Well, the Ghostbusters are back in town and they definitely mean business! They may have taken down the Marshmallow Man last time, but the new villains attack on a more personal level. The heroes are already down and out from the last film so this could get dangerous for them. Unfortunately, this film suffers from most of the flaws of the first film and is less funny. It’s definitely a mixed bag here.
So, The Ghostbusters have once again been branded as a group of guys who don’t know what they are doing. People don’t respect them anymore and that’s never a good thing. Peter is still flirting with Dana despite being gone for so long and the other Ghostbusters have been reduced to appearing at parties. These are dark times for the heroes, but they are forced to come together again when a mysterious incident puts Dana’s baby in danger. The heroes know that it’s probably the work of a ghost somewhere, but proving that will be difficult. Little do they know that the villain is close to home!
One of the problems with this film is that nothing really happens for the majority of the film. There is no sense of danger or plot as the heroes just walk around making jokes. The villain’s plan doesn’t make a whole lot of sense since he will be vulnerable for at least 10-20 years. See, the villain is currently inside of a painting and he wants to possess the baby’s body so that he can live again. The problem is that he’ll still be a baby….so it’s not a great plan. The villain doesn’t really have any character and he’s not a threat so we can safely ignore him.
The film also gives us a rather underwhelming minion in the form of Janosz. He can’t fight and he likes Dana so he is another flirt that we didn’t need. Anytime he is on screen is a time for you to go stretch your legs. This is actually one of those films where you can easily fall asleep if you aren’t careful so you’ll want to stay vigilant to stop this from happening.
The main characters are all still in character. Peter still spends too much time cracking jokes and mocking his teammates to actually be a good ghost buster and the other two main members don’t tend to take the initiative in a case. They will always be Peter’s subordinates even if they try to take charge. One of the Ghostbusters, Winston, tends to appear and disappear with no real reason. It’s like the writers weren’t sure whether they should keep him in the film or not so his appearances are rather sporadic. He tends to look good while on screen and he’s actually the best member of the 4, but he doesn’t feel as important to the plot as he could have been.
Unfortunately, we get a subplot with Louis and Janine as they continue to be two characters who are hard to watch. They add the romance plot to this film (Alongside Dana and Peter’s plot) and their scenes are all rather terrible. They definitely make it hard to really enjoy the film and taking them out altogether would have been a great move on the film’s part. They just don’t add anything to the adventure.
I still like the main Ghostbuster theme, but I’m not crazy about the other themes and remixes that are added to this film. They simply aren’t as catchy or entertaining. They’re not that bad I suppose, but I would have been content with the film just choosing to spam the main theme over and over. It’s almost as catchy as the Men in Black theme and that’s saying something!
Now, we looked at most of the negatives in the film so now let’s look at some positives aside from the soundtrack. One positive is the move that the Mayor’s right hand man made towards the end of the film. The Ghostbusters were threatening to tell the press about the ooze so the guy told them that he knew someone downtown who would be interested in the story. The Ghostbusters figured that they could spend a few minutes, but then they were quickly thrown into the psych ward and locked up in straight jackets. That was pretty rich and it was fun to see them taken down so quickly. I always like when someone pulls a fast one like that. Naturally, Peter quickly tried to convince the men there that the other Ghostbusters were crazy since his own safety must always come first.
Another fun scene is the court case. I always love those moments and this was no exception as the Judge was pretty biased against the heroes from the start. That’s what I like to see and the heroes put up a decent defense, but they were simply doomed from the start. Peter gets to almost turn the tides when he says the classic “Who you gonna call” line, but he is eventually shut down. Still, that was a pretty fun case.
Finally, it was cool to see how Peter had moved on from the Ghostbusters gig and now had his own show. That’s pretty impressive considering how he is not typically seen as a team player. He was able to put up a pretty good facade of interest as he listened to two people discuss how the Earth was going to end soon. Nothing fazes Peter and while he has many undesirable qualities, at least he is always ready with a witty one liner. This is why he can’t be stopped.
That’s about it for positives. The film can be funny at times, but it just feels like this film was rushed out without as much inspiration as the first one. They really should have brought back the Marshmallow Man so that we could have had more excitement. Speeding up the plot would have also been a good idea since nothing really happens until the very end of the film. Audiences don’t want to wait that long and neither do I.
Overall, I can’t say that I really recommend this Ghostbusters title. If you want to see the legendary franchise, just check out the first film. This one gets distracted by romance way too often and the villains are pretty bad. They certainly don’t strike fear into the hearts of many and they manage to be uninteresting as well, which is not a good mix. Their plan was even worse and the heroes didn’t look as noble as they should have. Yes, I highly recommend watching the original Men in Black instead.
Overall 5/10
It’s time to read one of the Batman Beyond comics. I believe that this is actually the first one that I’ve checked out and it’s good to see the the characters once again. Even though the title talks about Batgirl Beyond, she only gets a quick comic and actually isn’t that important to the plot. So, this would definitely rank pretty high on the misleading covers list. It’s still a pretty good adventure though even if we don’t get many serious villains yet.
The first adventure is an 8 part comic that takes place after Joker’s mad onslaught against the city. Bruce Wayne is critically injured and Dana is still trying to work past the traumatic events that have occurred. She decides that she will help Terry from now on in his quest against crime. She doesn’t really get to appear after that, but I’m sure that she will be back. Batman deals with one of his old sonic themed foes before realizing that it is a distraction. The real villain has kidnapped one of his friends and intends to destroy the city..and maybe even the world. Batman will have to hurry on over if he’s going to make it on time.
It’s a pretty good adventure and we definitely get our fair share of action. A lot of the story is running directly from the Joker incident so it probably won’t have the same emotional impact that it would have if we actually read that comic. Dana’s bro turning evil must have been a big twist..although I don’t think we ever saw him before that so maybe we wouldn’t have been surprised. Terry’s doubts about being Batman aren’t that great though as I feel that just about every teenage superhero seems to go through that doubting period and it gets old after a while. Batman never doubted himself so often back in the good ole days. I’m fine with Dana knowing Terry’s secret, but I hope that they mostly stay in the friend zone or that the romance at least doesn’t become a huge part of the series.
After that the Batgirl comic starts and it seems to really be a stand alone title at this point. Barbara Gordan finds out that one of the neighborhoods is getting pretty violent and people are fighting in the streets. She heads over to investigate, but is quickly defeated by the crooks. She’s saved by the new Batgirl who lets her know that they have been turned crazy by some kind of poison. Barbara Gordan goes to the nearest company to get to the bottom of this, but she may be in trouble now. Batgirl will have to come to her aid once more, but can the vigilante be trusted!?
I’m sure that Batgirl will inevitably meet up with Batman Beyond at some point, but so far this comic was basically filler. Batgirl seems like a decent fighter, but only decent. I don’t see how she will be anywhere near Batman level anytime soon since she is self taught and you can’t become a grandmaster in a year or two like that. She does pretty well in this comic though and Batgirl seems like she isn’t crossing any lines yet. She’ll be a good supporting character to have and maybe she’ll even help Barbara stay more relevant in this series. Having the two of them team up could make for a pretty good subplot.
Finally, we also get a bonus comic at the end where Ink returns. She wants to be human so she gets someone to give her a serum, but what side effects will this have? Ink has no time to worry about this as Batman shows up so the two of them begin to battle. Ink will need to think of something quickly to turn the tides against this futuristic superhero!
That comic is pretty short and the art takes a dip. It’s decent enough and the adventure is fun, but it’s certainly a stretch to see how Ink gets away in the comic. She seems outmatched from the start and Batman had every possible edge. It should have been easy for him to have won the match, but I guess he just wasn’t prepared to get scratched. Ah well, it beats the average bonus comic that you see at the end of a trade paperback.
Aside from the last comic where I wasn’t a big fan of the art, the trade is pretty consistent in how it looks. It’s not going to go down as one of the greatest pieces in DC history, but the character designs and battle scenes look pretty smooth. The art definitely works and it helps kick in the nostalgia glasses that I always wanted. I definitely have no complaints with it.
We get some guest stars in the form of the Metal Men. It’s good to see them return to the front lines and they seem to be pretty dependable as supporting characters for Batman. They’re the kind of characters that I wouldn’t want to appear too often since they could get old very quickly, but appearing once in a while won’t hurt. They seem likely to appear again soon based on how their character arc ended.
Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne seems to finally be learning about the values of teamwork. I guess a near death experience coupled with Terry’s doubts has forced him to think of all the options at his disposal. Bringing in more and more allies will definitely keep the world safe as well as attract more super villain groups. Actually, that reminds me of another story in this comic and actually the best one of the batch. That would be the Batman vs Batman Beyond comic. Bruce finds out that Terry is slowly losing his mind and he’s forced to take out the hero before Terry can hurt someone. It shows that Bruce can still fight even at his old age and he will always have the edge over Terry. With prep time, I have no doubt that this is true.
There is some plot hax in the fight of course and without prep time, Batman Beyond should definitely win. That being said, I don’t mind a little plot hax here since Wayne is in the lead. Terry is a pretty decent hero and he still acts like a mix of Batman and Spider Man. Again, I don’t care for the fact that he is doubting whether to be a superhero or not, but I’m sure that he’ll get over this soon. All true heroes overcome their doubts at some point and now that he’ll have more allies, the fight against crime will be much easier.
Overall, Batman Beyond gives us a pretty good adventure here. The title is very misleading, but maybe Batgirl’s comic got a lot of buzz when it came out so they wanted to capitalize on that. Regardless, none of the issues are actually bad and we get a good amount of action. The villain who unleashes the giant metal monster is pretty underwhelming though and she has an anticlimactic end after such a strong start. She is probably a one shot villain who will never appear again and I hope that this is the case as we don’t need any more third rate villains. I want more guys like the sound villain and even Ink since these villains tend to put up a good fight or at least talk tough before taking the loss. I recommend checking this comic out and especially if you’re a fan of the Batman Beyond comics. Time to see if Batman Beyond makes the right choice to tough it out as Batman!
Overall 7/10
Stats time!
Hacienda of Toro Oro 1 Coin 1/10 Green Jewels 1 Silver Trophy
The Matador of Santa Cruz 2 Silver Trophies
Trapped in the Town Square 5 Gold Coins 5/10 Green Jewels
Abandoned Canyon 2 Gold Coins 2/10 Green Jewels
Crisis at the Mission 3 Gold Coins 3/10 Green Jewels
Confrontation with Calavera 1 Silver Trophy
Rescue at the Docks 1 Gold Coin 1/10 Green Jewels
Smuggler’s Galleon 2 Gold Coins 2/10 Green Jewels
Calavera’s Hideout 3 Gold Coins 3/10 Green Jewels 1 Silver Trophy
Valley of Silence 0 of Everything
Guardian of the Gate 1 Silver Trophy
City of Silence 1 Gold Coin 1/10 Green Jewels 1 Silver Trophy
Battle for Zapotec’s Tomb 2 Gold Coins 2/10 Green Jewels
The Mask of Zapotec 2 Silver Trophies
Time to check out one of the classic Wii games that I got from the 5 dollar bin recently. Naturally, these games are typically in the 5 dollar bin for a good reason, but that never deters me from grabbing a game with potential. Zorro certainly has this as it’s an action game with a lot of fighting, but it manages to really blow most of its opportunities.
The plot sees Zorro vanquish some evil doers before he meets the toughest opponent yet. Mr. Calavera kidnaps the main heroine of the story and he heads off to an ancient location to become the King of the people there. He has already tricked them all so Zorro will have to infiltrate the island and defeat all of the guards. Once he has done that, nothing can protect Calavera from Zorro’s fury!
It’s a rather basic plot, but that helps it achieve that retro feel that the developers were aiming for. There are 14 levels in the game and some of them can be 5-9 minutes while others will take around 20-25 to complete. Typically, the levels tend to be on the long side, which can really make them drag on at times. A level will usually have you defeat a certain number of enemies, break an object, beat more enemies, and maybe even walk a little if you’re lucky. Diffusing bombs is easily the worst part of the game.
Battling enemies sounds fun, but that’s where the game eats up most of your time. You’ll have to defeat enemies in batches of 10 many times and you can’t defeat an opponent as easily as you would expect. Most enemies take 8 hits to defeat and the bigger ones require more of an effort from you. When they gather in groups, you’ll need to try to get some hits in through hit and run tactics, which are always a little risky. Sometimes, I would die 6-7 times before defeating an enemy because it is very difficult to separate them.
This is where the “unlimited lives” part comes into the equation. When you die, you are sent back a few steps, but the enemies keep their current health status. So, even if you lose a few dozen times, you can wear down the enemies eventually. It just takes some time and a good strategy at the ready. The only times where you can actually die and have to restart the area is when the bombs are present. I was taken out by them during one of the levels. (I blame it on the controls) Replaying a 17 minute level can definitely be dicey and I’m glad that it only happened once. There’s a chance that you can also lose in the second final level with the tower, but I didn’t lose there so I’m not positive about that. If there was ever a game that deserved to have infinite lives, it was this one. You really need them since there are no checkpoints and starting from the beginning is never any fun.
For the controls, this is back during the good ole Wii Remote days. You just swing it around a lot to slash at the opponents and jab at the screen for a stab. Stabs are the most effective attacks since you can KO almost any opponent in two hits with it. (The final boss takes 3 to defeat him) The reason why you need 8 attacks to usually win a battle is that normal attacks have no effect on the villains. They help you build up stamina so that you can hold B and then use the same attacks to actually deal damage. 3 hits gives you enough meter for one stab so you repeat the process once more. That lets you beat just about any opponent in the game. You also have Z attacks that lets you do a quick combo which also gives you back some health. It’s useful although it does around the same damage as a stab.
Zorro has a lasso that you can use, but it barely even stuns an opponent so there’s never a reason to use it in battle. It comes in handy for the platforming areas though as you jump from place to place. Considering that this game is not exactly a big budget title, you can see how the controls can be problematic. Using an attack that you didn’t intend too or watching an opponent slash you through a wall are common occurrences. One of the final bosses was pretty annoying with this as the goal of the fight is to let him hit a totem pole while you hide behind it. Many times, he would just slash right through it and knock you out. 2-3 hits are usually enough to beat Zorro so that is never a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, the retro feeling doesn’t help for the cutscenes. Zorro is the kind of hero that you can’t root for as he is always looking for romance and flirting with his alter ego’s friend is not beneath him. You really can’t root for the guy and his dialogue can be pretty off at times. He just talks in a 40’s manner as he says his lines very slowly and he loves to insult his opponents while talking. “Do you mind fighting up wind” is a line that you will probably hear about 100 times as you play the game since the dialogue can be pretty limited. The cutscenes are all stills so don’t expect any big cutscenes.
The soundtrack is definitely old and it’s not very engaging. You will barely hear it as you are playing anyway, but it’s definitely worth noting. The graphics are pretty sub par as well. The game often forgets to switch the head on the top when a character is talking and almost all of the enemies look the same. There isn’t a whole lot of detail added to anything so all of the backgrounds begin to look the same after a while. I’ve seen Super Nintendo games that have looked better to be honest as the classic Super Mario World games have a lot more detail and refinement. Actually, this is probably one of the worst looking games of all time and that is a little sad.
In the game’s defense, the combat system did have potential. Chipping away at an enemy’s health using strategic moves sounds pretty good in theory does it not? The bosses had some fairly unique gimmicks like being immune to all hits except counters. The game never tells you what to do against them, but you tend to figure it out pretty quickly. Swinging the Wii Remote around isn’t even all that bad and had the enemies had smaller health bars, it could have been better. The problem is that the battles simply drag a lot so you ultimately stop having fun. The final boss is hilariously bad as you just block all of his hits for what feels like an eternity before finally getting the chance to counter and beating him in 3 hits.
Finally, the game has its share of glitches as well. There were quite a few times where I ended up getting frozen in place because my foot sank into the ground. The pixels must not have been solid enough and I could only watch as a sniper shot me from the distance. It’s a pretty sad way to go and if it was a 3D game you may have tried to yell for help only to realize that there are no allies in this game to come to your aid. That’s quite the predicament right?
Overall, The Destiny of Zorro is certainly not one of the better games out there. I had been tempted to give the game a 6 star rating as the gameplay was not terrible and the actual game just dragged it down from a 7. Unfortunately, playing the game more and more began to expose it as a worse game than that. I feel like a 6 would just be a little too positive for this title and a 4 feels more appropriate. The graphics and soundtrack only add to this feeling. The main reason why this game gets a negative ranking though is that it can be a little boring. It was a bit of a struggle trying to power through the final levels of the game and I blame that on how long they were. You’ll feel relieved to part ways from the game by the end and I really don’t see myself ever playing it again. I dare say that the first levels were better than the latter ones, but that is probably because they were shorter and didn’t drag on as much. I beat 4-5 levels on my first sitting and then just beat 1-2 on my other attempts before powering through the final 4 yesterday. I definitely don’t recommend this title and you should just go out and buy Super Smash Bros for Wii U if you want a good party fighting game.
Overall 4/10
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