Less is More

Is prudence more effective in cinema?

What we can do in movies today is, admittedly, quite amazing. While I've certainly voiced my standpoint on the gratuitous usage of computer effects in modern cinema, it's impressive nonetheless. There's certainly a brand of movie that benefits from that over-the-top style. Evil Dead, which I just gave a positive review a few days back, is a good example. In my mind, we need movies like that. We can't just have one kind of movie, it'd get boring if all we had was dead serious, drama.
That being said, let's ignore drama right now because at this point, you should have my priorities figured out. Let's talk about horror.
Horror is my favorite genre of film and is the one that's generally most affected by what I'm about to put down here. Let's first start with an example. I'll use Saw since it so perfectly illustrates what I'm getting at.

I've gone over this movie more than once. It's a great film. Thrilling, suspenseful, unique and engaging. Unfortunately, there are far too many sequels and no one in their right mind would ever say that any of them come close to topping the first. In fact, most people who praise this movie emphasize that the sequels should be ignored all together (me, for instance).
So what is it about the first film that the succeeding ones never got? Every new movie was desperately trying to top the original by way of increasing the body count, violence, upping the stakes or whatever else to make the new movie seem bigger (or crazier). This is a woefully common trend in horror movie sequels that ultimately leads to the absurd, over-the-top and generally hated conclusions. Of course Saw is far from being a unique case. Other series's that come readily to mind are Scream, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (sort of), From Dusk Till Dawn, The Hills Have Eyes, Lake Placid, Friday the 13th, Child's Play, The Fly, Nightmare on Elm Street, Children of the Corn, The Final Destination, Hellraiser and Return of the Living Dead.

(Sigh) I pass.

Yeah. Like I said, not uncommon. There are plenty of other reasons those are bad and that trend is far from being specific to horror but I'm not here to talk about sequels themselves, I've done that before. I'm just using these examples to prove a point. For each of those series's, which installment would you say is the best? Most people (and critics) would agree that it's generally the first that takes the cake.
Why?
Is it because it was the most original with it's story? Partially, yes. But I say the cause of this incongruity of quality is prudence. That's right, the age old saying that less is more.

You following so far?

Many of these series's started out indie and with poor budgets. Because of that, they had to be resourceful and come up with ways to draw the audience in that didn't involve gore or special effects. This often meant creating horror on a less literal and more psychological level. I'm not saying that Lake Placid was ever psychological horror but I think you get my point.
These two are not like oil and water however; they can be mixed, but it's seldom pulled off. Certainly deserving of honorable mention is John Carpenter's, The Thing. That movie has a great plot, relies heavily on suspense and has gore and special effects up the ass. It works almost perfectly too. The special effects make the movie feel a little lopsided just because they're so jaw-droppingly incredible.
Like I said though, that's a rare example. It's so often that those two values are exchanged. This is largely because of the disparity between the kind of writers/directors/producers that make the film. There are some who want to communicate their story and others who just want to make cash. I'm sure you can guess which kind does what.

We meet again.

But it's not always that simple. I'm not talking about just roping an audience in. Remember when I asked about which movies were more memorable? Prudence is far more effective than simply showing off with gratuity. Gratuity is amusing and it's fun to watch with your friends but when it comes down to it, a movie that operates that way will never be remembered or re-watched generations later. A movie that piques your interest with psychological tactics gets in your head and stays there. You think on it long after you've seen it and you watch it again and again to gain even one more iota of it's plot.

While the topic here is different, the message is the same I've already given. Sure, it's harder to come up with a riveting story as opposed to filling that gap with violence or whatever else but in the end, that effort is what should be given to a film. Film is an art that's respect is dwindling. You have to care about what you're creating or no one else will. Sure, you can go and make a movie that thrives off of graphic violence and special effects. It'll be entertaining but that's all it will ever be destined to be: entertaining. Only with thought and care, will a film be great. Less truly is more.

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island

Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island was the first and best direct-to-video, feature-length Scooby-Doo adaptations. After a five year hiatus from the canceling of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, 1998 saw this film which may be responsible for starting the reemergence of Scooby-Doo that has continued with numerous films and TV series's, Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated being the latest and greatest since Where Are You!

References kids don't understand. This show summed up

I've fancied myself a Scooby-Doo fan since I was a child. Although the original show, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! predates me by a sizable margin, I watched it more than I watched Dragonball Z and I largely blame it for my horror obsession later in life. To this day, I still enjoy the show, whenever I can catch it on Boomerang, for it's deep roots in horror and it's humor (although I've found anything outside of the pilot series to be less redeeming). Despite that, the spin-off movies were great by my recollection, so I decided to revisit Zombie Island.

The movie starts with a classic chase through a gothic castle involving a Creature from the Black Lagoon lookalike. But as it turns out, it's just Daphne recalling the story during a talk-show. The characters are obviously more grown up now and we're quickly informed that the team has long-since split up. Daphne now hosts a show assisted and directed by Freddie, Velma runs a horror book shop and Shaggy and Scooby are baggage checkers at an airport.

Remember: This was pre-9/11

Daphne, bored of the hoaxes and costumes, desperately wants to find genuine, haunted houses. Fred decides to reunite the team and they set off unmasking ghosties "like old times".

Just when the gang is convinced they'll never find a legitimate story, they're invited to a bayou island that's hauntings are apparently the real deal. From then on, it's like a classic, light-hearted horror movie. They're told many times that the island is dangerous and that often people disappear, along with a few cryptic tales about the island's history but that only excites them further.

As the classic horror movie plot development goes, things start to get weird pretty soon but get creepier and creepier until you have an egregious pirate zombie attacking you. During this act, Fred and Velma busy themselves by trying to unravel the mystery but there's an underlying notion that maybe this case isn't some guy in costumes but something more...

The movie does occasionally sport some moments that are a little too childish, some of the acting is sub-par and this movie's enjoyment is probably limited to fans of the show but I think what's good about the movie overrides that.

Besides the fact that it's animated well, (interestingly done so by a Japanese studio called Mook Animation. I think just a tad of anime style carried over), it's humour and charm combined with a horror plot that's better than some legitimate movies I've seen, which boasts surprising twists actually make this a pretty rewarding watch. It's hard to rate this movie fairly just because I love Scooby-Doo, so it's a little biased, but I think it's veritably good. It's kind of hard to find, but if you ever do, give it a watch.

7.5/10 - Try it, you'll like it.

End of Watch

End of Watch is a movie that came out last year that stars Donnie Darko and Mark Walhberg's sidekick from Shooter who play the characters Taylor and Zavala, respectively. The film is told through the lens of Taylor's camera, who is chronicling a log about his work as a cop in the dangerous ass-end of LA. The entire movie is shot that way, through his cameras, which is interesting and gives the movie a unique flair, but it doesn't really add anything to the film and it could've been traded for the conventional method without any issue.
Being a cop drama, it's pretty gritty and riddled with language (actually it's the seventh most profane movie of all time). I guess the swearing was a bit over-the-top, but the violence is necessary and realistic. It's impressive that this film was even pulled off, given it's budget of a mere $7 million. I've seen movies that are way worse in every way that have several times that budget.

Ahem

None of that distracts from the story, though, which is heavily character driven. Speaking of which the acting is above top-notch; the characters are incredibly believable. You root for them the whole time and really want to see them through to the end. The only downside to that is that they're the only thing keeping the movie going. If it weren't for the protagonists, this would be just your run-of-the-mill cop drama.
It's a tragic and serious movie overall, but it shows that it can also be funny and lighthearted when it needs to be. Some of the transitions between those two moods are jarring but most of the time it works well.
Keeping this review brief, it's a good movie. Well written, well acted and it succeeds in seeming like something that could happen in real life. It also makes good use of Puscifer in it's soundtrack, so bonus points for that. If crime is your thing, this movie is a must.

8.5/10 - Memorable

Top 10 Anime Openings

It's an anime tradition that every episode of every show is kicked off by a two minute AMV. Almost every anime has this and it basically serves as a preview of the show. Rather than watching trailers, as you would with American (and most) movies, you simply watch the opening. They're generally very well animated and artfully done. Everyone has their opinions, but I picked out my personal Top 10 anime openings. So enjoy these catchy tunes and check out the shows.

10. Phantom - Requiem for the Phantom (Opening 1)

To be honest, this opening is better than the show. Phantom - Requiem for the Phantom wasn't that bad, it was actually pretty darn good for awhile, but it fell apart in the third act of the show and it's an unsatifying conclusion to the 26 episode endeavor. I think it still may be worth watching because what's good about the show can almost override what's bad. Anyway, good opening.

9. Bleach (Opening 3)

I'm sure that every anime fan at least knows about this show. It's pretty popular and by "pretty" I mean, "very". It was tough to choose between the first opening and this one, the third, but I think this one is better. This show is too long for it's own good and I never got past episode ninety-something. It'd be better if it ended right after season 3, but whatever, it's an imperfect world.

8. Claymore

I talked about this one before. Claymore is my sword-fighting drug of choice. It's badass, monster-slaying action and it stays strong over all 26 episodes. Now if only someone would make a second  season.

7. Dragon Ball GT

As bad a rep as this show gets, and I'll admit I've added to it, it's actually pretty good. I wouldn't recommend it to any casual fan of DBZ, but to the hardcores, it's mandatory. If you can stomach the absurdly over-the-top power levels, it's fun.

6. Soul Eater (Opening 2)

I watched this show on recommendation. It's 50 episodes long and stylish as all hell, as you'll probably observe from this video. My only serious complaint is the ending, which blows.

5. Full Metal Alchemist (Opening 1)

If you're an anime fan, you've seen this show by now. If you haven't seen this show by now, you're not an anime fan. Each succeeding opening this show had was progressively worse. Of it's four intros, this is the best by far.

4. Darker Than Black (Opening 1)

I actually like this song a lot and I have it on my music library. I never watched any of the spin-off series's, but this show in itself is awesome. It's very story driven and doesn't spoon-feed you anything. Watch it.

3. Highschool of the Dead

The anime that dominated 2010, HOTD is the best thing that's happened to zombies since George Romero. Next to his films, this is my favorite zombie story and damnit it needs a second season.

The Walking Dead can suck this shows cock.

2. Deadman Wonderland

Again, a show I've already talked about. Deadman Wonderland did to 2011 what HOTD did to 2010 and is an anime I highly recommend. It's fucked, to be sure, but I think it's designed to make the viewer feel a little insane themselves.

1. Death Note (Opening 2)

I'll admit, it was real hard to choose between this and the runner up. In the end, this obviously won. It's crazy, trippy and I love the way it tells you nothing about the show. Also, it's badass. Just like the show itself.

Evil Dead

When I wrote my Most Anticipated Movies of 2013, this was one of the films on the list. I saw it the night after opening night which, not surprisingly, warranted a big turn out. The kind of people that go to see this film are generally the laid back crowd, which is my personal favorite kind of audience to see a movie with because it helps you get into the experience. (One of the guys actually arrived in full Bruce Campbell cosplay with a chainsaw arm and everything. If you're that guy and you ever read this review, props.) They all laughed at the subtle dark comedy, cheered at moments of badassery and was audibly repulsed during the gratuitous, gut-splattering, in-your-face, violence.

 Of which, of course, there was no shortage. Any audience willing to watch this film would endure an insane level of gore. For a movie that's rated R, it's pretty darn violent and it's clear that the filmmakers were pushing the rating as far as it would go. There were a few people who actually got up and left the theatre during the more extreme parts and I saw numerous people looking away or closing their eyes.

I think I see where this is going.

I only found out the night before seeing the film, that Sam Raimi was reprising his role as producer  along with Bruce Campbell, the star of the original film. I think that actually helped this movie a lot and kept it from completely copying the '81 version. Speaking of which, this movie is a great example of a proper remake. As I just said, it didn't copy and paste the original script but it also had plenty of respectful nods to it's predecessor, which any member of it's enormous cult following would catch.

The movie opens with a short scene of some demonically possessed woman being put to rest via burning at the stake followed promptly by shotgun to the face which I get the feeling is a treatment that was not doctor recommended. I almost wish that this scene wasn't included because it serves almost no purpose and makes the movie feel a little bit dumb, especially with that shotgun bit.

But anyway, after that, we're introduced to a bunch of twenty-somethings who all head out into the woods to chill in an old, slightly-dilapidated, cabin. They take some time laying down the groundwork of the film and we get some character backstories. Not long into the movie, we find out that the real reason they're roughing it in the cabin is to try and get one of their party members, Mia, off of her drug addiction. At first, it almost seems as though the movie is going to be pretty slow but then they find the original 'purging' site from the first scene in the basement and along with the various witchcraft items, The Book of the Dead.

So one of the guys takes it upon himself to "accidentally" perform the entire summoning ritual, effectively fucking over all of his friends.

"It's not my fault man, the directions weren't very clear."

Well, that's about where the shit hits the fan harder than a sack full of bricks and just never stops coming. I won't spoil anything after that, but I will say that the movie continues to get better and better as it goes on, with the entire last act being an exciting and memorable climax.

That all sounds pretty good (and it is) but unfortunately this movie is brought down by the, expected, poor actor quality as well as the occasional shoddily-written bit of dialogue. That's to be expected with movies of this caliber, but it's disappointing nonetheless. Besides that, it has some thinly veiled characters, several of whom are simply throwaway characters I didn't care about, it's pretty predictable up until the last act and it relies too heavily on it's gore-factor. I would be more disappointed in the heavy application of violence, but I knew what I was getting into and I was expecting a mindless bloodbath (as I've said before, it's all about the mindset), so in that respect it didn't bother me that much and, with a budget of $17 million, at least it looked good..

If you can get past that (and trust me, it's not hard) this movie is a blast that's a lot of fun. It's garnered some pretty low reviews from guys like Richard Roeper who has tried to fill the hole in cinema subculture left behind by the late Roger Ebert (rest in peace), but in my humble opinion, he didn't do this movie justice. It's made $26 million in the opening weekend topping G.I. Joe: Retaliation for the number one spot by a full $5 million (suck it). As I said in the paragraph above and so many times before, it's the mindset. You go into a movie like this with some friends and some popcorn and you have a good time and in that respect, this is a great, above average, horror movie. Check it out.

7.5/10 - A fun horror flick.

Comparing Streaming Services

These days

It seems that everyone is supporting some kind of movie streaming technology. All of the systems in this generation come with several options just themselves. I subscribed myself to all of the ones that they offered on my 360 just in case I can't find a certain movie I want to watch on one of them (I did try it on my Wii and it was a fucking disaster, I don't recommend it). While the main function of these subscriptions is the same, they all differ slightly, so I had an idea that I'd compare a few of them back to back and help my non-existant viewers decide on which one they should give their hard-earned money to.

inb4 "hurr durr. buying movies legally. what a square."

I know how to stream and torrent from the internet, I just much prefer this way and besides, this is information that could be used by any person who doesn't want to get in to any of that. So without further delay...

Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is the one I got most recently and is still pretty new. It boasts a striking resemblance to the Netflix menu, right down to the sounds effects of flicking through the choices. I have no idea why that is the case, but it seems strange to me, however irrelevant. As far as the selection goes, the free movies seem pretty limited. Way too often, I'll exit the search screen disappointed. There are plenty of movies to purchase, but that's a real bitch, who wants to do that? It seems like a load of bullshit to withhold certain movies if I'm already paying a monthly fee. When you think about it that way, all your paying for is the ability to view the list of movies you can buy. On the other hand, if you like American television, Amazon Prime is for you, because there's a plethora of variety there. Unfortunately, TV is shit, so I have no interest in it. I think the worst thing about Prime is that there's no anime to speak of which is somewhat mystifying to me considering the other entries on this list have plenty. I think Amazon Prime is meh. It's really new and all, so I hope that it'll be improved on because as it stands, it's my least favorite of all of the services I'll mention.

Netflix

I may venture to say that this is currently the most popular of this sort of service. I really have no idea if that's true, and I'm too lazy to find out, but that's what seems to be evident. As far as the options, they have quite a bit of movies and shows on here although, unfortunately, they have a bad reputation for having poor quality in that selection.

Image is from The Oatmeal

They have good movies on Netflix, but searching for one is a lot like rummaging through countless threads on forums until you find a decent one. Also, Netflix does this obnoxious shit where it adjusts the bandwidth or something like that. It's really annoying, it'll stop your movie, or whatever the hell you're watching, give you a loading screen and then you'll come back and it'll continue with a new quality (usually worse). I still think it's better than Amazon because it has more movies and it has a decent anime selection (which is just that, decent but anything is an improvement over Amazon Prime's).

Hulu Plus

Hulu Plus would have to be my personal favorite out of all of the services I've used. It boasts a wide collection of films from many multiple genres and actually has an extensive anime selection. The only unfortunate thing about that, is that it's all subbed, which is fine in most cases, but I just wish there were an option to change it or something. The other complaints I could voice would be that the interface could be improved, as it's kind of confusing to navigate and it's much slower than the other two on this list, even with just scrolling and selecting. The worst thing about it by far is the fact that it has commercials popping up every so often. Again, I don't know why it's not enough that I'm paying for it with money, but they still feel the need to do that shit. But what it all comes down to is the movie selection itself which, in this case, is much better than the other two. There are more movies and many of them are good movies that people have actually heard of.

So, weigh the pros and cons for yourself, Hulu is my personal favorite but you may think differently. It's your choice.

Top 10 Underrated Games

With so many games coming out these days

It can be pretty easy to miss out on great titles just because they either get buried under the big blockbuster games or you just can't spare the time or cash to get into a new thing. A lot of times, games are forgotten because they suffer from condemning reviews that were unjustly served towards a game that was a true gem. I took the time to figure out what I think are the best examples of games that either didn't get the respect they should've or faded away and deserve to be remembered.
I give you top 10 underrated games.

10. Spiderman 2

I remember when the first Spiderman game came out. Suffice it to say, it sucked dick. The exploration was hugely limited, it had an obnoxiously linear gameplay which just didn't fit, the combat was a joke and overall the game was a laughable failure.

But then this game comes along in 2004. The graphics were stunning, the control and gameplay fantastic and free-roaming and the open world was massive. When I first played this, I wasn't very used to open world games, so I didn't have much to compare it to, but even so, it's a damn big city you get to play in that's finely detailed with secrets and hideouts.

There was never a time in this game where you had nothing to do. This game had an infinite number of side-quests which that sounds actually better than it is because it's just about a dozen different kinds of "save someone" quests over and over again. Despite that, it doesn't get tiring and even if you don't look for a person in need, there are plenty of times where you happen to randomly stumble upon a crime in progress and get to send some thugs into next year.

Speaking of the combat, it's nothing short of awesome in this game. The player has dozens and dozens of stylized techniques at their disposal and their 'arsenal' increases as the game goes on.

It's not that this game did poorly critically, the reason it's on this list is because I never knew a single person besides me who had it. That's too bad since it's one of my personal favorite games and it's such a "this one time" kind of game and I found I had no one with whom I could share my adventures as the web-slinger.

There's so much more I could say about this game but we've got nine to go so without further adiu...

9. 007: Everything or Nothing

I'll start by saying this is on here for the exact same reason as Spiderman 2. I never met anyone who played this anywhere. Like Spiderman 2, it did pretty well critically and received largely positive reviews. For whatever reason, people then proceeded to forget it ever existed at all. It's unfortunate and surprising because I always felt this game had such a unique feel to it. For starters, it's an over-the-shoulder shooter which may deter a lot of gamers but I assure you, it works really well. The control is intuitive, responsive and makes sense.

You won't find much in the realm of multiplayer, unfortunately, but this game's single player story makes up for it enormously. It's a pretty long game, can't remember how long exactly but I do recall that it took a while to complete. It's full of gadgets, vehicle battles, shootouts and a whole host of other fun shit. I would say that next to Goldeneye, this is the best 007 game ever made. Seriously, I would recommend this to any shooter fan. Just give it a try and I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

8. Bulletstorm

The best way to describe this game is just to say, it's a fucking blast. All encompassing, maximum badassery, Bulletstorm prided itself on being the man out of all of the kids shooters and it's advertising campaign was making fun of the FPS games like Call of Duty and asked if you wanted a real game.
It received mostly positive reviews but it's on here simply because no one fucking played it. Why, I have no idea. This game is 100% balls to the wall, ass kicking that deserves fans and, I may even be so bold as to say, a followup.

I'm sorry, I must've missed training exercise that went over this exact situation.

The play-style is distinguished. It centers largely around trying to get the most stylish kills possible and there are probably hundreds of ways to go about ending your countless foes piteous lives. Kicking is an attack rarely featured in first-person shooters but works well in this game, as does the light whip which sends enemies into slow-motion as they hurtle towards you.
Although the multiplayer is very limited, it's still pretty fun and besides, there's more than enough single player to make up for it.
So yeah, badass game. Check it out.

E3 winner of the most uses of the term "limp-dick".

7. Chibi Robo

Why I was the only person I know who has even heard of this game, I have no idea. Sure it's not exactly a "hardcore gamer's" sort of game but that in no way should mean that it should go totally unnoticed.

Chibi Robo is an adorable little game that centers around a six-inch tall robot who is never referred to as anything other than Chibi Robo. The main focus of the game is to clean this one family's house of dirt, trash and whatever else in order to make them happy. That seems like it'd be boring, but Chibi Robo doesn't fail to entertain as you constantly unlock upgrades allowing you to reach places you've never reached before. Clambering all over furniture in order to get to a high bookshelf is a puzzle in of itself.

Besides that, every character in the game has something wrong in their life and it's your job to help them solve their problems to make everyone truly happy. Not to mention, each of these characters is memorable and unique, one of my favorites being your floating counterpart Telly who has just as interesting a voice as he does appearence.

So all in all, Chibi Robo is a charming little game that actually manages to be quite memorable in both it's highly stylized world and unique concept.

6. Yoshi's Story

Speaking of highly stylized...

I was recently looking over an article published by Game Informer about the upcoming Wii U Yoshi game. In it they listed other memorable Yoshi games of the past to play while you wait. To my surprise, this game was not mentioned. Yoshi's story garnered generally poor reviews when it debuted in 1997 scoring as low as 4.8/10 on some reviewal sites and in fact, one of the very few reviewers to give it a positive number was Game Informer who awarded it an 8.5/10.

How someone could earnestly dislike this game is beyond me. Like Chibi Robo, it's not exactly a challenging game. It's focused more on being a cute little adventure that's highly playable and fun.

The game is so unique in style that it blows my mind that anyone could forget it existed without the aid of a decade and a half (oh wait...). Every level is distinguished and I love the way it looks as though it were constructed by hand. For instance in the screenshot above the entire level appears to be made out of cardboard and in the screenshot below the entire sky is denim and the clouds look like they're stitched together.

The whole concept of the game centers around collecting as much fruit as you can until the boarder around the screen fills up with what you've eaten and you win. Because of this treasure hunt sort of style, each level plays non-linearly and has many branches off into different parts of the world. It's extensive level design and like I said before, no two are alike. The game only takes six levels to complete but it has 24 courses total, four levels per each of the six stages. It only takes one level victory to complete a stage which is an implement that I am inclined to dislike. I sort of wish that you were required to play all 24, but instead going through the full game requires replaying the story line at least four times. Despite that, it does succeed in offering experiences that are distinct among players.

5. Starfox Assault

I don't find myself a big Starfox fan considering that the games can be kind of hard to come by in America and I just never got into it much. That's not to say there's anything wrong with the games, from what I've played of them, they're great. One of the few Starfox games that I did play extensively was Starfox Assault.

Starfox Assault received mixed reviews and like many other entries on this list, went generally unnoticed by most gamers when it released in 2005. That's a real pity because it's a true gem of action games. Weather you're fighting with Arwings, Landmasters or just on foot, the battles are sure to please as they're intense and gripping.

The only major complaint against this game I could voice is the fact that it's as short as it is at a mere nine levels but the best thing about this game isn't in the campaign, it's in the multiplayer. With up to four players, the vs. combat in this game is a blast. A great game to play with friends

I'd say that it's well worth your time to look into it, even if you're not a Nintendo fan. As one reviewer, Kevin Gifford put it, "The game is aimed less at the Mario Club and more toward the hardcore crowd." Check it out.

4. Poke'mon Colosseum

I guess I'll say the bottom line first. If you like Poke'mon, you will like this game. Simple as that. This is honestly, one of my all-time favorite Poke'mon games because it's so different from the rest. It's one of the few to be on a platform console rather than a handheld. I've always wished they did more like this because I generally don't bother myself with any handheld games beyond my Gameboy.

People may dislike this game due to the fact that you can't capture wild Poke'mon which is a staple of the normal Poke'mon games. I'll admit, I'm not fond of that change either, but I love this game regardless and it's method of stealing Poke'mon from other trainers is cool. The rest of what sets this game apart lies in it's visual style whereas most are bird's-eye shots, this game is all over.

But the place this game really excels are in the battles. I've heard people complain that the fighting animations are repetitive but they're a hell of a lot cooler than anything from the handheld installments.

I'm not trying to bash the handheld games as they're all fantastic, I'm just saying that this game deserves more recognition than it got. Great game.

3. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3

I would go so far as to say that the entire Budokai Tenkaichi series is underrated, but the installment that went way above and beyond what is needed to be a respected game is Budokai Tenkaichi 3. With 161 playable characters, this game has one of the largest rosters in any fighting game and each is equipped with plenty of unique special moves that are true to the show. The cel-shaded graphics translate the animation into the third dimension so well.

As for the fighting? Oh, my fuck. It is so fast and so intense that this game is actually daunting to already hardened fighting game veterans. In fact, IGN said "The sheer speed and complexity of the controls may turn some people off" and "The game [is] remarkably easy to learn, but nearly impossible to master."

Y'see, I'm one of those guys who mastered it. My friends and I will stage tournaments in this game and just fucking go at it. We're at the point in the game where we're absurdly good and absurdly fast and that's what makes this game so amazing.

It's actually much like the show in that respect because you have to train to get better. When you pick up the game, you're comparatively weak next to the masters. That's not to say the game isn't fun, playing with others at your level is still a blast, but it takes awhile to get really good and it's incredible because every time you're sure there's no way to get better or faster, through training you do (just like the show!).

I would say, and I know that almost everyone will disagree with me on this, that this game is my all-time favorite fighting game. Not to say it's the best, but when it comes to fast-paced and intense combat, there's no competition.

2. Kirby Air Ride

This is the game that just barely didn't make the cut when I published the article about my top racing games. It debuted in 2003 and received largely poor scores and was even called "a throwaway game" by one reviewer. I would say that this game is the exact opposite. The are levels crazy in design, the vehicles are all unique and interesting and it's just an all around competitive blast. Playing this with friends generally results in standing up, yelling at the tv and cheering when you win what tend to be remarkably close races.
This game has three modes. There's the standard racing mode titled Air Ride. The second is an overhead, single-screen racing game called Top-Ride which comes off as sort of a mini-game but can be just as engaging as the normal play and effectively changes up gameplay.

Finally, the third mode is called City-Trial. This is the mode that received the highest percentage of positive feedback and is what makes this game great. You and up to three other players, roam about an enclosed city map, scrounging for power-ups and/or stealing them from your opponents. Once the time is up, you're all transported to a competitive game where you vie for first place. These games range from races to battles to objective-based mini-games and force you to rely on your power ups which you'd better hope you got enough of. Running around the city is so much fun and gives you plenty of opportunities to be a massive douchebag to your friends (killing them just before he game ends will cause them to drop many of their power ups and force them onto the default vehicle).

I could probably talk about City Trial for a long time and go into extensive detail, but I'll spare you and just say it's great and it's the best thing about this game. Try it some time.

1. Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom

If anyone ever made a list of surprisingly good games, this would have to be number 1. Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, despite being a mouthful, is a charming action/adventure game that is actually engaging and consistently entertaining through and through. The game didn't get the attention it deserved likely because it was a licensed game which is not very surprising, albeit, disappointing. 

It gives you control over three different characters: Spongebob, Patrick and Sandy. Each of them have their own set of imaginative moves, intuitive control patterns and are all voiced by the original actors, like every character featured in this game with very few exceptions. The level designs are all based off of locations from the show and are impressively distinct of each other, each one being fresh and original and brimming with creative puzzles that may actually force you to think.

What makes this game so impressive is that it's so well done compared to what you'd expect coming from a video-game adaptation of a children's cartoon. It happens to include one of my favorite OSTs in gaming.

That shit could be in a Hollywood blockbuster. Every song is just as good too, I just picked that one sort of randomly (try the Poseidome theme).

The game has a silly plot about a robot takeover of Bikini Bottom which is an interesting concept and is effectively made goofy through the comical humour this game is riddled with. The enemies are quirky and the boss battles are exciting and anything but repetitive.

The main complaint that someone could make against this game is that it doesn't appeal much to non-fans, which isn't surprising but unless you, for whatever idiotic reason, flat out hate the show, I'd recommend giving this game a try. It's great.

Hotel for Dogs

It's true that I don't fancy myself a big fan of kids movies. Don't get me wrong, there are family movies I adore. Spirited Away for instance is family movie and that happens to be my favorite movie of all time. I'm always looking forward to the next Pixar, Miyazaki or animated Disney film.

Excluding their God-awful and apparently mandatory direct to DVD sequels of course.

But for some reason, the live action kids movies have never appealed to me. The humor is always obnoxious, the plot is generally close to nil (or flat out absurd) and they're always styled horribly. The last time I remember seeing a live-action family movie I genuinely enjoyed was in 1997 when Good Burger came out because that shit was jokes.

And yes, I'm implying that not everyone who enjoyed this film was on drugs.

But that was 1997 and between then and now are sixteen long years. I had pretty much given up hope on these types of movies. I was quite content to just sticking with the animated ones since those always came off as if someone had actually put some work into them.

But then comes along Hotel for Dogs.

I watched this movie on a really random whim a few days ago. It came out in 2009, had a few advertisements, and made $117,000,000 which is actually pretty darn good for an anonymous little film like this, which was the fifth highest grossing film of the weekend it released.

One might assume from the trailer and title that it's the standard crap that's shit out by family movie writers who can almost literally print money by calling any half-assed attempt at a film Shrek 5.

SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME

In Hotel for Dogs, two troublemaking foster siblings, Andi and Bruce are secretly housing a dog named Friday, despite what their foster-father and Phoebe's opinions on pets are (not good). The kids have recently been warned that if they keep up the bullshit (they just got caught ripping off a pawn shop) they'll be separated and sent to different families.

Friday runs off into an abandoned hotel where they find a plethora of other canines chilling all by themselves. Andi and Bruce sneak some food to the strays the following day and soon decide to set up a hotel.

A hotel... for dogs.

The best scene in this movie is definitely when Bruce builds all of the dogs a bunch of crazy contraptions so they can take care of themselves when no one is around. The machines are charming Rube Goldberg-esque devices that generally accomplish simple things, like putting out the food. My favorite of these was the vending machine full of shoes that the dogs could munch on.

Towards the climax of the movie, the Andi, Bruce and their few friends who have joined them are found out and the siblings are separated. It's a pretty sad scene because at that point I was somewhat invested in the characters and wanted them to succeed. Of course I knew in the back of my mind that this is a kids movie, so there's literally no way in hell that it'd have an unhappy ending.

But the ending scenes are the only real thing that bring it down. Like any family movie, it's a very predictable conclusion, with an emotional speech that changes everyone's hearts and all that business, but it does it's job.

Incredibly, there's a video game adaptation of this movie, but I see no conceivable way it couldn't be a complete pile of trash.

I dare you. I fucking dare you.

But anyway, I was actually pretty surprised with this movie. It's not too bad. I may even say that it's pretty good. It held my attention and I enjoyed it. Give it a watch some time.

8/10 - Why the fuck not?