DBZ Abridged 44: Cell Reception

Zach Goodier

http://teamfourstar.com/video/tfs-abridged-parody-episode-44/

New DBZ Abridged is out, for all those who follow the series.  This episode, Cell continues to search for the Androids, devouring all in his path.  Meanwhile, Trunks, Piccolo, and Krillin begin to decide their next move, but Vegeta quickly arrives, very displeased with Piccolo's recent power boost ("The f#$%'s a 'Kami'?").  Trunks and Krillin quickly go back to Gero's lab to find the version of Cell from the current timeline, giving Krillin a chance to boast. Piccolo and Tien pursue Cell, who has moved into Nicky Town, and called in a request to the local radio station before taking a shot at being a radio DJ himself.

Here's a little preview of what's in store:

Tokyo Ghoul

By: Robert Murphy

You know how you were told as a kid to never judge a book by it's cover? Well that is something that has never been more apparent in one of the new anime I had been watching, Tokyo Ghoul. In this world you never quite no what is hiding behind a friendly face and you'll probably think twice before asking out that cute girl you've been noticing when you realize she might be a blood thirsty ghoul ready to devour you. This is something Ken Kaneki learns first hand when he meets a young woman, Rize Kamishiro, who after treating him to a lovely day out attempts to eat him. Things however go even more wrong when a near dead Kaneki witnesses her mysterious death and is then rushed to the hospital and implanted with some of Rize's organs. This leaves Kaneki in a borderline between two worlds, the world of humanity and the world of ghouls because he has now become the combination of the two.

The plot to Tokyo Ghoul alone had immediately peeked my interests once I heard about the show a few weeks prior. Things are so immensely dark toned right from the get go as Kaneki is thrown into this tragic fate of being an average Japanese student happily going on reading his books. Then he is now put into a position where in order to survive he must eat human flesh, hide himself from his friends and be surrounded by people he use to fear. However, Kaneki quickly learns that ghouls are not the complete terrors that the world makes them out to be. Many of them are just trying to live relatively normal lives and many even have found ways of surviving without causing too much harm to the human race. This was such a great aspect to the story as we meet more and more ghoul characters through the storyline who would love nothing more than to co-exist with humanity and even some humans are understanding enough to want this as well. A great example of this comes from the relationship between one ghoul named Nishio and his human girlfriend Kimi and where something like this shouldn't be possible in this world it somehow is. Kimi does not care that he is a ghoul and she even offers herself to him at a low point where he needed flesh, if that ain't saying something about a strong partnership I don't know what would. 

However, things aren't as simple as all that in the narrative and we dig right back into the darker tones of the show. Not every ghoul is happy trying to live a life of quite solitude especially when you see what the CCG does to many of their kind. The CCG are the ghoul hunting agents who are out to exterminate every ghoul from the face of the Earth by any means necessary. The strongest of these agents are known to ghouls as "Doves" and they are suppose to hunt down "dangerous" ghouls to protect humanity but we are often shown a darker side of this organization and how they're really more about extermination than anything else but with such a high level of fear can you blame their extreme nature? These "dangerous" ghouls though do exist and when you see how some of them are such as the ghoul Jason, you'll understand why there is so much fear. The whole setup is quite ingenious because it shows that not all the humans are good guys for what they're doing but not all ghouls are innocent by any means either. The two sides mainly just look at the bad and it leads to some gruesome confrontations, or at least I assume so do to the fact that scenes with excessive blood get partially cut away from which is a bit of a detraction for such a dark show. 

What's also unfortunate about Tokyo Ghoul is the way things are left at the end of the series, the show ended last Thursday and I had no idea that it was over until I didn't see the new episode this past week. It's a very open ending and I'm not saying that it was a bad one, on the contrary I loved every minute of the final episode for this season I just wish it wasn't left so haphazardly. That being said though, here in the first season for the show a whole lot of ground has been covered as the story has introduced multiple characters and multiple storylines in such a short amount of time. I wish more characters were given some attention such as Mado, an eccentric CCG agent to say the least and one who has some back story hinted at but is never fully delved into. This happens a bit through the show, there's plenty of setup and back story cues that never quite develop, maybe in the possible season two we will get our answers. 

In the end, Tokyo Ghoul gives off a dark tone and violence that I haven't seen since Deadman Wonderland and it's handled beautifully. There is also a great story here with both ghouls and humans on each side trying to have a life without too much strain but then you have the CCG and the more dominating ghouls looking to turn that all on it's head. I do wish that the story didn't feel so compressed and that there was less setting up but it was still over all enjoyable. I certainly hope that Tokyo Ghoul is due for another season in the future because where things are left off you can just tell that things are going to intensify more and more.

Good:

- A simply stellar idea and plot

- Characters are all engaging, some are rather dark, others are kind and then there's the completely scary ones

- A great concept of both sides, ghouls and humans, good or bad, neither side is exempt from either

Bad:

- Some loose strands left laying around with the story that I wish were explained

- The ending is left out there and we're left here hanging so hopefully there will be another season to pick up what is left

Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10 

Bleach 598: The Shooting Star Project

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/598

Ichigo and the others are finally underway, but before they leave, they're joined by an old friend, who brings back memories of when Ichigo and his friends first journeyed to the Soul Society.  Renewing their resolve to bring back Uryuu, and end this war once and for all, they finally launch upward to the Palace of the King of Souls.

Meanwhile, the battle at the palace continues as "The Wind" effortlessly redirects any and all incoming attacks.  However, he is up against Squad 0, and their strength is matched only by their experience and cunning.  It doesn't take long, especially after hearing how his powers work, to find a way around his seemingly unbeatable defense.  But what else might Juha Bach have up his sleeve, and can Squad 0 hold him off until Ichigo arrives?

Seeing the new Sternritter struck down so quickly was actually a breath of fresh air, since he didn't turn into a 10 chapter distraction from the main conflict.  Still, there may be more to him, so I might be speaking too soon, especially knowing how many times characters we've written off (friend or foe) have returned.  Still, I don't believe they will waste much more time, since Ichigo is en route, but judging by his journey down from the Palace, it could still be several chapters before he's back up there, which could be plenty of time for Juha Bach to level the place if he's strong enough and decides to attack in earnest.

Naruto 693: Once Again...

By: Robert Murphy

Link to the manga here

Well after almost a two week break the latest chapter of Naruto has finally come our way. To recap, last chapter we saw the defeat of Kaguya and the end of this long and ancient conflict, everyone was returning to the other side and the Tailed Beast were free once more. However, it seems that things can never stay peaceful for long and Sasuke has made his move now for his future plans to be hokage and create a revolutionary change in the ninja world. This meant the capture and soon the death of all the Tailed Beast and Naruto was not about to let that happen. A final conflict is about to begin but who will be left standing over the other this time around, the stage is now set for a legendary battle and one we've all been waiting for. 

Black Butler: Book of Circus

By: Robert Murphy

Recently we were given to opportunity to see a part of the Black Butler story line that was excluded from the first season of the show, Black Butler: Book of Circus. Ciel Phantomhive and his devilish butler Sebastian Michaelis return once again and the Queen has a need for her guard dogs legendary skills in solving a spree of recent kidnappings. For some reason wherever a famous traveling circus goes, children have gone missing afterwards and Ciel is ordered to find out what is happening and see whether or not the famous cast of Noah's Ark Circus are responsible for the recent disappearances. 

If some of you don't know, a couple of the cases that Ciel works on for the Queen are not included in the the first season of the show which isn't an uncommon thing seeing as bits and pieces of the manga are often excluded in the anime adaptations for any number or reasons. The good news is Black Butler gets the chance to tell one of it's story arcs here in Book of Circus. We see a new side to Ciel and Sebastian this time around as the two go undercover and work for the Noah's Ark Circus that they are investigating. Sebastian gets to show off some more of his supernatural skills here as he tries to make a good name for himself inside of the circus. This surprises and stuns our new cast of characters, the first string members of Noah's Circus who are insanely skilled in their craft but are practically debunked in an instant by Sebastian. Joker and his crew are all great additions to the cast and kinda work along the same principal as Ciel's servants and what I mean by that is they're quirky and a fun loving bunch but can get into some ridiculous moments without it making you sigh at the way they're acting. 

What Book of Circus does the best though in my mind is it gets into some of the more intimate details of Ciel's past and the events that led to him meeting Sebastian. Ciel doesn't often speak of it but he was found and tortured by an unknown organization of British nobles after his parents were killed and his family home burned to the ground. The binding contract between Ciel and Sebastian will come to an end when Ciel gets revenge on these people. It was always such an intriguing aspect to the show and I always wanted to know more about it and unlike the first season of Black Butler, Book of Circus doesn't exclude Ciel's father and his workings as the former Queen's guard dog. We see a good bit of him as the story progresses this time around and we learn more about the people who captured Ciel as the case leads him back down to his unpleasant past. 

What is unfortunate about the show though is just how short it's turned out to be, at only ten episodes you can't really call Book of Circus a significant series. I know that it is only one story arc series and it was bound to be short but there was a little more of the story that could have been included with one of the characters from the circus in particular, Snake. Snake is one of the circuses first stringers but is somewhat separate from the original group that we follow in this story because he doesn't grow up with the other members. He also becomes a part of Ciel's storyline later on more than any other character from Book of Circus and should really have his story told. We also get introduced to some un-named servants of the Queen who are never fully explained either. What could of worked out well for something like this is story arc style season would be if they included all the arcs that have been left out of the show so far and made that into a season or at the least the subsequent cases that followed after the Noah's Arc Circus case closes.

I'm not entirely sure if we are in for more season's like Black Butler: Book of Circus or not, there are definitely some new story elements that were added near the end of this series that would suggest we may get more but I'm just speculating. What we did get from Book of Circus was a deeper look into Ciel and his past, many of the cases he works serve to unravel who he is as a character more and more and I love that about Black Butler. Like I said though I hope that there are more releases like this one on there way for the show and hopefully if this does well it will. 

Good:

- A great new cast as well as the return of some of Black Butlers all star cast

- A deeper look into Ciel's past and some of the dealings that his father had as well

- The same wit and humor is still very much present 

Bad:

- A short season with only 10 episodes, one of which is an introductory style episode where Sebastian shows off his demon powers

- Left out some details that I would have liked to see done with the character Snake. 

Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10 

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution

By: Robert Murphy 

It would appear that the world of Naruto is finally about to come to a close after countless chapters and episodes and even the last Ninja Storm game brought the 4th Great Shinobi War to our gaming systems. It's sad to see one of my long time favorite animes about to come to a close but I will still have these games to relive all the action in the palm of my hands and that's exactly what I intend to do with the release of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution. Wow, these titles are definitely not getting any shorter. 

Revolution takes a bit of a step back from where we left off with the last game by bringing some of the unsung stories of Naruto to our attentions. Ninja Escapades takes on the role of telling the games only real main story element but sadly it only offers three story arcs to choose from, one of which is just a watchable cut scene. The two playable stories tells the story about the formation of the Akatsuki and the other is the tale of Shisui Uchiha, both of which are intriguing storylines but are represented here in an incredibly dull fashion. The story writing and cut scenes are extraordinarily dull and were honestly the most mind numbing experience I've had before, sure cutscenes have always been a tad dull but this one takes the cake. The fights themselves are uneventful as well and will take you about five minutes to complete so it makes the whole mode just feel like a waste of time. 

Next we are introduced to a new mode to try and spice up the 1v1 style fighting we are accustomed to from the Naruto games and introduces us to the Ninja World Tournament. The mode is marketed to try and allow players to try and determine who the strongest ninja to ever live is and allows you to choose from the games massive character list and fight other ninjas in a 4v4 battle mode. The winner in this mode is determined by earning points balls that drop from your NPC opponents after you land blow after blow against them in combat. While on the hole this seems like an interesting idea, it quickly sours as your enemies are incredibly easy to beat even as you get to the harder modes latter on. This mode also suffers from annoying side missions where in between each fight you can return to a free walking area and find ninja to help you fight in the tournament which at one point involved me answering Naruto trivia, yes that really happens. It is an overall waste of time and energy on your part to even play. 

After you defeat the first wave in the Ninja World Tournament, you unlock the next tier but also a new mode which tells the story of a new character, Mecha Naruto. This is a mode that involves free roaming and a small semblance of a story to tell players about a new world with this robotic look alike of our favorite ninja hero. This mode though also suffers from the lack of good storytelling and writing that Ninja Escapades suffers from and it also will make you walk and maneuver through tedious cut scenes and conversations with familiar Naruto faces. 

In the end, not much changes in Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolutions in terms of the way you play through the games fights and battles. It is nice to see the updated list to the character roster but really there is no area in the game where it is fun to use them. The game is bogged down with the bad game elements that developers came up with in previous games and adds a whole bunch of new ones without adding anything appealing to it. I really don't know what happened here with this game and hopefully the next one will not suffer the way this one did. 

Good:

- The game sees an updated roster that takes you right up to the manga releases

- Features the same solid fighting mechanics it has in previous games

Bad:

- The new story modes of Ninja Escapades are short and unappealing

- Poor writing and mind numbingly dull cut scenes make any story unbearable

- Ninja World Tournament tries to add 4v4 fighting fun but the whole experience is a flop

Scully Rating: 4.0 out of 10

Bleach 597: Winded by Shadow

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/597

In the Soul Society, Pepe has been soundly defeated, but as he tries to pick himself back up, Liltotto appears, with an expressionless gaze upon the man who just tried to kill her.  Despite his pleas, Liltotto moves to devour him as his screams echo across the Seretei.

In the Palace of the King of Souls, Juha Bach stands confident as Tenjirou's attacks keep missing him.  Seemingly locked in a stalemate since Juha Bach has no interest in attacking, while his enemies attacks never hit, despite his target remaining completely stationary.  As Tenjirou stands perplexed at this, Senjumaru appears with a group of soldiers, who immediately try attacking, only to find their attacks somehow always miss.  The answer soon reveals itself (SPOILERS: it is totally NOT another Sternritter with some ridiculous ability).  Meanwhile, Ichigo and company are set to embark on their way to the Palace to try to end this "1,000 Year Blood War" once and for all.

In case you didn't pick up on that previous sarcastic spoiler, there is another obnoxious Quincy now with the ability to (at least) deflect any incoming attacks.  This plot device of randomly introducing new Quincy with OP abilities has been a major detractor from this story arc for me, since there really is no background to the characters within the show, making them feel shallow and uninteresting, only serving as obstacles to the main story, rather than adding to it.  

Each of these side fights, while serving some great action, has involved our favorite established side-characters facing off with a Quincy with little if any panel time previously.  Bringing new characters out of left-field every time you want to surprise the reader feels random and makes each of the fights feel like an obstacle to impatiently wait for to end so you can hopefully move the main story forward, and it gets even more frustrating when those sideshows are followed up by even more sideshows.  I'm hoping that by starting to get more into the main conflicts, that means we might be finally moving into the climactic battle we've all been waiting for.

Destiny

By: Robert Murphy 

Many reviewers out there, myself included, had decided to take a little bit of time before tackling the new and probably most anticipated Bungie title to come out since Halo 3 and that game is Destiny. I've been playing ever since I got my hands on the game to soak in every aspect of what it has to offer it's players and also because it's insanely fun. Destiny isn't the first MMO to come to the new generation of consoles but it is the first that I have gotten to play through. The whole experience was a bit of a blended feel for me, aspects felt like Borderlands with an MMO angle and the gameplay stylings of a Halo game too. It certainly was something I didn't expect and so let's dig right on in to my impressions of what the game has to offer. 

Just like any MMO players will begin their Destiny experience by choosing between the three different classes that there are to choose from which are Warlock, Titan and Hunter, each with their own strengths and abilities. Titans are the tank class with large bodies and armor types, Warlocks have control of ancient powers that they've learned from the Traveler and Hunters are a more stealth like class with a powerful grenade attack and knife skills. You then can further customize your character by choosing from the three race classes available which are Humans, Exo (a machine like race) and the Awoken (a mysterious race with blue and white skin tones). The races don't offer any real change to the gameplay but do allow you to adjust your appearance in more interesting ways, I myself enjoyed the variations for the Exo race, making your own robot buddy is like a childhood dream coming true. 

Afterwards, you are jumped right into the story, being awoken by an interesting looking machine called a Ghost (Peter Dinklage voices him, FREAKING SWEET) and he proceeds to lead you threw a short beginning mission to introduce you to in-game mechanics. From here the world is pretty much your oyster as you unlock new worlds through the games story and either complete missions or explore with up to three friends. Three to me seemed like an odd number where most games allow you to play up to four friends and I hope that further updates reverse this feature. Outside of unlocking new worlds though completing story missions isn't overly appealing, the story feels tacked on to say the least as you travel around taking on the role of a Guardian after being awoken from beyond the grave and according to your Ghost you've been dead for awhile, how he wakes you is beyond me. And then traveling from world to world is also strung together by flimsy pretext, you basically are destroying one alien race after another as you go and searching for what I really couldn't say. Missions are set up in a simple formula which are fight through the bad guys, find whatever thing Ghost needs to plug in to and then fight a big boss or a tough final wave, it's something that can prove effective for adding future missions but isn't a successful way to set up a story. 

Despite the lack of a story though the gameplay itself is greatly enjoyable to take part in by yourself or with your friends. Firefights in missions or in Strike objective modes are a blast to be a part of because things can be going smoothly one minute with a few enemies and the next there enemies all over and you're running, jumping and throwing everything you've got into the fight. This has always been something that Bungie has done well with and it continues to show here except now things are on a far larger and more open world scale for you to plan out your attacks and get right into the fights. Strike modes are by far the most intense of all when it comes down to it, each having their own large scale boss fight at the end of it and also features a respawn restriction where if everyone dies you have to start all over again. This feature is also a part of the other missions as well and adds a certain degree of difficulty and tension to the fights you are in. The loot that you will collect at the end of each mission and big boss fight is what I look forward to the most I think, the prizes aren't super outrageous like in Borderlands but beating big bosses and earning cash, weapons and new apparel is very appealing. 

Lastly, I came to a split sort of feeling in my mind about the worlds and the leveling that you go through in Destiny, specifically the fact that once you reach level twenty the game is just about done. You will unlock up to about six different areas to visit throughout the game, one is the Tower which is a base for turning in missions, bounties and buying new items to use and the other is the Reef which is just a story location. So you're left with four places to travel to and once you complete the missions on each world along with the one or two Strike missions, you're about done. I do believe that there is the obvious potential to add more planets and I think that that may be in the works for the future but right now I'm just speculating. Multiplayer though is the obvious next step to go to once you beat the game or tire of doing missions, you're character and their abilities transfer over to the online competitive mode which features team death matches, objective modes and free for all matches to play. The solid firefights are just as enjoyable here as you face other Guardians and test your skills against others out there but really I'm waiting for more. It's a feeling I got when playing Destiny, I want more from the game, what I have now is a solid piece of work but now I'm waiting for what's coming next to the gameplay. 

In conclusion, Destiny has many solid points going for it right now and has so much more room to further what it has set up so far and I believe that is the plan for the game overall. I do wish that the more appealing aspects of the game included a fantastic story but it falls short in this department. Battles, missions and Strike modes are incredibly well done and are intense to play through, I haven't felt pressure like this from a game in a long time and it's something Bungie proves to still excel at. Like I said though I am anxious to see what's around the corner for the game and hopefully it brings more meat to the gameplay that I've enjoyed thoroughly so far. 

Good:

- A standard but enjoyable character customization feature

- Fire fights and battles in missions and Strike modes are nerve rackingly great

- Loot, money and new equipment are so much fun to collect and use

Bad:

- There is a large absence of a good story, missions get completed one after another under a flimsy pretext

- Myself and others out there are I'm sure ready for more features, missions and game modes to come to Destiny. What there is is great but I'm ready for the rest.

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Broken Blade

By: Robert Murphy

In a world where burning fossil fuels and using other common forms of power and engineering we use in the world today, Broken Blade shows us a new world where people are all born with the ability to manipulate quartz. This ability is referred to as magic and it is used for everything that people do in this world from moving vehicles to cooking, most everything used in the world you would need the ability to move quartz. Rygart Arrow however is one of the rare few who was born without this gift and is referred to as an un-sorcerer. Despite this though he will prove to be a crucial part in upcoming events as his childhood friends have been pit against each other through their warring nations, the new king of Krisna, Hodr and his wife Sigyn and his other friend Zess from the land of Athens Commonwealth. Rygart proves to have abilities that no other can possess as he pilots a golem, mech machine from the show that was made by the ancient predecessors of the age and hopefully put an end to the fighting before it begins. 

Now Broken Blade is hardly the first anime to display mech creations that fight one another, whether that be one on one or in mass conflict like the ones featured throughout the show. However, the mechs in the show are a bit more unique compared to most, where most mechs can simply preform great acts while being controlled by their pilots with the flick of a button or throttle, the mechs here are only as strong as the pilot inside. Magic is how mechs are controlled just like everything else in the world and you must be a strong magic user to be able to maneuver one. The machines are somewhat bound to physical limitations of the user and that's something I found to be quite unique, weapons and tools for mechs are put into categories of strength and tested to see what the average magic user could handle. Now while most of these machines appear to be clunky hunks of machines, visually they appear great on screen along with the other solid visuals of the show.

Most of the world we see is covered in dirt, dust and sandy terrain and that is perhaps due to some apocalypse that happen back in the time of the ancients that are talked about from time to time. This fact doesn't detract from the fact that the show is still visually beautiful when you look at the cities, characters and odd quartz creations you will see. Segway like devices, magic powered lighters, robots and other creations are interesting to see as you learn about how this world has learned to use magic in place of everything we use. 

These small enjoyable details though are what I bring up first because the rest of the show is nothing to be excited over. I had a hard time finding one character to relate to or remotely like in the span of the six hour long episodes and I settled for the blood thirsty General Borcuse because he was the only one who called Rygart out for his poor abilities. Rygart is the classic underdog character and reminded me a little of Naruto especially when you look at Zess and how he looks and acts just like another Naruto character Sasuke. And while there is nothing wrong with the underdog angle, the character should eventually turn into a hero you admire but Rygart never proves himself to be someone I would want to model myself after. He continually makes the same mistakes over and over and his dialogue consists mainly of cocky bragging and yelling at the top of his lungs during battle for no reason. During the final battle, which drags out for thirty minutes longer than it should, I wished he would have lost and that it would just be over just for his unbelievable annoying lack of skills. He honestly should have died about ten times throughout the show. 

As for the story, things are fairly forgettable much like the characters in it. Hodr is the absent minded leader who when you see him try to seriously rule and make political decisions you feel the same lack of interest he displays towards the situation he is in. The other side doesn't do much better as we meet part of Krisna's leaders and they discuss the battle plans against Athens but these characters are just thrown in and never develop, one of them is Zess's older brother and the show tries to squeeze some awkward family moments out of it but not enough is done with it to amount to anything. Mostly all the story amounts to is the various battles that take place on each side, one side starts to win and then the other side starts to win, a few conversations are thrown in and then that's it. What really irks me though is how Athens soldiers talk constantly about there dwindling number of golems that they can use but somehow they get a hundred new ones to use in each fight, there never seems to be the massive shortage that they all freak out over. 

In the end, there is brief enjoyment when you think about the tiny bits of creative ingenuity that went into the world and maybe the five seconds where the mech battles are appealing but that is about it. The story or lack there of has many plot holes and the underdeveloped characters that make up the story don't give you any reason to want to keep paying attention to the story. There are also brief moments of potential nudity, that's where the TV-MA rating comes in but it's nothing but titillating moments of pantie shots and suggestive lingerie scenes from Sigyn. So what you're left with is a very poor attempt a fantasy story that has some minor appeal going for it but nothing else. 

Good:

- The mechs are both unique and provide for some okay action scenes

- The show has some visual appeals to it

Bad:

- Characters are all underdeveloped and uninteresting

- Rygart is by far the worst protagonist I've seen in a long time 

- Absence of story and what little there is is full of plot holes

Scully Rating: 3.0 out of 10 

Bleach 596: Rub-Dolls III

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/596

Kensei and Rose are now under Kurotsuchi's control, turning Giselle's greatest strength around on her/him.  And, despite Byakuya's objections to using "corpses" of fallen Soul Reapers in combat, Kurotsuchi argues that any true Soul Reaper would be proud to protect the Seretei, even after death.  Still, will their combined power overcome Pepe's "love?" 

I highly doubt Giselle is down and out, and while the above panel from the chapter makes it look like Giselle was cut down, this isn't the first fatal wound we have seen.  Furthermore, we still know very little about Giselle, despite the obvious intrigue surrounding this strange character.  While most Sternritter are abnormal, Giselle has crossed a line in abnormality that hints that there is back-story that we have yet to see.

Naruto 692: Revolution

By: Robert Murphy

Link to the manga here 

Well what were the odds of this sort of thing coming up is all I have to say about this week's chapter of Naruto. Things were finally starting to come to an end with Kaguya and Black Zetsu finally being put to bed and all the past reincarnated ninja that Kabuto had brought back were returning to the other side once more. Naruto said his final farewell to his father and managed to squeeze a whole lifetime of information to share with his dad before he goes and all of this came to a close on the day of his birth. It is sad in this chapter to see the certain people that we happen to lose, one in particular tugged at my heartstrings a little when I saw that he didn't survive but there are many favorite characters that we've lost in this war I'm sure. Things won't be wrapping up quite as nicely as I'd hoped and it would appear that one more challenge is laying in wake and the prophecy for Naruto, being the child of destiny, is about to begin.      

Starpoint Gemini 2 (Early Access)

Zach Goodier

If you’re like me, you’ve probably looked at games like EVE Online and thought, “A game where I can buy and customize my own ship as I set forth into the final frontier, sign me up!”  But, once you look at the subscription fees, you hestitate.  I played EVE’s free trial, I loved it, but I couldn’t quite commit to a membership.  It’s not like the game isn’t worth it, but with all the bills and the work and school commitments, foresight says that I’d quickly be paying $15/month for a game I would barely have the time to enjoy.  So, where is there to turn for a single-payment, single-player adventure that captures the same elements, but in a game that comes commitment-free package.

Starpoint Gemini is still in beta, but it is already off to a promising start.  There is no story at the present, which means there won’t be a story to sum up, but the gameplay is mostly down, and there’s plenty to enjoy already.

You play as a captain, who is on a quest of some sort (I never played the first game, so I probably am missing all of the background info), and you need to navigate the turbulent solar winds between pirates, empires, and corporate interests.  Jobs are plentiful for those who want to earn an honest buck, and plunder is even more plentiful, for those who want to take to marauding to fill their holds with loot to sell on the market.  That isn’t to say you can’t do both, since attacking pirates or other hostile ships almost always have some loot to scavenge, which helps since the honest jobs rarely pay you very well in terms of affording upgrades and ships.

You have several camera options, allowing you to keep the camera oriented on the ship, or follow your targeting reticule.  You can select targets and auto-fire, which is a blessing when trying to navigate an asteroid field in the middle of a battle. 

Enemy AI seems fairly well done, with ships often attempting to hit their jump drives when they realize a fight is going poorly, forcing you to either give chase, or to abandon your hopes of a prize.  Speaking of prizes, you can forcibly board ships in order to capture them, either for sale or for personal use.  While you must be higher rank to command larger ships, the ability to sell ships allows you to make big money fast.  However, boarding can be risky, and even if the odds are on your side, you can easily lose the boarding action. 

Ship upgrades are costly, but very helpful.  You can upgrade your reactor to support more systems, or allow current systems to run more effectively, or you can upgrade the weapons, shields, or engines.  There are several other categories of upgrades, such as your transporter systems to allow more marines to board in a single action, improving their odds of success, but you will obviously need to return to port to hire new mercs to replace the inevitable losses you will suffer trying to hijack ships.

As of right now, only a few issues exist, such as the limits on how fast you can go with a tractor beam when towing ships, or that enemy ships will never attempt to board you, even when command a dreadnaught and you could be in a small frigate with a skeleton crew.  But overall, this is a very impressive title for an early-access game.  Features like the ability to use captured ships to create a fleet are listed as future goals for the final release, and I look forward to seeing how the final game turns out with story and questing options.

Good:

-Finally, an EVE-style game without a monthly subscription fee.

-Different styles of shipbuilding lead to some interesting designs floating amongst the stars.

-Steam Workshop support allows players to create their own content, leading to both original content and  TV/movie adaptations.

Bad:

-Enemy AI doesn’t feel that intelligent, only possessing a rudimentary “fight or flight” instinct, not utilizing any boarding action or making full use of their systems.

-Lacking any significant depth to diplomacy to make flying freelance feel as dicey as it should.

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10

FIST OF AWESOME

By: Robert Murphy

Yes, the caps are required for the title. Originally released for IPad and tablet devices but has now made it's way onto our Steam playlists, FIST OF AWESOME takes players back to good old fashioned side scrolling progression and beat'em format that I have so many fond memories of. And where most games that try to change platforms tend to fail, this game manages to stand strong for the simple fact that these types of games were meant for a joystick and buttons, not a touch screen, we've played these games in arcades for years. The game follows a simple lumberjack named Tim Burr who is happily enjoying a simple life with his family when a temporal shift alters your timeline and the dominant species on Earth becomes bears. Angered by the loss of your family you set out to fight these now intelligent beasts and other animals such as elk, deer and more with the power of the Fist of Awesome, who has possessed your hand and given you powerful abilities to fight with. 

Combat is central to the game and straight forward, the game introduces you to your abilities with a short in game tutorial and then sets you loose to unleash your new found powers and restore the timeline to the natural order. Players can punch, kick, grapple, stomp and preform jump attacks for basic moves and also preform more powerful punches and uppercuts with the Fist of Awesome powers too. Your health is regained by preforming attacks on enemies and not getting hit in that amount of time, which is fairly easy to accomplish. Stringing together combos is the major key to things as it unlocks bonuses and more points that you need to level up your character more and more which gains you skill points to be earned and used on speed, health, fist ability strength and regular strength. Bonuses will also carry over from game to game as you play it and can also be used in FIST OF AWESOME'S arena mode where you are given various challenges to complete in a certain amount of time, this adds a bit of variety from the straightforwardness of the main story. 

Frankly speaking, that is how you can describe the main story, it's a very straightforward affair where you must walk through levels punching out enemies and then beating a goofy boss that fits in with the theme of whatever level you're on. It doesn't leave you with the urge for continuous replay value but it's pretty fun when you're playing through it. Levels are filled with plenty of pun work, which you could guess was coming judging by your name being Tim Burr. But there's also plenty of pop culture humor thrown into levels as well, one point you're set in the middle ages fighting bears in tights and at the end I'm fighting a bear king in a room that curiously looks like the thrown room in Game of Thrones. The game is filled with these little gems and is the kind of thing that always makes me chuckle to see inside of a video game. Then of course we have the pixelated charm that the game already brings along with it that completes the package.

In the end, FIST OF AWESOME is a fun and enjoyable game to play through and brought back some enjoyable memories from early side scrolling gaming. My biggest complaint about the game is there really is no replay value to be had with a game like this, enemies are the same and follow the same pattern each time through. Arena mode does break up some of the monotony but not a whole lot and makes FIST OF AWESOME a game you'd probably play in short bursts. That being said, I got plenty of enjoyment out of the game as I plucked along knocking out the variety of bears and listening to the pleasant upbeat tempo for the games soundtrack. 

Good:

- Good old fashioned beat them up style game 

- Humor and pop culture references hidden throughout the main story

- Arena mode adds more replay value 

Bad:

- The main story doesn't leave you craving more 

- Repetitive enemy types and playthroughs

Scully Rating: 6.5 out of 10