I never had an SNES. I had a Genesis back in the day. As such, I missed out on a bunch of great games. Particularly all the incredible 16-bit RPGs. Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy III (VI). All games I didn't have a chance to play. It's actually funny now that I've sat and thought about it. Back then, I didn't even know what an RPG was. I think my first real RPG experience was Ogre Battle 64.
Anyway, I bought Chrono Trigger DS and I'm playing that. So far, it's amazing. RPGs, particularly Japanese RPGs have a problem with pacing. This game from it's opening screen has grabbed me from its story, characters, battle system, everything. I love it. I bought Super Mario RPG and Secret of Mana on my Virtual Console. One thing I noticed playing these games after hearing what everyone has said about them is that these games haven't aged particularly well. There are certain mechanics within each game that I hate and loathe which are purely products of these old-school designed games. With Mana, there are certain treasure chests that hurt you if you open them. There is no way of telling which ones are hurtful ones until one of the characters acquires a spell later on. What's the point of that? It's so irritating. That's just one thing about it. There are plenty more, but it would be wasteful to list them all. I still like it on a quaint level, but to me it doesn't hold up to what I could be playing.
Super Mario RPG, there are points and battles that seem unfair or unbalanced. Purely an aspect of old-school RPGs that I expected, however I thought by that time Square had figured out how to do this sort of thing. Plus, I thought since it was Mario, it wouldn't have this issue. Minor quips maybe. I have to play more.
I got Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood and Bangai-O Spirits for the DS for Christmas. Haven't played much of either, but I like them so far. I also got Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner, a game I've wanted for a long time. I rented it when it first came out and loved it. It became semi-rare and hard to find, so I haven't played it since. Don't have my PS2 at home right now, so I haven't dove in yet. I can't wait.
Playing: Chrono Trigger DS, Secret of Mana, Super Mario RPG, Sonic Chronicles, Rock Band.
Dec 27, 2008
Dec 20, 2008
Five Movies Based off Anime/Manga That are on the Horizon
What Spider-Man and The Dark Knight have done for comic book heroes and Sin City and 300 have done for graphic novels, these upcoming films will do for manga and anime. Speed Racer took the plunge being the first anime to be adapted by Hollywood, and there will be many more to come starting with these movies detailed below.
Dragonball
After many years of rumor and pitfalls, a live-action adaptation of one of the most popular anime/manga series in history is finally going to be released. Originally scheduled for release in August 2008, the film was pushed back to 2009 due to the amount of summer blockbusters and to allow additional post-production work. For all intents and purposes, the film has been completed and is now scheduled to make its debut sometime in February or March.
The film is based off of the last story arc in the Dragonball series (not Dragonball Z), the King Piccolo Saga. It follows protagonist Goku and his pursuit of the omni-powerful seven dragonballs before the evil Piccolo does. It’s directed by James Wong starring Justin Chatwin as Goku with Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi, Emmy Rossum as Bulma, and James Marsters as Piccolo.
The teaser trailer was leaked on the internet weeks ago, and now a new trailer has been just recently released. Many fans have already judged the film to be a waste of everyone’s time. A few glaring issues that fans have pointed out have been the dubious design of some of the characters and the mysterious absence of some key figures like Goku’s best friend, Krillin.
Death Note
Two live-action films based off the manga/anime series the have already been released in Japan in 2006 and were very successful. A U.S. remake of the first film has been confirmed and will be produced by Vertigo Entertainment, responsible for remakes of other Asian movies including The Grudge, The Eye, Shutter, among others. The company reportedly beat out numerous other film companies who expressed interest in the film’s rights.
The plot of the manga/anime follows ace student, Light Yagami. One day he finds a mysterious notebook, the “Death Note,” with the power to kill anyone who has had their name written in it. Light takes it upon himself to rid the world of wrongdoing by killing off criminal offenders. Most of the story stems from his battle with the enigmatic detective, named “L,” as well as the moral and psychological ramifications of Light’s actions.
A wild, presumably fan-originated rumor is circulating that the lead of Light will be played by Zac Efron of High School Musical fame. Many fans have already condemned the film’s release based off this unconfirmed and probably untrue casting. I personally do not believe this rumor has any legs to stand on, so don’t believe anything you read until an official cast is announced. The film is tentatively scheduled for release in 2010.
Akira
When the feature-length anime film based off of Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga of the same name made its debut in 1988, it was revolutionary. Sporting extremely crisp visuals and animation, Akira ushered in an anime renaissance in the United States. Akira has had a profound impact and influence around the world since its release and now it will finally be made into a live-action film.
It will be based off the manga, which takes place in a dystopian Tokyo, ravaged by a nuclear explosion that caused World War III. The leader of a teen-aged motorcycle gang, Kaneda is swept into a secret government project when his childhood friend, Tetsuo is captured. Tetsuo is experimented on and gains extremely powerful telepathic abilities, which he uses to go on a rampage that everyone is powerless to stop.
Warner Brothers has acquired the rights to the film and Ruariri Robinson will direct it. Andrew Lazer, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Davisson will produce. Gary Whitta is writing the screenplay. The film has a tentative release date of February 2010.
Ghost in the Shell
The popular manga series created by Masamune Shirow, which spawned three anime films, an anime series, and several video games, will be made into a 3D live-action Hollywood film. Dreamworks acquired the rights to the film over Universal and Sony after Stephen Spielberg took a personal interest in the project saying, “‘Ghost in the Shell’ is one of my favorite stories.” It is unclear however what role, if any, Spielberg will have in the production of the film. Ari Arad and Stephen Paul will be producers and Jamie Moss will write the screenplay. Arad is known for producing all the Spider-Man and X-Men movies as well last summer’s Iron Man.
The plot of the manga follows cybernetic cop, “Major” Motoko Kusanagi who heads a secret spec-ops task force to stop the master cyber-criminal and hacker, the “Puppet Master.” Much of the first anime film focuses on Kusanagi’s struggle with her identity as a human being and what it means to be human.
The anime adaptation of the film has had a tremendous impact and influence in the West. Most notably, the Wachowski brothers cited the film as inspiration in the production of The Matrix. They even showed the film to Warner Brothers as part of the pitch in order to show the style and world they wished to create.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Announced way back in 2003, a Hollywood adaptation of Neon Genesis Evangelion is in a tough spot right now. The film is said to be in “development hell” as a director has not been selected, nor has the project been greenlit. ADV Films, who holds the rights to the movie, have been experiencing recent financial difficulty, which makes the possibility of a release any time in the near future a remote possibility.
The film’s production, which hasn’t even started, is surrounded by massive rumor and speculation from fans. While no data pertaining to the actual plot of the film has been announced, a popular theory is that this film will take place somewhere in America (not Japan) and follow the first six episodes of the series with the plan of releasing a trilogy or even a tetralogy of films to tell the complete story. It has been said that any actors who end up portraying the three teenage protagonists of Shinji, Rei, and Asuka will not be any established actors/actresses and will likely be new faces to Hollywood.
If the film does ever start production, it will have a lot of things going for it. First, Weta Workshop, who has worked on films such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, has already been contracted to produce the film’s special effects. They have already released concept art of the Evas, plug suits, and NERV headquarters. Second, allegedly several directors and celebrities have approached the project expressing interest. Lastly Evangelion, if nothing else, has a huge following in the U.S. that will hopefully keep the project afloat and will almost guarantee financial success upon release.
Dragonball
After many years of rumor and pitfalls, a live-action adaptation of one of the most popular anime/manga series in history is finally going to be released. Originally scheduled for release in August 2008, the film was pushed back to 2009 due to the amount of summer blockbusters and to allow additional post-production work. For all intents and purposes, the film has been completed and is now scheduled to make its debut sometime in February or March.
The film is based off of the last story arc in the Dragonball series (not Dragonball Z), the King Piccolo Saga. It follows protagonist Goku and his pursuit of the omni-powerful seven dragonballs before the evil Piccolo does. It’s directed by James Wong starring Justin Chatwin as Goku with Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi, Emmy Rossum as Bulma, and James Marsters as Piccolo.
The teaser trailer was leaked on the internet weeks ago, and now a new trailer has been just recently released. Many fans have already judged the film to be a waste of everyone’s time. A few glaring issues that fans have pointed out have been the dubious design of some of the characters and the mysterious absence of some key figures like Goku’s best friend, Krillin.
Death Note
Two live-action films based off the manga/anime series the have already been released in Japan in 2006 and were very successful. A U.S. remake of the first film has been confirmed and will be produced by Vertigo Entertainment, responsible for remakes of other Asian movies including The Grudge, The Eye, Shutter, among others. The company reportedly beat out numerous other film companies who expressed interest in the film’s rights.
The plot of the manga/anime follows ace student, Light Yagami. One day he finds a mysterious notebook, the “Death Note,” with the power to kill anyone who has had their name written in it. Light takes it upon himself to rid the world of wrongdoing by killing off criminal offenders. Most of the story stems from his battle with the enigmatic detective, named “L,” as well as the moral and psychological ramifications of Light’s actions.
A wild, presumably fan-originated rumor is circulating that the lead of Light will be played by Zac Efron of High School Musical fame. Many fans have already condemned the film’s release based off this unconfirmed and probably untrue casting. I personally do not believe this rumor has any legs to stand on, so don’t believe anything you read until an official cast is announced. The film is tentatively scheduled for release in 2010.
Akira
When the feature-length anime film based off of Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga of the same name made its debut in 1988, it was revolutionary. Sporting extremely crisp visuals and animation, Akira ushered in an anime renaissance in the United States. Akira has had a profound impact and influence around the world since its release and now it will finally be made into a live-action film.
It will be based off the manga, which takes place in a dystopian Tokyo, ravaged by a nuclear explosion that caused World War III. The leader of a teen-aged motorcycle gang, Kaneda is swept into a secret government project when his childhood friend, Tetsuo is captured. Tetsuo is experimented on and gains extremely powerful telepathic abilities, which he uses to go on a rampage that everyone is powerless to stop.
Warner Brothers has acquired the rights to the film and Ruariri Robinson will direct it. Andrew Lazer, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Davisson will produce. Gary Whitta is writing the screenplay. The film has a tentative release date of February 2010.
Ghost in the Shell
The popular manga series created by Masamune Shirow, which spawned three anime films, an anime series, and several video games, will be made into a 3D live-action Hollywood film. Dreamworks acquired the rights to the film over Universal and Sony after Stephen Spielberg took a personal interest in the project saying, “‘Ghost in the Shell’ is one of my favorite stories.” It is unclear however what role, if any, Spielberg will have in the production of the film. Ari Arad and Stephen Paul will be producers and Jamie Moss will write the screenplay. Arad is known for producing all the Spider-Man and X-Men movies as well last summer’s Iron Man.
The plot of the manga follows cybernetic cop, “Major” Motoko Kusanagi who heads a secret spec-ops task force to stop the master cyber-criminal and hacker, the “Puppet Master.” Much of the first anime film focuses on Kusanagi’s struggle with her identity as a human being and what it means to be human.
The anime adaptation of the film has had a tremendous impact and influence in the West. Most notably, the Wachowski brothers cited the film as inspiration in the production of The Matrix. They even showed the film to Warner Brothers as part of the pitch in order to show the style and world they wished to create.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Announced way back in 2003, a Hollywood adaptation of Neon Genesis Evangelion is in a tough spot right now. The film is said to be in “development hell” as a director has not been selected, nor has the project been greenlit. ADV Films, who holds the rights to the movie, have been experiencing recent financial difficulty, which makes the possibility of a release any time in the near future a remote possibility.
The film’s production, which hasn’t even started, is surrounded by massive rumor and speculation from fans. While no data pertaining to the actual plot of the film has been announced, a popular theory is that this film will take place somewhere in America (not Japan) and follow the first six episodes of the series with the plan of releasing a trilogy or even a tetralogy of films to tell the complete story. It has been said that any actors who end up portraying the three teenage protagonists of Shinji, Rei, and Asuka will not be any established actors/actresses and will likely be new faces to Hollywood.
If the film does ever start production, it will have a lot of things going for it. First, Weta Workshop, who has worked on films such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, has already been contracted to produce the film’s special effects. They have already released concept art of the Evas, plug suits, and NERV headquarters. Second, allegedly several directors and celebrities have approached the project expressing interest. Lastly Evangelion, if nothing else, has a huge following in the U.S. that will hopefully keep the project afloat and will almost guarantee financial success upon release.
Oct 20, 2008
Oblivion Addicts Anonymous
I need to join this right now. Since burrowing this from my best friend and starting a stealth-based Assassin-esque character, I have played nothing else and already getting more than 40 hours of play time in less than a week. I'm level 21 right now with no signs of slowing down. Often, I play well into the early hours of the morning. I need help. Serious help.
Playing: Duh!
Playing: Duh!
Oct 9, 2008
I'm Back!
Got my laptop back on Tuesday, so I survived and life is good again. Not only do I have a new iSight built-in webcam, but they also replaced the whole bottom half--a new keyboard, mousepad and battery all covered under my warranty. I'll try to update again this weekend.
Playing: Brawl, Mario Golf 64 (VC), Mega Man ZX Advent (DS)
Playing: Brawl, Mario Golf 64 (VC), Mega Man ZX Advent (DS)
Oct 6, 2008
Gone is My Macbook
I am writing this post on a university Dell PC in the Currier dormitory computer lab, not on my beloved 1st generation Macbook, which is being serviced right now at Apple HQ. If you have been following my blog or youtube page, you know my iSight webcam is fried and had to be fixed/replaced. I dropped it off at an Apple sanctioned service store on Thursday, and if I'm lucky, I'll have it back this Thursday.
I've had my laptop since the Summer of '06 and haven't lived a day without it since I opened it from the box. That old saying about not really appreciating things until they're gone rings mockingly true right now with me. For the lack of a better word, I am lost without it. I used it for everything. School, writing, blogging, gaming, internet, chatting, email, movies, pictures, the list goes on. These are hard times indeed.
Playing: Megaman ZX Advent(DS), Super Smash Brothers Brawl
I've had my laptop since the Summer of '06 and haven't lived a day without it since I opened it from the box. That old saying about not really appreciating things until they're gone rings mockingly true right now with me. For the lack of a better word, I am lost without it. I used it for everything. School, writing, blogging, gaming, internet, chatting, email, movies, pictures, the list goes on. These are hard times indeed.
Playing: Megaman ZX Advent(DS), Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Sep 30, 2008
100 Subscribers and Counting
I want to thank everyone that subscribed to my youtube page so far. I never thought I would receive such a positive response to something I did on a whim and boredom. I have more ideas and videos planned so don't ever be worried that I won't have something new.
Really, the messages I've received so far have been extremely gratifying, and I appreciate what you guys have to say. I read all comments and I reply to every message.
Again, thanks for the support.
Really, the messages I've received so far have been extremely gratifying, and I appreciate what you guys have to say. I read all comments and I reply to every message.
Again, thanks for the support.
University of Iowa Finally is Getting a Video Game Club!
I can't believe it took this long for Iowa students to organize this. Iowa State had one for several years before now. Iowa FREAKIN' State! I knew the gaming culture here in Iowa and at the University was on the gasping for a breath of life at worst and underground at best, but come on. Iowa State gets one before us? That's just pathetic.
Despite those feelings, I am ecstatic about the club, finally I'll get to play with other people in the same room with peers within the community I live and go to school with. The club's name is PING, Players into Network-Based Gaming. Disappointedly, there were maybe30 of us or less in the first informational meeting, and there is only about 55 registered on the site. I figured about 100 people would show up. I guess that gasping for a breath of life comment on the state of the gaming community around here wasn't too far off.
Playing: Spore, Disgaea DS, Soul Calibur IV
Despite those feelings, I am ecstatic about the club, finally I'll get to play with other people in the same room with peers within the community I live and go to school with. The club's name is PING, Players into Network-Based Gaming. Disappointedly, there were maybe30 of us or less in the first informational meeting, and there is only about 55 registered on the site. I figured about 100 people would show up. I guess that gasping for a breath of life comment on the state of the gaming community around here wasn't too far off.
Playing: Spore, Disgaea DS, Soul Calibur IV
Sep 25, 2008
Currently Playing...
After every post now, I'm going to say what games I'm currently playing. Why? Because gaming takes up a significant portion of my life, and I wouldn't be doing anyone justice reading this blog if I didn't say what games I was playing. I have realized that although my name is "NGamer3k" the content I produce here as well as on my youtube page doesn't contain the amount of gaming oriented material to warrant such a name.
Make no mistake though, I consider myself a hardcore gamer and I'm sure my friends wouldn't hesitate to call me that either. I'll give any game a chance as long as its good. That sounds like a stupid statement, but I can't tell you the amount of awesome games that are ignored, discounted, and despised by my friends just because of cartoony graphics, quirky gameplay elements, or simply because of the genre. Games like Viva Pinata come to mind.
As such I like all genres, but I do have certain preferences. If there are genres I tend to not like those would be FPS and Racing. I do like Halo, CoD, Battlefield, Mario Kart, and the recent Need for Speed games, but others, I tend to not like as much as others. The Burnout series is a good example of this. I like the original Burnout, but when it turned into an over-the-top crashing game, I parted ways with the series.
Everything else, I like pretty much equally, although it may seem like I gravitate towards genres like Strategy RPG, Puzzle, Shoot'em-ups, rhythm games not named Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and those quirky titles like Animal Crossing, remember these are genres that tend to have a very niche following. But if it's good, I'll play it. As a result, the amount of puzzle games I own and the amount of Star Fox 64 I still play reflects my love for all games, not necessarily a preference for the genre.
I also post this on my facebook page, but I'm pretty sure no one reads that. Since maybe someone reads this, I might as well put it here too.
Right now I'm playing: Spore, Beyond Good & Evil, Soul Calibur IV, Mega Man ZX Advent (DS), and i just bought Disgaea DS today. That seems like a lot, because it is. Usually, I focus on a couple of games, but there's so much crap right now.
Make no mistake though, I consider myself a hardcore gamer and I'm sure my friends wouldn't hesitate to call me that either. I'll give any game a chance as long as its good. That sounds like a stupid statement, but I can't tell you the amount of awesome games that are ignored, discounted, and despised by my friends just because of cartoony graphics, quirky gameplay elements, or simply because of the genre. Games like Viva Pinata come to mind.
As such I like all genres, but I do have certain preferences. If there are genres I tend to not like those would be FPS and Racing. I do like Halo, CoD, Battlefield, Mario Kart, and the recent Need for Speed games, but others, I tend to not like as much as others. The Burnout series is a good example of this. I like the original Burnout, but when it turned into an over-the-top crashing game, I parted ways with the series.
Everything else, I like pretty much equally, although it may seem like I gravitate towards genres like Strategy RPG, Puzzle, Shoot'em-ups, rhythm games not named Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and those quirky titles like Animal Crossing, remember these are genres that tend to have a very niche following. But if it's good, I'll play it. As a result, the amount of puzzle games I own and the amount of Star Fox 64 I still play reflects my love for all games, not necessarily a preference for the genre.
I also post this on my facebook page, but I'm pretty sure no one reads that. Since maybe someone reads this, I might as well put it here too.
Right now I'm playing: Spore, Beyond Good & Evil, Soul Calibur IV, Mega Man ZX Advent (DS), and i just bought Disgaea DS today. That seems like a lot, because it is. Usually, I focus on a couple of games, but there's so much crap right now.
Sep 15, 2008
Are you kidding me?
My iSight webcam has decided to suddenly not work. So unless by some miracle, I'll have to take my laptop in for service. Of course this means no new videos until I can get it fixed. Thankfully, I already had some stuff recorded, so I'll have at least two videos up, one of which is a project eva video. I also can still do a let's play. I'll tide anyone over with those I suppose.
This sucks...
This sucks...
Sep 14, 2008
2008 Iowa Hawkeye Football Season Preview Extravaganza
This is coming a little late, but I forgot to post it.
Disappointment. That’s how the Hawkeye faithful characterize their beloved football team’s abysmal performance during the 2007 season. The Hawks went 6-6 ending with a home loss to Western Michigan, which pushed the team out of bowl contention and left the Hawks staying home for the postseason for the first time in six years. Now Head Coach Kirk Ferentz has been dubbed the most overpaid coach in college football by Forbes magazine, a claim not entirely unjustified considering that Iowa paid him $3.4 million for six wins last year and $4.7 million to lead Iowa to an Alamo Bowl loss the year before that. Another shaky year for the Hawks could put him on the hot seat.
Offense
To say the Iowa offense was terrible last season would be a vast understatement. The unit ranked last or next to last in the Big Ten and near the bottom in the country in nearly every imaginable category. They were 10th in the conference in passing and rushing offense (92nd and 94th respectively nationally), and last in the conference in total offense and scoring offense (109th and 110th respectively nationally). Perhaps the most glaring stat however would be a conference worst (114th national rank) 46 sacks allowed.
Does that mean more of the same this season? On the surface, it appears so. Iowa returns eight starters on offense, meaning eight of eleven players responsible for their less than stellar performance in 2007. However, consider that Iowa’s offense was devastated by injuries last season, many came in the early half of the campaign including star tight end Tony Moeaki and wide outs Andy Brodell and Trey Stross. Let’s not forget the revolving door to starting offensive line positions, as none of the starters could stay healthy for very long.
To state the obvious, quarterback Jake Christensen must play better if the Hawks want to improve from last year’s disaster they called an offense. As mentioned earlier, Iowa missed a bowl appearance for the first time in six seasons with Christensen directing traffic. Out of all the starting quarterbacks in those years, Christensen had the lowest quarterback rating, which was good for last in the Big Ten and 87th in the country. All too often last season, Christensen looked uncomfortable and not confident in the pocket. Questionable decisions, overthrows, and holding the ball too long seemed like all hawk fans could count on him to do; that is if he wasn’t on his back. With everyone back healthy again, Christensen will have no excuses this time around.
Iowa needs to fill the enormous void left by the departures of running backs Albert Young and Damien Simms and projected starter Jovan Pugh who left the team. Walk-on Paki O’Meara was on the top of the depth chart through the spring where he impressed the Iowa staff, but Shonn Greene who is returning to the team after a year in junior college to clear up his academics and junior Nate Guillory are expected to challenge O’Meara for the starting job. Expect a three-headed monster at running back as Iowa searches for a standout guy in the first few weeks of the season.
Defense
Despite receiving absolutely no help from the offense, the Iowa defense still managed to be one of the better defenses in the conference. A lot of fans I’ve talked to about the season last year were down on the defense, but they fail to realize that the unit was 12th in the country in scoring defense. If it wasn’t for the defense’s strong performance last year, Iowa could have done a lot worse than six wins.
The NFL draft claimed a lot of talent from the D, including All-Big Ten players: corner Charles Godfrey, and ends Kenny Iwebema and Bryan Mattison. Iowa returns only five starters, but don’t let that make you think that the Hawks can’t match last year’s performance. On the contrary, the Hawk defense looks to improve from last year. How is that possible? For one, the defense from last year had a lot of depth. Many of the new starters have enough talent to be just as good if not better than the guys they are replacing. Case in point, new defensive ends Christian Ballard and Adrian Clayborn and new middle linebacker Jeff Tarpinian. Ballard and Clayborn brought an electric energy off the bench last season and both seem to have a motor Matt Roth would be proud of. Tarpinian stole the starting spot away from Jeremiah Hunter who also looks like more than a fitting replacement for Mike Klinkenborg.
Secondly, the defense’s veteran players will be even better. It all starts up front with star defensive tackles Mitch King and Matt Kroul. King looks to have another All-Big Ten season, making his presence felt in opposing backfields. Kroul will continue his consistent play while he makes everyone else on the line play better. Junior A.J. Edds, the only returning linebacker, anchors the front seven with his mix of talent and experience.
A traditional strength for the Iowa defense was a glaring weakness in ‘07, the pass rush. Iowa greatly relies on the front four to get pressure in Norm Parker’s system of little to no blitz defensive system. The Hawks were 8th in the conference in sacks last season, which greatly hindered the rest of the unit’s production. Look for this to change in ’08 as Iowa has three bona fide pass rushers on the line, and the front seven looks as strong as ever. Imagine what an improved pass rush could do for an already strong defense and it will only help the two new starters at corner.
Game by game breakdown
Let’s make one thing clear: Iowa underachieved last year. Imagine if the Hawks had not lost against rival Iowa State and Western Michigan, two games that on paper, Iowa should have won handily. It’s all of sudden a very different season from the heartbreaking travesty that was the 2007 campaign. Also, a lot of people forget that Iowa nearly beat Wisconsin in Camp Randall last season, and should have won had it not been for a late Badger comeback in the 4th quarter. If Iowa performs to its potential this year, every game on the schedule is very winnable, especially since they avoid both Ohio State and Michigan.
August 30 vs Maine: Are you kidding me? An easy win, but perhaps the end of the consecutive home sellout streak of 30 games.
September 6 vs FIU: Hopefully no helmets will be used as weapons as the Hawks roll to victory in another tune-up game.
September 13 vs ISU: The first major test of nearly every Iowa football season in recent memory. The Cyclones visit Kinnick for the battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. This is Gene Chizik’s second season as head coach and his team will be improved from last year’s version that defeated the Hawkeyes 15-13 in Ames last year. Expect the Cyclone kicker to not make five field goals in this year’s meeting. Iowa wins.
September 20 at #25 Pitt: The first road game of the season will be a doozy. Head Coach Dave Wannstedt is in his fourth year at the helm with his best team yet. Running back LeSean McCoy is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate who finished ’07 leading all freshman in rushing and second overall in the Big East. Pitt also possess a standout defense that ranked 5th nationally led by All-American linebacker, Scott McKillop. The Hawks traditionally struggle on the road, especially early in the season. This fact coupled with a Panther team with high aspirations, makes this game the first loss for the Hawks in ’08.
September 27 vs Northwestern: The Hawkeyes beat the Wildcats in Evanston last year 28-17. The Iowa defense will be tested by the potent Wildcat passing attack, but I believe Iowa wins a in close game.
October 4 at Michigan State: It took two overtimes to beat the Spartans in Kinnick last season, but I don’t think Iowa will be that fortunate this time around. Second year Head Coach Mark Dantonio looks to have a much-improved team. Iowa loses another on the road.
October 11 at Indiana: A myriad of mistakes and miscues characterized Iowa’s 38-20 loss to Indiana in Iowa City in ’07. Iowa was unable to stop quarterback Kellen Lewis and wide receiver James Hardy from tearing through the usually stout Iowa defense. Many also remember the last time Iowa visited Bloomington when Hardy got behind the Iowa defense for three scores which resulted in another Hawkeye defeat. James Hardy is no longer there, and I believe Indiana over achieved last year. Indiana will be back to being Indiana this year. Iowa wins.
October 18 vs #13 Wisconsin: In one of the closest series Iowa has with any team, the battle for the Heartland Trophy has been a thriller in recent years. I expect much of the same this year. It will be a hard fought, low scoring, defensive game. Fueled by their heartbreaking loss in ’07 the Hawkeyes will give everything they have in Kinnick this year, but it won’t be enough. Another heartbreaker.
November 1 at #20 Illinois: Star running back Rashard Mendenhall is off to the NFL now and Illinois will have to rely more on quarterback Juice Williams to throw the ball, which he’ll have a hard time doing against the relentless Iowa pass rush. Kirk Ferentz has had Ron Zook’s number and I don’t expect that to change. Iowa wins in Champaign.
November 8 vs #22 Penn State: Kirk Ferentz at one time had a four game winning streak against Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions. It was hard to tell that from last year’s embarrassing 27-7 defeat. Expect a much closer game since this year’s meeting is in Iowa City. I can see this one easily going either way, but I’m picking a loss.
November 15 vs Purdue: Although Purdue routed the Hawkeyes 31-6 last season. The game epitomized all of Iowa’s troubles of ’07, a complete self-destruction. In recent years, Boilermaker teams have been plagued by inconsistent play, I’m picking an Iowa victory.
November 22 at Minnesota: Minnesota is bad and has been for the past few seasons. Although they have given the Hawks a run for their money, the golden gophers will not be hoisting Floyd back to their sideline this year.
Final record 8-4 (5-3)
Keys to returning to a bowl and respectability
1. Stay healthy: Iowa has been severely bitten by the injury bug for the past few seasons. Tight end Tony Moeaki and both lines must stay healthy to fully realize the team’s potential.
2. Protect Kinnick Stadium: In the past two seasons, the fear-inducing monolith that is Kinnick has been reduced to a Boy Scout retreat for opposing teams. Iowa must bring the luster back to Kinnick and not lose to opponents they shouldn’t lose to at home.
3. Turn the battle in the trenches in their favor: Iowa will have a veteran offensive line which will be much improved. It must protect Jake Christensen and open up holes for Iowa’s newcomer filled backfield. Iowa’s defense relies on QB pressure. This should be easy, but that’s what they thought last year.
There is certainly room for this to be a nine or ten win season. There is also significant room to slip up and end up back where they started, bowless. No matter what happens in 2008, it will certainly be a pivotal year for the Iowa Hawkeye football program and Kirk Ferentz.
Disappointment. That’s how the Hawkeye faithful characterize their beloved football team’s abysmal performance during the 2007 season. The Hawks went 6-6 ending with a home loss to Western Michigan, which pushed the team out of bowl contention and left the Hawks staying home for the postseason for the first time in six years. Now Head Coach Kirk Ferentz has been dubbed the most overpaid coach in college football by Forbes magazine, a claim not entirely unjustified considering that Iowa paid him $3.4 million for six wins last year and $4.7 million to lead Iowa to an Alamo Bowl loss the year before that. Another shaky year for the Hawks could put him on the hot seat.
Offense
To say the Iowa offense was terrible last season would be a vast understatement. The unit ranked last or next to last in the Big Ten and near the bottom in the country in nearly every imaginable category. They were 10th in the conference in passing and rushing offense (92nd and 94th respectively nationally), and last in the conference in total offense and scoring offense (109th and 110th respectively nationally). Perhaps the most glaring stat however would be a conference worst (114th national rank) 46 sacks allowed.
Does that mean more of the same this season? On the surface, it appears so. Iowa returns eight starters on offense, meaning eight of eleven players responsible for their less than stellar performance in 2007. However, consider that Iowa’s offense was devastated by injuries last season, many came in the early half of the campaign including star tight end Tony Moeaki and wide outs Andy Brodell and Trey Stross. Let’s not forget the revolving door to starting offensive line positions, as none of the starters could stay healthy for very long.
To state the obvious, quarterback Jake Christensen must play better if the Hawks want to improve from last year’s disaster they called an offense. As mentioned earlier, Iowa missed a bowl appearance for the first time in six seasons with Christensen directing traffic. Out of all the starting quarterbacks in those years, Christensen had the lowest quarterback rating, which was good for last in the Big Ten and 87th in the country. All too often last season, Christensen looked uncomfortable and not confident in the pocket. Questionable decisions, overthrows, and holding the ball too long seemed like all hawk fans could count on him to do; that is if he wasn’t on his back. With everyone back healthy again, Christensen will have no excuses this time around.
Iowa needs to fill the enormous void left by the departures of running backs Albert Young and Damien Simms and projected starter Jovan Pugh who left the team. Walk-on Paki O’Meara was on the top of the depth chart through the spring where he impressed the Iowa staff, but Shonn Greene who is returning to the team after a year in junior college to clear up his academics and junior Nate Guillory are expected to challenge O’Meara for the starting job. Expect a three-headed monster at running back as Iowa searches for a standout guy in the first few weeks of the season.
Defense
Despite receiving absolutely no help from the offense, the Iowa defense still managed to be one of the better defenses in the conference. A lot of fans I’ve talked to about the season last year were down on the defense, but they fail to realize that the unit was 12th in the country in scoring defense. If it wasn’t for the defense’s strong performance last year, Iowa could have done a lot worse than six wins.
The NFL draft claimed a lot of talent from the D, including All-Big Ten players: corner Charles Godfrey, and ends Kenny Iwebema and Bryan Mattison. Iowa returns only five starters, but don’t let that make you think that the Hawks can’t match last year’s performance. On the contrary, the Hawk defense looks to improve from last year. How is that possible? For one, the defense from last year had a lot of depth. Many of the new starters have enough talent to be just as good if not better than the guys they are replacing. Case in point, new defensive ends Christian Ballard and Adrian Clayborn and new middle linebacker Jeff Tarpinian. Ballard and Clayborn brought an electric energy off the bench last season and both seem to have a motor Matt Roth would be proud of. Tarpinian stole the starting spot away from Jeremiah Hunter who also looks like more than a fitting replacement for Mike Klinkenborg.
Secondly, the defense’s veteran players will be even better. It all starts up front with star defensive tackles Mitch King and Matt Kroul. King looks to have another All-Big Ten season, making his presence felt in opposing backfields. Kroul will continue his consistent play while he makes everyone else on the line play better. Junior A.J. Edds, the only returning linebacker, anchors the front seven with his mix of talent and experience.
A traditional strength for the Iowa defense was a glaring weakness in ‘07, the pass rush. Iowa greatly relies on the front four to get pressure in Norm Parker’s system of little to no blitz defensive system. The Hawks were 8th in the conference in sacks last season, which greatly hindered the rest of the unit’s production. Look for this to change in ’08 as Iowa has three bona fide pass rushers on the line, and the front seven looks as strong as ever. Imagine what an improved pass rush could do for an already strong defense and it will only help the two new starters at corner.
Game by game breakdown
Let’s make one thing clear: Iowa underachieved last year. Imagine if the Hawks had not lost against rival Iowa State and Western Michigan, two games that on paper, Iowa should have won handily. It’s all of sudden a very different season from the heartbreaking travesty that was the 2007 campaign. Also, a lot of people forget that Iowa nearly beat Wisconsin in Camp Randall last season, and should have won had it not been for a late Badger comeback in the 4th quarter. If Iowa performs to its potential this year, every game on the schedule is very winnable, especially since they avoid both Ohio State and Michigan.
August 30 vs Maine: Are you kidding me? An easy win, but perhaps the end of the consecutive home sellout streak of 30 games.
September 6 vs FIU: Hopefully no helmets will be used as weapons as the Hawks roll to victory in another tune-up game.
September 13 vs ISU: The first major test of nearly every Iowa football season in recent memory. The Cyclones visit Kinnick for the battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. This is Gene Chizik’s second season as head coach and his team will be improved from last year’s version that defeated the Hawkeyes 15-13 in Ames last year. Expect the Cyclone kicker to not make five field goals in this year’s meeting. Iowa wins.
September 20 at #25 Pitt: The first road game of the season will be a doozy. Head Coach Dave Wannstedt is in his fourth year at the helm with his best team yet. Running back LeSean McCoy is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate who finished ’07 leading all freshman in rushing and second overall in the Big East. Pitt also possess a standout defense that ranked 5th nationally led by All-American linebacker, Scott McKillop. The Hawks traditionally struggle on the road, especially early in the season. This fact coupled with a Panther team with high aspirations, makes this game the first loss for the Hawks in ’08.
September 27 vs Northwestern: The Hawkeyes beat the Wildcats in Evanston last year 28-17. The Iowa defense will be tested by the potent Wildcat passing attack, but I believe Iowa wins a in close game.
October 4 at Michigan State: It took two overtimes to beat the Spartans in Kinnick last season, but I don’t think Iowa will be that fortunate this time around. Second year Head Coach Mark Dantonio looks to have a much-improved team. Iowa loses another on the road.
October 11 at Indiana: A myriad of mistakes and miscues characterized Iowa’s 38-20 loss to Indiana in Iowa City in ’07. Iowa was unable to stop quarterback Kellen Lewis and wide receiver James Hardy from tearing through the usually stout Iowa defense. Many also remember the last time Iowa visited Bloomington when Hardy got behind the Iowa defense for three scores which resulted in another Hawkeye defeat. James Hardy is no longer there, and I believe Indiana over achieved last year. Indiana will be back to being Indiana this year. Iowa wins.
October 18 vs #13 Wisconsin: In one of the closest series Iowa has with any team, the battle for the Heartland Trophy has been a thriller in recent years. I expect much of the same this year. It will be a hard fought, low scoring, defensive game. Fueled by their heartbreaking loss in ’07 the Hawkeyes will give everything they have in Kinnick this year, but it won’t be enough. Another heartbreaker.
November 1 at #20 Illinois: Star running back Rashard Mendenhall is off to the NFL now and Illinois will have to rely more on quarterback Juice Williams to throw the ball, which he’ll have a hard time doing against the relentless Iowa pass rush. Kirk Ferentz has had Ron Zook’s number and I don’t expect that to change. Iowa wins in Champaign.
November 8 vs #22 Penn State: Kirk Ferentz at one time had a four game winning streak against Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions. It was hard to tell that from last year’s embarrassing 27-7 defeat. Expect a much closer game since this year’s meeting is in Iowa City. I can see this one easily going either way, but I’m picking a loss.
November 15 vs Purdue: Although Purdue routed the Hawkeyes 31-6 last season. The game epitomized all of Iowa’s troubles of ’07, a complete self-destruction. In recent years, Boilermaker teams have been plagued by inconsistent play, I’m picking an Iowa victory.
November 22 at Minnesota: Minnesota is bad and has been for the past few seasons. Although they have given the Hawks a run for their money, the golden gophers will not be hoisting Floyd back to their sideline this year.
Final record 8-4 (5-3)
Keys to returning to a bowl and respectability
1. Stay healthy: Iowa has been severely bitten by the injury bug for the past few seasons. Tight end Tony Moeaki and both lines must stay healthy to fully realize the team’s potential.
2. Protect Kinnick Stadium: In the past two seasons, the fear-inducing monolith that is Kinnick has been reduced to a Boy Scout retreat for opposing teams. Iowa must bring the luster back to Kinnick and not lose to opponents they shouldn’t lose to at home.
3. Turn the battle in the trenches in their favor: Iowa will have a veteran offensive line which will be much improved. It must protect Jake Christensen and open up holes for Iowa’s newcomer filled backfield. Iowa’s defense relies on QB pressure. This should be easy, but that’s what they thought last year.
There is certainly room for this to be a nine or ten win season. There is also significant room to slip up and end up back where they started, bowless. No matter what happens in 2008, it will certainly be a pivotal year for the Iowa Hawkeye football program and Kirk Ferentz.
Aug 28, 2008
Transcending History and the World...
Soul Calibur IV is finally here! Well, for me at least. Everyone else started their quest for the legendary blade on the 29th of last month, while I have had to wait until this last Sunday the 24th of August. It's been the typical growing pains of learning Cassandra's new move set, which hasn't changed much. However, almost all her useful combos were taken away, and she has lost numerous other moves but gained few. Despite that though, I have persevered in relearning her as well as incorporating the new mechanics of IV into my not dominate, but decent player status.
As everyone knows, what makes a fighting game a fun and rewarding experience is beating down other players in versus head-to-head combat. I haven't had the opportunity to play against others since Soul Calibur II, playing III exclusively against the CPU. Now with IV and Xbox Live, my Cassandra is free to slash through hordes of noobs whilst spewing victory chants over voice chat all with no lag. Fighting games have traditionally struggled with online play. Since every frame counts, even the tiniest bit of lag shows and is detrimental to having good fights. No game has exemplified this plague on fighters more than Super Smash Brother Brawl, where button lag is your best friend. No more with Soul Calibur IV. With a quick and easy way of telling if your potential opponent has a good connection, players can pick and choose without hassle the path to zero-lag country.
Needless to say, I'm addicted. The Character Creation (Create-A-Soul) is so deep, you can create ANYONE you can think of. From video game characters to celebrities, you're never sure just who or what you'll run into, whether it be online or creating yourself.
Now that my declaration of jubilation over this game is over, here are my impressions of the characters thus far.
Overall, balancing seems like it won't be as big of an issue as it was in the third installment. That being said, comparatively to the atrocity that resulted in pure brokenness in the last game, even the slightest improvement would seem like a huge step forward. What do I mean by this? Characters like Cervantes and Taki have combos that easy to do and can rack up tons of damage. Both also have good speed moves that are easily spammable. Mitsurugi has both speed and tremendous power, but his moves are not as cheap as the other two. These three characters are the ones I fear the most, and are quite popular online.
I haven't seen one single Cassandra...very curious. Sure, she was nerfed, but she was an excellent character in III. I still can dominate with her unique mix of speed and power. Also, she is fairly easy to learn, so I don't really understand why I haven't seen her EVER.
This game coinciding with school starting is not a good combination.
As everyone knows, what makes a fighting game a fun and rewarding experience is beating down other players in versus head-to-head combat. I haven't had the opportunity to play against others since Soul Calibur II, playing III exclusively against the CPU. Now with IV and Xbox Live, my Cassandra is free to slash through hordes of noobs whilst spewing victory chants over voice chat all with no lag. Fighting games have traditionally struggled with online play. Since every frame counts, even the tiniest bit of lag shows and is detrimental to having good fights. No game has exemplified this plague on fighters more than Super Smash Brother Brawl, where button lag is your best friend. No more with Soul Calibur IV. With a quick and easy way of telling if your potential opponent has a good connection, players can pick and choose without hassle the path to zero-lag country.
Needless to say, I'm addicted. The Character Creation (Create-A-Soul) is so deep, you can create ANYONE you can think of. From video game characters to celebrities, you're never sure just who or what you'll run into, whether it be online or creating yourself.
Now that my declaration of jubilation over this game is over, here are my impressions of the characters thus far.
Overall, balancing seems like it won't be as big of an issue as it was in the third installment. That being said, comparatively to the atrocity that resulted in pure brokenness in the last game, even the slightest improvement would seem like a huge step forward. What do I mean by this? Characters like Cervantes and Taki have combos that easy to do and can rack up tons of damage. Both also have good speed moves that are easily spammable. Mitsurugi has both speed and tremendous power, but his moves are not as cheap as the other two. These three characters are the ones I fear the most, and are quite popular online.
I haven't seen one single Cassandra...very curious. Sure, she was nerfed, but she was an excellent character in III. I still can dominate with her unique mix of speed and power. Also, she is fairly easy to learn, so I don't really understand why I haven't seen her EVER.
This game coinciding with school starting is not a good combination.
Aug 19, 2008
For someone with nothing to do... I sure am busy
It's true that I've made an art form out of procrastinating, lollygaging, and doing nothing. Since I've moved into my new apartment a week ago, I have had to innovate in my maverick field of laziness. I spent a good portion of each day sleeping, whether it be at night or napping, supplemented with computer time and the playing of video games. A tough way to live, but I pulled through it.
Now, instead of feeling infinitely lonely and bored, I've given myself things to do. All these tasks have and will take up significant chunks of my time leading up and into my junior year at Iowa. They range from actual meaningful work to hobbies. Now I find that my day is rather full, and if the time of writing this is any indication (3:32 AM), I can't find enough sunlit hours to do them all. What are they you say? I'm glad you asked.
They include: Playing through Metroid Fusion, writing an email of insights on my time spent playing Metroid Fusion, watching the entire Neon Genesis Evangelion box set (I'm on episode 14 of 26), managing my youtube page, editing video, planning my next videos, hanging out with friends, buying books for class, paying bills, writing a very long and in-depth preview of the iowa hawkeye football season, writing this blog.
I'm going to bed now.
Now, instead of feeling infinitely lonely and bored, I've given myself things to do. All these tasks have and will take up significant chunks of my time leading up and into my junior year at Iowa. They range from actual meaningful work to hobbies. Now I find that my day is rather full, and if the time of writing this is any indication (3:32 AM), I can't find enough sunlit hours to do them all. What are they you say? I'm glad you asked.
They include: Playing through Metroid Fusion, writing an email of insights on my time spent playing Metroid Fusion, watching the entire Neon Genesis Evangelion box set (I'm on episode 14 of 26), managing my youtube page, editing video, planning my next videos, hanging out with friends, buying books for class, paying bills, writing a very long and in-depth preview of the iowa hawkeye football season, writing this blog.
I'm going to bed now.
Aug 11, 2008
Jul 27, 2008
40% of Gamers Are Female...WTF?
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) reported back from their annual demographics study a couple days ago, and their findings have boggled more than a few minds--including mine. They found that 40% of gamers in the U.S. are female. After the initial reaction of shitting my pants, I was rather bewildered at the claim. Sure, with the influx of casuals games and the ridiculous success of the Wii in the U.S., it would make sense that there would be an increase in female gamers into the sausage-fest that is usually attributed with my favorite hobby. However, the figure looks to be wildly inflated.
Who do you see in the arcades, the trade shows, the online boards, the natural habitat of a gamer? You see males. I can assure you the demographics of those locations won't report back 40% female. In fact, a sighting in a place like this is a rare and usually always surprising find. Obviously, it would seem the ESA's definition of "gamer" in their study was very broad, so broad as to include a good portion of the Bejeweled, Wii Sports, and Cooking Mama crowd. I can't speak for anyone else, but when I think of the term, "gamer" I don't think of anyone who routinely plays the above titles. "Gamer" doesn't even have to be so narrowly defined within the hardcore regions of gaming. I know plenty of people who own a video game console just so they can play their Guitar Hero and Halo without going to a friend's house. Guess what? They're all male! I would include those guys as "gamers" because they do play games on a regular basis, even if they don't play a wide range or number of them. But wait, what about all those people (females) who regularly play Bejeweled, Wii Sports, blah, blah, blah, etc? You're forgetting a key component, the console. Even though those guys I mentioned before only play a few games, they still went out and bought a gaming machine for themselves. And that is how I would define "gamer"--someone who buys a a console (or a PC for that matter) for themselves to play games.
It is a well known fact that a good portion of Wii consoles bought in the U.S. are bought for family entertainment. If the ESA is counting moms doing yoga in Wii Fit as gamers, then I'm more surprised the number isn't larger than 40%. I'm not sure what the ESA is trying to accomplish by skewing their numbers, but as of right now, it just comes off as extremely weird.
In their poll of the day, Gamefaqs sought out to test the accuracy of the ESA's findings. At first glance, the ESA's final tally looks accurate with combined 41.83% saying that they are either a female gamer themselves or live with one that plays regularly or occasionally. However, "occasionally" is the key word. That option had 25.43% of the 41.83% that responded they either are or live with a female "gamer." The poll shows us that the ESA seems to have indeed used a very loose definition for what a female "gamer" should be.
Who do you see in the arcades, the trade shows, the online boards, the natural habitat of a gamer? You see males. I can assure you the demographics of those locations won't report back 40% female. In fact, a sighting in a place like this is a rare and usually always surprising find. Obviously, it would seem the ESA's definition of "gamer" in their study was very broad, so broad as to include a good portion of the Bejeweled, Wii Sports, and Cooking Mama crowd. I can't speak for anyone else, but when I think of the term, "gamer" I don't think of anyone who routinely plays the above titles. "Gamer" doesn't even have to be so narrowly defined within the hardcore regions of gaming. I know plenty of people who own a video game console just so they can play their Guitar Hero and Halo without going to a friend's house. Guess what? They're all male! I would include those guys as "gamers" because they do play games on a regular basis, even if they don't play a wide range or number of them. But wait, what about all those people (females) who regularly play Bejeweled, Wii Sports, blah, blah, blah, etc? You're forgetting a key component, the console. Even though those guys I mentioned before only play a few games, they still went out and bought a gaming machine for themselves. And that is how I would define "gamer"--someone who buys a a console (or a PC for that matter) for themselves to play games.
It is a well known fact that a good portion of Wii consoles bought in the U.S. are bought for family entertainment. If the ESA is counting moms doing yoga in Wii Fit as gamers, then I'm more surprised the number isn't larger than 40%. I'm not sure what the ESA is trying to accomplish by skewing their numbers, but as of right now, it just comes off as extremely weird.
In their poll of the day, Gamefaqs sought out to test the accuracy of the ESA's findings. At first glance, the ESA's final tally looks accurate with combined 41.83% saying that they are either a female gamer themselves or live with one that plays regularly or occasionally. However, "occasionally" is the key word. That option had 25.43% of the 41.83% that responded they either are or live with a female "gamer." The poll shows us that the ESA seems to have indeed used a very loose definition for what a female "gamer" should be.
Jul 11, 2008
Jul 4, 2008
Anime on Jeopardy!
I know I've been beating the proverbial anime horse for a prolonged period of time, but this is worth reporting-- an anime category on Jeopardy. It was in the double jeopardy round about three weeks ago. Any hardcore anime fan would have surely answered all of the questions correctly as they were child's play with answers from Pokémon, Sailor Moon, and Princess Mononoke. I was quite shocked when one of the contestants, the one in the champion's position at the time, answered all correctly with the exception of one. The clue he missed was for the movie, "Akira," but he dubiously answered "Akiro." Honest mistake I guess, if you're an uptight smarty-pants adult who doesn't watch any anime. I love Jeopardy even more now.
Jun 27, 2008
Had to take down posts...
because Associated Content is gay.
Basically, I put my anime rocks and disney world pieces here before I put them on Associated Content. Apparently that's a no-no if I want to be paid, even though this is my blog. So in the meantime, I've taken them down until they get reviewed again by Associated Content and their bot doesn't see the pieces.
Basically, I put my anime rocks and disney world pieces here before I put them on Associated Content. Apparently that's a no-no if I want to be paid, even though this is my blog. So in the meantime, I've taken them down until they get reviewed again by Associated Content and their bot doesn't see the pieces.
Jun 22, 2008
Let the Video Odyssey Begin
If anyone reading this post happens to be coming from my YouTube page or has seen any of my videos, then you're lucky because this is an update on my video progression.
I started these videos last summer out of boredom and the urge to try out iMovie since it was just wasting space sitting there nonchalantly in my dock. I haven't been able to upload as much as I've wanted during the school year, so as a result, I feel I need to make as many videos as I can during the summer.
As of right now, I am nearly finished shooting a five facts video. After that, I will definitely be doing something about Disney. No, it won't be what you're probably thinking. I can almost guarantee you'll learn something new. After that, nothing concrete is planned specifically what the video topic will be, but I have certain ideas that I would like to create over others. Looking at my idea sticky note, I have 17 ideas not including the two I previously mentioned. Maybe I should create a poll. Y'know, just for fun to see if the extremely low traffic I get on this blog would actually vote in it. :)
I started these videos last summer out of boredom and the urge to try out iMovie since it was just wasting space sitting there nonchalantly in my dock. I haven't been able to upload as much as I've wanted during the school year, so as a result, I feel I need to make as many videos as I can during the summer.
As of right now, I am nearly finished shooting a five facts video. After that, I will definitely be doing something about Disney. No, it won't be what you're probably thinking. I can almost guarantee you'll learn something new. After that, nothing concrete is planned specifically what the video topic will be, but I have certain ideas that I would like to create over others. Looking at my idea sticky note, I have 17 ideas not including the two I previously mentioned. Maybe I should create a poll. Y'know, just for fun to see if the extremely low traffic I get on this blog would actually vote in it. :)
Jun 15, 2008
Happy Unbirthday!
I really don’t understand some people when it comes to birthdays. Even now at my still very young age of 20, my peers dread the prospect of turning another year older. Well, unless it’s turning 21, then they love it, but that’s another story. This all goes back to the way I live my life, easy-going and not worrying so much about things. Time is an uncontrollable continuum that we all must travel through, so there’s no reason to become worked up over it like many do.
People seem to act differently on their birthdays. They seem more excitable and temperamental. They hate the fact that they have stepped one year closer to their grave, but become upset when others fail to acknowledge their “special” day with a “Happy Birthday” greeting. They obviously can’t see the irony of their emotions. If they hate the thought of turning one year older so much, why do they wish to be reminded of their approaching date with Death?
I suppose it is the fact they feel the need to be loved by others. Does that cancel out their feeling of dread when they discover that new wrinkle on their forehead? Perhaps, but when it is close friends or family, I feel that saying “Happy Birthday” is hardly required. They shouldn’t have to say that certain thing on that certain day for that certain person to feel loved. If they do say it, does that negate all other instances during the year when compassion and love were needed, but not delivered?
This is precisely why I don’t like it when people “wish” me a “Happy Birthday.” I don’t need to be told this certain thing on this certain day for me feel accepted or loved. I already know that I am. To be recognized as special for something as trivial as living another 365 days is unsettling for me. Why am I being congratulated for simply living? It’s almost like people think they’ll receive some sort of karma boost out of wishing someone “Happy Birthday.”
Granted, I don’t mind being told “Happy Birthday” (much) by people I hardly see. Many times they’re just being polite. They heard from a friend of a friend and see me walking down the sidewalk and casually say “Happy Birthday” as I walk by. What more can I think or do but to say, “Oh thanks.”
With all that said however, I am certainly not above accepting gifts and favors from people on my birthday, I just won’t enjoy them…much.
People seem to act differently on their birthdays. They seem more excitable and temperamental. They hate the fact that they have stepped one year closer to their grave, but become upset when others fail to acknowledge their “special” day with a “Happy Birthday” greeting. They obviously can’t see the irony of their emotions. If they hate the thought of turning one year older so much, why do they wish to be reminded of their approaching date with Death?
I suppose it is the fact they feel the need to be loved by others. Does that cancel out their feeling of dread when they discover that new wrinkle on their forehead? Perhaps, but when it is close friends or family, I feel that saying “Happy Birthday” is hardly required. They shouldn’t have to say that certain thing on that certain day for that certain person to feel loved. If they do say it, does that negate all other instances during the year when compassion and love were needed, but not delivered?
This is precisely why I don’t like it when people “wish” me a “Happy Birthday.” I don’t need to be told this certain thing on this certain day for me feel accepted or loved. I already know that I am. To be recognized as special for something as trivial as living another 365 days is unsettling for me. Why am I being congratulated for simply living? It’s almost like people think they’ll receive some sort of karma boost out of wishing someone “Happy Birthday.”
Granted, I don’t mind being told “Happy Birthday” (much) by people I hardly see. Many times they’re just being polite. They heard from a friend of a friend and see me walking down the sidewalk and casually say “Happy Birthday” as I walk by. What more can I think or do but to say, “Oh thanks.”
With all that said however, I am certainly not above accepting gifts and favors from people on my birthday, I just won’t enjoy them…much.
Jun 10, 2008
Graduations: Places of Rowdiness?
I went to my sister's graduation ceremony a few weeks ago, and it was very unenjoyable. It wasn't the uninspired, cliched speech the Ivy League-bound valedictorian gave, or the exhaustingly long wait to hear my sister's name called. I was prepared for these things. I was expecting those. But when every called name is followed by a painfully loud volley of shrieks, whistles, and chants, the ceremony became less a ceremony and more like a rodeo filled with howler monkeys on crack. If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't think I was at a graduation ceremony. What gets into people at these things anyway?
I understand that if you're a parent or close family member, you're excited that your son/daughter/nephew/niece/brother/sister is graduating, but act respectful. Technically, you're not even supposed to clap until all the names have been read. I'll excuse clapping, but yelling and chanting? Unacceptable. I find it very disrespectful to every other student, and above all, it's annoying.
If your going to be rowdy, at least go the whole nine yards and bring a blow-horn, throw confetti, sing a song with the graduate's name in the chorus. Everyone else, just shut up please!
I understand that if you're a parent or close family member, you're excited that your son/daughter/nephew/niece/brother/sister is graduating, but act respectful. Technically, you're not even supposed to clap until all the names have been read. I'll excuse clapping, but yelling and chanting? Unacceptable. I find it very disrespectful to every other student, and above all, it's annoying.
If your going to be rowdy, at least go the whole nine yards and bring a blow-horn, throw confetti, sing a song with the graduate's name in the chorus. Everyone else, just shut up please!
Jun 3, 2008
Jun 1, 2008
Anime on the Big Screen
I recently viewed Spirited Away, on a large projector screen for my Asian Humanities class. Even though I had seen the movie a bunch of times on my home television sets, I was blown away by the animation when I saw it in that classroom. The experience raised issues with me about the treatment and marketing of anime films in the US.
Princess Mononoke was the first movie out of Disney's deal with Studio Ghibli to come to the American Theaters, they appeared to go all out and hired an all-star Hollywood cast that included, Billy-Bob Thorton, Gillian Anderson, Jada-Pinkett Smith, and more. However, the film was poorly marketed and the film was only seen in select cities. After the "failure" of the film's showing in the US any other theatrical releases of Ghibli's films was put on indefinite hold.
What did they expect? I never once saw a commercial for Mononoke back in '99 when it came out here. It's truly a shame, because this is one of the best animated films of all-time. You would think a movie of that quality shouldn't have failed in the hands of Disney, but it did. Which led to the subsequent treatment of Miyazaki's next film, Spirted Awat. Again, poor marketing and a limited viewing window caused the movie to "fail." Which made everyone more surprised when the film won the 2003 Academy Award for best animated film. The very next day, theaters rebooked the film and promptly doubled its sales in just two weeks.
The execs at Disney and other distributing companies say that it is too risky to heavily market anime, but it doesn't even seem they are trying to reach out to even the core audience who wants to see these movies. I never had the opportunity to see Spirited Away on the silver screen, because I wasn't anywhere near one of the selected cities. Fortunately, I was blessed to see Howl's Moving Castle in a local theater, and I hope Disney and America have learned their lesson, but I'm not holding my breath.
Princess Mononoke was the first movie out of Disney's deal with Studio Ghibli to come to the American Theaters, they appeared to go all out and hired an all-star Hollywood cast that included, Billy-Bob Thorton, Gillian Anderson, Jada-Pinkett Smith, and more. However, the film was poorly marketed and the film was only seen in select cities. After the "failure" of the film's showing in the US any other theatrical releases of Ghibli's films was put on indefinite hold.
What did they expect? I never once saw a commercial for Mononoke back in '99 when it came out here. It's truly a shame, because this is one of the best animated films of all-time. You would think a movie of that quality shouldn't have failed in the hands of Disney, but it did. Which led to the subsequent treatment of Miyazaki's next film, Spirted Awat. Again, poor marketing and a limited viewing window caused the movie to "fail." Which made everyone more surprised when the film won the 2003 Academy Award for best animated film. The very next day, theaters rebooked the film and promptly doubled its sales in just two weeks.
The execs at Disney and other distributing companies say that it is too risky to heavily market anime, but it doesn't even seem they are trying to reach out to even the core audience who wants to see these movies. I never had the opportunity to see Spirited Away on the silver screen, because I wasn't anywhere near one of the selected cities. Fortunately, I was blessed to see Howl's Moving Castle in a local theater, and I hope Disney and America have learned their lesson, but I'm not holding my breath.
May 24, 2008
NGamer3k ~ Star Soldier R : 2 minute mode ~ 1,005,500
This is my first million point score, currently 9th in the US.
May 21, 2008
My Favorite Internet Memes
Those weird catch-phrases and viral videos that are annoying yet alluring at the same time that become embedded in (geek) pop culture. They spread like uhh… a meme, and those of you who have spent any significant time on the internet will instantly recognize most of these. Here are my favorites in no particular order.
Badger Badger Badger
Also known as the “Badger song” or the “Badger dance,” the original meme is a looping flash animation by animator Jonti Picking, who went on to produce the show, Weebl and Bob. The animation became wildly popular after its release and has spawned numerous follow-ups, remixes, and parodies.
Here is the original cartoon here
This is SPARTAAAAA!!!
The marketing team for the movie, 300, must have known the gold they were given when this, now infamous line, fell into their laps. Almost from the moment the line and the accompanying scene were viewed in the movie’s trailer, photoshoppers and other “creative” minds released altered photos, animated GIFs, and parodies. Although the humor of this meme has dwindled significantly, it still makes me smile every time.
Since there isn’t any single image or video, type “this is Sparta” into google images for a look.
It’s OVER 9000!!!
Funimation’s first dub of the anime, Dragonball Z is famous for its overacting. YouTube user, Kajetokun made a point of it in his famous video showcasing the line several times in various styles and degrees of over-the-top randomness. Since the video’s release, “It’s OVER 9000!!!” has been spotted in almost every internet message board from many a wise cracking poster, and has spawned numerous parodies.
Kajetokun has gone on to make more memes in his familiar editing style, however none have come close to 9000’s popularity.
Here’s Kajetokun’s version here
Caramelldansen
Swedish for “Caramell dance,” Caramelldansen is the title for a Swedish techno song by music group, Caramell. The original Caramelldansen meme was a looping GIF animation of characters, Mai and Mii from the Japanese visual novel, Popotan, doing a dance swinging their hips with their hands above their heads, imitating rabbit ears, which featured the speedycake remix of the Caramelldansen song. Since its release, the original track of the song, has gone virtually unnoticed in favor of the speedycake remix, and many artists copied the dance animation and featured other characters from various anime or video games.
Many fans of the meme have mistakenly interpreted the dance seen in the animations to be the actual Caramell dance referenced in the song. However, they are completely unrelated.
The meme as well as the song, known collectively as the “uma uma dance” are very popular in Japan, particularly because parts of the song sound Japanese and are misheard as ridiculous words and phrases.
The original animation here
Super Smash Brothers Brawl version here
Desu
Commonly known as a mere Japanese copula or a word that links a subject and predicate in a sentence. But in the hands of the internet, desu is arguably one of the most annoying Internet memes out there. The meme originated because the character, Suiseiski from the anime, Rozen Maiden, would end every one of her sentences with the word. Fans of the show imitated her, and it wasn’t long before images, GIFs, and videos featuring desu prominiently spread throughout the internet.
My favorite desu video here
All Your Base Are Belong To Us
Before the term “internet meme” no word or phrase could explain the popularity of All Your Base or AYB as it’s known today. The story behind this infamous phrase and the mega popular flash animation that followed starts with the Sega Genensis game, Zero Wing. Developed by Toaplan, Zero Wing’s introduction scene was translated from Japanese to English so badly that it instantly caught the attention of numerous video game-related message boards, resulting in mockery that took the form of photoshopped images, displaying the phrase in every imaginable place and a humorous voiceover. All these things came together in a flash cartoon which launched All Your Base into the American mainstream.
The original video took the internet by storm and is still one of the only internet memes to break through into the mainstream, garnering stories from Time magazine, Fox News, and the LA Times, as well as many others.
The video that started it all here
News story about AYB here
Badger Badger Badger
Also known as the “Badger song” or the “Badger dance,” the original meme is a looping flash animation by animator Jonti Picking, who went on to produce the show, Weebl and Bob. The animation became wildly popular after its release and has spawned numerous follow-ups, remixes, and parodies.
Here is the original cartoon here
This is SPARTAAAAA!!!
The marketing team for the movie, 300, must have known the gold they were given when this, now infamous line, fell into their laps. Almost from the moment the line and the accompanying scene were viewed in the movie’s trailer, photoshoppers and other “creative” minds released altered photos, animated GIFs, and parodies. Although the humor of this meme has dwindled significantly, it still makes me smile every time.
Since there isn’t any single image or video, type “this is Sparta” into google images for a look.
It’s OVER 9000!!!
Funimation’s first dub of the anime, Dragonball Z is famous for its overacting. YouTube user, Kajetokun made a point of it in his famous video showcasing the line several times in various styles and degrees of over-the-top randomness. Since the video’s release, “It’s OVER 9000!!!” has been spotted in almost every internet message board from many a wise cracking poster, and has spawned numerous parodies.
Kajetokun has gone on to make more memes in his familiar editing style, however none have come close to 9000’s popularity.
Here’s Kajetokun’s version here
Caramelldansen
Swedish for “Caramell dance,” Caramelldansen is the title for a Swedish techno song by music group, Caramell. The original Caramelldansen meme was a looping GIF animation of characters, Mai and Mii from the Japanese visual novel, Popotan, doing a dance swinging their hips with their hands above their heads, imitating rabbit ears, which featured the speedycake remix of the Caramelldansen song. Since its release, the original track of the song, has gone virtually unnoticed in favor of the speedycake remix, and many artists copied the dance animation and featured other characters from various anime or video games.
Many fans of the meme have mistakenly interpreted the dance seen in the animations to be the actual Caramell dance referenced in the song. However, they are completely unrelated.
The meme as well as the song, known collectively as the “uma uma dance” are very popular in Japan, particularly because parts of the song sound Japanese and are misheard as ridiculous words and phrases.
The original animation here
Super Smash Brothers Brawl version here
Desu
Commonly known as a mere Japanese copula or a word that links a subject and predicate in a sentence. But in the hands of the internet, desu is arguably one of the most annoying Internet memes out there. The meme originated because the character, Suiseiski from the anime, Rozen Maiden, would end every one of her sentences with the word. Fans of the show imitated her, and it wasn’t long before images, GIFs, and videos featuring desu prominiently spread throughout the internet.
My favorite desu video here
All Your Base Are Belong To Us
Before the term “internet meme” no word or phrase could explain the popularity of All Your Base or AYB as it’s known today. The story behind this infamous phrase and the mega popular flash animation that followed starts with the Sega Genensis game, Zero Wing. Developed by Toaplan, Zero Wing’s introduction scene was translated from Japanese to English so badly that it instantly caught the attention of numerous video game-related message boards, resulting in mockery that took the form of photoshopped images, displaying the phrase in every imaginable place and a humorous voiceover. All these things came together in a flash cartoon which launched All Your Base into the American mainstream.
The original video took the internet by storm and is still one of the only internet memes to break through into the mainstream, garnering stories from Time magazine, Fox News, and the LA Times, as well as many others.
The video that started it all here
News story about AYB here
May 9, 2008
Do You Sudoku? How 'Bout Picross?
It's amazing how the classic Japanese puzzle game, Sudoku, has become such a hit with Americans over the last few years. Every major newspaper seems to have a daily puzzle. I too enjoy doing Sudoku puzzles in my free time. It's an excellent blend of logic and simplicity that anyone can do. But many Americans have been missing out on another puzzle game from the far East: Picross. A mix between Sudoku and crosswords, Picross is another simple, yet engaging puzzle game. It plays much like Sudoku, but the solution to each puzzle is a picture of some sort. Players use numbers to decide whether a block should be filled in or not, if the player is good enough, he/she shouldn't have to guess at all throughout the solving of each puzzle.
I have become addicted to Picross. It's so much fun seeing what the final picture is going to be, which adds a certain childlike connect the dots feel to the game. So the question is: why hasn't this caught on in America as Sudoku has? A good question that's worth exploring. The big factor in finding the answer is newspapers. Sudoku owes a lot of its popularity to newspapers, and Picross would likely have to find a similar medium in order to take off. One problem with putting Picross puzzles in a newspaper is that, unlike Sudoku, one mistake in Picross can spell endless mistakes later on unless you have instant feedback. Picross would probably take up more space than a Sudoku puzzle would, and Picross's rules would have to be explained in much further detail in order for readers to understand.
Either way, Picross is still an awesome way to kill time. If you're interested, try googling it for some flash versions of the game. Also, Picross DS can offer those with the handheld a chance to play at an affordable price.
I have become addicted to Picross. It's so much fun seeing what the final picture is going to be, which adds a certain childlike connect the dots feel to the game. So the question is: why hasn't this caught on in America as Sudoku has? A good question that's worth exploring. The big factor in finding the answer is newspapers. Sudoku owes a lot of its popularity to newspapers, and Picross would likely have to find a similar medium in order to take off. One problem with putting Picross puzzles in a newspaper is that, unlike Sudoku, one mistake in Picross can spell endless mistakes later on unless you have instant feedback. Picross would probably take up more space than a Sudoku puzzle would, and Picross's rules would have to be explained in much further detail in order for readers to understand.
Either way, Picross is still an awesome way to kill time. If you're interested, try googling it for some flash versions of the game. Also, Picross DS can offer those with the handheld a chance to play at an affordable price.
Apr 6, 2008
Feb 25, 2008
Missed the Lunar Eclipse!!
I don't know about you, but I love when cool astronomical things happen. They're generally rare occurrences as well. For those of you who don't know, there was a total lunar eclipse Wednesday night of last week, and I missed it! I was all set to watch it too. I can't believe I managed to miss it though. I looked up the time and I thought it was going to start a little after Midnight. This was reasonable to believe, since most lunar eclipses stretch out into the wee hours of the mourning, but it turned out that the eclipse was much earlier, like 9:00 pm early! Now the next total lunar eclipse isn't until 2010. >_______>
Feb 18, 2008
Flash Flash Revolution ~ Emerald Hill (Metaljonus Mix) FC
This is me playing FFR Emerald Hill (Metaljonus Mix). It's a remix of the classic tune from Sonic 2. I love this song, and I happened to full combo it for you guys. There is a AAA of this on youtube already, but I just like this song and FFR and I want to share them with you!
Check it out! http://www.flashflashrevolution.com
it's in the arcade section on the 2nd page
Feb 11, 2008
Dragonball live action movie?
There have been talks and rumors about a live-action Hollywood produced Dragonball film over the past decade or so. Unbeknownst to me until recently, the film is nearly completed and is slated to release in August of this year. Along with the Wachowski Brothers’ adaptation of Speed Racer, which is due out this May, Dragonball will find itself somewhat a part of history as being one of the first animes/mangas to be adapted and produced with a Hollywood, big-budget effort. Some may say that Transformers belongs in this category, but I don’t fully agree. While Transformers was originally based off a Japanese toy line, the first cartoon series was American made, and I would say, the toys, as well as the show are as much a part of American pop culture as they are in Japanese pop culture. No doubt Speed Racer and Dragonball will mark the first major releases of adaptations of anime/manga smack dab in the middle of the American mainstream.
Even though Transformers isn’t necessarily the same animal as a Dragonball or Speed Racer, it is close enough that I am willing to compare them to each other. Like Transformers before them, I expect that both Dragonball and Speed Racer will enjoy a moderate degree of box office success. Not just because of all the fanboys and otakus who will undoubtedly line the rows of theater seats, but because of the general appeal the two films will bring with them (eg Dragonball, with its superhero-esque themes will certainly draw a good sum of moviegoers). Also like Transformers, both films will incorporate brilliant production values and special effects; in fact, Speed Racer was filmed entirely in front of green screen. Also, John Gaeta, who won an academy award for his visual effects work on The Matrix was brought in to help with the Speed Racer adaptation. As for Dragonball, 87Eleven, the stunt performance studio that worked on The Matrix and 300 was contracted for the film, as well as Ariel Shaw (Final Destination Series, 300), who will work as visual effects supervisor.
My preemptive opinion about these two films, especially Dragonball, is that they will totally suck out loud. Dragonball will receive the superhero movie treatment and rely heavily on special effects at the cost of writing, story, acting, everything else. I am saying this not as a fan of the Dragonball anime/manga, which I am, but as a person who has viewed all those crappy superhero movies. Quick, name a good recent superhero movie besides the first two Spidermans and Batman Begins. Any intelligent person probably isn’t able to come up with one. I say intelligent because of the embarrassing amount of people who seem to think that the Fantastic Four movies are good. As for Speed Racer, it might turn out well because it’s the Wachoski Brothers, but the trailer has done nothing suggest that it won’t suck.
Transformers also suffered from this treatment. Believe me, I wanted this movie to be good. When I saw the trailer, I thought it was going to be awesome, but it was ultimately a huge disappointment. Michael Bay couldn’t pull enough special effects out of his ass to save this movie from being a complete waste of time for me.
I don’t know about you, but I just don’t see a film with a story inspired and influenced off of Chinese culture and Buddhism, originally written in a Japanese context, adapted to an American Hollywood feature will turn out to work. Regardless, I will probably go out and see Dragonball in the theaters. I am already beginning to regret it now.
In any case, it will be interesting to see how the two films fare at the box office, paving the way for more anime/manga based movies to come about. Currently, two confirmed anime/manga based movies are in the works. One, based off of the brilliant 1988 anime, Akira, and another based off of the Evangelion series. No news as to when these films will be released.
For those who are wondering, the Dragonball movie will follow the story of the last saga in the series, the King Piccolo saga. Where Goku (Justin Chatwin, War of the Worlds) tries to gather the magical dragonballs before the evil Piccolo (James Marsters, Smallville) does. The film will be directed by James Wong (Final Destination).
For more information on both movies head over to these links.
http://imdb.com/title/tt1098327/
http://imdb.com/title/tt0811080/
Even though Transformers isn’t necessarily the same animal as a Dragonball or Speed Racer, it is close enough that I am willing to compare them to each other. Like Transformers before them, I expect that both Dragonball and Speed Racer will enjoy a moderate degree of box office success. Not just because of all the fanboys and otakus who will undoubtedly line the rows of theater seats, but because of the general appeal the two films will bring with them (eg Dragonball, with its superhero-esque themes will certainly draw a good sum of moviegoers). Also like Transformers, both films will incorporate brilliant production values and special effects; in fact, Speed Racer was filmed entirely in front of green screen. Also, John Gaeta, who won an academy award for his visual effects work on The Matrix was brought in to help with the Speed Racer adaptation. As for Dragonball, 87Eleven, the stunt performance studio that worked on The Matrix and 300 was contracted for the film, as well as Ariel Shaw (Final Destination Series, 300), who will work as visual effects supervisor.
My preemptive opinion about these two films, especially Dragonball, is that they will totally suck out loud. Dragonball will receive the superhero movie treatment and rely heavily on special effects at the cost of writing, story, acting, everything else. I am saying this not as a fan of the Dragonball anime/manga, which I am, but as a person who has viewed all those crappy superhero movies. Quick, name a good recent superhero movie besides the first two Spidermans and Batman Begins. Any intelligent person probably isn’t able to come up with one. I say intelligent because of the embarrassing amount of people who seem to think that the Fantastic Four movies are good. As for Speed Racer, it might turn out well because it’s the Wachoski Brothers, but the trailer has done nothing suggest that it won’t suck.
Transformers also suffered from this treatment. Believe me, I wanted this movie to be good. When I saw the trailer, I thought it was going to be awesome, but it was ultimately a huge disappointment. Michael Bay couldn’t pull enough special effects out of his ass to save this movie from being a complete waste of time for me.
I don’t know about you, but I just don’t see a film with a story inspired and influenced off of Chinese culture and Buddhism, originally written in a Japanese context, adapted to an American Hollywood feature will turn out to work. Regardless, I will probably go out and see Dragonball in the theaters. I am already beginning to regret it now.
In any case, it will be interesting to see how the two films fare at the box office, paving the way for more anime/manga based movies to come about. Currently, two confirmed anime/manga based movies are in the works. One, based off of the brilliant 1988 anime, Akira, and another based off of the Evangelion series. No news as to when these films will be released.
For those who are wondering, the Dragonball movie will follow the story of the last saga in the series, the King Piccolo saga. Where Goku (Justin Chatwin, War of the Worlds) tries to gather the magical dragonballs before the evil Piccolo (James Marsters, Smallville) does. The film will be directed by James Wong (Final Destination).
For more information on both movies head over to these links.
http://imdb.com/title/tt1098327/
http://imdb.com/title/tt0811080/
Jan 23, 2008
Princess Mononoke - Eminence Orchestra - ANIF06
Since I mentioned this movie to one of my friends yesterday, I wanted to post this by the Eminence Orchestra, "Journey to the West." One of the principle pieces of music from the movie. Fantastic!
Jan 17, 2008
What I did over my winter break...
In an inevitably futile attempt to circumvent answering the hundreds of inquiries from friends or otherwise random people walking down the sidewalk, I am going post here what I did with my three and half weeks of break. For those wanting the short answer and the one I usually give to people when they ask, “How was your break? What did you do?” It is a recurring, “It was good. Wish it was longer. I didn’t do much.” For the full answer of what I did over break, here it is.
“I didn’t do much” by many people’s standards, in that I didn’t go on a vacation or visit any distant relatives, I didn’t even leave my house all that much. Perhaps after I have laid out my entire break to excruciating detail that you might not think “I didn’t do much.”
Before I could even truly get into the full swing that was to be my break, I receive a call from my best friend, Chad, who implores me to come back to Iowa City to pick him up because his car is literally frozen to the ground. Being the kind, good friend that I am, and for lack of anything better to do, I drove back to Iowa City to pick him up, along with some items I had forgotten. (one of them happened to be my driver’s license. ^^; )
For the first few days before Christmas, I spent most of my time sleeping, briefly interrupting this rebooting time by playing video games. Standard affair and should come of no surprise.
On Christmas Eve, my brother’s girlfriend showed up to spend Christmas with us as my parents secretly dreaded every moment she was within five feet of them.
My Christmas gifts this year were more low-end than any other year. A product of getting older, and knowing every single item I was going to unwrap beforehand. Needless to say, there were no major surprises this year as there usually is. Along with the standard Christmas swag of giftcards and greenbacks, I received the following: Two new DS games, Picross DS and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, a Wii Classic controller, a Wii LAN adaptor, my own copies of the movies Kiki’s Delivery Service, Akira, and Whisper of the Heart, (<< I’m betting you don’t know what these are, shame!) a Cowboy Bebop wall scroll, and the Nintendo edition of Monopoly. I am strongly considering not opening the Monopoly, because I know it will probably be played once, maybe twice if its lucky, and it is a collector’s item after all.
Two days after Christmas I spent some of my Christmas revenue on Elite Beat Agents! for the DS, and spent the bulk of the next week playing it and my other newly acquired DS games.
I went to two Basketball games over break. The first being Iowa’s Big Ten opening loss to Indiana. The other one being Iowa’s first win in the Big Ten, which was against Michigan State. I also attended the historic meeting between the most storied wrestling programs in the nation, the dual against Oklahoma State, which we unexpectedly lost.
On more than one occasion I hung out with friends, and one day we spent at our favorite and by favorite I mean only LAN gaming café, Extreme PvP, where we played DoTA and Ravenshield for a cool $12.50.
I beat a total of six games over break: Elite Beat Agents! (DS), Phantom Hourglass (DS), Super Mario Galaxy (Wii), Portal (PC), Super Metroid (SNES), Paper Mario (N64).
I installed Leopard onto my laptop. I completed another video (My Top 5 Most Anticipated Games of ’08), which is currently drifting among the YouTube community along with my others, and started on several other video projects.
That was my break. I think this is sufficient enough that people shouldn’t be asking me about it. So how was yours?
“I didn’t do much” by many people’s standards, in that I didn’t go on a vacation or visit any distant relatives, I didn’t even leave my house all that much. Perhaps after I have laid out my entire break to excruciating detail that you might not think “I didn’t do much.”
Before I could even truly get into the full swing that was to be my break, I receive a call from my best friend, Chad, who implores me to come back to Iowa City to pick him up because his car is literally frozen to the ground. Being the kind, good friend that I am, and for lack of anything better to do, I drove back to Iowa City to pick him up, along with some items I had forgotten. (one of them happened to be my driver’s license. ^^; )
For the first few days before Christmas, I spent most of my time sleeping, briefly interrupting this rebooting time by playing video games. Standard affair and should come of no surprise.
On Christmas Eve, my brother’s girlfriend showed up to spend Christmas with us as my parents secretly dreaded every moment she was within five feet of them.
My Christmas gifts this year were more low-end than any other year. A product of getting older, and knowing every single item I was going to unwrap beforehand. Needless to say, there were no major surprises this year as there usually is. Along with the standard Christmas swag of giftcards and greenbacks, I received the following: Two new DS games, Picross DS and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, a Wii Classic controller, a Wii LAN adaptor, my own copies of the movies Kiki’s Delivery Service, Akira, and Whisper of the Heart, (<< I’m betting you don’t know what these are, shame!) a Cowboy Bebop wall scroll, and the Nintendo edition of Monopoly. I am strongly considering not opening the Monopoly, because I know it will probably be played once, maybe twice if its lucky, and it is a collector’s item after all.
Two days after Christmas I spent some of my Christmas revenue on Elite Beat Agents! for the DS, and spent the bulk of the next week playing it and my other newly acquired DS games.
I went to two Basketball games over break. The first being Iowa’s Big Ten opening loss to Indiana. The other one being Iowa’s first win in the Big Ten, which was against Michigan State. I also attended the historic meeting between the most storied wrestling programs in the nation, the dual against Oklahoma State, which we unexpectedly lost.
On more than one occasion I hung out with friends, and one day we spent at our favorite and by favorite I mean only LAN gaming café, Extreme PvP, where we played DoTA and Ravenshield for a cool $12.50.
I beat a total of six games over break: Elite Beat Agents! (DS), Phantom Hourglass (DS), Super Mario Galaxy (Wii), Portal (PC), Super Metroid (SNES), Paper Mario (N64).
I installed Leopard onto my laptop. I completed another video (My Top 5 Most Anticipated Games of ’08), which is currently drifting among the YouTube community along with my others, and started on several other video projects.
That was my break. I think this is sufficient enough that people shouldn’t be asking me about it. So how was yours?
Jan 12, 2008
My Top 5 Most Anticipated Games of '08
I've seen so many of these "Year in Review" features on every single TV show, and web site to the point of making me sick. 2007 might have been one of the best years in the industry, but I don’t like to linger in the past. So I'm looking ahead to ’08 which looks to be a killer year for gamers, and barring inevitable delays that will make this list null in void, I'm going to attempt to give you my top five most anticipated games of 2008.
5. Soul Calibur IV (Multi)
Perhaps the most polished fighting series in the business. The SC series has built a reputation on awesome visuals, innovative gameplay, unique characters, and big boobies. This fourth installment looks to be all that and more. Namco has promised to fix some of the nagging issues from the third game, such as the balance, or lack there of, as well as provide more open environments as opposed to the cramped, ring-out-happy arenas from three. Of course, new characters will join the strong cast of veterans. And with online play, what fan can afford to miss it?
4. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
One of the big three PS3 exclusives billed with the task of returning Sony to the top of console war, LittleBigPlanet looks to be truly genre-breaking, and one of the most unique gaming experiences ever. It will have players platforming like never before. Featuring a fantastic physics engine, players will be running, jumping and solving puzzles either alone or with three friends. The game’s main draw is that its community aspect, where players will have total freedom to create their own levels with mounds of content and share them with the world that appears like it will make Halo’s Forge look like an afterthought.
3. Starcraft II (PC)
After 10 years of torment suffered since the last Starcraft game was released in 1998, and after Blizzard is done counting their money they horded from that other ‘craft’ series, gamers will finally return to the Starcraft universe. Okay, so Blizzard hasn’t come out with an official release timetable yet, but this year has been the projected release year thus far. Let’s try to forget about past disappointments and be optimistic. New units, buildings, and abilities will further distinguish the franchise’s three unique races in this long awaited sequel to one of the best Real-Time Strategy games ever.
2. Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii)
Oh yeah, you knew this was going to be on the list, the sequel to the best selling Gamecube title, Brawl is finally arriving February 10th. Third party characters Sonic, and Solid Snake join the famous mascot ranks of Nintendo to duke it out on more stages and modes than the acclaimed Cube title, including online. While the online versus match will be slim on features, Nintendo has promised to make up for it, with an all new single player mode, a stage creation tool, character-specific “final smashes,” fully customizable controls, and more Nintendo nostalgia than you can shake a stick at.
What could possibly be number one?
1. Spore (PC)
The latest project out of the mind of Sims creator, Will Wright, Spore is going to be an experience no one should miss. It will have players start as a single celled organism into a planet dominating, UFO flying, galaxy conquering super creature. It will combine elements of from games like Pac-Man, Civilization, SimCity, and Animal Crossing. The best part is, you, the player get to create everything in the game to the last detail from how many eyes your creature has, to how tall your buildings will be with a click of the mouse. I can’t wait for this game, and be sure to be on the look out for it this year as my top most anticipated game of 2008.
Incidently, this list has titles on it that include two fighting games and two PC games, worlds I rarely delve much into. Now, without further introductory wordage is the list.
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