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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a 2024 science fiction film directed by Gil Kenan and is the fourth film in the Ghostbusters Franchise…..yes I said fourth and I did not miscount. And let me tell you, words cannot describe how happy it makes me to see this movie get made. I was over the hill when Ghostbusters: Afterlife released after waiting for so many years for a proper 3rd Ghostbusters movie to release so for it to not only do well but well enough to get a sequel had me grinning so much, I’d have the Joker telling me to tone it down. Then I started seeing the trailers and got even more excited. It was darker, it looked like the original cast would be working alongside the new team and they were continuing to bring in new cast members such as Patton Oswald. However, when the film released last week, it garnered mixed reviews, leaning mostly towards the negative side of things. That had me a little concerned but the same thing happened with the Super Mario Movie and Gran Turismo and I ended up loving those movies. And I’m happy to report that this is a similar case with Frozen Empire. While it’s not as good as Afterlife or the original movie, it’s still another decent enough entry in the series.

The film takes place a few years after Afterlife and we find that the Spanglers have relocated to New York to start up the Ghostbusters business again. Unfortunately for them, Walter Peck has wormed his way into the role of Mayor since his last appearance and has made it mission to once again shut the business down. The first thing he does is threaten to charge the Spangler’s with child labor due to Phoebe’s role on the team and thus, they are forced to bench her until she turns 18. Left with little else to do, Phoebe ends up hanging out with Ray & Podcast who begin investigating a mysterious orb that gives off so much Psycho Kinetic Energy, it breaks the PKE Meter. They discover that the orb is a prison of an ancient demon who aims to escape and wreak havoc on the world. So the Ghostbusters, new and old, must once again team up to prevent this great evil from bringing about the end of the world.

One of the main problems I have with Frozen Empire is the plot. Now the plot itself is good. I was excited to see the Ghostbusters go up against a new threat and the big bad of this movie is great. Threatening, creative in its design and abilities and having a lot of interesting lore behind it. Even when the damn thing is trapped in the orb, it’s freaky as hell. I was also happy to see the Spangler’s return to take up residence as the new Ghostbusters and they are just as charming as ever. They even address some questions that I knew would arise with the new team, namely Phoebe's age which was sure to be a problem considering Ghost Inc is supposed to be a legitimate business. Above all else though, I was excited to see all the original Ghostbusters be integrated into the world in support roles, all of which make sense for all the characters. It was great but there are a couple things that do sort of muddle the plot. For starters, the film continues the Ghostbusters tradition of everyone but the Ghostbusters being idiots. You still have people like Peck who refuse to believe in the existence of ghosts despite duh and others tend to blame Ghostbusters for stuff that isn’t their fault. It even starts to spill over into the main cast. There is a scene where Pheobe and Ray get into trouble and Winston ends up calling them out for it even though it was a complicated situation and the two were working on something important. This is the kind of stuff you tend to have to accept when you are watching Ghostbusters I find but I would say this is the first time in the series where it got out of hand.

The other problem is the main subplot regarding Phoebe and a spirit by the name of Melody. At first I thought it was interesting as friendly ghosts are sort of rare in the series but then I remembered we kind of already had that with Egon in the last movie. And the more I thought about it, these two didn’t really have a lot going for them and the whole thing sort of undermines Phoebe's character. She does some really out of character things with the biggest instance of this coming right out of nowhere. It can make her come off as a little selfish and stupid which is a shame because Phoebe is such a good character. I feel like it was a mistake to have her be the center of the subplot. Especially considering there is still plenty for her to do outside of catching ghosts. She could help Winston’s scientist in their studies or assist Ray in his research. In fact, she does the latter and that’s probably the best part of the movie. She and Ray just have a great student teacher dynamic that I would have preferred to have explored. Now that’s not to say that the subplot with Melody doesn’t serve a purpose, it does but I feel like it should have been with a different character. Maybe Charlie or Lucky who were two characters in Afterlife I felt needed a bit more development.

At the end of the day though, what pulls it all together are the characters. Issues with the subplot aside, Phoebe is still a great character and it’s fun to see her interact with Ray more. I also really like that Ray is more front and center this time. Honestly, while it is cool to see Winston and Venkman again, I would have been happy if it was just him in this movie. Acting in a support role and providing his expertise and knowledge to the new team. I also really liked the family dynamic of the Spanglers and the way they worked Podcast and Lucky into the movie was believable. Some people have said that they feel forced but I loved to see Podcasts here and was happy to see Lucky get more screen time. They also introduce some strong new characters as well. Winston’s lead scientist is a fun character and I enjoyed seeing him work alongside everyone. Patton Oswald is great as the Folklorist at the New York Library who offers his expertise and knowledge to everyone. I wish we could have seen him interact with Ray more because you can tell just by watching the two that they are the best of friends. Not all of them are winners though. I’m not the biggest fan of Melody. I didn’t think there was much of a character there and her interactions with Phoebe outside of their initial encounter weren’t terribly strong. There’s also this other character who fills the comic relief role and though he can be a little annoying, he never oversteps his role. He serves his purpose in the plot just fine and as long as he doesn’t stick around for the sequel, I don’t have a great deal of hate for him.

The look of the movie is great too. It’s nice to see the Ghostbusters back in New York and living in the firehouse and we even get to spend some time in new locations like Ray’s Occult Bookstore and Winston’s secret research facility. There are plenty of great action sequences too, chief among them being the final showdown between the Ghostbusters and the big bad which is just rad. I was honestly questioning how everyone was going to come out of this one and the way it’s all resolved great. Yeah some of the CGI isn’t exactly convincing and there is some recycling going on here and there but it was still entertaining. It honestly brought me back to watching the old cartoons when I was a kid.

So yeah, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has issues. In fact, the more and more I think about it, the cons probably do outweigh the pros but not to the point where it’s terrible. It’s still Ghostbusters as I have always known and loved which is more than I can say for the damn reboot. If you are a fan of the series, this is still worth checking out. It’s not as good as Ghostbusters or Afterlife but I’d say it’s about on the level of Ghostbusters 2. I give it a solid 6 out of 10.

#ghostbusters #ghostbusters frozen empire #ghostbusters 2 #ghostbusters afterlife

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State of the Blog:

Hey guys, I'm sure some of you have noticed that there wasn't any content posted last week. Well, I've been swamped lately and I just haven't been able to keep up with writing content. So I decided that I'm going to take another break. A longer one this time. I don't know when I will be back but I will be in time for June for another console retrospective. In the mean time, be sure to check out my youtube channel where I've been doing regular streams. https://www.youtube.com/@Bladeslingerplays/videos

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LotS: Sean

“Don’t hold back.” Welcome to Legends of the Streets, the series that breaks down everyone and everything in the world of Street Fighter. Today, we will be exploring the character of Ken’s self appointed disipale. The young and confident amature from Brazil, Sean.

Sean Matsuda is a young fighter from Brazil who is the offspring of a Brazilian woman and a Japanese man. At a young age, Sean would prove to be an outstanding athlete, being a member of his University’s basketball team in college. Despite his position however, Sean’s true passion is in the martial arts. Despite coming from a family of Capoeira and Brazilian Ju Jetsu Practitioners, Sean sought to learn a different kind of martial art: the Shotokan School of Karate after witnessing Ken Masters fighting in person. Upon witnessing this, Sean would set out to find Ken and become his pupil.

Similar to Sakura, Sean fights using a self taught version of the Shotokan Style of Karate. The Shotokan style is a well rounded system of strikes, graples, evasive movement and defense intended to remove all weaknesses at the cost of having no real strengths. This is in addition to ki based attacks such as the Hadoken, Shoryuken and Hurricane Kick. However, unlike Sakura who was able to master all these techniques through observation and made adjustments to the style to suit her own needs, Sean more rigidly stuck to what he saw Ken doing and upon actually training with Ken, this would be furthered. So while Sean isn’t exactly a poor fighter, you sort of get the sense that he is still learning. In Street Fighter 3, Sean could only do the more advanced set of attacks as Special Attacks, implying that he could only do them when he was focused. As such, I’d have to say that Sean is one of the lower tier fighters in the series. Just a notch above Dan I would say.

Sean would eventually find Ken and though he would decline to take Sean on as a student at first, he eventually realized that there was no turning the kid away and decided to allow him to study under him. However, despite this, Ken would prove to be something of a poor teacher as Sean’s attempts to compete in martial arts tournaments haven’t been all that successful. Losing to random fighters during the qualifying rounds. It’s unclear what happened next for Sean as he has yet to appear in Street Fighter 6. 

Some more loose facts about Sean:

Though it’s unclear if Sean has ever meant Dan before, he seems to be aware of him and views him as the epitome of weakness. He also hates being compared to him though I hate to tell you this kid but you are only marginally better than he is. 

Sean’s older sister Laura would also become a playable character in Street Fighter 5 and is by far the superior fighter. I feel like Sean would have done better following her example.

Though he is now officially Brazilian, Sean was originally intended to be American. I kind of like that they made that choice.

And that pretty much does it for Sean. Hope you enjoyed this little history lesson and that you will join me next week for another.

#street fighter #street fighter 3 #street fighter 3 3rd strike #sean matsuda

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Justice League

Justice League is a superhero series that ran from 2001 to 2004 and is the fourth show created by Bruce Tim and his rockstar creative team. After the successful runs of Batman & Superman the Animated Series, Bruce Tim’s next venture was to do a Justice League series. Seemed like the next logical step. They had established two of the key players and had spent their last days on Batman/Superman exploring the idea that there was a greater DC Universe out there. However, when the idea was pitched to Kids WB, they rejected it. Kids WB was more interested in shows about teenage characters so they had no interest in a show about adult superheroes. Even when they tried to add a few younger characters to appease them, they still passed on picking up the show. They eventually forced the team to make a show about a teenage Batman which evolved into Batman Beyond but as they worked on the series, they were still shopping the idea of a Justice League show to other networks. They eventually found a home at Cartoon Network and thus, Bruce Tim and his team went to work. I still remember when this show first aired. I grew up watching reruns of Batman and Superman so to see those two join forces with all these different superheroes was amazing for my 7 year old mind. After the premier, I’d do my best to keep up with the series as it aired, which was difficult as this was before me and my brothers had our own TV to watch. I remember the show being really good though having rewatched it as an adult….it’s not as good as I recall. It’s not bad mind you, it’s fine but it’s clear to me that even the great Bruce Tim was struggling with this.

In Justice League, conflicts in the world are reaching a head as the world’s nations begin to stockpile weapons of mass destruction for their own protection. Hoping to defuse the situation, Superman offers to extend the scope of his protection to the entire globe in exchange for everyone agreeing to demilitarize. This comes at a bad time however as just as this plan gets underway, a group of aliens invade that prove too much for even Superman to defeat. Thankfully, he is joined by six other superheroes to mount an offensive. The Caped Crusader: Batman, The Amozonian Princess: Wonder Woman, Representative of the Green Lantern Core: John Stewart, The Fastest Man Alive: The Flash, Lost Galatatic Warrior: Hawkgirl and the Refugee from Mars: The Martian Man Hunter. Together, they are able to defeat the aliens and decide to make their partnership permanent. Forming what would become the Justice League.

So the start of Justice League is great. THe alien invasion plot is exactly the kind of thing I would expect to bring the Justice League together and there are points in the show where they do a good job justifying all of them remaining together to combat crime. However, that’s also kind of the problem. A good chunk of the show’s episodes revolve around the Justice League interacting with the greater DC Universe. Usually exploring the world’s that these characters come from. And to some degree that is fun. It allows all these characters to interact and deal with stuff they otherwise wouldn't, which is pretty cool. However, at times it feels like they are devaluing these characters, particularly Superman who had a habit of getting inexplicably one shotted in the first season. It’s clear that they were struggling with how to give the other characters significance in the presence of the Man of Steel. I think the best example of this is in the episode Injustice for All, which sees Lex Luthor put together his own team of Supervillians to fight the Justice League. Sounds like a good concept right? Well, the problem is that there isn’t anyone on that team that can stand up to Superman. Yet he struggles to fight them for whatever reason. It’s a constant problem throughout the series though they thankfully get better about it as the show enters its second season.

It also helps that the characterization is pretty damn good. It’s of course great to see Batman and Superman together again and what I like about the relationship is that it is shown to be completely professional. He and Bats are never shown to be super buddy buddy and at times, it’s almost like there is a power struggle between the two. There is an episode where Darkseid enlist the League’s help in battling Brainiac when he attacks Apocalypse and the two are constantly at odds at what the right course of action is. HOwever, despite the general friction between them, they neve come to blows. It’s crazy to think that in all the time Bruce Tim and his crew worked on DC shows they never made a big spectacle of Batman fighting Superman. And of course, it’s fun seeing them interact with new faces. I like the dynamic between Supes and Martian Man. The two seem to be kindred spirits as they are both alien refugees from another world and thus, understand each other on a deeper level. One of my favorite episodes is actually the Christmas episode which sees Supes bring Martian Man home with him and how he and the Kents work to make him feel comfortable is really charming. Batman and Wonder Woman are a good pair too, mostly due to the romance that develops between them. It might seem strange at first but when you really think about it, it makes sense. Batman might not be as powerful as Wonder Woman but he’s also the only man who is fawning over her. It’s also really funny how Batman tries so hard to keep his feelings to himself but cracks in the armor tend to form and Wonder Woman is too observant not to notice. She seems to enjoy picking at those cracks.

My favorite character as a kid was of course The Flash, who is of course the series’ comic relief. Constantly joking and using his super speed for gags which is appreciated considering how stone faced a lot of his comrades are. Make no mistake though, The Flash is dedicated to the good fight and would do anything for his comrades. The show seemed to have a fascination with pairing him up with John Stewart and I can see why. John’s no nonsense approach to everything due to his military background is beautifully juxtaposed by The Flash’s antics. Speaking of John, if this show came out today, people would probably complain that they used him instead of Hal Jordan but I like that they did that. A little bit of diversity isn’t going to hurt anyone and John is a great character. The same can be said for Hawkgirl who takes the place of Hawkman in this series. Again, I don’t mind because Hawkgirl is a fun character with her fiery temper and eagerness to fight being paired nicely with some relatable insecurities. The romance between her and John Stewart is fantastic as well. I get the sense that it wasn’t something the writers originally planned on doing but given the chemistry they had, they would have been foolish not to. You could also probably make the argument that they were doing a commentary on interracial couples and like everything Tim and his team did, it’s subtle. The scene where he and Hawkgirl confess their feelings to each other is one of the most beautiful things ever depicted in animation and one of the iconic moments of the DCAU.

But you can’t have heroes without villains and there are certainly some decent ones. Most of them are holdovers from Batman and Superman like Lex Luthor, the Joker, Darkseid and Brainiac and as usual they are great. Especially Lex who sort of falls to pieces here. He may have been able to handle Superman and perhaps Batman but he is no match for the Justice League. So for most of the series, he’s trying desperately to find a way to one up them. The show also introduces some new villains, many of which come from the rouge’s galleries of the various League members. Gorilla Grod, Fury, Aries, Sinestro and Morgan Lefay are just a few of the ones that stick out to me. Some of the antagonists for the episodes even turn out to be heroes in the long run. Aquaman, Metamorpho and Dr. Fate appear here and there and are at first at odds with the Justice League but become allies by the end of their stories. They also serve the purpose of making it clear that there are more heroes out there other than the Justice League. Laying the groundwork for the second half of the series but more on that at a later date.

The presentation is once again top notch. Having perfected the animation style with Batman Beyond, the show looks more polished than any other before it. All the characters look great and the movement is fantastic. Especially during the action sequences which feel big and epic. There are some lame aspects of it though. For starters, the occasional aggravating detail can be really distracting. Like the lines on Superman’s face in the first season. They make him look old which might have been the point but thankfully, they back pedaled on how they weakened Supes and by season 2, they had discarded the lines. Another annoying aspect is how they portrayed Stewart’s powers. Only having him create super practical constructs instead of the hyper complex ones you’d see in the comics. Had me missing Kyle Reiner from Superman the Animated series despite my fondness for Stewart. That’s really small potatoes though. In general, the animation here was amazing. As for the music, it’s suitably epic. The opening theme song is something else that was burned into my brain as a kid and it gives these heroes a great sense of presence and class. That being said, there aren’t any tracks on the show as memorable as Batman, Superman and Terry McGinnius’s theme.

Justice League would only run for two seasons at first despite it going for 3 years. Unlike previous shows, the episodes were all two parts, something done to allow the plots to be bigger and more epic. However, like I said, the first season of the show, while a ratings success, did receive mixed reactions in general so Bruce Tim and his team probably took some time to better figure things out for season 2, which was for the best as Season 2 was much better. Ending with the outstanding three parter Starcrossed, which ends with League barely managing to fend off another alien threat and one member of the team leaving in disgrace. It was a triumphant finale but it was also clear that it came at a great cost to our heroes. Perfectly setting the stage for what would come next.

Justice League is a great show but as I said, it has problems. It’s very clear that the team didn’t have complete understanding of how to handle the show and though they for the most part pulled it off, it never rose to the level of excellence we saw in their previous shows. However, it’s much easier to make a show about one superhero rather than six of them. Especially when one is powerful enough to deal with most threats on his own. For an initial attempt, I’d say they did a good job. I give Justice League a 7 out of 10.

#justice league #bruce tim #dcau

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Remake Roadmap: Sonic Adventure

Hello everyone and welcome to a new section of the blog I call Remake Roadmap. This is where I take a classic game in need of a remake, go through the initial review and talk about changes I would make to improve the overall experience. Here on Bladeslinger Reviews, I mostly critique games so I thought it would be fun to look at some games and talk about how they could be improved overall. So to start out, I thought we’d take a look at the number one game that I think deserves a remake: Sonic Adventure.

Now before the fanboys come for my head: I love this game. Sonic Adventure represents a lot of highs for the Sonic the Hedgehog Franchise. It has a great story, great music and demonstrates a lot of smart design when it comes to bringing the blue blur into 3D. However, you have to admit that the game has aged tremendously. There are even sections of the game that I’d go as far as to say are poorly designed. There is a lot of room for improvement and we are going to talk about it all today.

Story

I still stand by my opinion that the story in Sonic adventure is really good with a tightly written plot and lots of great character writing. However, the main weakness of it is how the story is told. Not only could the dialogue stand to be written better but I’d also say that certain aspects of the narrative need to be changed in order to better tell the story. FOr example, the main way Sonic and company learn about Chaos is through a series of flashbacks shown to the characters by Tikal. It never made sense that she would show this stuff to anyone but Sonic & Knuckles, particularly in regards to Big & Gamma because they are barely even part of the plot with Chaos. So I would rewrite the story to have Tikal only showing those flashbacks to Sonic & Knuckles. Primarily to Knuckles since he comes from the same culture as Tikal. I’d have her show visions to Sonic accidentally and then do so intentionally when she realizes that Sonic is more likely to deal with Chaos than Knuckles. I still think most of those flashbacks should be shown to Knuckles though who would also be searching for answers as to who Chaos is as he searches for the Master Emerald pieces.

I’ve heard a lot of people say that Amy, Big & Gamma need to be written out of the story but I disagree with that statement. While it is true that they have very little to do with the story at large, particularly Big, Amy & Gamma actually do serve the purpose of world building. I feel like those three would be a good tool to examine the world around all these characters. Show the relationship Sonic and his friends have with the rest of the world through Amy (and have other animals around too) and have Gamma show us what it’s like to being under Eggman…..no idea what to do with Big though…..maybe have his story crossover with Amy more, the two are suppose to have a good relationship after all.

Graphics & Sound

I think it goes without saying that the graphics need to be overhauled big time. The character models, animations and levels all need to be beefed up to a higher standard. Making sure the game runs at a consistent 60 FPS would also be a must. If they want to do this right, I’d say they have updated the graphics to the standard of something like Crash Bandicoot the N-Sane Trilogy or Spyro Reignited. Could you imagine how cool that would be? Especially if they got a good art team on board.

The voice acting needs to be addressed as well. Now that’s not to say that the voice acting is all that bad in Adventure but there are good deal of Jill Sandwhichs and some of it can be annoying. I’d say bring in the level of talent the modern series has seen and have them rerecord the dialogue. The music could also be remastered as well though please don’t over produce it like you did with the Colors Soundtrack. And of course, better sound effects as well.

Gameplay

Now there are a lot of changes to be made in regards to the gameplay. The biggest problem I have with Sonic Adventure is that despite how good the stages where you play as Sonic are, the rest of the game isn’t of the same quality. Now that’s not to say that all of the content where you don’t play as Sonic is bad but when the game is bad, it’s really bad. We got a lot to go through so let’s get started.

In regards to the Sonic stages there is very little I would change. These stages really established how Sonic should play in 3D but there are some things I would address regardless. For starters, I would tighten up the controls and add a few new mechanics, namely the boast mechanic from Spark Jester 2. Rather than being used to make Sonic run faster, it would allow him to jump to a top speed at the press of a button. This would also require a lot of the levels to be redesigned to accommodate that which would be for the best as not all the levels in Sonic Adventure are that great. Levels like Casinopolis, Ice Cape and Lost World need some serious reworking. 

The design of Tails’ gameplay was on the right path in Adventure in that he played very closely to Sonic but you instead had to race sonic to the finish on abridged levels. For the remake, I would nix the race aspect and have Tails run through levels built around a different move set. Namely Tails’ ability to fly. This would allow for a more platform heavy gameplay loop while also maintaining the speedy gameplay of Sonic stages. Maybe take a page from Transformed and have Tails pass through certain gates that will lead him to fly through the air. 

I think it would be best to have all the characters in Sonic Adventure play like Sonic and take advantage of their different move sets. Much like Tails’ sections, Knuckles’ stages would be designed around his ability to glide, climb walls and smash stuff. I’d also take a page from the Mario 3D games and have a piece of the Master Emerald placed on the path towards the end. These would be placed in platforming segments where you’d have to really think about how you’d get to the Emerald. In other words, they’d be easy to spot but hard to get. I’d also have combat sections similar to Sonic Heroes but be sure to have enemies that are quick and easy to dispatch so you can maintain the sense of speed.

I’d also apply that combat to Amy but also give her the homing attack so that she can bounce across airborne enemies like Sonic can. I would however not give Amy the ability to jump to a high speed like Sonic can. Instead build levels based around Amy’s ability to spin through the air with her hammer like she could in Sonic Heroes. Maybe even have elements in the game that she could gymnastic off of like in Sonic Boom…..yeah, I said that.

Big would be the most challenging character to make this change to but I feel it could be done. I think for Big I would want to base his levels around using his fishing rode to swing off of objects in the environment, kind of like in Sonic Forces, and have monkey ball style slides. Give him his belly flop too, that would be fun.

The only character I wouldn’t change a great deal would be Gamma. The lock on system allowed things to keep moving at brisk pass and the hover feature made for some good platforming. I would still recommend having some segments that rely on more moment based movement and add a dead eye function, allowing you to stop time for a second and paint targets.

Difficulty

Sonic Adventure wasn’t really a hard game but I’d say that there are ways you could make it more interesting. Part of the appeal of Classic Sonic was that it was easy to play but there where all kinds of tricks you could do to reach different parts of the level, most of which lead to a fast track through the goall. Ever since Sonic went 3D, most of the levels only had one path so designing the levels in this manner would really encourage players to keep playing and mastering the ends and outs of each character.

Content

Sonic Adventure is also a short game so it needs more content. I also have some good ideas on how to do that as well. One other change I would make to the overall gameplay is remove the Adventure Stages completely. Mostly on the grounds that they didn’t serve much purpose. I’d switch to a level to level set up like in Sonic Advneture 2 and create new stages to fill in the time that would have been spent in the adventure stages. For example, have a level where Sonic and Tails run to Tails’ workshop. Have it start in the city and have it slowly go from City Streets to the mystic ruins. There is a lot of creativity that you could squeeze out of those sections. It would also give you the sense that the characters are covering more ground rather than having to buy the fact that all the Chaos Emeralds all happened to be within the same general area at the exact time Sonic and Company decided they needed them. In addition to that, add more emblems and beef up the Chao Garden to something more akin to Sonic Adventure 2. 

And those are the changes I would make to Sonic Adventure. What do you guys think? Would I change too much? I don’t think so.

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The Armory: Human Human Fruit

The Human Human Fruit is a Zoan Type Devil Fruit that allows the user to transform into a human and a…uh….human…..and a human human hybrid form….or at least that’s what it would do if it was eaten by human. In the series, it was eaten by a reindeer named Tony Tony Chopper, so he can turn into a reindeer, a human and a human-reindeer hybrid form. Sort of a reverse Zoan type if you will. Anyway, Chopper ate the fruit when he was a young reindeer and we will be examining how he uses the fruit in combat.

Strengths:

Okay so I think the big question with this fruit is what would happen if a human consumed it. This is actually something that a fan asked Oda about and the answer he gave concerned some joke about finding oneself before taking back the answer and then “running away”. It’s clearly something that Oda has not thought about and has no desire to think about because it’s fun to watch people speculate. However, Oda’s answer has led to a lot of nonsensical theories due several translations of it. Some of which fans have taken as fact which has led to statements such as “Consumption of this Fruit will grant you enlightenment”......which even if that is the case would be pretty useless for the purposes of combat. Some have also said that if a human eats the fruit, they’d become a buddha. Citing the effects of Sengoku’s Devil Fruit. However, that is just ridiculous and is clearly stated by people who know nothing about Devil Fruits. Sengoku ate the Human Human Fruit Model: Daibutsu. THe ability to transform into giant golden buddha is unique to that fruit. Chopper’s fruit is just the plain old human human fruit. No model. It would be like saying the fruit would give Chopper Luffy’s powers as well. So as you can see, there is a lot of what ifs with this fruit.

So what do I think would happen if a human ate this fruit? Well, if I had to guess I’d say it would at the very least give the user the ability to transform into their peak physical condition. I say this because when Chopper invokes his full human form, he transforms into a muscular form, which is in contrast to what one would expect from Chopper considering he is a child. If this is the case, then that would mean the fruit would basically turn you into Captain America at a minimum. Perhaps even someone of Whitebeard’s caliber if your genetics would allow it. WIth this mind, being able to access other forms would open up some degree of creative potential in redistributing the effects across the body in order to achieve different effects. However, considering that very few Zoan users can go beyond the three standard forms, that wouldn’t do you much good. Awakening the Fruit would also be a little dull as you’d just turn into a bigger human……I guess by that point you would be Whitebeard.

Really, I get the sense that the best use of this fruit would be for it to be eaten by an animal. Now really, there is nothing stopping an animal from eating a devil fruit and gaining the powers but in most cases, there wouldn’t be much point to this as the limited mental faculties of an animal would likely not understand the information as to what power they gained from the fruit when it is bestowed upon them. However, consumption of the Human Human Fruit would grant an animal a massive boost in intelligence as they will gain the same level of sentience as a human. A high functioning human by the looks of things as well considering that Chopper was able to master the complex art of medicine before he was even 16. The user would also gain the standard abilities of a Zoan user as well. Gaining the basic three forms where as a human, at best, would only get two. So yes, this fruit would be best served in the hands of an animal.

Weaknesses:

Now everything I speculated in regards to what happens if a human ate the fruit is just that: speculation. I like to believe that fruit would at least do something but there is still a very good chance that this fruit would do nothing if a human ate it. Other than rob you of your ability to swim of course. Another big issue with this fruit is that like all Zoan fruits, it does not grant you much in the way of defensive abilities. You are still completely vulnerable to all conventional means of harm. Maybe even less so as humans are not known for being durable. Even the boost in strength would be minimal as most animals are physically superior to humans. This was shown in the series when Chopper attempted to fight Dalton and was easily overpowered. Most of the Devil Fruit Weaknesses wouldn’t have much effect however though they could be used to at least weaken them.

Chopper’s Use of the Fruit:

Now this might sound a bit crazy, but I would say that Chopper may very well be one of the best Devil Fruit Users in the series. Top 10 easily, Top 3 in regards to just Zoan users. Not only has Chopper mastered going between the three different forms he got out of the box, Chopper has also used his medical knowledge in order to unlock a further 8 forms. He does this through the use of a drug known as the Rumble Ball, which grants Chopper access to the extra forms for 3 mins. Chopper has even partially awakened his fruit as he does so when he overdoses on Rumble Balls. However, I’d still rank Chopper lower than Rob Lucci who I regard as the best Zoan user in the series because while Chopper requires the rumble balls in order to access his variety of forms, Lucci does not. Given the rarity of that ability among the Zoan user, I’d say the fact that Lucci was able to do that on his own without training wheels supersedes the fact that he only unlocked one form as opposed to Chopper’s 8. However, Chopper may be changing that. Post time skip, he seems capable of accessing certain forms without Rumble Balls and can even control his awakening now whereas before, he had no control over it. He still needs to overdose on Rumble Balls in order to achieve that though so he is still using training wheels but as far as Zoan’s goes, very few are able to achieve what Chopper has.

Conclusion:

The Human Human Fruit is one of the most undesirable Devil Fruits we have seen in the series thus far. The powers you’d gain from this fruit would be limited at best and that’s even if it would do anything at all. I’ve always said that I would never eat a Devil Fruit because I don’t want to lose my ability to swim but if I was forced to eat one, I’d like to at least get some kind of cool power. The fact that the fruit could potentially do nothing makes it so undesirable. At least for human consumption. If you were to give this fruit to an animal buddy of yours, I think you’d have yourself a great sidekick but other than that, I would not recommend eating this fruit.

And that Pretty much does it for Human Human Fruit. I hope you enjoyed this little history lesson and that you will join me next week for a look at the Clone Clone Fruit.

#one piece #tony tony chopper #human human fruit #devil fruit

[bladeslingerreviews]

Cody vs Oro

They are two of the most powerful freakbeast in the world of Street Fighter. Question is, who would win in a fight? This is Cody vs Oro.

Strength:

I’d say these too are even. Cody has some of the most outrageous strength feats in the world of Street Fighter. The dude can basically smash his way out of prison any time he wants and views powerful fighters like M.Bison and Akuma as complete weaklings. Oro doesn’t have the same strength feats under his belt give his isolated nature but given he’s been known to take on foes as powerful as M.Bison, Akuma and Gill with one hand for fear of killing them, I’d say his strength easily matches Cody’s.

Cody: 100% Oro: 100%

Speed & Maneuverability:

I’ve always said that Cody’s speed is underrated considering he’s likely capable of dodging bullets and while his foot work isn’t exactly flawless, it is efficient enough to get the job done. Oro on the other hand…..yeah this dude is ridiculous. Not only is his speed and footwork outrageous, dude jumps so high that I don’t think gravity has any real effect on him. Hell, he’s even capable to telekensis so he could probably fly if he wanted to.

Cody: 60% Oro: 100%

Durability & Stamina:

Despite his old age, Oro is one durable son of a gun. I mean, the guy's favorite form of travel is riding airliners…..on the outside of the plane. With the winds and temperatures at that altitude in addition to the fact Oro probably jumps off the plane when he reaches his desired location, I think it’s clear that it’s tough to injure this guy. I think he might even be capable of surviving in a vacuum. Cody is pretty damn tough too considering everything that could kill him while escaping prison but nothing on the level Goro demonstrates. I think I actually have to amend Cody’s score Oro is so damn tough.

Cody: 95% Oro: 100%

Technique:

Oro is a master of Senjustu, a mythical martial that basically allows the user the to harness the power of the universe to obtain superhuman abilities. As such, Oro is super strong, super fast, has access to a near endless amount of ki and several unique abilities such as telekinesis and immortality. All this came as a result of extensive physical, mental and martial arts training so while Oro’s fighting style might not resemble any known form of martial art, it’s still extremely effective. Hell, Oro is so powerful that he chose to bind one of his arms at all times in order to avoid killing his opponents. Needless to say, Oro is a complete monster.

Cody on the other hand is more of a pure street fighter. His fighting style isn’t so much any known form of Martial Art but rather just a basic hand to hand combat system built around the fundamentals of hand to hand combat. This coupled with all the strength training Cody has done during his imprisonment has made Cody completely unstoppable in a fight. Even the highest security prison can’t contain him. Let’s also not forget that Cody isn’t above fighting dirty though that certainly isn’t going to help against all the insane stuff Oro is capable of. I feel like if this was a pure test of strength, Cody could for sure give Oro a run for his money but Oro’s states are off the charts. If he can’t outmuscle Cody, which is certainly a possibility, he has plenty of other options.

Cody: 5% Oro: 95%

X-Factors:

Fight Prep:

While he was in prison, Cody had little else to do other than train but now that he’s Mayor of Metro City, he has less time to dedicate to that. Oro does nothing but train even after gaining ultimate power and given his isolated existence, there wouldn’t be much fight footage of him for Cody to study.

Oro: +10

Experience:

Of course this is in Oro’s favor. The dude is over 100 years old.

Oro: +10

Fight Sense:

Given all Oro’s superhuman abilities, I wouldn’t be surprised if some form of extraordinary awareness of everything that is around him. 

Oro: +10

Intimidation:

Oro might be an absolute monster but so has Cody. In fact, Cody has become so powerful that he might actually be excited to fight someone on his level. He might enjoy fighting Oro even if it becomes clear the dude could kill him.

Fighting Spirit:

Despite possibly being the strongest fighter in the whole series, Oro still keeps up his training. He seems to take pride in being that strong. Cody on the other had seems to be facing an existential crisis with his power. Feeling he has gotten so powerful that there is nothing left that can challenge him. He may just find that challenge with Oro and that might give him something to strive for. Hell, maybe Cody is that student that Oro has been looking for so long. I don’t think I can give either party points here.

Final Scores:

Cody: 36% Oro: 100%

Damn dude, I didn’t think anyone could make Cody their b**** but if anyone was capable of doing so, it was surely Oro. The main reason Cody tends to win when I do these breakdowns is due to the sheer gap in strength and durability but that issue is reversed here. Oro is actually on his level in regards to strength and durability but Oro is clearly faster and even if Cody can match him, Oro’s mastery of Senjutsu insures that he can always go further beyond. To make a long story short, Oro completely breaks my manner of judging characters. What he is capable of is completely outrageous. Even when faced with a freak beast like Cody, it wasn't even close.

The winner is Oro.

#street fighter #oro #cody

[bladeslingerreviews]

Batman Beyond

Batman Beyond is a superhero animated series that ran from 1999 to 2001. It can also be seen as something of a sequel series to the critically acclaimed Batman animated series by Bruce Tim. So the story of how Batman Beyond came to be is a rather funny. After the success of the crossover between Superman and Batman the Animated Series, Warner Bros. would have Bruce Tim and company develop a new season of Batman alongside another season of Superman to create a full hour long programming block featuring the two heroes. This proved to be successful but rather than keeping it going for a few years, Bruce Tim and his crew had greater ambitions and that ambition was to bring the Justice League together. This is part of why you started seeing appearances by so many DC characters during the year Superman and Batman were together. Bruce Tim would pitch Justice League to Warner Bros. and due to the success of Batman and Superman, they decided to turn them down…..wait what?

Yeah, despite the fact that Bruce Tim and his crew had created two of the most successful shows Kids WB had ever had, Warner Bros. wasn’t interested in Justice League. This was mostly due to the fact that the WB for whatever reason was pushing for series that starred young characters. This is part of why towards the end of Batman’s initial run, the show was retitled to The Adventures of Batman & Robin as a means to force the showrunners to include Robin more regularly. They tried the same thing with Superman by requesting they include Supergirl, something the crew choose to fight the WB on. So when they brought up the idea of the adult centric Justice League, they opted to decline despite the fact that the show would have been a sure fire hit. Bruce Tim and company would take another shot at it, this time including a few younger superheroes but the WB still passed. Finally, one of the execs said “We don’t want this. Make us a show about a teenage Batman.”. A request that Bruce Tim and his crew scoffed at. For good reason too because the concept is awful. However they had their orders so the team went to work on the project. Rather than give the studio what they wanted however, they instead got more creative to make it work. Rather than discard what they had done on Batman the Animated Series and do a show about a teenage Bruce Wayne, they instead choose to set the series decades after their previous shows and have it center around Wayne mentoring a new Batman in a futuristic Gotham City. When the show was announced, it was meant with a mixed response but when it came out, it quickly became a critical success. Batman Beyond would go on to become one of the most beloved shows Bruce Tim and his crew would ever do and my very well be my favorite show in the DCAU.

Batman Beyond takes place in Gotham circa 2019 (as envisioned by the imaginative minds of 1999) and a great deal has changed in the city. The dark deco cesspool has given way to cyberpunk metropolis, flying cars, robotics and other forms of advanced technology are commonplace and Batman and his collection of baddies haven’t been seen in 20 years. The series centers around Terry McGinnis. A juvenile delinquent from a broken family with a heart gold who encounters Bruce Wayne after he is chased onto his land by a street gang called the Jokers. Terry accidentally discovers that Bruce Wayne was once Batman and ends up going to him for help when his father is killed to cover up some criminal activity. When Wayne tries to direct him to a contact in the police, whom Terry avoided knowing they had likely been bought off, he steals one of the Batman suits and goes after his father’s killers. Though Wayne intially attempts to stop him, he ends up helping Terry and once everything is said and done, decides that it’s time for Batman to return. So he agrees to allow Terry to serve as the new Batman under his supervision.

The set of up Batman Beyond might sound gimmicky but the way it’s done in the show is masterful. The first two episodes of the series, Rebirth, do a perfect job setting up the shows premise and answering all the questions that people would likely raise regarding the series. Namely, why Bruce Wayne decided to give up being Batman. Well, that’s the first thing the show addresses and it’s one of the most shocking moments ever depicted in the DCAU. That image of Batman holding a gun in his trembling hand is something that has stuck with me all these years and it perfectly illustrates why he felt he needed to stop. How Terry comes into the picture is also really well done. I like how when Terry discovers the Batcave, Bruce’s response is to angrily throw the kid out. Almost like it's a disgusting secret he’s been keeping all this time. I also like how he initially tries to stop Terry from becoming Batman. Only relenting when he starts to relate to Terry and from there, a bond forms that the rest of the series continues to explore. People simply didn’t like the idea of some kid taking over as Batman out of the blue when Bruce spent a lifetime training to put on the cape and cowl and the show acknowledges that. Terry has to earn his chance to be Batman and throughout the series, he is constantly learning how to better fill the role under the tutelage of the man himself. So if you never watched the series just because of how premise sounds, know that you are making a big mistake.

The centerpiece of the show is of course the relationship between Wayne and McGinnis. Wayne is basically what you remember from the previous show. Very cold, no nonsense and unforgiving towards criminals. What I find interesting about Bruce here though is that there is a certain sadness to the character. As the show goes on, we find that Bruce continued to fight crime long after most of his enemies disappeared. Eventually getting to the point where all the allies he had during his time as Batman decided to call it quits. Yet, he continued to fight crime and only when his waning health nearly forced him to do the unthinkable did he give it up. And when he quit he was left with nothing. It’s not an uncommon occurrence on the show to see Bruce sitting alone in his manner and when you see that, you can’t help but feel bad for him. This is a man who stood amongst gods in defense of the greater good and this is the life he lives after being forced to give it all up. It really shows the impact being Batman had on the guy. As Bruce always says, it’s a self sacrifice. 

This seems to inform how he approaches mentoring Terry. Unlike Dick, Tim or Barbra, Terry isn’t granted much in the way of privilege. Terry isn’t living with Bruce, he doesn’t get much of an allowance outside of what Wayne pays him for his cover job as his assistant and he’s expected to be on call all the time. At times, it can seem like Bruce doesn’t really care about Terry. Having no sympathy for how his time as Batman affects his social life, his grades at school or his standing with his family. Something Terry is quick to call him out on too but I always got the sense Bruce was doing this on purpose. Both as a means to constantly test to see how dedicated Terry is to being Batman as well as making it clear he can leave whenever he wants. 

This also really informs what a great character Terry is. I thought this guy was cool when I was a kid but as an adult, I love him. Though he might appear to be a punk kid at a glance, he quickly establishes a strong moral code as the first thing we see him do in the series is defend innocent people from The Jokers. And he’s shown to be one tough ambray. Probably could have given Bruce a run for his money at that age. However, what makes Terry such a strong character worthy of being Batman is his dedication. Through all the struggles, trumas and broken promises, Terry always keeps going and seeing him grow under Bruce’s watchful eye to fill the shoes he once inhabited is great. I never understood why this character never became commonplace in the comics like Harley Quinn did. Yeah he’s made the odd appearance here and there but it’s not like he’s a part of greater Batman mythology.

As far as side characters go, most of them consist of people Terry knows in his life outside of being Batman. Though Terry lost his father, he still has a mother and a brother and though they never play a significant role in the series, they are still likable characters who do provide a good deal of levity. And the show certainly needs that. Oh it certainly needs that. Outside of Terry’s family, there are collection of people he interacts with at his school such as his long time girlfriend Dana who I find is a very disliked character. Most find her to be really b****y but I always thought she was really sweet. You can tell she and Terry have known each other for a long time and they have made a commitment to each other despite being so young. Yeah she can grow frustrated by Terry’s constant absences but I feel she is more understanding than people realize. There is one instance where Terry blows off a date they had but rather than react negatively, she just kind of accepts it. Feeling that Terry may have come to view Bruce as a surrogate father, which she feels is good for him to have after losing his real one. I kind of wish that she had figured out that Terry was the new Batman because I think that would have been interesting.

Someone does eventually figure it out though and that’s the teenage prodigy, Maxx. Now I know a lot of people like this character and to her credit, she isn’t bad. She is smart, is just as strong morally as Terry and does share a good rapport with him. It’s even fun to see her interact with Bruce, who respects her for keeping Terry’s secret but also views her primarily as a nuisance. However, I always questioned what the point of the character was. Teenage superheroes like this are always better when the character has to deal with their superhero life in isolation and considering that Terry already has Bruce to talk to, I never saw a real reason for Maxx to be there. Or why it was her who got to know who Terry was. Why not give more depth to Dana? Maybe that’s why outside of the show, Maxx never made an appearance in anything related to Batman Beyond.

Probably Terry’s greatest ally in his pursuit of justice is Comissioner Gordon….that is Commissioner Barbera Gordon. Yup, after giving up her identity as Batgirl, Barbera would take over the position once filled by her father. However, unlike her father, she isn’t as quick to make an alliance with the new Batman as her father was. Though she’s tolerant of his presence, mostly out of respect for her former mentor, she’s shown to be more competent at running the police force so she can mostly deal with the crime in the city on her own. THere are even times when Batman directly undermines a carefully planned operation, at which point, she’s quick to threaten to blow the whistle on Bruce and Terry. At the same time though, it’s clear she does respect Terry for his efforts and is willing to help him out from time to time. I also find the interactions between her and Bruce to be really charming. One of my favorite scenes in the series is when the two are enjoying a cup of tea and end up chatting about Alfred, who sadly isn’t around anymore having passed away. She’s a great character. I actually kind of wish that she had taken Maxx on as her own pupil. You know train her to be Terry’s person in the chair once Bruce expires….if he ever does. Even the immortal Superhman has doubts that Bruce Wayne will ever die.

One of the areas where I feel the creators got to flex their creative muscles is in regards to the villains. Though we do occasionally get appearances from a few of Bat’s former foes like Mr. Freeze, Bane and Ra’s Al Ghoul, Terry ends up developing his own collection of rogues such as Big-Time, Shriek, Spellbinder and Curare. All of whom are memorable in their own right and challenge Terry in creative ways. There are lots of great one off villains as well who really highlight how dark the series can get. Despite the series being made because the WB wanted to appeal to a younger demographic, Batman Beyond is somehow even darker and more twisted than even the orginal Batman series. Some of it can be downright disturbing too. It just goes to show how hardcore we were in the 90s. You’d never see something like this on TV today. 

Like the previous show, some villains standout more than others. I’d say the most effective villain to face off with Terry is Inque. Unlike a lot Terry’s enemies who showed up in his wake, Inque was a known superhuman criminal before Batman returned. And that shows because she’s the only villain that Terry was never able to definitively defeat. In her first two appearances, it took both Terry and Bruce to beat her and in her final appearance, she was done in by a third party. Or so we think as it was hinted that she was still alive. She certainly challenged Terry more than any other character in the series and she’s sort of come to be known as his arch nemesis. I think it’s telling that when the Spider-verse team pitched a Batman Beyond movie to Warner Bros., Inque was the character they had fighting him.

Another noteworthy group of villains are the Royal Flush Gang. Described as the aristocrats of crime by Bruce, the Royal Flush Gang are depicted as former rivals of Batman who return to the city upon hearing of a new one. They are also probably the most complex of Terry’s enemies. The gang is a family of criminals and the show does a good job showing how awful that kind of upbringing can be through the character of Ten. Unlike her family who take great pride in their stolen wealth and the thrill of the hunt, Ten doesn’t put a lot of stock in it and really just wants to be a normal teenager. Her standing with her family is also strained when she meets Terry outside of their respective alter egos and form a romantic relationship. Though the relationship never goes anywhere due to Terry’s preestablished relationship with Dana and his position as Batman, Ten does grow over the course of the series. Eventually leaving behind her family and taking honest work.

The biggest villain on the show Derek Powers AKA Blight. Appearing in the first episode of the series, Powers was the man who orchestrated the death of Terry’s father and thus, Terry has a more personal stake in trying to bring him to justice. However, much like Lex Luthor, Powers has too much influence for him to touch, even as Batman. Powers does have one problem though at that’s what happened as a result of his first encounter with Batman. That biological weapon he killed Terry’s father over ends up backfiring on him and when he attempts to treat it with radiation, his body starts producing it’s own deadly radiation. He tries to hide this as best he can but given the nature of his condition, it is long before he's found out. Blight was without a doubt the strongest foe Terry ever faced and it’s a shame that he fell by the wayside following the end season 1. 

As for the production of the show, the animation style has once again been updated, this time featuring just a little more detail than Superman or the last season of Batman and it looks great. This is basically the style they would continue to use for Justice League so I’d say Batman Beyond is really where they perfected the look of the DCAU. The setting is also fantastically done. Neo-Gotham takes it’s influence from several other works of fiction like Blade Runner, Akira and Marvel 2099 and the result is one of the best depictions of a futuristic metropolis I’ve ever seen. Even the way characters dress and how they talk matches the setting and it’s all done without it feeling hooky. The voice acting is great as always, I expect nothing less than Andrea Rarmono of course but all the actors here are especially good. Kevin Conroy does a really good job as an elderly Bruce Wayne and Will Friedle does an amazing job as Terry. In fact, this may be his best performance as he not only gets to flex his famous comedic chops but also his dramatic range as well. It’s crazy to me to think that this is the same guy that voiced Ron Stoppable on Kim Possible. They even reference that fact in an episode. My favorite part of the show though is the music, which goes for a techno metal soundtrack that fits the show like a glove. There are even some moments where the old Batman theme kicks in, this time amped up with an electric guitar.

I’m sure the executives at Warner Bros. felt like they asked for steak and got chicken instead but Batman Beyond would go on to become a hit show in it’s day. Running for 4 seasons and one movie based on it. That movie would be Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, which saw the former Batman’s greatest enemy return. Something that up to this point, I don’t think anyone thought was possible. Well, Bruce Tim and the crew found some way to make it happen and the result is probably the single darkest thing they have ever produced. Seriously, the film was so dark, they where asked tone it down for the initial release. I even remember it airing on TV once and seeing the rating listed as R. As for why the show came to an end, it was primarly because most of the team who worked on the show would end up joining the team behind Justice League, which Bruce Tim had finally managed to get off the ground over on Cartoon Network. Like all the DCAU shows though, the Batman Beyond continuity would be revisited from time to time. Terry and the older Bruce would appear in an episode of Static Shock as well as an episode of Justice League Unlimited. The latter of which was significant as it allowed the original Batman to interact with not just his successor by his older self too, which was amusing. And of course, the last episode of Justice League Unlimited would center around Terry and Bruce. 

Batman Beyond rocks. As I said, this has always been my favorite series in the DCAU and it probably influenced the direction of my own comics more so than any other series they did. Which is saying a lot considering what a big part of my childhood these shows where. If you ever had any misgivings regarding the series, be sure to put them aside. I guarantee after the first two episodes, you will be hooked. I give Batman Beyond an 9 out of 10.

#batman #batman beyond

[bladeslingerreviews]

Short on reviews right now. Was thinking of this old top 10 from back in the day after playing NFL Blitz.

Blade slinger’s Top 10 Sports Games

Sports games are something that gamers generally dislike and I’m inclined to agree. The most common annoyance for most people is the fact that you are playing a video game about a sport as opposed to just going out and playing the sport. I echo that sentiment but I mostly dislike them because there are just so many of them. It seems like every sport has some kind yearly franchise. Madden, NBA, FIFA, NHL, NASCAR, these come out every year and there is little to no differences between them aside from roster updates and maybe some extremely minor gameplay tweaks if you are lucky. It just promotes lazy game design in my opinion, especially considering these days the roosters can be updated with patches and DLC. All that being said though, there are a few sports games that are worth playing and today, we are going to take a look at 10 of my favorites.

First of all, a few ground rules:

The games have to focus on a specific REAL LIFE Sport. Games that have mini games based on Sports don’t count. The sports in question must also be one found in the real world so Quidditch and Hoverboarding are not eligible.

Racing Games and Fighting Games will be kept to a minimum. Though both are forms of sports (yes racing does count, you’d be surprised how much physical dexterity it takes to drive a racecar without power steering at 200 miles per hour for upwards of 5 hours), I’m going to limit any choices like that to games based on real life racing and fighting. So for example, NASCAR and UFC are fair game but F-Zero and Street Fighter are not.

With that being said, I humbly present my top 10 Sports games.

10 - Wii Sports

Wait wait, hear me out. Yes I know that Wii Sports isn’t looked at fondly by the video game community these days, especially considering that it’s initial wow factor has long since been worn out but there still is a lot of fun to have with this one, especially if you have friends to play with. There is also a good deal of depth to it too and this is the only game on the list were you are able to exercise a bit while playing it. It’s not a game you are likely to play for very long but admit it, you still get this one out at parties. Who doesn’t love a good game of bowling after all.

9 - Backyard Baseball

One of the most charming games I have ever played, Backyard Baseball was the first in Humongous Entertainment’s long running Backyard Sports series. As you would expect from the company mostly known for games like Pajama Sam and Putt-Putt, the game is very simple to play and relies more on it’s diverse cast of memorable characters more than anything else. It’s another one of those kids game that I play as an adult and still fully enjoy. The rest of the Backyard Sports series are pretty fun too and I like how as the series went on they started adding in real life players as kids. It was a good way to get kids interested in sports which I think justifies its place on this list.

8 - Surf’s Up: the Game

I’ve always viewed Surf’s Up as one of the great underrated Animated Flicks. Though it is clear at points that it was made to capitalize on the popularity of certain movies at the time, it’s representation of Surfer Culture, Philosophy and movies was very well done. It’s also one of the few movies to get a decent video game adaptation. Rather than be a platformer like so many games like this are, the game is instead a Surfing game in the vain of something like Tony Hawk. The controls are great, there is a lot of variety in the locations, some great customizable options and a lot of personality. Just like the movie it’s based on, it’s heavily underrated.

7 - Mutant League Football

I’ve heard a lot of talk about younger kids not being allowed to play Football because of the injuries it can cause. Gee, it’s almost like they are playing a full contact sport! That’s part of why Football is so much fun and no game represents that more than Mutant League Football. You know all those safety precautions that are taken today to keep injuries to a minimum in Pro Football ? Well, none of that stuff applies in Mutant League Football, where players get dismembered, crushed and decapitated only to come back for more. As you can probably guess, it’s the most brutal game on this list and while it might not be a great game per say, what other game lets you kill the ref for calling fouls on you?

6 - Mario Power Tennis

I did my best to keep the Mario Sports games to a minimum on this list seeing as how there are so many of them and a lot of them are pretty good. Of all the sports Mario has tried his hand at though, I think he’s had the most success with Tennis. The series got it’s start on the Virtual Boy but the first one that most people played was the N64 game. With it’s easy to play but difficult to master design, it became one of the most popular games on the system. A generation later, they take it to the next level with more characters, more content and crazy special shots. There is nothing more satisfying than having Mario and Bowser dueling only to have Bowser shoot a fireball that Mario is able to intercept and getting pushed back as a result. Leaving skid marks in the process. It’s a great game.

5 - NBA Jam

There was once at time when games bearing a professional sports license didn’t have to be simulations. Back in the 90’s, authentic sports experiences just weren’t possible so developers just said f*** it and made games based around sports that were simply fun to play. NBA Jam is a fine example of this. It’s mechanics are simple, the action is fast paced and the players can jump and dunk like they are on the moon. Boom Shakalaka indeed.

4 - NFL Blitz

You can’t bring up NBA Jam without bringing up NFL Blitz. This game basically does what NBA Jam did but with football. It’s easy to play, fast paced and the players can hit each other so hard that they can send each other flying backwards a few yards. It’s just a lot of fun but games like this and NBA Jam are basically extinct. With EA’s firm grip on the NFL licensed and the strict guidelines of the NFL, games like this just don’t get made any more. And when one does slip through the cracks, people tend to dislike it for some reason. Oh well, at least we still have the originals and a few of their sequels.

3 - SSX 3

You know who aren’t high on making their games realistic? Extreme Sports Athletes. These are people who embrace the insane so the crazier the better and you can’t get any crazier than SSX 3. Wild tracks, wacky tricks and insane jumps make for one of the best snowboarding games you are likely to play. Top it off with customizable features and a nice sense of progression and you got every adrenaline junkie’s dream.

2 - Tony Hawk’s Underground 2

You can’t have a list like this without bringing up the Tony Hawk series. It’s probably the most successful extreme sports franchise of all time. Question is, which one makes the list? The original? Nah, it hasn’t aged all that well. Pro Skater 2? Another great entry but not the best. Ride?……yeah right. If I had to pick one, I’d have to go with Underground 2. This game is simply one of the most complete sport games out there. You got a story mode in addition to the classic arcade mode, it’s got some great customizable options ranging from create a skater to create a course, lots of star power and a great sense of humor courtesy of Jackass stars Bam Margera, Steve-o and Wee-Man. It’s just one of those games that’s hard not to have a good time with…..just don’t let your kids play it. This was one of the few games with content like this that my mom over looked and I think she regrets ever letting me play it. Love you Mom.

1 - Super Punch-Out

It didn’t take me long to figure out which franchise was going to be number one on this list. I’m a big fan of Boxing and I even practice it as a form of self defense so obviously, a boxing game was going to be pretty high on the list. And what better boxing game is there than Punch-Out. The series basically takes the fundamental elements of boxing and crafts an addicting arcade like experience based on analyzing patterns and timing your strikes. It’s one of the most underrated Nintendo Franchises out there and I’m glad it’s getting more attention with Little Mac’s recent entry into Super Smash Bros. The question is, which one gets the spot? The original is an NES classic and the Wii Version has a great deal of content but I have to give it up for Super Punch-Out. Excellent graphics, lots of fights and the most depth in the whole series, it easy tops my list of top 10 Sports games.

So those are my top 10 sports games. Feel free to repost and give your own thoughts on any of these games or list your own. And if you have any that I didn’t mention, shoot me a message and I’ll add it to my list if I feel it justifies a review.

[bladeslingerreviews]

The Armory: Ox Ox Fruit Model: Bison

The Ox Ox Fruit Model: Bison is a Zoan type Devil Fruit that allows the user to transform into a bison as well as human-bison hybrid. It was consumed in the series by Dalton who was probably granted the fruit by Wopple in order to boost the strength of his minions. In regards to the name of the fruit, the model portion of the fruit is important to note as there do exist several Ox Ox Fruits in the world of One Piece. The Model is required in order to distinguish between them so for the duration of this analysis, I will be referring to it as the Bison Fruit. For this examination, we will be looking at how the fruit is used by Dalton in combat.

Strengths:

So given that this is our first basic Zoan Fruit, it is important to explain the basic powers of this type of fruit. What this type of fruit does is take two living creatures and combine them together. In the case of the Bison Fruit as we saw it in the series, it was eaten by a human so that human can now turn into a bison as well as a human bison hybrid form. What benefits stem from this depend on the animal in question and the bison proves to be very beneficial. Bison can move up to 35 miles per hour, can weigh up to a whole ton and are incredibly durable, requiring high caliber bullets to effectively kill. The user also gains some unique abilities such as a thicker skull, horns, a thick coat of fur that makes them more tolerant to colder climates and an enhanced sense of smell and sound. Now the Bison is a rather clumsy animal when you get down to it but any limitations the bison has that result in this can be removed by invoking the human hybrid form, which applies all these strengths to that of the human body. Making for an effective superhuman. As for the transformation, it only takes a split second to shift forms which does allow for some creative usage of the fruit. Something else that I feel is important to note is that I don’t think the user of the fruit is necessarily limited to the three transformations the out of the box powers grant. It may be possible to access other forms, which we have seen from the users such as Tony Tony Chopper, Rob Lucci and Kaku. We do know that there is at least one more form and that is the awakening. When a Zoan Fruit is awakened, they typically gain the ability to become a King Kong Size monster that is incredibly powerful. The prospect of fighting a King Kong Size Bison is not something that I find terribly appealing so this would certainly be powerful in that regard.

Weaknesses:

The primary weakness of the fruit as well as most Zoan Fruits in general is that they do not grant the user any kind of special immunity to basic forms of harm. Don’t get me wrong, the Bison fruit would for sure make the user much harder to kill but you are still vulnerable to all conventional means of harm. There are also a few weaknesses that spring up as a result of the fruit, namely that Bison have naturally bad eyesight which could be a problem until you get used to compensating for that fact with your secondary senses. As for standard Devil Fruit weaknesses, Sea Prism Stone and Sea Water will lock the user into whatever form they are in so it’s not the best tool for fighting such a user. Haki isn’t going to be of much help either considering that there aren’t any special barriers to bypass. 

Dalton’s Use of the Fruit:

I have a feeling that Dalton was given his fruit later on in his life because he is shown to be a very capable warrior even without the fruit. He was captain of Wopple’s royal guard after all. This is actually a good thing because it means that Dalton primarily uses his fruit powers to augment his natural skills, which is the best way to use a Zoan in my opinion. Using the speed and strength granted to him, Dalton is shown to be capable of fighting whole legions of foes on his own with little effort. All that being said, Dalton is something of a peaceful character so I’d say he is holding back in most cases but I’d say he still makes good use of his powers.

Conclusion:

The Bison Fruit is a pretty solid zoan type though I’d say the powers granted by it are pretty typical all things considered. That’s sort of my problem with Zoan Types in general as the powers they grant tend to be very basic superhuman abilities rather than the strange, bizarre and creatively inclined powers one would get from a Paramecia or Logia Type. Now that’s not to say that the powers of a Bison wouldn’t be powerful, they most certainly would but given that you are still vulnerable to all conventional means of harm, I’d say the user of this fruit would be relativity easy to deal with as one would not require specialized weapons and tactics to combat them. So yeah, not my first choice of Devil Fruit.

And that pretty much does it for Ox Ox Fruit Model: Bison. Join me next week as we take a look athe Human Human Fruit.

#one piece #devil fruit

[bladeslingerreviews]

LotS: Oro

“If you train for another 81 years, you might become a good sennin…..ho ho ho.” Welcome to Legends of the Street, the series that breaks down everyone and everything in the world of Street Fighter. Today, we will be exploring the character of one of the single most powerful yet low profile characters in the series. I am of course talking about the mysterious Oro.

Oro is a ghastly looking Japanese Man of advanced age who made his first appearance in Street Fighter 3. Oro grew up in Japan and made a living as a martial artist. In 1908, Oro would relocate to Brazil with a friend though this move proved to be less than beneficial to Oro and he would eventually adopt a reclusive lifestyle. Living in a cave in the Amazon Jungle, Oro would spend most of his time studying the mysterious martial art known as Senjutsu. Given that the man is well over 100 years old and capable of immense superhuman feats, it’s very clear that Oro has mastered the martial art. Though he mostly keeps to himself, Oro would occasionally venture into a nearby city for one reason for another. It’s here that he would demonstrate his mastery of his chosen martial art and thus, would attract several students wishing to learn the ways of senjutsu. Sadly, Oro has yet to take on a student who stick with it and as of now, remains the only practitioner of the martial art in the world of street fighter.

In reality, Senjutsu is a mythical martial art that is said to be the key to obtaining power beyond that of a human form. In a sense, connecting one’s self to a plain of existence beyond life and drawing power from it. In the series, senjutsu seems to center around gaining complete control of one’s mind, body and ki. As such, Oro demonstrates a monstrous degree of strength, speed and durability as well as many superhuman powers ranging from telekenesis and ki based attacks. Oro is also immortal as he is capable of all this despite being well over a hundred years old. In fact, Oro’s power is so absurd that in battle, he chooses to bind one of his arms in order to avoid killing his opponents. Even when faced with powerful opponents like Akuma, M.Bison and Gill, Oro feels the need to do this which is a testament to how powerful this man really is.

Despite his immortality, Oro seems to have taken an interest in passing on his mastery and has grown frustrated with his students as they routinely fail to live up to expectation. During a dry spell in candidates, Oro decided to embark on a trip around the world to see if he could find a worthy student. However, despite meeting and interacting with some of the strongest fighters in the series and even facing some truly monstrous foes, Oro has yet to find anyone worth his time. It’s unclear if he still has the intention of passing on his knowledge but given that there are some truly dangerous people in the world of street fighter who have already gain outrageous power, I’d say it’s best if the secret of Senjustu died with him.

Some more loose facts about Oro:

In a few languages, Oro means gold which may be in reference to his nasty yellow skin. Leads me to believe that Oro may not be his real name.

Oro is one of only 3 characters who intentionally handicaps himself. The others being Cody and Akuma. We know Cody can take Akuma but I wonder how Cody would fare against Oro.

Oro’s favorite form of travel is via airlinear…..no he doesn’t ride in the plane, he rides on it. As in outside. Is there anything this man can’t do?

And that pretty much does it for Oro. Hope you enjoyed this little history lesson and that you will join me next week for another one.

#street fighter #street fighter Oro #street fighter 3 #oro

[bladeslingerreviews]

Superman: the Animated Series

Superman: the Animated Series is an animated superhero series that ran from 1996 to 2000 and is the second animated series to be helmed by the great Bruce Tim and his staff. After 3 award winning seasons with the Caped Crusader, Tim and his crew were ready to move on to their next project. It wasn’t long before they came to the conclusion that they wanted to do a Superman show as it would allow them to make a fresh series while still making use of a lot of the same tools they used to create Batman. The show would premier to critical acclaim and though it hasn’t had the same lasting impact that Batman’s series has had, Superman: the Animated Series still holds up and is widely regarded as the definitive adaptation of the character.

For those of you who don’t know, Superman is Kal-El, the last survivor native of the planet Krypton who was spared the fate of his people when his parents sent him away prior to the planet’s destruction. He ends up on Earth where he is found and adopted by the Kents, who name him Clark. Though living a fairly average childhood, as Clark approaches his adult years, it becomes very clear to him that he is not human and upon being told the truth by his parents, he realizes that his people gain incredible powers on Earth due to the presence of our Yellow Sun. After traveling around America for a few years in order to learn how to control his abilities, he settles in Metropolis and reveals himself to the world as Superman. Working at the Daily Planet alongside Louis Lane and Jimmy Olsen, he begins to defend the city and the greater world from the various threats that be fall it.

One of the areas where Superman differs from Batman is in it’s story telling. Now that’s not to say that the show isn’t still mostly episodic. You can still for the most part pick any random episode and not feel completely lost but there is certainly a greater deal of serialization here. Events do have an effect on the world at large and storylines tend to be revisited more frequently. As a result, it is more beneficial to watch the episodes in order though that does generally mean that the individual episodes of the show are never as memorable as they are in Batman. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few episodes that stand out but there is nothing I can think of that’s on the level of sophistication as Heart of Ice, Two-Face or Almost Got Em. However, the overarching narrative of the show for the most part is memorable. Especially as the show approaches its end.

Really what makes Superman the Animated Series so special is that it’s one of the rare few adaptations of the character that consistently works. It really is a case study on how to properly do Superman which makes me wonder why so many other adaptations have failed so epically. The first three episodes of the series plays as the perfect Superman movie, detailing the events prior to the end of his home planet, his teenage years and finally, his initial appearance in Metropolis. From there, the show is constantly drawing upon the greater mythology surrounding the character to create a variety of compelling scenarios. It just goes to show how much better a Superman adaptation can be if you read deeper into the character’s lore rather than rely on what people are familiar with.

Needless to say, the depiction of Superman is great. One thing that I find interesting about the character here is that he actually isn’t too different from Batman. He’s very stern and no nonsense and while he has very little sympathy for criminals, he still does everything he can to save everyone, even if they don’t deserve it. The difference really comes in how the characters present themselves. Where as Batman operates out the shadows and actively creates a supernatural aura around himself to threaten criminals, Superman works to present himself as something of a public servant. When he’s not fighting crime as Superman, he’s typically patrolling the city in an effort to help the authorities in any way he can. He even participates in a few charity events. However, one thing that is always clear about the character is that he takes his role very seriously. Rarely cracking jokes and working to resolve situations as quickly as possible. I’d say the only area where they fail with the character in regards to his duel identity. Much like Batman and Bruce Wayne, it’s important to create a disconnect between Superman and Clark Kent. Maybe even more so as Superman never wears a mask. Keep in mind, it’s not the glasses Clark wears that fools everyone. It’s the act he puts on. Where as Superman is brave and heroic, Kent is supposed to appear spineless and unassuming and never once did that come across. There is even a scene on the show where he flat out tells Lois Lane that he’s Superman. I get the sense it was supposed to be funny because Kent told her that knowing that she wouldn’t believe him but if anything, it just makes Lois look like an idiot. 

It’s a shame they did that too because Lois is awesome in this show. Lois Lane is the classic damsel in distress and as a result, it can be very easy for her to become a load. Typically getting herself into situations that Superman has to save her from. Thankfully, this is something that the writers easily avoided as Lois is a very fun character here. Very smart, witty and a lot of fun to watch. Yeah she gets into trouble a lot but typically when this happens, she’s actively trying to get herself out of the jam. In fact, there are even a few instances where she actively helps out Superman. The romance that builds between them is just perfect too. When they finally share a kiss at the end of the series, it feels perfectly earned. 

Lois is the main side character that Superman interacts with but there are plenty of other great characters as will. Jimmy Olsen is present and is about as well written as Lois though he gets notably less screen time. Still, he has a good episode here and there. Superman’s adoptive parents make the odd appearance here and there and are great as always. Never once attempting to discourage their son from from using his powers for good and even getting a few bada** moments themselves. One of my favorite moments in the series is when Braniac is attacking Clark as a teenager and the two just pull out shotguns and start blasting the dude. I think my favorite characters Officers Dan Turpin and Maggie Sawyer, two police detectives who are tasked with handling all the crazy stuff that’s been happening since Superman showed up. You would think these characters would hate Superman in the same way Bullock hates Batman and yeah, at times I think they feel superfluous in the presence of the Man of Steel but there is also a clear respect between them. Whenever trouble is a foot in the series, they never hesitate to team up.

While the main characters are pretty good, the villains are a tad bland. Now that’s not to say that there aren’t any memorable baddies, there most certainly are but it’s rare to get a super villain as complex or interesting as Mr. Freeze or Two-Face. Still, the show never struggled to find compelling characters to match up against Superman. Yeah you have the usual stuff like traps centered around Kryptonite or the occasional Kryptonian to fight but there are plenty of other characters Superman faces who present a solid match for the Man of Steel. Characters like Toyman may not be able to engage Superman directly but are is smart enough to stay a few steps ahead of him and achieve their goals. Characters like Live Wire and Mr. Mxyzptlk aren’t really capable of harming Superman but are also not easily stopped by Superman, so they are typically able to cause a good deal of destruction before Superman can figure out how to deal with them. Then you have characters like Parasite and Metallo who are capable of direct combat with Superman. It just goes to show how much fun you can have with Superman if you aren’t so fixated on Lex Luthor or General Zod. 

That’s not to say that neither of those two appear though. Lex Luthor is probably the most consistently present villain and usually has his hands in whatever is going down in Metropolis. This is actually one of the best depictions of the character ever because of how confident he is in untouchable status. Despite the fact that everyone in the city knows he’s bad news, he has so much power and influence that he can always escape the grip of the law. What I find interesting about the depiction here is that despite him being a criminal mastermind, the show never forgets that he is human. It’s not uncommon for Lex to end up in a bad spot when his superhuman associates turn on him. He’s even willing to work with Superman on occasion when foes like Brainiac and Darkseid show up.

Supe’s constant battles with Lex and all his supervillian buddies are great but the episodes that everyone remembers are team up specials. Superman the Animated Series was really where Tim and Company began exploring the greater DC universe so you had several episodes that saw Superman team up with other noteworthy characters. They started out small with appearances by Lobo and Steel but midway through season 2, they took things to a new level with World’s Finest: an epic three part event that saw Superman team up with Batman. NOt just any Batman though, but the Batman from TAS. The two shows would actually have a couple of team ups and each one where great but nothing ever topped World’s Finest. The series also saw the first appearance of Supergirl, The Flash, Green Lantern and Dr. Fate. This was all done because Bruce and his crew were planning to pitch Justice League as their next show and wanted to lay the foundation early. It’s a shame the execs had to throw a wrench in that plan.

As for the general production, it’s steller. Though the show features the same overall art style as Batman, the characters are more structured and the instances of silly looking animation are cut down to none. Despite sharing an art style however, the show still manages to have a unique look and feel compared to Batman. Being brighter and more colorful as well as depicting Metropolis as more futuristic and less crime ridden than Gotham. The music certainly helps with the tone as well. Being more triumphant than what you would hear in the Batman show. Something that did carry over from Batman though as Andrea Romano, who once again directs an outstanding cast. Some of the best voice work in any TV show period.

Superman would run for 3 seasons with the last season running parallel to the 4th season of Batman. However, Bruce Tim and company would bring the show to close with the intention of following it up with Justice League. However, The Kids WB, who had being hosting these shows, wasn’t interested in a Justice League and instead pushed for shows featuring younger superheroes which would result in Batman Beyond and Static Shock. This version of Superman would make appearances on the two shows and would eventually return as one of the main characters of Justice League after Tim final got the go ahead for that show.

 Though Superman: the Animated Series may get overlooked in favor of it’s predecessor and successors, it’s still a great show and one that is still worth watching today. If anything as the best representation of the Man of Steel outside of comics. I give it an 8 out of 10

#superman #superman the animated series #bruce tim

[bladeslingerreviews]

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge

During the early days of the Xbox brand, Microsoft was doing their best to give consumers a reason to purchase their new console. It’s not like today where they mostly rely on Halo, Gears of War and Forza and making sure their console was the best place for big multiplayer games like Call of Duty and Battlefield. Most of their early exclusives ended up falling by the wayside as they just don’t fit with what the brand represents anymore. That being said, there are a few games from that era that I feel could find a place today. One such game is Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge.

A sequel to the PC game, Crimson Skies was right at home when it released on Xbox in 2003. It was originally supposed to come out in 2002 but it ended up being delayed in order to add support for Xbox Live, which was new at the time. The game would track well with critics but it would sadly underperform at retail. It’s a shame because the idea of a multiplayer aerial combat game is a good fit for Xbox. At the very least, it does make for a fun underrated gem to look at.

Story

The game takes place in an alternate timeline where after the first world war and into the Great Depression, major innovations in aviation technology lead to a boom in airborne commerce. Large cargo ships carrying goods would become targets of airborne raiders who would become known as Sky Pirates. The game follows Nathan Zachary, the leader of a gang of Sky Pirates known as the Fortune Hunters who finds himself going after a major villain when a friend of his is killed for the plans of a doomsday machine he invented.

There isn’t much to the story of Crimson Skies. It’s a pretty basic story of revenge with a predictable storyline and sequence of events. It’s a shame that ends up being the case because I do like the world the game takes place in. I’ve always loved the idea of alternate timelines and the diesel punk aesthetic on display here makes for a memorable game world. However, that only does so much for the game. 

The characters are pretty dull too. Nathan is a pretty typical protagonist for this kind of adventure. Having that everyman charm, a way with the ladies and reckless nature that gets him into trouble. His subordinates aren’t that interesting either, in fact, I can’t think of any of them apart from this hispanic broad he meets part way through the game. The game also has the misfortune of having a villain who is underplayed to a fault. Only really becoming a major part of the game at the very end.

It’s not a terrible story per say, it’s just forgettable.

5/10

Graphics & Sound

The graphics in Crimson Sky are okay. The Xbox was always revered for its outstanding graphical capabilities but honestly, this game doesn’t look that much better than a PS2 game. The overall aesthetic leaves something to be desired. Most of the levels in the game are little more than barren wastelands up until you get to Chichgo which just looks like your typical cityscape. Even the design of the aircraft is pretty bland. Outside of the Devestor which is a really cool looking machine, most of them just appear to be pretty basic. Even the monster machines you face don’t leave much of an impact. At the very least, it runs well with little to no glitches so there is that.

The sound design isn’t much better. The music is generally pretty forgettable and typically isn’t used to great effect. The sound effects aren’t all that satisfying either but I guess it could be worse. Really the only aspect of the sound that stands up is the voice acting, which is pretty good for the time even if none of these actors are really bringing their characters to life.

It’s not a terrible looking game but it’s not what I would call a show piece for what the Xbox can do.

6/10

Gameplay

So Crimson Skies is a pretty typical arcade flight game. In the game you take control of a variety of aircraft and then undertake a series of missions. Typically when you reach a new area, you are given the freedom to fly around a bit and take missions at your own leisure and to be honest, I’m not terribly fond of this design. There isn’t much to see or do in any of these areas aside from the main missions so I often wondered why I couldn’t just select missions from the menu and go from there. It just feels like needless empty space, especially when some missions are strung together without the need to explore.

As far as the controls go, it’s actually pretty well done. The controls are simple. You steer your ship with the left stick, pitch the ship with the right stick, control the speed of your ship with the facebuttons and operate your weapons with the shoulder triggers. You can also perform some airborne stunts by clicking both sticks and performing movements, which you would think would be clunky but honestly, it works really well. Shooting down enemies is pretty easy too once you figure out how to lead your targets you have a variety of different aircraft to use, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. It’s a very competently made and polished game though I wish the ship didn’t constantly reorient itself when you adjust the pitch. That was certainly annoying. 

The mission variety is pretty good too. Of course you’ll frequently find yourself having to shoot down targets but you’ll also have to defend points of interest, escort airborne ships and land bound convoys and picking up objects and taking them to a different point. It never gets stale which is impressive for a game like this. There are even some missions where you get to hop on a turret or have the option to choose between using a turret and fighting from the sky. There are even some kicka** boss fights where you have to deal with some crazy monster machine.

Crimson Skies might not bring anything new to the table for its genre but it is fun with tight controls and a decent amount of variety.

10/10

Difficulty

I found Crimson’s Skies to be a pretty easy game. Your planes are all pretty tough and it’s not hard to get yourself out of the line of fire if you know what you are doing. Even sections where you have to do some flying in tight spaces can be done with a little bit of fenis. The only thing that annoyed me was during the sections where you are given free reign, you are expected to do all the missions in one go. If you turn off the console, you’ll have to start again when you turn it back on.

10/10

Content

Crimson Skies is a short game. It only took me about 6 to 8 hours which is a shame because it ends just as you start going up against all the cool pulp sci-fi stuff. As for price, the game is cheap. Going for between 5 and 10 bucks physically and digitally…..are we sure this game didn’t sell well?

10/10

Verdict

Crimson Skies is a tad forgettable but I do see a lot of potential with it. The world it takes place in is pretty cool, the presentation isn't bad and the gameplay is mechanically sound and well polished. It’s a shame that the game didn’t sell better because I would have loved to have seen more games like this. Could you imagine what a Crimson Skies on Xbox 360 would have been like? Faster speed, bigger bosses, more action on screen, it would have been fantastic. It’s a shame this didn’t sell well but weirdly enough, Microsoft has made it a point to make this game available via XBLA. So if you’d like to give the game a shot, you can. I give Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge an 8.2 out of 10.

#crimson skies #crimson skies high road to revenge #xbox

[bladeslingerreviews]

The Armory: Munch Munch Fruit

The Munch Munch Fruit is a Paramecia Type Fruit that allows the user to eat anything and everything and then incorporate whatever they have eaten into their body. It was eaten in the series by King Wopple of the Drum Kingdom and if I had to guess, he probably ate the fruit by accident as he was stuffing his face, unaware of the fact that a devil fruit had reincarnated itself onto his dinner plate. As such, we will be looking at how this fruit was used by him in combat.

Strengths:

So the ability to eat anything might not sound all that spectacular but the fruit does grant you some secondary powers to facilitate this effect. For starters, the user is given the ability to stretch and contort their mouth in order to fit it around incredibly large objects. THe fruit also grants the user a high degree of jaw strength, allowing them to chew through just about anything. If this was the base effect of the fruit, then it would be a pretty stellar ability. Not only would you never have to worry about finding a meal but these powers would basically mean that nothing in the world could contain you as you could just chew your way out of most situations. However, where the bulk of the fruit’s creative potential lies is in the secondary effect of being able to incorporate anything you have eaten into your body. For example, if you eat a gun, you could then morph your hand into a gun. Based on what you have eaten, the amount of options you could have at your disposal would be endless. In the series, we have mostly seen this effect applied to solid objects though I see no reason as to why the user couldn’t swallow something like fire or ice and turn their body into that. One can even swallow stuff, combine it together and then regurgitate it. Wopple for instance used this to create a new metal and once even mutated two of his minions into one. THhre may even be a chance that this fruit would allow you to make use of other Devil Fruit powers as one could eat a Devil Fruit User and then call upon their powers. If that is the case, then the powers granted by this fruit just jumped up a great deal. As for the possibility of awakening the fruit, what I would guess is that it allows the user to transform the environment into whatever they have eaten. Something that has the potential to be extremely broken.

Weaknesses:

The primary weakness of the fruit is that whatever you eat does not stay in your stomach forever. So once you go to the bathroom and take a crap, you will lose access to the ability to incorporate whatever you have eaten into your body. So for the purposes of combat, you would basically have to consume the equivalent of an armory every morning which may or may not be hard to source depending on who you are. Another potential drawback of eating this fruit is that it may leave you forever hungry though I feel this might be a personal problem for Wopple as he is quite the glutton. As for the standard devil fruit weaknesses, I feel the primary one would be Sea Prism Stone. If you could get the user to swallow a piece of this, you will effectively render them powerless for up to 24 hours. 

Wopple’s Use of the Fruit:

To make a long story short, this fruit is completely wasted on Wopple. Now in the guy’s defense, he has innovated some pretty interesting uses of the fruit. For starters, he’s made it a point to have his minions keep a list of everything he has eaten so that he always knows what he has to work with. He also seems to have experimented with his powers as he seems to have known he could swallow his minions and combine them together to make a stronger combatant and perhaps eat a Devil Fruit User to use their powers. He’s even realized that he can eat himself, which I guess causes him to consume his own fat as it results in a slimmer form. However, while Wopple has figured out some interesting uses of the fruit, he is far from what I would call a trained combatant and tends to just go with the flow in most situations, which doesn’t always work. Needless to say, he didn’t last long against Luffy.

Conclusion:

The Munch Munch Fruit has always been a personal favorite Devil Fruit of mine. I just love the concept behind it and if all of my speculation is correct, the fruit potentially grants you a tremendous amount of abilities. Perhaps even the ability mimic the effects of other Devil Fruits, if not access the powers of others completely. All while being forever free from the literal shackles in life. As I have always said, I would never eat a Devil Fruit but if I had my choice, this would be one of the first on the list.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little examination of the Munch Munch Fruit. Join me next week as we take a look at the Ox Ox Fruit Model: Bison.

#one piece #devil fruit #munch munch fruit

[bladeslingerreviews]

Dhalsim vs Necro

They are two of the most famous freaks from their respective games but if they were to go head to head, who would come out on top? This is Dhalsim vs Necro.

Strength:

I wouldn’t say that either of these guys are monstrously strong though I will give the edge to Necro. Given his variety of physical augmentations, I’d figure that some strength enhancements would be in there somewhere. Dhalsim on the other hand is mostly human and given that he’s more inclined towards meditation as opposed to strength training, I’d say that he only meets the standard level of superhuman strength that most characters in the series have reached. 

Dhalsim: 50% Necro: 60%

Speed & Maneuverability:

This is in Dalsim's favor. Though neither of these fighters have what I would call stellar footwork, they are very flexible, allowing them to move in ways that most fighters can’t. However, what tips the scales in Dhalsim’s favor is his ability to levitate. This will allow him to move in ways that even Necro can’t. 

Dhalsim: 65% Necro: 50%

Durability & Stamina:

Given how flexible these two characters are, they are really good at smothering powerblows. I would say that Necro has the advantage here considering that his body is naturally soft whereas Dhalsim is still human. 

Dhalsim: 75% Necro: 90%

Technique:

Necro’s fighting style does not resemble any form of martial art. Instead, his fighting style is a unique form of hand to hand combat that is designed to make use of Necro’s superhuman abilities. He’ll use his malleable body to strike enemies at a distance until he can get a hold of them and wrap them up. At which point he will send an electric current through his body to give his enemies a good zap. Given the wild nature of his movements, it might give you the sense that there is a no rhyme or reason to his movements but given that this fighting style was uploaded directly to his brain, Necro has a pretty good idea of what he is doing.

Question is, how does this fighting style compare to that of Dhalsim? Well, Dhalsim’s fighting style is listed a Yoga, which as we have said is not a real combat form. Though it has granted Dhalsim a good deal of flexibility and durability, it hasn’t left him with many techniques to call upon. Thus, Dhalsim relies more on his oddball abilities which include the ability to detach his joints to stretch and contort his body, firebreathing and levitation to one up his foes. However, Dhalsim’s fighting style does not appear to be designed around his abilities but rather, are things he uses to compensate for his lack of combat training. It also doesn’t help that Dhalsim’s body is still that of a regular human so he’s going to be more vulnerable than Necro. Physical attacks won’t have the same effect on Necro as they do others and Dhalsim is still going to be vulnerable to Necro’s electric attacks since his body isn’t rubber. The only answer Dhalsim is going to have is his firebreath but given that Necro likes to grapple, he’s probably not going to stay at range. So I’d say Necro has the advantage here.

Dhalsim: 10% Necro: 90%

X-Factors:

Fight Prep:

Neither of these two characters are major public faces. Nore do they have a lot of much in the way of resources to craft game plans. No points here.

Experience:

I’d say Dhalsim has the advantage here. He has been fighting for a long time where as Necro’s powers can be more than a few years old.

Dhalsim: +10

Fight Sense:

This is also in Dhalsim’s favor. Given his constant meditation, he has a naturally calm mindset, even in the heat of battle and may even have some precognitive abilities. Necro’s programmed knowledge of how to fight is great but that means he’s only going to be prepared for so much.

Dhalsim: +7

Intimidation:

Neither of these fighters are known to show much fear so no points here.

Fighting Spirit:

I wouldn’t say either of these guys have much in the way of fighting spirit. Necro doesn’t care much about showing his strength and while Dhalsim does enjoy a good bout, it is at odds with his religious beliefs. No points here either.

FInal Scores:

Dhalsim: 67% Necro: 73%

This was an extremely close fight though this should come as no surprise considering their similar abilities. There where some clear differences however. Necro’s superhuman abilities outmatched Dhalsim’s but Dhalsim had more experience and a clearer head in a fight. However, what really swung it in Necro's favor was his fighting style. It was simply made to better take advantage of his superhuman abilities whereas Dhalsim’s are more or less just tricks that he pairs with non-combative martial art. Tricks are good but they’ll only do so much. 

The winner is Necro.

#street fighter #street fighter 2 #street fighter 3 #dhalsim #necro

[bladeslingerreviews]

Batman: the Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series is a superhero series that ran from 1992 to 1999 in addition to an extensive run in syndication over the years that was created by Bruce Tim and Eric Radomski. In the 80s, superhero cartoons where….well….a joke. A lot of them were cheaply produced drik that only served the purpose of selling toys and were generally mocked by the comic book community. There were however, a few comic book fans working in the animation industry who wanted to change this. This was Bruce Tim and Eric Radomski who together produced an animated pilot featuring a darker, more stylized take on one of their favorites: Batman. For several years, they carried the short with them in hopes of pitching it to networks but everywhere they went they were turned down. Then in 1989, Tim Burton’s Batman released to a strong box office performance and critical acclaim. This followed by the success of its sequel convinced Warner Bros. to pick up the show. They also gave the duo a good deal of creative control so long as they alluded to the movies as much as possible. When the series came out, it would be overwhelmingly successful. Ratings were strong, critics praised it and it sold tons of merchandise ranging from a line of toys to video games. Today, Batman: the Animated series is regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time and for many, is the definitive adaption of the character.

For those of you who don’t know, Batman is Bruce Wayne. A hair to a massive multi-billion dollar company who lost his parents to a random mugging when he was a child. With the killer never being caught, Bruce makes a vow to spend the rest of his formative years training in an effort to gain the skills to make sure no criminal can escape justice. After decades of preparation, he returns to his home city of Gotham to become the vigilante known as Batman.

Now that was a pretty lengthy bit of exposition but not a whole lot of it covered in the series. Now that’s not to say that they don’t talk about Batman’s origins but by the start of the series, the character has already been fully developed. He’s traveled the world, trained with the best of the best and has been battling the forces of evil within Gotham for sometime now. He’s formed an alliance with Commissioner Gordan and has already encountered many of his famous adversaries so there is a lot of history here already. Based on that, you might get the sense that the plot of the show is shallow but that’s only because the show is different compared to your modern cartoon. Back in the day, shows like Batman weren’t intended to have overarching narratives like they do today. Keep in mind, there was no streaming back then so odds are people would see these episodes out of order. As a result, the episodes are intended to be mostly stand alone. That being said, the show does have a strong sense of continuity. Storylines are occasionally revisited and if a major event does happen that changes things, it will remain. For example, in the first several episodes, Batman and Gordan work closely with District Attorney Harvy Dent. However, following the two parter, Two-Face, which sees Dent transform into the eponymous villain, he remains a recurring villain in the series and this kind of thing happens throughout. So while it isn’t necessary to watch the episodes in order, there is a benefit to doing so.

Really though, the show is more well known for its individual episodes rather than its overarching storylines. This is one of those shows where people like to list off their personal favorites rather than talk about how they all tie together. Some common favorites for a lot of people include Almost Got Em, The Trail and the aforementioned two parter, Two-Face. Probably the most famous episode in the series is Heart of Ice, which is the first appearance of Mr. Freeze and really the birth of the modern interpretation of the character. Beforehand, Mr. Freeze was just a guy with a cool gun but this version of the character sports a compelling backstory and an eloquent manner of speaking. It was so good that the comics would adopt the backstory and it would even make its way into the movies. Some of my personal favorite episodes include Beware of the Gray Ghost, Christmas with the Joker and If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?. However, my absolute favorite episode is Showdown. While this might seem like an odd choice to some, especially considering it barely features Batman, I can’t help but love it because it centers around my favorite DC character, Jonah Hex, as he battles Ras Al Ghoul. So awesome.

Another reason the episodic format of the show works is because of how consistently good the characterization is. This depiction of Batman is definitive for a lot of people and for good reason. He’s very no nonsense, intelligent and though he has very little sympathy for the criminals he fights, he is always willing to do the right thing. Even if it involves protecting horrible people. The series also never loses sight of the fact that Batman is human. Though he is more than capable of dealing with your garden variety of thugs, they are capable of getting the drop on him and putting him in a bad spot. And when faced with superhuman foes like Clayface, Bane and Killer Croc, he is shown to struggle. Often having to get creative with his tactics in order to win the day. They also don’t dance around the fact that Batman can’t always save everyone. Something that is most apparent in, again, Two-Face. So yeah, this is a great depiction of the character.

Throughout the series, Batman has a variety of allies assisting him in battle. His most consistent ally is of course is Commissioner Gordan, who cooperates with Batman knowing that with all the crazy stuff going on in the city, having an extraordinary individual like the Caped Crusader on his side is in everyone’s best interest. The dynamic the two share is mostly professional but you get the sense that there is a genuine friendship there as well through some subtle but effective moments. One character I wish would could have seen more of Detective Maria Montea, a bada** latino cop whom we first meet in the episode P.O.V as a uniform but over the course of the series, ends up being promoted to detective. This character has some really interesting traits in the comics that sadly don’t make it into the series but what little we see of her is great. 

I think my favorite of the police helping Batman though is the one who is most reluctant to do so: Harvey Bullock. Though very hot headed and eager to bring Batman in due to his status as a vigilante, there is never a point in the series where you doubt his integrity as a police officer or his loyalty to Commissioner Gordan. He’s a good cop even if he is willing to resort to brutality on occasion but in a city full of mob bosses, criminal masterminds, gimmicky serial killers and freaks of nature, I’d say that’s justified. His relationship with Batman is also really interesting. In the early days of the series, Bullock was always pushing for the police to take action against him and though he does grow to tolerate his presence, he is never happy to see Bats at a crime scene. He does eventually come to accept him however. In another favorite episode of mine, A Bullet for Bullock, he directly asks Batman for help when an assassin starts targeting him. It’s here that we see what life is like for Bullock outside of work and we find that it is honestly a miserable existence. His life really is just his work and with someone like Batman around as well as his own shady actions as a police officer, he will likely not be remembered for his efforts. You kind of get the sense that the reason he hates Batman so much isn’t because he views him as a menace but rather because he’s what he wishes he could be.

Not all of Batman’s support are police officers though. Always around to help Bats is his trusty butler, Alfred, who isn’t as helpful as he is in later depictions but he’s still a fun character who facilitates exposition by chatting with Batman as he investigates. Often providing the secondary perspective Bats needs to put the pieces together on whatever case he is working on. Other costumed crime fighters in the series include Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl and though they were only recurring characters in the early days, by the 4th season, they had all been promoted to regulars. Once again, great depictions of the characters all around.

The characters who steal the show though are of course the villains. Much like Batman, the depiction of a lot of these characters are regarded as definitive by a lot of people. THis is probably how most people were exposed to much of Batman’s greater rogue's gallery. You had some noteworthy mobsters such as Rupert Thorn and international criminals like Red Claw as well several one off villains. However, the ones everyone remembers are the super villains. The Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, Penguin, Clayface, The Ventriloquist, Firefly, the list just goes on and on. It’s a shame that not all the characters were used to their fullest potential. The Riddler for example has a great first outing but never did anything of note afterwards. Bane is sort of demoted to hired thug who wasn’t that threatening outside of his initial appearance and no matter what they did, they could never get Scarecrow right. Still, they do all appear in some great episodes so it’s not like they never got a chance to shine.

Some villains naturally standout from the pack. We’ve talked a great deal about Two-Face but that’s primarily because we actually saw his transformation from champion of justice to notorious criminal. Something that was made all the more tragic by the fact that he was a close friend of Bruce Wayne and an ally of Batman. The fact that he couldn’t save his best friend from the darkside is a failure that forever haunts Batman. Another character who really stands out is Mr. Freeze. This is primarily because Bruce Tim and his team went to great lengths to give Mr. Freeze a more compelling backstory as well as a unique manner of speaking that can only be described as cold. The efforts proved fruitful as his first appearance in Heart of Ice won the team their first Emmie.

The most heavily recurring villain, as you would expect, is the Joker. This is something that I would normally hate as I feel Joker is so overplayed but I’m okay with it here because this is hands down the best depiction of the character. When you are writing the Joker, it’s important to find a nice balance between him being funny and being scary and they of course nail this right on the head. Just about every scheme the Joker undertakes in the show is as wacky as they come. From trying to copyright smiling fish to breaking out of prison on Christmas just to have fun with Batman, it’s very rare that the Joker seems to be making a bigger play other than to get a laugh yet for whatever reason, he still holds a high degree of respect amongst the criminals of Gotham. Whenever there is a large gathering of criminals on the show like in Almost Got Em and The Trail, Joker typically takes the role of ring leader. Those are two of the best episodes of the show and I think the reason for that is that the villains didn’t get together all that often. The writers knew that that should be a major event and made it a point not to overdo it. Anyway, there are lots of good Joker episodes, my favorite is The Man Who Killed Batman. Primarily because of the eulogy that he delivers for his hated rival. It’s of course funny that he’s sad that Batman is dead but what makes the scene is the end when he takes out his anger and frustration at the fact that he didn’t get to kill Batman by putting his killer in a coffin and then tossing him in a vat of acid. It’s also a little sad in retrospect because this can be seen as Joker’s voice actor, Mark Hamil (yes, Luke Skywalker) paying his respects to his co-star, Kevin Conroy, who voiced Batman, who passed away a few years ago. Something that is reinforced by that fact that Hamil has said he will never play the character again now that Conroy is gone. The series also introduced us to Harley Quinn, Joker’s female counterpart and right hand woman who would become so popular that she would make her way into the comics, movies and eventually even get her own critically acclaimed series. Speaking of that series, the friendship between her and Poison Ivy originated in this series as well. A relationship that would evolve over the years.

The biggest villain to appear on the show was Ra’s Al Ghoul though to be honest, I never found him to be that interesting. Though he had more power than just about any character to appear on the show, his motives and methods were very forgettable compared to all the crazy whack jobs Bats goes up against on the show. He may have had the honor of being the headline villain in the show's only 3 parter but the best episode he appeared in for my money is Showdown. The writers were clearly fans of Jonah Hex and using Ra’s Al Ghoul to facilitate a flashback to see him in action was a stroke of genius. Makes me wonder if it was intended to be something of a backdoor pilot. 

The production is fantastic. The series took a lot of its cues from the old flicher era Superman cartoons with beautifully angular animation style that does a good job representing reality while at the same time giving the characters all a distinct look. You look at this show and you instantly recognize it as Batman TAS. I also love how old school Gotham is with classic cars and Tommy Guns. Everything is done with a great artistic style as well. The opening is a fine example of graphic simplification and the show uses a lot of similar visual motives throughout the episodes. The general animation can be a mixed bag at times, especially in the early episodes of the series. Though it is still for the most part good, there are some movements that look just a bit silly. It’s interesting to note after Batman’s initial 3 season run, the show was revived following the success of Superman: the Animated Series, the second season of which opened World’s Finest, an epic 3 parter that saw the two shows crossover. After this, a new season of Batman would start with a new art style intended to more closely match Superman. With a visual design that still matched the Caped Crusader. By this point in the series, Bruce Tim and his team had perfected their animation but they struggled just a little bit with the character designs. While some were good, others were not, one in particular being downright awful. They would thankfully get it right when it came time for their next show, Batman Beyond.

The sound of the show was always stellar though. The series had the benefit of having the greatest Voice Over Director of all time on staff: Andrea Romano. Most cartoons at the time would hire voice actors who would give the characters a distinct voice even if it sounded unrealistic. Romano’s method was of casting actors whom she felt could play the characters in live action if need be and as a result, the voices had a tendency to gel up to the animation better while also giving the series a sense of realism. And what a voice cast it was. The list of noteworthy actors that appeared on the show is a mile long. The most famous ones are of course Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamil as Batman & the Joker. They are the two best actors to play the characters and I will not entertain the idea of anyone being better so don’t bother. Some other favorites of mine include Ron Pearlman as Clayface and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. Funny story about that last one. The character of Harley Quinn was actually inspired by an appearance Arleen Sorkin made on All in the Family so the fact that they managed to cast her in the role makes for one of the most perfect VA performances in all of animation. And of course, you can’t talk about the show without mentioning Danny Elfman’s score. You hear that theme song and you know exactly what show is on. Used to come running into the living room to watch as I heard it as a kid. It’s the kind of sound I miss hearing matched up to Batman. You can keep the music from the Nolan series.

So as I said, Batman TAS ran for 3 seasons, after which Bruce Tim and company moved on to make Superman TAS. Batman would appear in a crossover event at the start of the third season before getting another season of his own show. That was the end of Batman’s solo series but not the end of this depiction of the character. Bruce Tim’s 3rd show, Batman Beyond was directly connected to TAS. Kevin Conroy’s Batman would return for several appearances in Static Shock and the character would be a regular on Justice League. Even today, this version of the character still makes appearances in comic books and even the odd animated production. Even the Arkham games would take a lot of influence from it. And though Batman has had many an animated series over the years, this still remains the very best in the eyes of a lot of fans.

What more can I say, Batman: the Animated Series is great. If you are interested, the series is available on Max. Look it up and check out some of the episodes I mentioned. I give the show a 9 out of 10.

#batman #batman the animated series #batman tas

[bladeslingerreviews]

Bioshock (Revisited)

Though System Shock was a critical hit and even a modest financial success, it ended up losing Looking Glass Software money in the end due to some poor contracts with their publisher. This was and would continue to be an issue for the studio and a few of their employees thought they could do better. So they broke off and founded Irrational Games with the intention of matching the level of quality that was coming out of Looking Glass but with a business model intended to make games more profitable. For their first game, they wanted to do something similar to System Shock so they worked up a prototype with an original IP, which they then presented to Electronic Arts in hopes of getting funding as well as publishing deal. Electronic Arts, who hadn’t turned to the darkside yet, where so impressed by what they saw that they not only agreed to fund the project but they also bought the System Shock IP so Irrational could turn the game into System Shock 2. 

Sadly while System Shock 2 was outstanding and arguably more influential than even the orginal, the game was a poor seller. This sort of ruined their working relationship with EA as they had sunk a lot of money into the project. So after working on a few more games for EA here and there, they were mostly left to their own devices. However, being the team behind a game as groundbreaking as System Shock 2 meant that there was no shortage of work for the team. They’d be hired to work on a few titles in established franchises like SWAT 4 and Tribes 2 and would even make an original game here and there, like Freedom Force. Eventually, Irrational would be purchased by up and coming publisher, 2K Interactive, who basically gave the studio complete creative freedom for their next project. The studio decided it was time to do another System Shock but with the rights still being held by EA, who where planning to make System Shock 3, they wouldn’t be getting the IP this time. So the studio was forced to create a new IP and what an IP it was.

Bioshock would release in 2007 and upon its release would be met with universal critical acclaim and strong sales. Come the end of the year, many outlets would name Bioshock game of the year which was a huge achievement as 2007 is often regarded as one of the greatest years ever in video games. Bioshock would also become a franchise with 2 sequels but nothing ever lived up to the original. It’s been awhile since the last game in the series and with Irrational closing up shop, it doesn’t look like there ever will be another one. Since 2007, the Immersive Sim, the genre Bioshock belongs to, has become very popular. With games like Prey, Atomic Heart and even the System Shock Remake getting more attention than ever before. As a result, many have gone back to reexamine Bioshock and see if it still holds up. With opinions on that matter being thoroughly mixed however for me, there still remains no better representation of the genre.

Story

Bioshock takes place in the 1960s and sees players take the role of Jack. The sole survivor of a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Just a stone’s throw away from the wreckage is mysterious lighthouse that contains a bathosphere that takes Jack to the underwater city of Rapture. Built in the 30s by industrial idealist, Andrew Ryan, Rapture was intended to be a sanctuary where great individuals of the time could escape the leeching society of the Great Depression. Sadly, the discovery of a mutagenic substance called Adam caused society to go to hell. The place is now little more than submerged pile of junk where the insane residents hunt for the Little Sisters that harvest Adam and battle their hulking guardians known as Big Daddies. Upon arriving in the city, Jack gets into contact with a man named Atlas, one of the few sane individuals left in the city who agrees to help Jack get back to the surface if he helps him get his family to safety. Jack has little choice but to agree especially considering that Andrew Ryan is aware of his presence and has it out for both him and Atlas.

The plot of Bioshock is excellent. For starters, the way the whole thing is presented is great. The way you are introduced to Rapture as an outsider with little backstory puts you right into the shoes of Jack and the build up to your first steps in the city are some of the most memorable in any game period. From there, it is business as usual as you make your way through the halls of Rapture. Or at least that seems to be the case. As the game reaches it’s third act, a twist occurs that recontextualizes everything you’ve done up to that point before building to an emotional conclusion that really sums up all the themes the game had explored up to this point. That for all of Ryan and his followers posturing regarding escaping the parasites of society and being free of all that supposedly held the great back in the early 20th century, there is still value in the simple act of giving a s*** about your fellow man. Whether they deserve it or not.

Needless to say, the story is complex but the characterization is top notch as well. The most compelling of them being the setting, Rapture. A stellar example of the retro futuristic aesthetic in that it’s a futuristic city as envisioned by the creative minds of the past, there is a lot of lore to be discovered as you are wondering underwater tunnels of the city. Some of the residents you face over the course of the game are pretty freaky too and represent how dangerous right leaning ideologies can be if taken to the most illogical extreme. It does a good job demonstrating why scientist need to be held to a certain moral standard, why artist need to be censored sometimes and how isolating yourself from the rest of the world can be self destructive. Ryan is a great villain too. Despite the fact that his life’s work is crumbling around him, he still delusionally clings to it. Being unable to stand the fact that and outsider like Jack is making his way through it as if he owns the place. Atlas is a pretty cool character too and you often wonder if he’s as sane as he claims to be.

Needless to say, it’s top tier stuff. One of the finest examples of video game storytelling ever.

10/10

Graphics & Sound

Bioshock runs on the Unreal 3 Engine, a graphics system that I tend to have mixed opinions on. Though engine is capable of rendering these big detailed environments, it’s also got a lot of notable shortcomings. Namely that the textures can have a tendency to look like wet clay. However, this can be overcome with stellar art direction and that’s exactly what we have in Bioshock. The game sports some of the most detailed and creative environmental design in any game period. Rapture on it’s own is sick as hell but all the little details you come across paint a grizzly picture of everything that has gone down in Rapture over the past couple of decades. They even leverage some of the weaknesses of the Unreal 3 Engine to work in their favor. Yeah everything looks wet but it’s an underwater city that’s been leaking for years. It’s probably humid as hell there. It’s a shame that this art team have all been scattered to the winds because you certain don’t see anything like this anymore.

The sound design is pretty stellar too. The voice acting all around is top notch with every actor turning in a great performance. One thing I really like is that they nailed the way the audio devices around you should sound. There is a very old school radio static that distorts the audio quality just enough to give you the sense that the tech is outdated but just clear enough to where you can hear what is being said. It’s a far cry from something like Call of Duty where it is easy to lose the dialogue in the overabundance of radio chatter. All the music you hear throughout the game is true to the time period as well and the sound effects are impactful and satisfying.

The game may be pushing 20 years old at this point but it still looks outstanding, even today. A fine example of how art direction trumping hardware limitations.

10/10

Gameplay

Bioshock is similar in a lot of ways to System Shock in regards to its design. Throughout the game, you are often given straightforward goals to complete but more often than not, you’ll have to complete several other goals to achieve the main one. In addition to that, you have a lot of choice in regards to how you go about completing your objectives though they’ve certainly reigned in the choice a great deal compared to System Shock & System Shock 2. The game is better about keeping you on a clear path to your objective which makes the game feel better paced since you find yourself wandering around aimlessly far less often. Some have said it’s over simplified but the game still grants you more freedom than a typical FPS. 

This is primarily in regards to how you engage in combat, which is really where the game shines. Over the course of the game, you’ll gain access to a variety of different weapons, all of which can be accessed at different times and are more effective in different situations. It might all be pretty typical but that’s where the plasmids come in. Plasmids are basically a genetic formula that you can use to access limited superpowers such as a fist full of lighting, the ability to snap your fingers to set things a blaze or sic a swarm of bees on them. A big part of the game is using the plasmids in conjunction with your guns. You can zap someone with lighting to hold them still for a whack to the face, set enemies on fire so they take damage if they move too fast or freeze an enemy so you can blow them to bits with your shotgun. Experimentation is encouraged and the game is constantly evolving as you discover new weapons and gain new Plasmids. Rapture itself can also be used to your advantage. The place is covered with security cameras that can summon attack bots and turrets that can really mess up your day if you aren’t paying attention. You can of course just avoid them all together if you’d like or you can hack them and turn them on your enemies. Hacking can also be used to gain discounts at vending machines and bypass keypads in order to get at much needed supplies. A very useful skill that you really need to come to terms with.

The game is also known for its RPG elements which have been greatly improved compared to System Shock 2. For starters, skills such as hacking, research and access to weapons are no longer locked behind upgrades. Instead, you have various tonics that you can equip to buffer these skills. You also don’t have to choose to focus on your guns or plasmids. Instead, you gain new weapons simply by finding them out in the world and you can purchase new plasmids by exchanging Adam at certain vendors. Adam basically serves as your EXP in this case and you primarily get it by interacting with the Little Sisters. Assuming you can defeat the Big Daddy protecting them, which is easier said than done, you’ll be given the option to harvest them or free them. Harvesting them kills the Little Sister but nets you the max amount of Adam while freeing them turns them back into a normal little girl at the cost of less Adam. This is often described as a moral choice but it really boils down to is whether or not you’re a decent human being of a sick f*** who likes to kill little girls. Seriously, I only ever harvested one Little Sister in my lifetime and I only did it to see what the animation looked like. Besides, the long term rewards of saving the Little Sisters are far greater than the short term rewards of killing them.

Regardless though, Bioshock is fantastic. Though the game does simplify things to some degree, it does so in a way that refines everything the System Shock games set out today. Making for one of the finest FPS experiences I’ve ever played.

10/10

Difficulty

The difficulty in Bioshock is just right. Though your resources are limited, there was never a point in the game where I was frustrated by a lack of resources. Between the venders, stuff you can take off of enemies and all the loose resources hanging around, there should never be a point in the game where you struggle to get what you need done. Dying also isn’t penalized a great deal here as respawn points are common and don’t set you back too far. This is something else people complain about but again, it’s a mute point as the System Shock games used the same mechanic. If it really bothers you though and you want a truly hardcore immersive sim, you can turn the respawn points and quest guide off. It’s simply not worth complaining about it.

10/10

Content

Bioshock clocks in at about 10 to 12 hours which is a great length. I know a lot of people complain about the final third of the game and say it drags on for too long but I never felt that way. It was excellent from start to finish. There is plenty in the way of replay value too through going back, exploring all of Rapture and experimenting with all the different weapons and Plasmids you ignored before. Copies of the game tend to be cheap too. Rarely going for more than 20 dollars and you can even get it as part of a collection too.

10/10

Verdict

All these years later, Bioshock still stands as one of the absolute best First Person Shooters I’ve ever played. The story is compelling, it’s thematically rich, the setting is one of the most creative of all time and wonderfully realized through the graphics and sound and the complex gameplay is refined to perfection. Honestly, I struggle to think of anything inherently wrong with it. It’s a timeless masterpiece that really demonstrates the power of video games as an artistic medium. I give Bioshock a Perfect 10.

#bioshock #system shock #system shock 2 #irrational games #2k games #immersive sim