May 15 2010
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Anime & Manga, Reviews

Akira changed my life

akira5 It is no exaggeration to say the film “Akira” changed me. It must have been about the end of 1993 and Nikobe brought it round my house on VHS tape (we really did have them).

Now I was not totally new to Manga, I had seen some before but never really knew it was a specific genre all its own. Things like “Battle of the Planet” and others had been on TV and I had always loved that Japanese style. But don’t forget this was before the Internet, there was no way of finding out any of this stuff. Looking back at it now I wonder how I ever managed… but you had what you had, and I was luckier than most.

As it turns out I had seen the Studio Ghibli classic “Castle in the Sky” year before and loved it. But with no way of ever really finding out anything about it, other than its name and the fact I loved that style. If I had seen “Totoro” or “Spirited Away” at that age I would have been forced to find out more about these amazing films.

But I digress, just looking at the cover I knew I had to watch it!

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May 02 2010
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Reviews, TV & Movies

Iron Man 2

iron-man-2 After what seems like a very long wait Iron Man 2 is finally out. I was very surprised with the first film. If there are two things I have never really got they are Robert Downey Jr and Iron Man.

I don’t know what it is that has never really worked for Downey, but is has certainly re-established himself since Iron Man came out. He can carry off the narcissistic Tony Stark like no one else, and is definitely fun to watch.

The concept of Iron Man itself is one of those comics that passed me by. Of course I know of Iron Man, and a basic understanding of the story but beyond that I really don’t know how Iron Man fits into the Marvel universe. Some of that history is coming out in this film, along with references to other films in production. I counted three, but I might have missed something.

So how does this one stand-up? In short it has its moments, but overall it does not have the same feel or impact of the first.

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Apr 18 2010
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TV & Movies

The new Doctor and Daleks

"How may I be of service"

I have have had my reservations about the new doctor, taking over the role from David Tennant was always going to be a very hard job. But I have to admit I am liking the new doctor. He has the quirkiness and charm that is needed to pull it of, his companion is actually very good, and the first two stories have been good. I think the revised look works well, and while he is still finding his feet he carries it of so well I think I could happily watch a few series and be more than content.

That was until this weeks episode. Written by Mark “League of Gentlemen / Psychoville” Gatiss it was a look into an alternative World War II where our secret weapon was the Daleks. You can not tell me that is not a great idea for a plot. The opening was beautifully done and the reveal of a Dalek in WWII inspired uniform was excellent (I especially liked the little union jack on and the cammo packs), even the name “Ironside” was a great touch. The inclusion of Nazi Daleks would make for a fascinating story in its own right (or how about Nazi Cyber Men?).
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Apr 12 2010
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Video Games

All points bulletin

Anyone who is a fan if first person shooters has probable seen, if now picked up “Crackdown”. A great FPS that combines an incredibly open environment with super human abilities to make a very fun and interesting take on a fairly standard experience.

Realtime Worlds the creators of that have been very quiet since its release working on their next game. Having handed over the follow up to “Crackdown” to Ruffian. Due to be released later this year “Crackdown 2″ will be pretty much more of the same. I am sure they will have added some new twists, and improved the engine. But to be honest I have done that now, and I don’t really play “Crackdown” other than to have 10 minute blasts of crazy jumping around the city, and driving the great cars.

What looks much more interesting is APB. A game Realtime have had in development for a long time now.

Initially it looks very much like a standard open FPS (think Grand Theft Auto) but as the video shows it is something a lot more interesting than that. The on-line aspects of the game make for a much more immersive and fun looking game. We have all played where the computer AI is just no good at all, APB looks like it can solve that problem.

Being able to call for backup is a clever idea and one that I have wished for in a lot of games. How well it plays out depends a lot on the muppets who are in the world with you, but it has the potential to be a lot of fun.
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Apr 06 2010
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TV & Movies

Kick-Ass kicks ass

Finally got the chance to see Kick-Ass and I was not disappointed. I have had my eye on this for a long time, ever since it was initially announced and was uncertain who would actually pick it up and run with it.

There is no doubt it would take a brave producer to pick up this film. It could go either way, and if it did go bad it would go very bad. Fortunatly this film does not go bad, it actually brings something new to the ‘Superhero’ genre that I really enjoyed.

This is a bleak film, and the middle is actually very hard to watch. It deals with how hard it would be to just be an average person who stands up and says they will not take it any more.
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Mar 23 2010
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Reviews, Video Games

White Knight Chronicles

White Knight Chronicles Box artNormally I research new games before buying them, be it reviews or wait for friends to try them. I didn’t actually pay attention to the words of the previews or reviews of White Knight Chronicles, any game with good looking anime-style graphics where you can transform into a giant knight to hack up giant trolls and ogres is going to be my kind of game. If there’s one thing I’d like to do in Dragon Age Origins, it would be exactly that (turning into a bear or spider doesn’t count – not big enough and doesn’t use a sword). For the record using the white knight is fun, not using it and getting trampled on sucks. Transforming, to a cry of VERTO (Latin for Transform because English isn’t cool enough) you turn the tide of a battle in an instant, give passive buffs to your team, crush man sized scorpions with a single strike then go toe-to-toe with whatever golem or dragon was giving you grief – marvellous.

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Mar 12 2010
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Computing & Technology

Tablet frenzy

First gen iPad probably should be skiped, but it does look good

Today the iPad has gone on sale for pre-orders. I know a BGR’er who is definitely tempted, and I hope I can dissuade him a little.. at least long enough to wait for the second gen version to come out.

Tablet computing is an interesting area that has not yet had its day. Its been on the side lines for a long time and never cracked the main stream. Largely due to the technical challenges with making this type of hardware, but also due to the total lack of vision in the field. If anyone can break that its Apple, and from what we have all seen the iPad will be a great success. But I think there are going to be much better platforms that will leave the iPad standing.
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Mar 03 2010
6 Comments
Reviews, Video Games

Dragon Age: Origins

It’s funny how some things work out. I was battered into buying Dragon Age Origins by multiple friends telling me I’d love it. Turns out my friends know me too well. I’ve spent longer playing it than most of them and only Disgaea 3 has cost me more of my life (well apart from when I was young and games didn’t track how long you played them).

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.

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Feb 17 2010
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Anime & Manga, General, Video Games

Visiting Japan

I’ve been asked a couple of times for advice on visiting Japan and so I thought I’d just blog it and send everyone here.The flag of Japan

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.

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Feb 06 2010
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TV & Movies

A.D.

Saw this trailer and I was blown away. Any good geek loves a zombie film, but one area that is sadly neglected when it comes to zombies is animation. From the looks of it A.D.intends to put that right.

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.

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