Saints Row 2 Customization

I'm now about half way through Saints Row 2. I probably could have beaten it by now if there just wasn't so many ridiculously entertaining things to do.

I've been spending a lot of time with vehicle customization, just as I did in Saints Row 1. This is a feature I can't believe Rockstar dropped from GTA 4, after introducing the concept in San Andreas. A lot of other things are customizable in Saints Row 2 in addition to vehicles.

Like in the original you determine the appearance of your character, but now you can also customize your houses and gang as well!

You'll have to forgive my crappy screenshots I took them off my TV with a digital camera. In the original Saints Row I made my character look EXACTLY like me in RL. The character tools are the best I have ever seen in a game, and are still just as good. This time I decided to make my character a BBW, punk, lesbian, biker. (As far from a bald space Marine as you can get eh?) This ability to create a character that you want too can make you more invested in the game, as you are playing who you want to, not someone elses idea of what would be cool. I felt the same way about Mass effect.

Your hideouts are wretched trash filled hovels at first but with enough money you can fix up even your starter crib pretty nice, with features like big screen TVs and stripper poles. Eventually your gang's headquarters even becomes a den of luxury. You may want to start dressing better to match your surroundings

As you complete more missions you will get more options for customizing your gang. Gang sign, tag, clothing, and vehicles can all be customized. As you can see here My gang is made up of unemployed members of Cobra from the GI Joe Cartoon.

Next: I'll talk about the activities and diversions.

Saints Row 2

This site may be a bit slow for the next week, as Both myself and Gwenster are completely addicted to Saints Row 2 for the Xbox 360.

It's getting a lot of mediocre reviews mostly due to the graphics which are about the same as those of the first game, but trust me, this is really special. Tobin, of the Noob toob podcast who had to be bribed to beat Bioshock, Marathoned this game to completion! You can get info and see video previews here. They only show you a glimpse of what's in the game though.

I wish THQ had more money for Marketting, because this game is 10x more fun than GTA 4! I will write a full article about it very soon. But for now, Ignore any negative reviews and BUY IT!

Macross history 1982-1998

In preparation for a Massive review I am writing of Macross Frontier I decided it would be a good idea to post a little history of the Macross Franchise. Macross came at just the right time to have a big cultural impact. The beginning of the 80s was a prosperous time in Japan, and an "anime boom" was just starting to pick up steam.

Originally planned as a parody of shows like Mobile suit Gundam and Space cruiser Yamato, Macross evolved into something more serious during it's preproduction. Some of the offbeat ideas from it's original concept persisted though. The mildly lecherous captain surrounded by an all female bridge crew. The Chinese Restaurant waitress who becomes an idol singer. The alien spies who infiltrate the enemy ship only to be won over by pretty girls and pop music.

In 1999 a Massive alien space ship crashed into earth. Bringing advances in technology and causing the unification of the earth's governments. Mankind went about rebuilding the ship as their own in secret. It was christened SDF-1 Macross. 10 years later, as preparations are made for the launch of Macross, Giant humanoid aliens known as the Zentradi attack The island. In an attempt to outflank the invaders The captain of Macross orders a Hyperspace fold jump in the atmosphere. This backfires tragically as the entire island is dragged along with the ship into deep space.

Fortunately they are able to rescue many of the civillians who had been in underground shelters. and eventually the city is rebuilt inside the massive ship which was orginally crewed by the giant Zentradi.

At it's core every Macross incarnation has 3 things. Fighter planes that transform into giant robots, a love triangle, and an emphasis on music. Personally I wish they wouldn't follow this formula so slavishly. A side story focusing on just the military action would be greatly appreciated.

The original series Super Dimension Fortress Macross (Choujikuu yousai Makurosu) aired in Japan in 1982, then in the US in 1985 in edited and rewritten form as part of Robotech. Robotech played an important role in expanding anime fandom in the US in the 1980s, and laid the groundwork that later growth spurts where built upon.

In 1984 Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do you remember love (Choujikuu Yousai Makurosu: Ai oboete imasuka) a groundbreaking animated film was made that re imagined the original series. To many fans of a certain age (Myself included) This movie is the very essence of what makes anime special as an art form. In 1987 an OVA called Macross 2012 was released containing music videos and a small amount of new footage which added to the Macross universe. Some of the footage was later edited back in to the ending credits of The Macross movie in the Perfect edition releases.

In 1992 a direct sequel to DYRL The OVA series Macross II: Lovers again was made without the original creators, and has since been removed from Canon. In the mid 90s Macross was revived in a big way. The 4 episode OVA series Macross Plus fully washed the bad taste of Macross II away. The animation was beautiful as was the music. This series made Yohko Kanno a household name in anime circles. More importantly, though this show had an idol singer, and a love triangle it did not just feel like a rehash of the original series or the movie.

At the same time a new TV series was aired called Macross 7. Macross 7 focused more on the quirky side of the Macross tradition. Even though the show was strange to the extreme and horribly lacking in giant robot action, it's great music and likable characters make it overall a good show. Macross 7 spun off several OVAs including the "we've taken this a bit too far" Dynamight 7 (which is the only Macross series I have never watched.)

During this time the canon for the Macross universe was played with a bit. the Original Macross conflict was given the name "Space war 1" and The Movie was declared a dramatization of the actual events that was created within the Macross universe. At the same time certain elements from the movie (The appearance of the Zentradi as well as their language, DYRL uniforms, and other minor things) were folded into the official canon.

That is all for the 80s and 90s. I will make a second post covering Macross in this century. Dark times are ahead indeed.

Soul Eater

It has always been a habit of mine to stay clear of Shonen anime in general seeing as they all follow the same repetitive formula for (supposed) success which additionally almost always seems to include a large amount of fillers to try and milk these shows to the public as much as possible.

However to every rule there is an exception, and in the case of Shonen anime it`s without a doubt Soul Eater which to my pleasant surprise was produced by Studio BONES which were responsible for giving you gems such as Full Metal Alchemist, Eureka 7 , Wolfs Rain and more recently: Bounen no Xamd. Soul Eeater`s main storyline revolves around individuals called "Weapon Meisters" that attend a Shinigami school for the purpose of learning how to fight and more accurately to train their living weapons who may have the appearance of humans to ultimativly become a Deathsythe. Deathsythes are weapons powerfull enough that are capable of being wielded by the grim reaper himself in order to vanquish the evil and madness that plagues the world. In order for a weapon to become a Deathsythe it needs to be trained and devour 99 evil souls and last but not least the soul of a witch.

Thus, the story will at it`s core sound very familier to every other Shonen setting out there, where young teenagers find themselves in search for power in order to protect or defend what they firmly believe in. Yet, that`s also the only thing with which you can compare Soul Eater to other Shonen anime. The visual style is highly refreshing, twisted and often wacky Tim Burton-esque elements are combined with a more familier medieval/steam punk setting. The action is incredibly stylised and fluid, with extreme camera angles , fish eye views and completly over the top action-choreography as never seen before. The bulk of the story which has it`s fair share of brilliant plot-twists is told trough the perspective of three weapon meisters and their accompanying weapon partners.


Starting off we have the talented Maka, a long-haired, down to earth girl who is partnered with Soul Eater, a rather sarcastic and often rebellious young man who relishes in eating souls. His weapon form transforms him into a long handled scythe which Maka is very adapt at wielding Next up is Black Star, the sole surviving member of the Star clan who would be an excellent ninja if only he could keep his loud mouth shut. Best compared with the great (and late) Kamina from Gurren Lagann His weapon Tsubaki, a complete polar opposite to Black Star is a soft-spoken girl who's weapon form encompasses different traditional ninja weapons. Last but not least is Death the Kidd, the son of the Shinigami (grimm reaper) , and is best characterized as being extremely OCD; if something is not symmetrical, he has a nervous breakdown and is only able to pull himself together with the help of his weapons, a sister pair named Patty and Liz, who transform into a pair of Thompson side-arms.

The Soul Eater anime is based off the manga by Atsushi Okubo, a fresh artist who's found success with this work, as it is currently eleven volumes long and still running.

Soul Eater is an essential watch for Shonen fans, but it is also highly recommended to those who like a show that mixes fantasy,comedy and some extreme action.

MOVIE REVIEW: Doomsday

I had never even heard of this movie before today. I owe a great debt of Gratitude to Paul Chapman, and Daryl Surat for talking about it on the Greatest Movie Ever podcast. After listening to the episode I immediately went out and rented it. I agree with Their assertion that Doomsday is essentially an 80s action movie made today. In a nutshell it is the Unholy lovechild of Mad Max, Escape from New York, Army of Darkness and an infection movie such as 28 days later, or Outbreak. In the wrong hands this could have been the worst crap ever. Instead it's one hour and 53 minutes of pure awesome.

The movie starts out with a horrible plague called the Reaper virus (basically super Ebola, but not as bad as the explosive Ebola from Cloverfield) breaking out in Scotland. To halt the spread of the plague, Scotland is quarantined. A huge wall is erected permanently separating Scotland from the rest of the UK. Behind the wall the infected are left for dead.

Many years later the reaper Virus has appeared in London and all hell is about to break loose. It turns out that the government has know that there are still people alive behind the wall, but kept it secret for the last 3 years. Now they want to send a team in to look for a cure.

None of that really matters. What does is that this is a movie made in 2008 that has cannibalistic thugs with day glow Mohawks riding motorcycles, and firing Crossbows. It is not doing this to be ironic. It shuns the set in stone, Michael Bay formula for Success. It is just jam packed full of all kinds of crazy cool stuff, for the hell of it!

One of the most refreshing things about the movie is that the main character, a female soldier played by Rohna Mitra, is actually plausibly tough. Coming off like a cross between Mad Max and Deunan Knute from Appleseed. None of the cheesy Wire fu Grrrl power shenanigans of your typical Hollywood waste of film here.

"R" MATEY

Yes that is a gimp chained to the front of that motorcycle. In a day and age when most action movies go for a PG-13 rating this movie goes for a bone crunching, blood splattering, limb severing R. This movie is pretty Gory, but it's the 80s "Good old Ultraviolence" fun kind of gore. Not the "We know you are a sicko, enjoy your torture porn" Kind of R seen in Modern horror movies such as SAW, and Hostel. It is so freakin great to see someone just go all out in that kid doodling in a notebook sort of way in a day and age where movie success has been reduced to a formula. Unfortunately it seems that most people really do prefer the same old reheated garbage. Doomsday did very poorly at the box office, which only confirms my suspicion that the vast majority of people wouldn't know an entertaining movie if it bit them on the dick.

The Bottom line is, Unless you hate fun you should see this movie right now.

RECCOMENDED

Cobra the animation: The Psychogun vol 1

Realizing that nobody is ever going to fansub it, I broke down and watched the recent Cobra OVA in raw Japanese. I found it very enjoyable. All of Cobra's trademark James Bond gadgets and scantily clad ladies are present. Terasawa's unashamed 70s style chauvinism, as well as his eye for the absurd are well represented. My favorite things in the OVA are: Cyborg attack dog girls, and Superdimensional Pirate guild space submarines surfacing from subspace under an office building's bathroom.

Xam'd of the lost memories

In my recent article about how otaku culture was ruining the anime industry in Japan, I mentioned that things weren't all bad and that I'd soon be talking about some of the good. Xam'd of the Lost memories (Bounen no Zamudo) Is very good. Studio BONES has rarely if ever disappointed me and this show is them at the very top of their game.

Xam'd is set in a Fantasy world with an anachronistic mix of technologies, Very much in the vein of shows like Orguss 02 and Full metal Alchemist. The overall feeling of the show is similar to the latter though perhaps a bit less bleak.

The main character of the series is Akiyuki a laid-back high school boy living on a small and peaceful island. Unlike nearly all anime protagonists these days Akiyuki is quite likable. Unfortunately his easygoing attitude sets events in motion that change his life forever when he unwittingly helps a white haired immigrant girl sneak onto a bus.


Xam'd is a very character driven show with a great ensemble cast. The animation quality is fantastic. The action scenes are often breathtaking. This show has all the good qualities of BONES' previous show Eureka 7 without any of the annoying filler. It is rare in this day and age to be able to recommend a show from Japan without any caveats or reservations but this one I can.


My favorite character in Xam'd is Nakiami. If I were to describe Nakiami in 2 words it would be these "She's Nausicaa" She flies around on a powered glider that is very reminiscent of Nausicaa's gull. She is strong, determined and absolutely pure of heart. You might think that would be cheesy, but Just like Miyazaki's heroine, Nakiami is utterly charming. This is illustrated artistically in the beautiful closing credit sequence where every character is depicted in nighttime stills except Nakiami who suddenly appears flying in the clouds at daybreak. It's really breathtaking and makes me feel the sense of wonder I used to feel when I watched anime.


The only downside to Xam'd is the release strategy. The show was produced for Sony's Playstation network where they honestly expect you to spend $3.99 for a timed rental of a single episode. This is yet another sign that the Japanese have NO IDEA what they are doing over here. I will buy this show, but only when and if it comes out domestically on physical media. Watch Xam'd but don't give Sony the idea that this idiotic rental strategy is good. DO buy the show when and if it hits DVD though.

COMIC QUICKIE: World War Hulk

I quit reading Marvel superhero comics in the early 90s. At that point they were totally creatively bankrupt. Every issue was a super awesome collectors Item, and they kept pulling gimmicks out of their butt to sell issues, like killing professor X or completely ruining Wolverine. I quit reading super hero comics in general for a long time, but recently have been reading a lot of DC from the library and loving it.

Now that I have run out of Batman, Superman, and Nightwing books to read I thought I'd pick up the trade paperback of a recent crossover, involving an exiled Hulk returning to earth to get revenge and well Smash stuff.

Sadly not a lot has changed in terms of Marvel. Too much Angst, too many Gimmicks, and too much faux depth. I never read the Civil War crossover, or any other marvel superhero books in 14 or so years, but apparently it involves Tony Stark and Reed Richards turning into total dicks. It might have been Cathartic to watch Hulk beat the snot out of them if I cared. Oh and since when can Tony stark HACK THINGS WITH HIS MIND!?

The artwork is quite good, and Hulk looks pretty damn cool. I love Conan the Barbarian and was hoping for something in that vein, but Hulk's irrational single mindedness (He's smart again if ya didn't know) got old fast, and the inevitable plot twist just wasn't handled well.

I can't help but feel it's the same old crap, in a new wrapper. I loved Marvel superhero comics in the 70s and 80s, but I guess there is just no going home for me.

MEDIOCRE

COMIC REVIEW: Anita Blake Vampire Hunter: guilty pleasures

I am a voracious comic reader armed with a library card. That at times can be a dangerous combination. I quickly burn through the stuff I know I will like and I end up trying new things.

I do not particularly like vampires, especially not the overly romanticized Anne Rice variety. Then again I am not really the target audience so that isn't surprising. Even so I liked the cover on the first Trade paperback of Anita Blake Vampire Hunter enough that I decided to checked it out.

As I dug into the first few pages I found my suspicions that this would be a Romantic beefcake-fest verified but kept reading. As I got deeper I found I like the character of Anita very much. I wasn't as enamoured of the world she lives in, an Alternative version of my own home town of St Louis, where vampires, zombies and Lycanthropes not only exist, but everyone knows about them.

Anita is what is know in her world as an animator. She raises the dead as zombies for pay. Though out the story they address various practical reasons why someone would need a zombie raised so it's not as silly as it sounds. This is pretty mundane however compared to her sideline. Vampires have recently acquired civil rights, and go about their business side by side with the living. When a Vampire commits a crime in St Louis, the Authorities call on Anita to eliminate them, earning her the name "The Executioner" in vampire circles.

The story centers on Anita being blackmailed by the Head Vampire of St Louis into investigating a string of Vampire killings. Anita is tough, and very capable, but also full of insecurities and fear. The ebb and flow of these elements of her personality when faced with an increasingly dire situation kept me interested all the way through the first volume.

The Artwork is mostly gorgeous. I particularly like Anita's character design, as it gets across all of the facets of her personality very well. This is definitely a story aimed at women as the primary audience. There is an awful lot of pretty boy beefcake prancing around. I don't feel this in any way detracted in my enjoyment of the story though. It helps that Anita is easy on the eyes, horrendous scars and all.


This is a book I never would have picked up in a book store, but it was a good read. I may just purchase the second volume, but only if I can get it at a steep discount. I can only recommend this book to either those who like the Romantic goth/Vampire trappings, or those who can tolerate them.

Based on the first in a long running series of novels By Laurell K. Hamilton, Anita Blake vampire hunter: Guilty pleasures volume one is published by Marvel comics.

NOT BAD

Star Wars the Clone Wars TV series

The first 2 episodes of the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated TV series just aired on Cartoon network. As one of the seemingly few people who really enjoyed the theatrical movie (In my opinion, It's better than two of the three prequels), I am very satisfied with the first 2 episodes of SWtCW.

The animation quality isn't as good as the movie, but that is to be expected on a TV budget. It still looks very good. The action is exciting and the stories have the fun feel of the original Star Wars trilogy and Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars shorts, from which this series borrows it's cartoony design aesthetic.

The first episode follows the story of Yoda travelling with 3 clone troopers behind enemy lines. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the characterization of Yoda was much more like the eccentric little creature he was in Empire Strikes Back than the uptight master of the prequels. The comedy with the droids can occasionally be slightly groan inducing, but this is a kid's show, and it's all in good fun. Nothing as bad as an Ewok or Jar Jar at least.

The second episode was just as good. featuring the Republic forces searching for a new secret weapon being developed by the separatists (one that Star Wars fans will recognize as being used by the rebellion in Empire strikes back!)

I really like this show and can't wait till next Friday.

Welcome Gwenster

My good friend Gwenster is going to contribute to the site. Welcome!

"I hate otaku"

That ironic line spoken by the Otaking himself, in the prologue to Studio Gainax's classic anime Otaku no video 1982: Graffiti of otaku generation, sums up my feelings as of late very well. Otaku, in particular anime otaku culture in Japan has become too influential lately, and it's destroying the very medium that spawned it.

I have been a fan of Japanese animation since I first saw Battle of the planets (Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman) in 1979 on US TV, but it wasn't till 1991 that I really got introduced to "fandom". I started going to conventions and immersed myself in it. When I saw Otaku no video, I, like many eager young fans saw it as a celebration of the excitement and youthful enthusiasm we had for Japanese cartoons and comics. I adopted the title of otaku, blissfully ignorant to the negative connotation of the word in Japan.

Japanese Otaku are often pathologically obsessed with whatever their interest is (The word can apply to any hobby that is taken to an extreme). Being a geek is not a crime, loving something so much that people around you don't understand it isn't either. Things only become bad when groups of people begin getting together and start reinforcing bad habits and patting one another on the back. a sense of entitlement and justification rises up. when enough of this happens they begin to have influence. That is where we are at now in Japan.

Most shows that are created today lack the creative spark of shows produced in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. It's gotten to the point where Anime studios in Japan are manufacturing series from the ground up to appeal to different vocal otaku subsets. Sometimes these "Manufactured" shows are good like Code Geass, sometimes they suffer badly for it, as with Macross Frontier.

DIE RANKA LEE, DIE AND BURN IN HELL

Which brings me to the Moe' problem, and the wide acceptance of Lolicon (Lolita Complex). Ranka Lee is supposed to be 16, the same age as Lynn Minmay in the original Cho jiku yousai Macross series. While Minmay looked like a young woman, Ranka looks 12 at the oldest. This is very intentional. It is to appeal to pedophiles pure and simple.

She is also an example of a Moe' character (at least through most of the series) That is basically a helpless usually VERY young female character that the audience of hopeless dorks will want to protect. This love of little girls exemplified in the Moe ideal is supposed to be non sexual, but I have known far too many fans who where almost exclusively into this crap... and what's on their hard drives... to buy that.

If I sound angry it's because I am. I take this and other characters such as the Zentradi character Klan very personally as a long time Macross fan.

ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER

Klan looks like a Lolita when Miclonized, and has Huge breasts when at her full Zentradi height, something that makes NO SENSE AT ALL in the Macross universe.Neither character design fits with the universe well, and only serve as wank material for 2 very different subsets of otaku culture. The thing is I kind of like the character of the mature Klan, she is pretty kick butt. I am not uptight about female characters being sexy (I love the Dirty Pair.) But This is just so blatant and unappealing, it turned me off what otherwise might have been a decent character.

So many other things about Macross Frontier where very good, but these cynical and shameless pandering elements almost completely ruined the show for me. I will write a full article on Macross Frontier in the near future. Hopefully it will be balanced, now that I have gotten out some of this vitriol.

The news isn't all bad. There are still really good shows being made, but it is a very small percentage of the huge amount of mediocre to terrible shows being produced in Japan. I will talk about some of the good stuff soon.