I think I just recently started to realize that I have a problem accepting something that is widely popular in American entertainment and culture which I did not discover on my own before the American culture decided to say I must be into this. It’s strange because even if I do like a said thing — a book, a musician or art piece — I ultimately feel uncomfortable falling into it.
I think I more so like to make decisions on my own. If all of America likes something first, it doesn’t seem as appealing to me anymore and I feel silly liking it. (Again keep in mind, I might like this said something.)
An example before was Tom Petty. I never really minded him. People told me of how great he was and how I should listen to more of him. I realized a lot of America viewed highly of him as a musician yet I had not yet held him where a lot of people did yet.
It never really was the same with the Beatles. Yes I knew America loved them, but I didn’t know America loved them first nor did I hear constantly from them, “This is it … you should try this.”
Perhaps, like I said, it may be more of an independence complex — independent from mass American thought.
I run into the same debacle with this Hunger Games book series out now. I read a sample and I found it kind of interesting. However, because it’s reaching ‘Twilight/Harry Potter status’ and it’s the book “I should read” because most of America says I should, again, makes me feel funny inside.
I almost gravitate to artists and writers sometimes that are popular within certain groups, but not to America as a whole if I am a first-timer or a newbie.
In the end, if I grow to like an artist such as Tom Petty or a book series such as Hunger Games or Harry Potter — I end up being a closet fan because I don’t want to fall into the same classification as what I’d like to call ‘bandwagon America.’
I still don’t really know what a friend is. I’ve rebooted and restarted over countless times. I have a lot on my mind and a lot of past friendships that have just been shoved in a drawer and locked away whether it was by choice or not.
I’m sort of in this strange limbo in life. The best thing I have going for me is my girlfriend, and that does mean something. At the moment it means everything.
I’m always afraid of the future because I’ve had so much taken from me. A lot of attention from people I got from majority of people would many times be the same attention a jester got though — a fool more so that one could poke at.
Memories of friends I had flood in from time to time out of the blue. It isn’t often at all, but … it’s strange. It’s just strange how repeatedly for many years at a time you have friends, schools, jobs and people in general you know and in a flash it’s gone and you are forced to act like it never happened. Suddenly you are reborn again.
Too many times it’s happened, and I think it’s all starting to stress me out. Not many people follow me on here, so this is probably more for me. At a time, I blogged constantly on Myspace because not everybody’s dog, nun and mother followed me there.
Ah well. Just a spot to vent. If I don’t, I keep it all inside and a lot of times this is the only way I know how to collect my thoughts because God knows I have a hard enough time collecting me thoughts outside of this virtual box.
TITLE: The New Avengers #6 AUTHORS: Brian Michael Bendis PENCILER: Stuart Immonen PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics PRICE: $3.99 RELEASED: November 10
By Luke Baker Secret Agent Man
When The New Avengers series relaunched I was pretty pumped. Being a fan of it prior to this launch, I quickly jumped to subscribe. Six issues in, I am starting to question whether that was a good idea or not.
Don’t get me wrong — the first four issues I thought were absolutely fantastic. The artwork was dead on, and Brian Michael Bendis was pumping out a pretty engaging storyline one after another. The problem is that by New Avengers #5 and #6 it seemed almost as if Bendis was starting to run out of his batch of Wheaties. The story was becoming as dry as a school-nun.
New Avengers #6 is over fairly quickly due to lots of dual paged explosions and scenes with less frequent dialogue and more of a heavy emphasis on fighting. You would almost think that it was a comic by Michael Bay rather than Brian Michael Bendis. (EXPLOSIONS! EXPLOSIONS! EXPLOSIONS!) The artwork is good but in the end it comes across as a cheap attempt to tie up a story-arc that should have ended two issues early.
To add to the overall cheap vibe that I am getting from this months effort, it really feels that as if the last two issues were trying to reel you in with big characters like Wolverine and Spider-man. For the record, I have no complaints about Spider-man. I have a soft spot for him.
Anyways, by the end of New Avengers #5 Dr. Strange and his companion Dr. Voodoo along with all the New Avengers powers combined, they call on certain mystical powers to summon the mighty strength of Captain PLANE* … or, um, I mean a magically super charged Wolverine in attempt to save the world. What the freaking shit is going on here?
The teaser on the front cover of New Avengers #6 even boldly states, “ONE OF THESE AVENGERS WILL DIE!” A translation of that I would modestly put as, “PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, BUY THIS FUCKING BOOK!” It’s sheer desperation. It’s quite apparent after you’re done yawning from this $3.99 piece of beautifully drawn ass paper. Let me add that I was not at all surprised with Marvel’s choice in whom they decided to kill off.
To be totally fair, though, I did enjoy a good majority of the story arc. Four good issues out of six aren’t all that bad, however, that does tell us something. Occasionally, Brian Michael Bendis will come out with a fantastic plot that eventually gets dragged out a wee bit too far. That is exactly what happened here. When it was all over and done with, I really just did not care anymore. I basically just couldn’t wait until the story was finished. Somehow, I get the feeling Bendis couldn’t wait for it to be either.
The past six issues of The New Avengers started out to be a rollercoaster of action with Dr. Strange and the gang. Though, ultimately in the end it was more of a boring lollercoaster that was, quite frankly, just plain strange.
The teaser for next issue says: “Who are the Avengers?” Someone, please tell me because after this issue it is very unclear what this book is trying to be and seems to be in the midst of an identity crisis.
“With great power comes great responsibility.” Those are the famous words of the late Uncle Ben — No, I’m not talking about the rice guy. They’re the words of our friendly neighborhood Spider-man’s legendary Benjamin Parker. Perhaps someone should remind Marvel of this saying, because it seems like they haven’t practiced what they preached all those years ago — specifically in today’s Spidey comics.
Peter Parker seems to have always gotten the shorter straw, snake eyes, the shitty end of the sti … okay, you get the picture. The latest catastrophe Marvel team threw at ole web head, in my honest opinion, is worse than the entire clone saga put together.
Let’s keep in mind here though, that I was probably part of a small percentage of people who actually enjoyed the clone saga. For those who can’t remember, this is where Spider-man was completely replaced by his clone — a clone who actually believed he was the real Spidey and the one we knew for so many years was the fake duplicate.
Image from http://gadgetscrunch.com/
Anyways, let’s flash forward to the present. Aunt May has been brought back to life, some mystical higher power erased Mary Jane and Peter Parker’s marriage from ever even taking place and Mr. Parker is now dating a some girl named Carlie. For the record, Carlie and Pete’s current relationship seems extremely one-dimensional.
Marvel Comics is basically pulling a George Lucas on us. It seems that Marvel feels like they can do whatever they want with their comics because they are their comics. I am all for surprises and curveballs to keep a story interesting, but what they are doing with Peter Parker’s life is downright unacceptable and a slap in the face to long-time and casual readers alike.
Aunt May was supposed to be dead way back in Amazing Spider-man #400. All it took was a couple angry letters. Viola! One cheesy storyline taking it all back coming right up! This is very similar to what happened with the butchering of Pete and Mary Jane’s marriage. Once again, a couple letters were probably written about how people wished Peter Parker had all his old problems back again with being broke and single again.
They’ve pretty much turned MJ into the biggest bitch in the world too. Saying in more or less words, she pretty much gave the excuse that she isn’t strong enough to handle Peter Parker’s life as Spider-man.
I almost wish Marvel just had them get divorced rather than say that the marriage never even happened. It was a major kick in the balls. For any female readers, we can just say Marvel kicked your ball-less crotches … just to keep it fair.
As you can tell, I am making an extremely huge deal about this. Spider-man has always been close to my heart. He has always been my favorite. He still is actually.
What? How could this be you ask? I’ve been bashing Parker’s world this whole time. I must be torn, right? Not exactly. I without a doubt love Spider-man in Marvel Comics today. The one I’m hating on is Peter Parker. I absolutely can’t stand all the unnecessary drama in ‘Peter fricken Parker’s’ life right now.
I notice that when I read Avengers and New Avengers, I look forward to Spider-man the most. I can certainly say I’m a lot more interested in Amazing Spider-man also when it focuses less on the man and more on the spider behind the man. It’s basically the one element of Spider-man that hasn’t been taken away from us — that lovable old goofball in a mask making wisecrack jokes and beating up bad guys.
It still really breaks my heart to see them screw up Spider-man’s other half, Peter Parker. It’s mainly because at one time Parker played such a huge part in Spider-man’s storytelling. It is quite unfortunate that Peter Parker has become the greatest weakness in his standalone titles today. Let’s hope some changes will be made in the near future to forget about the mediocre storytelling that hardcore fans have been enduring lately. Keep your fingers crossed true believers.
Tk-421, Secret Agent Man , Whatever the hell you want to call me
Okay. I have come to the conclusion that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is utter crap. I tried hard to convince myself otherwise due to my great love for the blue furry guy. Sonic Colors, on the other hand, is everything Sonic 4 should have been and more.
To be honest, I expected this game to suck blue hedgehog balls. I basically only wanted the hat that came with preordered versions of the game to make my head look like Sonic’s. When I actually started playing the game I said, “Jumping jigga-shits Marty, this isn’t all that bad!”
Sonic Colors borrows a lot of ideas from previous platformers, but it really works in the Hedgehog’s favor. For example, in each stage you have the option to collect five red rings — ala Mario style. The music at times even sounds exactly like Super Mario Galaxy. Despite seeming like a rip-off at times, this is the best blend of Sonic gameplay to come in a long time, mixing some of the best 3D elements that we were used to in Sonic Adventure with old school side scrolling mechanics we all grew up to love.
Unlike Sonic 4, it’s not so easy to plow through some of these levels. Here’s a fair warning, Sonic Colors at times is a difficult bastard. Lucky for me, I love a challenge. Yes, there will be moments that you fall to your death, but it seems much more reminiscent to that of the good old challenges of the NES Mega Man series.
The controls in Sonic Colors are also worlds better than Sonic 4. I.e. When you jump, you won’t come to a dead halt when you let go of the stick — something which often plagued Sonic 4. Everybody should be happy to know that Sonic Colors supports multiple control options on the Wii. Players have a choice to hold the controller sideways, to use the classic controller or gamecube controller, in addition to the possibility of using the nunchuck / wiimote combination. Surprisingly, I found the nunchuck and wiimote to be the best choice for this game.
In addition to satisfyingly challenging gameplay that is reminiscent of a blend of Sonic 1-3 and Mega Man, there is an interesting feature of snagging what are known as “Wisps.” Wisps essentially are creatures that give you new and innovative powers temporarily. Sonic can utilize the wisps to turn into a rocket, a laser and even a drill, just to name a few. They don’t feel like a cheap add-on gimmick like the stupid ability to turn into a were-hog in Sonic Unleashed. I honestly never tried that game for fear of having explosive diarrhea from frustration and utter disappointment. The Wisps in Sonic Colors certainly add a lot of replay value due to the fact that once you unlock one from one of their “planets” (cough, cough Mario Galaxy) you can go back to levels you’ve previously played and open up new routes that are only accessible with certain power-ups.
Photo from roomgadget.com
I suppose I should mention what I wasn’t too crazy about. There were some parts of the game where I wasn’t totally satisfied with the music. Later in the game there are much more tolerable tracks, but there were times early on in the game that I really did not care for them.
Also, the story really might be painful for some to watch. Thankfully, cutscenes can be skipped. I don’t know it has something to do with saving jellyfish creatures from Robotn* … er um … Dr. Eggman. I still never understood that change. Anyways, true Sonic fans are really here for the gameplay, not so much the story I would assume.
Sonic Colors packs a whole blue jizz load of new innovative ideas mixed in with ones that ring true to the classic Sonic games. Sprinkles of elements stolen from other successful titles in gaming history are apparent, but it really works. This isn’t just a rehash. This feels wonderfully original and fun.
The result is extremely satisfying if you are up to the challenge and can get over the music in the first few levels. This is the best 3D sonic game to come in awhile. Sega finally got it right. It isn’t perfect, but it’s an absolute breath of fresh air from the shitstorm that Sonic 4 was. Find this game and play it now.
I’ve been addicted to Final Fantasy Tactics lately. The game intrigued me way back in 1998 when it was originally released. The ‘Tactics’ series really captured my heart when its sequel was released for Gameboy Advance.
Years later the original reared its head once, no make that twice again. For many weeks I’ve been playing these two different versions. One version is an emulated version of the original Playstation title playable on either the PSP or Playstation 3, and the other is actually specifically made for the PSP.
After much deliberation, (very extended deliberation) I came to the conclusion that I enjoyed playing the emulated original.
My reasoning behind this is due to the slowdown that is present in the PSP version of the game. If you have played the original before, the drop to 30 frames per second is insanely noticeable.
It took me such a long time to decide which one I should play primarily basically because the PSP version does have a fantastically reworked script along with it being filled with a ton of beautiful new cut scenes. The acting, I might say… actually I am saying, is surprisingly good too.
The game is almost worth another play-through due to the better translation and new cinematics. I do warn you though, the slowdown will at times be hell. Simple battles are bearable, but add any magic attacks to the battle and you’ll find yourself tapping your foot every now and then. (Not because of the Bee Gees record you’re playing in the background either).
So, yeah, in a way both of the versions have their ups and downs. You will end up loving the story on one and being tolerable on the script of the other. It all comes down to gameplay I guess. In the end, it felt much more satisfying to have a fluid battle that lasted 10 minutes instead of thirty.
So, now, what’s more important to you — a better presentation and amazing script or fast and fluid gameplay?
