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My personal blog for covering video games, films, comics, and other media.

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Anime Review ? Area 88

Get Area 88 from Amazon.com In the anime portions of Gainax‘s OVA series Otaku No Video, there’s a sequence where the main character is being shown the various types of Otaku that the members of his friend’s club are part of. There’s the vehicle and mecha otaku, who is a geek about engines and how things work, and so on. One of the members of the club is an animation otaku, and he demonstrates his affinity for animation by pointing out the detail in an animated sequence (taken from the vide

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Quality Control ? Raging Fighter

For this review of Raging Fighter for the Game Boy, I have to admit that I didn’t get into the game as much as I’d like. By “get into the game” I don’t mean get interested in the game, as much as I mean make progress in the game. For those unfamiliar with the title, and there probably are a lot of you, this game is a fighting game for the Game Boy, published by Konami. In the game you play one of several martial artists, who beat each other up in a martial arts tournament. I can’t really put a

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Quality Control ? Super Star Wars (SNES)

I’m sorry, but I have to admit that I wasn’t able to get past the first level of this one. The game sends a never-ending string of enemies at you in the first level, and I wasn’t particularly able to figure out a pattern for the first boss, so I wasn’t able to get past it – at least not within my self assigned deadline. This is not a game I would have been happy to spend money on. Pass on this game unless you don’t have any problems regularly running into a brick wall. No, seriously – if you’re

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Quality Control ? Mighty Final Fight

Get Mighty FInal Fight from eBay.com On multiple occasions, I’ve heard the expression mentioned that restrictions breed creativity. Sometimes that doesn’t hold true. My last Quality Control pick, Raging Fighter, was a great example of this. The game was a fighting game that just didn’t hold up well on what was essentially a 4-bit hand-held system. Such is the opposite with this Quality Control pick, Mighty Final Fight, from Capcom for the NES. Capcom was basically given the task of porting the

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Movie Review ? The Crimson Cult

Get The Crimson Cult from Ebay Occasionally a horror film comes about where the premise might be unimpressive, but the film’s cast commands attention. The Crimson Cult, originally titled ?The Curse of the Crimson Altar? in the UK, is one of such films. The film follows Robert Manning, an antique dealer who has come to the town of Graymarsh, in search of his brother ? another dealer who has failed to return from an antique buying expedition. In the town he arrives in time for a festival celebra

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Building the Perfect Retro Game Podcast

With its next episode, one of the Internet’s best retro game podcasts, Retronauts, is coming to an end. This leaves a bit of a void, as I can’t think of a lot of truly great retro game podcasts out there. Destructoid’s Retro Game Podcast, which was okay, but not great, has ended. IGN’s retro game podcast is similarly over. However, I can still think of demand for podcasts in this field, and even material that the Retronauts themselves haven’t covered yet (if only retro Wrestling video games). So

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Where I Read ? Nintendo Power #49

After a far too long delay, I’m finally carrying on with my Nintendo Power Recaps with issue #49 for June of 1993. Our cover story for this issue is the crossover that nobody was really anticipating ? Battletoads and Double Dragon. It perhaps bears noting that it is the Battletoads which are hogging the spotlight here (no pun intended) while one of the Lee brothers is in the far background. The letters column this issue has a request of more reviews of alternate controllers. It does bear mentio

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Video Game Review ? Guitar Hero: Van Halen (PS3)

Just to get it out of the way. I love Van Halen in general. Both the David Lee Roth era and the Sammy Hagar eras of the band both had some amazing songs which I absolutely love… and let’s just pretend that the Gary Charone era didn’t happen. So, when I heard about this game, I was looking forward to the game with great anticipation. Then I learned that there wouldn’t be any representation of the Sammy Hagar era on the album because the band was currently touring with David Lee Roth, and my inter

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Quality Control ? Kendo Rage

Get Kendo Rage from eBay Kendo Rage is a bit of an odd duck, or perhaps rather an ugly duckling. The game takes the action-platforming style of the Valis series, gives the game the sense of humor (both in terms of tone and in terms of level and monster designs) of the Parodius series, and the persistent timer of Prince of Persia, and it kind of works. You play as Josephine, a girl living with her grandfather in rural Japan, at his kendo dojo, where she’d been training over summer break. Well,

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Quality Control ? Legend of the Mystical Ninja

Buy this from eBay The Legend of the Mystical Ninja series is a game series I’ve heard a fair amount about in the past. I’ve heard that it’s a good game series, and I’ve heard it’s got a tongue in cheek atmosphere. Despite all this, I’ve never taken the time to try any of the games in the series. Maybe it’s because many of the more lighthearted 16-bit games I’ve played haven’t been that good. Maybe it’s because of a certain degree of cognitive dissonance – for me the definitive ninja game serie

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Quality Control ? Road Runner?s Death Valley Rally

Get Road Runner's Death Valley Rally at eBay Now, while I did not beat this game, I did get considerably further than I could with Super Star Wars. The Premise: In a series of levels each designed to be their own Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner Cartoon, you, controlling the Road Runner, dash through the stages trying to reach the finish line of each stage. The Good: The game has an excellent sense of speed to it. Without exaggerating, I can say that this game is just as fast as the Sonic t

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Where I Read ? Electronic Gaming Monthly #81

So, this week, with our EGM recaps, we’re skipping ahead another few months, to issue #81 for April of 1996. Our cover story for this issue is Street Fighter Alpha II, and I have to say that the cover art isn’t very good. Frankly, the mid-90s have not been kind to EGM’s covers. Editorial This issue Ed Semrad is taking up the pen for the editorial column. It’s been almost a year since the last issue of EGM I recapped, and the Nintendo 64 still isn’t out. That said, at the very least they have d

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Quality Control ? Super Ghouls & Ghosts

When I was a kid, I picked up a used copy of Ghouls & Ghosts for the NES. I picked it up after hearing Adam Sessler, a game critic I respect immensely, gush about the game on Extended Play (which might have still been “GameSpot TV” at the time). I played it, found it frustratingly hard, and turned it in. When I came to the last issue of Nintendo Power which I did a Where I Read for (Issue #26), I decided now, with the aid of emulation, to give the 16-bit version of Ghouls & Ghosts anothe

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Movie Review ? Troy (Director?s Cut)

Get Troy from Amazon.com Ever since the dawn of cinema, people have aspired to adapt the great myths and legends of history. The tales of the Arabian Nights, the legends of Heracles, and most significantly, the Illiad and the Odyssey of Homer. However, the technology required to tell the second to last has been a little lacking. However, the Lord of the Rings films, with the technological development of the Massive Engine, when was used to show the massive battles of the books, now the time has

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DVD Review ? Bones: Season 1

Get Bones: Season 1 from Amazon.com I enjoy mysteries. I read Sherlock Holmes novels as a kid. I read pulp detective novels and Agatha Christie novels as a teen. As a grown up I’ve found myself drawn to the current trend of forensic detective TV series, like CSI on CBS. After missing the boat early on, I’ve picked up the first season of Bones, and have given it a watch. The show focuses on Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (played by Emily Deschanel), a woman with a doctorate in Forensic Anthropo

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Comic Review: Tales of the Jedi (Part 1)

Before we return to Star Wars novels, we have one more comic series to take on, one which goes to the furthest reaches of the Star Wars universe – the Tales of the Jedi. Writer: Tom Veitch Art: (For Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon): Chris Gossett & Mike Barreiro (For the Saga of Nomi Sunrider): Janine Johnston & Mike Barreiro, and David Roach. Lettering: Willie Schubert Colors: Pamela Rambo Covers: Dave Dorman Publication dates: October 1st, 1993 – February 1st, 1994

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Movie Review ? In The Electric Mist

Get "In the Electric Mist" from Amazon.com As a quick note – I’m reviewing the US release of the film. The European Union cut of the film is several minutes longer and is the director’s vision for how the film would turn out. The way that crime thrillers and mysteries have been adapted to the big screen has kind of changed over the years, more or less. While TV series like Peter Gunn and Bones try (and succeed) to provide a “knowledge chain” sort of like a chain of custody, where the audience

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Blu-Ray Review ? Justice League Season 1

If you’ve been following my reviews on Bureau42, you may know that I enjoy superhero comics, particularly judging by my reviews of DC: The New Frontier and similar works, as well as allusions to superhero comics in other reviews I’ve written. So, I missed Justice League when it first aired on TV. I missed it when it came out on DVD. However, now it’s finally out on Blu-Ray, and I’ve finally seen it. I’m pleased by what I’ve seen. My mind was not blown, but I did enjoy what I saw. The series doe

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Video Game Review ? Battlefield: Bad Company

Get Battlefield: Bad Company from Amazon.com Well, it’s a new year, and with the new year comes more opportunities to clear more titles off my Pile of Shame. First up is the spinoff of EA’s Battlefield series, aimed for the Consoles – Battlefield: Bad Company. The Premise: Private Preston Marlowe has screwed up. After going in a joyride in a helicopter, destroying a General’s limo in the process (along with the helicopter), Marlowe is assigned to B Company of the 222nd regiment, also known as

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Video Game Review ? Burnout: Paradise (PS3)

Get Burnout Paradise from Amazon.com So, I’ve previously reviewed Need for Speed: ProStreet and Carbon. Both were pretty decent racing racing games, putting aside the very significant and major flaws I pointed out in my reviews of both games. Well, in my review of ProStreet, I said I’d give GRID a try. As you can tell from the title of the review, I haven’t. What I have tried is Criterion’s more arcade style, open world street racing game Burnout: Paradise. I’ve basically made it through career

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Movie Semi-Review ? The Devil Came On Horseback.

Get "The Devil Came on Horseback" at Amazon.com This review is going to differ from my usual review format, mainly because in this case, the film I’m reviewing, which is a documentary about the Genocide in Darfur, asks a few questions, and I’m going to try to give some opinion based answers. The Premise: Brian Steidle was a captain in the US Marine Corps who, after his term of service was up, left the Corps and became an unarmed monitor for the African Union, tasked with monitoring the cease-

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Movie Review ? Miami Vice (2006)

Get Miami Vice from Amazon.com on Blu-Ray I’m a fan of the Miami Vice TV series, or at least the first two seasons of the show. So, when I heard that a movie was being made of the TV series, one directed by Michael Mann, who helped create and set the tone for the series, I knew that I had to see it – but I missed in theaters. So, for almost a year it had been sitting in my Netflix queue, and was meaning to bump it to the top and watch it. Well, now I’ve finally watched it. The film follows Jam

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Movie Review ? Wisconsin Death Trip

Get Wisconsin Death Trip from Amazon.com I’m back from my little vacation from blogging, and I’m returning with a review of another documentary – and not one from Frontline or another episode of a PBS program (not that there’s anything wrong with that). With historical documentaries these days, film-makers tend to go either the History Channel route (scenes with reenactors inter-cut with talking heads), or the Ken Burns route (narration and readings of writings from the time with possible scene

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Movie Review ? Joe Kidd

Get Joe Kidd from Amazon.com Last week I had a review of a Western adapted from a short story by Elmore Leonard. This week I have an review of a Western film that was actually written by Elmore Leonard. The Premise: Joe Kidd (Clint Eastwood) is a bounty hunter who has given up his old profession and instead has taken up raising horses. However, he ends up finding himself caught in the middle of a struggle between some Mexican revolutionaries and a cattle baron by the name of Frank Harlon (pla

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Movie Review ? For All Mankind

Get "For All Mankind" from Amazon.com The space program has always fascinated me, particularly because my interest in Science Fiction, particularly through series like Star Trek – which in turn lead me to an interest in the space sciences and some terrestrial sciences as well. So, when I heard about a documentary about the space program that I hadn’t seen before, and one that was coming out from the Criterion Collection, I had to check it out. The Premise: Using footage from all the Apollo mi

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