Sony's Problem with the PS Vita

     As a Sony fan I feel this is a post I should make.  Well, actually, it's more of an updated reminder- because I said almost the exact same thing back in 2013.  The post was actually prompted by Sony's recent news that the PS Vita is getting 2 new colors in Japan (a silver-grey and metallic red).  It sells much better overseas than here in the west, but that doesn't have to be.

THE PROBLEM(S)

     The major issues with the Vita is really in 2 areas.  The first is cost (both the Vita itself, and secondarily the ridiculously overpriced proprietary memory cards).  To be fair, they did release a newer model of Vita (which is awesome) that is considerably cheaper- but the memory cards are still far too costly.  Though, this is really the lesser issue the Vita has.

     The larger problem is the games selection.  When the system was first marketed, it was supposed to be a portable Playstation in the palm of your hand.  Which we do have, but only without the AAA titles that make the system worthwhile.  The same goes for Nintendo's continued use of re-selling old titles on new handheld systems.  We want games that can't simply be played on a phone.
     What happened there?  Think of the Vita's early games that were, and are, still the best the system offered- Assassin's Creed: Liberation, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and Gravity Rush.  These 3rd person action adventure games are unbelievably great.  We fans want more of this kind of quality.

POSSIBLE SOLUTION

     It's been my biggest complaint since I first got the Vita 4 years ago- the games selection.  They need better games.  Games.  Games.  GAMES!  More AAA games.  More exclusivity and original games.  Not just games that are already available for free on phones.  We want the true Playstation in our hands feel that a phone or tablet cannot give us.
     We want AAA-quality exclusive games.  Good freakin' lord- can you imagine what a new game that takes place in the world of The Last of Us could do on this system?  A NEW Dark Souls, a NEW Borderlands, Ico, Far Cry, Deus Ex, Batman: Arkham game, or even a new Bioshock?
     Or what about a new Metal Gear?  I wrote up a small outline for a game that would be a wonderful use of the franchise on the Vita- featuring The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 2.  The previous Vita Metal Gears were great, we could definitely use more of this type of game.  Hopefully it would be a little better looking than Metal Gear Survive.  The series could use some new content, and Konami might need a bit of guidance since Kojima left.
     Note that I specifically say "NEW" versions- we don't want more ports of console titles we already own.  We want portable experiences that the other companies and consoles cannot provide.  Less ports and more originals.  Real Triple-A titles that we can play on the go.  Sony, you have immense potential with the Vita, so why aren't you using it?  We want the content, it just isn't available.  Seriously Sony, a few NEW AAA games would cement the Vita as THE portable system to have.

     Back in May there was a reveal that there was an actual portable Elder Scrolls game in production for the Vita's precursor (the PSP) that was cancelled.  Can you imagine how unbelievably amazing a NEW Elder Scrolls game for the Vita could be?!?  A real first person Elder Scrolls game and not the stupid card game currently being peddled would be a tremendous money maker, and if it was a Vita exclusive...  that's a whole lot of sales.

VITA SUCCESSOR

     Sony Computer Entertainment's president Shuhei Yoshida was asked about a PS Vita successor by Eurogamer at the EGX 2015 and his response was:

"That's a tough question- people have mobile phones and it's so easy to play games on smartphones, and many games on smartphones are free, or free to start. 

"I myself am a huge fan of PlayStation Vita and we worked really hard on designing every aspect. Touch-based games are fun - there are many games with really good design. But having sticks and buttons make things totally different. 

"So I hope, like many of you, that this culture of playing portable games continues but the climate is not healthy for now because of the huge dominance of mobile gaming."

     This comment stuck with me (from a year ago) because as phones get better, they'll catch up to the Vita eventually.  A new Sony portable gaming system isn't needed- they simply need a better selection of AAA games that are extremely lacking from the Vita right now.  It doesn't matter how awesome the Vita is if there aren't games to show it off are non-existent.  I mean, you could have the greatest movie theater ever created, but if you only play Sharknado on each screen no one's going to show up.

     So, please Sony, give us some brilliant new reasons to dust off this amazing portable system.

Dark Souls 3: I Found My Dead Body and WTF Crab?!?

     Came across this nice little accident a while ago while playing Dark Souls 3 and needed something to serve as a quick post.  It's just the convenient placement of my lost souls on what may very well be my dead body!

     And here's something that's bothered me for quite some time.  In the Catacombs of Carthus, the second skeleton ball can explode, like the first one that also leaves a bone shard, but this one leaves a small crab behind.  No clue as to why this is, but I find it humorous.  

     I have yet to find any connection to why or how the crab got there, but hopefully someone will notice something to provide some in game context.  I'm curious to know if it has anything to do with the embered giant crabs in the nearby Smouldering Lake?
     And why are some enemies embered anyways?

Gravity Rush 2: New Tokyo Game Show 2016 Trailer Looks Amazing!

     As expected, the nearer we get the the release date the more material we'll get to see for the highly anticipated Gravity Rush 2.  This is the Tokyo Game Show 2016 trailer, loaded with new goodies for all of us fans.

     New moves, new character, and new costumes- what's not to like?  It appears that the sequel to the PS Vita exclusive Gravity Rush has taken everything we liked about the first game and made it better.

     Gravity Rush 2 will be available Dec. 2nd for PS4.

     For related posts [ Gravity Rush ]

NVRLND: Issue 2: Short Review (451 Entertainment)

     The first issue of NVRLND was a welcome surprise, with the creators transforming the classic tale of the boy that never grew up into a more modern story full of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll- all placed in the underground music scene of Hollywood High.

     Issue 2 begins with an unexpected, but surprisingly great, backstory for Tiger Lily. Wendy gets grounded for ditching school with Tiger after their initial fight, and later she sneaks out to meet up with her new friends to see Peter and his band The Lost Boys at his secretive club Neverland.

     Of course things go awry at the club as pirate themed tattoo artist and drug dealer James Hook has a terrible plan for Peter and those that frequent his club that he sets into motion.  Hook doesn't want to just peddle Pixie Dust, he wants Peter to see what is going on and suffer, and only then does he want him to die.

     Hook and his gang start a brawl and take Wendy hostage.  During the scuffle there's an unforeseen relationship brought to light between Peter and Hook that drastically changes their dynamic.  The conflict heats up, both men act and the issue ends with Peter and Wendy in a riveting cliffhanger, but not before we get to see Peter do some real magic with his shadow.  There's no real explanation of how the magic works or where it comes from, but that may come in the next issue.  We are left with Hook triumphant.

     The writer/creator pairing of Stephanie Salyers and Dylan Mulick have upped the ante quite well- taking the first issue's foundation and adding the magic into the story in a way that feels right as well as getting the characters into action.  Although, with that said, I feel the pace is just a little too rapid.  The story could use some down time to balance things out.  The issue starts off fast, and just puts pedal to the metal all the way to the end, but not everything has to be breakneck sprint to the finish line.  The only slow moments are the few with Mr. Darling making headway in the political realm while his chief comes across a clue pointing towards the Pixie Dust related deaths.  It's a small portion of the whole, but it could be longer to give readers a pause before taking flight again with the younger characters.

     Make no mistake, the story may feel rushed, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  It's something that does align with the rockstar lifestyle Peter and all these teens strive for.  To be fair, they've firmly grasped the clubbing nightlife of raving and partying.  This fact is only enhanced by all the wonderful shots by artist Leila Leiz (with colors by Thomas Chu) having captured it with neon perfection.  For a four issue series 451 Entertainment has been hitting the right notes and are on track for another great story in NVRLND.

     NVRLND issue 2 will be available Sept. 14th.

     Official Sites [ 451 Entertainment ] [ Twitter ] [ Facebook ] [ Youtube ]

     Link to 451's [ Comixology ]

     For more 451 comic reviews [ HERE ]

*Review copy provided by 451, Thank you!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Ghost Rider: "Vengeance Comes" Teaser

     The newest teaser for season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been released, featuring the coming vengeance of the Ghost Rider.  It doesn't give us a whole lot to go on for story, but does show us the darker more violent tone the new 10pm time slot would suggest.

     I've got an on-again-off-again relationship with the show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I'm really torn here about their use of Ghost Rider.  I thought the first 6 episodes of the first season was garbage, but then returned and it got better towards the end of the season.  Then it got terrible once more, and slowly made more headway to become interesting again...  ...only to fall into another awful bout of poor writing and directing.
     Once Ghost Rider was announced they recaptured my attention.  Very skeptical attention.

     When a character that is a demon-possessed machine of vengeance is being added to the show, I'm a bit worried that Agents will turn him into something reminiscent of one of the CW's teen-angst filled heroes.  I've written about how I thought he'd be better off in an R-rated Netflix series, though the teaser holds some decent tones to alleviate my fears.  It has a couple shots right out of Stephen King's Christine, and a dash of the extremely underrated Charlie Sheen movie The Wraith (which is a much better Ghost Rider film than the actual Ghost Rider films).

     The choice of Robbie Reyes does make a bit more sense for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and even though I thought his initial comic book appearance was less-than-spectacular, the idea behind him was great.  He is an interesting new take on the character, and might even get better as the creators say they'll be doing their own version of him.  Hopefully the writers of the show can do better with him than his comic series did.  There's a lot of potential here, don't screw it up Marvel.  They neutered Agent Coulson by taking all his wit-filled secretive badassery away.  Seriously, go back and re-watch Iron Man and Thor and see how much better he is in those roles.  The same thing happened to Agent Carter.  Her television show lost the magic of what made her special by relegating things to petty romantic dramas.

     To be fair, this teaser looks much better than most of the 3rd season, so I remain hesitantly optimistic.  I just wish he was more grimy and dirty looking- like a real mechanic.  Oil stained hands, jacket scuffed to hell, and so on.  He looks too damn clean.
     And they need to fix the skull.  As of now it looks pretty bad.  They really, really should fix it.

     Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns Sept. 20th, @ 10pm ET on ABC.

     For more Ghost Rider related [ posts ]

The Last Guardian: Delayed AGAIN?!? Now Releasing Dec. 6th.

     Mere weeks before the game was set to arrive (Oct. 25th), Playstation has announced on their official blog that- surprise, SURPRISE- The Last Guardian is receiving yet another delay.

     SCE Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida himself posted this message:

"Fumito Ueda, gen DESIGN and JAPAN Studio have a wonderful vision for The Last Guardian’s touching, emotional journey of friendship and trust, and we want to deliver the most polished experience possible for our fans who have supported us for so long. A delay is a difficult decision, particularly with this game, but we have encountered more bugs than anticipated while in the final stages of development. To ensure that The Last Guardian delivers on the experience that the game’s creators have envisioned, we need to take the extra time to work on those issues. 

Our development continues to push itself to the fullest and we look forward to revealing new content toward launch. 

We appreciate your continued support."

     Honestly, this is something that is definitely souring my taste for the game.  Announcement after announcement gets followed by disappointment and delay.  Everyone watching the development knows that it began in 2007, was initially announced in 2009, and reintroduced in 2015.  It's getting to the point where the game may not be able to live up to its own hype.
     Team Ico has yet to make a bad game, but this feels like it's going to be too short or too small and might feel like a decade of wasted potential.  Ico and Shadow of the Colossus still stand as two of the most creative and innovative games ever.  Something just feels off about this, and that in itself seems like an ill omen.  Granted, I could be very wrong about this, and The Last Guardian may become the triumphant final installment to the Team Ico saga.

     The Last Guardian's newest expected release date is Dec. 6th.

     For related posts [ The Last Guardian ]

     Source [ PSN BLOG ]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows: Mega Bloks: A Tiny Toy Review

     It's been a while since I bought these back in early June, and even longer since I reviewed the initial wave of Mega Bloks Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (based on the Nickelodeon show), but because wave 2 just hit the shelves and the TMNT 2: Out of the Shadows film hits DVD on Sept. 20th (although it's already digitally available) I figured I should get this short review out.

     As with the original wave of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mega Bloks toys, these things are great.  They look good and are super poseable with a ton of articulation.  They don't quite match the absurdly high quality of product of the first wave of toys.  These feel like a slightly cheaper plastic and the colors appear to be slightly "off."  It could be an attempt to make it closer to the film, but it still looks a touch off from the high quality of the Nickelodeon based figures.  Overall though, they are still tremendous tiny action figures.

     Honestly, if you liked the first wave, or enjoy the films even a little bit, you may appreciate these figures.  They're small, made well, and still maintain the Mega Bloks quality.  I truly like these much, much, MUCH better than the larger Playmates toy series' based on the movies, television show, and even their re-issues of the classic action figures from the 80's- but these toys are not quite as cool as the Kaiyodo Revoltech TMNT figures.

     These TMNT 2: Out of the Shadows movie figures have the added benefit of knowing which figure you are buying as well.  That's a huge plus for me.  Sure, I like the idea of blind packs, but it's a huge annoyance to continually not get the figures you want.

     For more Turtles related posts [ TMNT ]

Dark Souls: The Breath of Andolus: Short Comic Book Review

     As both a comic book fan and a Dark Souls fan, I must say that the Dark Souls comic has been a terrible experience.  At best, this is a generic fantasy story skinned with Dark Souls, and at worst it resembles the source material in name only.  The Breath of Andolus contains none of the elements that make Dark Souls such an appealing series.
     At its base it's the story of Fira, a soldier on a quest to reclaim a dragon's tooth in the land of Ishra.  It's the old story of an undead curse and someone attempting to right it.

     On perhaps the only good note, you can see that at the its core, the creators had the right idea by playing with the undead curse and its degradation on the minds of those it afflicts, but when it came to execution they eschewed the brilliant FromSoftware storytelling method in favor of pure over-the-top Hollywood-esque action scenes.  In the last issue, things got a very tiny bit better as we find that the unreliable narrator has had some memory problems due to the curse and her joyous past wasn't as great or nice as she had thought.

     The comic series holds none of the tension, tone, or perfectly tailored atmosphere of the games.  None of it.  The complex lore at the heart of the games is also completely non-existent here, seriously, the closest it comes is a couple name drops- as one of the two main characters is named Aldrich, who may be the Aldrich of the third game, but comes across nothing like his past was described in the game at all by Hawkwood as a "right and proper Cleric."  It's like they purposely ignored all the things that make the games so good, and they clearly don't understand that special magic the games hold.

     Then they relied so heavily on exposition that it's downright awful, with far too much talking, and the overabundance of the "Thy's and Thou's" being force fed to us is infuriating.  There's a good reason why the dialogue in the games is so sparse.  They give us only the barest information and allow us to find the story, we become part of the journey by learning and solving the puzzle as we go.  Here, they give us no mystery, no way to obtain that same rewarding realization we get from finding it ourselves in the games.

     I fully believe that a Dark Souls comic can be done properly with a much defter hand*, and a more appropriate art style, but with The Breath of Andolus, that opportunity has been wasted.  Hopefully Titan Comics will find a team better suited to the incredibly unique FromSoftware storytelling method.  I already see they have a second series (Dark Souls: Legends of the Flame) in the works from the same writer, George Mann and aided by Dan Watters, but different artists.  Alan Quar will be joined by Piotr Kowalski, and Damien Worm.  My hopes are already at the lowest possible point until they get a better crew to make these.

     If you are a true fan of the game series in any capacity, avoid this comic.  It isn't the intriguing journey of an unkindled.  This feels more along the lines of a poorly handled, uneven, meandering mess that is a story belonging to a nameless hollowed infantry soldier- meaning it's a waste of your time to even stop and deal with it.  It's much better to simply walk passed it.  Ignore these comics and just play the games, you'll appreciate them more.


*If I were to choose, I'd suggest Becky Cloonan as writer (see her By Chance or Providence series) with art by Mike Mignola.  And good gods, get someone like VaatiVidya to be editor on these books!

Red Dog: Issue 1 Review (451 Entertainment)

RED DOG

     Is the name of the new 4 issue science fiction  series from 451 Entertainment.  The comic is brought to us by the talented writers Rob Cohen (of XXX and The Fast and the Furious fame) and Andi Ewington (writer of SIX, Sunflower, and Ex Mortis, as well as his criminally under-appreciated series Overrun).  The art is by Rob Atkins and colored by John Rauch.

KIRAWAN

     The inhospitable planet of our protagonist Kyle, the only kid out of nearly 200 members of the human colony, is surrounded by twin suns, leaving the world in a cycle of perpetual daytime.  It also leaves the land as essentially a desert wasteland.
     Kirawan has neither oxygen, nor water, and is inhabited by a hostile native race of insectile aliens.  Kyle describes it as the "worst place imaginable."  Luckily, the colony has created a bio-dome with all the necessities, and offers a way to survive and grow a ton of wheat for food and beer and so on.

     Kyle spends his days with Q trying to get through all his chores, and finding ways to live up to his father's standards, but the story on a whole is about a boy and his dog.  The dog here is the titular red dog, Q, which is short for Quantum.  Q is an artificial intelligence of sorts, created by Kyle's uncle Jake, and powered by a quantum computer.  He acts just as a real dog, being playful and curious, and looks to be the character that will end up being at the true heart of the series.

IMPERIUM

     This is where the real cool stuff the book might have in store for us is.  The reason all the colonist miners have come to Kirawan is for a mysterious element that was first discovered in the 23rd century called Imperium.  It is extremely rare, and has an even rarer property- it opens the possibility for time travel.
     This is what holds a vast amount of promise for the series.  A good time travel tale can open up stories with infinite possibility, and I believe that is what Red Dog has planned for the future.  We get to see only the barest effect of the element, and the hint of what may be done with it, and as a huge time travel fanatic, that has got me salivating to so how the creators will be putting it to use.

     My only complaint is a small, apparent inconsistency.  There is the fact that the boy's name is Kyle, but a guy named Joey refers to him as Kylo.  No one else calls him that and I can't help wonder if it's a nickname or a spelling error, due to the similar names I am not entirely sure.  It's an extremely tiny thing overall and I said apparent because I'm unsure which is true.  What's important is they've set up Red Dog for some really big things to come.

     This first issue has given us a lot of potential and a great cast of characters.  It has all the right set up, and leaves us on a cliffhanger that leaves me wondering how Kyle will come through after the natives attack.  Are the native aliens truly malevolent, or is Kyle correct in his notion that they are more than just animals?  Where and when will the lost Imperium re-arrive?  There's a lot of questions we'll be seeing answered in the future.

     As with many of 451's comics this is an updated take on a classic story- the clearest example being their newest series NVRLND being a modern take on Peter Pan- Red Dog has at it's core the coming of age tale of a boy and his dog set in an interesting sci fi universe.  With that in mind, Red Dog has a little Lassie, a bit of Ender's Game, and a hefty dose of John Carter of Mars to round out what is looking like a wonderful new kind of science fiction comic.
   
     Red Dog hits the stands November 16th.

     Official Sites [ 451 Entertainment ] [ Twitter ] [ Facebook ] [ Youtube ]

     Link to 451's [ Comixology ]

     For more 451 comic reviews [ HERE ]

*Review copy provided by 451, Thank You!

Stranger Things: Season 2 Announcement Teaser

     The Duffer Brothers' Netflix exclusive sci-fi horror show Stranger Things has officially announced a 2nd season coming in 2017!  The teaser trailer gives us a bunch of curious names and opens up a ton of possible connections.

     Season 1 was a true love letter to all the classic sci-fi horror films of the 80's and I can only imagine that with the way things were left at the end, there is a whole lot more that can be done with the series.  I mean, what exactly IS the upside down?  Where did that creature come from?  How were the kids taken to Hawkins Laboratories connected to the creature and the upside down?

     I expressed my extreme enjoyment of the series from, quite literally the day it began (Here and here.).  The series was tremendously saturated with all the things I grew up with in the 80's, and with a second series on the way, I can rest assured that it'll be even better than the first season.

     2017 can't come soon enough.