Trigun Badlands Rumble Review

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I watched the Trigun series not too long ago and it was pretty fun. It was probably the first anime that I’ve seen in a while that could make an old wild west fight actually be fun. (Granted that this isn’t the same “Wild West” that you see in the films. The film came out pretty recently so it would be interesting to see how the animation has changed over the years. It wouldn’t be as nostalgic for me as it would be for the original fans since the gap between the show and movie was relatively short in my case. That being said, I was ready for anything!

The plot involved Vash The Stampede…also known as the Humanoid Typhoon as he saves the life of a notorious villain called Gasback. Since Vash opposes death in all cases, he lets all of the villains get away. 20 years later, Gasback is back and he wants revenge on the three underlings who betrayed him. He enlists the help of Wormwood, who cannot refuse because he owes his life to Gasback. Vash happens to be in town and he must protect everyone while also making sure that nobody dies in this big adventure. Meryl and Milly are also around because they can’t afford to let Gasback win and break the statue in town. If he does, then the insurance company may be out of business for good! A bounty hunter by the name of Amelia is also in town and she has a personal vandetta against Gasback. Everyone heads to the same town with their own reasons and the fight starts!

Well, this film was a nice throwback to the old days of Trigun. Vash’s character is definitely like his older days, but I’m afraid that it’s not a really good thing. He can be a solid character in some scenes, but he’s very over the top when it comes to Amelia so it’s really hard/impossible to root for him. He’s just not the noble main character that you would expect to see in this film. He’s really powerful and he doesn’t have a challenge in the whole film since the villains are mere mortals, but he likes to give them a shot to fight back. He pretends to be weak while he beats the opponent “by accident”. At one point, he steals everyone’s bullets in the blink of an eye which is an impressive speed feat and shows just how much of his abilities he is holding back.

Gasback is the main villain of the film and he’s all right. He’s not very impressive as far as villains go, but he’s good with a gun. He just doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of the heroes because he isn’t a threat. He gets some character development and he’s one of the nicer villains since he doesn’t always destroy people for no reason. He just wants to commit the perfect crime.

Meryl and Milly are still around as per usual, but they don’t look incredibly good. Milly still has her gun at the ready and likes to insult people to their face, but she doesn’t get much of a role. She still looked a lot better than Meryl. Meryl ends up getting drunk and she tends to panic a lot more when it comes to Vash The Stampede. I definitely prefer Milly as a character and she tends to take things in stride while Meryl panics.

Amelia is the main heroine in this film and she has the tragic backstory that comes with most characters who are introduced in an anime film. She’s a decent shot and she has some decent combat skills, but I wouldn’t say that she was necessary to the story. She’s a decent bounty hunter and she has a grudge with Gasback, but she is usually just attacked by other bounty hunters or harassed by Vash The Stampede. At least she manages to keep him away for the most part, but getting drunk at the bar didn’t help her case either. She’s a decent character in the end, she certainly could have been worse. (Naruto movie 5 heroine)

Wolfwood was one of the cooler characters in the TV show, but he doesn’t look that good in this film. The main villain saves his life so he decides to work for him for a while, but this job involves dangerous operations which will prove deadly for a lot of people. Wolfwood doesn’t seem to mind since his “honor” is on the line. I didn’t find anything honorable in his actions and it made him seem like a pretty bad character. His portrayal was definitely bad in this film, but it happens to everyone at some point. (Vegeta in the Broly film)

The animation in this film was decent, but not really that great. It definitely didn’t help me gain any respect for Mad House. (Studio Pierrot is where it’s at) They may have been trying to give it a bit of a dated feel since it takes place in an “old” setting, but it just could have looked so much better. I would actually say that the TV show can hold its own to the movie in animation and that shouldn’t be possible. The film came out in 2010 so I was expecting something a little more polished. That being said, there wasn’t anything wrong with the animation. It was solid, but it looked more like an average episode than a big movie.

I still have to wonder why everyone fears Vash The Stampede! He got a huge rep, but I don’t really see why. The whole moon incident was intense, but nobody should believe that and everyone who does see Vash either thinks that he is faking or quickly becomes scared of him. Vash walks around in public all of the time and he’s always a nice fellow. I don’t really see why the reputation still persists, but I do like his “Humanoid Typhoon” nickname. It’s also cool to see everyone yell Vash The Stampede whenever he appears.

I do have to say that Gasback’s big invasion towards the end is very hard to believe. There are dozens and dozens of bounty hunters and Gasback just runs right up the middle. He was not in a tank and he had no real protection as he just blasted away at them all. There’s no way that all of the bullets and rockets would miss the guy and he should have been down for the count instantly. There is nothing superhuman about this guy and he’s just an average joe. He’s actually pretty old because he was already old before the 20 year timeskip. The plot hax was strong in those scenes, but most films have a few of those scenes I suppose.

Overall, this was a fun movie. It was nice to see Vash and the gang fight a new opponent. That being said, it was more like a homage to the old series than a full movie. It was movie length and technically, it was a big adventure. The thing is, since there was no threat and we didn’t really get any fight scenes until the end, it just felt more like a side story or a filler episode. This film just didn’t have a cinematic feeling to it and in that regard it’s like the OVA that DBZ came up with where they just had fun and had a brief fight at the end. It’s fun in its own right and you’ll likely still enjoy the film if you haven’t seen the show. That being said, I’d recommend the show a little more highly than the movie.

Overall 6/10

The Lone Ranger Review

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Ah, the Lone Ranger…..this was a franchise that I could never get into. Despite the fact that the comics tend to get good reviews, they always looked pretty bad to me. The movie didn’t really look any better as it mixes the things that I don’t like in films together. The fact that it’s a wild west film and that there are no likable characters (Yes, I can tell when there were no likable characters from the trailers!) were not signs of hope for me. The only viewable entertainment that was able to pull off the whole “Wild West” aspect was Trigon and the best parts of that show don’t even take place in that setting. (Ex: Final battle is in a garden…a Garden!!!!!)

Anyway, back to the movie. Before I reveal that Spoiler Alert the whole thing is actually a fairy tale told by an old man who hangs out at a museum, I need to mention that the Lone Ranger is fake in this film. The real main character is a little kid who buys peanuts for sale and then goes to the museum to check out the exhibits. Sooooooo…….the whole movie is a story that may or may not be real, but let’s ignore that and just enjoy the story for what it is. End Spoiler

The Lone Ranger starts off his “epic” film debut by throwing a poor girl’s toy out the window. It’s not the greatest start and was probably the tipping point of the film. It all went downhill from there as he ran after the crooks while a lot of happenstance took place. Believe it or not….but the cops had arrested a villain for a change, but they tied him up right over a gun and his hands are barely cuffed so he was able to put it in his coat. Now, we know that there are traitors everywhere because according to this movie, everyone is basically evil until proven innocent. The army is able to be bought off with silver. I can’t even….

Even if you consider the fact that the traitor put the gun there and set him up, how did they manage to put him right over it? That’s some serious coincidence and the traitor putting him on that seat is still a little iffy. If the cops weren’t so drunk on power and beer, they would have stopped him as he was opening the floorboard. Still, we mustn’t get distracted just yet! I’ve barely mentioned the plot within the plot. One thing leads to another and the Lone Ranger dies. Tonto saves him and they decide to have a blast and beat people up as they head off to their destiny and avenge the Lone Ranger’s bro.

It’s not much of a plot description, but I hadn’t the heart to keep on going. Just think of a really generic plot and you’ll have figured this movie out. Honestly, I’d compare it to the likes or Pirates of the Carrabean and Sucker Punch which is a really (really) sad thing. This is probably Disney’s worst film of all time and easily one of the worst films that I’ve seen. It made the mistake of having the three big Vs. Animal Violence, (Every other minute it felt like. Horses, Rabbits, and a lot of other animals die as the film goes on) Gross Violence, (One of the characters is a cannibal….yeah, Disney went there) and Excessive Violence. (Back to the cannibal and every other fighting scene. Nearly every fight would have a scene or two that is not necessary and just makes the whole scene a lot more violent and unwatchable. Seriously, the film has absolutely no replay value and I deeply hope that they don’t make a sequel)

It’s hard to think of the film without wincing. It’s like the film was mocking the very essence of my being as I sat there and winced through the 2+ hour film that was incinerating every piece of morale that films had. I can’t think of anything that it did right. The main character is pretty weak, generic, and unheroic. The girl that he likes was married to his brother and he basically starts flirting with her (Right in front of his bro btw) as soon as he sees her. I knew that he would be an unlikable character right at that moment.

Let’s not forget his partner, Tonto. Tonto is pretty annoying as well and he has quite a few moments that will make you grimace. The “steralized” arrow comes to mind and you may need a barf bag for this film. The film isn’t as gross as the humor in Pirates, but there are times when it comes very close. There is also a lot of jumping in this film as we go to the “future” and the “past” and then back to the “present” Quotations must be used because we must remember that this is not as it appears. (See, spoiler paragraph for details)

Writing about this film is easy since everything is a negative, but that’s also why it’s tough for me to stay on one topic for long. My review may seem a little scattered as I jump from one point to another, but there’s so much to cover that I just don’t want to miss anything. Needless to say, there isn’t anything redeemable about this film.

Need I go on? The characters are all bad, the film is excessively violent, this film is not suitable for…anyone since I highly do not recommend the film. If you want to see something even remotely cool or fun, go watch an episode of Blues Clues. At least you’ll likely learn something in the process. All that you can learn in this film is what not to do. Seriously, someone jumps off of a very fast train at least 10+ feet to another train and he lands on a bunch of Silver Rocks. Not only is the character okay, but he’s not hurt in the slightest. I usually would have taken a step back for something like that, but I expected no less from the film.

I’m not sure how much more I can really say. Just…do not watch it. Spare yourself and just watch anything else. Maybe take a stroll in your backyard and play with your Dog. You can also go check out the 1 star reviews for the film on various sites and you can have a good laugh. It’s something that I enjoy doing as well! I hope that I’ve reached you all in time before you got to see the film. Who knows, maybe some of you would like it….but don’t count on it! This is the worst film that I’ve seen since Sucker Punch and that’s saying something. Hollywood is truly going downhill. (I refer to any Live Action Film as a “Hollywood” product if it’s from America…just saiyan)

Overall 1/10

Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones Review

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It’s time for the much awaited sequel to Star Wars Episode I. We are getting closer to the original trilogy since 10 years have passed in the story. With Anakin as the main character (Or at least one of the main characters) this would have to be a success…right? Unfortunately, this is easily the weakest Star Wars film to date and it’s about time that we see why!

As is the norm with films in the Star Wars series, there is more than one plot going on in this movie. Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are hired to protect Senator Padme since there are those that would wish to defeat her once and for all. She does not want to be terminated, but she does want to know who’s behind all of this and suspects Dooku. The Jedi laugh this off since Dooku was a Jedi and thus, he cannot be evil. The Jedi seemed to be pretty proud of themselves for coming up with this fact and brushed the notion aside. If only they could use The Force to find out!

Later on, Obi Wan is called away to locate the bounty hunter who is after Senator Padme so he is forced to leave his post. Anakin and Padme head off on their own adventure to find out what has happened to Anakin’s mother. There are a lot of plots that happen within the movie, but since they all continue from each other, it’s hard to go into more depth with them. Needless to say, a big war could occur if things do not stop very quickly!

So, what went wrong with this film? The plot sounds like it has potential and Anakin gets a big role! Well, let’s start off with Anakin’s portrayal. He looks awful in this film and you just want him to stop appearing after his first few scenes. He’s one of the worst main heroes of a movie that I’ve seen in a while and he’s as annoying as Russio. He may not be quite as bad as someone like James T Kirk, but he is definitely pretty low. He constantly pesters Padme about how they should be together and he can never stay professional. He’s always talking back to Obi Wan and even disagrees with Padme when they are in front of a lot of important people. He also basically admits that he prefers a dictatorship to democracy and starts his way to becoming a villain. It’s inevitable that he turns evil, but he does so in a very bad way. He comes off as more of a throwaway villain who talks a good game, but is really desperate and not really that tough.

An example of this is during the climax when he attacks someone and is quickly defeated in a single blow. After a long time, Anakin wakes up and is quickly dispatched by another blow. He looks so awful that you are likely to cheer in the theater when he is defeated, but it doesn’t do wonders for the character. He was definitely not handled well in this film and if not for the expanded universe he would be a pretty awful character right now. (He looked bad in Episodes V and VI as well)

The next big flaw in the film is that it does not live up to its name. For starters, what happened to Star Wars being about battles in space? We don’t really get any of that anymore and I miss the days of fighting in space. It was so much fun back in the day and now we only have ground fights. They’re pretty good, but it’s still inexcusable. Also, the title is Attack of the Clones, but they do not fight until the end of the movie, during the climax. That can definitely be disappointing if you are looking forward to seeing the Clone/Storm Troopers in action.

Another negative would be the excessive romance in the film. It’s handled poorly and the writing was just terrible and the plot for the scenes was even worse. Padme and Anakin were just friends back in the day, but Anakin has become a very twisted person who is not satisfied anymore. She constantly tells him that they can never be together, but he keeps pestering her until they are. That’s definitely not a good romance and it was sad that she weakened in the end. Instead of a happy moment, it was just a wince worthy scene that will make you cringe inside. As you can guess, I do not like Anakin at all in this film and the same goes for Padme.

The scene where Anakin finds his mother and finally rescues her also should have been cut out. She was kidnapped days ago and she’s still alive. Sure, this gives Anakin more of a sad back story so that he’ll have more reason to turn evil, but he was already clearly on the path to becoming a Sith anyway. If we needed another sad element, they just could have had her be destroyed by the Sand people and then Anakin saves her. That would have been a lot better than having her still be alive to quickly die right when he arrives. The scene was definitely a little too gruesome and also hurts the replay value of the story.

Not everyone looked bad as Yoda finally backed up all of his tough talk and he got to fight. It is definitely more than a little hard to take him seriously at this point, but he proved that he is a skilled combatant. He is fast, but his lack of strength could be a bit of an issue. He definitely looked more impressive than the other Jedi, who are reduced to cannon fodder in this film.

That’s another problem that I have with the Jedi. I do not like any of them in this film and while Yoda and Obi Wan may not be bad characters, I don’t really care for them either. The Jedi actually lose to random blasts and Jango Fett took one of them down for the count. The Jedi have never looked very impressive in the films, but they looked even worse than usual in this film. At least half of them were slaughtered by random droids and it would appear that the Force did not find favor with them. The Jedi appear to be stronger than average Cops, but they’re still only at about Chitauri level. Average humans could feasibly defeat them if they’re good with a gun. The Jedi could use the Force in much better ways, but they do not seem to comprehend this.

At least Jango Fett was a cool character. He is a solid fighter in his jetpack and he effortlessly defeated a Jedi. That’s a pretty solid feat and he also managed to defeat Obi Wan Kenobi. The way that he lost at the end was pure plot hax and just an excuse to finish up the movie. After seeing him in the Bounty Hunter game, I can definitely say that he wouldn’t have died like that.

Emperor Dooku was a pretty sharp fighter and definitely tougher than I would have guessed. He made the Jedi look like kids as he was completely annihilating them without effort. It was a sad day for the Jedi, but a pretty happy day for Dooku. Maybe he could take on Darth Vader or Darth Maul in a fair fight. C-3PO, R2D2, and Jar Jar Binks all make cameos. They’re about the same as usual, but C-3PO is pretty intense as he actually betrays the Jedi at one point and probably took a few of them down with his lasers.

The fight scenes in the film are pretty intense which is always a good thing. The effects hold up well and we are in the 2000’s so I should expect no less. The Lightsabers still seem to be easily breakable, but it’s fun to see them clash. We also got a brief hand to hand fight scene with Obi Wan and Jango Fett. The effects for Jango’s booster are also pretty good.

Finally, we do have another big negative and it is the excessive animal violence. At one point, the “heroes” are thrown into an arena with three giant monsters. You can probably guess what happens to the animals and it isn’t pretty. It was really unneeded, but a lot of films tend to make this mistake nowadays. It is pretty disappointing to see and I will always have to take away points for such awful scenes.

Overall, I did not care for this Star Wars film. Not only was it the worst one in the series, but it was not even close. This film was a lot more negative than positive so the low rating should not come as a huge surprise by the end. The film had potential for great things, thanks to the action and Jango Fett, but it was not to be. I can’t say that this helps my hopes for the next film in the series, but it can’t get any worse I suppose. I do not recommend this film and if you want a real space adventure, check out Gurren Lagann!

Overall 3/10

Heroman Review

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After watching the anime, it’s easier to appreciate the manga and look at the differences. Was the anime a straight adaption? Yes, for the most part although it does change some things from the manga. It’s time to see if the original is truly superior and how far it will go in the grand scheme of things. Let’s find out!

The plot involves Joey Jones as he has always wanted to be a Hero, but he lacks the power. His friends try to tell him that heart is what matters, but he won’t have any of that. Instead, he finds a toy that one of the bullies from school threw away and using his determination and a bolt of lightning, turns it into a superhero…Heroman, to be precise! With Heroman at his side, Joey now has the courage to stand up to his foes and the determination to do the right things when it counts. After defeating supernatural samurai and other threats….there is an alien invasion! Can Joey stop the Aliens in time to stop the next threats that arise or will it prove too much for him? He has other adventures along the way and the final plot deals with the remnants of the invasion as they attempt to destroy the planet. This manga is definitely full of excitement!

The art is pretty good for the series and it’s very clear. The art reminds me of Bleach and that’s always a good thing. It’s nice and simple so you can usually tell what is going on right away. When the fight scenes occur, it can get a little tough at times, but for the most part it’s solid. The fight scenes still do have good art, but they just might not be as easy to decipher at times. There aren’t any really long fight scenes in the manga, but the first battle between Heroman and Gogorr is definitely the highlight of the series in that regard. The artist does a good job showing off Joey’s super speed, although I believe that speed lines would be more effective than the use of after images. Both ways are effective so it still works, but it’s a lot harder to gauge his speed using the latter. (Luckily we have the anime for that) The way that the manga is translated is interesting since they use quotation marks for certain words. It makes you picture the character saying the word in a strange accent, which can be slightly distracting, but it’s nothing major.

The manga is a little weaker than the anime in the fact that we do get a filler plot involving a little kid in a wheelchair which isn’t very entertaining. You also can’t really root for him since he skates a little too quickly which makes things a little embarrassing for one character and the kid doesn’t seem to regret his actions in the slightest. Maybe he didn’t notice, but he just didn’t seem to care. The manga does have a little more fanservice than the anime since Lina’s outfit is not that resistant to wind in this version. There aren’t too many scenes of this and it’s one of the lightest types of fanservice that you will find, but it’s still a negative since it’s not necessary. I’m glad that the anime took that out.

Joey is still a solid protagonist and he’s a lot more heroic than most main characters. He does what he needs too and he never crosses any of the big lines. He doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself for the greater good and went out of his way to help out his enemies as well. He’s basically a good kid and he will go far. He doesn’t make any big mistakes like using a telephone while on the run in the manga (As opposed to the anime) and he typically has a plan in mind.

The Professor got a much smaller role in the manga or at least it felt that way. He’s still not very likable, but he’s a lot more polite when he ditches Joey and Psy on his way to being kidnapped. It’s still hard to take him seriously and even more so when he fails in his big plan. In the anime, he didn’t make any mistake on the final device, but in the manga he makes one that could have been fatal. It makes the character more believable, but also not quite as professional.

Lina is still the main heroine and her role is similar to that of the anime. It is still a little questionable how quickly she stopped talking to Joey when Will told her some choice words. It’s a little tough to swallow that she would betray Joey so easily. Still, she’s better than the average co-lead although I hope that she can start to fight at some point. (Sequel Series one day…maybe)

Will is one of the major players in the manga and he always wanted to be a hero. It’s sad for him because he is too weak to stop the aliens and he always has to watch as Joey ends up saving Lina. He gets alien powers during the later part of the series, but it also mutates his body and now he doesn’t want to show himself to anyone. He leaves and goes on a quest to destroy the alien artifacts that around and also beat up people that he doesn’t like. His ultimate goal is still to protect Lina, but beyond that he is a little confused at the moment. His abilities are definitely impressive and he can hold his own against Heroman.

Heroman is still as expressionless as ever. He actually participates with the others and has more fun than in the anime, (Getting burned at the barbecue) but he still seems to have trouble replicating mortal emotions. He does believe in justice and he will always try to defend a person in need. His abilities are pretty sound and one good punch can take care of many threats. His only real equals in the manga would be Will and Gogorr. Heroman has his Blast Mode and Rage Mode to keep things interesting and he won’t lose when the chips are down. He’s a fine hero, but I would like to see some more emotion.

Psy is still Joey’s best friend and he comes complete with a sob story. It’s a little iffy since he claims that he was a little too reckless and let the tackle cripple him, but how could he have avoided it? Even if he had dropped the ball, he couldn’t have maneuvered away. Plus, he had no reason to think that such a hit would end his career. He’s a decent friend and he means well, but he doesn’t add a whole lot to the manga. That being said, he still shouldn’t be called a bad character and just could have used more development.

Gogorr is the big mastermind of the whole operation and he has the skills to back it up. He’s definitely one of the cooler characters and his speed is definitely formidable. Joey is able to speedblitz him as first, but Gogorr quickly adapts and turns the tables, which shows just how quick he is. His raw power is also enough to hold Heroman at bay and he’s easily the strongest character in the series aside from Heroman.

Agent Hughes and The President appear, but both of them are out of their leagues. Agent Hughes gets a much smaller role in the manga than in the anime, but it’s essentially the same effect. He does his job, but he’s completely outmatched. He’s all right though and better than the average army grunt. The President never panics, but he doesn’t get much character in the manga.

The manga may not be quite as good as the anime, but it gives it a fair shot. The manga is only 5 volumes compared to the anime’s 20+ episodes and they are different enough that you can enjoy them both. The manga adds a Samurai and gives Will a better role, but also has more day to day adventures while the anime launches off with the alien invasion immediately. The animation was not excellent, but it was still pretty good and the manga’s art was pretty good as well so they’re about equal in that respect. Unlike the anime, the manga doesn’t end with an after credits scene and it’s probably for the best. I love after credits scenes, but the one in the anime wasn’t terribly interesting because it was about a mad scientist who isn’t a great character. (I even skipped him in the review. Just know that he is pretty boring and hard to root for)

Overall, this was a solid manga. It won’t rise up to be one of the all time greats, but it is pretty solid. It’s a fun miniseries to check out and it’s basically light hearted fun. It has a lot of replay value considering its size because it’s just fun to read. Stan Lee did a good job on this series and it would be nice if he could give it a sequel. It would be fun to see more of Joey and Stan (The Man) Lee was also in the manga as a solid supporting member. He knows what it takes to make a good coffee and he’s a very dependable customer. The only negative to the manga would be the slight fanservice and as I said, it is very slight so it shouldn’t destroy the experience for you. The rest of the manga is just too fun and the characters are pretty likable for the most part. I dare say that Joey is a better main character than Kite or Ginta. I recommend giving this manga a shot and you should enjoy it. It’s an underrated gem.

Overall 7/10

Xmen Mutant Massacre Review

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The Xmen have been through many big events and they typically get to show everyone who’s boss. In AVX, Cyclops proved that he was a pretty powerful force to be reckoned with and in World War Hulk, he managed to take on the Hulk. The Xmen have definitely endured through many events, but this may be their toughest challenge yet!

Well, basically all of the comics in the collection deal with the Mutant Massacre event where the mutants started to be hunted on all corners. The Freedom Fighters led by Mystique are after the mutants to stay on the human’s good side while the mutants go extinct. The Marauders want to destroy all mutants because they aren’t apart of Sinister’s big plan. (I doubt that they’re part of his plan either and will probably be terminated) The X-Factor/X-Terminators (Same group) focus on pretending to destroy mutants while secretly helping them to safety. There are a lot of players involved, but this is all pretty bad news for the Xmen.

Most of the comics take place in the Morlock Tunnels because that is the first target of the Marauders. They destroy one of the mutants and then follow his partner into the tunnels where they begin exterminating all of them. There are only about 5 Marauders and none of them are actually that powerful. C-D rank fighters against a few hundred Morlocks. This should be easy right? Well, it’s easy all right…for the Marauders! The battle stretches my mind as far as disbelief goes and I can’t really buy all of this, but more on that later. It’s time to elaborate on what’s happening.

The X-Factor/X-Terminators are actually the original 5 X-Men as they’ve made their own group. They help two mutants escape from the Freedom Force and then two of them head into the sewers. The original 5 X-Men head after them, but the sewers apparently run through the whole city and there are a lot of miles down there. Meanwhile, the X-Men find out that dozens upon dozens of mutants are dying in the tunnels and they quickly go to help. Calisto and her Morlocks may have the number advantage, but they appear to be weaker than New York’s Finest. Franklin Richards also realizes that something is up and he rounds up the Power Pack as they head into the sewers to help.

The X-Men groups and the Power Pack aren’t the only people to go into the sewers on this occasion as The Mighty Thor enters as well when the local inhabitants let him know what the situation is. Unfortunately, this is Thor after the Surtur incident and Hela is currently weakening him. Not to mention that this was during one of his weaker periods. Finally, we’ve also got Daredevil who is attacked by Sabretooth so Daredevil chases him into the sewers. The New Mutants also go in the sewers, but they don’t stay for very long and that may be a good thing for them.

The Heroes are not the only people to have a stake in this as Apocalypse comes as well so that he can start recruiting people to become his Horsemen. Even the Magus appears as he wants to take the New Mutants down for the count. The Freedom Force also goes underground so that they can take away the two mutants. As you can see….this is a lot of people down here. So, how are the Marauders doing so much damage? Let’s do a headcount of how many people entered the tunnels.

Thor, Daredevil, Apocalypse, Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Jean Grey, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Beast, Shadow Cat, Calisto, The Power Pack, Franklin Richards, Other Jean Grey, The New Mutants, The Magus, hundreds of Morlocks, Hela, Mystique, Pyro, Avalanche, Destiny, etc. The only opposition are the few members of the Marauders and the part that will really get you is the fact that they aren’t even so tough. Vertigo can make you feel faint, but she’s not much of a fighter. We’ve got a girl who can throw shruikens, a guy who can throw an energy spear, a spirit who can possess people, and a guy who has super strength. Oh yes….the leader is a human with a gun. Sabretooth is also with the team and he ends up doing a lot of damage as well.

This collection is all about the first battle. There is an upcoming sense of war as the casualties increase. What you need to remember is that all of these comics take place at around the same time and the action is all happening in different parts of the sewers. The Marauders came to annihilate the Morlocks and they basically succeed. With them out of the way, the next target is the X-Men. They haven’t struck yet and that would likely be in the next graphic novel. All I can say is…the battle should be interesting. I’m not sure how they can pull it off without plot hax.

The Marauders do get a lot of hype, but it’s not very believable. Blockbuster actually holds his own against Thor and nearly destroys him. Thor is weakened and he had to fight the whole group of Marauders, but there’s no way that they should have escaped. This isn’t an amateur or a random hero, but Thor, The Warrior of legend. This takes place a little after the battles with Surtur and I must say that he did not look like the same guy. The old Thor could fight for long periods of time and really take a hit. Blockbuster felled him in a few hits and I don’t believe that Thor would be caught by surprise like that. Thor still accomplished more than most of the other fighters and he put one of the Marauders down…permanently. Thor has never minded crossing that line as much as the other heroes, but I would have preferred that he captured them all instead of only destroying one of them. I was definitely unsure about his portrayal in this comic power-wise, but character-wise he was still solid.

Sabretooth gets a big role and he claims that he would have destroyed Thor if he had been there. I hope that you don’t take those words seriously because if he had beaten Thor….I would have had to facepalm. Sabretooth does a little too well in this comic as he has the upper hand against Wolverine two times and he also manages to defeat Rogue with minimal effort. Psylocke is unable to sense his presence as he quickly enters the mansion and the fighters just don’t look very good against him. Magneto would have ended the fight when he entered, but by then Psylocke and Wolverine were doing fine.

One of the more frustrating encounters was probably when the X-Men were face to face with the Marauders. That should be the end of it…just take them down. Unfortunately, the X-Men do not do so good and they are actually losing pretty badly. Colossus destroys one of them, but the others escape and Colossus also suffered extreme injuries and barely lives through the experience. Most of the X-Men are very injured and head back to the Mansion as they attempt to save as many injured Morlocks as they can. They do not seem ready for another encounter with the Marauders so it will be tricky for them if they get attacked again.

Nothing will be more frustrating than Thor’s encounter with the Marauders because he really should have defeated them. At least warn the Avengers, but instead they all get away. Thor also unleashes a thunder blast that incinerates anything/anyone who was still in the sewers with a large blast. Thor said that he could not see anyone in the sewers as he checked the whole place out, but it’s still overly risky to unleash such a large blast. The X-Men almost perish in it and they believe that the New Mutants also died. Luckily nobody was hurt, but Thor could have caused a lot of casualties.

The Avengers also do not look good because they do not appear. Several times, the action takes place a few blocks from the mansion, but they do not intervene. When hundreds of Morlocks are perishing in the tunnels, they do not seem to notice. It’s as if the Avengers do not watch the news or have any way of getting intel. At least Daredevil did his part since he saved Sabretooth’s prisoner and also gave him a good fight. Getting Sabretooth to leave the sewers was a solid move and it meant that Daredevil helped out more than most of the other heroes in this collection.

Wolverine was a good character although he talked very tough, but couldn’t seem to fully back it up. He arrived too late to actually fight the Marauders and he didn’t look very good against Sabretooth when they fought. Still, personality-wise he was a good character and he isn’t very injured so he should be ready for the Marauders when they attack. The rest of the X-Men aren’t in great shape since Storm may have lost her powers and Psylocke has a few broken ribs. Shadow Cat is stuck in her phased out form and she may die while Colossus is completely paralyzed. It seems like it’s going to be up to Wolverine, Magneto, and Rogue to fend off an attack. They should be able to defeat the Marauders if it comes down to that, but we shall see.

Overall, this is a solid X-Men comic, but very hard to actually believe. You’ll keep on asking yourself how the Marauders can defeat the Morlocks despite the big difference in numbers and how the Avengers don’t know about this. It’s pretty public on what’s happening and their absence is not cool. (It’s easy to see why AVX happened) Captain America of all people should be doing something about this since he’s against such measures. There are definitely a lot of plots around and Apocalypse probably has the most interesting one. Hopefully the X-Men put up a better fight against the Marauders when they strike again. After all, they are down two members so the group is even smaller. I recommend this comic slightly, but if you are an X-Men fan. If not, you may not find yourself very interested and it’s definitely one of the sadder X-Men comics. A lot of casualties and the villains get away scot free for the most part. The next battle would probably be more satisfying…I hope!

Overall 7/10

Ratchet and Clank Size Matters Stats and Records

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Stats time!

Play Time 6h
Titanium Bolts 1
Bolts 4093
2/5 Skins
3/25 Skill Points
Ratchet Lv max
Weapons 9/13
Gadgets 7/8

Weapons Stats

Duel Lacerators Max (Max Mods)
Acid Bomb Glove Level 1
Concussion Cannon Max
Agents of Doom Level 1
Incinerator Max (1 Mod)
Suck Cannon Level 1
Sniper Mine Level 3
Shock Rocket Level 2 (1 Mod)
Laser Tracer Level 1

Armor Stats

Wildfire 4/4
Sludge MK. 9 2/4
Crystallilx 3/4
Electroshock 3/4
Mega Bomb 4/4
? 0/4
? 0/4

Ratchet and Clank Size Matters Review

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Ratchet and Clank is easily one of Sony’s best game series and I have to admit that it does defeat the other two big ones. (Sly and Jak) Don’t get me wrong, Sly and Jak are solid gaming series, but Ratchet and Clank is just so much fun. I love the whole weapon leveling up system and the plot is always a lot of fun. This game was also on the PSP so it’s a lot shorter than the average game in the series, but was it still able to live up to the older games?

The plot is pretty simple as a little girl asks Ratchet to do “Heroic stuff” so that she can take pics and show them to her friends. It’s such a noble request that Ratchet takes her up on it and he takes on a lot of robots. Unfortunately, the little girl isn’t actually human and she is prepared to take over the world with an army. Ratchet and Clank must embark on their most dangerous quest yet as they quickly go into action. It’s too bad for Ratchet since he had been enjoying such a nice vacation. Captain Quark also has a subplot where he wants to find out the truth about his parents! Get ready for an “I’m your FATHER!” plot twist coming up!

The game is very easy to get into and you’ll find yourself hooked immediately. I ended up playing it for much longer than I had planned when I first played the game because I could not tear myself away. (I had received other games and wanted to beat some of them first which is why I didn’t have time for this one) Even if you have not played a Ratchet and Clank game for a while, you will quickly remember how epic Ratchet can be. He’s still one of the better main characters out there.

He starts out the game in an epic fashion as he is relaxing on the beach. He quickly goes into hero mode when the little girl appears and he proves that he hasn’t lost any of his skill. He has a “Rage” moment once he finds out that he’s been cloned and the scene is pretty epic. It reminded me of Jak’s big change from game 1 to game 2. Ratchet goes back to his lighthearted nature again, but the moment is not something that he will forget. Ratchet doesn’t seem to mind “Crossing the line” as much as other protagonists, but perhaps he is kidding at times. He definitely loves to mess with Captain Quark and his methods usually lead to the galaxy being saved.

Of course, Ratchet does have help from Clank. I’ve always found Clank to be a much better sidekick than Daxter, but Bentley may still be the best. Clank has his cool mecha titan mode which enables him to fight some pretty tough customers. His boss battle on land is fun because it definitely has a Godzilla feeling to it. He always speaks in a monotone voice which makes Clank easy to root for and he always gives the job his best. He may have had an epic fail moment when he short circuited due to a virus, but he looks pretty good beyond that scene. He’s a good companion for Ratchet on his adventures.

Captain Quark is the third main character and while he is not playable, he has a big impact on the game. The plot twist about who is parents were may be pretty emotional for fans and you almost feel bad for him as he keeps on falling for the villain’s tricks. His character design also makes his scenes pretty funny and he’s definitely one of the better characters in the franchise. I dare say that this may have been his best appearance yet.

I won’t go too in depth about the little girl because her plot twist is intriguing. Ratchet takes a shot at her when she first shows her true colors, but beyond that..she seemed to have the edge. In a true fight, Ratchet would definitely win, but they never get to have that match. The true main villain shows up at the very end and he’s intense. He can be a little generic, but he admits this and doesn’t try to hide it. He just wants to beat people up and take names. Soon, he will conquer the galaxy!

One of the big positives of the Ratchet and Clank series is how original it can be. In one level, we get to go into Ratchet’s dream world and it’s very intense. Captain Quark’s have buzz saws and they aren’t afraid to use them. We also see a flower that grows Quark’s head and you can use it as a bomb. The whole level is very trippy and also very awesome. The whole game could have been on that level and it still would have been awesome.

Now, let’s not mistake gimmicks for talent. The levels may have had their quirks, but they were not a walk in the park. The game shouldn’t be too challenging because you have a solid array of weapons and gadgets at one’s disposal, but the final boss’s final phase is pretty tricky. He has a barrier that protects him for about half of his life bar and it keeps on regenerating after you break it. That’s why the first half of the fight is a lot tougher than the second half. During the second half, he has no barriers so you can just keep on firing at him. The main reason why the boss fight can be tricky is the fact that you’ll definitely run out of ammo. I tried to keep on refilling it, but that costs a lot of money for the rockets and laser tracer so I just had to keep on upgrading and leveling up until I could win. The boss battle took me several tries and a lot of play time. I would have beaten the game at least 1-2 hours sooner if not for that fight. Still, it is great to see the game make a tough final boss. Final bosses should always be challenging so that you can truly feel at peace when you defeat it.

The animation holds up pretty well on the PS2. It may not be spectacular, but it’s very good and will suffice. Captain Quark is awesome to behold with the animation and they did a great job on the dream sequence. I definitely give the animation a thumbs up and it does not hold the game back.

The array of weapons may be pretty small in this game, but they are fun to use. I obtained 9 of them and they were mostly cool. The Laser Blaster is my favorite weapon and while it does not deal a great amount of damage, it’s really fun to spam. The Incinerator is also a solid weapon and easily one of the most deadly. The Shock Rockets are a lot of fun since they home in on the enemy and also deal a lot of damage. The Suck Cannon lives up to its name and it’s the worst weapon in the game. There’s no point to it and I definitely wouldn’t use it. The Stealth Scope Gun (Close to the name anyway) is good, but hard to use in actual combat. There’s a long range cannon that is good once you have fully upgraded it, but the damage output is pretty low. The Laser weapon is pretty good, but also hard to use in a fight and you get it right before the end of the game so you won’t have much time to use it. One weapon lets you send out mini Clanks to get the opponent, but I didn’t find those to be very useful. There is also an Acid Grenade attack, but I don’t see why you would use it. All in all, the weapons are solid for the most part and I highly recommend the Laser Blasters and the Rockets!

Overall, this was a very good addition to the Ratchet and Clank series. It may not have been quite a match for Deadlocked, but it’s still an incredible game. The fact that you can beat it in a few hours may be a little disappointing, but these games always have a substantial amount of replay value. Collecting weapons, skill points, gadgets, etc. There will be plenty for you to do after Story Mode. There is also a very solid multiplayer mode where you can fight others with the incredible battle style. It’s like playing Star Fox Assault. You are definitely getting a lot of bang for your buck! Ratchet was portrayed perfectly and he also made sure to mention the R.Y.N.O. when the villain claimed that nothing could beat intelligence. Ratchet sure showed him eh? Nothing can stop the R.Y.N.O.! I look forward to playing the next game in the series and finally starting its PS3 run. I highly recommend this game and you will greatly enjoy it. There aren’t any real flaws in this game.

Overall 8/10

Star Wars Jedi Starfighter Stats and Records

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Stats time!

2/5 One Player secrets unlocked
2/5 Two Player secrets unlocked
3/9 Bonus Craft Unlocked
6/11 Bonus Material Unlocked

Stage Stats!

Act 1
1-1 –
1-2 –
1-3 –
1-4 Gold and Green Medals

Act 2
2-1 Gold and Green Medals
2-2 Green Medal
2-3 –
2-4 –
2-5 Green

Act 3
3-1 Gold Medal
3-2 Gold and Green Medals
3-3 Gold Medal
3-4 Gold Medal
3-5 Green Medal
3-6 Green Medal

Star Wars Jedi Starfighter Review

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After playing the first Starfighter game, I knew that I needed to play the sequel right away. The first one was better than expected and I expected more of the same in the sequel. This game is mostly the same as the first, but they have improved it in one key area. That would be the plot! Let’s see how the game fared in the other areas as well!

It is good to be able to have a paragraph for the plot once more! This game also has 15 levels for Story Mode and it goes up until the climax of Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones. First of all, a Jedi is assigned to help out a group of Pirates because we’ve finally realized that they were correct and the Trade Federation is up to no good. The Jedi helps them fight a lot of battles and eventually we are the last stand against the Trade’s big assault. They have hex equipment and are going to incinerate the Jedi Warriors who are fighting on the planet. (AKA, Anakin, Obi Wan, and many other fighters) The main villain of the game would definitely be Captain Toth.

Captain Toth is a pretty menacing figure and he succeeds in destroying three key officials in one shot. That’s definitely not something that should be overlooked and he makes for a nice final boss. He may not have any Force Abilities, but it’s good to see humans try to fight once in a while. The main Jedi is named Adi Gallia. She is strong in the ways of the Force and she can make large shockwaves that can destroy a number of ships at once. It is really up to her to save the day as her allies also play critical roles. She’s a solid protagonist, although she may come across as a little generic. Yoda makes a cameo as you can hear him giving advice during the climax missions of the game.

The gameplay is mostly unchanged from the first Starfighter game, but there are definitely additions. Since Adi is a Jefi, we can use Force abilities in her levels. She has 4 Force abilities, but only two of them I have found to be useful. One ability is that she can make a barrier around the fighter. This can definitely come in handy, but you most likely won’t need the shield as your ship is very sturdy and will not be destroyed so easily.

Force Lightning is another ability and it’s one that I used for a while until the Shockwave came into play. It’s good for hitting a number of opponents, but it never seemed to finish the job. I did skip the tutorials for the game so it’s possible that I’m not using it correctly, but the lightning definitely wasn’t my favorite force ability. There was another ability that would slow down the opponents and increase the player’s reflexes, but I could never get that ability to work. Finally, we got the Shockwave which is easily the best ability. The Shockwave can defeat a number of opponents in a single shot and while you may not always hit the target that you were aiming for, you’ll likely take a few other enemies down. The Force gauge recovers very quickly so you don’t always have to defeat them all in a single shot.

The regular ships also get more abilities as you can fire Super Rockets, Mines, and quick rockets. The Super Rocket is a very good attack for hitting large vessels. It may be slow, but it can completely rip apart barriers and nearly take down the ship’s whole health bar in one shot. It’s a great weapon to use as long as the target is immobile. For moving targets, you’ll want to use the quick rockets. They are able to go right through a barrier and directly impact the target’s health bar. It’s definitely a useful way to save time if you have a lot of targets that you need to bring down. One shot turns into a flurry of many shots that deal some solid damage and spread over a decently large area. I can’t really say that the Mines are useful for anything and I just didn’t use them. There was really no need to do so at that point.

The rest of the gameplay remains unaltered from the first game. The ship that the Jedi uses can be difficult to navigate at first as he can turn much quicker than the ships in the first game. After a few minutes you’ll have adjusted and may find this to be pretty useful. It’s tougher for the minions to escape your field of vision with such speed. The gameplay is still very fun and definitely one of the definitive space shooters out there. You can do 360’s and hit opponents from very far away. I went into the gameplay a little more in depth in the previous game’s review. It’s essentially one of the ultimate shooting games and is definitely better than you may have suspected upon first glance.

The graphics are slightly better than the first game, but the change is barely noticeable. The humans on the ground still look like dots unless you zoom in while you are very close to them. Beyond that, the graphics are pretty solid and everything looks pretty good. This game has more actual cutscenes than the first one and they’re not bad. There is definitely more of a sense of danger in them than the previous installment in the series.

Overall, if you liked the first Starfighter, you should definitely enjoy this one. It’s essentially the same as the original game. There are things to unlock in this one which should help the replay value. That’s a good thing since the story mode is only 15 levels like the first game. The game was a slight improvement over Starfighter since it didn’t make anything worse and only made things better by adding new abilities/weapons and making the actual story a lot more memorable. If you like the shooter genre, then you will likely enjoy this game. It’s one of the best in the shooter genre so I highly recommend it! (Also, hopefully it gets a sequel because the game ends on a total cliffhanger. Someone may be in trouble!)

Overall 7/10