Zone of the Enders HD Collection Review.

Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast on Monday afternoon and my god did it hit NYC hard. One of the things that it did not hit was the release date of the Zone of the Enders HD collection.

Zone of the Enders is a mech game released by Konami back when the PS2 came out the game was  Kojima's first take on the mech franchise. The game was a big deal because it also came with a demo of Metal Gear Solid 2. Two years later Zone of the Enders 2 a sequel hit the game was even a bigger hit then the first.

Fast forward 9 years and here we are Zone of the Enders HD Collection.  In the last couple of years the HD collection has been a great way for those who didnt get to play certain games and their sequels to play them.

Zone of the Enders HD collection is a great addition to all of the other HD collections already on the market. Personally these games were a big deal to me as a child and I am ecstatic to be able to play them in the current generation of gaming. In the collection you get both Zone of the Enders and its 2003 sequel. Along with the games much like the first Zone of the Enders you get a demo for an upan coming Metal Gear game.

Both games on one disc. Much like any and all current HD collections. 

Both games are both put on one disc as seen in the picture above the Metal Gear Rising Demo is also featured on its own disc and it is not a download code like other games have had cough cough God of War HD collection.

The Metal Gear Rising Demo. Like the Metal Gear Solid 2 Demo it is bundled with the Z.O.E games.

Graphics wise the games look amazing they are both up to par with all the current gen frame rates and such. Both these games are visually stunning and give jaw dropping visuals. I think that is one of the reason that they were such big hits not to mention that the stories were also awesome. 

The controls for the Xbox 360 version are some what iffy at first and they dont have a steep learning curve but the you will know that the curve is there. If anything though it doesnt really take away from the awesomeness of the game.

The Metal Gear Rising Demo stay tuned for a review of the Demo in the next day or so.

All in all the Z.O.E Hd collection is totally worth the $40 it is a great take on a classic and it will give a chance to the many that may not have gotten to play the games. 

Sandy came and is now gone.

Some shop job someone posted online but I thought it would convey what happened yesterday.. 

Last night the east-coast was hit by Hurricane Sandy. Me and my writers and our families are fine thank god but I am posting to tell you that any and all reviews that were suppose come out this week will be a little late. Sorry for that but with UPS delayed we wont get our review copies til later this week. Sorry geeks.

Until Next Time Geeks....

Tamashi Ultra Act Gridman Aka Servo Review.

Back in the 90's during the age of Power Rangers and VR Troopers and Masked Rider there was another show its was called Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad.

The show followed 4 teens and their lives defending cyberspace from the evil Malcolm Fink and the creations brought to life thanks to the evil Kilokahn. The show lasted about 53 episodes here in America but I am not sure how long it lasted in Japan. Fast forward nearly 20 years and Tamashi is finally giving us a Servo figure worthy of praise. Dont get me wrong the figures from the show that I had as a child were awesome but most were non poseable megazords that had so sign of articulation.

The figure comes in the normal Tamashi packaging a square box with a window view of the figure along with art of the character on the back and the way you can pose him on it too.  Thie figure has several points of articulation and is very poseable the details are extraordinary on this figure it even has a hole in his back so that those with an extra Tamashi stand can use one to display him.

The Servo Packaging. It has a Clear window to see the figure and the accessories that he comes accompanied with.  

Servo holding his Sword and Shield.

Along with the figure you get a ton of accessories well not a ton but enough that you can pretty much put Servo in any action pose you may want. Servo comes with a Sword and Shield he also comes with multiple hands an energy blast that you can actually put into his arm an a sword and shield combo that he used in the show. The only thing that I am sad to say that Servo doesnt come with is a Tamashi stand which kinda sucks but all in all the figure is awesome.

The many accessories that come with Servo. His sword and shield combo, Energy blast and his several arms.

He is super poseable and he is clearly made to be played with I have mine on display but at the same time if I ever wanted to play with him I could. All in all the figure is a great buy and a welcome Tamashi addition to anyone collection and even if not having a Tamashi stand is a problem for you you can pick one up on Amazon. The Japanese version of the figure is available to order on you favorite import site but for those who can wait the figure should be released in America in early January.

One of the several action poses that you can do with Servo using his accessories.

Stay tuned for our reviews on the limited edition of Zone of the Enders Hd collection an the highly anticipated Assassins Creed 3. 

Until Next Time Geeks...

Good Morning Everyone what better way to start the day then with som Nostalgia.

During the summer Time Life did something awesome for the first time ever they released the complete run of The Power Rangers well at least from 1994 to 1999. To follow in the same fashion the folks at Flatiron Film company in association with Toei have finally released the first season for Digimon Digital Monsters.

Excerpt of the artbook of Augumons digivelutions.

Matt and Tsunomon.

Tai and Koromon. 

The set comes complete with all 54 Episodes of the first season over the course of 8 discs. Accompanied with the episodes is a 40 page artbook that talks about the show and gives you a look at the character artwork that help shape the show.

The package is packed pretty well and all the artwork is pretty cool the discs alone have images of all the digidestined. As featured in the images above & below.

 

All in all the dvd set is pretty cool it is a very cool purchase if you are a fan of Digimon or of any cartoons from the late 90's.. 

Until Next Time Geeks....

My god it has been along time..

Since I have posted anything on the blog and for that I am sorry but work has been hectic these last couple of weeks or should I say business has been good.

First in this update I want you all to know that NYCC was about 2 weeks ago and there have been some big changes in the comic book world. One big change as cited by one of our writers K. Rocourt is the Marvel Re-launch. For more news and info that check out his post.

More recent new Apple unveiled their new fall 2012 products well at least more of them. They introduced the new Ipad Mini and refreshed version of the Imac, the Mac mini,  the13inch Macbook Pro and last but certainly not the least the Ipad 4.

The Ipad Mini come in Normal Apple variations of 16gb,32gb, and 64gb and their price points being $329,$429, and $529 for wifi only and for LTe and Wifi you are looking at $30 dollar hike up on each model which for apple isnt so bad. They come in variations of White and Black and go for Pre-order on Oct. 26th. at 3am.

Next was the Fall 2012 Imac sorry to say but again without a retina display. The new Imac comes in flavors of 21 and 27 inch much like its predecessor but now the new models are extremely thin and have a new Ivy bridge core processor. Also you can now add up to 32gb of ram and have ether a 3tb hdd or a 786gb ssd hdd in it or you can opt for Apples new fusion drive which is ether 1tb or 3tb of spinning hdd goodness accompanied with 128gb of ssd. Sad to say there is no more optical drive unless you opt for the usb apple one.  The 21 inch goes on sale in November and the 27 inch goes on sale in December. Both at the starting price points of 1,299 and 1,799 for basic models.

The Mac mini got a much needed refresh also much like the Imac it now has the I5 ivy bridge processor along with 4gbs of ram and a 500gb hdd. The Mac Mini server though much like its little brother is the same but with slight differences like the i7 ivy bridge and you can opt to have it fitted with 16gb of ram and a 256gb ssd along with the option of dual 1tb hdds. Last but certainly not lest is the 4 usb 3.0 ports along with the Thunderbolt port.  Their price points are $599 for the i5 and $999 for the i7 but again like the Imac those are just the starting price points.

The 13inch Macbook Pro finally gets a retina display refresh much like its 15inch counterpart. Along with the new display it has 2 thunderbolt ports along with dual usb 3.0 ports. The 2 base model with start at $1,699 with a i5 core and 8gb of ram along with a 128 ssd hdd and the higher end model which doesnt  have a price point yet will have 768gb of ssd goodness along with all the same ports and ram but with a i7 core to sit atop of.

Apples 4th generation Ipad is packing some serious heat it has an A6 processor a retina display much like its predecessors and again comes in flavors of 16,32,and 64gb it also pack a lightning port LTE possibility and an hd facetime camera.

The new Ipads much like the Iphones are now covered by the big three Sprint,At&T and Verizon. Each haveing an LTE otion for the Ipad 4.


Stay tuned for reviews of Digimon the first complete season on Dvd yes finally you can get it. And the Ultraact Gridman Aka Servo from Tamashi.

Until Next Time Geeks... 

Marvel Re-Launch

The amount of time and money that I spend on reading and buying comic books from Marvel is down. It was already low, with my buying only 4 monthly books and one title when it's out in tradepaperback. With this relaunch it might just be one. And the only reason is that I trust the writer to not ruin the character too much before he dies again in some overhyped event.

I could start by bashing Brian Michael Bendis for his bad influence on the Marvel Universe. You know what, I think I will start on second thought. The guy finally leaves the Avengers franchise after years of boring plots, bad characterization and cliche story arcs. Who was he fouling when Avengers versus X-Men was happening that Hope wouldn't get the Phoenix Force? Now he'll try to ruin Guardians of the Galaxy after Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning made them relevant but had to leave the book after some silly event. And he'll also try to ruin All-New X-Men by using the original X-Men. It's bad enough that the Ultimate Marvel Universe has to stoop to making Captain America President but that lines decline started after that terrible Ultimatum storyline which he co-wrote.

Now Marvel has a status quo where the X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and Wolverine have so many books you don't know where to start. Superior Spider-Man, no more Amazing Spider-Man, OK. Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, Dark Avengers, Uncanny Avengers, Young Avengers, Avengers Assemble, Avenger Arena, how many can they make before next year? I'll say there'll be Amazing, Superior, Savage, Extreme, Fabulous, Super Smash, Incredulous, Manic Depressive, Elderly, Space Avengers by the time next New York Comic Con rolls around. One of course one Daredevil book because he's blind so who cares. Its been a long time since the X-Men mattered and this relaunch won't change that. There will be one X-Factor book, two X-Force books and the usual pointless number of X-Men books. And of course X-Factor will be good but in it's own world. The X-Force books will be the best X-Men books not called X-Men and the others won't matter. Don't forget Wolverine will be in all of these teams, somehow.

If you watch pro wrestling for as long as I have you get use to gimmicks. Especially those bad pointless gimmicks, where the guy is an unstoppable monster. Except when he talks, than he sounds ridiculous. But you know that in a year his lack of wrestling ability will catch up with him and he'll fall into mid card status. That's Marvel comic right now to me. The gimmicks have been redone so much that I can't bring myself to care. It's the, "million dollar body, but a ten cent brain" argument.

Mind you DC Comics is barely doing better. I can admit that after one year of the New 52, the New has lost its luster. The quality of the line overall is much better than Marvel though. Books like Justice League, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Nightwing are constantly good, quality story telling since the relaunch. The gimmicks take a back seat to story and artwork, with solid characterization. There's no need for crossover after crossover, or guest appearance by whomever this month. Are there bad books, yes, but those are either cancelled or new talent is brought in to make them work.

I know Marvel has realigned the creative teams and some look promising. I may stick with Jason Aaron on Thor before that gets a title and number change. I tried Uncanny Avengers, because of the John Cassadys artwork. The last page killed that idea. Really mad scientist, super villain, planning to use a dead mutants brain to take over the world. Yeah, I'll check the trade for that when it's out. Uncanny X-Force, versus Cable and the X-Force with no Savage Wolverine in sight, soon this will change. It's a sad comics day when the baby X versus baby A book is something I would rather buy than the Punisher.

I am looking at picking up the X-Force trades started by Chris Yost and finished by Rick Remender in another volume. I just checked out the Wiki on the Apocalypse storyline from the last volume. There are some gems down the line coming, I hope. Matt Fractions, Iron Man run was solid, his Thor, not so much.
With Ed Brubaker leaving Captain America and Winter Soldier, I'll leave with him. I'll go back and see what all the hoopla was about Johnathan Hickmans Fantastic Four was. There's no way that I'll touch All-New X-Men from Bendis. And I'll worry about Guardians of the Galaxy until the movie comes out. The Ultimate Universe won't matter to me unless the name Mark Millar or Warren Ellis is attached to it. I will give Axel Alsono credit for being a better Editor-in-Chief than Joe Quesada in the short time he's been in charge. The success of the Avengers movie from Joss Whedon will hamper somethings down the I think.

Eventually I think Marvel will have to stream line it's lines. This means one title for the team books and characters that matter. When Daredevil is considered one of the best comics in their entire line that proves something. It's that good story telling doesn't need gimmicks and hype to sell. When Marvel remembers this they will get back to making quality books that make sense to their larger universe. Until than don't make mine Marvel and screw, 'nuff said.

I miss Nintendo part 2

I'm back deal with it.

So one of my earlier post was about how I was disenfranchised about how Nintendo was handling the Wii and may do the same thing with its successor the WiiU. I'm sad to say that my prediction seem to likely be coming true. From what Nintendo has shown and from what those who have used the WiiU have said this may put Nintendo even further into the hole they've dug themselves in. I'm going to not buy the WiiU at launch next month. I have no reason to divert any funds that I was saving for the holiday season for another Nintendo paperweight.

I was listening to the Indoor Kids podcast on the Nerdist network the other day, and Kumail Nanjiani was talking about how he went to a Nintendo event to use the WiiU. I was hoping his review would be positive but it wasn't. It even disappointed him to have to say it. Listen to the episode yourself as it's a good show. But the main point he made was the while playing Batman: Arkham City the graphics didn't look as good the Xbox 360 or PS3. You have to be kidding right. Kumail has been playing games for a long time so if he says something looks bad I take his word for it.

While I may not be looking forward to it I'm sure Nintendo doesn't care what anyone with a negative thought about their next console has to say. After all the Wii sold close to one hundred million Wiis worldwide since 2006. It surpassed the Xbox360 which had a one year head start. It was not even close to the processing power of the PlayStation 3. So what should they have to worry about for the WiiU.

The thing that I keep coming back Nintendo on is their being delusional. To think that putting out games that are nearly or over one year old on other consoles as new again is delusional. To stay with the same online formula, but saying it will only be tweaked is delusional. To say that your new games launch window is between the launch date and sixth months afterward is delusional. To try to sell a game console with some toy version of an iPad as innovative is creative. But to make no must have game to take advantage of that creativity and still think it can sell a console is delusional.

I'll eventually buy one when the next Zelda or Metroid game come. There's no point in hoping for a Kid Icarus or Jet Force Gemini sequel on a home console from Nintendo anymore. I would hope that Nintendo is putting out this new console ahead of their competition so that when those launch are coming out Nintendo would be rolling along with top quality, triple A titles. I would be deluding myself if I believed that to be true. And if there's one thing I've learned from this past console generation is that dealing with Nintendo can make you miss the old days of Nintendo.




www.nintendo.com
http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/the-indoor-kids/