Rayman Legends

By: Robert Murphy

Rayman was never at the forefront for most of the games that I played when I was younger and when I finally did play my first title for the series I wasn't too blown away by it. Rayman Legends though proved to take all my previous expectations and notions about the game and throw them right out the window. Stages throughout this plucky platformer are rich with color and design and each bringing its own unique element to the table. There is also wonderful soundtracks and quick paced momentum that propels you forward along the massive amount of content the game has available. And while it may be a bit bumpy at the start you'll find yourself soaring across each map with ease and searching every corner for those imprisoned Teensies. 

The story for Rayman Legends is a straight forward one to say the least. You are awoken to find that monsters have once again terrorized the land and rounded up all the Teensies which are tiny blue creatures with monster noses. This is due to some evil wizard Teensies and some nightmarish creatures that are helping them. You must make your way through the different levels as any one of the playable characters and releases them from their tiny cages hidden throughout the levels while collecting Lums. Sounds pretty easy and it is but it is also insanely fun. There are also a variety of challenges to compete in over online leaderboards, paintings to collect that will unlock more levels, a competitive soccer game type and plenty of other things to keep you busy. 

I was thoroughly impressed with the massive amount of content available for title as I never expected a Rayman game to delve into so much material. When you first start out things can be a little daunting as the game doesn't do much in terms of navigating around. As I started to do this or that in the levels, I began to get notification of things unlocking and going to find out what you have will send you to a hub world. I had no idea was the main game from here as I unlocked different paintings levels and other things but you will quickly learn how to navigate around once the initial content load wares off and you become just as impressed with how much of a game you have laid out before you. 

Once you get back to the stages you'll begin to notice all the fun details that went into this game. Most levels start out fairly slow and simple and you go at your own pace looking for the Teensies hidden away but things are ever changing and unique. As levels begin to get more difficult you'll find yourself trying to out run blazing flames from behind you while testing your reflexes to save yourself and the Teensies in the level. There are also quirky levels like the ones in Fiesta de los Muertos where there is a day of the dead style group of enemies as well as a food themed environment. You can chop your way through cake puzzles and shrink yourself down to travel through a tiny hole in the side of an apple. There are other themed levels such as ones with giant instruments for platforms that play notes as you run along them. Each stage and level has something you will undoubtedly enjoy about it whether its the themes, enemies, music or art work, its all very delightful.

As for you and your friends, up to four people (five if on the Wii U and PS Vita) can join in on the action across the screen. There is a variety of unlockable character costumes that come with the set group to choose from. Once you have all your friends together it is all out chaos though as you all fight to get to the end and to collect the Teensies. Sure, you are working together and no matter who gets to the secrets you all reap the benefits but no matter what I'm sure there will be competition abound for anyone. 

One of the newer attractions to Rayman Legends is a funny green frog named Murfy, no relation to me. Murfy is an AI controlled character that appears in certain levels to help you out with particular challenges. He can smack or tickle enemies for you, lower obstacles, create platforms and a number of other helpful things for players as he moves independently along with you through the stage searching for items he can manipulate. Murfy will do this in all but the Wii U and PS Vita versions of the game where he can be played by another player. His character is a sort of interesting addition to the game and one that I have mixed feelings about since his addition often leads to a slow down for that particular level. Players will have to wait and see what particular thing Murfy needs to do in the level ahead instead of you being free to move through a level as you wish. Its not a tremendous bother or inconvenience but in terms of whether or not he is necessary, I don't really think he is.

Despite this minor short sight and a few others, Rayman Legends provides more than enough to keep players coming back for more. I still have yet to see the end of the content present as I've only collected 500 of the 700 available Teensies strewn throughout levels. Weekly challenges and new maps popping up all over the already played portions of the game also prove to keep me busy and makes for a never ending mouthful of playable content to enjoy. Now if you will excuse me I'm off to find the rest of those little blue buggers.

Good:

- Massive amount of content to explore

- Fun and entising levels 

- Interesting soundtrack that compliments the games enjoyable environments

Bad:

- Brief but some initial confusment

- Murfy is interesting but mostly a unneeded addition

Scully Rating: 9.2 out of 10

Fairy Tail Manga Update

Sean Dibble

Fairy Tail Chapter 431 - My Sword Is..

Fairy Tail Chapter 432 - Brayia In Love

We have another two chapters out today and I am going to combine both again. So this week the battle between Avatar and the few Fairy Tail wizards continues and well lets face it, Avatar is doing very poorly. To make things worse Natsu and the gang is about to get even more help. During the battle Lucy runs into a familiar foe, the Virus weilding Black mage from Avatar, but Lucy gets help as Wendy appears to get rid of the spell. Grey also gets help from Juvia who vows to explain his actions to after the battle. As the battle continues only time will tell if the purification ritual will become successful or not.

So, a lot has happened in these two chapters but easily the most important part is the seven Fairy Tail wizards are holding their own against the 2000 Avatar members and even kicking some major butt against the strongest Avatar mages. In complete shock one of the Avatar members says they shouldnt be winning and that there is only 7 to our 2000 but lets face it Avatar has no chance against Fairy Tail. Next week we may be into some huge precautions because one of the Avatar elite said that once the ground shakes the ritual will begin. So two things will happen, either the ground will shake or Natsu and the others will defeat them all, and in my opinion the later seems very unlikely but only time will tell and I can not wait for next weeks chapter. Also one last note I wonder if Wendy with her training has been able to unlock Dragon Force at will?

In the News: Dragon Ball Returns

Sean Dibble

So guys its finally happening and my childhood dreams are finally coming true. This is the year that we will be getting a new Dragon Ball series entitled Dragon Ball Super and it will be released this July in Japan. Only time will tell if and when it will be English subbed or dubbed, but this news has all of us Dragon Ball fan boys happy. The series will take place a few years after the defeat of Majin Buu. The director and studio that animated the Freiza Saga of Dragon Ball Z are the ones that are in charge of this new series so I have very high hopes for this series and just want to thank Shenron for granting my wish of a new Dragon Ball series.

Marvel's Daredevil (Season 1)

By: Robert Murphy

It's always been more my style to enjoy the super heroes that aren't so over the top powerful as the ones that usually get the limelight. Not that there is anything wrong with Thor or Superman but I find its more impressive to be a super hero without all that power given to them like Green Arrow and the like. That's probably why I was so excited to hear that Daredevil was going to get his very own series. Daredevil is one of those heroes that not only took on big names in his universe but he did so without being a rich guy with tons of gadgets and even more impressive is the fact that the guy is blind. After an accident that took his sight at a young age, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) would be the last person you'd expect to become a costumed hero but losing his sight opened up a whole new world for him. Matt's other senses became heightened to such an extraordinary level that he didn't need his eyes to see and learned to use his other senses to become a force to be reckoned with and would one day become the hero of Hell's Kitchen. 

For most fans of Daredevil, I imagine people roll their eyes and think of the Ben Affleck movie that came around the time when hero movies weren't handle with as much care and weren't seen in as a high reverence as they are right now. But, as I said, Daredevil was always an interesting character to me. His alter ego Matt grew up in Hell's Kitchen which as it's name would suggest is not the nicest place to live and when he returned years later as a fresh faced lawyer this fact hadn't changed. It would seem that the Chitarui attacks on New York that took place in the Avengers movie has made things worse for the slums and people are just getting by which leaves crime at an all time high. A nice little move by Marvel tying in the attacks so Daredevil has his place in the universe set but the brief mentions of the events in New York don't define the story. Charlie Cox's portrayal of Matt Murdock is strong and his abilities both as the justice seeking lawyer and crime stopping bad guy are both done brilliantly. 

Matt has already received some training in the show as you will see, that's why he is so good at jumping around roof tops and taking out groups of bad guys with his bare hands. However, he is still new to the whole crime stopping business and one of the best running jokes for the series is how the people around him make fun of his crummy costume. The red suit with devil horns doesn't come into play until the very end of the show and you will spend most of the time seeing Matt fight in a black outfit that look like nothing more than biker pads. Because of this Matt often takes a pretty severe beating, I believe it's in the second episode that he is almost left for dead when he got caught in an ambush. If it weren't for Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson) coming to the rescue he probably would have been dead and making for a short series. But it's the fact that Matt never appears to be invincible that makes the action so enjoyable, fights are often one sided with super heroes and you never see that much blood being shed. In the first few episode of Daredevil though I saw more blood in a Marvel show than I ever have before. This also isn't to say that Matt gets his butt kicked all the time, he often takes out numerous lesser thugs with ease, jumping all over the place and performing kick moves and unleashes excellently choreographed blows on people.

Matt's time out from behind the mask proves to be just as captivating as he and his friends have just opened up their very own law firm. It would seem that the Daredevil can never stop seeking justice and his incredible abilities such as heightened hearing have helped him immensely in becoming a great lawyer. But, Matt often wrestles with the moral grounds that he stands on as his alter ego and punishing criminals outside of the law and whether or not it's okay to cross the line from just beating up criminals to killing them. Matt was also raised on a good Catholic life style and his character is one of the few whose religion even comes into factor in any way. It makes the internal struggle his character goes through all the richer, his character is willing to do just about anything to stop criminals in his city, even putting one man in a coma, but is it really okay for him to take that last step and is it right? It's a very heavy brew and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

As for Matt's friends, his partner in crime is Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) who is Matt's long time college friend and the one who joined him to form their law firm. His character provides much of the comedy for the story as he complains about how the two don't have any clients and are dirt broke. But, despite his sidekick placement, he never feels like a lesser character and that goes for all of the supporting cast of characters, except for maybe Claire who only shows up to mend the wounds of Matt after a hard night of fighting. We then have Karen Page (True Blood's Deborah Ann Woll) who joins in the first episode and ends up turning into Matt and Nelson's secretary. Her character was someone that I initially thought was going to be the helpless heroine character but turned out to be someone who struck out more on her own. It seems her time on screen before this served her well as she strikes out against the stories main villain Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) in her own way separate from Matt's night time beat downs. The story does briefly toy with the idea of Matt and Foggy both having a thing for her or possibly forming some bad love triangle but nothing comes of it thankfully. Foggy and Karen become very close in the story and there may be potential for something in the future but thankfully it was avoided for the moment, as was any love interest in the story, at least for the good guys anyways.

It's rather an odd choice for the bad guy in a show or a movie to have the love interest an the turmoils that come along with it and Wilson Fisk certainly faced his share of problems with it. Fisk or Kingpin, as he isn't ever directly referred to in the show as, was a bit of a split for me in terms of whether or not I liked his character. Fisk was always a force to be reckoned with for the Daredevil series, he was more powerful than any crime boss Batman ever faced and he would even get his own hands dirty if it came down to it in a fight. His fight at the end of the series with Daredevil proves this as well as other numerous times he takes down thugs in the show. But most of the show we see Fisk pinning over and dealing with his relationship with Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) who was an art director that he meets while getting pieces for his penthouse fortress. This brings out a vulnerable side to Fisk, his intimidating nature and ruthless tactics that got him so far in the story up until this point became sour and weak. He wasn't so much of a bad guy as he was just another character, parts of this I do like such as when we see his back story and origins but in terms of making him a good villain, I don't think that ever happened. 

Overall, I felt that plenty of what makes Marvel's Daredevil such a compelling character was brought forth here. Much of the source material and key points of the Matt Murdock character are brought forth accurately and Charlie Cox brings it all to life wonderfully. Supporting characters were also just as top notch, Foggy was funny and lent a good deal of humor to the shows story and Karen was just as strong as Matt's character as she proved to not be a helpless female character. I do have my issues with the road that the Fisk character went on, plenty of his story was interesting, I in fact loved his whole backstory episode but he appeared to be too weak of a villain for my liking. The Kingpin should be feared and I truly didn't get to see anything fear inspiring. I hope to see the same great writing and action continue forward for the series in the future.

Good:

- Top notch action sequences

- Funny and compelling writing to the story

- The dark tone and struggle of Matt Murdock was brilliantly done by Charlie Cox

- Other great supporting actors and actresses like Deborah Ann Woll

Bad:

- Wilson Fisk never hit his stride as a strong villain

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Top 5 Toughest Women in Anime

Sean Dibble

So in this weeks top five I take a look at some of the woman who kick some major butt in their respective anime. Most of the time in the anime I watch its usually a guy who is kicking the most butt. Every once in a while though there comes a time when even though the main character is kicking butts and taking names, there is a female character that is just plain scary.

5- Bulma and Chi-Chi (Dragonball Z) - Now ok I know what you are saying wow already a tie what a cop-out. Lets be honest these two are the only two women who would be able to handle Vegeta and Goku. Lets face it to put up with the two strongest people in your universe and make them both scared crapless of you, you're doing something right.

4. Yoko Littner (Gurren Laggan) - So now we are getting into the great anime and Gurren Laggan is one of the best. Yoko uses a sniper rifle better than most men, and it doesn't hurt she looks so good doing so. I will also be completly honest her apperance in the first episode really helped me get into the anime.

3. Akatsuki (Log Horizon) - This little assassin steals my heart, what else can you say she is sneaky like the devil and hits first and asks questions later, there is no "bigger" hitter in the world of Log Horizon than Akatsuki. When it comes to ninjas she wins, hands down.

2. Erza Scarlet (Fairy Tale) - What can you say about this beauty, she has an arsenal of weaponry and armor at her fingertips. She managed to kill 100 monsters by herself at the grand magic games and you know you're scary when the main characters of the anime you are in literally shake in their boots when your name is uttered.

1. Revy (Black Lagoon) - All I have to say is Revy will kill you with a smile on her face.....don't mess with her or get in the way of her making money, YOU WILL REGRET IT.

Fairy Tail Zero Chapter 10 - Law

Sean Dibble

Fairy Tail Zero Chapter 10 - Law

The monthly issue of Fairy Tail Zero is out and this one we learn that Mavis is going to try and save Yuri. With what you might ask well she is going to use a magic that she has learned from Zeref. The spell called Law, this spell uses the users judgement and will only harm those that the caster sees as evil. As the spell is fairly new to Mavis when she casts it can she survive it? No one truly knows but Mavis is determine to see the fairies with her friends and Yuri being one of those she feels as though she must save him.

So in this chapter we learn that Mavis learned the Fairy Tail secret magic spell Law from Zeref, what we font know is the true extent of this spell yet. We do however see that Mavis though weak and very new to the spell use it FANTASTICALLY, however she doesn't seem to be responding after using it. I think it is far to early in this manga to say that she is dead. I say this because we still have yet to for the famous guild and we all know Mavis is the first guild master so killing her off now would leave huge consistency problems for the main story. Who knows all I know is I am enjoying this monthly update and can't wait for next months.

Fairy Tail Chapters 429 and 430

Sean Dibble

Chapter 429

Chapter 430

Sorry guys for this being so late but I have been extremely busy and this is the first chance I myself have gotten to view the recent updates. This week two chapters have been released so I am combining them and will talk about both at the same time.

Natsu and Lucy, now imprisoned within Avatars lair, are trying to find a way to get out. One of Avatars members begins tormenting Lucy and you know Natsu is going to have a problem with this, he starts to try and break free when Grey steps in and takes care of the tormentor. Now Grey knowing his cover has been blown reveals to Natsu and Lucy that he went undercover and could not inform anyone due to the possibility of it leaking out and ruining all the hard work he and his mysterious helper have put in. We do however figure out where Erza has been all this time for she was the one helping Grey in the background. All four must rush to prevent the larger than expected Avatar group from killing more than 30,000 people and bring Zeref to them. Can our heroes prevail?

So, I will admit I thought Grey may have been lost. My reasoning behind this is due to his new form of magic, I assumed that Demon Slayer magic had a sort of Demonizing effect like Dragon Slayer magic has Dragonification. For example, Agnologia was a Dragon Slayer before becoming a dragon himself. I will admit that I am very pleased to see Grey on the side of good and now that the core four are reunited will Avatar stand a chance? I believe not, but that doesn't mean we are not up for a very large battle to come. Only time will tell but Fairy Tail will soon be reunited and I do believe that the members that left for the council will come back if not just because Natsu has returned.

Bleach 624: The Fang

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/624

Aizen awakens, to find that the Quincy and Soul Reapers have begun to work together to open the portal. Surprised, Aizen asks why Kyoraku didn't take advantage and try to kill him. Meanwhile, at the palace, Ichigo awakens, and finds himself surrounded by his friends, who have regrouped after being handily pushed out of the palace by the Quincy elite. As they prepare for the next round of the battle, Yoruichi calls out, and a garganta opens, and beyond the threshold stands a familiar face, seemingly ready to join the battle.

I, like many, expected Grimmjow to return at some point, so this really isn't the shocker that it sets out to be. However, this does start to roll in some of the extra assets, although the Fullbring haven't made an appearance. I am unsure how Grimmjow will help turn the tables, but at least we'll have a familiar face rejoining the crew, even if he was an enemy. Here's hoping we get to see some new moves from him in the coming chapters.

Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage 1 - Uchiha Sarada

By: Robert Murphy

Chapter 1

You all knew it was coming and you also knew that I wasn't going to let it slip by without doing a manga update for it. Yes, the first chapter of the next and brief Naruto series has started to get underway and for those of you who don't know, the series centers around the next generation of ninja, Naruto and everyone's children. These kids are just about Naruto's age when the anime/manga first started way back when and they're all honing their skills and learning from their parents the skills that they'll need to become ninja.

However, not everyone has the benefit of a parent around as this chapter points out. Sarada Uchiha is beginning to feel the pain of not having her father around, Sasuke is currently rummaging around somewhere, looking for God knows what but it was never like him to settle down and become domesticated. This though doesn't seem fair for his daughter who could benefit from learning the Uchiha heritage and some of the impressive skills her father has in his arsenal. Sakura could show her a thing or two as well but she seems to have settled into motherhood in an odd fashion. Oh well. What lies in store for this new series? Well check out this first chapter and see for yourself and I can't wait to share with you all the next chapter to come. 

The Theory of Everything

By: Robert Murphy 

Even the most brilliant of minds can find themselves set against impossible odds and probably the most obvious among this category would be Stephan Hawking. Diagnosed with ALS or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease at the age of twenty-one, he was given the life expectancy of two years but we all know that today he has shattered those expectations and many others. The Theory of Everything is a biopic about the life of the world renowned theoretical physicist and is adapted from the book "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen" which is the memoirs of Hawking's first wife Jane Hawking. The story tells the tale of the twos life together as they raised their three children and dealt with the challenges that came from his disease. It also gives viewers insights into the incredible mind of this man who has spent his life changing the way we view the universe and science in the pursuit of his finding the underline equation that defines life and our existence.

The story starts off with Stephan Hawking's (Eddie Redmayne) days at Cambridge College in England and gets right into the thick of things, skipping over any early days that bore no importants to his future endeavors. Redmayne portrays the lanky and clumsy young Hawking beautifully as he walks around campus and acts like any awkward teenager and many of the early signs of his ALS being dismissed by said awkwardness. We also see the Hawking was viewed as a bit of a slacker when he was younger, he was in one of the most prestigious colleges in the world and yet did not know which field of study he really wanted to get into. It does come together until his professor, Dennis Sciama (David Thewlis), sees his potential and takes him to a theoretical presentation by a famous mathematician and you see the spark start to ignite for Stephan Hawking. 

While all this is happening though we also see that despite his, well let's face it "nerdy" appearance and presence, he attracts the young Jane (Felicity Jones) at a party the two were both attending, their eyes meeting across a crowded room and you instantly see the attraction the two had for each other. Jones also does an incredible job with her portrayal of Jane Hawking, she is peppy and full of life and is frankly the complete opposite of Stephan Hawking when you put the facts out there and they do in the movie. At the time she is studying Medieval Spanish poetry while he is studying cosmology, she is a member of the Church of England and he is an atheist who doesn't quite understand the concept of a God figure. Despite all this, the two bring out the best in one another in their early days but the future proves to be a challenge, one that Jane was ready to face and even states it to Hawking's father. Her tireless work in later days is done masterfully as Jane struggled to raise the three children that they shared while taking care of Stephan as his health deteriorated more and more, without much help either. 

The future did seem to be all ahead of the two, it was sort of like a fairy tale sort of romance as it's presented but a dose of realism sets in when Hawking takes a spill on campus and is diagnosed with his ALS. The first few years for the two go well enough but the stress of raising three children and the challenged Hawking strains Jane to a degree that most people would not have made it through. It was probably the British in her. We see Stephen's body weaken to the state where he ends up getting a motorized wheel chair and eventually the life changing surgery that would claim his voice and lead to the computerized voice device he uses today. However, this does not stop Hawking in the slightest, in fact one of my favorite parts of the movie is when Jane leaves Hawking with a sweater over his head to help their son. The event leaves Hawking starring through the stitching of the sweater and starring at the fire place which leads to his earlier theory on black holes. Hawking's ALS never stopped his mind from working and growing stronger and if anything it broadened his mind even more and continue to shatter everyone's expectations.

From here we enter into the late days of Stephen's and Jane's life together, the two definitely see a sort of separation during the film and neither are really at fault for it. Over the years the two must have struggled horribly and one of the most obvious points for this is when Stephen first loses his voice and needs to communicate using a letter board. The voice box would not come for some years later I imagine. We see Jane teary eyed and broken over the strain of taking care of Stephen for so long and he also becomes upset over all the hard work and sacrifice that she has had to make for him. The two each find separate comforts, Jane early on rejoined the church and began singing in the choir and finds an attraction for the pretty boy choir leader Jonathan Jones (Charlie Cox). Jonathan spent a few years as a sort of caretaker for Stephen and helped the family during their struggles and even though nothing seemed to happen between him and Jane until their divorce, the two had a strong attraction to one another. We also have Hawking who finds enjoyment in the company of his therapist and caretaker Elaine (Maxine Peake) who regards him in the highest regards and spent many days close to him but again it doesn't seem anything came of it during Jane and Stephen's marriage. It is an awkward part of the film and while I didn't care for it, I did respect how it was handled, neither side is slandered for their attractions and it was brought forth with dignity.

If a complaint could be made by myself, it would be that the film focuses far too much on the relationships of Stephen Hawking's life. It seems like a movie about Hawking would focus more on the science and his work but most of what occurs later on screen seems like a drama about Jane Hawking more than a biopic about Hawking. Even in a movie based on facts you can still pump up the emotional distress to a point where it feels a little too unrealistic and that's how it feels sometimes. If the directors were worried about the science behind Hawking's work not being interesting enough, perhaps that was the reason for this fluffing up nonsense, then I have news for them because how his work was presented was wonderful. Redmayne and Jones were also brilliant in their portrayals of the couple, Redmayne was able to bring out the tiniest inklings of Hawking's ALS perfectly and Jones gives an inspiring and strong presence to Jane as she struggled to take care of her family and seek out her own pursuits too. If the rest of the movie shined as much as their performances then we would have had a truly phenomenal film. 

Good:

- Redmayne and Jones are spectacular

- The work of Stephen Hawking was presented amazingly and truly inspires

Bad:

- The over dramatic romance angle of Jane Hawking

Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Fairy Tail Chapter 428: If Our Paths Are Different

Sean Dibble

Fairy Tail Chapter 428

Natsu and Grey are locked in battle and Grey makes it very clear that his friendships of the old Fairy Tail Guild have been severed and that Natsu should never have gone looking for him. Natsu not listening continues to demand Grey's return, Lucy also begs Grey to reconsider and come home. During the battle Avatar intervenes and gets the upper hand with Gajeel and now Levy outside the doors of Avatar. Will they be able to intervene in time to help Natsu save Grey or is Gajeel right and there is no hope other than to kill everyone involved with the Purification ritual?

Well its about time, we all knew this was coming. It was a quick fight and during it you could see Natsu was enjoying himself where as Grey didn't look so pleased. This could be because of two reasons either Grey knows he is outmatched or Grey just wasn't amused with the fight. Though the fight was quick and I wish it would have lasted a bit longer, it looks like we are in for a good next few chapters. Right now it looks as though Avatar has the upper hand, but Natsu is going to be getting backup any minute now with Gajeel and Pantherlilly and newly seen Levy but only time will tell if they will be able to get Grey back, and my question is when will we see Erza? For someone who has been so important in the past it's amazing we have yet to see her since the disbandment of Fairy Tail.

Cougar Town (Season 6)

By: Robert Murphy

It's always tough to say goodbye no matter what the situation, but I feel it's always especially hard to say goodbye to a fantastic show one that you've watched since the beginning and kept right along with. Cougar Town may not have started out as that kind of show for me but it did grow on me after the initial effects of it's premise began to fade. It's hard to believe that the show was actually going to be about Jules Kobb (Courteney Cox) dating younger men for an entire show. A plot like that would be at best a one season type deal but the characters and story grew into so much more than all that and all that remains of the God awful idea is the reruns of the first season and the title for the series. Now though it is time to say goodbye to Jules and the rest of the cul-de-sac crew so let's see what the final season has in store.

The big shocking reveal at the end of the previous season turned out to be that Laurie (Busy Philipps) is pregnant with Travis's (Dan Bryd) child. Now normally a show would make the entire season be about the pregnancy but Cougar Town took a different approach to the whole ordeal, maybe because it was their final season or maybe because the whole having a baby thing has been done to death as I just mentioned. The first couple of episodes do see some shenanigans with an insane Laurie, her character is already crazy enough without all the hormones but with a child driving her insane she becomes a lot worse. Perhaps my favorite pregnant Laurie moment was during the episode where Jules decides to give up wine while Laurie is pregnant. Since Jules can't do anything alone she makes everyone also give up wine as well too soothe the savage beast that is Laurie Keller. When it turns out that they all betray her though in an elaborate "speak easy" style escapade she goes full juvie on all of them and whips around a sock full of nickles. 

As I said though the whole pregnant Laurie bit gets condensed down rather quickly and in one of the episode an eight month time skip occurs and Laurie has baby Bobby in the second episode. The rest of show sees real change and growth for the rest of the characters with plenty of other interesting changes that surprised me. Adult Bobby (Brian Van Holt) ends up finding a high paying job opportunity out of state and ends up moving away from everyone. It's a move I didn't see coming or rather I didn't want to see coming as Bobby was probably my favorite character and it was certainly hard for Andy (Ian Gomez) to lose his best friend and because of this we actually see a major change for his character too. Andy was always the bread winner for his home while Ellie (Christa Miller) stayed at home but after Bobby leaves he ends up becoming a stay at home dad. This leaves Ellie to return to work herself, if any of you forget she use to be lawyer. Everyone's roles get reversed and changed and I actually really enjoyed seeing these new changes being brought out, I would have loved to see more of them if the show continued but that sadly that won't happen.

Midst all of the switching and changing though much of what Cougar Town's core strengths continued to shine through for it's send off season. Plenty of the earmark moments for the shows humor have continued forward this time around such as Ellie and Grayson (Josh Hopkins) duking it out together. Then we have Andy who spends some of the season sulking without his best friend Bobby around (their bromance is something the writer Bill Lawrence does well and has plenty of experience with i.e. Scrubs). Then you have Travis and Laurie who only just began to figure out their relationship now they have to figure out how to add a kid into their own craziness. One thing that I didn't enjoying seeing occur all over again was Grayson and Jules arguing over the two never having privacy, Jules wanting everyone around her to be involved in everything and Grayson wanting some alone time for them. It's an issue and plot device that should have been nipped in the bud the season following the twos marriage to one another. Grayson really just needed to get over it already and move on but for the most part everything else continued to move smoothly and in classic Cougar Town fashion. 

In the end, I feel like this final season for Cougar Town was a fantastic send off for the series, it didn't feel like a goodbye sort of thing but rather each character continued forward with each of their own story arcs. This is a great thing because for the first time in awhile the dynamic of everything the show was founded on was shaken up, it wasn't all about drinking wine and everyone hanging out at Jules's all day long for once. Bobby moved away and got a job, Laurie and Travis have their own kid, Ellie went back to work, heck even Jules managed to change a little when she reads her first book. Again, it's too bad this change didn't occur sooner and if it did maybe that could have spelled out another season for the show, but it was a fitting end for a show that evolved quite a bit from it's start. 

Good:

- The show finally saw some real change

- Plenty of the core strengths continued throughout the season

Bad:

- Some of the more lack luster gags and plot elements continued

- Why weren't these changes made sooner? Why were they done in the final season?

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10

Don't Starve

By: Robert Murphy

One piece of advice that you can take into any sort of game is to be wary of the kiddy looking games because they can end up being the most grueling and tough games you will ever play. Don’t Starve is exactly one of those games that looks cute and fun on the outside, it features an enjoyable color pallet and a style that looks like it came right out of a story book. However, this story book was directed by Tim Burton and is filled with creepy looking creatures that will take you out at a moments notice. Add on top of this the fact that you are a lone human that has been transported to this strange world with no supplies or information on how to survive and are now expected to somehow survive. No clues, no hints, you have nothing but your wits to help you along the way and the sinking suspicion that you should be afraid of moments things that inhabit this world.

Many games today come with a detailed layout of what you must accomplish to survive or what your goal is going to be in order to beat it, but Don’t Starve doesn’t have any of that. When you start Survival Mode a strange man stands before you, he appears to be quite malevolent and spouts out a quick quip and then disappears into a cloud of smoke, leaving you in a strange new world. That’s basically all you get. I naturally started to walk around and picked up every little thing I came across as I didn’t know what I would need to survive I just knew I needed things of some sort. From here you wonder around collecting this and that with the goal of surviving as long as you can through nights, days, harsh winters and the strange creatures around you. The whole thing is really quite charming if you take a moment to soak it all in and not thinking of the horrors that lay in waiting. The game features a pleasant little soundtrack as you move along and your character chimes in with little insights as well.

Not everything is cut and dry with Don’t Starve, there are plenty of odd and eerie beings and events that you will come across on the randomly generated map. Players will undoubtedly stumble across random mushrooms, strange willow trees and interdimensional portals that lead God knows where. I was too frightened to try and jump into one; I was too frightened to do a lot of things my first playthrough. An interesting risk/reward system comes out of this system of just not knowing what everything does, you will have to try it and find out. I still don’t think I know what cooked red mushroom does all I know is that it made my characters stomach hurt and that I probably shouldn’t eat anymore of it, I’d probably end up sick and dead if I did. Players will have to try everything out for themselves to learn how everything works and it’s something I deeply enjoyed, there’s no warning labels in this world and you have to use your best judgment and learn how to survive on your own.

Death isn’t something you should fear though in the game because it is bound to happen at some point during your time playing. Once you die you’re forced to start all over again from scratch in an entirely different world, resources could end up being scares and you may have to change up your gameplay style from last time, you just don’t know will be waiting for you next. It’s not a huge change but new maps do mean new possibilities and chances to learn and that’s what death really is in Don’t Starve, you take what killed you last time and apply it to your game this time around.

Death also plays a key role in getting new characters for you to try out too, the longer you survive in any given game, the more experience points you get when you die. Other characters have certain attributes such as resilience to fire or come with their own unique tool that they prefer to use. Not all of the characters have positive benefits though; some characters like the strong man make it harder to survive. This character is super buff and can take a beating but he requires an insane amount of food to stay healthy and constantly needs battle to keep his mental acuity up.

Outside of Survival Mode there is another game type to shake things up slightly for players, Adventure Mode. The mode doesn’t bring anything new to the table like a story mode but it does present players with a variety of different challenges and adversities to overcome. You may end up on a map with a never ending winter or a map with very little meat where before the only thing you really needed to do was eat. The maps can be insanely tough, tougher than the maps already were but you just have to put all the skills you have learned to good use and make your way through.

The only thing that keeps a game like Don’t Starve from being a complete game is the amount of time you may actually end up dying. Yes, maps do randomly generate but you have to start from scratch all over again on a map that really isn’t all that different from the previous one. I guess it really depends on your own willingness to play the game over and over again doing the same things each time that will keep you going but I found everything in the world to be a rich and an enjoyable experience. For those of you who enjoy a good challenge and a true survival style game than this will be one that you will want to try.

Good:

Delightful art style and soundtrack

A rough/tough survival experience

Ever changing maps makes each playthrough a new experience

Bad:

The tough difficulty won’t be for everyone

The game can feel repetitive if you don’t play smart and die quite often

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Bleach 623: Against the Judgement

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/623

Aizen prepares to bring down the palace; however, at the last moment, his restraints stop him. It is at this point that Kyoraku and Kurotsuchi explain the nature of Aizen's restraints, explaining that they are the one of the Soul Society's proudest achievements, since Aizen's power cannot by normal means be contained. However, as the captains boast of their achievement, trouble arrives in the form of 3 Sternritters, who appear to mean business. Can the Soul Reapers afford to keep Aizen restrained, or will they have to find another means to deal with this new threat?

This chapter is very significant, since *SPOILERS* several Sternritters are now joining with the Soul Reapers to get revenge on Juha Bach for abandoning them. I am unsure if Juha Bach is ready for this, or if he even cares, but this is a big twist, since it means many former enemies are banding together to come after him. I don't think they will be able to take him on, as they seem keen on doing, but they can still make a big difference at the right moment if they join in the fight with the Sternlichter. I'm hoping in the next couple of weeks we get a glimpse at what happened to Ichigo after his fall from the palace, because he'll need to get back in this fight soon by the looks of things.

Archer (Season 6)

By: Robert Murphy 

Being a super spy is a dream that I'm sure a lot of guys would imagine wanting and why wouldn't they, James Bond makes it look so damn appealing with the amazing cars, cool gadgets and beautiful woman. Sterling Archer also helps with this appeal as well as he parades around the world narrowly escaping death at every turn and single handedly keeps the worlds scotch and whore house industry going. However, the last season of Archer, Archer Vice, saw a departure from his world renowned exploits and him and the other members of ISIS tried their hands at being drug smugglers. Hey, how hard could it be right? Well. as it turns out it can be very difficult when you're working with the incompetency of this sorry lot. Now that this all over, Archer and his friends are back doing what they do best or rather adequately or um, yeah, they do alright I guess. They are now a division of the CIA and for whatever reason they see the former espionage group as a valuable asset to have and they go back to business as usual, literally, it's the same building, same layout and just as funny as it always was. 

The first few episodes of this latest season feel like a return to form for the series, we've stepped away from being criminals and going outside the law (sort of) and now Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) can go back to shirking his responsibilities and still somehow getting the job done. If you honestly missed the entirety of the last season, you could almost say it never happened when you click over the channel to start watching it all over again. This isn't a bad thing when you think about it because you need a little time to return to form. However, the other half of the show starts to bring home a new angle for the series and that is the fact that Archer is now a father (the only thing you really learned last season). Yes, it turns out that the child Lana (Aisha Tyler) was carrying is somehow Archer's and things enter into a whole new realm. Archer isn't exactly new to parenting though as he played foster parent to one of his call girl's children, let's just hope that he doesn't get this one a tattoo.

The entirety of this season is really about two thing, Archer and Lana and their new dynamic and Archer coming to terms with actually being responsible for another human being. This second point become exceedingly obvious in the episode entitled "Sitting" where Lana trusts Archer enough to actual watch their child, alone. The whole episode is a very touching one as he starts to feel a bond with baby A.J. until a strange visitor comes a knocking and Archer goes into full butt kicking mode and starts "Archering" all over the place. You heard me right, that's a thing this season. The only difference is now he realizes that he has something to protect and we see an extremely serious and an extremely scary side to Archer, one I've never seen before. It turns out a serious Archer is one you don't want to mess with. The experience proved that Archer isn't a goof all the time and some of the best moments through all of season for the show were when Archer dropped the act and was truthful about his feelings.

Moving on to the other fact I mentioned, the second half of this season centers around Lana and Archer who officially get back together. It's something that people always hate in shows, why would you put the main characters together, it'll ruin the show. Well, it would seem that doing this actually makes Archer more intriguing if anything. Three of my favorite episodes from this season revolve around Archer trying his best to behave but ending up being his usual self and ruining everything. At one point, Lana returns home with A.J and Archer so her parents can meet their grandchild and the idiot that is responsible for her birth. There is a moment in the hot tub that will leave you cringing.

Our other characters also go back to their old ways after being criminals doesn't work out, Cyril (Chris Parnell), Pam (Amber Nash), Krieger (Lucky Yates), Cheryl (Judy Greer) and Malory (Jessica Walter). As I said, things are back on course for each of them in terms of their characters but the writing still remains top notch and keeps the dialogue between each of them just as good. The episode entitled "Vision Quest" proves this through and through as everyone except for Malory ends up trapped in the elevator to work, needless to say tension are high and I wouldn't want to be trapped in a small space with these sociopaths. Malory though isn't left out at all this season, her character makes her mark by constantly trying to make changes in Lana's parenting style and showing the trademark bad parenting she used with her own child. Malory tries to bribe Lana to change A.J.'s name to her own, starves her because she thinks the baby is too fat and plenty of other eyebrow raising moments.

In conclusion, it's nice to find out that even though plenty of the dynamic has now returned to the way it was before Archer Vice, the show still can offer great dialogue and interesting new stories. Even the earlier episodes that I glossed over in my review were some excellent new missions, my particular favorite was when Archer, Lana and Ray must climb a treacherous mountain with a potential killer in their midst. It's fraught with danger and plenty of moments for Archer to bugger the whole thing up. I hope that Archer now being a father brings things closer to us discovering who is actual father is and learning more about his past. We never know what the future of the show holds except that it will be filled with Archering action all over the place.

Good:

- The show returns to it's usual spy format with some great new missions

- Dialogue is still sharp as ever

- Animation is on the top of it's game

- Archer as a father and the new avenues it opens up with Lana and for the story was great

Bad:

- Some of the earlier episodes do feel like the same old same old for the Archer story you've already seen

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10