Everyone loves super heroes. Well everyone, but Gormy. With the summer season drawing closer, and the big releases for this year and next moving into new stages of production we are getting tons of news ranging from the Man of Steel, Thor, to Captain America.

First off, we have The Man of Steel, this new Superman film penned by Dark Knight writer David Goyer will have a new dark tone and try to do what The Dark Knight did for Batman. Io9.com reports: "Goyer's story involves Luthor and Brainiac. It is NOT an origin and assumes audiences already know about Lois, Clark, Jimmy and Perry. I know the Daily Planet is struggling due to the internet. And I know it sets up a huge Kryptonian mythology."



Marvel's own godly hero, Thor, also began principal photography this week and is penned for a may release next year. Also, some strange artwork has appeared on the internet that seems to be concept art for the Thor costume.

Finally, casting has begun for the Captain America film, keep your fingers crossed folks.

Well Nintendo, after two and half years of utter failure, you've finally decided to pull yourself out of the putrid slime that you like to reside in. Okay, that was a little harsh, but this year is looking to be one of Nintendo's better years.









First off we have Super Mario Galaxy 2. Regardless of what you think of the idea of another Mario Galaxy game, this new addition to the super powered plummers saga seems to be filled with polished gameplay and charm. The game features new stages and new gameplay twists, such as the inclusion of the lovable dinosaur Yoshi. Due out for release early this year.






See More Metroid: Other M Screenshot at IGN.com



Now the big one, Metroid Other M. Metroid is one of Nintendo's most critically acclaimed and beloved franchises and this new game looks to continue that tradition. With a new indepth story and anime style cut scenes Metroid Other M is a Metroid game like no other. However, the true star of this new Metroid title is the control scheme, which intigrates a seemless switch between 2D sidescrolling, and first person shooting. The game is due out for release June 27th of this year.

Eh. Wasn't that good.



As a fan of the original series, I have to say that the changes that were made were rather irksome. While I normally yell at Harry Potter fans and the like for their whining for changes to the source material, the alterations here seemed irreverent and annoying. The source material was annoyingly disregarded to make things more cinematic and simpler for an audience that the director appears to think is far less intelligent then they truly are.



The first third half of the film feels so rushed and cluttered, that it feels like a mess. It's little fun, and an overall mess of filmmaking. The characters don't shine, and many major points in the book are disregarded and not for the better. The plot ideas although not essential were needed to help streamline the plot, and added to alot of the charcter story.



The second act was by far the most entertaining. Although it two took its liberties from the main plot, it plays like a fun mythological road trip, which is actually a ton of fun to watch. One sequence in Las Vegas was actually very funny, and a joy to watch.



Unfortunatley the third act falls into the same trap as the first, when all the random ideas from the first forty five minutes come crashing together in a colossal train wreck, thats a mess, and only occasionally fun.


While no Harry Potter, it is deffinetly no Eragon either. Despite its many flaws The Lightning Theif is still a fairly enjoyable film. The special effects are fairly well done, disregarding the awful Minotaur sequence. The acting isn't as bad as it could've been, and there are many good laughs throughout.


Score: C+

Well, the highly anticipated Toy Story sequel is drawing closer. If it were any studio but Pixar I would be skeptical. These trailers aren't looking that good though. Cross your fingers folks, theres still a chance this'll work out.

Alan Wake is a game, that has a ton of potential. It looks creepy, interesting, and well thought out. The idea of an episodic game, that mirrors a tv season captures my interest being a fan of such science fiction mysteries as Lost and Fringe. However, for a game thats been announced for over five years now, we know very little about it. It may turn out to be sucessful, but it also may turn out to flop down hard on its face.

Well, X10 was this week and we got a ton of cool game stuff being released. Perhaps one of the most talked about games being Halo Reach, Bungie's final and largest Halo game to date. I'm actually excited for this. If they can pull it off it could be an amazing game. However, what concerns me is the praise their giving the original Halo game, which I rather disliked. Who knows, this game has potential, we'll put it on our watch list.

The Spartans are in many ways the center of the Halo universe. Even more so then the Halo rings themselves, these genetically enhanced supersoldiers are the real epicenters of the plot, and the characters we interact with the most. However, outside of the Halo novels very little is explored about their creation and origins.

Homecoming tells the story of one Spartan, Daisy, across her career. We get a detailed depictions of her early life, training, failed escape attempt, and a pivotal battle in her career. The anime works well as short fifteen minute biopic that also details the complex morality behind the Spartan program, and aspect that is often overlooked by the testosterone filled Halo universe. Daisy's story is a captivating watch that keeps you interested throughout the entire fifteen minute run. The action is also handled well carrying the necessary emotion needed for the story.

There is also a cameo at the end of the episode that is handled surprisingly well, and delivers the right send off to the episode

If there is one major flaw in Homecoming it is the bizaare flashback driven narrative. It takes you a good five minutes to understand whats really going on, and in an anime that lasts only fifteen that is a librety that costs it dearly. The voice acting in some areas also feels flat and insincere.

Overall, Homecoming is a brilliant addition to the Halo Legends saga and will probably rank as one of the better episodes of the series with its emotional character study.

Score: -A