Now this caught my eye when I browsed Marvel.com this morning.
For a limited time, Marvel is screening the very first episode of the all-new Spider-Woman motion comics for free! Anyone of you who is a fan of Jessica Drew and her alter ego may want to check this out. It picks up right after the events of Secret Invasion, placing Jessica in a world that has a reason to hate her existence, even if it wasn't her fault to begin with. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and Illustrated by Alex Maleev, this new adventure finds Jessica trying to pick up the pieces of her life, and when a new opportunity comes and presents itself literally by her doorstep, it's time for Spider-Woman to come out and make her presence felt once more.
Curious? Take a looksie at the video link.
Hmmm... The story is pretty slick for a Bendis written tale. It's one of the rare moments where I actually prefer to see this series told in this format rather than be published in comic form. It looks so damn good that Alex Maleev's artwork gets the motion treatment, I'm practically begging to see more sexy Jessica Drew goodness in the next couple of episodes. Unfortunately, all of these will only be available and on sale at iTunes, so better watch the first episode now while it's still there. Remember, LIMITED TIME ONLY! Make it fast!
September 11, 2001... a day that will live on as one of true bewilderment and sadness. It's been 8 years since that attack in New York City, and one cannot forget those devastating images of the Twin Towers shown in CNN, which continue to burn inside the minds and hearts of those overcome by grief and loss. Utter shock and disbelief fell upon my face, and like millions of viewers around the world, I saw the unthinkable happen. It was just too much to take in... and certainly not one for the faint of heart.
After that, it seemed like many were compelled to respond... to evoke what they felt inside. Tributes were given, songs were sung, and many tried to muster up the courage to shout back and say how they felt. Every kind of visual medium, from television to the internet, had something to say about 9/11 that echoed the stories of those who were greatly affected by this event. Needless to say, it even reached the world of comics. Many books and graphic novels were published at the time that showed many famous artists and writers responding to the tragedy at hand, and out of all of them, I can think of no other tribute issue that's as gripping and emotional as Amazing Spider-Man #36, which is also known as the "black cover" issue.
Written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by John Romita Jr., the black issue covers what you'd expect, Spider-Man's reaction to the attack on the World Trade Center. Like everyone else, he is wracked with emotion and grief over the incident, feeling helpless that he couldn't do anything to prevent such a terrible incident from happening. It's from this point that we get into his head, his thoughts full of concern and guilt. He does his best to help out with the rescue efforts, with other heroes and NYC's finest working through the debris to find any survivors. It's a very moving issue, one that deliberately throws all the fancy heroics out of the window and instead displaying pure human emotion at work, with everyone united under one great cause to help each other in the wake of this tragedy.
After all these years, I still remember this issue whenever the anniversary of 9/11 comes in. Call it nostalgia if you will, but I can't think of any fitting tribute other than this one, because to me, it's a clear and visible reminder of how people truly felt 8 years ago. With that, I'll end this entry with a youtube tribute video I found, which focuses on the issue itself:
In the wake of Disney's acquisition of Marvel a week ago, Warner Bros. has gone the great length of establishing a closer relationship with DC Comic by announcing the formation of DC Entertainment. What this basically means is that WB will take a more proactive role in all things DC, supervising all projects and having the publishing company report directly to them through the new division. Needless to say, this is probably WB and DC's way of responding to the Disney/ Marvel deal. Being a big DC reader myself and a die hard Batman fan, this is great news considering their expertise in movies, games, and television, and with so much potential already flowing thanks to the success of their numerous projects, I'm sure the creation of DC Entertainment will bring about more focus and cohesion to strengthen the good reputation the brand already enjoys thus far. Looking forward to their upcoming works now. For more info on the announcement, check out the news link at newsarama.
It's September 9, 2009... a memorable date that's a cause for celebration for many. Its unique numbering sequence and configuration have been the subject of many special coverages, one of them coming from Yahoo itself, but the date also holds a lot of significance for gamers, especially those who keep track of monumental releases in gaming history. For owners of the original Sony Playstation, this day marks the official release of Square's (presently Square Enix) Final Fantasy VIII, a game that celebrates a decade of existence today. My friend Billy shares his memories of the game in his official blog. I, however, will be talking about something a little more personal. It's a piece of hardware that has stood the test of time, and remains as a symbol that dreams can come true... especially in videogames.
Exactly ten years ago to this very day, Sega unleashed their sixth generation console, the Dreamcast, to the American gaming public. The graphics and 128 bits of power it boasted were just the tip of the iceberg, as the shiny white piece of hardware had success and potential written all over it. During its time in the console market, the Dreamcast has birthed several memorable titles, many of which remain cult classics to this very day. Many arcade games back in that era also saw nearly flawless translations to the machine, effectively giving the console dominant status over the console market a few years prior to the launch of Sony’s Playstation 2 or Microsoft’s Xbox. Indeed, the Dreamcast has made its mark in history, and it would truly be an understatement to call it a failure, for it has done quite the opposite during its short-but-sweet lifetime. With its huge controllers, Visual Memory Units, and several other unique features, what’s not to love about this console? Rather than dictating its entire history (which can be looked up in the web), I’m going to take this time to reflect on my experience with Sega’s final videogame console, and the joys it bestowed upon me and everyone else in my life all those years ago.
Dreamcast Boot Up Screen. It felt somewhat magical back then...
Truth be told, I wasn’t really planning to buy a Dreamcast at first. I was clinging on to my beliefs that I would remain with the Playstation brand for all time to come. For as long as games continued to be released for the PS1 and a successor came to take its place, I wouldn’t be shifting brands anytime soon. However, the urge to play new and upcoming titles became stronger than I thought. Things took a turn for the worse when almost every Capcom fighting game I loved subsequently saw release for the Dreamcast, and when the publisher announced it was going to bring its next entry to the Resident Evil/ Bio Hazard series to that console, I finally relented and decided to buy the machine to satiate my videogame cravings. Around the summer of 2000, I became the happy owner of the first 128-bit console to ever be released, and it was the start of a prosperous relationship I would have with Sega’s ultimate platform that would last for several years to come.
The first and finest iteration of Marvel vs Capcom 2 for the sixth generation of gaming consoles... 'Nuff said.XD
The first games I bought alongside the Dreamcast were both Capcom games, yet each was from a different genre and held on its own ground to consider them must buy titles back then. The two, namely Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Resident Evil Code: Veronica, were much anticipated titles, and as I stated earlier, these two games were the sole reason why I gave into my “Dreamcast desire”. Suffice to say, both proved to be worth the price of admission, as I embarked on several weeks of epic game time one after the other. MvC2 was a monster upon its initial release in arcades, but when the DC port arrived in stores, it became a legendary beast of a game nobody could take their hands off of. To this very day, many consider the Dreamcast version of Marvel vs Capcom 2 THE definite version to own, and this claim was only contested recently with the rerelease of the game for Xbox Live and Playstation Network… with all characters unlocked and everything represented in full High Definition glory. Still, anyone with a nostalgic eye for things would know that the MvC2 engine was built around the NAOMI hardware, which uses the same hardware components as the Dreamcast.
Japanese Commercial of Resident Evil/ Bio Hazard Code: Veronica. Sweet.XD
The other game that virtually ate up my time with the console was RE Code: Veronica. As a direct sequel to Resident Evil 2, it features Claire Redfield returning as the main character, together with her brother, Chris Redfield – the main protagonist from the first game. Bundled in a two disc GD-ROM package (Giga Disk-Read Only Memory – the disc medium the Dreamcast utilizes), Code Veronica was the first non- Playstation Resident Evil game, and was the first entry in the series to see several changes in gameplay and various graphical improvements. Despite retaining it’s B-movie inspired plot elements, the game was very successful, and I enjoyed every moment playing the game and living the adventure. I must admit, I wasn’t truly impressed with the inclusion of the whiny secondary character Steve Burnside, but I was more than thrilled to see Chris back in action, as well as the return of the diabolical Albert Wesker, who didn’t turn out to be dead after the events of RE1 after all. Anyway, that being said, Code Veronica proved successful enough to get a new “Director’s Cut” release in the form of Code: Veronica X, which was Japan exclusive for Dreamcast owners, but was eventually ported to the Nintendo Gamecube and Playstation 2 when they were released a couple of years later.
My fighting game setup. This was the reason why I adored the Dreamcast so much... It was literary "The Fighting Game Console" to have back then.XD
Down the line, the Dreamcast proved to be a great investment on my part as a fighting game fanatic. I affectionately call it the “Fighting Game Console” because to me, at least, that’s what it’s best known for. Aside from releasing the first two Marvel vs Capcom games, several near perfect translations of classic arcade fighters saw the light of day with the machine, such as Soul Calibur, the Power Stone series, Street Fighter III series, Dead Or Alive 2, Tech Romancer, Project Justice, Guilty Gear XX, The King Of Fighters series, and even Garou: Mark Of The Wolves. Later on, two rival gaming companies would collide and release the Capcom vs SNK series of fighting games, which would prove, yet again, why the Dreamcast is a fighting game maniac’s dream machine come true. Despite its bulky, 2-trigger, 4-button, single analog stick and D-pad controller, nobody complained about the results and enjoyed kicking ass anyway. If anyone had a problem, they could always buy a modified controller or arcade stick to even the odds fairly.
Trailer to Sonic Adventure 2. Fun times with the Blue speedster mascot of Sega back then...
As far as the other games go, adventure games were fairly short in numbers during the Dreamcast’s lifetime. Sonic still led the charge with his Sonic Adventure games, and several other titles like Headhunter tried to keep me preoccupied for a while. In the end, however, none of these games would satiate my appetite for a good long journey…until legendary game developer Yu Suzuki came into the picture and introduced his masterpiece. Working on an action game project dating back to the days of the Sega Saturn, Suzuki’s work was one of epic proportions, and when it finally saw release in the Dreamcast, it changed the adventure game experience forever. That game was none other than Shenmue.
The Dreamcast Magazine Shenmue Trailer... Nostalgia's kicking in again!
Above anything else back then, Shenmue was THE definite reason why a person should own or experience playing a Dreamcast. It was an ambitious and larger-than-life game that borrowed many elements from different genres, seeking to immerse players in an almost real life gaming experience. Set in 1986 Japan, the game chronicles the story of Ryo Hazuki, a teenaged martial artist who returns home to witnesses the brutal death of his father Iwao at the hands of a mysterious Chinese man named Lan Di. Seeking revenge for his father’s murder, Players take control of Ryo as he embarks on a quest that takes him around the streets of his neighborhood Dobuita and all the way to the harbor located in Yokosuka.
Shenmue was most certainly "The Dreamcast Experience" incarnate... and it's amazing I'm playing it again after so many years!
Shenmue, for its time, was a complete experience althogether. Combining several gameplay methods, the player could interact and pursue the narrative through exploration and conversation with various individuals throughout the game. Introduced in the game were QTE or Quick Time Event sequences that required button presses at the precise moment they flashed on the screen. This, combined with several battles the player engaged in as Ryo using his martial arts skills, made up the action sequences of the game. The player could also shop, buy items, or even play in the local arcade as Ryo, making Shenmue a true and worthwhile feat in gaming history.
Trailer for Shenmue II, which never saw a US Dreamcast release, but it did manage a European release with English Subtitles over the Japanese dub. Even better.
As the years went by, Sega started to feel the pressure and faced stiff competition, as the Sony Playstation 2 finally made its long awaited debut in fall 2000. This marked the beginning of the end for the Dreamcast, as it saw less support from third party developers who opted to move operations to the newer consoles. Production went down, and games that were once “exclusive” to the console were no longer such a thing, with titles like Shenmue II seeing a release for Microsoft’s Xbox instead. Fortunately for some, that game still saw release for English audiences, albeit in Europe only with English Subtitles placed over the Japanese Audio. Indeed, the inevitable was going to happen, and while many saw this as the perfect time to jump ship and grab a PS2, I still held on to my Dreamcast, clinging to it like a kid would with his stuffed teddy bear by his side. I just couldn’t let this thing go, even in the face of change and defeat.
In the end, Sega decided to cease and desist production of the Dreamcast on January 31, 2001. About 60 titles still saw a North American release until early 2002, but after that, there was no more official support given to the console. Sega made no attempts in creating a new successor either, as they eventually became a third party developer themselves, releasing their games for the PS2, Xbox, and Nintendo Gamecube. Yes, what was once unthinkable finally happened eventually; Mario and Sonic together on the same platform and the same game.
US Commercial of the Sega Dreamcast. Back then, it was full of characters and potential, alright...
While the Dreamcast may be long gone and buried now, it certainly hasn’t been forgotten… not by a long shot. It was way ahead of its time, and it demonstrated several feats that garnered attention and praise, especially to those who were there to witness its potential. Despite its short yet sweet lifespan, it has crafted a legacy that has endured for as long as anyone can remember, giving players and developers a taste of what the future might bring. Being the first console to incorporate Internet play via a modem attachment, it also laid the grounds for the online battles and skirmishes we enjoy in several games today. It’s true that many like myself will miss the glory days of Sega’s white and grey system, but it has carved itself a permanent place in gaming history no one should ever forget.
Happy 10th Birthday, Sega Dreamcast. Let your story continue to inspire others to dream.^^
I've been a fan of George A. Romero zombie movies since I was a kid, and until now, I still enjoy watching many of his classic 'Dead films from time to time, with the original and extended version of Dawn Of The Dead being my favorite among the bunch. His recent ventures into the world of the undead haven't been as notorious or gripping as his original "Dead Trilogy", and one has to wonder if we'll ever see that perfect blend of guts, gore, and social commentary many have come to associate with his works in the past. With today's advancements in technology and the dozens of other undead related tales that were ironically inspired by his works, many could already pull off their own versions of "Night Of The Living Dead" without consulting the Big Daddy of Zombie films. Yet, as someone who has seen all of his films and has an affinity for the source material, I am hopeful that Mr. Romero's still got the touch to bring more senseless violence and another case of the zombie threat into our lives through the power of cinema. Fortunately, he has a new project coming out sometime this year that may take his dead films back to their original roots. Title's a bit out there, but regardless of that, here's the film's poster:
Survival Of The Dead Poster
Originally titles as "Island Of The Dead", Survival Of The Dead is the sixth film in the Dead series and another entry of Romero that explores a whole new theme altogether amidst the presence of a zombie epidemic. Set in an island that's just off the coast of North America, local residents do their best to fend off attacks from the undead. However, each of them holds on to a desperate and unwavering hope that a cure can be found to this "illness", as several of their relatives are already members of the living dead. With a plot this twisted, it's only natural that George A. Romero is back to tell the tale. Check out the trailer(it didn't have an official title back then), and pray the film comes out very soon.
Survival Of The Dead Trailer
Recently shown in the Toronto International Film Festival, this clip from the movie can be aptly titled as "Zombie Fishing". This inspired the title of this post, and you may be wondering why so. Click the video link and see for yourselves.
Since I don't own an Xbox 360, I don't play that much Halo, but when I gather with a couple of friends for some multiplayer shooting and death matches, it becomes a different story altogether. Halo 3 is THE best shooter that everyone else will be playing for a long time... that is until follow-ups and sequels get released and bring more fun into the picture, with one of them being this: You can look up for more info about the game in wikipedia. What I'm going to be talking about, thought, is the trailer. It's pretty much your standard Halo soldier being bred, trained, and growing up in the battlefield fare... but there's an alluring appeal to it that's just something many wished would turn out to be an actual Halo live action movie. Before it was scrapped, LOTR director Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp were supposed to do an actual Halo movie, but everything went downhill and the end result turned out to be District 9 instead (which earned major bucks and is one of the best Sci-Fi films out in theaters now). While all hope for a live action treatment is pretty much lost (for now I guess), this came right out of nowhere and literally blew me (and definitely Halo fans) away.O_O
Live action Halo ODST Trailer
damn... DAMN! This looks so good that I'm actually hyped about the new game now! I should get me a 360.O_o
I haven't been watching Smallville lately, but I used to enjoy the "off continuity" spin-offs they'd play on a young Clark Kent's life. Add to the fact that it made Tom Welling, Kirsten Kreuk, and Michael Rosenbaum household and popculture names in the the entertainment industry, and you have one popular show that tells a different side of the epic Superman Mythology.
Since the time Kirsten's Lana Lang and Mr. Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor left the show, it's been pretty much left to Tom's Clark Kent and the rest of the remaining Smallville team to carry the torch and breath more life to it. Since I haven't been keeping up with the show, I've been at a loss at what's going on except for the fact that Clark's more aware with his Kryptonian lineage than ever before and he's now based in Metropolis (it WAS inevitable). Now, a new pic has surfaced in the web showing Clark Kent step up to the role he was destined to take anyway. Starting sometime in Season 9, say hello to his "alter ego":
Tom Welling as "Superman". Hmm... I don't know what to think. Looks a little too Matrix-y and out of place. I don't know if this will click with the hardcore Superman fanbase, but one thing's for sure... the show better explain why the red, yellow, and blue tights was vetoed over this get up.
