on.

Garu-Garu: A Dragon version of Fairy.

Mothra Leo: Mothra’s Son. He kicks ass

          DesiGhidorah: A far off relative to the classic Toho monster. This version retains the classic three heads while gaining two extra legs. Sadly he doesn’t do much except for blasting whatever is near him and shaking his heads all around (Made getting a screencap of him ridiculously hard.)

The Dub:
    Sadly the only way to watch these films on DVD in America is to buy the dub version. Now I’m gonna come out and say that I hate live action dubs. They usually look and sound horrible. RoM is no exception. The little kids are annoying and stereotypical sounding. Belvera is annoying and gives me a headache. I could go on and on. Sometimes though the voices sound fine but other times it’s just makes you laugh. Someone release a new DVD with subs please.

The Plot:
    [Insert long number here] years ago there were many, many Mothra. This Mothra “army” sealed a terrible space monster named DesiGhidorah into a stone rock and sealed with the Seal of Elias. In the present year of 1996 there is only one Mothra left and she is slowly dying. But don’t worry she conveniently just laid a giant egg (You can see where this going already can’t ya?) Anyways some forest workers discover the seal and take it. One of these workers, Mr. Gato, gives it to his daughter as a present (Oh boy). The fairies that guard Mothra, Moll and Lora, sense that the seal is gone and rush to find it.
MEANWHILE!
    The evil fairy, Belvera, is also looking for the seal so she can revive DesiGhidorah and take over the world…or something. I don’t think they ever explain that one. So anyways Belvera posses the little girl, takes the seal. Fairies come in and fight Belvera, trash the kids house, and grab the seal. OR DO THEY!? Oh wait, no they don’t. Belvera takes the seal and flies off on her mini dragon thing to revive DesiGhidorah. Moll and Lora take the two kids and their Mother (Why?) to chase after Belvera. I guess the Mother comes along so they can buy that plane ticket since The Fairies mini Mothra (Oddly enough named Fairy) got hurt in the battle with Belvera. What can revive him/her? The Seal of Elias of course.
    So Belvera revives DesiGhidorah, shit hit’s the fan. The usual. DesiGhidorah sounds like an elephant, seriously watch the movie and tell me that is not a 3 headed, 4 legged elephant you’re looking at.
So Moll (Did they really have to name her Moll? Is it sort for Molly? Whatever, moving on) and Lora bicker with one another as to whether or not they should summon Mothra (One of them says “Mothra’s too old!). Wow that’s a nice thing to say to your guardian. But of course they summon Mothra by, how else, a music video! Yea I’m not even kidding.

This could have been on MTV

So the classic Mothra song plays and she shows up to kick some ass, right?


Oh.....Fuck

So yea Mothra dies. Oh and in the middle of the fighting the Egg hatched and Baby Leo watched his Mom die. How sweet. So Leo swims, somehow, to a remote island where he turns into a cocoon. We get another music video and than butterflies appear! And what do the butterflies do? They form Mothra Leo!…somehow. I use that word way too much. So Mothra Leo kicks DesiGhidorah’s ass and saves the day! But not before restoring all the poor trees who lost their lives during the rampage. Oh and we find out that Belvera is Moll and Lora’s evil sister (What a shocker). Oh and Belvera escapes (I smell a sequel).

So that’s Rebirth of Mothra 1. It’s not a bad film at all. In fact I like it. However it doesn’t feel like a typical kaiju flick. We hardly see the military, the monsters never fight in the city and it feels really weird at times. The kids and their parents play almost no part in the film. If they were cut out it probably would have been a better movie. There was no need for them. All they do is crawl around and shout “MOTHRA!” The little girl barely ever talks at all. She screams though. A lot.
DesiGhidorah’s goal is to “suck energy out of the planet.” So I guess it’s one of those “You must cherish the Earth” kinda films. That would explain why Mothra and Ghidorah only fight in forests and mountains. This film sucks as a “save the Earth” sort of film but as a Kaiju film it ain’t half bad. Some comments I’ve seen on sites such as IMDB call this film a “Little Kid’s film” or a “Disney version of Mothra” and I think that’s going a bit too far. Yea it’s a kids film but aren’t most Godzilla films? Still the effects are good and there’s lots of explodsions. Certaintly there are worse monster films out there (Godzilla vs. Hedorah for example) If you like Mothra than check it out. Hopefully the sequels fare better.

It was a robot. It's always been a robot.

Tron Legacy Deluxe Sam Flynn Light Cycle

2010-09-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

While Tron Legacy doesn’t appear in theaters until December 17th the toys are already making their way into toys stores across the country. Today we’ll be taking a look at the Deluxe Light Cycle from the new film.

From the Box:
THE DESIGN OF THE LATEST GENERATION OF LIGHT CYCLE IS HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY THE ORIGINAL. PROGRAMS FORM THEIR LIGHT CYCLE OUT OF THEIR BATON AND THE VEHICLES EMIT A LIGHT WALL WHICH HARDENS LIKE GLASS, CREATING AN OBSTACLE FOR OPPONENTS. THE LIGHT CYCLE IS USED IN GLADATORIAL GAMES AND IS ALSO A PRIMARY MODE OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE WORLD. THE CYCLES ARE INTEGRATED WITH THEIR RIDERS AND WILL DE-REZ WITHOUT THEM.

The design of the new Light Cycles definitely reminds of the classic Light Cycles from the first film. When I first saw pics of the new design I had my doubts but I must say having the toy in front of me it looks impressive.

The toy itself is pretty good looking with nice attention to detail. It comes with one, “Partially Articulated” Sam Flynn figure which was nice because Kevin Flynn’s Light Cycle comes with nothing (The TRU version is supposed to have a Kevin figure with it however, so save your money for that). The box for this toy is really weird and it probably takes up a good chunk of the price. The box is twice the size it needs to be because it has these two peepholes that you look into. Inside is a “3D” image of the toy and various arrows pointing to the different features such as “Working Air Brakes.” The Air Brakes are nothing more than plastic flaps and don’t affect the sounds on the Cycle at all. Nice feature but did it have to be advertised?

"LOOK HERE" aka Look like a jackass in the toy store!

Speaking of the features the light cycle does just what the name implies. It lights up. According to the box the cycle changes color depending on what figure you put into it. Not sure how this gimmick works because even when I took the figure off the bike and manually pressed down the tab in the back of the rider’s seat, the toy still lit up with bluish/white lights. I’m sure I’ll be picking up another toy to test out this gimmick on. Damn you SpinMaster and your gimmicks. The toy also has “motion activated sounds” which do work when you move it just the right way. However on a good note I will say that the toy looks nice and is well detailed. I am definitely looking forward to picking up the Generation II, aka Kevin Flynn’s, LightCycle when it hits TRU sometime this October. Hopefully we can get some classic Tron figures that will interact with these bikes but if we don’t than, oh well. Overall I really like this toy but whatever you do, DO NOT buy this at the Disney Store. Way overpriced (figures). If you can find this for around $12-$15 and you’re a Tron fan then I say get it. If you’re not a Tron fan then why are you reading this? Maybe next time I’ll get to show off one of the figures, who knows. There’s bound to be a lot of Tron stuff coming out in the coming months.

Future Yellow Plastic Association of America cardholder

One interesting thing to note is that the back of the box shows a Fully Articulated Sam Flynn figure riding the cycle instead of the one in the box. Oh and the figure you get has a removable head that you’re supposed to put on the other figures when they ride the Cycle. Did Tron just turn into Goseiger? …Bad joke I apologize.

Headers, Headers everywhere.

Double Top Ten: Gen 5 Pokemon Coolest and Lamest

2010-09-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

Before I start I will note that there are Pokemon on this list that will share places. Which the reason for this is for the reason of showing off more Pokemon for the sake of doing so.

===============================================

Well let's start this up with the top ten best (in personal preference and, general opinion.)

10.) Rankurusu. A KA "Jelly baby"

Well back the fuck up already! Now I'm not normally a fan of psyic types me being a mans man when it comes to playing Pokemon who would go around punching trainers into submission if given the chance. However this little bastard is absolutely "aaadaaawable" which is a combination of D'aaaw which is above aaaw and, adorable. I mean damn it's so weird but so cute. It looks cuddly and gooey and actually prevents my fantasy of running around beating people to near death. Honestly this is a bad way to start 10 but to be honest this list when you honestly think about is more based on looks and types. Rankurusu being here just for cuteness.

9.) Doryuuzu

When I first saw Moguryuu I almost vomited. However Doryuuzu looks awesome and I can honestly see him piercing the heavens with his dri- umm claws. Plus aside from steelix he is the only Ground/Steel type. So cool looks, nice type combo, surprising change from previous form.
I just really like the way this guy looks.

8.) Genosekuto

It is a mechanical insect with a giant laser cannon. Well technically bug, I mean it only has 2 pairs of limbs. But look at how awesome it is! Plus as a bonus it is the a bug/steel a type combo that hasn't existed since the Jhoto generation (Gold and silver.) Oh did I mention it has a giant laser cannon on it!? Oh, and yes there are other Bug/Steel Pokemon being added but.. THIS IS A BUG LEGENDARY!

7.) Wargle

The only way to sum this up is with a song by Trey Parker . Yes I know that is a very immature way to sum up how awesome this thing is but come now. Look at that thing! You know this fits.

6.) Goruggo

I love Greek mythology heck who doesn't? No really who do you know who goes around saying "Greek mythology sucks." Looking at this you could think of a colossus or something. Oh and as a bonus it and it's pre-evolution (that looks like crap) are the first ever ghost/ground.. or was it ground/ghost. One of the two, either way it's fine.

5.) Zoroark

I feel like a douche for putting this on the list but it is kinda cool. Let's pretend you wont see what seems like millions of pornographic images of it for a moment. Let's pretend you`ll never see a fur suit of it. In this world of pretend it's a cool fox? Yeah I think it's a fox. Looks like he eer she? Eh, let's go with she, will sneak into your room late at night via window and slice your neck open with her claws!

4.) Kyuremu

I know that when the time comes I`ll hate this thing for being completely overpowered and almost without weaknesses. However it does look pretty bad ass which is why he's on the list at number 4.

3.) Kurimugan

It's a pure dragon that absolutely cannot be mistaken for any other type and looks bad ass. Seriously this thing thing is awesome! Look at it! My only real issue with it is the fact it's face and head are red. In my opinion a bit of an art mistake there.

2.) Abagoora AKA Gamera and Aakeosu

These are likely the coolest fossil Pokemon in a long time. Arguably cooler than Rampardos and easily cooler than Bastidon (like most things are.) You have something that honestly could of been used as a starter if given an earlier form and give Blastoise a run for its money and one of the coolest prehistorical things ever an Archaeopteryx. Don't know what it is? Well go look it up! Now we need a T-Rex, Triceratops, Saber tooth tiger and finally a dragon zord.

1.) Mijumaru

Yes because almost everyone but Aegis all at once said "Eeeew, I hate that thing." This somehow turned it into the most popular pick in starter arguably. My only issue with Mijumaru is the color pallet for his 2nd stage and how he some how turns into a Sea Lion. Yeah a Clown snowman OTTER turns into a SAMURAI Otter and then finally, a SAMURAI SEA LION. I honestly feel trolled by this I really do but oddly enough I don't really care it's still cool. Personally I'm going with the pig. Why you may ask? Because my friends and I drew straws and sadly my pencil broke.

===============================================

Finally the list that really more people will care about Top 10 WORST Pokemon of Gen V

10.) Gamageroge

Oh god what am I looking at!? I mean it's tolerable but dear god just look at it! It looks like it has giant tumors! Not warts but Tumors! On a positive note it does have poisonous skin. But god this thing oddly looks like a demon frog toad rapist thing.

9.) Baibanira

Sweet merciful god just kill it with fire. Terrible joke I know but please it does look silly in a bad way a very bad way. The moment someone makes a picture of some eating this thing with a look of glee as Baibanira cries I will applause said person. Alright I know that was over acting but if I just said "I dislike this thing for being a living ice cream monster that looks completely stupid" and left it at that. There wouldn't be any amusement now would there?

8.) Maggyo

Sweet merciful god tell me that is supposed to be a flounder. It looks like someone melted a Mr. Potato head, steam rolled it and then added the details such as eyes, fins etc. It's rather interesting that this appears to be the only fish Pokemon that isn't part water also is this truly the only concept for a Electric/Ground? Give it awhile and people should just ignore this thing like most do Dunsparce.

7.) Gigigear

Honestly this looks thing looks like abstract art gone horribly wrong more than usual. The one thing I can give this credit for is that it's cool how it just adds more and more to itself as it evolves. However this thing is just so... Well silly.

6.) Nattorei

This thing just looks.. Generic and in a world of fantastical magic animal fights where the animals are rarely hurt and gain more affection overtime through these actions as they satisfy they're primal need to be the alpha... I'm honestly surprised this comment exist. Wish they canned the new species of cactus this generation and just made this and it's pre-evo into Cacti... MADE OUT OF STEEL.

5.) Baokki

Baokki is by far the worst of the 3 monkeys. Just dear god what were they thinking!? It is as if they spliced Chimar, the combined vomit of Flareon and Magmar and than got it high as a kite and then finally, put a blanket over it and started to bash the hell out it with sacks of oranges. Why sacks of oranges? Why does this thing exist aside from the fact having only a grass and water monkey wouldn't fit in. Actually on a related note since Jhoto there has been a line of monkeys in the gen.

4.) Dangoro

Believe it or not this is actually a walking stone eyeball. You would think this would be awesome but it just doesn't look like it. Now the evolutions of this thing are just fine but maybe an eye ball in the center or something would make this thing work better. But as I previously stated on Nattorei this thing also looks pretty plain also. Also this thing will likely end up as the Geodude of this generation and let's be honest with ourselves. Geodude needs to disappear for awhile in a game plus to add insult to injury Dangoro basically IS Geodude... Needs to be traded to reach it's final stage.

3.) Roopushin

What the hell am I looking at!? No seriously, look at it! It's like evil clown that got beat up, thrown into the dirt that took steroids all of it's life! Oh god and to back it up it's basically Machamp all over again! No literally it can only evolve to it's final stage in this image via trading! Dammit game freak!

2.) Dasutodasu

You know, it's funny. I can't actually come up with any proper words to do this thing justice to show how I feel. The only way I can come close to such a thing is to gurgle and make odd noises. Now you can't hear me do that so I`ll just write it down for you. Oh and it's pure poison.. AKA virtually useless. So where was I? Oh yes...

"GURGLE FRAGLE SMAURARARAGRRGRR FLSSSSSH KEKEKEK SHISHNA FA-NO-KAASH BA'CK FLSHIIIIEEK" -Vulkan having a seizure.

1.) Torunerosu, Borutorosu and, Randorosu

First off these three look completely out of place in a Pokemon game. It's like looking at Pyramid Head walking around in Paper Mario. They're all just recolors of each other with the only difference being some thing bending around them.. Or just Torunerosu. Now I know in Japanese myth there is some type of thunder spirit that fly's around on a cloud and strikes with lighting and has like drums around it (or what ever those are.) You see this pop around allot in either that form or a cat girl with leopard print clothing.. Don't ask why in that exact formula but Pokemon!? It just doesn't seem to fit in.

AEGIS: Pokemon D/P

2010-09-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

With Pokemon Diamond and Pearl ending it's 4 year year run in Japan recently I thought it would be a good time to look back reflect on Ash's latest adventure and find some things I didn't like about it.

When I first saw D/P I was blown away. The anime looked really good and I was excited and ready for something new. While I think D/P is one of the better Pokemon anime series I did have a few of problems with it. Remember these are just my personal opinions and I'm sure many of you will disagree with me.

Contests

Behold the giant stadium of filler!

When the Advanced Generation started I was all for contests I thought they were really good...for a while. After a few of them was downright bored with them to point where I just wouldn't care when the next contest episode aired.
D/P continued this trend with Dawn. While I don't hate Dawn herself I just don't like contests at all.
Maybe it's becuase I grew up with battles and Gym fights but contests in the anime bore me.I don't care about Beauty and "appeals", I just want adrenaline filled, over the top battles. Not to mention all of those of the logic defying combination, such as the one where Pachirisu or Cyndaquil is encased in a ball of ice (Yes even logic defying by Pokemon standards).
Although in D/P the battles themselves certainty defied allot of logic themselves. Example: Grotle swallowing his own Energy Ball and gaining power from it. Even in the Pokemon universe it should have hurt him but hey I'm no Pokemon doctor so what the hell do I know? Someone call Brock!

The Animation
I just wanna say that I fucking love the art style. It's colorful and bright and really stands out. However my main hate lies with the way older attacks were redrawn. Much like In the Advance series where Corphish's Bubblebeam went from Blue to Red (and as of D/P back to Blue), some older attacks were changed to fit the old animation style.
Examples include a lot of moves glowing. Why do attacks need to glow, do we need to keep kids attention by making Staraptor's wings glow? Or by having Craogunk's fingers glow purple poison when it uses Poison Jab? Or when Gible uses Rock Smash? Not really, no. But hey Pokemon has done weirder things. New animation, new animation changes. Not that big of a deal really. Again it adds into that color thing I mentioned above.

Takuto

Yes I put a character up here, surprised?

I don't like him, at all. Mostly because he embodies everything I hate about a Pokemon Trainer. Specifically his use of Legendary or "Uber" Pokemon. While I myself don't hate Legendary Pokemon (I've been to the Nintendo Events and collected my fair share of them) I don't like entire teams made up of them. I find it a cheap way to play against other players. On the other hand my inner fan boy is amazed that the writers gave him a Darkrai and Latios. My inner fan boy is also amazed that they let Ash be thoroughly destroyed by only two of Takuto's Pokemon.
My inner fan boy also liked the throwback to the old series with Ash flipping his hat back when he sent out Pikachu (The first time he's done that in any battle for the D/P series).


Just like old times

So after all the bitching I've done what have I gained? Nothing. Pokemon is still one of favorite anime and game series and will be for a long time. In fact if I'm 25 and still here bitching about whatever Best Wishes did to piss me off than I'd be OK with that.
All in all Pokemon has made allot of changes but I don't mind it. Every change has at least a decent excuse to it and with a show that's run as long as Pokemon has, changes are to be expected. Even thinking back to that distant day in 1998 when the Anime first hit the States there were things we never liked (as much as we hate to admit it). At the end of the day however I still like Pokemon and I always will. Gotta Catch 'Em All!

Here's to the future!

Oh and what would a Pokemon topic be without Misty?

We still love you

WE HAVE A TWITTER!

2010-08-30T14:07:00.001-07:00

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Monsters I want back and Monsters I want out of My Monster Rancher

2010-08-24T23:42:00.000-07:00

Vulkan gives us our first Top Ten!

I would like to thank the monster rancher wiki for supplying these images.

Top five Monsters I want back in Monster Rancher

Antlan is currently not on this list since it's only been out for one game.

5.) Ogyo

In all honesty I liked this monster. I used it, it wasn't too bad and, things mix well with it. Plus I like the noise it makes. There likely are better monsters I could of added at #5 but in reality this is a monster that shouldn't of been removed.

Seriously that thing is cute.

4.) Zilla

With all of the horrible monsters running around in monster rancher why couldn’t they keep more cool monsters? It’s a walking whale .

"That's allot of fish"

3.) Kato

They drank alcohol and breathed fire. What more need I say?

Prepare your anus.

2.) Arrow Head

Honestly I just liked this thing based on how cool it looked. It’s a Lobster Scorpion that will mess you up without a second thought.

You got crabs.. Eeer, lobster scorpions.

1.) Worm

As allot of monster rancher fans know Beaclons are adult worms and in monster rancher 2 worms turned into Beaclons. Why can’t we have this again? Worms are adorable little buggers that will consume you for being so foolish for underestimating them. Yes I am aware the old way for worms to turn into Beaclons was ridiculous but it is something easily simplified.

"On monday he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry" -The very hungry caterpillar

Top five monsters I never want to see in a monster rancher game ever again

5. Pancho

Because my real #5 would of gotten me a death threat.

Someone call the smashing pumpkins.

4. Plant

I know this monster has been there since the beginning of the game series and well. I hate it, everyone I have talked about the series with, hates it. Hell even Jesus hates it!

You think weed killer will work on these?

3. Ducken.

Kill it, kill it with fire. This is mostly do to how Ducken looks since after monster rancher 2.

“It makes Porygon look dead damn sexy!” –My friend Damon

Did I mention kill it fire?

2. Color Pandora

Just looking at it makes me rage. I have already given far too much detail into this abomination.

Maybe they can be used as foot stools?

1. Maya

Now many of you are asking yourselves “what the hell is a Maya?” Well my friends Mayas are one of the newer monsters introduced in Monster Rancher Evo. You know the one no one bought because of the whole circus thing. In my personal taste it looks very plain and just seems like a shittier tiger. Me personally my first time playing EVO the moment I got the chance to I fused the first one you get in an attempt to make something cool looking. Sadly everything it combines with looks horrible with the acceptation of Zan. But then again everything works with Zan. This Monster I’m guessing was just an attempt to work with a different style I’m guessing and sadly it did not come out too well. Oh and the first Maya you get is ‘the mother’ of the little beast boy who joins you (trying to keep plot details to a minimum.) Which brings the question as to how is he even able to talk, walk on two feet, have concept of worth and, etc?

I'm actually surprised this didn't become a popular choice for furries. But that would of involved people buying Monster Rancher Evo

MMPR 2010 DELUXE MIX AND MORPH BASE TITANUS

2010-08-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

Aegis looks at the recently released 2010 Titanus!

I've heard a lot of negative things about the 2010 Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers toyline and Titanus is no exception to this. People seem to instantly chock him up as a "bad toy" for two reasons: 1. He has a "Mix n' Morph" base installed in him which is some stupid gimmick Bandai has in which you put pieces of tiny figures into the base and they combine to make a new fig. Couldn't I just do that by hand? Probably but Bandai wants kids to think they need these combiner bases. The second and most far out excuse is that there's no Dragonzord to go with Titanus. A lot of comment s I've read on fan forums/Youtube vids go like this: "Why is there a Titanus when there's no Dragonzord? I'm not buying this toy because I can't form Ultrazord!!!!!!1." Now I can agree that the lack of a Dragonzord is quite suspicious and a really stupid move on Bandai's part. That doesn't mean we won't get one as part of the 2011 line and it wouldn't surprise me if we did. Anyways back to the subject at hand.

Now for those of you who are saying, "What the fuck is a Tit-anus?", I'll tell you. Titanus (King Brachion in Japan) was the "carrier zord" in Might Morphing Power Rangers (Zyuranger). Titanus had the ability to dock with the Megazord and Dragonzord to form the Ultrazord. Now there are quite a few differences between this Titanus and the 1993 release.

Original Ver.:

MSRP: $40 USD (Now selling for well over that on Ebay)

Arox. 22 in. long, 10 in. high.

Gold plated claws and detailing

Power Ranger "inspired" stickers

Motorized action

2010 Ver.:

MSRP: $34

A lot smaller than the original, but still pretty big

No Motorized Action

Gold painted claws

Zyuranger inspired stickers

Mix n Morph base located inside Titanus

Megazord "docking bay" moved back

Despite all the negatives when you compare it to the original this is still a very solid toy. I'm still annoyed at the stupid Mix n Morph gimmick, which gets in the way when you push Titanus around (and makes an annoying clicking sound). Just like the original Titanus' tail cannons detach and can be placed on the front wheels. Titanus' claws and chest piece can also detach and be placed on the 2010 Megazord. This just leads me to believe that eventually we will get a Dragonzord in some shape or form. But if we don't Bandai has cleverly covered up all these interchangeable pieces. In the instructions it says that when combining the Megazord with Titanus you have to place the claws and chest piece onto the Megazord.

Now for those of you MMPR fans who are saying "Well Megazord never combined with Titanus by himself, he always had Dragonzord with him. So Bandai could make its own Megazord combo for it" Well you would be right, however, in Zyuranger (Ep 45) Daizyujin and King Brachion combined for all of 5 seconds! Impressive isn't it? Well no not really, in fact it's kind of stupid in-universe wise. Why the hell would Geki (Red Ranger) summon Titanus just to dock with him and then 5 seconds later jump off of him and finish the enemy off? Probably just to sell more toys...but I digress.

All in all this is a really cool toy and the show accurate stickers add an awesome little touch, even if they are a pain to put on. As a display piece 2010 Titanus definitely looks good. The only thing he really lacks is an opening mouth. It's a small detail but for osme reason it bugs me. As a play thing...well yea I can see MMPR's target audience (4-12) playing with him and having a good time. Even the horrible Mix n Match feature I can see being enjoyed (I actually suspect that this is the main selling point for the little ones.) I really like this zord and it looks nice in my rather small but rapidly growing Zord/Sentai Mech collection. If you're a PR/Sentai fan like me who was too young to own Titanus or the Megazord back in the day I recommend them both. If you have the originals however than you're better off with them and a sheet of Reprolabels.

Hopefully someday soon we can reenact this epic combination with our 2010 Zords, just like it was intended to be.

SOMETHING SPECIAL COMING SOON, WE PROMISE!

2010-07-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Pic unrelated

IT'S HERE! TOY STORY 3!

2010-07-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

Aegis gives his impressions of TS3...alone and late. But better late than never...right?

AEGIS:
Thoughts:
I'll come right out and say it, movies never make me cry! Sure I might get sad over a movie but I can't ever remember shedding a tear over something in a film. But alas, Toy Story 3 has broken that spell and I'm not afraid to admit that I bawled. For someone like me who literally grew up with the franchise (I was 5 when TS1 first hit theaters) TS3 is a blast of nostalgia right from the opening scenes. I was sitting in the theater mouthing the dialogue in the beginning of the movie because it was all stuff used in the previous film ("I brought my Dinosaur! Who eats force field dogs" Anyone?) This certainly wasn't a bad thing though. While most of the movie itself wasn't too heart-wrenching, it was the ending dialogue that made me lose it. I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it but for those who have you know what I mean. TS3 is a masterpiece and in my opinion one of the best films of the year. It takes everything we loved about our childhood and shows us what happens when we,sadly grow too old for our toys. Now let's dig into this movie a little deeper.

Story:
I'm not going to spoil anything here but if you've seen the trailers than you know the basic plot. The toys get donated to a day care instead of being put in the attic. Woody goes to save them, etc. It starts like a Toy Story film but evolves into more of a prison break style of film. I thought the story was really well written, even though it was a bit dark at times, especially towards the end. Thankfully in true Pixar fashion the films ends on a happy note.

Characters:
All your favorite toys from the first two films come back and they're more or less the same so I won't go into detail about them. The new toys however I found to be really cool. The ones that stuck out in my mind were Lotso, Trixie, and Totoro (Yes the same Totoro from the Miyazaki films). Losto is a extra stuffed 1980's pink teddy bear who smells like strawberries. He was a very interesting character but since I don't want to spoil anything I won't say why i liked him exactly. Trixie is a Plastic Triceratops who belongs to a girl named Bonnie, who's Mother works at the day care. Trixie is like a female Rex only she's more braver. She also seems to be the only toy in Bonnie's room who can use the computer (No idea how that works considering she doesn't have fingers.) Finally we get to the show stealer, Totoro. Sadly he doesn't have any speaking line, he just stands there and smiles. I thought it was a nice shout out to Miyazaki and it was cool seeing him included as a character even if he didn't do anything important story wise.

2D or 3D?
I'm not a fan of 2D but I wanted to see this film in iMax so I had no choice. Unfortunately I saw TS3 the same day the dreaded abortion known as Twilight Eclipse came out so that movie was in iMax theater instead. Either way a movie is a movie. I don't believe that 3D makes a film better, if anything it just makes your eyes hurt. I recommend 2D just because it's more comfortable. No stupid glasses here!

Final Thoughts:
If you haven't seen this film yet than run to your nearest theater and check it out. If you're a TS fan you'll love it. If you're not then well I thin you'll still love it. It's touching, action packed, and filled to the brim with easter eggs and cameos, like every good Pixar film should be.

Site Status

2010-07-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Our Toy Story 3 impressions will be up soon. After that we plan to stray away from the more mainstream reviews and start doing more obscure things as well as things we like/know about. As always suggestions, comments, and requests are welcome!

COMING SOON: TOY STORY 3 REVIEW

2010-06-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

In the meantime take a trip down memory lane with this fancy little medley....

AEGIS REVIEWS: SIN AND PUNISHMENT STAR SUCCESSOR

2010-06-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

AEGIS:
    Back in the year 2000 in the waning days of the mighty N64 Sin and Punishment: Chikyu no Keishōsha (Successor of the Earth) was developed by Treasure. The game was a mind blowing rail shooter which tested player's skills and made you work for a high score, but only if you lived in Japan. It took seven years for S&P to be released outside of Japan and it was well worth the wait. Thankfully it only took a little less than a year for the game's sequel Sin and Punishment Sora no Kōkeisha (Successor of the Universe) or as it's known in America, S&P Star Successor to make it's way onto the Wii console. SS takes everything that made it's predecessor great and ramps it up to the next level.

Graphics:
    The graphics in this game are pretty damn good. Everything is clear and can be made out well and the art style suits the game really well.

Gameplay:
    If you've plays S&P1 then you know how this works. Your character can only move left and right and shoot. The game itself handles the walking. It's a classic rail shooter game and the formula is awesome.

Story:
    I'll admit I never understood the first game's story and I never really tried to understand. What kept m coming back to this game was the gameplay. However SS does do a much better job at explaining the story this time around but I still feel as if Treasure could have done a better job at this.

Controls:
    SS offers an amazing 4 different control schemes. I found the Wiimote and Nunchuck combo to work flawlessly and I think it's the best choice. However for those of you who really liked the Virtual Console controls of S&P1 then fear not becuase both the GameCube and Classic Controller is supported.

Overall Thoughts:
    Sin and Punishment: Star Successor is an amazing game that really shows off what the Wii can do if it just tries hard enough. If you're a fan of rail shooters and high score action than Star Successor is a great game and despite it's short story (about 5-6 hours) it is well worth your time.

VULKAN REVIEWS: TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON

2010-06-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

VULKAN:
Growing up who didn’t love Transformers? At the age of four I was watching old reruns of it on god knows what channel and at the age of five I found the movie at the children’s section at a video rental store. At the age of seven I watched Beast Wars and I loved it until they went back to Cybertron. The show really went downhill then but before that I was amazed that the entire show was a sequel series to Transformers (however confused I was with the names.) Anyways I could go on and on about every series I watched, loved and, hated growing up but this review as the title would imply is about the recent game “Transformers War for Cybertron” on the Playstation 3.”

Controls:
Transforming in the campaign is a nice fluent quick motion that’s effortless and smooth. However in multiplayer this presents a massive flaw and I found myself transforming on accident countless times and many of these countless times resulted in death. I shouldn’t complain too much considering you can change the control layout to have transform be the A button. But my personal preference of only changing the robot mode controls to type B cannot be done in multiplayer and that is a real problem for Me. But I’m not going to piss and whine about that it’s just something to get used to.
One thing I noticed was that there was a glitch that whenever I used a weapon with any type of scope sometimes my character would start moving on his own. One case this resulted in death as bumblebee decided life in a holocaust was way too much and realized that resistance was futile and fell to his doom at his own hands.

Thoughts on the Campaign:
All the effort in this games campaign was obviously put into the Autobot side. Heck even when you go to start single player it auto selects Level 5 (The start of the Autobot Campaign) During the level the game is great and everything seems to flow quite well. However things just tend to happen for the sake of happening and the solution to every problem is blow something up or go press this button. I know not to expect too much. Anything else probably wouldn’t fit in too well. Now the main thing that is just disappointing in the campaign is that almost every boss is some giant war machine or someone hiding inside a war machine with your object to piss him off enough to make him come out of the machine or just break the machine with the exception of Starscream (everyone loves Starscream) and of course the end bosses of both campaigns, but even then you might as well classify them as giant war machines (I think I just made a pun.)
While on the topic of the two end bosses there is one truth that I learned. Playing as the leader = Death. The rate of fire and explosives and the other explosives from previous fire easily catch up to your slow bulky selection. The only characters I was able to use to defeat them were the scout choices for both battles. Another complaint I have is how easily the bosses can kill you without any effort. A simple mistake can pretty much result in death the vast majority of the time.

Story:
The story is pretty thin in reality. You’re not exactly given too much detail or really any detail on the vast majority of the characters. For example why is it that anyone would ever join Megatron? What was his election booth like? –“I am Megatron obey me or suffer!” – I’m guessing that it went something like that. Another question is how exactly was Starscream “Betrayed?” I know it’s a short game but a little extra detail would have been very nice. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised to find out a line of comics are to be released to tie into this game.

Voice Acting:
The voice actors they chose for this game are just about all top notch well known voice actors. Heck I can go through the campaign and multiplayer yelling out well known roles they have done elsewhere. However there is also a lack of voice actors. By this I mean a few times a voice actor had to do more than one role. The primary example being one of the three playable Decepticons in level 1 being the narrator for the whole game!
Multiplayer:
Multiplayer is fun rather if it be a free for all death match or a team battle. But something about it just feels oh so familiar.. I can’t exactly put my finger on it. I really wish I could recall it. But it’s my duty to finish this little review. But seriously I swear I’ve played this before just with humans instead of transforming robots. Oh well robot death match is far more modern. Warfare is always so sweet when it’s virtual, especially when you can go invisible and surprise someone with candy made of bullets.
Something I don’t care for too much is the lack of selection for the classes. I know it’s only characters that appeared during the campaign but I’m just dying for more than 1 Autobot solider.

Character Design:
The design for the vast majority of the characters is excellent. The only complains I have are
1.Too many giant shoulders.
2.Bumblebee looks like he’s blushing.
3.Megatron looks stupid.

WELCOME!

2010-06-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to GameRenja (pronounced GameRangers) We'll have a review of Transformers War for Cybertron up shortly. If you have any comments, suggestions, or requests don't be afraid to tell us. We love feedback both good and horrible.