Deus Ex: Human Revolution

We’ve been reposting a lot of our old reviews of anime books and we noticed that we used to do a game review or two.  One game we always loved from “Way Back” was Deus Ex.  Being able to “super” human stealthy and hack and all the other cool stuff sort made it one of those PC games that “crossed over” to the console fans library.   When it came out I was almost exclusively playing console games.  However, Deus Ex offerred a very unique experience.

Fast forward to now and Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the third installment of this series. I won’t bore you too much with a review you can go elsewhere for that, but from the perspective a console non-fps player I figured I would give some highlights/lowlights.

The Good

• Branching quests with different solutions
• Customizable character “augmentations” allow you to be more successful at different play styles.
• Character Design
• Storyline

The Bad (or could use improvement)

• Load Times – in the age of games like GTA and Just Cause that have huge levels, it’s odd that this game takes 2 minutes to load a small stage.
• Level design was fantastic, but you seem to be rewarded for stealthy play which can be a bit monotonous.
• If the storyline is good, the writing is poor.  Here’s a weird paradoxial situation.  You can literally play the game through without killing any of the non-boss characters.  However, you can’t avoid talking to a few character without hearing the “F” word or in one instance making rude sexual references.   Give me blood and gore, but keep the sexual references out of my games, please.
• The branching “quests” all ultimately lead to the same conclusion.
• There’s not enough instances to use the cool augments.  Typhoon is rarely if ever needed.
• Disappointed that the entire game seemed to be in FPS.  This game is ripe for third person perspective.
• Missing “bullet time” (Matrix) augment.  Would have been so welcome in a game like this.

We’ll do some cool “builds” next week.

- otakurevu.com

Final Fantasy Japan – The Artwork of Yoshitaka Amano

Artist: Yoshitak Amano
Series: Final Fantasy
Pages: 80

Quite possibly the most popular console games ever, Final Fantasy III here and V in Japan, is well displayed in an Amano exclusive book.

Final Fantasy Japan contains the original concept renderings from Final Fantasy 5 (or 3 if you prefer) There is a pull out poster and a beautiful collection of lithographs by the artist. There is quite a bit of good stuff here, but seeing the characters that you know and love, like edgar and cyan is mind blowing. Even Gau looks cool!

I am no fan of Amano’s style and only like some of his works. However, this one book that I do like, and gives of the critics who love him more ammunition.

As I said before, I am not a huge fan of Amano’s wispy yet detailed style. And as before, this is simply a masterpiece of some of his best work. I love Final Fantasy games and I certainly love artbooks, and this is pretty good one.

You get an artbook in every sense of the word. If you are an Amano fan then undoubtedly you have seen his work in Final Fantasy games and comic books, The same can be said for Final Fantasy fans. Bottomline, this is great artbook by a great artist, and while my opinion of him isn’t usually so grand, he does some great work in this book.As a side note, there is little value to aspiring artists, aside from leaning the lesson of "the devil is in the details" there is no in depth break down or commentary.

If you consider yourself a Final Fantasy or Amano fan, then you should have Final Fantasy Japan in your collection. If you are an aspiring artist who collects artbooks to pick up tips, you might want to pass on this one.

- otakurevu.com

How to Draw Manga 1: Compiling Characters

Pages: 82
Color: B&W
Size: 9″ X 11″

This is the How to Draw series, which tries to explain and show beginning manga artist how to do it.

Has what you want, some of what you don’t and is missing a little. The volume goes into great detail about aspects such as facial expressions, and actual character creation, however, it does leave a bit to be desired in the actual creation process. There is the standard “draw basic shapes” routine which is standard, but it doesn’t talk about how to add that extra something to a character for evilness or goodness, aside from his face.

The artwork in this series reminds me of Fatal Fury or King of Fighters Anime series. Inside you will find some B&W artwork that is good, but fails to show you how a large full body shot will fit into MANGA, this is after all a series about drawing Manga. The artists are good at what they do, and the characters look great, but I wasn’t blown out of my chair either.

It is worth it if you want to learn how to draw MANGA style, however, if you just want to learn how to draw the basics there are several books that do a much better job at teaching.

If you want to learn how to draw Manga style, pick it up, if you don’t care, skip it.

- otakurevu.com

Ghost In The Shell

No Anime review site is complete without their take on Ghost in The Shell.  I’m really not sure how it became a staple for Anime fans, but I believe it’s more a testament to Masamune Shirow than the anime itself.  Based on the hit Manga by Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell delves into the spiritual side of A.I.

The story follows a young cyborg cop on the trail of a computer hacker. As she gets closer she realizes that it is not some mad terrorists but someone or something reaching out to her. For 90 mins, the story is pretty good although it actually seems to take a long time. However, most of the world created by Shirow is gone.

The animation (when the story is actually moving) is outstanding, ranking up there with Akira, and some of the other technical masterpieces. Although, I would have liked more action, the entire thing was a joy to watch.

With a top 10 soundtrack in my eyes of anime, the music sets the mood where it needs to, and some of the songs really make you leave your surroundings. The voice acting is on par with other movie productions, although, at times (introspective times) the actors sound like someone has a gun to their head forcing out lines.

There is a nice interview add on that explains the amount of research that went into some of the special effects. This is a classic, you either love it or hate, but my advice is if you can, and you should be able to, rent it first.

This is great movie, which isn’t saying a whole lot with the state of Anime movies today. The animation is outstanding but the acting drags it down at times. The characters are interesting, but don’t go in expecting to see what Shirow would have wanted either.

- otakurevu.com

Devil May Cry Artbook

Length: 122 Color Pages
Series: Devil May Cry
Language: Japanese

Appears to be Out of Print

If you’re reading this Devil May Cry Artbook review you’ve probably already went in guns blazin’ with your handy sword by your side, in the game, but the artwork is where it all starts.

Quite possibly the best Action game of the year (it was made) has quite an artbook.  There’s everything here that should be in an artbooks. The most important, sketches, of the charactes, original artworks, diagrams of weapons, langdscapes and monsters. There’s a 3D section and even some comical drawings. Let’s not forget a toy spotlight as well as some interviews. As far as art books go, Devil May Cry Artbook is complete.The funny thing about DMC is that the best artwork is actually in this book and not in the game. Go figure. There some Amano-esque style drawings, some great sketches, and just some plain cool stuff. Every page is a beauty to behold. There’s a little bit of everything here for a Devil May Cry fan.

What more could you possibly ask for? You get sketches, art, 3D work, and products, not to mention comical drawings and interviews. This book goes above and beyond what is required of an artbook.  If you are a Devil May Cry fan, then you should have this in your library. There isn’t any game data, which is a good thing, meaning there’s more room for the artwork. The artwork is great as well, so budding artist could learn a little from this!!

There’s not a single thing that was left out of this artbook.

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- otakurevu.com

Beyblade Volume 1

5 Episodes

Beyblade starts off as what must clearly be a marketing gimmick, ends up being a pretty decent anime…. for children.

Beyblade is the a “sport” where the participants shoot their “tops” (called blades)  into a bowl and try to knockthe other top out. Tyson, our resident Ash (from Pokemon) clone, is trying desperately to become the best Beyblader.  After some beating one of the guys in the Blue Sharks gang he challenges their leader, and loses badly.

After several episodes of Tyson learning new techniques to beat opponents, Tyson goes to the local Beyblade tournament.

The animation in Beyblade is exactly what you’d expect from a Poke’mon type show. It’s not the best, but it certainly is better than one of the most famous anime out there. The acting is a bit subpar and over dramatic. Tyson’s grandfather’s surfer tone, seems like it was meant to be humorous but falls short of anything “cool dude.”  The other cast of characters do an ok job of at least delivering the lines, except for possibly the androgenous Kenny.

Six full episodes are great, although 5 are typical when it comes to this type of show. A point that Pioneer is aware of as they so blatantly put “PLUS ONE BONUS EPISOE” on the box. Why companies don’t include the Japanese track on children’s releases is beyond comprehension.

For those looking for a wholesome show to fill the void that Poke’mon has left, Beyblade is a good filler. The show has good kids,some good battle sequences with the tops and overall has a great feeling when you’re done watching. It won’t win any awards, and it’s likely to be ruined by cable television’s policy to air programs out of sequence, but it’s definitely a winner when it comes to Middle School range etertainment.

- otakurevu.com

Trigun Art Book

Length: 104 Mostly Color Pages
Series: Trigun

Great Series equals great artbook?

The Trigun Art Book is just “Your standard Anime Series artbook”. Covers the Characters briefly, the episodes, the soundtracks, other artbooks, and a character sheet. Considering this is the only book currently availabe for the series, it is a must have for Trigun Fans.

Great character design permeates this book as it did the series. While the sketches are lacking from this book if you are a fan of the series, no doubt you will love the larger images.

All in all, it is sort of lacking in the educational artbook area, but makes up for it in being the only one available. The price is what really makes this book attractive, for around 25-30$ ($15 Used) you can have a pretty good art book about a great series.

If you are a Trigun Fan, you should have Trigun Artbook  in your collection, if you are an Artbook fan, you might wait for it to get even cheaper.

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- otakurevu.com

Trigun

Language: Japanese, English
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 4

• Studio: Funimation Prod
• DVD Release Date: October 26, 2010
• Run Time: 650 minutes

After seeing the Trigun series one should have little reason left to not understand why this is one of today’s most celebrated Animes. With a good mixture of humor and action coupled with a very deep and thought provoking story line this is one for the ages.

Trigun’s story, though starting out very slowly, has few twists to it but still keeps you compelled through to the very in. Vash is definitely one of the more interesting characters you will come across in Anime. The problem is the first two dvds (or 7 episodes) are devoted to developing Vash’s character and a goofy gunslinger who deplores violence. These episodes are just that, goofy. If you can make it through the character development, you’ll absolutely love this series.

Trigun doesn’t quite measure up to the standards set by the likes of Cowboy Bebop but it definitely holds its own. The character design, however, is without a doubt some of the  best you’ll ever seen especially in some of the villains like Legado and Monev.

Great, in one word, Great. From Music to Sound it doesn’t get much better than Trigun. Trigun boasts arguably one of the best soundtracks for any Anime series, borrowing heavily from the heavy metal sounds of the 80′s.

Watch this series and I think you’ll see why it is easily considered one of the best out there. The series’ immense  popularity has spawned, haha, many action figures and collectors items by major toy producers like Todd McFarlane. If I had to choose one word to describe Trigun it would definitely be “great.” -

- otakurevu.com

Escaflowne Movie

Length: 300 Min
Distributor: Bandai
MSRP: $29.99

If you’ve seen the Escaflowne series I’m sure you probably loved it. Anime fans have waited long for the DVD release of the Escaflowne movie (especially since many of us weren’t lucky enough to have it open in a theater near by). Now that it is here can it really meet all of the expectations that fans have after watching the series?

First off it needs to be said, this movie is not a continuation of the series. Instead it is in many ways a synopsis of the series, and at the same time, its own thing, very puzzling huh. Before too many heads out there explode here’s some explanation. Hitomi is a bit older in this movie than she was in the series, and something of a mildly suicidal manic-depressive. Falcon comes to take her to his world so that she can fulfill the prophecy of the wind goddess.

Instead she ends up with a much more poorly dressed Vaun and a new and improved Alan. It needs to be said here, Alan was much more hardcore in this movie than he ever was in the series. If you watch this movie for nothing else, let it be for the large helpings of  Alan you get, Escaflowne Movie more than makes up for sissy boy Alan in the series.

Sorry, as you can tell I was very impressed with the new Alan. Moving along, the only major problem with the story of Escaflowne movie is that it was too short. After having watched the story slowly unfold in the series, you have to watch a similar story come to fruition in a relatively short period of time. Minus that the story is first class and deserves Oscar recognition. But then we all know they don’t give Oscars to movies people like.

The character design is the point where the movie absolutely destroys the series. The character design is much better and 10 times more detailed (did I mention the new  Alan). The good thing for all of us is since the movie is about 10 times  shorter than the series; much more time could be spent animating single cells. For this reason the frame rate is increased and the over all quality of animation is light years better.

With regards to the audio category, things  weren’t as rushed as on the production of the series. The voice acting is superb leaving little to be desired. Oh, by the way, Alan has much more bad ass dialogue as well. He’s much cooler as a wondering pirate that he was a gallant knight. The music is wonderfully composed and as beautiful as much of the animation. In fact, you even get a complete sound track when you purchase the Ultimate Edition. There’s incentive for you.

In this package you get the movie itself, a complete soundtrack, and a bonus DVD containing such things as interviews with the production staff, theatrical trailers, and a host of other things. In all you get about 300 minutes of viewing with a great soundtrack to boot. All of this for only $49.99, how can you go wrong. But wait, order within the next 5 minutes and you’ll get a handy carrying case. Well it’s not really a carrying case so much as it is a decorative box that looks good displayed anywhere in the home.

This is one of the rare times that I will say, people who have seen the series will probably not like this movies as well as those who haven’t. Reason being, the movie is more of a summarized version of the series with much better animation. Don’t get me wrong, fans of Escaflowne will love this movie, but be prepared to knit pick little things. This is one case where ignorance truly is bliss. Of course you do get to see the much improved, more bad ass Alan.

- otakurevu.com

Art of Metal Gear Solid 2

Length: 164 Pages
Series: Metal Gear Solid
Language: English & Japanese
Best For: Everyone

From the greatest PS2 game, Art of Metal Gear Solid 2 is one of the better artbooks out there. If you liked the Art of Metal Gear Solid , you should have Art of Metal Gear Solid 2.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is/was one of those must have games for a PS2. If you’re an artbook collector, or an aspiring artist, the same could be said for the Art of Metal Gear Solid 2. This book has everything you could want. Real works of art, concept sketches, character sheets, background drawings, interviews. All of this with complete English text for everything. There is even a pull out poster.

If you like Amano, you’ll like Shinkawa. In fact, Amano is Shinkawa’s mentor, and it shows in his style. It’s part american comic book (old school) and part Amano wispiness. Almost every page is a complete work of art.  It’s not as thick as the first book, but it has all the stuff of a great book. The artwork is awesome, the fact that all the comments are in English is incredible, and of course it’s related to Metal Gear.

There are a few must own for all artbook collectors, Art of Metal Gear Solid 2 is one of them.

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- otakurevu.com