Anyway, the first thing about Dragon age: Origins is the choices available. You have the usual choice between 3 races, humans, elves and Dwarves and 3 classes, Warriors, Rogues and Mages (unless you’re a Dwarf) and there’s plenty of customization to be done once you pick.

Initially you play through one of 6 different origins stories depending on your race and class.  From here on the real choices that affect the whole Dragon Age world begin.

Tough Choices

Throughout the game you are presented with a number of choices which will determine your allegience to one party at the expense of another and a whole bunch of seemingly low importance side quests that appear to have little impact, many of which do have little impact but some of which you just won’t appreciate until you finish game, and it tells you what happened to the dwarf who asked for your help. Over the course of the game, a King dies and you will have a big say in who the new monarch is. Play your cards right and it could even be you as King or Queen but again, that depends on if you’re eligable – race,class and background and choices made.

Combat

Combat in Dragon Age Origins runs in realtime, but depending on your style of fighting it may seem a straight forward slugging contest, especially if it is a fight between warriors but it is quite possible to run around as a rogue and stab people in the back. You can bring up a menu and pause the action and assign each of your squad members a target and action. It’s not until you play another game that doesn’t give you a chance to pause that you realise how awesome that is (White Knight Chronicles I’m looking at you!).

The difficulty is well adjusted. Normal provides an enjoyable challenge without really causing any times where you’ll hit a point and go I can’t do this. The difficulty can be changed at any time and the console versions don’t differentiate between difficulty when handing out achievements/trophies. Easy is just that, easy. A useful way to burn through the game if you are more interested in the story but you may feel a little unsatisfied. You won’t be up against as powerful foes and things like potions will rarely be needed as opposed to vital. It is much faster though as you won’t need to pause the action to dish orders as enemies will fall sooner.

Hard and above introduce you to friendly fire, the number of times I’ve been hit in the back because I gave the ai mage access to the biggest spells in the game is a lot but in fairness much of the time it was following orders – if a group were attacking the healer, burn them all. Of course that was me being cheap and abusing friendly fire not being on. On higher difficulties I’m sure you order them around more or don’t give the AI orders to use the big spells and then you manually switch to the mage and use them yourself when the time is right.

Allies

Building up your allies to fight the Darkspawn invasion is the main aim of most of the game, these allies will be useful fodder/footsoldiers in the final fight and along the way you recruit members for your party (or not in some cases depending on your choices). Even once you recruit members, you have choices in how you deal with them which can result in them hating your guts to ultimately challenging you or at the other end of the spectrum, getting romantically involved. Allies perform better if they like you and cheap gifts only go so far, you may end up going off on side quests for them or coming to a decision and thinking twice about if you really want to do that because you know that they are going to go mental over slaughtering innocents (of course a couple are the opposite and rage at you for going out of your way to help people).

Sidequests

On the subject of sidequests there are many, many of which offer little reward other than a token reward but a clean concience. Others provide more substancial rewards in XP, gold or loot. And there is a lot of loot to be had in this game. Some people may get annoyed that they can’t carry it all and at times even if you buy every backpack you can, you will still end up passing over some although as you get further through, you don’t need to worry as much about looting as your gold rewards get bigger and some of the loot gets far more valuable than others so that you can dispose of without real fear of needing that 5 silver seeing how that helm was 3 gold. If you gotta get them all then if you buy the Warden’s Peak DLC you can store items you won’t need for a while there once you have completed it. The DLC has also some nice equipment and is a good buy.

DLC

On the subject of DLC, it’s been confirmed they will be providing DLC for 2 years! From what they have done so far, it integrates well. The Golem Shale is well worth getting and not just for his brilliant rants about birds (spend years as a statue outdoors and you’d probably feel the same), anyway he is awesome. There is a big expansion pack scheduled for March but apparently DLC doesn’t work with that, I’ll post an update once it’s out but even if that’s the case, with new NPCs, equipment and areas I expect it will turn out to be worth it, if there’s one thing I can say is that more Dragon Age is always a good thing.

So with so much more DLC to come, the potential for certain choices to affect things could be somewhat daunting but there’s no use guessing what will come. If all else fails and you don’t like how a choice ended up comes the end of the game or when a new DLC is released then you can always play through again, and you won’t mind either. I’ve been through three times and found new things each time. Using different team members at different times can give different choices and dialogues and can make fights far easier or difficult. There are still endings I haven’t seen and ideas for characters I’d like to try out.

Which Version?

If you are in the slightest bit interested in RPGs, you have to get this. Then you may have the choice of what to get it on. Well the 360 loads faster than the PS3 and the PS3 is behind on DLC because of the Sony testing program or Bioware being lame depending on who you listen to. On the flip side, the PS3 looks a bit better than 360 and is less likely to die from being on for long hours. Nikobe’s 360 started dying during DAO and my 360 started dying from Mass Effect 2 so if possible you should probably go with the PC, its better than both and has tools to let you do all sorts of modding. For the record I got the Collectors Edition on PS3. The bonus DVD wasn’t great to be honest but it had a code for more Dragon Age goodies and an armour for Mass Effect 2 which as it turns out is by far cooler than any of the other armours in the game even if statiscally it isn’t better than the pre-order bonus ones. Yes it is weird unlocking 360 content with a PS3 but well done to EA for getting it to work.

In Summary

Massive replayability with a great storyline and more content coming makes Dragon Age Origins an easy recomendation to anyone with any freetime. Actually it doesn’t matter if your time isn’t free, this is a game that you make time for. While playing you think I’ll just finish this sidequest, which leads to this and another well I’ll do this… before you know it you’ve been playing for hours more than you intended.

I’m no expert, I’ve twice visited Japan, the first time was a hectic 9 day self-tour of Tokyo, Hakone, Kyota & Osaka. The second, a more leisurely 9 days in Tokyo as part of the Manga Tour of Japan which I definitely recommend although you should definitely have a few more days in Japan afterwards. http://www.japanjourneys.co.uk/manga.htm

Anyway, this isn’t a proper tourists guide to tokyo, more a anime/toy collectors guide and a memory jog for the next time I go but hopefully you may find it useful. Please feel free to let me know if anything has since closed down.

I’ll leave the best till last so scroll down for Tokyo.

As for when to go, Sakura (Cherry Blossom) season is usually late March/early April, summer is hot and icky I was told by my Japanese teacher, personally I’ve only been during cherry blossom season and can vouch for the prettyness which isn’t something I say often and that the temperature was slightly better than the UK for the time.

Hakone

If you go on a day trip up to Hakone you can see Mount Fuji, there is a great cable car ride you can take which takes you up the active volcano there.  There is a train you can take down which I recommend you take as it is unlike any other I’ve been on. Crazy tight turns and having to reverse the direction it is pulled from along the route. Great views.

Hakone also has my favourite place which was the Samurai Museum. Run by this great old guy who greeted us and then while were looking around the small museum, he shocked the life out of us by jumping out from behind a corner having changed into in full samurai gear.  He posed for pictures too, most awesome.

There was a great castle here but I missed going in it by half an hour because of cramming everything else in (and getting on the wrong bus earlier which was how I ended up at the Samurai Museum LOL). There’s a fancy art gallery I didn’t go in.

Osaka

Osaka Castle is awesome.  The most impressive of the castles I visited and absolutely huge gardens. It isn’t the original but a remake. I wish they’d do that with more of the ruined castles here in England. Oh look at the remains of a castle isn’t anywhere near as impressive as a whole freaking castle!

Universal Studios Japan is here, I chose the castle instead though as I only had one day in Osaka.  There was a Full Metal Alchemist attraction to celebrate it’s opening so I’m guessing there should be a few non Universal anime attractions there too.

I didn’t spend long here so nothing else to add sorry.

Kyoto

Kyoto is just site seeing central, you visit one shrine or temple and can see another and can walk to that. You keep doing that and before you know it you are miles from your hotel. I didn’t have time to do anything other than that and I know I barely scratched the surface. Just make sure you have enough memory for your camera here. SD cards were harder to come by and more expensive than in Tokyo or Osaka.  Have more than 1 day here. There really is a lot of sites to see, I didn’t even get to go to any of the shops here.

Tokyo Sights

• Stay in or near Shinjuku, from that station you can get pretty much anywhere, it is the most amazing labyrinth though so if you get lost at Clapham Junction station you may want to make sure you go with a tour. Sadly it does not have the blackboard used in City Hunter.
• You have to do the Tokyo Tower for obvious reasons.
  

  Not full size but no midget either. The Iron Giant is awesomeness incarnate

• The Asakusa shrine will look familiar to anyone who’s seen Tenchi Muyo and regardless, is a great site to visit with the Senso temple practically next to it. A nice weapons shop here and some stalls with various anime tack and lots of Japanese food.
• Shinjuku park is a really nice park to have a little picnic in. It’s also fairly big.
• The Studio Ghibli museum is a must if you can get the tickets.  On the roof is a statue of The Iron Giant.
• The Tokyo sword museum was cool but too small and out of the way to really recommend unless you are really into your swords. No swords for sale, not even a paper knife. They do work restoring ancient scrolls here, security is TIGHT.
• The Imperial Gardens – HUUUUUUGE and very impressive.
• Harajuku has the great Meiji Shrine, a good toy shop and a good tourist shop for buying tacky souviners. If memory serves, the park is supposedly best on Sundays.  The main thing is watching the antics people in the park – they set up stereos and do live music, everything from j-pop to elvis. For normal (non-otaku) people there is a bunch of designer shops there.
• The full 1:1 scale Gundam is no longer there but there is still a Statue of Liberty and Toys R Us on Odaiba Island (Shiokaze Park) along with a nice mall and a great Hawiain Burger bar.

Tokyo Shops

This is an otaku’s blog so I’m not going to be posting where to find designer labels, well not unless the designer works for Shonen Jump

• Akihabara is the place for current anime & manga merchandise and games. Cosplay cafes and electronics shops. Check out the shops in the big tower next to the station, one had TF animated prototypes for sale before Animated was out and a few floors up was the Revoltech store. There was a fantastic shop with a load of Japanese G1 Transformers at not so nice prices on the end furthest of the high street from the station. Also had the Dragon Ball Z bathroom scales which I regret not buying to this day as an amazing piece of tack.
• Nakano Broadway is THE place to go for hard to find old anime merch. The shopping mall looks naff until you go up to the 2nd and 3rd floors where it has a number of awesome shops. Whether it be toys (one of the Mandarake’s only sells robot related toys), anime, manga, soundtracks, video games, cosplay outfits or animation cells – you can get it here. To get there there is a train station of the same name. Easy.
• Don’t bother going out of your way to find a Toys R Us, it was more expensive than the Animate across the street for toys or games in Sunshine City. If you want to visit a TRU, I suggest the one on Odaiba island for sight seeing purposes.
  

  A shop that only sells merchandise of Shonen JUMP characters... Now THAT's my kind of shop.

• The Shonen Jump shop on the site of the Tokyo Dome had some pretty rare stuff if you like Shonen Jump manga/anime and you may be able to get tickets for a baseball game or whatever’s going on at the dome while you’re in the area.
• There is a great American restaurant in the Takashimaya Times Square complex in Shinjuku which is perfect if you fancy a big steak.
• Also in the same complex is Kinokuniya Books which has a huge english section with one of the biggest ranges of English manga I’ve seen. It includes English language releases that were released in other regions. I picked up all of the Slam Dunk manga when in the US it had stalled at vol 5.
• HMV is just around the corner from there and is a great place for your J-pop/rock needs and has some soundtracks.

Things to Remember

I’m not going to do a list of useful phrases, there’s too many and to be honest, I barely spoke to anyone out there, just pointed and nodded. Rude in the extreme but Big Mac is the same in any language

• Make sure you have a map of the train system in English.  You will need it to match up with their map which will be in Japanese and more likely than not, will have prices instead of stops on. Instead of zones they work on price in yen (public transport is dirt cheap compared to the UK and vastly superior, don’t bother with taxi’s)
• Forget travellers cheques – far too much hassle.
• Cash, you need it, and you need a lot of it. Credit cards are only taken in large stores. You will need wallets full of cash. Luckily Japan is a really safe country and you won’t get mugged (well shouldn’t unless you’re exceptionally unlucky or stupid. I had £1000 cash at the start and split it into 3 wallets, 2 stashed in my backpack – emergency, large buys and normal person’s use and then pulled out whichever would be necessary. Sneaky but effective. Note, that was nowhere near as much money as I could have spent but was perilously close to the maximum weight allowance.
• Do NOT put your cash in the shop keepers hands. They have a little tray or basket, put your money in there.
• The Japanese wear face masks if they have the slightest trace of a cold. At least cover your mouth/nose if coughing or sneezing.
• Sumimasen = sorry, general get out of jail free word for any idiotic foreigner behaviour you might do (such as the above). Also can be used as excuse me to indicate you’d like them to get out of your way if they are blocking somewhere.
• Do NOT cross the street when the traffic lights are red for pedestrians even if you can see there isn’t a car for the length of the road. You will get evil looks and probably a few snide comments you won’t understand.
• When you enter a shop, quite often you will be greeted. This is normal. The same on leaving so don’t worry. Nod politely if you want to be nice.
• PS3,PSP and DS games are region free, console accessories like joypads and arcade sticks are also region free.  Blitz Akihabara! The Macross Frontier games on PSP and Initial D Extreme Stage on PS3 are must haves. Reminds me there’s a new PS3 Gundam game I need to import…
• There is no need to carry spare drinks around, wherever you go, there will be a vending machine nearby. Probably a Lawsons too (equivilent to a 7-11/corner shop).
• Even Lawsons sell anime tack. Usually the random luck mini boxed toys with gashapon machines as well. There is no escape!
• (item name) Kudasai – I know I said no phrases but I used this a fair bit as a lot of shops keep everything in glass cabinets (which is odd considering the low crime rate but perhaps also helps explain it). Tell them the toy or game name e.g. Goshogun or Mazinger please and point in the right direction and they will be able to help.
• You have to visit a Gera Gera manga cafe – think internet cafe, with more manga than you’ve ever seen in your life, as well as a selection of anime and games you can use there. Open 24/7, people that miss the last train often spend the night here.  The inspiration for my collection which is a topic for another day…
• Mandarake and Animate are two of the best places I found for buying anime, manga and toys and associated stuff (soundtracks,games,tack). There will be at least one Animate in every city, keep a look out.
• DVD’s are region 2 so they will play on UK players, however they will NOT have english subtitles. Same applies to blu-ray, no subs.
• CD’s and DVD’s are, relative to the UK and especially United States, incredibly expensive (£25 for a CD is common!). Don’t let that deter you though, it’s cheaper than importing unless you want to import knock offs in which case you might as well just download them. Feel pride in supporting the content makers.
• If your airline allows, take 2 bags, one inside the other on the way out so you have 2 bags to load up with toys and merch to bring back. I take old clothes so if necessary (and it has been both times) I throw out some clothes so there is enough room for toys. Remember to keep some clothes though to cushion and pad out your luggage to keep toys safe
• Die cast toys and hand luggage don’t mix and you may be subject to a painstaking search of your hand luggage contents but they do look exceptionally awesome going through the X-ray machine!
• Baseball batting practice is a good way to kill some time, coin in slot and then a series of balls come flying at you at whatever speed it says on the door so you don’t need to worry about not knowing any Japanese. I don’t know jack about baseball and I enjoyed it.

Note: I’ve not mentioned karaoke, there were plenty of karaoke bars but I can’t advise which are good as I didn’t use any as it hurts me never mind anyone else when I attempt to sing.

If you can find it, I recommend the book, Cruising the Anime City: An Otaku Guide to Neo Tokyo.  It has useful maps of the main otaku shopping areas. It’s out of date for the smaller shops and the Bandai Museum is no longer there but asides from that it has some great information on the culture that won’t age and is well worth a read.

You have to agree just from the trailer it looks like it could be a lot of fun. I especially like the style they have used, and the actual animation is top notch. Head on over to Zombieinfo where they have an interview with the creators and some additional concept art that looks fantastic.

As of yet I have not found the official site, and IMDB seems to be behind the curve on this one. So keep your eyes peeled and I will put out more info as I find it.

I have also just realised I have hardly talked about zombies on here at all, what a crime against undead nature. I will have to see what I can dig up.

Out now is “Cloudy with a chance of meatballs”, the latest home release from Dreamworks Sony/Columbia. Their work keeps getting better and better, the last film (Monsters vs Aliens) is probably the best they have done. But there very best just does not compare to the standard set. Gaff-tastic: My fault! I even laughed out loud when they showed the classic Columbia title screen that has brought me so much joy over the years, should have remembered that.

Cloudy is a great film, we all laughed out loud at various bits. The voice acting is top notch, the story is a lot of fun, the animation is excellent. But somehow its missing something…

Characters are king

Dreamworks Everyone is very slowly learning what it is that makes Pixar the masters when it comes to animation. It is nothing to do with the technology used or how spectacular you make it look, it is all about the characters. You have to feel connected with them, then the audience will go anywhere you want them to go.

The first thing that struck me about the film are the actors they have managed to get to voice these characters. Casting Mr T is pure genius, he is a stand out character that is a lot of fun to watch, without having to reference “The A-Team”. I would love to see a film with just him. But the rest of the cast are just as good, and the addition of Bruce Campbell rounds it all out nicely.

Designed by test screening

The story is a little goofy, but you are willing to suspend your disbelief because it is just so much fun. Any story where it rains steaks is not going to be a serious drama, but there are some odd moments. You will be watching, laughing along quiet nicely and just enjoying the ride, then something just stupid happens and snaps you back to the idea they designed this film with test screenings and 10 year olds in mind.

I will give you an example. You are watching the two main characters having their heart to heart, it is all going well when the phone rings to break the moment. Classic story fare, nothing wrong with that. The guy, uncomfortable, says he has to answer it and breaks away… and walks straight out of a window. What? Why, just because there has not been a laugh for a minute and the test screening said the 10 year olds where getting bored. There is nothing wrong with doing stupid things, but there has to be a good reason for them otherwise you are just playing with the audience and that is no fun for the adults who are enjoying it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love abstract humour and this film has it in spades. Just these little jolts were a shame.

Conclusion

This is a great film, lots of fun for the whole family. Is it worth buying? Probably, it is worth seeing. There are some excellent scenes, and you will laugh a lot. By that measure alone it is great. But it does feel hollow, where as Pixar film will leave you with something to think about, this will leave you with nothing. There is nothing wrong with that, it is just a shame.

Get it, see it, enjoy it, and tide yourself over until “Up” is released next week.

What more can I say?

Announced this week is Bruce Campbell’s next film “Bruce vs Frankenstein”. This is going to be a follow on to the excellent “My name is Bruce” that came out last year.

All of us here at BGR are big fans of Bruce Campbell, from his early beginnings in “Evil Dead” all the way to his show stealing performances in the Spider-man films, he is always a joy to watch.

“My name is Bruce” really surprised me when I saw it. In many ways it felt a little unpolished and probably could have done with a little more work, but somehow that makes it more endearing. Bruce and the supporting cast are fun to watch. Ultimately Bruce carries the film (he also Directed it), wins the day, gets the girl, and slays the demon in a style only he could do.

I am looking forward to this when it is released some time next year.

If you are looking more Bruce Campbell action check out:

• Army of Darkness
• Bubba Ho-Tep
• The Evil Dead
• Evil Dead II

and a whole ton of other great films.  If you want to know more about the legend, check out his site

The new Dr Who logo. Not sure about it

So over Christmas David Tennant stepped down as the doctor, and marked the end of a remarkable period in the Dr Who series. Let me just say that David Tennant is responsible for everyone in my house loving Dr Who. From my wife to my children they all think it is a great show, and it is mostly down to him. Billy Piper and Catherine Tate have been stand out assistants who have has astounded me with their ability to take on the role and make more than just a side kick.

So it is unfortunate that David Tennant’s final show is also the weakest of all the episodes he has done.

How can you end it?

I suppose one of the real problems for the show has been how do you kill off the doctor. It has become so popular that no matter what you do you are not going to satisfy everyone. But it seemed to me I wanted something much more intimate from the final show than what we got. It is something Tennant can do and has done amazingly well and their was a brief flicker of it right before the end that made me smile. But as far as I was concerned the rest was a complete shambles.

John Simm is another talented actor, and while I thought he hammed The Master up a little more than he needed, he was still a convincing villain. But the villain turned psychotic was a step just a little too far, and one of many plot points that I didn’t think the episode needed.

This one was a story I just didn’t connect with in any way. Most of the others I have enjoyed and they have been surprisingly moving at times. Showing the frailty of the human condition with the death and destruction the doctor brings in his wake. Thought provoking at times, and even genuinely frightening in my favourite episode “Blink” . That one also stands out for me as a brave choice as the doctor is hardly in it at all and you seeing from another perspective.

Christmas Specials

For some reason the Christmas specials have never quiet worked. The format doesn’t seem to work well at the longer running time, and I always got the feeling the writers were trying to hard to make those stories bigger than they needed to be. The “Star Ship Titanic” episode (Douglas Adams reference in there for anyone who didn’t know) was a good story but didn’t hit the mark. The “Spider Queen” episode was fun but flat.

But I am not complaining, any Dr Who is better than no Dr Who. But they don’t need to make Christmas specials, Dr Who just doesn’t need it.

Long time fan

I have loved Dr Who for a long time. It seems to be becoming a theme of mine my obsession with British Sci-fi (maybe there is another blog in that). But there is nothing better than watching an entire story of Dr Who on a Sunday morning. That style of story telling is something I am surprised has not crept back into Dr Who. It used to be that a story was played out of about six episodes, so you had the first one where most things seemed normal. All the way through the middle as it became creepy, then the final pay off when the doctor normally saved the day. I enjoy this style because it slows the story and usually makes you engage your brain a little. While the current style is single story episodes, they work just fine. I do sometimes wish they would spend a little more time on some of them.

Who was your doctor?

My doctor (the one I can actually remember sitting down to watch was Silvester McCoy (1987 – 1989). I do remember a little of Colin Baker, and a little more Peter Davidson. But McCoy was the one when I was just the right age, and if I am honest I really like him as the doctor. He is a little hammy and whimsical, and his question mark umbrella is a little over the top. There are moments when this fades away and you are left with a much more sinister character, one of the key marks of the doctor.

McCoy always seems to be dismissed as the doctor, and that is a shame because not only was he fun to watch he also had the best companion. Ace (Sophie Aldred) the loud, rude, obnoxious and clever one who could easily keep pace with the scenes and developed her own character into something that was just as much fun to watch.

A wimper, not a bang!

So Tennant’s stint as the doctor ends not on the high note I would have liked, but well enough. Now is the time of the new doctor and I am afraid to say I don’t have much hope for him. Like all actors following the previous one it hard to see how they will take over. There will only be one way to find out and that is to see how he does in the new series starting in just a few months.

The day of the Triffids makes its return

Some time ago I wrote about one of my favourite Sci-Fi TV Series “Day of the Triffids“. Made in 1981, much like “Blakes 7” it is a little known British gem of a show that never really seemed to get the regard it should have got. Over Christmas the BBC have finally shown the new version. With some excellent actors, and a more grown up feel it is an excellent addition to the growing catalogue of remakes of this classic story.

I have to confess I have not read the book, and now I am starting to think I should. Every remake of this story has something new, while the core story still remains as chilling as ever.

What’s new?

Once you have remade the same story a few times can you really bring something new to it this time round? Simply put yes! I personally find this a very strong story. It probably appeals to my love of zombie films. You have a very simple enemy, who is slow moving, unintelligent foes who can do very little. But their power is in their unrelenting progress . With no fear and lack of respect for the human race you have an unstoppable enemy that create a very tense and claustrophobic atmosphere.

This version is very much like the older series. The stories are surprisingly close, but I much preferred this version explanation of the event that blinds the majority of the population. I also enjoyed the more detailed look at the triffid farming and the explanation of why the male and female plants are kept separated.

Which do you prefer?

If I am honest I prefer the 1981 version. Not because I think it is a better telling of the story, but just because they had more time to go into the ideas. While the initial story is very straight forward, the stories that evolve from it are far more interesting. While the new version touched on these emerging stories, and even created a new one with the nuns sacrificing their useless residents. It never had the time to really explore any of these.

There is a whole six part series just in the idea of a safe haven the where the Triffids show no interest in attacking. Once you know the secret it makes perfect sense and that reveal could have been much more dramatic and thought provoking. Is it so wrong to sacrifice a dying old man to save a fifty more? Where do you draw the line? What if you could save a thousand for someone who would die anyway, or was no longer interested in helping the whole? This is actually something I miss from Dr Who.

British Sci-Fi Rant

You have to love David Tennant as the doctor, in fact you have to love the doctor in general, it is an amazingly clever and simple idea for a show. It exemplifies something I love about British Sci-Fi and Horror in general. In US shows you know the core people are safe. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are safe, they are definitely coming back. McGyver will get into a tough spot, but he will find away out of it (even if you do steal the whole ending to “The Italian Job”.. you bastard!).

But British work is not so simple (at least it never used to be.. but that’s a different story). You are totally entitled to kill your main hero and all his friends if you like. You can never be sure who is safe. “Blakes 7” has to be the epitome of that, your main hero doesn’t even appear in the last two series to the point you are sure he is dead. Only to have him pop up right at the end, only to be killed by his friend Avon (you Bastard!). If this is a spoiler to you… grow up! You should already know this stuff, there is no excuse, it was made in 1981 for god sake!

Dr Who is the pinnacle of that idea, you have a character that you can kill off at any point. There is no guarantee he will be about to help. Yes you know he can come back, but each iteration is a little different so you do lose one character and gain another.

This was the feel I got from the the old Triffid series, any one of them could go at any point. That unpredictability makes the show watch-able. With no clear villan you are never really sure who you should looking out for. Yes the acting is not the greatest, but I love that. Dr Who would be nothing without Tom Baker hamming it up for all he’s worth.

Failing

So this was the failing I felt in the show, Torrance was just there you make you dislike him, he didn’t serve much purpose apart from that. So there was no really need to spend as much time as they did on him.

Because of all the time lost to making you hate him, we lost a lot to Triffid time. Towards the end they talk about the Triffids using the sewers and over running the city. But we didn’t get to see any of that, and that was a real shame. It would have given a chance for Izzard to really make you dislike Torrance as he sacrificed his own men so he could make his escape.

Again this is something I miss from current Sci-Fi, Dr Who is the biggest culprit of this. It used to be that a single story would take six episodes to play out. It would start of all nice with some strange happenings, until the really weird stuff would come out, then the doctor would step in and save the day. Fairly standard stuff, but at least there was time to play with the ideas and come up with something with a little meaning. Admittedly not all the stories deserved all this attention but some of the classics are better for it. This is where I think Triffids could have done with being a few episodes longer. Rather than being a film cut in half they should have gone for more shorter episodes. But that is just my personal opinion.

My conclusion

This new version was excellent, the visuals were good, and the acting was excellent. But something was lost. There was too much time spent on the run, and not enough time to see the tragedy unfold. It is worth seeing, and I especially liked the new design for the Triffids.

Check out some other peoples thoughts on the new show:

• Den of Geek – A great in depth look. Points out some things I had not even considered.
• Dan’s Media Digest – Also talks about the rushed nature of the new series. But overall a good show.
• BCS – I think this sums up my thoughts.. it was good, but doesn’t quiet hit the mark.

All of these things should make this the best games? Until two weeks ago you were right and I was ready to fight to preserve it as the best game I played all year. But all that has changed. While it is still the high point for me in terms of stealth/action/super hero games there is now one game that does all of that, but only much better.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

This is how the game starts, and doesn't let up

I had seen (but not played) the original, and played a little of this one before I managed to get my hands on it. Both of the other two BGR’ers have been telling me for some time it is their favourite game, I was not convinced.

My initial reaction to this game was that it was OK, but nothing special. Right at the start while I thought it looked nice, I wasn’t getting on the the controls very well. But once I had got over that slight problem this game opened up to me and showed me what a true cinematic experience a game can be.

The Setup

You are following the fortunes of Drake. You start in the middle of incredibly well done train wreck and through the course of getting out of it you are taught the basic controls. From there the story goes on to explain you are on the hunt for Marco Polo’s lost treasure.

This games really does play out like an Indiana Jones story with travelling all over the globe looking for the clues that Marco Polo has left behind. On the way you are shown some of the most amazing scenes I have seen in computer game. But the thing that really got to me was not the stunning detail but the grandeur of set pieces.

But the best part is the game expects you to explore all the aspects of these huge scenes. They are not just window dressing, they are integral parts of the story with secrets for you to find and cinematic cut scenes which flow seamlessly into the game to let you explore them even better.

The actual story is so well done I would actually love to go and see it at the cinema, it puts Indiana Jones to shame. I especially enjoyed the various subtle touches and comedy that are woven perfectly into the story that really will have you laughing with the character and thinking “Oh crap!” just as they say it on screen.

Quality production

The quality of the voice acting in this game is second to none, I didn’t think Batman could be beaten but I could not have been more wrong. All of the characters are voiced perfectly, and I genuinely enjoyed listening to everything they had to say. Even the little pieces of in game dialogue were fun and I didn’t notice any glitch moments where it repeats the same phrase.

The most fun part of the game beside the great story are the excellent fighting mechanics. Running and gunning actually works perfectly, and I have found the most fun thing to do is to run up to your target shooting then beat the living crap out of them. This is especially fun because of the huge number of fighting animations that makes them a joy to watch.

Stealth can also be a big part of this game if you want it to be. You sneak about in most places and take out the guards silently. The actual stealthing mechanic is perhaps not as fluid as it could be, but again once you are used to the way it work you will not have any problems.

Extras

Beside the fact that I am going to play this game through again at least once there are all sorts of extras included for you. There is actually a very fun multi-player mode where you can play the normal array of game modes like death match and king of the hill. But they have also included some behind the scenes videos and various art galleries.

Conclusion

This is a must own game. I played the entire game through in 10 hours, and I was actually disappointed when it finished, I could have happily played it for twice that long. But its the tight story that keeps the game fun to play, so I guess I will just have to wait till Uncharted 3 comes out.

I see you

This film can really only be described as a master piece of film making that it seems only a few directors are able to pull off.

Lets not mince words here, Avatar is a brilliant film! There, it is said! This is an epic film in every way, from the grand story to the amazing vistas, right through to the stunning technology they have used to create this marvel. The majority of this film is computer generated but in such a life like and detailed way it is hard to see where the computer generation ends and the real people begin. I was very impressed with the similarity between the real actors and their avatars. It just leant a little more to the life like quality of the animation work.

This is a long film (3 hours) but not only does it not feel that long, there isn’t really any fluff that can be trimmed away. Every scene has something it needs to get across to you and where there was a chance to remove a scene it was taken. As a result the film is long but moves at a good pace all the way through. In fact there were a number of scenes where I wanted it to slow a little so I could take in the stunning backgrounds and the details of the world. This will be a very rewarding film to watch at home, not only will you get to hear James Cameron’s take on it, but you will get to really take in the details. I get the feeling the directors cut (if there is one) will be longer.

A lot has been made about this films eco ethics, to be honest I did not feel it. I can see why people would say it has an eco message to tell you, but I never felt it was rammed down my throat. It was more realistic than that. A planet has a mineral people want, they turn up and want to destroy the planet and its people because they don’t give a toss. Any corporation would do that, especially if that planet is six years into deep space.

Confession

I did not see this film in 3D, I wish I had. Even though it has been out for two weeks the 3D showing was completely full (I have never seen that before). There is a very good chance I will be going back just so I can see it in 3D. There are various parts of the film that will really reward you for it, and there was only one moment where I thought it was gratuitously used but you have to forgive every 3D film at least one cheap shot.

Conclusion

Go and see this film, it is as amazing as you have been lead to believe!

Accompanying the awesomeness of being one of the first super robot shows I saw, it was given a soundtrack comprised of covers of then contemporary music. To this day I still hear the voices of Kathy and Jason as they shoot robotic skeleton warriors whenever I hear “Hit me with your best shot”. Other 80s songs covered included Beat It, The Reflex, Electric Avenue and more.

Click to view Macron 1 European Intro

A Bit of History

At this point I will admit that Goshogun isn’t particularly well loved in Japan but they had had Mazinger Z and countless other super robot shows. Us UK cable TV viewers had Transformers, Voltron, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, Macron-1 and Robotech and I’m not sure that some of those weren’t after Macron-1 (my memory sucked when I was 7 too).  Anyway, I loved and still love robot shows and being one of so few I saw in my highly impressionable youth definitely helped make this all the more memorable.

The Cool

Feel the Power!

Macron-1 had some nice bits of editting, where you’d see the action split screen for each fighter jet and with some other little bits that at the time weren’t used in other series and gave the show a fresh look that coupled with the background music helped the show stand out from Voltron and Transformers. Robots aside, the main pilots Kathy, Scott & Jason have some great interactions and the customary kid Nathan isn’t the worst kid in a robot series by a long way.

The english dub is actually very good but your milage will vary on the translation depending on if you see the US or European versions of the show, more on that later…

Unavailable Everywhere, and Different Too

One of the few things I can state that I would definitely do if I could go back in time would be to video tape and protect the tapes of this show with my life. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.  Macron-1 had a couple of VHS tapes released in the UK which I managed to snap up over the years. I also managed to track down a few tapes from America only to find out that replacing the music and changing the names of everyone and everything was barely touching it compared to the brutal butchering Goshogun received Stateside.

Goshogun Butchered

Remembering this was before Wikipedia (dark ages indeed), imagine my shock when I watched the first of my US tapes, happy that I was finally getting more Macron-1 only to find that midway through, they cut to scenes from another anime altogether! Parallel Universe it seems… I have nothing against Akū Daisakusen Srungle but it had no right being inserted into Macron-1. As such I am supremely sorry for all Americans that had to sit through this version of the show.  It doesn’t make sense and is sadly the likely reason why it isn’t well remembered Stateside and isn’t available on DVD.  The bad news continues as the show isn’t loved enough to be fansubbed and the rights for it have no doubt expired decades ago.

While he is certainly not revered in Japan to the extent of my love for him, MacStar, sorry Goshogun did receive a magnificent die cast figure in the Brave Gokin toy line.   I managed to track him down on a visit to Akiharabara and can only feel sorrow for the poor shop clerk that had to listen to my broken Japanese excitedly shouting Goshogun kudasai and pointing towards a locked glass display cabinet.  The figure was absolutely fitting of my 20+ year wait for a toy of of MacStar-1 and even if you don’t like the anime, the robot is superb and looked glorious going through the metal detectors at Narita airport

The 3 mini jets combine into a robot and also are able to be stored inside Macstar who is a die-cast figure with enough articulation and a great likeness. He comes with all his weapons and is easily one of my favourite 3 toys.

At least I know I am not the only one who thinks this robot is in the top tier of robot toys, check out this review for an in depth look check out
Collectiondx.com

(Some great toys there)

Goshogun : The Time Etranger

There was a movie sequel made but it took everything that was good about the show (badass robot obliterating masses) and umm, ignored it. Well that’s being harsh, it followed on years after the series ended and chose to not ignore the ending of the series or just cheaply bring back Macstar. Instead it was a re-union of the characters. While the lack of super robot in a super robot show is mind blowing, this is actually a good film although it took me a couple of watches to fully appreciate it.

In Closing

Even by standards for the time, Macron 1 has a large amount of animation re-used in battles but that isn’t anywhere near enough to make me not recommend this to anyone who likes their super robot shows.  It’s a fun show with plenty of action and laughs and I did I mention the cool looking super robot?

If anyone comes across a download of the entire series in either the raw Japanese version of Goshogun, or the European version, link me up. If you have the entire series on dodgy DVD, VCD or even VHS let me know. If you have the US version, well I can always fast forward…