Anime Review: No Game No Life

No Game No Life has gained pretty high popularity in the anime community. It is a psychological thriller much like Death Note or Code Geass except with a much lighter tone to the whole experience. But does this show deserve to be compared to such great shows in its genre? Or is it just a failure? Let's find out!

STORY
POSITIVES
The way each situation is laid out and plays out gave me feelings similar to the ones i felt while watching Death Note. A show that is widely considered to be among the best. The different races also add to the show with some being better at certain things and having different abilities that affect they way some of the games are played.

STORY
NEGATIVES
The plot is quite un-inspired. The 2 main characters are dropped into a world where everything is determined by the outcome of games. While on the surface this may seem like a very original idea, it is very similar to a show about a certain "King of Games" you may have watched when you were younger. Also the driving force for the plot is not done very well in my opinion with no satisfying conclusion for the actual anime. (Although i bet there is one in the manga)

ART
POSITIVES
The art is very unique! This anime has a color pallet which even extends to the outlines of the characters. Often being a dark purple instead of just solid black. There is also an excellent use of bloom which isn't present in many other animes.

ART
NEGATIVES
This show resorts to loli fanservice in the first few seconds of the first episode. While usually the fanservice in this show isn't too intrusive and most of the time i didn't mind it, this just sets a bad tone as the first time you see Shiro, you see her panties first.

SOUND
POSITIVES
Intense/Cheerful songs mixed with silence for more serious moments works well in this show as the tone of the whole show is rather upbeat. I also quite enjoyed the intro song.

SOUND
NEGATIVES
Nothing Special.

CHARACTER
POSITIVES
The genius duo in this show are quite entertaining to watch. As the show repeatedly says, the duo are one person known as Blank. 2 halves of the same genius. They are so closely tied together in fact, that one cannot function without the other. I found this a very interesting character trait that i rather liked.

CHARACTER
NEGATIVES
All characters besides Blank are rather bland. Once you get past their interesting appearance, there really isn't much that's memorable about any of them.

ENJOYMENT
POSITIVES
I absolutely loved the interesting games that were in the show along with how Blank went about winning each one of them. The shows appeal is not in whether or not Blank will win but HOW they will win and how their opponents will TRY to win.

ENJOYMENT
NEGATIVES
You are taught very quickly that Blank is not going to lose. This takes away from the enjoyment a little bit. The show also doesn't make you feel very invested in the subplot involving the kingdom. You also don't get a satisfying conclusion to the MAIN plot.

OVERALL
If you are interested in a show about psychological warfare similar to Death Note and Code Geass without expecting an incredibly satisfying ending, this is for you. With the exception of the weak story and side characters, This show was a joy to watch!

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One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 Review (from a One Piece fan)

I am a huge One Piece fan. I read the manga, I watch the show in both english sub and dub and I plan to buy merch when I actually get some money to do so. That by no means indicates that this game will easily impress me. Quite the contrary actually. Being a rather big fan of the show, I was incredibly critical of the game. Especially when it came to lore friendly-ness. So did it live up to the name of my favorite show of all time?

Story

The games Legend Log goes through the main parts of the Straw Hat Pirate's adventure. Once you beat a level in Legend Log, you can use any character you unlocked to play that level again in Free Log mode. Along with that, there is also Dream Log mode where you can unlock characters and coins by playing certain pre-made scenarios.

Gameplay

If you played One Piece Pirate Warriors 1 or 2, you pretty much know what to expect. The basic Musou gameplay of wailing on thousands of weaklings and the occasional strong baddie. They have added a few new features this time around. One such feature is the Kizuna Rush system. The Kizuna Rush System involves a bar in your HUD filling up as you fight baddies and lowering when you receive damage. The bar has 3 levels. level 1 doesn't really do anything special but level 2 allows you to summon a team mate to unleash an attack by pressing an extra button at the end of your combos. If you fill the bar all of the way, you can activate Kizuna Rush. With this active, each enemy you defeat gives you “!” (The means by which your characters level up) and “Beli” (The currency of the game). As you level up, you unlock new combos and more power for your characters. Defeating strong characters also gives you a coin of that character which can be used to increase your stats.
Each character has 2 separate kinds of levels. The first kind of level goes up to level 5. Each level unlocks a new thing with the 3^rd and 4^th unlocking character head shots and voice gallery for that character. A very nice touch if you are a hardcore One Piece fan. The second kind of level goes up to level 50. This is what actually increases your characters stats. The level cap can actually be moved up to 100 if you unlock all of the required coins.

Music

The music was a bit lack luster. The songs aren't bad but they aren't really good either. Just kinda meh. Also, right before you start a map, there is an annoying and unneeded 5 second loop of a song that will repeat over and over until you start the game. Why they didn't use one of the many ACTUAL SONGS I will never know.

Graphics

I wasn't expecting breath taking graphics and I got exactly what I was expecting. The graphics are mediocre with the exception of during the cinematic cutscenes. These cutscenes look beautiful and were a treat to view. Not so say they are stunningly realistic. They are beautifully stylized while still keeping faithful to the art style of the show. However, (and this may be because I have the PC version). The character's skin during the comic strip cutscenes look . . . . . really just awful. What is supposed to be sweat is poorly done and just makes the characters look terrible with the sweat textures phasing in and out of their bodies.

Lore Friendliness

I feel as though it is necessary to add in this extra category for this game. I was pleasantly surprised with how well this game stuck to the One Piece lore. From Usopp not being effected by Perona's Negative Hollows to Sanji being very weak against female enemies. Should not disappoint.

Overall

I enjoyed this game and I still play it with over 90 hours played on it. I still have yet to unlock every single character. I have about 5 more to go. I really wish there were certain people I could play as that were only available as support characters. I will not divulge any of the playable characters because I believe part of the fun of playing is discovering who you get to be. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised.

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Friday Nights at Freddies Movie Adaptation Licensed by Warner Brothers

As you read in the title, The people you used to watch on saturday mornings has acquired the rights to make a Five Nights at Freddies movie. Not much else is known but i for one am excited to see what WB does to the point and click horror game. No writer or director has even been announced yet.

Every Hair Dynamically Rendered!: Square Enix's DirectX12 Tech Demo

Square Enix shared an absolutely fantastic tech demo the other day. It depicts a scene from Final Fantasy XV that appears to be a cutscene but is actually rendered in real time! Each hair on a womans head is said to be individually rendered, shaded, and affected by physics.

This kind of technology is going to take a while to make it to the mainstream as this is being run on a machine with quad GTX Titan Xs but it is a rather exciting thing to look forward to in around 5 years or so. The top of hill at the end of the uncanny valley is finally within view!

Yandere Simulator: An Indie Game to Look Out For?

I recently discovered a rather interesting game about a week ago. While still in the very early stages of development, it managed to hold my attention for hours both playing it, and watching my brother react to playing it. That game is called Yandere Simulator.

Yandere simulator is a Hitman-like game where you play an obsessed high school girl whose goal is to stalk her "Senpai" and ensure nobody else is able to get too close to him. By whatever means necessary

In the game you can stab, tranquilize and harass other students you believe may be giving senpai too much attention. Currently, the game is a sort of testing field where the player can experiment with various features of the game with no real objective because it is unbeatable in its current state.

I have observed another blog stating that this game trivializes violence and sexually exploiting young girls and stuff of that nature. I personally love it when a developer is willing to push the boundary of what is acceptable in a game. Yes. Pantyshots are used as currency in the game. And yes you are able to kidnap, murder, and harass people until they commit suicide. Who cares? If it doesn't live up to your moral standards, walk away. I love all of those things but i wouldn't have my grandma play it. Its not for everyone.

With all of the games playing it safe and following a generic story with generic mechanics nowadays, I find myself thinking "Yeah but what is unique about it?". But with Yandere Simulator, i equate it to taking my head out of the murky ocean of monotony and being able to see the horizon of what could be. If a game can make me feel that without even being in a demo stage, It is doing something right.

I really have high hopes for this game and I am voting for this developer all the way. If my article interested you, watch some lets plays. check out Yanderedev's blog. I look forward to your next release!

Dragon Ball Back After 18 Years?

image from AnimeNewsNetwork.com

Not having had any new TV anime in 18 years, most people probably thought Dragon Ball Z was dead. But apparently found all 7 of the dragon balls and decided to wish that the show should come to life!

Starting in July at 9:00 am, a new show by the name of Dragon Ball Super will be added to the lineup of Fuji TV and other channels. The show will take place after the defeat of Majin Buu and said the show may feature "The most powerful villains yet. I for one, am extremely excited.

Dynamic Window Resizing Disabled in the Newest Version of Minecraft.

I have been accused before of being a Microsoft fanboy because i wildly prefer Windows to Mac. That is not true at all. I disagree with ALOT that Microsoft has done in the past. I never bought any of their consoles, i disagree with many of their policies regarding software, and when they bought out mojang, I was skeptical to say the least. I really hope that what i am seeing now is not a reflection of what is to come.

So i was playing minecraft the other day after downloading the newest version and was very displeased to learn that i couldn't have my game take up half of my screen anymore.

The newest version of minecraft has disabled dynamic window resizing and i am actually quite surprised to find out nobody else is talking about this. The fullscreen option is still available by pressing F11 but otherwise, the only option you have now is a really small window if you want to use the latest version. While it may be a minor thing right now, it may perhaps be a precursor of what is to come with minecraft. Messing with something that never needed to be messed with.

I personally may stop playing minecraft as much because of this change. I often like to have minecraft take up one half of the screen and youtube take up the other. and the default size of the window is just too small for a 27' 2560x1440 monitor.

I am watching you Microsoft.

Steam offers a solution for modders to sell mods for a profit . . . and its gone!

Yes just a few days ago, Steam announced that they would be starting to allow modders to make a profit on mods that they put on the steam workshop. It started with Skyrim and was planned to spread to other moddable games as well. Keyword "was".

There were many problems that arose when the feature was added. Firstly, modders would only receive about 25% of the profits from the mods they sold. Another issue was people were uploading mods that they themselves, did not create. Without a large enough staff to look over every single mod that was published, this became a huge problem for valve and they decided to remove the future shortly after it was created.

It is not often that people are seen revolting against the great Lord Gaben but mod users picked up their torches and pitchforks over this matter and understandably so.

One of the main draws to PC gaming is the availability of free mods to improve and change the game and you like. Fan made mods are just not something i think could see being something you ever had to pay for. While many great mods are made by people everyday, the fact of the matter is that mods made by fans can conflict with other mods and/or make the game un-stable with any mod other mod installed. Most modders would never allow themselves to be tied down to 1 single mod. You could play a game for 100 hours and run into a spot where 2 mods conflict and the game crashes. Then you have to make the decision to un-install at least 1 of the mods that you paid for.
That, along with the very small margin the creator would make off of the sale ment to the idea was simply dead on arrival.

I really hope valve never makes good on its statement to revive this feature in the future. I am all for businesses making money but this is just simply not the way to go about it.

Anime Review: Pupa

Pupa is BY NO MEANS perfect. However, i don't believe it deserves the flack it is getting.

I watched this immediately after watching Corpse Party. (I was in the mood for some violence) I am saying this to tell you that when i sat down to watch Pupa i was wanting and expecting violence.

STORY

POSITIVES

I thought it was genuinely sweet how the brother and the sister cared so much for eachother. If you watch the last episode first, it shows this pretty well.

I also think that their relationship with each other was an interesting take on the disease they both had and how they dealt with it.

STORY

NEGATIVES

There were many aspects of the story that were . . . . inconsistent or missing. Firstly, both of them have the disease but only one of them shows the symptom of craving human flesh.

Next, the dog at the very beginning of the show was never explained. The little girl had the disease since birth so what was the relevance of the dog? Why did THAT trigger what it did?

Also, these siblings had been together through thick and thin. They had abusive parents and led a very harsh life. So why is it that neither of them had realised they had regenerative abilities until they were in highschool. Why did neither of them seem to eat people before the start of the show?

Just the fact that everything starts when it does is just convenient to the plot.

Moving away from the siblings, another one of the main plots involving the witch is never followed up on! I genuinely wanted to know where that was going! Maybe to know to witches backstory too! Maybe if the show was 2, 22 minute OVAs and not 12, 2 minute mini-sodes, it would've been better in that aspect.

ART

POSITIVES

Any show that has very little / no censorship gains bonus points with me as well because when i watch a horror, i want to see the blood and gore. Good job Pupa!

ART

NEGATIVES

The art style is pretty un-inspired and alot of looping of animations was used to cut costs.

SOUND

POSITIVES

Nothing special.

SOUND

NEGATIVES

Nothing special.

CHARACTER

POSITIVES

Some people may think that the overly devoted siblings troph are un-inspired and annoying. I think its sweet especially with the last episode.

CHARACTER

NEGATIVES

The characters relationship means very little unless you watch the last episode and even then, it still may not satisfy many viewers.

ENJOYMENT

POSITIVES

I went in wanting violence and really didnt care much about the story.

ENJOYMENT

NEGATIVES

I was still left disappointed at the end. I wish there was more really.

OVERALL

Pupa is something you may watch if you are looking for excessive violence, into cannibalization in your shows, don't care much about story, and/or want a very fast show to watch. I fell under every single on of those categories so i enjoyed it enough. Im glad i watched it but i won't be watching it again. If there was more to it, i would've given it a much higher rating. Too bad they leave you hanging on so much.

If you like this review, check out some of my others! Tell me what you think! ^_^

Deadpool Movie Will Be Part of Marvel Universe

The Merc With the Mouth is about to get even more popular. It was recently announced by Marvel that Deadpool will be part of the X-Men Universe. This means that it is very likely you will see Deadpool in upcoming X-Men titles and vice versa. From the looks of their test videos, this Deadpool will be much more faithful to the original than what has appeared in X-Men in the past. The test video is available on right here if you havn't seen it yet.

Many may have been worried that Disney buying Marvel would be bad for the franchise and it appears Disney is doing everything in its power to let us know, it is all going to be ok :)

Bayonetta: Bloody Fate Anime Available Online with English Dub Today!

The anime based on the well received video game is finally available to English speakers who don't feel like dealing with subtitles! The show is available in HD with a Funimation Subscription as of today and if the game is anything to go off of, It should be a fantastic experience for fans! I for one am quite excited! This post is going to be short because I haven't actually gotten the chance to watch it but please leave comments with your opinions :)

ttp://www.funimation.com/shows/bayonetta-bloody-fate/home

 

Incoming Windows 10 Fixes Windows 8.1?

Perhaps! Windows announced in their blog a few interesting features that Windows 10 is going to implement. After the infamously panned windows 8 and the slightly better received windows 8.1, Microsoft needed to make a big change to the way things work. In fact, Windows appears to have so much confidence in this new version. they completely skipped Windows 9.
Some of the new features mentioned on windows 10, are the ability to resize apps and open them just as you would regular programs, a quadrant snap layout where you can have 4 separate windows snap to take up exactly 1/4 of the screen each, and a deeply customizable start menu. However this start menu does not appear to be completely different from the desktop itself as it was in windows 8. This is a welcome change to this blogger. We will learn more as time moves on but the future looks bright for Windows 10.

 

Playstation TV IS COMING!

PlayStation TV is coming to North America on October 14th and to Europe November 14th. It will be about $140. The player will allow gamers to play PS Vita, PSP PS One, PS2 and PS3 games on the TV! This will be done by actually streaming the game through the internet. You can even stream content from your own ps4 to the ultra slim PSTV.

Over 700 Games are expected to be available on opening day. Here is a link to a list of all of the games PlayStation currently has planned for PlayStation TV. Not all are currently available
https://support.us.playstation.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5376
But the PlayStation TV isn't just for video games. You will also be able to stream movies using PSTV. The device will come with Sony Unlimited Video Streaming although Netflix is still up in the air.

Tricks to Get Games Cheap

So if you like gaming but you have a budget, sometimes it seems silly when you have to spend $30-$70 per game. There are however, simple ways to make $30 into not just 1 game but 2 or 3 or even more! Here's a quick guide on how to do it.

If you can help it, don't buy new games. $60 for one video game is just not worth it. If you just wait a few weeks, you can save around $15 on that game. Even more if you wait longer.

Use Pawn Shops. Some Pawn shops have games cheaper there than ANYWHERE online. Especially physical console games.

Save a search for on ebay. Create a search on ebay for games from $1-$15 and include all of the gaming consoles you posses and order it by "Ending soonest"

If you are a PC Gamer, use cheapshark. Cheapshark is an awesome way to find cheap PC game downloads. It updates all of the time and has all of the deals from the top game retailers online.  http://www.cheapshark.com/browse?sortBy=Savings

If you are a PC Gamer, use Kinguin and G2A. Kinguin and G2A sell extremely cheap Steam keys! So cheap in fact that you can actually make a bit of money just buying and re-selling them because not many people know about these sites.

Use Reddit. If you know what reddit is, then you probably know there is a gamedeals sub-reddit that you can go on and see all of the game deals other people have found. It is however, very disorganized

Become a PC Gamer and get steam. If you buy alot of games, this WILL save you money. But if you don't . . . it may not be worth it. This one is kinda just preference.

I hope this guide helps you save money and i hope that this blog may continue to provide you with valuable information.

If you like my content, Please consider donating to my Patreon so i can do stuff like this all of the time! Even just $1 helps alot!

Video Game Review: Disgaea 4 (PS3)

Story

Disgaea 4 is a truly new take on a strategy action JRPG. Ripping a page from Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, this game still manages to set itself apart from those, and other games in its genre. The story takes place with you under control of a sardine loving vampire by the name of Valvatorez and his devoted, werewolf steward Fenrich as you try to gain control of the Netherworld. Throughout the story you will encounter many unique characters and creatures both hilarious, and incredibly annoying. Although downright ridiculous at times, the story gets quite deep and has many interesting twists that keep the player interested. This coupled with an extremely unique gameplay makes Disgaea 4 a nice breath of fresh air from the conventional strategy RPG.

Gameplay

The strategy in this game is incredibly in depth with almost limitless character customization. Weapons are upgradable past level 100, attributes upgradable to 999,999,999 and the level of your character able to reach level 9,999. With all of these upgrades available, you can spend hundreds of hours playing this game and still not get everything. You can create humanoid demons or monster demons which adds another layer of strategy. The monster demons are able to morph together and transform into weapons for use by the humanoids. The non-monster demons may lift other characters and hold monsters as weapons. This along with other elements in game makes it a superb strategy.

Music

The music is unique and fits with the story well. It is incredibly variant and everyone who plays it probably has a different favorite song. There is just one small issue. Whenever you go to your base to shop and choose what you want to do, the same song will play over and over and over until you earn the ability to change it much later in the game. This isn't an incredibly large issue but after you beat the game, you will be in your base a lot. So this may cause some headaches for those who plays 6 or 7 or 10 hours at a time.

Art

The anime styled art scheme is incredibly well done and well colored. Not once do you get sick of seeing the same place over and over because the areas are so different, and you will be visiting different ones so often for so many reasons, it will never be a problem. The only reason a person may have a quarrel with the visual design of this game is because different angles may be blocked off by certain landmarks and it can occasionally be difficult to see what is going on. Although these problems are so few and far between they aren't really an issue.

Overall

Even with minor kinks here and there this game accomplished exactly what it set out to do. Be an over the top, strategy JRPG with a hilarious story, unique and interesting characters, and gameplay that will last you hundreds of hours. Along with the fact it only costs $19.99 online as of the date of this review, it is a must have for anime lovers, strategy lovers and people who just have alot of time on their hands. However if you are looking for a strong, interesting, in depth story, this game may not be for you. It won't replace all of the other games in your collection but as far as strategy goes, it cannot be beat. I give it an 8.7 out of 10.


If you like my reviews, Please consider donating to my Patreon so i can buy more stuff to review for you guys! Even just $1 helps immensely! ^_^

Akira (DVD)

I did this particular item because i recently saw it at my neighborhood Walmart for just $10. Now that might seem like a fair price for a movie that came out more than 2 decades ago but when i saw this particular movie, i thought it was a STEAL!

Akira is considered a classic by many fans of anime. While this movie may not seem like it is of the anime art style, this is one of the things that is so appealing about it. Akira has an animation and art style unlike any other movie that this reviewer has ever seen. It was made with amazing attention to detail. So much so that the visuals still hold up today. With updated visuals and English voice acting by the wonderful people at Funimation, this movie is better than ever.

It is really difficult to explain this movie without giving away important spoilers. And me being a person who went into this movie completely blind, i believe that might just be the best way to go about it. Just know that it is NOT for little children. There is swearing, there is violence. Anyway, if you like anime AT ALL, this is a must have for your collection. Being an anime lover and not having this movie is like being a sci-fi lover but never having seen Star Wars. You just should. No 2 ways about it.

Price: ~$10.00
Parental Rating: R


 

Razer Naga Molten Gaming Mouse

This is speaking from the perspective of someone whom before this mouse, was using the cheap mouses that come with the computer for my gaming and other needs. The Razer Naga Molten is definitely a step up from any mouse I have ever used before.

 The Razer Naga Molten is immediately a joy to the eye as soon as it is seen. Being about as far away from conservative as you can get as far as looks go, this mouse has red LEDs on its wheel, 12 numerical mouse buttons, and the (breathing optional) Razer logo in the middle where your palm rests

 All of the keys are programmable with the included software that comes with the mouse. This is great MMORPGs especially because you can hot-key all of your abilities to your mouse. I also found myself using it in games like Borderlands and Blazblu Calamity Trigger for easy access to keys that may normally seem a bit awkward or to execute combos with ease. Results may vary but me, having small hands, this mouse fits absolutely perfectly in my hand. When my hand is on the mouse, my thumb is automatically in the perfect position to hit most of the 12 buttons on the side. Thats not to say that this doesn't take getting used to though.

The responsiveness is fantastic. Me being on my computer all day, everyday, i have NEVER had any problem with my mouse not detecting movement or having a hard time gliding across the mouse pad.

This item is not for those who may not need 12 number keys on the side of their mouse or people who don't like a flashy looking mouse. If you are looking for more of a middle ground, i would recommend the Razer Deathstalker mouse although, that is only available in green as of now.

Connectivity: Wired
Sensor: Laser
Price: ~$60.00