DVD Review- Dragon Ball Season One

If you’re an early-to-mid 20 something male like me, it is likely that your adolescence was defined by Dragon Ball Z, an anime which ran in the afternoons during my high school and early college years. I remember watching the pivotal moments happen and discussing what was yet to come. These days, I don’t regard it with nearly the same reverence that I used to, but there’s no denying its place in history.

With all the hype and memories surrounding DBZ, it’s easy to forget about its prequel, Dragon Ball. The first 13 episodes of DB ran (heavily edited) in the early 90s and entire the series was re-dubbed much later by FUNimation for Cartoon Network’s Toonami block. But for years, the home video rights to the original 13 episodes were owned by another company. Finally, with that license expired, FUNimation is now free to put them out on DVD. Thus, September saw the official release of Dragon Ball Season One in the United States.

Dragon Ball begins with Son Goku, a young boy with a monkey’s tail who lives in the mountains. Left to live on his own after his adoptive grandfather’s death, he is pure-hearted but uncivilized, surviving on wild animals. His literal collision course with the outside world happens after he is struck by a car. The car’s driver, Bulma (which means ‘Bloomers’) is on a quest for the seven magic ‘Dragon Balls’, which can grant a single wish. Bulma convinces Goku to reluctantly hand over his own Dragon Ball (a relic that his grandfather left behind) and leave his mountain home to aid in her quest.

From there on, a great number of things happen. Goku clashes with a desert bandit and a perverted, shape-shifting pig; rides a magic cloud that only those with pure hearts can sit on; trains under a renowned (and even more perverted) martial arts master; and participates with fighters from all over the world in a tournament. Throughout it all, he is aided by his unnatural strength and limited by his naivety. Goku has the strength of about ten men when the story begins, but his ignorance of polite society makes for some pretty humorous situations. I’m not even going to spoil how he tells the difference between men and women.

Compared to Z, which was a much more action-oriented fighting show, the first season of Dragon Ball is more focused on telling a comedic story, although there are still plenty of action sequences. It also moves at a quicker pace than its sequel show— the 31 episodes in this set cover are enough to cover two story arcs and the beginning of a third— and in that case, is far superior. It’s true that some of the subplots and fights still last more than one episode, but it’s nothing compared to the snail-paced, waiting-for-a-dust-cloud-to-settle slowness of Z. Things get done in this series.

It should be noted that the last three episodes in this set are filler, but they are very impressive use of filler; instead of telling three boring non-canonical stories, they are entertaining and effectively reconnect the main characters with some of the minor ones.

The show is nearly flawless in its storytelling and presentation, and as such, I found myself enjoying it a lot more than Z. The only thing I have problems with is Bulma’s fall role on the show. Throughout this season and continuing on through the rest of the series, certain characters are constantly asking her to show her panties, wanting to feel her breasts, peek at her, etc. In Japan in the 80s I could see this being a funny recurring gag, but in this day and age it carries a less pleasant term: sexual harassment. It doesn’t quite fit in today’s politically correct climate, although the rest of Dragon Ball is about as un-PC as a show can get.

I watched this set on an HDTV, and the video quality was great. I’ve read complaints about the visuals, but none of it bothers me. Colors are vibrant and sharp. There’s no hint of dirt or damage to the print that I could spot. And, fortunately, this time the show is presented in its original (4:3) aspect ratio. That means no more of the baloney ‘widescreen’ cropping that crippled the Dragon Ball Z season sets.

At the time of this review, I’ve only watched a few episodes dubbed, and I was not impressed by what I heard. The dub drifts away from the subtitled script so frequently that it barely resembles the original dialogue. The dirty jokes, save for the ones where visual gags render them impossible to hide (what else can be said about the big famous occurrence in episode 2?), are edited out and replaced with TV-acceptable conversation. And of course, the English voices are annoying. When the voice actress for Bulma wasn’t merely tolerable she was making me want to tear my ears off, and the same went for most of the other voices.

By sharp contrast, the subtitled version is great, but the subs seem to be geared more towards hardcore anime fans. Suffixes like –san, -sama and –kun appear much more frequently than I’ve seen in other subtitled anime, presenting a script much closer to actual Japanese. Personally I have no issue with it. However, it may confuse viewers who aren’t remotely familiar with the language. Visually the subtitles are very easy to read. If a song is played in an episode, an extra set of subs appear at the top of the screen in addition to the ones on the bottom.

The episode title cards and closing credits do not display in their original language when the Japanese version is played, proving that FUNimation always drops the ball in at least one aspect when it comes to this franchise. This means that, at best, all that is displayed is the English version’s title card while a subtitled translation appears at the bottom. At times the translation matches FUNimation’s to a certain degree, but in a lot of cases they are completely different. It’s strange to see two different versions of an episode title in the same place. I bought Season Two recently and checked to see if this issue was resolved. It has not been.

Other than some very minor material and the bilingual option, there are no real extras in this set. Trailers for different FUNimation-licensed series play at the beginning of each disc, and are skippable. If you’re watching episodes back to back, you might find the ‘Marathon Mode’ feature handy, which cuts off the opening and closing titles. A colorful booklet profiles most of the characters and offers a short description of each episode. Other than that, this is a barebones release. Since this is the first season, something akin to a documentary, a history lesson or maybe even (God forbid) interviews with the English voice actors would have been nice, but there’s none of that here.

Several years ago, after I read through the manga, I told myself that I would buy the Dragon Ball anime if it ever got the season box treatment. And now it has, displayed the way fans wanted to see it and with the original version (mostly) intact. Here’s hoping FUNimation will continue to release these. Minor issues aside, this is probably the best they can do for now.

Final Rating:

DVD Presentation (***) out of (****)

Content (*** 1/2) out of (****)

Game Review – Batman: Arkham Asylum

I honestly never thought I’d have an interest in Batman. Thanks, Arkham Asylum. Before this game came along, I could have cared less about stories involving a guy— dressed like a bat of all things— who flew around a city delivering vigilante justice to criminals in equally ridiculous looking outfits. Now, after spending several weeks playing Batman: Arkham Asylum, I must confess that I now own seven graphic novels and four of the movies.

What’s great is how accommodating Batman: Arkham Asylum is to non-Bat fans. Even those not interested in the Dark Knight will find something engaging here, whether it’s beating up dozens of enemies as a highly trained badass or exploring a seemingly endless and depressing old building. It’s a high caliber and greatly recommended experience.

As the story begins, Batman has just foiled the Joker’s attack on the Mayor’s office and is transporting him to Arkham Asylum, Gotham City’s home for the criminally insane. The night has shown some suspicious activity. A fire at Blackgate Prison ended with the inmates temporarily transferred to the asylum’s extra quarters, and Batman has his doubts about his recent run-in with his eternal arch nemesis; it seems Joker gave up rather easily. In no time at all, Joker breaks free of confinement. He announces that he has set a trap, and releases all of the inmates and patients.

The escapees include a well-selected group of Batman’s rogues gallery, all of whom are willing to give the Bat a vengeful welcoming. The assortment of bad guys is notable; rather than having the game throw an entire history’s worth of villains at Batman, a small group of them have been carefully picked and placed into the story. And newcomers (like I was) to the mythos need not worry. Every villain and major character is backed up by detailed unlockable biographies.

Controlling Batman is remarkably easy, and the learning curve mercifully short. Once Joker gets loose the player is almost immediately thrown into the chaos, surrounded by bad guys, and faced with rapidly changing gameplay modes. On-screen cues (depending on what difficulty level one chooses) tell when to press buttons, and a variety of actions are executed by a simple tap on the controller. Combat is handled the same way. Switching between buttons unleashes an easily picked up combo system. Batman handles his foes with the grace and style of a true martial artist.

Gameplay never gets stale because it’s constantly shifting focus. The majority of Arkham Asylum is played with a mixture of hardcore brawling, detective work, and stealth. Taking out large groups of enemies is cake for the Bat, but when they get their hands on guns, he must resort to more covert measures. Since Batman is a human being under the suit, bullets are naturally his kryptonite, and armored thugs must be dispatched silently, one by one.

And I gotta say, nothing is more satisfying than watching the bad guys scrambling around, paranoid, freaking out over their fallen comrades and shooting at random noises. The stealth sequences help emphasize an important point: Batman may not be impervious to gun fire, but he’s still a scary guy to his enemies, artillery or no.

If a player gets stuck at a point in the game, they can take a break from the main campaign and play in one of several challenge maps. They provide Arkham Asylum’s gameplay elements (action and stealth) without the story’s context. While I enjoyed the main game to death, I didn’t spend much time on the challenge maps. Part of the fun of Asylum is not knowing what one will be faced with next, and these are a little too much of the same thing.

In-between fighting and sneaking around, the World’s Greatest Detective must use his reasoning skills to work through puzzling situations. A tap of a shoulder button activates Detective Mode, which utilizes the forensic technology under Batman’s cowl. It turns the game’s world into wire-framed X-ray graphics, and can be used to track DNA trails left by enemies and also pick up their threat level (if they carry guns their bodies will turn red). It certainly adds an interesting angle, but Detective Mode can be frustrating at times, since players will find themselves constantly switching back and forth. Simply playing the entire game in Detective Mode is somewhat of a chore too, since it takes away from the beautiful graphics and ambience of the asylum.

Another use for Detective Mode is when Batman encounters clues and tricky puzzles left behind by an escaped Edward Nigma, a.k.a. The Riddler. Although he never makes a physical appearance in the game, Riddler adds a whole new level of play. Solving riddles (there’s one in nearly every room) unlocks extra character biographies and challenge maps. On top of that, collectable items like Riddler trophies and patient interview tapes are more easily discerned from the environment in Detective Mode.

Another interesting element is that Batman’s appearance gradually changes throughout the game. It’s no surprise, really; after running through a gauntlet of supervillains, mutants, and deathtraps, anyone, even the Dark Knight, would come out looking like a train ran them over. The cowl gets cracked, the suit gets cut, and the cape is ripped. In short, it’s one hell of a night for Bruce Wayne.

Although the game takes most of its source material from the comic books, players who grew up watching Batman: The Animated Series will find themselves in familiar territory here. The script was penned by cartoon alum Paul Dini, who wrote a lot of the episodes. The voice actors from the series return to their roles as well, in particular Kevin Conroy (Batman) and Mark “Skywalker” Hamill (Joker). Voice acting ranges from excellent to tolerable to really bad, depending on which talent and character the player encounters. Hamill is not only superb doing Joker’s voice again, but knows he is playing a far more sinister and sadistic character this time and adjusts accordingly. By contrast, Conroy is passable but sounds bored during his delivery. When he says lines as cornball as “I eat punks like them for breakfast”, one may find themselves holding back laughter.

Asylum’s greatest weakness is in its boss fights, which are repetitive and tedious. With a few exceptions, most of them involve the exact same patterns and strategies. Because of all the evident effort that was put into the graphics and gameplay, it’s a bit of a shock that developer Rocksteady Studios dropped the ball in this area.

The storyline is decent, but not totally engaging. Once the Joker’s true plan is revealed the plot doesn’t have many twists and turns. The rogues gallery really liven things up with all the problems they cause for Batman, and as noted before, stand strong in the roles they play.

Arkham Asylum, with all its care and craftsmanship, is a fantastic ride. Even if you’re not a fan of Batman, there is more than enough here to keep you satisfied, and it may win you over to the Bat side. It’s one of the most worthwhile purchases in recent history and one of the best games I’ve ever played.

Final Rating: (*** 1/2) out of (****)

Game Review: The Sims 3

Since I always consult reviews before I spend money on software, I did a lot of checking up on The Sims 3; but during my research, I discovered a wide gap in opinion between the professional gaming sites and the users. The professionals were praising The Sims 3 with every buzzword they could think of, calling it a triumph, a masterpiece, the best one yet, etc. On the other hand, the denizens of Amazon and Epinions were trashing the game, citing everything from gameplay changes that they hated to computers crashing left and right. I was torn. Who was I supposed to listen to in this situation? It was clearly a case where I would have to decide for myself. And I ultimately decided to buy the game.

Now, after spending several hours with it, I’ve reached my verdict. Not only is The Sims 3 a huge improvement over its predecessors, it really is the best Sims game, period. This is an experience beyond anything the series has ever offered. There are so many new options, additions, and tweaks, that it’s impossible to think anything less.

Because The Sims 3 is a life simulation game that has much in common with virtual reality, what better way to start than to insert myself in it? So I did. In Sim Creation Mode I painted a likeness of myself. Physically, he was fat and stubbly. Socially, he was a neurotic bookworm who liked computers.

Determining a Sim’s personality is much more satisfying (not to mention accurate) this time around. Gone are the old days of messing with meters and assigning ‘points’ to determine how a Sim behaves. Now there are personality ‘traits’, which are picked to shape your Sim’s overall persona. Do you want a grouchy outdoorsman who is good at cooking? Or how about an artistic, clumsy coward? There are over sixty traits to choose from, and many possible combinations. The only drawback is that you can’t assign traits that are polar opposites of each other, like having a Sim who is good and evil at the same time, or a couch potato who happens to be athletic.

And then there’s the town. Unfortunately you can’t create your own neighborhoods, but are stuck with one pre-made community, Sunset Valley. This is probably due to programming issues, since the community lots have a number of new interaction options. But that’s all fine print compared to the fact that the town is fully explorable with no load screen in sight. You no longer need a book in front of you when traveling between lots, because the entire town runs in real-time. Getting your Sim out of the house is hassle-free as well as rewarding. There are discount sales in stores, classes your Sim can take to improve their skills, and many places to socialize.

My favorite new feature is universal aging, or ‘Story Progression Mode’. Instead of having to switch between houses to get the Sims in the neighborhood to age, you can choose to focus only on one Sim and have the rest of the town age and progress around them. This is good for players who only like to play one family, and it eliminates generation gaps. In other words, if you have a child Sim then his friends will grow up with him rather than remain kids forever. For those who like things the old way, there’s an option to turn SPM off.

Keeping your Sims happy is now easier than ever, thanks in part to a new feature called the ‘Moodlet’ system. Moodlets are small elements, negative or positive, that directly affect the Sim’s Mood Meter for varying amounts of time. There are hundreds of Moodlets, ranging from excitement over buying new items to depression caused by a dirty kitchen.

In addition to that, the Needs meters, which had to be babysat constantly in past Sims games, now decrease at a slower pace. This frees up a lot of time and allows you to focus more on enriching your Sim’s life, rather than constantly worrying about meltdowns. And if several Needs meters are low, it only takes a few clicks to get them filled up again; the Moodlets take care of the rest.

The player can now take an active role in a Sim’s employment or education. Instead of just staring at an empty house until your Sim gets home from work, there is a panel that is used to control what they do throughout their work day. You can have them socialize with co-workers, work really hard, or kick back in the lounge if they get strained. There are also options related to job performance when your Sim isn’t at work. When my Sim became a patrol officer, an option became available that allowed him to interview townspeople and write up police reports on the computer.

Ultimately, The Sims 3 is well worth its purchase price. This review has barely scratched the surface of what the game is capable of; as of this writing, I still haven’t discovered every corner and crevice. When the expansion packs inevitably come along, I cannot imagine how much better The Sims 3 will get, since the core game is already so amazing.

Final Rating: (****) out of (****)

Nintendo to Hold Your Hand Through Upcoming Games

I feel an old man moment coming on…

You know, back when I was a young lad of eight, and had the old toaster-style NES keeping me company through weekends, games were tough. They were hard. They kicked your ass until you coughed up blood, and made you work to beat them. You played and you played until the hard edges of those control pads were grinding into your palms, and if you were lucky, you might have pushed a button at the right nanosecond and finished the final boss. That’s the way it was and we LIKED it! We LOVED it!

Now it’s mid 2009, and the video game demographic has spread beyond the Kool Aid sipping preadolescents of the 90s that we were. Now old people are playing, along with adults, young adults, parents, teachers, and nostalgic 30-somethings. So it’s only natural that a few adjustments would have to be made in how games are marketed and presented; but if this latest bit of news is true, Nintendo is about to go Kirby-soft when it comes to challenging their players.

The latest Super Mario Bros. will be released in stores this holiday season, and Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed that it will carry a feature called the “Kind Code.” Essentially a built-in demo player, the Kind Code will allow you to pause the game and let it play for you if you’re having trouble beating a level.

That’s right. Gone are the days of “Contra” and its insanity, of “Golgo 13″ and its mazes, of “Battletoads” and its jet ride levels. Welcome to the new generation, where Nintendo is prepared to take players by their soft hands and lead them through the big, scary games that could potentially make them sweat a little bit. Don’t worry about timing speed through those Twomps or adjusting jump distance for lava pits. Just sit back, relax, and let Nintendo do all the work for you.

Yeah, I’m a little angry about this.

Nintendo to Release Pulse Oximeter Thing

Umm… yeah.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo is live and kicking, and although I’m not visiting this year’s show, I’m still able to enjoy all the good and the odd thanks to the wonderful Internet. And this is definitely the strangest piece of gaming news I’ve heard in a long time.

Say hello to the Wii Vitality Sensor, a pulse oximeter that clips onto your fingernail, hooks into the Wii Remote, and does… something… with your heart beat. I really don’t know. According to Kotaku, Nintendo President Satoru Itawa introduced the product but said virtually nothing useful about it, leaving audience members at Nintendo’s press conference to wonder just what the hell it is or what it’s supposed to do. 

Electronic Gaming Monthly to Return From the Dead

The January 2009 issue of EGM, the last issue before its cancellation.

Like a lot of gamers, I was saddened and disappointed when my favorite gaming rag, Electronic Gaming Monthly, was suddenly canned in January. For years I had been buying the magazine, looking forward every month to the tounge-in-cheek writing style and unbiased, no-bullshit reviews. Not only was it my favorite game magazine, it was the only one I would buy. Game Informer, Gamepro, Official Xbox Magazine, none of those ‘clicked’ with me the way EGM did.

So I was happy to read the good news on Gamepolitics this morning. Steve Harris, the original founder of EGM, has reaquired the rights to the magazine and will be launching it later this year under a new publishing label.

It will be a pleasure to add new issues of EGM to my already abundant stash once more. I just hope the magazine is as funny and free spirited with the old staff gone…

3D Realms Bites It, Fate of “Duke Nukem Forever” in Question

AAAAAAAAAHHUGGGGGGH *splat*

Well folks, it finally happened. After 12 long years of teasers, broken promises, and endless examples of other people actually getting work done, the company with the famous catchphrase and an exorbitant amount of time on its hands has fallen. 3D Realms is officially dead.

I can’t say I’m surprised. If one has a company that does next to nothing for over a decade except occasionally produce something, it’s not going to stay afloat for very long. 3DR’s lazy ass was sitting on borrowed time ever since the announcement in 1997 kicked off the biggest joke in video game history.

But although 3DR may be gone, Duke Nukem Forever remains in the air. Take-Two Interactive still holds the publishing rights, and it’s possible that another development team will pick it up. Then again, it could just as easily get canceled and put to rest forever. In either case, we’re likely not going to be hearing “When it’s done!” repeated ad nauseum for 12 more years.

Movie Review: Friday the 13th Part 3 (1982)

Movie Review: Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

XBox Live to Receive Cuss Filter

Warning: The above clip contains heavy profanity.

Source: Gamepolitics

Have you ever looked at the back of a video game box and wondered what the heck “Experience may change during online play” in the ESRB descriptor means? Or have you actually had to suffer through an online Halo match where some prepubescent brat on the other end dropped racial slurs and f-bombs to the delight of his elementary school buddies? Sadly, there are a lot of jerkwads on X-Box Live who have no shame about blurting choice vocabulary words whenever they can. But according to Gamepolitics today, that will change very soon.

Microsoft has just received a patent for a real-time language censorer that will comb audio streams over XBox Live and block out the Big F. The device works, according to GP’s source Ars Technica, by monitoring phonemes and overriding recognizable words with silence or beeps.

It’s certainly impressive and could prove useful, but I have one issue with it. Is it optional? If it can be turned on and off at the user’s leisure then that’s great, but if it’s a static feature, then that reeks a little of forced censorship. Hopefully Microsoft will take it easy in this area.