Star Trek: Into Darkness Trailer

This trailer is for the upcoming movie.  While this trailer doesn't go into specifics on the plot and the characters, aside from the main cast coming back from the previous film.  While we have a glimpse of the antagonist, there is no specifics on his affiliations and motivations, aside from the dialogue alluding to him having a grudge against the Federation.  Stay tuned in the upcoming months for more news about "Into Darkness."  It is scheduled for release on May 17, 2013.

Mister Torque’s Campaign of Carnage (Borderlands 2 DLC)

Well it looks like we can’t be taken too far away from Pandora, as “Borderlands 2” is back once again with more loot, guns and mayhem in store with the latest DLC for players: “Mr. Torque’s Campaign of Carnage”. Once players have downloaded the game and loaded up their favorite badass vault hunter, you will have the option to go to a new destination: “Badass Crater of Badassitude,” and no I’m not kidding that is the actual name of the destination. You are greeted with an echo recording from Tannis, our favorite know-it-all, who tells you that there is a new vault that has appeared and will only open once the ultimate coward’s blood is spilled on the battlefield. Her informative echo is interrupted however by the brick shit house CEO of Torque Corporation, this muscled up meat head couldn’t be happier about this new vault and sets up a tournament for anyone who thinks they are man enough to open the vault and claim the mantle of the number one badass. Players won’t be able to contain their amusement as this Hulk Hogan style goof ball spouts out cheesy one liners and sets the vault hunter on a journey of carnage and massive explosions! As well as Mr. Torque, players are introduced to a whole new cast of characters and bosses to face down as well as some welcomed familiar faces such as Mad Moxxi, and the ever combustible Tiny Tina. The DLC also comes with new side missions for players to enjoy along with the new storyline and while players are out amongst the constant carnage feature in the DLC, there is also a new set of collectables. Torque Tokens are dropped by enemies now which can be used at Torque vending machines to spend on new super explosive weapons which will help keep the level 50 vault hunters happy since there is no level cap increase still…..grrr.

It's hard to argue with “Mr. Torque’s Campaign of Carnage,” for the DLC’s $10 price tag, players get a 6-8 hour main campaign, at least another three hours in side missions, and lots of new loot to be had. And what makes the add on even better is the pop culture-laden quests, memorable boss encounters, and well-laid-out environments all wrapped up in the humor filled experience that comes with “Borderlands 2’s” reputation. The level cap is still an issue that hopefully will be fixed with the next DLC that “Borderland 2” has in store for us but Mr. Torque and the new hilarious cast of characters will keep your rage at bay along with an incredible new campaign and plenty of new goodies to be had.

Good:

-Enjoyable and hilarious new characters

-New collectables and loot

-All for the low $10 price

Bad:

-No level cap increase

(Reviewed on Xbox360)

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10 

Killzone HD Re-mastered

The First-Extrasolar war has ended, and the Helghan Empire defeated. Now angered, they start a blitzkrieg against the Interplanetary Strategic Alliance (ISA) on the planet Vekta. Helghast are human decedents that left due to oppression and settled on planet Helgan, but due to the planets harsh environment the people of Helghan have mutated to a point where they are no longer considered human. ISA Captain Templar is trying to hold off the Helghast invasion and must unite with other ISA soldiers and work together to repel the threat. 

“Killzone HD Re-mastered” is a remake of the 2004 PS2 game; on top of putting it on the PS3 system, the graphics have been re-done and the game has been given trophy support for you trophy hunters. The graphics in this game are not the greatest, though, even with the re-mastering, but do hold up. The game runs on the old “In House” engine which severely limits the games capability. The controls are not the easiest to get a grasp of, especially the sprint button; just letting go of L3 even slightly you drop out of sprint and it can get frustrating. But due to the games age, these minor control difficulties can be dismissed. The plot to the game is like most shooters, but the story is compelling and will engage anyone to play for hours. You play as the ISA, defending its' homeland; and as a player you feel for this because these non-human monsters want to kill your own kind. 

“Killzone HD Re-mastered” is a decent game that most people would have never thought of playing if Sony did not create the “Killzone Trilogy.” The game has so-so graphics compared to what this generation of consoles usually run. A great plot with a great cast of characters with good dialog that keeps the player involved in the game. The Battlefields mode allows you to play split screen with a friend and experience the invasion together and help each other survive. Voice over work could have been a lot better, and it seems most of the people you run into have the same voice. Another issue is the frame rate drops in some points were it leaves the player wondering what happened, and the awkward controls hold back the game's potential. The last issue we had while playing this game is the AI; at times, it feels really stupid and for some reason can take an unrealistic amount of fire: you need to empty a whole clip into one person just to drop him, and other times you need one bullet to the leg and the person will die.  However, “Killzone HD Re-mastered” is a decent game that any true shooter fan should look into getting; though it has its issues, it also has some very strong points that will keep you coming back.

Good:

-Good Plot

-Dialog keeps player involved

-Battlefield mode

-Cast of characters 

Bad:

-Voice over work

-AI at time is stupid

-Controls are hard to get used to

-Ammo consumption on one enemy is a bit much

(Game Reviewed on Playstation 3)

Scully Rating: 7 out of 10

Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug

Lord Slug has landed on Earth and is planning on terraforming it into a new space station. Gohan plans to stop this from happening. But before Gohan can stop him, Lord Slug calls upon the eternal dragon and wishes for eternal youth. Now faced with odds beyond his capability; it is up to Gohan to hold off Lord Slug, with the help of Piccolo, until Goku can show up. 

“Lord Slug” is the fourth installment into the Dragon Ball Z movie list. It is set a year after “The Tree of Might,” but it is unclear when it takes place during the anime timeline. Most people assume that it takes place sometime during the 3 years that they are training to fight the androids. This makes some sense with Gohan having short hair, and Piccolo being alive. The one thing that is fighting against this timeline placement is the fact that Goku turns into a false super saiyan, which is a shock to king ki; who not only thinks he turned into a full blown super saiyan, but stated that this is a new power of Goku. If it happened during the three years of training Goku would have no issue turning to a super saiyan. The movie itself is one of the better written Dragon Ball Z movies, but not one of the best either. The soundtrack is lackluster: no big names and mostly music that they used in the actual anime. The main fight scene between Lord Slug and Goku is good, but not great. The fights with Gohan and Piccolo fighting the henchmen of Lord Slug are great: lots of explosions, which make us all happy. My biggest gripe about this movie is how they are able to beat Lord Slug. Without ruining it for anyone that sees it, it is not in the usual DBZ way.

Good:

-Good Plot

-Good fight scenes

Bad:

-Finding out where in the timeline this takes place is hard

-The defeat of Lord Slug is upsetting

Scully Rating: 6 out of 10

 Watch "Lord Slug" at: http://www.animefreak.tv/watch/dragon-ball-z-movie-4-lord-slug-english-dubbed-online-free

Future Diary

Yukiteru "Yuki" Amano is your average loner who spends most of his time writing in a diary on his cell phone or talking with his imaginary friends Deus Ex Machina, the God of Time and Space; and Murmur, Deus' servant. One day, Deus gives Yuki a special diary and mentions how it is related to a game that he could play, strangely Yuki's new diary has entries in it spanning the next 90 days and have entries about the future that he finds are coming true. Deus, as it turns out isn’t so imaginary after all and is really a God that can manipulate time and space, he forces Yuki to participate in a competition with eleven other people, each of whom also has a diary that can predict the future in some unique way.  Each of the contestants must try to find and kill all the other contestants before the world ends on Day 90, and only the last one standing can prevent the world from being destroyed and become the new God of Time and Space. Things escalate quickly for Yuki, who initially has no intention of being a part of the game, is thrust into trouble as Deus informs the other contestants that Yuki, as the "1st" Diary owner, is his favorite to win the game. Yuki is soon left with teaming up with his obsessive stalker, Yuno Gasai, in order to survive the constant attempts on his life by the other diary users, who see him as the biggest threat. Although Yuki only feigns affection for Yuno to manipulate her into protecting him, he soon becomes too afraid to spurn her after witnessing her psychopathic obsession go to new heights to protect Yuki against anything that threatens their future together. Never the less the two work together and fight to survive in a game of mad men and murder.

“Future Diary” is a show that you can find very easy to enjoy and pick up, the show offers a crazy over the level degree of insanity and mayhem that will have your jaw on the floor and laughing nonstop. Right from the get go there is cool and catchiness with each of the eleven characters in the “Diary Game” having a unique personality brought to the table and the show doesn’t leave you with any lulls in dialogue or story which keeps you hooked all the way through. The main characters, Yuno and Yuki, are initially characters that come across as childish and spoiled with Yuki being a person who just uses Yuki to save his own skin and Yuki a loved crazed girl whose desperation is a little off putting however the show does a good job of developing them into characters worth caring about as the story progresses. “Future Diary” is not something for anyone who is not looking for insane action however, the show is insanely over the top with its antics and violent tone with everything that is great about loud, uninhibited storytelling is here for the taking. The violence in the show is in fact the hook for anyone who intends to watch between gruesome deaths, massive explosions and booby trapped houses, “Future Diary” brings it all and doesn’t pull any punches.

Good:

-Appealing characters

-Incredible story

-Insane and crazy over the top madness

-Sleek fluid dialogue

Bad:

-Definitely not for anyone who’s squeamish about blood or insane amounts of chaos and craziness because that’s what “Future Diary” is all about

Scully Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Watch "Future Diary" at: http://www.ovguide.com/tv/the_future_diary.htm

Afro Samurai

In a clash futuristic yet feudal Japan, it is said that the one who wields the Number 1 headband is the fiercest fighter in the world and shall possess godlike powers and the only way to obtain the Number 1 headband is to challenge the current wearer of the headband and defeat him in combat. However, only the Number 2 can challenge the Number 1, while anyone can challenge the Number 2, which causes a constant struggle for the Number 2 headband wearer. Justice, the owner of the No. 2 headband and an all around ass, goes to fight the owner of the No. 1 headband, our main protagonist Afro's father. The two battle one another, ending with Justice decapitating Afro's father and claiming his headband, the young Afro being left to sob over the severed head of his father he now vows revenge against Justice.

“Afro Samurai” comes right out of the chopping block with the classic time told tale of a protagonist who loses the thing most precious to him and vows just worthy revenge on the one responsible for it. Afro, who is voiced by Samuel L. Jackson *hold for applause*, is placed in a semi futuristic world alongside traditional feudal Japan, where the way of the sword is still practiced but people have future technology like walk mans, guns and other technology. Afro travels across this mad and unique world and is repeatedly under from those who seek the fame of being the Number 1 warrior and want to take the Number 2 headband from him to do so. It’s a never ending blood bath world, filled with plenty of scenes where Afro is chopping down anyone who tries to get in his way of revenge and what is violence without a little gratuitous nudity splashed in, the world of “Afro Samurai” features a dash of dirtiness with well endowed woman, one who even seduces the often times stoic Afro.

“Afro Samurai” as many of you may already tell is more for a male audience, with gruesome death scenes preformed by Afro slicing off limbs like a knife through butter and also features some M rated material to pull you in as well. However this really doesn’t make for much of a show pleaser if you just have these components and the show isn’t much else, the shows key appeal being the voice over work by Samuel L Jackson but this gets thrown out the door as Afro barely gives off more than 2 words a episode. Another problem lays in the fact that the show is only 5 episodes long and only 25 minutes a piece and doesn’t give you much of a show to sit down and watch. Despite this what action there is in the show is highly enjoyable and the show inevitably does give off a message for viewers to follow, what that message is you’ll have to see for yourselves.

Good:
-Unique feudal/future world
-Gruesome and crazy fights
-Hey it’s Samuel L Jackson in an anime man what more can you say

Bad:
-Very short anime
-Not a lot of depth to show

Sully Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Watch "Afro Samurai" at: http://www.animefreak.tv/watch/afro-samurai-episode-1-online

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

“Call of Duty” fans mount up and get ready for a brave new futuristic world for the first person shooter they’ve seen before in “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2”, for the first in the franchise players will be brought into a futuristic world of weaponry an technology as well as branching storylines that give the ability to have multiple endings to the game. The single player campaign features two connected storylines, with one set in the 1970s through 1980s and the other set far off into the future year of 2025. The protagonist of the first “Black Ops” game, Alex Mason returns as the protagonist in the Cold War section of the game in the 1970’s and chronicles the rise to infamy of the game's primary antagonist, Raul Menendez, the leader of the narco-terrorist cell that you face in the game. The 2025 section of the game features Alex Mason's son David as the protagonist during a new Cold War between China and the United States and we’ve taken some big steps with robotics, cyber warfare, unmanned drowns and other technological goodies. Players won’t be completely lost in all the changes however as the basic feel of “Call of Duty” remains present throughout the game.
“Black Ops 2’s” new branching storyline feature brings something however that other games from the franchise didn’t have, player's choice now affect both the current mission and in turn, the overall course of the story. Known as "Strike Force missions", these branching storylines appear during the 2025 storyline and the success or failure of these missions can have ramifications for the wider campaign storyline. By choosing one of the missions the game in turn locks out the others unless the player begins a fresh new campaign in order to see what they missed or just because they felt like it. Strike Force missions allow the player to control a number of different war assets, such as soldiers, jet fighters and robots and by the end of the game, the player may have changed the results of the new Cold War, and the player is shown what could have gone differently depending how they did during the missions.

Perhaps the most anticipated part of “Black Ops 2” is the return of the popular game mode “Zombies” where players can team up with their friends or players from online and face off against a zombie horde. And while the regular campaign of the game has been given some new material so has the zombie game mode, where now up to eight players can play together to face down and blow away some brain munchers. Also new variations of the game mode are in store for players, “Tranzit” is a game mode that is a combination of multiple maps in one game and the way to travel around it is to ride on a bus and the mode “Grief” which is 4 players vs 4 players vs zombies where only one team of players can survive or they all can get eaten. 

Multiplayer also makes its triumphant return to the players in “Black Ops 2” with some new twists to not only the class system but also the kill streaks and abilities for players ready to start soaring to prestige. The new “Pick 10” system in the game gives players the ability to defy the loadout rules by making each attachment, weapon, grenade or perk count as one of your ten points and you can swap them out at will to create a huge number of combinations. Also added to the multiplayer are the “Wild Cards”, which allow you to spend additional points to break even more rules, like equipping two primary weapons or up to six perks. Pick 10 allows the creation of the most specifically tuned classes letting players be whatever type of solider they want to be, the sky literally being the limit.
“Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” has gone out of its way to create something completely new for new comers and fans alike, brining new features such as a shapeable campaign story mode separate from the linear story telling of past games. The multiplayer alongside the classic crowd pleasing zombie mode are back and better than ever with completely new game modes for zombies that will put your zombie survival skills to the test and the new multiplayer “Pick 10” feature makes players truly have a solider set apart from their friends making something entirely suited for them. However the campaign brings with it the games faults, the story telling is a little imperfect and sometimes you just will want to skip over the dialogue completely and another issue lies in controlling your teams and robots during missions, between annoying camera angles and incompetent AI, players may find themselves putting a controller through their walls. These issues aside “Black Ops 2” brought everything that fans love with a whole new twist.

Good:
-Branching storylines and a non linear story board
-New multiplayer “Pick 10” system
-ZOMBIESSSSSSS!

Bad:
-Controlling your soldiers and robots can be a pain
-Sometimes slow and unappealing dialogue

(Game Reviewed on Xbox 360) 

Scully Rating: 9 out of 10