Although suspected since the day Bioware announced their upcoming Star Wars mmo, the Jedi Knight class has officially been announced on the mmo's official site. No new ideas were posted regarding the class.

Holy sh*t! The newest trailer for James Cameron's Avatar has premiered, and for once it delivers. Having seen the underwhelming Avatar Day preview and the confusing, and somewhat boring teaser trailer, my faith in Cameron's newest sci-fi epic has been restored.

Two years ago, I was stumbling around Hulu.com, and I saw the show Arrested Development, with all 52 episodes listed (the good ol’ days). With a weekend to blow, I hunkered down, and watched every single one. I went back to school on Monday a changed person, touched by both its side splitting humor and its more subtle jokes, like the lawyer’s name: Bob Loblaw. The show had the BEST chemistry between characters I’ve ever seen, even outdoing Seinfeld. Not to mention the quality and quantity of comic gold that was packed into every episode. Even now I can quote Tobias, GOB, and Michael. Hopefully Arrested Development: The Movie’s tagline “Get Arrested” is not an indication of things to come for the franchise’s humor. But I have high hopes for AD’s script, which is usually witty and hilarious. Maybe if the movie does well enough the show can strike a deal with Fox and regain a time slot. One problem is that not everyone who will see the movie will have seen all of the shows. Unfortunate, because many of the jokes make no sense unless you have seen the previous 52 episodes.

It seems fitting that the show that won the 2004 Emmys for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series,Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series be reinstated as the cornerstone of Fox’s comedy line up. Another downside: the movie is set for release in 2011.

David Cross explaining why AD was canceled (EXPLICIT):

Yes you heard me right twelve readers of Artificial Continuum. Our audio podcast has finally been finished and ready for your downloading pleasure or displeasure. Already availible at: www.artificialcontinuum.mypodcast.com. It should also be up on iTunes shortly. Expect new episodes several times a month.

Author: Rumiko Takahashi

Age group: Teen

General Synopsis: Young boxer Kosaku Hatanaka is the pride of Mukaida Gym...most of the time. After only two bouts after leaving high school, he went pro, stunning the audiences and his opponents with his strong punches. But due to his bottomless pit of a stomach, Kosaku has had to change his weight class since graduating, going from flyweight all the way up to featherweight. His coach, in constant struggle with Kosaku's constantly fluctuating weight, begs him to get his head in the game. Enter Sister Angela: a novice nun who tries to help Kosaku take control of his life. Slowly but surely, Kosaku develops feelings for the kind and gentle sister. And to her frustration, she begins to feel the same way.

My Rating: 2 Stars

One Pound Gospel gave all the punch of a wet paper bag. It was incredibly predictable and rather boring. In the fashion of its sucessors, Ranma 1/2 and InuYasha, the protagonist has multiple run-ins with some very...colorful (okay, down-right bizarre) characters. I found the relationship between Kosaku and Sister Angela to be weird, desperate, and spark-free. In fact, I was hoping throughout the entire series that Angela would have an epiphany or Kosaku would get hit hard enough so they would remember that SHE IS A NUN, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! The fights were tame, the opponents were wimpy, the coach was whiny, and Kosaku had no real drive except food (and Sister Angela). If he has decided to box as a career, don't you think he should be serious about it? From where I was sitting, he was just a kid doing an extracurricular activity. All in all, Ranma 1/2, which has a very similar protagonist (rough, tough, and macho), had much more interest and flare than its predecessor.

One Pound Gospel vs. Anna...

1, 2, 3, K.O. Anna wins!!!!!!!!!!! (Crowd cheers wildly)

Its been a rather eventful two weeks for the Marvel Universe. We've got a huge slew of news involving all the world's greatest heroes, and villains. Ranging from news from new standalone issues, to the next major cross overs, to the newest movie news, Marvel was bursting at the seems with announcements this week.

Crossovers:

Marvel right now is still in the midst of this years big event, Dark Reign, in which Norman Osborne became leader of H.A.M.M.E.R., the replacement of shield. This series, which so far has overlaped almost every Marvel book in existence, has brought a new dark and ominous tone to the MU. A world once protected by heroes, is now one ruled by villains.



However this week Marvel announced their next big step, Siege. Osborne having completed his mysterious List, now sets his sights on one final target, Asgard. Asgard, home of the Norse gods including: Thor, now must face a virtual Siege form Osborne's new army of rogues. The following is to be one of the largest events in Marvel history, not only capping off Dark Reign, but leading to a climax of everything Marvel has been building since Avengers: Disassembled back six years ago. Brian Bendis, writer for the Avengers, claims that Siege will usher in a new Golden AGe for Marvel Comics. He's also stated that the main goal of the event is to reunite the big three heroes of the MU: Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Each of which haven't worked together in almost a decade.



In addition to Siege Marvel has several other major cross overs planned out. First being, Doom War. Doom War follows the Fantastic Four, and Wakanda's efforts to defeat Dr. Doom's efforts in Latveria once and for all. The result is another all out assualt. (Apparently Marvel Likes those)

Marvel also plans to wrap up the X-men: Messiah trilogy this year, as well as feature a Deadpool centric event entitled, The Deadpool Corps.

Movies:


Its' been a huge two weeks on the Movie side of Marvel to.

The Thor film, due for a 2011 release, recieved a ton of news these last few days. And for once, I was actually there when the news occurred, yes I feel special. During the Baltimore comic con panel, Bendis mentioned that the new Thor script was "really, really good". Of course, me being ignorant didn't think this qualified as news, and when I saw it on the internet later that week I felt kind of dumb. There have also been rumors that Robert DeNiro, Jude Law, and Dominic Cooper might be appearing in the film.

Captain America

In other news that isn't really news, but people report otherwise. Joe Quesada, the evil head of Marvel Comics, said that the new Captain America movie is going to be shockingly good. I'm psyched for the film, but coming from the guy who invented such ideas as Spider-Man: One More Day, I'm not that confident.

Spider-man 4


Spider-man 4 has been getting perhaps the bigest news of all. Sam Raimi has confirmed that this film will once again return to the basics, and focus on less villains the uneven third installment. Also, Dylan Baker has confirmed that he will reprising the his role as Dr. Curt Conners, leaving many to believe that the Lizard will finally appear as the villain in the next film. Bruce Campbell has also mentioned that Raimi promised him a large role in the fourth installment, sparking some rumors taht he might appear as the villainous Mysterio.

Below: Carnage's Alternate Costume (Ultimate Carnage, Gwen Stacy)

EDIT: A bit late, but I might as well put it all in one post. Seems as though there's a nice little leak that just came through the crossing, and boy, it's BIIIG. It has been confirmed that Carnage, Psylocke, Cable, Black Panther, and Magneto will all be playable DLC when the pack comes out. Here's two images to prove it:

Dream Logic



(WARNING Review Contains Spoilers)

After last weeks stellar episode, I expected to be disappointed by this weeks installment of Fringe. I just didn't expect to be this disappointed.

The episode follows a series of victims throughout the country, who find themselves in a dreaming state while they are awake. However, not just any dreams. They find their worst nightmares transported into their every day lives, with often disastrous results. Olivia and Peter then travel to Seattle, site of the first attack, to attempt to solve the issue. (Yes they did solve my problem with last weeks episode, so I am happier now.)

What follows is almost a flashback to Fringe's struggling days of its youth. Almost every episode of season 1 of Fringe followed a very basic formula. An attack occurs, and through that attack Olivia and the team trace down the assailants to their lab, there are some moments of tension and maybe some gunfire, and the team emerges victorious. This episode strays dreadfully close to this hopefully abandoned idea.

The episode also does a poor job of hiding its twists. You know from the beginning they are introduced what role a character will play in the episode. The “shocking” reveal of the episode villain is so expected that I was literally clenching my fists in frustration. Luckily, “Dream Logic” gives its villain an interesting and bizarre motive that make up for his predictability.

The dream sequences are also full of wasted potential. Not truly frightening enough to evoke the emotion they need, they end up falling flat on their face. It is sometimes hard to believe that anyone would feel compelled to kill their friends over some of the events that take place.

However, the episodes main saving grace is how it deals with its main characters. The dream centered storytelling leads to some interesting pieces of information about Peter's childhood, that correlate with what we learned last season. Walter's refusal and reasoning why he doesn't want to go to Seattle is also well acted by Noble, and proves once again just how great an actor he is at playing the deranged scientist. However, best of all is Olivia's emotional fallout from last weeks ending sequence. Handled beautifully, if slightly confusing, Anna Torv pulls of the necessary grief and mourning.

Yet, sadly this is not enough to save an overall sub par episode of Fringe.

Score: C+

Momentum Deferred



Fringe has finally delivered its first masterpiece episode of season 2. “Momentum Deferred” is emotional, exciting, well directed, well acted, and delves further into the shows mythology then ever before.

The episode begins with an attack upon a cryogenics lab in Boston, Massachusetts. (A side complaint: 90% of the episodes take place in Boston or the Boston area, where Fringe Division's headquarters are based. Although this makes it easy for the characters to have first hand experience with the events that occur in the show. It seems like poor writing to have all the attacks focus on such a specific area.) While the team scrambles to discover the reasoning behind this attack, they discover a body, which displays similar traits to the shape shifter they discovered several episodes earlier. They also discover the device that allows the other-worldly creatures to perform the attack, which will hopefully lead them to the attacker. However, it also leads them to discover that one of their own has been infiltrated. On top of the intricate shape shifter plot, Olivia during a bizarre sequence of events regains her memories from her trip to the alternate universe. This well shot and revealing scenes reveals more layers of Fringe's mythology and conspiracy then ever before. My jaw was literally on the floor as William Bell (Leonard Nimoy), Olivia's strange host, laid down the circumstances that so far had lead to everything Fringe had been following since day one. Not only did the scene reveal the plot, but it revealed an incredibly original, and interesting premise, something you would hardly expect to see on a network television show.

John Nobel's Walter receives even more depth in this episode in the form of an equally bizarre and eccentric love interest. Nobel plays Walter with such giddy excitement and awkward love for his interest that it is hard not to warm your heart.

The whole episode culminates in a violent discovery that breaks both Olivia and the audience emotionally. Everything in this episode was spot on, and is easily up there as one of the best hours the show has ever produced. Delivering on everything the fans wanted and more “Momentum Deferred” is a magnificent episode, that only escapes my highest mark due to my minor quip listed above.

Score: A

Fracture

(WARNING Review Contains Spoilers)

Fringe returns with another one off episode filled with twists and turns. Filled with fun set pieces, and a shocker of a beginning this was one of the better standalones.

“Fracture” begins when a police officer crystallizes then explodes in a crowded train station, killing almost everyone in range. With an opening like that, you know your in for an exciting hour of television, and “Fracture” in many ways delivers. The plot involving a strange drug administered to a group of Iraq veterans leads the Fringe team on one of their first out of country assignments to a rather bland looking Iraq. However, despite this the scene comes off as poignant and powerful.

However, many elements of the episode are left open for interpretation. It is discovered that the attacks are being caused by a rogue Army leader who hopes to use his human bombs to prevent a mysterious group from transferring information. How he discovered this plot, and why he decided to turn his men into living crystalline bombs is a plot line that is never truly delved into, and the episode feels lacking because of this. However, all this ends with a perfectly written ending, that genuinely shocked me.

Score: B+

Night of Desirable Objects


(WARNING Review Contains Spoilers)

Fringe has always been a show of ups and downs. Its filled with complicated and intriguing multi-episode arcs that not only deliver, but excite. Its also known for its equally fun, and creepy one shot episodes. However, for every interesting one shot, there is one that just doesn't fit in ,and seems not only pointless, but just overall bad. This episode falls somewhere in between those two one shot categories.

The episode follows the teams search to find out the kidnapper/killer of several men in rural Pennsylvania. Attacked by someone or something from underground the men disappear leaving no trace behind them. Once again Olivia, finally out of her bed, but experiencing strange headaches and sensations, Peter, and Walter travel to discover the origins of these attacks. There investigation leads them across the county investigating law stations, and happening upon a cranky farmer widower.

The shape shifter plot from last episode also continues, providing some of the episodes creepier and visually interesting scenes. The two way typewriter device is incredibly cool to watch and imaginative, and it is a pleasure to see it used in any scene at all.

The episode is intriguing and fun for the first two thirds, but then reaches a point of total unbelievability and just overall poor quality that makes the episode drop in quality. It is revealed that the farmer had a wife, whose unusually harsh womb was incapable of carrying children. So the farmer, having once been a geneticist (trust me it gets weirder), decides to make an artificial child out of scorpion and mole DNA so that it will survive the mothers womb. Apparently scorpions are incredibly resilient and moles are well moles. I mean honestly? A scorpion baby? What were the writers smoking when they wrote this? Fringe has never been one for realistic premises, but most of the time it is done so in away that seems remotely believable. All this would've been believable if the payoff of the creatures appearance was well handled. Although, the initial jump scare that it appears in is well handled, it becomes apparent rather quickly that the creature is a poorly created puppet. One scene when it attacks Peter literally looks like some crew member threw a dummy at him. The creatures death is even lame. It burrows under a car, and it falls on him. I'm not joking.

However, the episode ends on a good note. Olivia is introduced to her strange bowling alley owner tutor, who is to help her regain her memories about her pandimmensional trip. Gladly, this was a storyline that would actually lead somewhere.

Score: -B

A New Day In The Old Town



The season opener of Fringe opens up as strange as ever. As FBI agents are rushed to the scene of a bizarre car accident, a strange being shoots down a man and takes on his shape. Yes, welcome to the bizarre, odd, and sometimes quiet wonderful world of Fringe. The episode starts out quickly and violently and the momentum hardly slows down.


The set pieces move quickly from plot point to plot point, as we deal with Olivia's (Anna Torv) chaotic and confusing return from another universe, while the team copes with the idea that they are being assaulted by shape shifting soldiers. Walter (John Noble) continues to steal the spotlight, continuing his new and exciting take on the mad scientist archetype. Peter (Joshua Jackson), who had the most surprising twist of the finale, takes a larger role in this episode taking over Fringe Devision after its leader is incapacitated. Fringe Devision itself also comes under attack from the US government. Feeling that their efforts and money are being wasted on some strange wild goose chase, they pull the plug on the operation leading operation leader Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick) to deal with the implications. All the plot points eventually come to a head as Olivia, confined to a hospital bed, is attacked by one of the shape shifters, and the following chase scene is both haunting and shocking in its conclusion. All culminating in a twist that was expected, but wrenching all the same. Fringe knows how to handle its delivery.

The only real down point to this issue is Agent Amy Jessup (Meghan Markle). Jessup is an FBI agent who becomes accidentally involved with Fringe devision and becomes involved in the plot. Her conclusion in this episode comes off as odd and some times distracting from the main story. However, what bothers me the most about Jessup is just her overall point. She is set up through the whole episode as being a new and essential character, but she only appears once in the following four episodes, and even then for a few minutes. Its as if the writers decided that she wasn't worth the trouble incorporating and just decided to drop her all together. This comes off not only as distracting, but just sloppy production side, and it really takes away from the episode as a whole.

Score: -A

Bioware's sci-fi epic sequel has just recieved an official release date, January 26th 2010. So us sci-fi rpg fans can finally get our fix on what is shaping up to be yet another masterpiece.

Also on an unrelated note. As readers may know I was largely offline this week, due to personal issues. (Yes contrary to belief Luke and the rest of us have lives.) So today will mark a great day of massively huge amounts of posts. I should have Marvel and movie news as well as reviews up very soon. Stay tuned my readers. For tonight is going to be quiet awesome in the nerd degree.

(Yes, Spirit ^ got the plug this time )

This is too horrible for words to describe it, but being an internet blogger and all, I shall do so anyways.

Nintendo, in a fit of laziness I'm assuming, decided to, instead of just adding a changeable difficulty to the hula hoop mini-game like they did to the others, just make a second hella hoop(I made a pun!) game. All I have to say to Nintendo is "DAMN YOU."

First, they force me to hula hoop to the right, specifically, for three minutes. Then, just when I'm about to kill myself in some avant garde way, they give me the finger and say that I have to do it for three more minutes, except that it's to the left this time. Damn them.

At this point, I've accumulated five hula hoops, and I'm convinced that there has never been so much pelvic pain and so many rainbow sparkles in one place (except maybe in this).

So finally it's over, and the Wii tells me that I have the balance of a drunk with one leg. Then it goes through it's whole "You're a fat loser and will never find love," thing that it likes to do when ever I crawl back to it.

So this is basically Wii Fit in a nutshell. A bunch of horrible flashing lights, hellish labor set to cheery music, and and the same scale that is being crushed under my feet is also telling me what an obese slob I am. Thanks, Nintendo.

The zombie apocalypse fad has been growing in size for many years. Though the exact origin of this new zombie craze isn't apparent, it is known that the undead, infected, or cell phone crazies have been growing in popularity for years now. Spanning books, movies, and of course video games, Zombies have now officially been assimilated into the Borg of American popculture. It was only a matter of time before a good and proper American zombie comedy got made, and happily Zombieland delivers on this.

The film follows Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), a skittish loner, who finds himself alone after a zombie apocalypse has wiped out most of the human population. Columbus, who gets his name from the city is headed to, lives by a strict law code that keeps him alive against the hordes of ravenous cannibals. Columbus lives and survives by being a reluctant loner, something that he begins to take for granted. All changes however, when he meets Tallahasee (Woody Harrelson) a rugged zombie killing badass, who is the exact opposite of Columbus in every way. Tallahasee's main goal in life outside of killing undead is to find the world's last Twinkie, a treat that in his mind holds all the happiness he needs in life. The two become almost reluctant partners, and are eventually joined by two female conmen/car thieves Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), and the horror comedy becomes a misfit/ buddy story of epic proportions.

Zombieland works on almost every level. Columbus's inward commentary is vaguely reminiscent of works by Douglas Adams, and his mannerisms and overall geekitude make him not only empathetic, but hilarious. Harrelson steals the show in almost every scene he appears in delivering amazing one-liners, delivering sidesplitting acts of slapstick humor, or surprising and unexpected depth. Stone and Breslin also work well in their roles, and though not as funny as Eisenberg or Harrelson they deliver solid acting jobs that are commendable in their own right. The set pieces are used effectively and creatively to provide brilliant scenes of action, comedy, and yes horror. Zombieland does provide some quick jump scares, but this scares are done so in a comedic element, that once recovered from the initial shock you will find yourself laughing at. The jokes come flying at a unrelenting and perfect pace, and manage to tickle even the most hard hearted funny bone. There is one cameo in the film that had me laughing harder then any film I've seen in years. Zombieland is easily one of the best overall films I have seen this year. However, Zombieland is not perfect. The film is not for the squeamish as gore and blood are not shied away from at all. It also suffers from occasional slips in pace. Despite this Zombieland is somewhere you will want to visit, and despite its horrific premise you might even want to return there.


Score: A

The state of the Star Wars universe has long been a subject of debate for fans of George Lucas's sprawling space opera. The original trilogy considered to be among the best films of all time, have become tarnished by the less then stellar prequel trilogy. Though I and many other fans have a certain appreciation for the prequel saga, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith remains one of my favorite films. However, the increasing commercialism and critical slump of Star Wars has tarnished its once high reputation.

Star Wars fans continue to love their saga though, and Lucasfilm has seemed to find the right balance between pleasing their adult fans, with video games and novels, and their younger fanbase with toys. However, the biggest announcement in years of Star Wars fandom came during 2005, mere months before the prequel trilogy was to be concluded. Two Star Wars television series were in the works, one animated and one live-action. The announcement thundered through all of the nerd community.

The excitement was electric. Then came the first warning sign. The animated series was to be based upon the controversial prequel trilogy. The series was to chronicle the Clone Wars, the event that took place between Episodes II and III of the saga. This decision seemed odd to many fans. The Clone Wars was an area in the Star Wars chronology that had already been extensively covered, and the idea of creating a series upon the event seemed bizarre to say the least.

However, Lucas promised the fans that their worries were unfounded. He promised a high quality, action packed show that would rival the movies in quality. This quieted some of the anger, but many were still skeptical. This was the same man that had conceived of Jar Jar Binks after all. Then the first preview premiered, and the skepticism fell quiet once again. The animation was beautiful. The CGI provided for a great 3D feel that felt beyond that of any television series. The action, music, voice acting were all there and the show looked phenomenal. Faith was once again behind Lucas's newest baby.

Lucas couldn't keep his fans pleased for long though. Almost minutes after the jaw dropping first preview, another bizarre announcement was made. A new character was to be introduced to the series, Ahsoka Tano, and she was to be Anakin's Jedi Padawan. Fan's jaws dropped. A padawan!?! With Anakin!?! Fan's were outraged. What would happen to the continuity!?! What would be come of the years of story and work that the films, comics, and novels had built around Anakin!?! However, once again Lucas asked us to believe in him, a phrase that was slowly becoming a double edged sword.

Yet Lucas's greatest mistake was still to come. As 2008 opened, the Clone Wars animated series was to make a television debut that fall. Lucas's love for the series had grown great, and he felt that a show of this caliber deserved a better venue, the big screen. Dave Filoni, supervising director of the series, was shocked and hurriedly took his team together to try and splice together the first four episodes into one cohesive whole. The idea was doomed from the start. The Clone Wars were never fit for the big screen. The animation style though spectacular for a television series, was out of date and almost wooden in appearance when compared to the work of Pixar and Dreamworks. The characters were also seen as flat and uninteresting, the action as boring, and the writing a mess. Another common complaint about the movie was its use of bland and uninteresting humor, given by the villainous battle droid grunts. Their use of lame puns, and slapstick was seen as unnecessary and distracting. Overall, what might have worked on the small screen, was never fit for film. The act was almost as bad as forcing a talented child star to perform in competition with a group of trained professionals.

The fan view of the Clone Wars had slipped from excitement, to skepticism, to disdain. Thousands of older fans turned their backs on the series never to watch again. Many more became embarrassed that their once proud franchise had become children's fare. Despite the controversy, Filoni and Lucas decided to continue the series as scheduled, and on October 3rd 2008 the series premiered on Cartoon Network. At once some issues with the film were solved. The writing, animation, and action all worked much better in the scope of a half hour television show. Each episode worked easily as a cohesive whole.

However, one major problem remained with the fledgling series, and that was one with tone. The show, as stated by Lucas was written for both young and old fans in mind, but overall the series has had trouble finding its footing. The show featured many blatantly childlike areas, particularly the bland humor. It's focus on Ahsoka also made it feel as if the show was preaching towards a younger audience. The series also wanted an older audience as well. Death, and violence on the show were common, and often felt out of place. It seemed as if Filoni wanted to tell a story about war, but had trouble showing it on a program that supposedly favored a young audience. This was especially apparent in the shows' first major story arc revolving around a large battleship constructed by Seperatist leader General Grievous. The episodes featured many dark moments and themes such as loss, betrayal, and murder, but all these elements were undermined by the need to make the show appropriate to children. This dumbed down the action, and emotion to what would have otherwise been an amazing addition to the Star Wars mythos.

Then Clone Wars introduced the great game changer. An episode that would not only energized the fan base, but likely saved the series as well. Entitled “Rookies”, the episode followed a battalion of clones, who find themselves defending their outpost against an onslaught of droids. For the first time Clone Wars found its footing. Telling a mature, violent, humorous, and even emotionally wrenching story, “Rookies” proved that Filoni and the team could create not only true Star Wars material, but good stories overall. Energy had finally been pumped into a series that very much needed the love of its core fanbase.

The series would have several missteps and stumbles throughout its first season, but the series had found where it worked, and churned out such stellar episodes as: “Trespass”, “Lair of Grievous”, “Cloak of Darkness”, and “Storm Over Ryloth”. The show ended its first season on a positive note with the incredibly violent and dark “Hostage Crisis” ,following the invasion of the Republic Senate building by bounty hunter Cad Bane. The introduction of Bane marked a high in the series. This old school badass of a character has become an over night fan favorite, and smartly Filoni has made his role in the upcoming second season larger.

Overall, the Clone Wars has quickly jumped from being lackluster attempt at Star Wars to being a powerful and well produced show on its own. It has personally become one of my favorite shows, and the novelty of having quality Star Wars entertainment on a weekly basis is something that leads almost any nerd to pure electric excitement. The shows faults are still there: the writing can still stumble into corny cliches, the humor is still poor, and episodes can vary in quality ,yet these are small complaints. Expect to here more about the Clone Wars every week on Artificial Continuum.

Bioware has released a new developers diary on the making of Coruscant, one of the planets for their upcoming Star Wars MMO, The Old Republic.

Fringe, the brainchild of JJ Abrams (Lost, Star Trek) and Robert Orci (Transformers), has long been fighting an uphill battle. The series premise, loosely based on modern day terrorism scares and the X-Files, follows an FBI sect that deals with a paranormal activity that ranges from mutated children to alternate universes. The original six episodes were unoriginal, bland and formulaic, but then, something happened. Fringe developed a plot, and a rather complex and intricate one at that. People often criticize Lost for its overly convoluted and complex plot, but compared to Fringe it is first grade fare. Fringe delves deeply into such topics as metaphsics, alternate universes, and highly volatile political and social issues.

Now due to personal reasons involving the date of creation regarding this blog, I will be starting weekly reviews for Fringe at about three episodes into the second season. Now to help readers catch up to the current point in the show, I have included a handy little video up above. Ah the wonders of youtube.

Yo everyone, it's Alec. First things first, don't read this until you read the post below me. Luke has given us a review of KH: 358/2 Days, which all of you should get immediately. :)

So, many of us have played Super Smash Bros. Brawl. We've loved it's quirky-ness, and the fact that it's got a ton of content. Sure, we're all satisfied with what Nintendo's got there. But, have any of you wondered where Lucas, that blonde-haired, fraidy-cat wonder came from? Well my friends, I'm here to educate.

Lucas is from a game called Mother 3, originally stemming from the lesser known game Earthbound (Mother 2 in Japan) for the SNES. Although many of you probably knew that much, here's what you don't know: Mother 3 is one of the greatest masterpieces of the last handheld generation. From the utopian visions of an insane king, to the loss of a wife and mother to an already failing family, this game is chock full of sheer drama and luscious storyline. I can guarantee that by the end of this game you'll want to cry, scream, and beat the crap out of the main villain (whom to this day, is my most hated villain in history).

The way in which the game is presented is very reminiscent of the Alice stoies from way back when, and the characters are so well thought out that they'll keep you guessing as to true motive til the very end. You can bet this game will be the emotional ride of your life. And did I forget to mention you do shrooms? (You do, actually, get high in this game. I kid you not.)

So what's left to say? Only this: Get this game. Do not miss this, or you'll be sorry.

Hey, again! It's Alec, and I'm kicking off the week with a new Indie game for all of you to play! It's called RunMan: Race around the World, and I gotta say, this game is really something. The object of the game is simply to get to the finish line as fast as possible using whatever means you want. The game has a style of it's own, using an interesting paint-like atmosphere that just makes the game that much more enjoyable. Filled with lots of levels and plenty of achievements to try out, you won't be disappointed with the end product. And the best part? You can't die. Well, sort of. You can, but it's extremely difficult to do so. So no more jumping off into an endless cliff, or running into enemies and getting killed. Nope, here is all speed, and you've gotta be fast if you want to win the World Cup! (Not like there's any competition, mind. Who'd want to race against a ninja starfish? No one, that's who.)

The game plays like the old Sonic games, however, you can do several other ninja-like moves to propel yourself in just the right way to rocket past the finish line. Just pulling off that right combination of moves to get past a tricky obstacle gives you that awesome feeling that no other game can give you. I guarantee that you will have a lot of fun with this one.

Warning: This game tends to be glitchy, and also tends to have quite a few error messages with Vista. I got by by simply clicking accept through all of them, and I strongly urge you to do the same. However, if you have an older computer, I'd use that to play it instead.

Hey guys, this is Alec, and I'm gonna be updating with Indie Game stuff as well as basic news from time to time. So look forward to some posts in the near future on some quality stuff!

As for right now, apparently Capcom has done it again. They've decided that Street Fighter IV wasn't enough for us and have made some additions to the Street Fighter formula. Well, okay, that's a lie. Basically they are taking the last one they made and adding some extra content to it. Well, apparently, this doesn't just include more eye candy from Chun Li and Cammy. No sir, this means new characters, as well as some returning faces. So what will this mean for the franchise? We aren't sure yet, but one things for certain. I bet a lot of SFIV fans are pretty angry that they didn't wait a little longer.

News is pretty shaky, but a new character (pictured above) named Juri, as well as old hats T.Hawk and Dee Jay will be making an appearance. Just like the title says, the game is expected to come out Q1 of next year, so put the gloves on, and be ready to knock some more teeth out on the streets (perhaps even with a tomahawk this time).

Juri is property of Capcom. This image was found at IGN.com.