Stats time!
Play Time 2h 52m
Total Score 1422
1422 Units Destroyed
Bill 910080
7/70 Medals
Stage Stats
Corneria 176 hits 1/5 Medals
Sector a 181 hits 0/5 Medals
Area 3 153 Hits 0/5 Medals
Zoness 8 Hits 1/5 Medals
Sector B 236 Hits 1/5 Medals
Titania 58 Hits 0/5 Medals
Sector Y 121 Hits 1/5 Medals
Fichina 81 Hits 1/5 Medals
Sector Omega 121 Hits 1/5 Medals
Corneria 2 147 Hits 0/5 Medals
Venom 140 Hits 1/5 Medals
Let’s just say that I’m glad that I basically got this game for free since I used a contest prize to pre order this title. This isn’t the Star Fox game that we deserve. Star Fox Zero was supposed to bring this franchise back to life after its sad demise at the hands of Command. Unfortunately, Nintendo dropped the ball on this game in a big way. It’s not even so much that the game is short because length isn’t all that important compared to other aspects…sometimes…but the controls are some of the worst that I’ve ever played. Aside from Wii shovelware titles, this may have the worst controls for any AAA title. It really drains away any enjoyment that you could have taken from this game.
As far as the story goes, the game is essentially a remake/reboot of Star Fox 64 or the original. I forgot which one had this plot actually. Andross wants to destroy Corneria so a galactic war begins. Both sides suffer heavy losses and Team Star Fox is called in. They get the job done and their small group is more powerful than any army. The leader is Fox McCloud, a man who must avenge his father’s death by saving the universe. No task is too much for this young hero and he eagerly rises to the occasion along with his tough crew. Falco is the resident hot head who talks a good game even though he always tends to lose. Slippy doesn’t talk tough and still manages to lose a lot. Finally we’ve also got Peppy, the tough veteran who always ends up losing. Thing is, Fox is the only one who tends to win since the A.I. isn’t good against a villain attack in the gameplay. It’s a shame for them.
All right, let’s start with the positives because there are quite a few negatives here. I did enjoy the visuals. The space fights looked visually appealing and the game certainly looks pretty polished. The character models are not quite as good though and the game is pretty lazy which may have given them more time for the visuals. For example, the game uses the same recycled footage before each level as a mini conversation is had and there is really nothing to be found beyond the levels. More on that later.
The soundtrack is pretty fun. We have some nice remixes from the older Star Fox games and the themes are all very heroic and inspiring. It’s not quite Mario, but the themes never get dull and you’ll appreciate them. This may be the game’s greatest positive now that I think about it. A more mild one would be the fact that the characters are pretty charismatic. It barely counts since they are relying on character development from older games though. Fox and the others don’t really have much of a personality beyond a one line description that can fit each character. You are really just supposed to know who they all are at this point. Still, Fox has always been a cool character and that doesn’t change here. I don’t like Peppy, but Slippy and Falco are cool.
Unfortunately, we get a new character for this game who adds nothing to the story. There used to be a character named Krystal back in the day, but fans were really divided on her and she was axed from the series in this reboot. Instead, we have a new female fox who is naturally pink. I forgot her name, but her only role is to appear for about 5 minutes and flirt with Fox for the entire duration. That’s it…her role is just to flirt with Fox. Nintendo couldn’t have made a more unlikable, 2 dimensional character if they had tried. You could say the same for Andross although for different reasons. He’s also 2 dimensional and unlikable. Partially because of his design and just the fact that he’s not interesting at all. I think Pigma or Wolf would have made for a better final boss. Wolf’s cool as always, a shame that he gets around 2-3 lines here.
All right, let’s tackle the big issue in the room. The motion controls! Why would Nintendo revert back to this tired gimmick that got old a day after the Wii came out? Motion controls never work and they never will work. Sensors will never be accurate enough and it’s a hassle to keep on spinning in your chair to lock on to enemies and fire. As a result, the levels simply aren’t fun to play whenever you have to fight someone. That’s why I avoided enemies whenever possible and just zoomed through them. It is very difficult to aim and boss fights become artificially difficult. With proper controls, I’d say that you could breeze through these guys. As it stands, you’ll have a tough time of it. You can turn it off to an extent, but a slight one. Instead of always being on when moving, it’ll just keep on affecting your aim…which is just as bad. You still have to move the Gamepad in order to hit anything so that’s not much of a help.
It goes without saying that because of this you have to use the Gamepad. It’s a mandatory part of playing Star Fox Zero which is really a shame. I never liked the Gamepad and things like this remind me why that is the case. The instant I played the first level or two and noticed how restrictive the controls were, I knew that the game was going to have it rough. From fairly early on I had a feeling that a 6 was the highest it could go and the rest of the negatives kept it from reaching that spot.
Let’s talk about the game length. The game was nice enough to keep track of how long it took to complete it and I beat the game in 2 hours and 52 minutes. That’s considering that I was stuck on the boss for almost an hour and the fact that I lost to another boss once and in another level once more. This game is incredibly short for 60 dollars to the point where you could and should call it a ripoff. This is not worth 60 dollars and should have only been 30 upon release. You simply can’t justify the price point.
Replay Value is what could save the game from this short length, but there’s not as much as there should be. For starters, there is no multiplayer mode. Yes, there seriously isn’t a multiplayer mode in this game even though it would make perfect sense. Star Fox Assault had a terrific multiplayer mode. So, the only replay value is going back to get all of the medals and I don’t even know what doing that does. Maybe it unlocks a new level or something. There are 70 medals scattered around the 14 levels so that should buy you some time I guess. I definitely wouldn’t want to go after those. Even beating Arcade Mode sounds like a bit of a drag and especially when the only thing you unlock is Sound Test. I can’t verify that Sound Test is the final mode since I’m not going to try and unlock it, but that’s what I’ve heard around the web.
Yes, this game really won’t last you very long and it is easy to see why a lot of people are upset. They should be upset. This game got a lot of hype from Nintendo and it was even delayed a bit to polish up the graphics since it got bashed so hard at E3. Well, the graphics are better, but the controls are downright terrible. There was no quality control in this title and it feels so empty. I don’t think the developers put a lot of heart into this title. Even little things like the fact that the voices come from the Gamepad is annoying. Why do you have to hear the music from the TV on your right and then the voices from the Gamepad speaker below you? It makes no sense and it is like the game is trying to force you to just play with the TV off. Good luck with that.
After you beat the game there is a quick scene, but you won’t really miss anything if you didn’t stick around. I was hoping for an actual cliffhanger or something instead of what we got. Fox’s Dad seems to possibly be alive since he interfered a whole lot for a ghost so maybe that will be a plot in the sequel if the sequel has anything resembling a plot and if one is actually made. I don’t see this game selling all that well at all.
I almost forgot to mention the various gadgets that you have. The Landmaster, The Gyrowing, and the creature form of the Arwing. They’re all pretty bad I’m afraid. The Gyrowing is very slow and it is just around so you can use a Clank ripoff to hack the villain controls. It buys time for the levels. The Landmaster and the robot just suffer from terrible controls. Turning around is a hassle when it shouldn’t be and everything is made much more difficult than it otherwise would be. I suppose that these things wouldn’t be negatives without the motion controls, but that’s simply how the cookie crumbled this time. The controls are simply terrible.
Overall, Star Fox Zero is pretty disappointing and a final reminder for fans around the globe that we don’t want anything even slightly related to motion controls for the upcoming NX. It should be really hard to mess up with this kind of game, but Nintendo went above and beyond expectations on how to destroy hype. Making the motion controls mandatory was the main mistake here. 60 dollars for under 3 hours of story content is also pretty suspect in and of itself. Zero is a cash grab, nothing more and nothing less. Nintendo is hoping that enough loyal fans will buy the game to make a profit instead of trying to make a good game that everyone can buy. I don’t recommend buying this title and if you want to have a good space epic with Fox and the gang, just buy Assault instead. It’s a much better game than Zero in every single way. As sad as it sounds, I played the game for under 3 hours and I’m not sure if I’ll ever have a need to play it again. There is no real reason to go back to it and I actually think Star Fox Guard has a decent chance of being a better game when all is said and done. That’s quite scary. Nintendo, give us a proper Star Fox game or a new F Zero title for the NX. If not, I fear these two franchises may be gone for good.
Overall 5/10
Not really any stats here folks. I’m sorry! D:
You guys playing Star Fox Zero right now? Well, I’m afraid that you’re missing out on an underrated gem! The Rocky films were all a blast back in the day. They still have the best montage scenes in a live action film and it is not even close. The movies just knew how to get you excited for a fight and the soundtrack was superb. So, when I found out that they made a Rocky game for the Gamecube, I knew that I had to go pick it up. If handled right, this could be a winner. The gameplay is actually a lot of fun and the story mode actually adapts all of the films, which is really impressive. It is not a perfect title by any means, but it is definitely worth the purchase.
If you aren’t familiar with the movies, it is about a guy named Rocky. He goes from being a local underdog to the world champ. He avenges his best friend who was destroyed by a Russian boxer and then he also wins in a street fight. Your job in the game is to crush all challengers. There are 20 levels total so roughly 4 per film. Each film gets one Big fight, which gets its own cutscene and everything. That was always pretty fun and actually in a humorous way at times with the voice acting. Giving a cutscene to some of the other fights would have helped to break the monotony that the rest of the story had. After all, let’s face it, it isn’t all that exciting to fight yet another random challenger after a while.
I will give the game some props for fully embracing the repetition though. Each fight plays out in exactly the same way. First we get to hear each fighter’s theme. Then they are introduced and the fight begins. Afterwards, you get to relisten to the victor’s theme one more time. It is very entertaining. You can also beat most of the levels while only using two attacks, but don’t let your guard down. The difficulty will randomly jump up at some points before heading back down. I ended up losing 2-3 fights, but then I would proceed to teach my opponent a lesson.
The gameplay is what you would expect from a classic boxing game. You have an array of punches and moves that you can use here. High, Low, and Medium blows. You can faint and move around to dodge. I never figured out how to block, but I’m sure that there is a button for it. There must be right? Once you take out the opponent’s health bar, they have 10 seconds to try and get back up. Usually the CPU will get up twice in a set at the most. Maybe a third time if the fighter is tough. If you knock an opponent down three times in a single round, then it is an auto win for you. Getting up on your own is a lot tougher though, so good luck trying to rise 3 times.
As hinted at earlier, you will hear a lot of victory themes and various popular songs throughout the game. It gives the title a certain amount of hype. In the actual matches you are unlikely to notice the music. Thus, I’d say that the soundtrack is good, but not great. Graphically, it is a similar story. This certainly cannot be called great, nor can it be called bad. The game did a fine job of recreating the characters from the films. Each attack was designed well and I didn’t really notice any attack cloning here. Of course, the attacks are all very similar as it is. Character wise there are definitely some clones, but they make sense. Having a version of Rocky for each film was certainly genius and paves the way for crossover fights that we could only dream of back in the day. I think the graphics definitely could have been a little brighter, but I still give them a passing grade.
The campaign is fairly short so you may be wondering what replay value is available. Well, there is essentially nothing extra in the campaign so multiplayer is your only option. If you find someone who enjoys the game as well, then you will have quite a lot of replay value here. On your own you may have fun with it for a few hours, but ultimately it won’t last. I suggest buying this game for a good price. Of course, quality does defy quantity right? Not every title can pull a Super Smash Bros and accomplish both.
Overall, Rocky is a fun game. It is best to think of this one as your average popcorn fun rental. It is the kind of game I could picture someone renting for the weekend to play for a little while. That probably isn’t an option anymore though, so you gotta buy it or forget the title. Faced with those options, I’d recommend grabbing this title. It is a good game even if it won’t last you all that long. It is definitely a special treat for Rocky fans with how accurate the whole thing is. The final boss even feels a little special since it is a real battle as opposed to an official boxing match. Train your skills and then go on to become the world champ in this title. Embrace the experience because we may never get another Rocky game ever again. A truly somber thought.
Overall 7/10
Looks like it is time to read the start of one of the biggest franchises of all time. Obviously Star Wars didn’t originate with this comic, but it was still the start of an era and as this is an Omnibus it is quite the start. This collection brings over 20 issues so it is able to cover quite a few different arcs. It’s cool to see Marvel take a whirl at the series and now that Disney owns Star Wars and Marvel, it is definitely feasible that they could have some kind of crossover someday. It’s great to see Luke and the others as the main characters once more. Without further ado, let’s start this review.
The series starts off with an adaption of movie IV. That definitely makes sense you wouldn’t want to simply ignore the events of the film that started the whole franchise and simply skipping it altogether likely wouldn’t go over very well with the fans. It is pretty faithful to the film and we get some good action scenes as Luke Skywalker goes from being your average kid to a galactic hero. He certainly gets a lot of respect after he helps destroy the starship even if he has yet to become a Jedi. Saving a few star systems from imminent destruction will easily give you that kind of fame.
After the initial arc, Luke vanishes for quite a while along with Darth Vader. No worries though since we have Han Solo on deck to give us some arcs. The plots from Han’s mini arc and Luke’s solo adventure eventually meet up and it is fun to have the character all together once more, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Han is still on the run from just about everyone so he lands on what he thinks is a peaceful planet. Unfortunately this is far from the truth as there are some pretty mean bounty hunters on this planet. He enlists the aid of several inhabitants/visitors on the planet.
They consist of a Rabbit, An old man who may have been a Jedi once upon a time, A bounty hunter heroine who is good with a gun, and a kid who wants to make a difference. It’s not exactly a group of trained professionals, but Han has to work with what he’s got and he can whip these guys into shape. The auditions for who would join his team was certainly a blast and it is easy to feel bad for some of the guys who didn’t make it. Of course, if everyone joined the cut, things would just get crazy right? The group was fairly likable in the end and this arc was actually pretty fun even without Luke.
The Rabbit guy was very similar to the guest star from the 2003 TMNT series. He is a good shot and has a lot of confidence even if he can’t always back up his tough talk. He can fight, which automatically makes him decent here and the banter is always good. The little kid who barely earned his way onto the team thanks to his robot is the only member of the group who is totally not likable. I get that he has no fancy powers or equipment, but surely he could have found some way to be useful. Instead he really just holds the group back. His android is pretty neat though. Picture C3PO, but if the robot was always hurling insults and didn’t mind resorting to violence. That guy could definitely become a fan favorite if he ever appeared in the movies.
The bounty hunter lady knew Han from the old days so she certainly didn’t follow his commands like the others, but she’s good in a fight. There was no drama between her and Han which was certainly good considering that we already have another romance plot in the background. The best member by far was the Old Jedi. The characters think that he may have been delusional, but I think he was the real deal. He did a fairly good job of holding off the monster with his Lightsaber and he did know how to summon the thing. The guy went down as a hero and it was a pretty emotional way to go. He helped out when it counted and I always love to see more Jedi warriors so it was fun to have this guy around. It’s just too bad that the role was so brief.
Back to Luke’s plot. He was looking for a new base for the Resistance, but one thing led to another and he was captured. He landed on an Aqua planet where two factions were vying for power. There was the resistance who teamed up with the monsters of the area to take on the high tech pirate villains. Unfortunately for the heroes, these villains had a sonic weapon that really dealt heavy damage to the monsters and if they weren’t stopped quickly, they could completely sink the resistance base. Luke naturally decides to help, but doesn’t fare too well. Luckily, Han Solo shows up…although not in the most ideal of circumstances.
He was kidnapped by a pirate group as well and they forced him to go here. Luckily the two villain groups begin to fight which buys Han enough time to make it to the surface where he has several disagreements with Luke on what to do. Naturally, Luke wants to make the heroic move here and help out the resistance while Han just wants to get away as far as possible. Meanwhile, one of the pirates who was chasing Han begins to realize that avoiding feelings of infatuation for so long as weakened her resolve. Unfortunately, she went from being a pretty cool villain to a rather sad one due to this plot development. It was unneeded if you ask me.
While it was naturally great to see the two groups (Luke/Leia and Han) meet up, it also brought back the subplot about how both guys like Leia. They trade passive aggressive burns a lot and both try to impress her all the time. It actually plays out like a very old version of the classic trope where the heroine has to decide between the nice guy or the tough/rebellious one. Han and her are always bickering while she gets along with Luke quite well. That’s always a bad sign for the nice guy even if that may seem iffy when you think about it. It’s not a huge factor here and doesn’t hurt the comic at all, but I could have done without it. Luckily, since this is a retro comic the romance never gets too wince worthy. It’s mostly just mild flirting at the most.
The heroes eventually make it to the Wheel where they are all imprisoned/defeated before they even know it. It’s all done very subtlety though since the Wheel is essentially a giant casino and the owner doesn’t want the customers to suspect that Darth Vader and the Order are here. It would be bad for business after all since the villains are supposed to not be welcome here. He arranges for Han to fight in the Gladiatorial arena where he makes it to the final round only to be face to face with Chewy. Chewy naturally has the edge here, but they are able to defeat all of the other fighters and escape. It was a fun arc because seeing Han fight several aliens mano a mano is always exciting.
There were certainly quite a few story arcs here and other stories that I barely touched upon. The aliens that are after Han appear several times and so many bounty hunters/pirates as well that you’ll lose count after a while. It is fun to see how different Jabba The Hut was here though. Rather than the blob that you saw in the movie, he actually looks like a very normal humanoid villain here. Picture an android or Martian Manhunter from DC comics. I wish they had ultimately stayed with this design since it is certainly a lot more menacing.
From the main characters, Han is certainly the most interesting. Naturally, the flirting part of his personality is pretty irritating, but besides that he has all of the necessary qualities that a good main character needs. He has boundless confidence at his disposal and he gets all of the witty one liners. He’s always ready for a fight and he is defiant to the last no matter who he is facing. It’s hard not to root for the guy and he can easily hold his own issue. Something that Luke and Leia can’t really pull off to be honest.
Chewy also excels here as he constantly proves why he is the strongest fighter in the series. He defeats everyone from gladiators to other monsters. His hype never leaves and he basically goes undefeated for the whole series. He’s also a really good shot when he’s got a gun so Chewy’s always a lethal fighter. Unfortunately, I can’t say that Princess Leia is really a good character here. For starters she needs to decide between Han or Luke ASAP instead of having her cake and eating it too. Messing around with both of them is always the dicey move. This was also before heroines became great fighters and had super cool roles like nowadays so she is mainly around just to get kidnapped or to provide some commentary. She rarely actually helps out even though she does have a gun. I’ve never cared for Leia in any part of the franchise all that much though so it’s not really a surprise.
This was also before Luke became a cooler character like in Episode VI so he’s not terrific either. His petty rivalry with Han can be a little dicey. Besides that he’s typically the heroic main character that you would expect to see. His powers may not have fully developed yet, but he’s still not somebody that you want to underestimate in a fight. He’s a fairly reasonable character so I’m not going to say that he’s bad, but he’s not very interesting either. Whenever there was a comic about him, I would be waiting for the issue to switch to Han’s subplot.
Darth Vader’s screen time is limited, but he still manages to be a very imposing villain. The fact that he can use the Force automatically makes him the most deadly opponent here. The heroes simply cannot defeat him in an actual fight and would be hopelessly crushed if they were to even attempt such a feat. The best they can do for now is to bide their time and let the Resistance continue to grow. Another fun villain is the Hunter. He is part Android even though he can’t stand them and he aims to destroy all Robots and those who like them. It’s an impossible goal considering how many of them there are, but I suppose it is a concrete goal at the very least. He only got to appear once really, but he’s after Luke Skywalker and the title for the first issue of the second collection implies that he’ll be a main villain once more. Along with Darth Vader he is easily the best villain so I’m definitely up to seeing more of him. He has an arm cannon at his disposal so that’ll definitely be useful in a fight.
As you may expect, the art here is very clear and pleasant. They really don’t draw panels the way that they used too. The hand drawn style just works really well and I’d especially say that this is true for the character designs. You can tell that this is an old Marvel comic right from the get go and that means that you can expect consistent quality. It may not be super flashy, but it gets the job done and all of the scenes hold up well.
Overall, This Star Wars Omnibus is a good start to the Marvel era of the classic franchise. It’s quite large so this collection should last you quite a while. I’m assuming that we’ll be seeing an adaption of the second film at some point since there are over 100 issues in the series and the next installment should definitely have been out by that time. The series went on for quite a while after all. If you’re a big Star Wars fan then you should definitely enjoy this one. If not, I’d say that it is pretty accessible to all comic readers. It is a good action story with sci-fi elements that holds up well as most classic comics do. The writing is good and the action scenes are fun as well. I’m sure that future volumes will be just as fun.
Overall 7/10
Alright, we’re back with more Green Lantern comics! In this one, the New Gods step in so we take a little break from the main plot that’s been going on. It’s just how it goes with Tie ins, but as long as the event is really good this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I think Green Lantern is a little underpowered here and it shouldn’t be so easy to develop a counter weapon to the Power Ring imo. This volume has a lot of action and is setting things up for the Darkseid War so it is a must read.
The New Gods hack into the Green Lantern database to find out more about the rings and they also want to take Kyle Rayner since he may be helpful for the Anti-Life Equation. The Green Lanterns decide to retaliate which leads to a full scale war with the New Gods. They will need some backup though and this quickly results in the Sinestro corps, Black Lantern Corps, Star Sapphires, Blue Lanterns, and all of the others to emerge. Can they get along long enough to deal with these guys though?
We really see just how strong Orion and the other New Gods are in this comic. It is good to see them look so powerful because they honestly should be. If they were lightweights it just wouldn’t make that much sense. There is still a lot of plot hax in how they are able to bust through the Green Lantern constructs so easily with their anti ring weapons though. It is consistently said to be the greatest weapon in the universe so there shouldn’t be any kind of counter to it.
At least it helps to strengthen my opinion that Hal is easily the best Green Lantern. He reminds the others that their constructs can always come out on top as long as their Will Power is on point and he never backs down. He does lose to Orion in their initial meetup, but it was hardly a fair fight. I’d like to say that he would have won in round 2, but then the Black Lantern had to wreck it. It was a bit of a low blow although Hal didn’t seem to mind, which was a little iffy. Hal’s done a great job of leading the GL Corps while the Guardians have stepped down and attacking the New Gods immediately was certainly the right move. Getting some backup was also wise since they would have been completely overwhelmed with sheer numbers otherwise.
It was a really awesome scene when Black Hand (Leader of the Black Lanterns) was able to animate the Source Wall and reawaken all of the people there. That included the big villains from the previous GL arcs and a lot of legendary monsters who were known as the strongest of the strongest. Even the New Gods really paled in comparison to these guys and they were soundly defeated. Naturally Black Hand couldn’t keep control of them for very long and he started to perish due to the Source Wall effect, but even for just being temporarily it was impressive and the best visual in the collection.
I focused on the New Gods part a lot, but the final 3 issues do go back to the main plot. Hal decides to take a little vacation to relax from the galaxy threatening situations of late, but soon realizes that it is hard to get away from it all. The Flash and Guy Gardner effectively remind him that his job as a Green Lantern is something that he can’t get away from. After having a talk with Star Sapphire as well, Hal makes a bold decision. He’s going to quit the Green Lantern corps. The universe is still very upset at the group for the Power Ring controversies so Hal decides to pose as the villain to clean the rep of the group.
He stages a betrayal with Kilowog and flees with one of the Power Batteries. Only Kilowog knows the truth so now he is on the hunt from every single star system and galactic group across the universe. For all we know, even the Justice League will be against him. It is going to be very hard for Hal to survive for long on his own, but he’s a survivor so he can take care of himself. I’ll admit that I’m not super thrilled about this decision. Hal was just coming into his own as a leader and we could have certainly had many great stories that could have come from that. Well, the idea of Hal being a loner as a while can be cool too.
As for the other characters, Sinestro had a good role in this collection. He aided the Green Lanterns when it counted even if he proved that he still can’t be trusted to stick with the mission in the end. His main goal is still to protect his own interests, but he did make a difference. He’s a fun rival to have for Hal. Kilowog’s also a pretty nice mentor and at least Hal can always count on him. Star Sapphire’s decision to part ways with Hal, but still leave him with some hope seems a little dicey, but hopefully that drama is essentially over now.
Orion was surprisingly likable in this issue. He knew that the All Father was being very unreasonable and corrupt. He didn’t mind mentioning this to the guy’s face either and it’s why rebellious characters can be good to have at times. He can also back up his tough talk and there’s no unnecessary romance with Wonder Woman to keep him down here. Mogo is cool as always and the rest of the Green Lanterns are fairly useful. The comic has a good cast and even the All Father may have learned his lesson. He claims that he will go back to his original mission of protecting people from Darkseid rather than becoming another villain so we’ll see if he is true to his word.
As always, the artwork for the Green Lantern collection is nothing short of excellent. All of the fights are really fun to look at. No other title does space fights quite as well as the Green Lantern series and that’s good since this series needs a lot of space action scenes. Adding in the New Gods also helped to connect this to the rest of the DCU and while that’s not necessary for a good GL comic as the previous graphic novels have shown, it is always fun to see. I’m definitely ready for the Justice League to show up as guest stars, that would be a blast! There is not a single panel where the artwork looks off.
Overall, Green Lantern continues its run of quality issues with this collection. The stakes may not have literally been as high as some of the older ones since the Galaxy was on the brink, but nonetheless they felt just as high. The war between the New Gods and Darkseid will surely have universal ramifications and the fact that both sides seem fairly corrupt is a sign that the Green Lanterns are going to have to work overtime to stop them all. As long as Hal is the leader of the Green Lantern corps, I’m sure that they are going to go far. Of course, with Hal no longer being the leader, the status quo is certainly going to be shaken up. I wonder how long the series can possibly go without Hal going back to his role. It’s an ambitious decision, but this series can pull it off. Hopefully by the time Hal joins up with the Corps again they will have beefed up their tranks a little. I want the Corps to be a universal threat like the good ole days. Right now they are really light on manpower so I’m thinking that some new recruits are in order. Maybe bringing in Supergirl and Cyborg for starters. Even better….another Hal Jordan from a different universe!
Overall 8/10
This comic review is a pretty big landmark for me because it is the first Godzilla comic book that I have ever read. That is probably a little surprising to hear since I’m such a big Godzilla fan, but my library simply doesn’t order the comics very often. I’m a comic reader, but not necessarily a collector. It’s the opposite with video games. When I saw that the library had picked this trade paperback up, I grabbed it instantly. I heard that this comic was quite different from the average Godzilla adventure and that is certainly true, but I suppose that it’s as good a way to enter the Godzilla comic part of the franchise as any other. It is a good comic although I feel like it could have gone a lot farther with this ambitious concept.
On the back of the book they have a quote from legendary comic reviewer Daniel Alvarez of Unleash The Fanboy about how this is the most unique Godzilla tale of them all. It is a little…sketchy how they completely took the quote out of context although I certainly agree with it and would argue that the reviewer would as well. This is the most unique Godzilla tale of them all and there will likely never be another one quite like it. That doesn’t mean that it is the best Godzilla tale of all time. Certainly not, but it’s a good one and that’s why I feel this mini series should have ran for a little longer. Another 5-6 issues would have given it time to really explore Godzilla’s time in hell. Who knows, if this sells well enough then maybe we will get a sequel.
As the title outright states, this series is about Godzilla being in Hell. (Or is he really there?) It works as a bit of an anthology as each issue has a different team behind it and Godzilla faces a new threat each time. The stories are still held together by the loose plot of Godzilla trying to get out and most anthologies have some kind of string holding the plot together, but for all intents and purposes, the comics are all separate. As such, I’ll review this in the style of an anthology with a paragraph for each individual issue rather than talking about it as a whole until the end.
The first issue sees Godzilla literally fall into Hell where he fights off a Dark version of himself who turns into a very deformed version of Biollante and threatens to eat him whole. Godzilla fends off his attack and makes his way into the next layer of Hell. It is a solid start to the collection and I dare say that it is the most compelling issue of the bunch. It doesn’t have as much action as some of the issues coming up, but it handled the concept better than the others. The big sign saying to abandon hope is something that you would expect to find in Hell, at least conceptually. Once you are in Hell, there is no hope at all. Simply put, the race is over and you made the wrong choice. Of course, Godzilla is not dead yet so he is not truly out of time. Plus, let’s face it, Godzilla doesn’t feel fear. The art for this issue was solid. It did a good job of showing the facial expressions for Godzilla and the fight was well done. This is really what a comic version of Godzilla should strive to look like and I definitely liked the design of the made up villain.
Following that strong start was the worst comic in the collection. The series tried to go for a live action look and it didn’t work. As far as I’m concerned, if DC’s Kingdom Come event couldn’t pull it off, nothing ever will. The fight scenes are very choppy and it’s a shame since this issue could have had the most action. This level of hell has demons transform into lookalikes from Godzilla’s past. Fake Rodan, Anguirus, Varan, and Ghidorah all attack the hero. Godzilla fends them all off and it should have been a really good issue. The art just takes you out of the adventure. I do like the use of the word bubbles here as they add more context and hint at what is actually going on here. Godzilla passes this trial with flying colors as he proves that he is more than a match for any demon. Of course, the trials will get stronger from here.
The third issue was the most colorful and went for more of a cartoony feel than the other two. This made for a great fight between Godzilla and Space Godzilla, but the facial expressions could be a little odd at times. It was uncharacteristic for Godzilla, but the fight scenes were worth it. Space Godzilla is definitely a worthy opponent for the King of the Monsters. This was also the strangest issue in the collection. So, this trial is essentially that Godzilla must defeat Space Godzilla without resorting to the temptations from both sides. Half of Hell wants him to become their god and rule while the others want him to work for Hell. You are led to believe at first that half of them worship God and want Godzilla to join, but they quickly switch to believers of Godzilla and also don’t seem trust worthy. Regardless, Godzilla eats them all and crushes the rest, but neither side seemed to have a clue as to what they were doing.
They were yelling about submitting to peace the entire time. Godzilla just kept on blasting them which is probably a safe bet. Why would angels be in Hell anyway unless they were fallen ones? I guess some Earthlings tried to come here as well since we saw that Moguera was toasted. It was an odd comic, but it also helps support the argument that this is all real and not simply a dream the most in my opinion. I don’t have a lot of concrete arguments to support that, but this issue felt like it could be real. More on that at the end.
Issue 4 also had some pretty nice art. It was a little more realistic, but still pretty vibrant which is good because the whole issue is a big fight with King Ghidorah and Destoroyah. Godzilla has to use his wits to defeat these two since their combined might is far greater than his. It is cool to see him actually using strategy like dividing the opponents and taking them out on at a time. He loses though and the second half of the issue sees him die over and over again. The problem is that since he is in Hell, he cannot die for good. He has been cursed with immortality and it is a somber thought. At the end he breaks out of this part of hell and makes his way to the final challenges. This was my favorite story. As a big action fan, it was fun to see some fights here and Godzilla being portrayed as more than a mindless monster is always good.
Finally, the collection ended with Godzilla facing off against the elements and the actual demons from Hell. In their true forms, they were finally playing for keeps here. Unfortunately, they got a little too overconfident and after destroying Godzilla, they reanimated him with fire, which was enough to jump start his body and allow him to regenerate. They should have quit while they were ahead. It ends with Godzilla rising out of the water and you have to ask, did this all really happen or was it in his head? The answer will come in a moment. Meanwhile, the art here was not as good as the last few issues. The final shot with Godzilla rising it great and it’s better than the live action issue, but it is too gray-scale for me. Comics don’t always have to be vibrant, but it just didn’t look that good and everything was just too faded. Still a good issue, but it’s always sad to see Godzilla lose due to sheer numbers. It is part of why I don’t like the Megaguirus film.
In the end, my answer is that this was all a dream. The final issue does state that winning against yourself is greater than a thousand victories. It said that such a win can never be taken away and those lines of dialogue really support the fact that this was in Godzilla’s head. It is still a little iffy as Godzilla is not the type to ever doubt himself and I don’t think he would need to conquer his inner demons. Still, I suppose that even Kaiju have things that they need to think about so it is not totally unreasonable to believe that Godzilla has to come to terms with himself now and again. I’ve never been all that opposed to reading a series that ended with the plot twist of it all being a dream so it is not all that bad. It is open to interpretation so feel free to choose another theory to follow, but this is definitely the one that I follow.
Overall, I think this series definitely could have benefited from being longer. Of course, it could have had the opposite effect as it really depends on an issue to issue basis. If the writers started to run out of ideas, then it is always best to quit while you are ahead. I definitely recommend this to any Godzilla fan. The concept is simply too priceless to pass up. I think the average comic reader should be able to enjoy it as well. There is very little dialogue here so it is more of a visual experience than anything else. That’s something that everyone can ultimately appreciate in a comic as long as there is some kind of interesting plot/good characters to go alongside it. I’ve finally entered the world of Godzilla comics, hopefully I am able to read another one someday!
Overall 7/10
Any of you remember Calvin and Hobbes from the good ole days? I’d say that they were pretty popular when I was a kid and the name still rings a bell even if I did forget the actual characters entirely. Well, that’s what an essential collection is good for at any rate, now I can say that I definitely know each character and most of the running gags. It’s a pretty fun comic with the parents actually being the most interesting characters. They certainly keep Calvin in line. Each story ranged from 1 panel strip to a full 2 page event so the gags have to come in quickly and get right to the point. There is quite a bit of continuity though as supporting characters continue to show up and grudges are always held. Especially when the Babysitter comes into play.
The basic premise of the series is that Calvin is essentially your average kid. He has an imaginary friend named Hobbes who is actually his stuffed tiger. Calvin claims that he is real though and the story does force you to decide whether he is real or fake. I personally say that he’s fake since the Mom has actually sewn him back together a few times and he always turns back into a stuffed animal when other people are around. It’s possible that he is a magical tiger who can shift from being alive or a stuffed animal, but that seems a little far fetched so I may as well stick with my original theory. Calvin and Hobbes have a lot of adventures while they try to defy authority and have a good time. There are definitely a lot of similarities that can be drawn between this series and Peanuts.
Of course, Calvin is nothing like Charlie Brown. Charlie’s a model student who always does the right thing. Calvin aims to be the exact opposite and one subplot is that he’s always insulting one of his classmates. As a result, she doesn’t really get along with him although Calvin thinks that insulting her is a way to flirt. The logic is quite sad. Beyond that, he’s mostly a likable character although that’s a big “beyond that” I suppose. He’s always letting the Dad know how he can become more popular. The Dad doesn’t listen since he is the smartest character in the whole series. Calvin loves to try dangerous stunts so he will often race his way down a mountain or shoot himself through a few trees. He’s nothing if not brave.
As mentioned earlier, the parents are the most intense characters. The Dad always takes Calvin’s ideas in stride. When Calvin transformed into a Tiger (in his imagination) he asked the Dad what was different about him today. The Dad asked if he had a new haircut so Calvin quickly yelled that he was now a tiger. The Dad recovered by saying that he thought Calvin meant any differences besides being a tiger. Calvin’s trick questions just don’t fool the guy. He also reminds Calvin that he doesn’t need to worry about the opinions of the voters since being a Dad is a dictatorship. He doesn’t answer to Congress. The Dad consistently gets all of the best lines throughout the collection and his subtle sarcasm can always do wonders for the story. The ones without him present just aren’t quite as fun.
The Mom also likes to remind Calvin who’s in charge by slamming all of his ideas back down to Earth. She doesn’t use sarcasm as much as the Dad unfortunately, but sometimes the direct way is the best way. She did get the bully to stop picking on Calvin by calling his parents so that saved Calvin a lot of grief even if our noble main character would never admit to this. Naturally, the baby sitter is also pretty intense. Since the parents are never around at this point, she basically just threatens Calvin into following her orders all the time. She even gets extra money for it. You’ll feel bad for Calvin during the first round though because he is basically locked int he garage for the entire day. That’s definitely the saddest part for him in the whole collection when you really think about it. Seriously, the whole day in the garage with only his stuffed tiger as company….yikes!
We can’t forget about Hobbes either. He’s not quite as good as Calvin which means that he’s not really a great character. He’s essentially a broken compass to try and help Calvin make the wrong moves with his bad advice. He definitely fights with Calvin a lot as both of them threaten each other with the Baseball bat. Needless to say, both of them are always on their guard. They do team up to fight ghosts and help each other with boredom though so they’re still friends…they just have to always watch their backs.
The artwork is simple and effective. All of the pages and panels are clear which makes for an easy to read story. It holds up very well to this day and certainly beats some of the artwork that you see in today’s comics, which is an impressive feat for a comic this old. (Or a put down to the current ones. Depends on how you look at it of course) I’d like to see how the artwork would hold up for a fight scene, but that’s not in the cards at the moment.
As this series was always a rival to the Peanuts, I can’t finish this review without comparing the two of them a little now can I? I’d actually say that the Calvin and Hobbes comics may be a little more fun to read than Peanuts. Snoopy may be much better than any character in the Calvin series, but beyond that I’d say that the Calvin and Hobbes cast is still a lot better overall. They simply have better dialogue to work with and more personality as well. Purely as far as comics are concerned, I’d say that Calvin wins this rivalry. Granted, I haven’t read a great deal of comics from either side so this could always change.
Overall, Calvin and Hodge is a pretty fun batch of comics. I could see why they would be pretty popular in the Newspaper strips. The stories are engaging and the small cast allows for each character to have a lot of personality. There aren’t a whole lot of collections available at the moment so if you see this one then I’d definitely recommend it. It’s a fun little way to spend a few hours. There’s no action or a deep plot to speak of so it’ll bring you back to the simple days of old. Where you just read comics for a few laughs and the good dialogue that was brought along with it.
Overall 7/10
It’s time for the final Disney special that I’ve seen so far. This one features the long awaited team up between Donald and Goofy. I can’t say that I’m a big fan of Goofy. His character gimmick of not being too smart has been done more successfully by other characters like Knuckles from Sonic Boom. That being said, he was a little better here than I had expected. Goofy tries to capture some fish alive so he can take them back somewhere while Donald wants to eat Penguins for Brunch. Think of it like Batman V Superman with the moral dilemmas of this. Goofy gets a pretty neat song about how he catches them and keeps them alive. It was pretty hype and you feel bad for Goofy since he had better motives than Donald here, but still gets soundly defeated by nature in the end.
As for Donald, he’s essentially the antagonist here. He’s always trying to stir up some trouble and make life a little dicey for the Penguins. Luckily, they were onto him and his plans were spoiled yet again. He should have just kept on eating the beans right? I do like beans quite a bit, but they are one of the few foods that I actually would get bored with so I can totally sympathize with Donald’s reluctance to eat them. I can’t sympathize with his plan to eat a Penguin though. As with the other two specials, the animation is nice and smooth here. It’s a neat coincidence that all three specials took place with a lot of ice and snow. I suppose if it works, it works right?
Overall, It was neat to see the two heroes team up. “Hero” is a bit of an ambitious term for these two characters though. It was good to see the Penguins put them in their place as they reminded the main characters of who was really in charge here. It’s not quite as good as Corn Chips, but I’d say that it beat Rescue Dog. Once again, the short is only a few minutes so you’ll be able to blast through it in no time. I can definitely see the appeal of a good short as well, it is easy to just plug it in and watch without making a long time commitment. It’s a good style for telling stories as long as there is no really big plot.
Overall 6/10
It’s time for the next Disney short. This one focused on good ole Donald Duck. He was too lazy to shovel the snow out of his front yard so he tricked Chip n Dale into doing it. They weren’t too thrilled about this and decided to steal his Popcorn. It quickly becomes a battle of wits and brawn as the two groups fight to take control of the popcorn. The loser will be left hungry and in the cold so the stakes are certainly very real. This special is a lot more entertaining than the Rescue Dog one because Donald is a more interesting main character. He’s someone you can easily root for even if his actions are morally dubious. Tricking Chip n Dale is not something that you can do lightly after all, but Donald is nothing if not charismatic.
Chip n Dale aren’t quite as likable and are more annoying than anything else. They didn’t start this whole charade so you can’t give them 100% of the blame, but it would certainly help a lot if they could talk a little more. The little animal mascots can be fun, but they needed more personality if you ask me. The snow in the background is always fun to have and Donald’s home looks like a pretty cozy place to be. The animation is smooth like you would expect and as the special is only about 5-8 minutes long, it ends in a flash. That means the pacing has to be very quick the whole time. We get some brief fight scenes between the three characters. In the end, one team does win so luckily there are no cop outs.
Overall, Corn Chips is an improvement over Rescue Dog. I was waiting for a special with Donald in the lead and I ended up getting it just how I would have wanted. The only way to make this better would be to have Donald and Mickey team up. I’m sure we’ll get that soon. I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t like this special as it is so short and I recommend it if you want a glimpse into Disney’s past. This should bring back memories for the older readers on the blog.
Overall 7/10
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