SSX The Review.

When the PS2 was released in 2000 it had a lot of great launch titles. One being SSX this was the first of the next gen snowboarding games unless you count dark summit. The game had critical acclaim and sprouted a bunch of sequels and many handheld versions including one for the PSP.

Fast foward 12 years and EA is at it again with the relaunching of SSX this title originally called SSX Dark Decent then later retitled. Tells the story of 3 famous sports athletes who were all characters in the original games Mac, Zoe, and Griff they all band together to conquer 9 deadly descents on the planet. Unfortunately Griff separates from the team and creates his own so now it is a race against time for Team SSX to beat Team Griff.

The game is amazing it reminds me of SSX Tricky it also has a lot of remnants of the first SSX game. This time around though your costume along with your board does make a large difference for how you play. That and this time around everything you do gain you money or SSX credits from spending extra time in the air to grinding a large distance.

The graphics are very up to par the meet the EA standard and are again amazing for the first next gen iteration of SSX. The only gripe that i have with the game is like all recent EA games it comes with and online pass which again in my opinion is destroying the gaming industry.

All in all this new iteration of the SSX franchise is an amazing start. It is a great addition to anyone's collection and the learning curve isnt that steep as well.  So from me to you this is definitely a must buy.

The SSX Game Case for the Xbox 360 version.

Until Next Time Geeks. 

No More Valuable Comics

This is something that has helped me be less apprehensive about buying digital comics. I see that now with digital slowly making its way to the forefront of comics readership owning one specific issue won't allow you to make a fortune on reselling it in the future. So I don't have to worry about a comic being unavailable because it sold out. But there is one problem though. It's not going to make me any money in the future though. So what reason do I have to be a collector? None.

I think back to Superman Vol.2 #75 (1992) the Death of Superman issue. That book sold so many copies that there was a new printing and than another and another so you had no reason not to have it. Looking back on it now you can't blame DC Comics for reprinting it. That practice had been done by book companies for decades. Now though that practice I think is hurting the value of comics.

The Walking Dead is a popular comic book which has been adapted into a television show on AMC. The first issue of that comic premiered in 2003. Now nearly 100 issues later that first issue has been reprinted only last year for the Walking Dead weekly comic. Now if you were looking to buy the first issue of the series it can cost you upwards of $100. And as time goes by you would think that the value of that issue would go higher. I don't think it will though. There is the tradepaperbacks to compete with it gaining value. Now if you add digital into it nearly anybody can have their copy of issue one.

Think about Action Comics number one, the first appearance of Superman from 1938. This comic had a large print run of over one million copies made. But back than people were encouraged to recycle those comics. Or at least put them in some box and forget about them. The books were of such poor paper quality eventually they would fall apart and rot anyway. Now decades later at good copy of that issue can sell for over five hundred thousand dollars. Now fast forward to today if that book had a second, third or fourth printing with an alternate cover on glossy paper I doubt if the first printing would be worth as much as it is.

I understand the argument of getting as many copies of an issue into as many hands as possible. That's what keeps the comic going and keeps companies in business. Now though we have digital, so the multiple printings, variant covers, alternate covers, signed covers, negative covers, foil covers, hologram covers, leather covers, or whatever excuse to print the same book with different covers can all go away. I have bought those sorts of things before I admit that. But I stopped once I realized, I never read the alternate cover issue if I've read the first cover issue already. It just takes up more space than I have, while not adding any value to my collection.

Sometimes a book surprises everyone. Action Comics Vol.1 #775 (2001) caught everyone by surprise because of how good that one issue was. There initially was no second printing but after some time there was. The price for the first printing was pushing past the $20 mark but once the second printing came out that slowed down. Now, I know DC Comics has no reason to care about the after market. They make no money off of it, so screw those resellers. That feeds into my post about comic companies not caring about how digital is going to affect comic retailers. They don't care about this, so they won't care about that in the future. But if there had been no reprint would that comic now be pushing the $100 mark, maybe.

Certain things happen that keep a story relevant and financially important to a comic company. One thing that has emerged into being very important to a companies bottom line is the collected tradepaperback. This keeps the stories available to potential readers. It allows collectors to go back to old stories without potentially damaging the original single issues. Thus making the original not lose any value. The value of the original issue can go up or down depending on different factors though.

Digital can take this into a higher level of discrepancy for collectors. Something like the Charlton Captain Atom comics are valuable now because there's not an availability of trades for those stories. How about for todays comic market? What book can possibly become more valuable if there is a constant supply? I think only the surprise books that have low print runs, with no reprints can become valuable. That will only go so far since there may also be a digital copy also available later. So as far as I'm concerned a collections value is only going to go down. It won't go up as it did so many decades ago with todays comics and that for me is just sad. That is risk of collecting though, a risk that will not payoff like many hoped it would.

Best Marvel Comic (ongoing) today.

I must start off by apologizing. I am sorry.

I was going to go into why Invincible Iron Man is the best Marvel comic going on today but someone else beat me to it. Check out this article.
(http://www.newsarama.com/comics/best-shots-extra-invincible-iron-man-120215.html)
I know its supposed to only be about the latest issue, number 513. The thing is that it sums up my thoughts on the book really well. So there's no point in me rehashing what he's already said. Well done George Marston, well done.

I usually buy and read it in tradepaperback form. If the price for the single issues was lower I would consider buying those instead. But their not so I'll just keep getting the trades.

So I'll just go onto the next best book, Captain America by Ed Brubaker. No big explanations why just understand that it's a great story that Brubaker has been weaving for years. If it had not split into two different books, Captain America and Captain America and Bucky. There might be a case for it being Marvels best monthly comic. I think it would still be second just because of inconsistent artists at some spots. But still Brubaker does a great job and will do so on Winter Soldier.

After that maybe Thor will start to be in the running for best Marvel book. All of the other books Marvel puts out are not worth buying. That's just my view on that subject. Not just on overpricing alone but also quality and consistency. Until next time.

Sony Wireless Headset Review - 6 years in the making finally shows up

It took them look enough.

Sony has finally released a headset worthy for the Playstation 3. Now we all know that we had are fill of Wireless headsets throughout the years ( Sony its been freaking 6 years) from Madcatz, Turrle Beach, and Tritton and sure Sony made their small bluetooth ear piece way back when which mind you sucks hard. If any one knows what i'm talking about please comment because once you put the earpiece on your ears it started to swell up and became so uncomfortable you would have to switch sides or not use it at all, but Sony's official Headset which took them long enough has a few tricks up its sleeve for a potential ultimate headset. Besides looking a bit bulky once you wear it; and look in the mirror you look like Princess Leia from Star Wars, it's capable of virtual 7.1 surround sound and displays onscreen status reports exclusively when used with a PS3 and it hits the spot.
                                        

After the initial unboxing

                                         

After the usual unboxing we are left with the Wireless Stereo Headset itself and USB transmitter(featured above). Along small packet of instructions very simple right? for its $100.00 price point ( no doubt your paying for SONY name as well) it doesn't come with USB cable for charging, which you'll be doing often given its seven-hour battery life which is not bad for the causal gamer but for the hard core you will be charge as you play. Thankfully, though, the build quality hasn't suffered much as a result. The majority of the product matches it PS3 slim counterpart with a finished in a textured matte plastic, with hints of gloss on the inner edges and a thin slab of brushed metal on the headband. which to me is pretty sexy i like the matchy matchy stuff so it's cool so far.

Sleek and Yet So Stylish.

You can easily see it will be a comfortable wear.

USB Wireless Dongle.

                                     
The second piece to this set is the USB dongle, it's similar in size to standard USB stick or a pack of Wrigley's gum and shares the same texture as the headset and a thin blue LED light in the middle of the stick which simply blinks as it searches for the headset and glows solid while it's connected.

 Master Balance slider it is used to either increase voice volume or game sound volume.

Master volume control.

Now lets get to the Controls and layout. Many headsets we have seen go for cluttered in-line controllers and annoyingly laid-out on-earcup buttons. While this Sony brought this late in the game, it still keeps functionality an highest priority at the same time keeping it in style of the headset. On the left side ear panel there are four discreet controls. The front side has a vertical slider for balancing game and chat levels, while the rear side handles the main volume -- also, tucked in on the back end is a mini USB port for charging it's internal Lithium-ion battery. The topmost part of the panel functions as a power / microphone mute button, and positioned horizontally above it's a button for enabling virtual 7.1 surround sound. just click that button once to quickly make audio related adjustments, while a light inward push (maybe hold for a second) for muting the battery info, and power related info pops up on the screens right hand top corner to show you its statistics. visually and audibly relayed whenever a setting is changed. While the button layout on the head set is awesome, the same can't be said of its retractable microphone under the left ear side. Mind you it is adjustable to three lengths, it isn't flexible and it's set to a fixed angle, which annoyingly because you will see the led placed on its inner tip will glare on your left eye. For me it didn't bother me as much but for some it might especially when playing multiplayer.

Lets set for sound now for paying the $100.00 price tag for these you are going for one thing.... is increasing your killing streaks with better sound cues. For this price point, we'd say the Wireless Stereo Headset's well positioned against headsets like Turtle Beach's PX21, The audio isn't amazing and there's a slight, ever-present hiss, but it performed decently as an improvement over our HDTV's built-in speakers. With music, not enough bass in my opinion. Although the headset wasn't really made for music listening, it's not to say Sony's headset can't perform its duties as a gaming headset. it overall does the job for the casual gamer now for the hardcore they will fuss about a lot of things so im going explain too much of it in detail too me it works out. If you're eying that virtual 7.1 simulation, please keep in mind its a SIMULATION not the real thing people. While the soundstage became all encompassing when it was enabled, it didn't relay clear positioning to us. sure you will hear details but not as accurate from Turtle Beach or Tritton Astro headsets, for the hardcore you might have trouble picking up on gunshots and footsteps around you. The 7.1 surround notably, can be engaged for other media aside from games, but surround sound isn't officially supported with Blu-ray movies, etc.

Reflecting back the PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset, it's clear that Sony put a great deal of thought into this. The design and control layout is geared for long gaming sessions and the notification system is a good addition. To me it stands as one of the least frustrating headset setups compared to Turtle beach, and Tritton's pieces (wired and wireless) which to me is a plus. That said, there are some odd quirks like its sweat-inducing ear pads and the microphone's annoying LED. The audio quality works well enough for gaming, but overall it's average, and the surround sound simulation is decent. for the price (again your buying their name as well) we've experienced better surround sound from other companies. if you can get it for cheaper, or if your a causal gamer i would go for it

The Amazing Spider Preview Event in NYC as well as scavanger Hunt

Hello everyone. Have you heard all the Spider-man Gossip going about the new reboot of our favorite neighborhood web slinger? well on Feb 6th 2012 Columbia Pictures had a special event about the untold story of the Amazing Spider-man and we were there for the event at Union Square Regal Theater. we were not expecting much since it can't be a whole movie, we were expecting a 3 min trailer but were soooo wrong. What we did see is a full event and not only they were showing a preview, but Columbia Pictures did a live event located in 4 places. New York, Los Angeles, London, and Rio De Janeiro, and not only it being recorded live but whatever location you were in you were with one of the main characters in the film explaining their role and part in the film

Los Angles - Director: Marc Webb
Rio De Janeiro- Gwen Stacy: Emma Stone
London - Dr. Curt Connors / The Lizard: Rhys Ifans
New York - Peter Parker/Spider-man: Andrew Garfield

After the small Q & A Marc Webb introduced us to the new Trailer showing footage of the new movie located here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tnxzJ0SSOw


and after that for our time and patience the Director gave us more scenes of uncut footage of the movie. So far from what i have seen looks like it will be taped in 3D not converted so hang on tight people this movie looks.....AMAZING i know corny but it is. after the event was over we also got some complementary untold Story long sleeve shirt swag.



As soon as the event was over roughly about 3 to 5 days past Columbia Pictures had some viral marketing around the world where people found a school bag with big letters stating property of Peter Parker. if you want more info on this please check out superhero hype to see the details. Happy Hunting and save the date for July 3 2012

http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/169549-the-amazing-spider-man-viral-hunt-begins

Me's Recession Rant:: Resident Evil Revelations has been answered plus review

it seemed that Capcom heard my prayers and stated the price for Resident Evil Revelations is back to the $39.99 price point. Capcom stated that Resident Evil Revelations would break the $39.99 price barrier & release at the high price of $49.99 – making it the first $49.99 game on the 3DS & debut title to make use of a 4GB game card. However, Capcom announced today that the price of Resident Evil: Revelations will be marked down to $39.99 when it sees release on February 7th. i think they were trying to pull a fast one on the consumers thinking we would pay a $49.99 dollar price game where all the other standard 3DS games for $39.99. I THINK NOT. well as soon as i found out i went and bought the game and here is my review of it


From what i can tell the game is going back to its roots via Resident Evil 1 days, creepy in dark environments and in one place survival horror game, Resident Evil: Revelations splices the survival horror DNA of classic Resident Evil with the new, brisker strain of Resident Evils 4 and 5. The result isn't an Umbrella-style crime against nature, but a hybrid: an optimum mix of tense, creepy exploration and stop-and-shoot action, telling a tale of bio-terrorism and unwise genetic meddling aboard an abandoned ocean liner. With a 10-hour story campaign, and is one of the games to show the 3DS full potential to date it's a meaty slab of a single-player adventure. and did i mention its 3D is really tense once you put the setting all the way up and in the dark. Some moments are not scary as others but still good overall fun Resident Evil: Revelations Review

Revelations is a successful blend of old-school Resident Evil horror and new-school action.

The Good

Taut stop-and-shoot action just like the classic RE 1, Creepy atmosphere, Great visuals, especially in 3D and entertaining story.

The Bad

Unengaging new characters (why do Chris and Jill have sidekicks if they are not going to do anything )i think Chris and Jill would have been fine and thats all you need to bring back old school survival horror.


The story

Veteran Zombie Bashers Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield return, both in the service of the Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), but not as partners. The game is set after Resident Evil 4 and before 5, in the wake of a bioterrorist attack in which the high-tech island city of Terragrigia gets obliterated. Chris is paired with the flirty Jessica Sherawat, and Jill with Parker Luciani, a BSAA agent with a dubious Italian/Irish accent, i can't never tell once he talks. The story plays out in TV-style, bite-sized episodes, each sandwiched between a "previously on Resident Evil: Revelations" recap and a cliff-hanger ending. It's a fun format for the compellingly hammy melodramatics of Resident Evil tradition. can someone say "master of Unlocking" lol

Much of the early game is spent playing as Jill or Chris in search of each other on a giant ship of horrors with your respective AI partner in tow. The new partners aren't hugely engaging--when you first meet Jessica, she's in shorts and ankle warmers, moaning about the cold on an arctic mission--but you're at least not responsible for their safety, since they can't be killed. One of the most atmospheric portions is one that also most resembles old-school, haunted-house Resident Evil: Jill wakes up in a ship's cabin and has to venture alone

The pace alternates between slower segments of cautious exploration and fraught sequences similar to Metroid Prime style which work for this 3Ds plat-former where you fight off waves of mutants while waiting almost everywhere. In the slower sections, sinister ambiance and the good old fashion jump scared in fright, while you navigate ship corridors and dim rooms on the hunt, generally, for a key. Overall the game is fun for the RE fan in you or something new to see how powerful 3Ds can be.

L'Arc~en~Ciel is having a 20th Anniversary concert tour.

The Osaka originated is having a 20th Anniversary concert tour. The group had some meager beginnings and its ups and downs but in 2012 they will be having a world concert tour. Starting this month in Hong Kong and ending in their hometown of Oaska in May this sounds like a very promising tour. They will also be making a stop at Madison Square Garden. With the mention of NYC I want to say to all our readers keep coming back to the site we may or may not be having a contest for some tickets to the event. Cough cough we will though cough cough..

Until Next time guys..