Starring, if you can really call it that, Barry Newman, Vanishing Point is basically as close to a faithful Spy Hunter movie as there will probably ever be. About a mere fifteen minutes at the beginning of the movie to explain what is basically a one-and-a-half hour long car chase. You can’t have a car chase without a car, though, so I guess the real star would be the white 1970 Challenger.

The basic premise of the movie is ex-cop/race car driver Kowalski makes a bet with a Colorado pimp/drug dealer that he can deliver the Challenger from Colorado to Frisco, California in 15 hours or less. Soon after Kowalski starts his trip, police start chasing him, and then the rest of the movie is car chases, with small little breaks in the car chases, one of which includes a girl who is credited as “Nude Motorcycle Rider.”

I really tried to like this movie. It’s definitely not for everyone. As much as I like a good car chase, there are just too many little breaks. This is a car chase movie. It does not need to flesh out the backstory of the guy driving the car. Don’t even name the main character. Just let him be “the guy driving the Challenger.” Doesn’t really sound pretty, but trying to have a story other than the plot behind the chase is dead weight. All in all, if you’re looking for a movie to waste a bit of time with, you can do worse. Just don’t be expecting to pop Vanishing Point in over and over again.

Since I (we) missed last week’s MotW, I’m going to make this week’s a bit of a double-whammy. In the world of chiptunes, there are so many artists that it becomes hard to keep them straight. Certain artists become more infamous than others, and some remain in obscurity. It doesn’t help that there is no obligation to stay in the scene. Some chip artists can release one incredible album and then *poof* they are never heard from again. Tie in the fact that a lot of these dudes are Japanese and the on-line resources to find chip releases are scattered. This week I am presenting two albums by a chiptune artists who I feel has remained pretty obscure, but has been a favorite of mine since I was introduced to chiptunes years ago. He (she?) goes by the name “dong” and as far as I know has only released two albums of chiptunes. It wasn’t even until recently that I discovered that he had a second album.

His first album is titled Go Square, and according to the website is “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Square Wave.” It shows, too. It’s easy to strive for perfection, and I think Go Square really shows a true passion for chiptunes. The songs on Go Square are cheery, dreamy, dancy, and varied. “Whitescape” and “Dreaming Snowman” focus on strong melodies, while songs like “Birdman” and “Nu Sunday” really provide a solid dance beat. There’s even some jazz on here with “Faceless Portrait”. For some real techno glitch, check out “Lovers in Metal” and “Straycat”. Overall, Go Square is a load of fun and a great introduction to the world of chiptunes. It was one of the first albums I had heard, and still one of my favorites.

Next is Gone Square, the follow up album to Go Square. If Go Square is an introduction to the scene, then certainly Gone Square is a full-fledged jump into it. Gone Square is a little bit more serious than Go Square, and it features much more jazz influence. It’s interesting to not that almost all of the songs on this album are named after flowers. It’s an odd combination to have something so natural and organic paired with something synthesized and electronic, but it is perhaps a clue that these two realms aren’t so disjointed. After all, electronics are really just a transformation of energy into (hopefully) something beautiful, either audibly or visually, not unlike the photosynthesis of a flower.

Check out these two albums for a glimpse into an artist who I hope doesn’t wind up in obscurity.

I’m going to honest with you. This album kicks my ass. It’s time to face the fact that this record is a force and will easily work you over if you give it half a chance. Jared Warren (bass/vocals) and Coady Willis (drums) know it too. I read an interview with the band recently and they were asked how Big Business differed from their other groups (Karp, Tight Bros from Way Back When, Murder City Devils). Their response sums up this album: “No bullshit.”

Honestly, the second track “Hands Up” is pretty much the auditory definition of “sans bullshit”. Willis lays down 4 bars of barely contained drumming before Warren’s bass explodes into a ridiculously heavy riff. Seriously, the first note sounds like its being shot out of a shook up soda bottle. 3 minutes later you’re left wondering if Warren’s cries of “Stampede!” are a metaphor or a command.

The album then dips into the slower, but no less demanding, “Shields”. Warren’s desperation when singing about death is heightened by the ominous feeling of the track. “What could go wrong/I can’t count the number of ways/you could be mauled or burned for starters/you can still drown in knee deep waters/that’s enough to hole up and hide in a cave”. Thanks for reminding me that death is everywhere because I clearly don’t panic about it enough as it is. Shit, this song might end up being the theme song for my 30th birthday.

Before closing out the album with the surprisingly mellow instrumental jam “Another Beautiful Day in the Pacific Northwest”, the band rips through one last scathing track that has some of the best lines of the album. “I’ll Give You Something to Cry About” addresses someone on their death bed who clearly has a lot to answer for. Warren sings lines like “I’d like to forgive and forget/but I can’t/it’s just one of the ways I’m petty” with such sarcasm that he really sells the emotional weight of the words. For me though, the best part of the song comes at 3:45 when Warren’s bass drops to the background and he sings “Relish this moment/’til death to us part/I want answers before it’s too late/take your time old man/these vultures are happy to wait”. It’s a great line delivered perfectly and pretty much makes the album for me.

Wow, I painted a pretty bleak picture of this album, eh? Trust me it’s not really like that at all. It’s far from a record that only works while writing dark poems about wolves and the River Styx. This album is ridiculously tight and will end up being one of my favorite albums of 2007.

While frequenting the newly opened Ruby Room in the Phoenix Metro area, I was once again struck with the tough decision of, “Hmmm. What should I get to drink?” I looked at the choices behind the counter. I saw all the staples of a well stocked bar. Beers on par with PBR alongside with Stella. Grey Goose. Skyy. Red Bull. And at least 75 other bottles of liquor that when mixed with the variety of mixers at the bar equate to a number of choices that was just too confusing for me to deal with. Especially when asked by a bartender who was squeezing me in before two antsy customers.

In a situation like that, I quickly resorted to an old favorite: Vodka Tonic. I returned back to my table and took a seat next to my friend. I expected the chatter to be surrounding the clientele, the band, or the bar itself. Instead, I looked at her and noticed that her face was gleaming. Glowing, even. “Megan!, What’s up?” She looked at me and said, “Oh My God! This drink is so good.” I looked at her glass. Clear. Same size and color as mine. In fact it looked identical. “Are you drinking a vodka tonic?” She looked at me and says, “No, No! Try it! It’s grape vodka and soda.” Grape vodka? I paused for a moment and thought. The thoughts going through my head were not good ones. Looking back, I am sorry Grape Vodka that I doubted you. Even if it was only for a second.

Anyway, I decided to try the drink. I sipped, cautiously at first. Brilliant. It was a perfect adult version of my favorite childhood soda. Not too sweet. Just a hint of sweet, sweet grape in my club soda. At this point, I pawned my usual plain ol’ vodka tonic off on someone else and hurried back to the bar. This time with confidence. I knew EXACTLY what I was going to drink. In fact, I was so confident, that I returned back to the bar a few too many times that evening for a “grape soda.” The rest of the night got a bit hazy, but……..well, I can most definitely remember that the drink was fantastic!

Well, as far as brands go, I have been very happy with the Three Olives line of vodka. In addition to the deliciousness that is grape, they also have cherry, chocolate, pomegranate, peach, raspberry, mixed berry and more. The site has around 10 to 15 cocktail recipes for each flavor. Having a party soon and want to totally impress? Well, now you know what to serve!

Judging by its cover art, you would likely suspect Dragon’s Fury to be a role-playing game or a dungeon-crawler of some kind. In actuality, this is a pinball game, but it is unlike any other pinball game you have ever played before.

In Dragon’s Fury (also known as Devil Crash MD), your goal is to rack up as many points as possible and clear the game’s six bonus stages. What separates this game from other pinball games is the unique, organic-looking playing field you play on which is crawling with monsters. There is a wide array of demons, dragons and other foul creatures roaming the game’s three-tier pinball table that try to get in your way and block you from getting to the bonus stages that hide in the various openings. The bonus stages are separate from the game’s main table and each has a boss that you must destroy in order to open the path to the seventh and final stage. The bonus levels can be done in any order, but it can be frustrating when you need to clear a specific stage since you can only enter the stages from certain openings; most of which are not easily accessible. You fight bosses of each stage by simply launching your ball at them, though this is easier said than done, as they will usually try to defend themselves by blocking or avoiding your attacks. The game is very enjoyable, but it is also very difficult to beat.

The graphics are good for the time when it was made. There is a bit of slowdown on occasion when there are a lot of things on the screen at the same time, though it doesn’t affect the gameplay much. The game’s normal monsters are often small, but they’re usually detailed enough to know what they are. What’s more impressive are the larger creatures that are fixtures of the game’s playing field, such as the woman’s face that transforms into a dragon at the centre of the table, and the bosses of each bonus stage. There are a lot of things moving around all at once: there always little demons and monsters crawling around, there’s a skull at the top of the machine that looks down at you and grabs the ball when it comes in reach, a dragon that guards its eggs and breaths fire at you when you smash them, and so many other neat things that give you the impression that this pinball machine is alive. There’s a horrific and gruesome theme throughout the game and really sets it apart from other pinball games.

The audio of this game stands out quite a bit. The sound effects are pretty standard fare with the usual crashes and bangs you would expect from a pinball game, as well as the roars and growls of the monsters. What really stands out is the game’s excellent music. The game’s title screen is creepy and foreboding which is fitting for the game. The background music you will hear most often is a rock-sounding (at least as well as the Genesis can produce), fast-paced song that really gets you pumped up, as is the music for most of the bonus stages. One of the most memorable sounds in the game is heard when you lose a ball and the giant skull at the side of the table lets out an evil, mocking laugh.

The game’s controls are simple and responsive. The D-pad and the B-button control the flippers and you can tilt the machine with the A-button. If this is not to your liking, the controls can be configured to any buttons you desire in the options menu. The ball’s speed can be set to either fast or slow, though it doesn’t help that much to tone down the game’s difficulty.

Overall, Dragon’s Fury is a fun and exciting spin on pinball games. The game can be very difficult at times, but it’s a solid game than no fan of pinball should overlook. It is definitely my all-time favorite pinball game.

You know, I’ve owned every 2K football game since, well, NFL2K, but I hate to say that I’m very disappointed in APF2K8.

Maybe I need some time to get over the loss of the NFL license, but I don’t think that’s the big part. I don’t see this as a game where you can just invite your friends over and play. Why? Because that’s exactly what I did on Tuesday, and we all had to create a team or play with the team I originally created. There’s no option to use some randomized team of greats, whether it be truly random or the one the computer makes up to play against you. I really like franchise mode. Have ever since I first had it on the N64 Maddens. No franchise here. Big disappointment.

I’ll give the game this: it’s really great gameplay-wise. I punted more than usual while playing my buddies. It wasn’t a shootout, the run game really helped determine the outcome, getting stops on third were huge. It felt as close to real football as it could get while still having the total feeling of control that’s always been there in the 2K football series.

But, I mean, this is Xbox 360. Old chugging issues after plays are not forgivable after three years and a whole new generation of hardware. They STILL have really weird jaggie problems near any scoreboard that I saw. The “field pass” moments were almost so bad, they were good. Presentation-wise, it was clearly hampered by not having the ESPN license, but even then, I thought they did a very weak job outside of the commentating, which was stout as always. Dan Stevens and Peter O’Keefe really are the raison d’etre for me in this series. They are far and away the best commenting crew in sports gaming, and one of the few things that has remained exceptional throughout this series. But what hurts the most about that is the opening when Dan and Peter talk about the two opposing teams, and it’s awesome, then they freaking have two of the gold players talking to each other, saying stupid crap like in the “field pass” segments. IT RUINS THE MOOD.

You know, I was honestly really, really devastated when the Dreamcast was cancelled. I still hold a grudge against the PS2 because of it. I changed my whole outlook on gaming when that fortuitous day arrived. But at the very least, I knew that NFL2K would continue on and I would be happy. Then, they took away the NFL from that equation, and it was like being punched in the gut all over again. So I waited and waited. I freaking put Dan Stevens and Peter O’Keefe in my signature. I was overjoyed at the prospect of 2K returning to football. I was anticipating this so much. This is a series I would never, EVER want to tarnish. I mean, this is like getting beaten up all over again, and it hurts me so much, but I think I’m going to have to return this game tomorrow. I just can’t see myself satisfied with it as it stands today.

Partners in Time is the sequel to Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and it’s pretty obvious from the beginning that this game does not change much of the formula of the first game. However, it does build on the platforming RPG nature of that game and add some new twists.

Partners in Time’s biggest inclusion is that of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, bringing the game to a grand total of 4 playable characters. To make this make any sense, time travel will of course have to play a part in the plot. Don’t expect it to be too complicated though. Aliens invade the past, Princess Peach gets taken back in time and gets abducted, and the babies from the past and the current day grown-ups team up to get her back. There’s no talk of time paradoxes or anything like that.

Anyway, on to the good stuff. This game, like its GBA predecessor, is a very light hearted game that’s full of a lot of old Mario references and in-humor. The game has a few serious moments, but for the most part, it’s just a fun adventure with the Mario Bros. babysitting their younger selves. Since there are 2 new characters, the game takes the opportunity to make you use them as much as possible. Expect to be split up and solving field puzzles almost as much as you are together. For the most part, there is a lot of clever uses of the 4 characters, and the game utilizes the two team puzzle dynamic pretty well.

The game also shares the same graphic design as the previous, with the stylized 2D art that isn’t your typical Mario sprites, and while there’s not more detail with the upgrade to DS, their faces are very emotive and all the characters, especially the bosses and enemies, look great. It’s a credit to the art department, and this game really stands out due to its look. The game also sports a surprising amount of original, catchy songs. While there are a few reprised classic Mario tunes, there is a dearth of new stuff here, and most of it is very good. It runs the gamut from upbeat songs like the menu screen to wacky fast paced carnival music to somber battle themes like the final battle.

Ok, now to what I didn’t like about this game: It’s just so…safe. It doesn’t take any risks to mess with the formula of the first game, and there’s so much potential here that is going to waste. What may not be obvious to people who never played the first game is that this is, at its very heart, a basic dungeon crawler. There’s a main hub (Mushroom Kingdom Castle) and tons of time warps to take you to the past. Every warp takes you into a battle field, where the formula stays the same for nearly every single area you visit. You arrive somewhere, the Shroobs (the aliens) have take over or attacked an area, and you need to get through 3-4 different small field maps before you get to a boss, and then get dumped back in the castle. The game tries to throw story in here and there and a few puzzles (usually synchronous puzzles where you need to be doing something with both sets of brothers at the same time), but it can’t hide that aside from the battle system, the rest of the game is overly simple and lacking depth.

While some people may find some fun in dungeon crawling RPG’s, they have always been one of my least favorite types of games. I would much prefer that it at least be more like Paper Mario, which is closer to a traditional RPG in that sense, with multiple towns, a larger cast, and more areas to explore. This whole game is terribly on rails. Up until the final area, it is very obvious what needs to be done at all times. Areas you need to go to on the map have a giant floating finger near them, every bro mechanic is explained even when it doesn’t necessarily have to be, and there’s really no optional areas in the game. You pretty much HAVE to visit every place in the game. There’s no overworld, no real secrets. Like I said, it is safe. And safe is boring. And while I commend them for adding new characters, I would have LOVED to have seen other allies, like Toad, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi, etc. It would be great to actually have a party in this game, but you are stuck with these 4. And really, you only ever attack with 2 characters at any time. When you don’t have the babies or the grownups, it is just a two man party, and when you do have them together, the babies don’t attack independently, and instead just serve to strengthen the grown-up attack by pressing an extra button. It is a good thing the battle system is pretty fun, or this game could be a disaster.

Luckily, its a very action-packed affair that depends on multiple context sensitive button presses. This has its drawbacks though, at least for me. It starts out pretty fun and simple, but later they just add so many moves and Bros. items (requiring using all 4 characters and each of their respective face buttons to control them) that battles not only become long button tapping item use affairs, but they also get increasingly confusing. At points, if you want to do full damage to an enemy, you may need to press A, B, X, and Y in a dozen different combinations, faster and faster. It hurts the head. Worse yet, this is pretty much the only way to do serious damage to a boss. I would have loved for there to be a Magic option in the game in case I didn’t want to use Bros. items all the time, but that was pretty much the only way to get noticeable damage.

Aside from the lack of attacking options, the system is still pretty fun, and I really like that the game gives you a chance to avoid pretty much every attack an enemy makes by jumping it or counterattacking. There’s some length issues to battles though. The end of the game, without spoiling anything, becomes a series of very long battles that are not well suited for a handheld at all. One battle in particular took me about 45 minutes. It may have been that I was underleveled, but I was doing fine until I got to the end, and the boss’s HP suddenly skyrocketed, as did their attack power. I’m of the opinion that a handheld experience should be able to be started and stopped within 10 minutes, and Nintendo is usually very good with that, but less so in this game. I think the worst part of all of this was that the ending was seriously bland and anticlimactic, and gave me no sense of accomplishment. Everything is peachy keen again, and nothing changes. Yawn. Matsu warned me this would happen, but I was still disappointed. In fact, what bothered me most as the game continued was that it was so easy and formulaic. I never felt the urge to want to play it, and at times I was just playing it so I could beat it and get it over with. That’s not a good thing with RPG’s. Luckily these Mario RPG’s are always short, but still. The Paper Mario games I didn’t want to end. I couldn’t wait to get this game over with. The story was overly drawn out, the battles continued to get longer and more complex, and most of the non playable characters in the game weren’t engaging.

Also, not that it matters, but this game really doesn’t use the touch screen at all. It uses the dual screens in a few ways, but this probably could have been done on the GBA with some button changing.

As much as I hate to say it, I find it hard to recommend this game. It has a lot going for it: distinct art style, good music, a rich history of characters to draw from, and a good localization team handling it. Unfortunately, it’s just not enough to overcome the paint by numbers dungeon crawling mold it’s made in, as well as a lackluster story, increasingly annoying and complex controls, and long drawn out battles. Lots of potential here, but there needs to be some serious changes to become a really great franchise.

Wow.. when did her music stop sucking?— my gut reaction to hearing some of Koda Kumi’s newer stuff.

She’s come a long way since releasing “Real Emotion”. It actually took her that single (her seventh one!) to propel her to super J-pop status. Many of you may remember this song as the opening theme to Final Fantasy X-2.

In the past few years, Koda Kumi has practically dominated all of her competition. She snagged the victory in the majority of music awards nominated. I think it’d be a waste to try to list them all, but let me put it like this: she’s the only artist in Japan to have three singles on the famous Japanese Top 10 Oricon charts. Am I clear? Not three singles ever, but three on the same chart!

Since those FF days, she’s explored a variety of sounds. Not unlike many American pop stars, she’s moved on from the themes of bubblegum pop in order to express herself in more R&B and hip-hop tones. And although her image has become more and more revealing, she attempts to keep herself reserved by limiting one only one song to moaning (Love goes like…).

In “Love goes like…” she attempts to express how her love is never-ending. Not only does her love go on and on.. it goes LIKE on and on …

Further capitalizing on how cool it is to speak English in J-pop, she reminds you of her traits and virtues in “Candy”. In order to remind you of her high esteem and character, she chants during the hook, “No, no, I’m not about money” as well as “No, no, I’m not easy.”

“Candy” features musical artist Mr. Blistah who serves as an excellent introduction to what Japanese rap sounds like. The flow of his rhymes are on the same meter as Rip Slyme and nobodyknows+. Okay, so I might be a little biased; I think all Japanese rap sounds the same. But hey, I know people out there who are the opposite: J-rap is great cuz American rap is crap.

“No Regret”, much like her rendition of the Cutie Honey theme, channels in the stylings of Yoko Kanno’s blues/jazz band The Seatbelts. “Someday” has a similar vibe, but it throws in more funk in order to bear some resemble to that “Virtual Insanity” song by what’s-his-face.

The last track in this greatest hits collection is a cover of “A Whole New World”. It seems really, really, really out of place. I’m not too sure if she was trying to feed the inner Disney fanatic inside or what. I know she had an Arabian theme going on for her music videos of “Candy” and “Shake it”… This will probably be the one track that people skip.

I think if anybody had any other complaints, it would be her voice. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed too much, so it’s still a hit or miss. But these days, she’s paired herself up with some amazing composers who’ve created some of the catchiest instrumentation the J-pop scene has uh … ever seen.

Koda Kumi’s evolved more than her looks! If you compare the advancement of her looks AND her music, I’m sure you’ll want to check out her music, right?

That is, unless you’re house…

‘cuz he don’t got no love…
for the yellow doves…

Really, I don’t know how to even go about reviewing this. I mean, it’s a live-action movie based on a cartoon that was created to sell toys to children about transforming robots. The fact that it even exists is mind-boggling enough. Regardless, I must soldier on with the review.

My original statement was that if this movie wasn’t a miserable embarrassment, it would be a success, because it’s lined up to fail. I mean, look at the director. Michael Bay isn’t exactly Scorcese. But on that note, the movie isn’t particularly bad at all, surprisingly. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s a good movie either, but it’s entertaining. (more…)

This is just a quick write-up to share with you what I have found to be the best recipe for the delicious Kamikaze shot:

• 1 oz Absolut Vodka
• 1 oz Triple Sec
• 1 oz Rose’s Sweetened Lime Juice

Chill the vodka before adding it and then mix and shake the above and pour into your shot glass of choice. This also makes a great filler for hip flasks, it’s very simple to whip up!