I wanted to like this game so much. The first two games in the series are two of my favorite RPGs, and I was glad just to see a third game in the series when this was released in 2006. However, after several months of playing this game off and on and trying to look over its flaws, I hit a breaking point this week and formally gave up. But, this game has one of my favorite battle systems of all time, a pretty cool inventory/magic/skill system, so what went wrong? (more…)

Fellow hunters, I have returned! It’s been a while since I put together a game hunt article, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been resting on my laurels. On the contrary, December and January have been very kind to me, with a surprise “After Christmas” sale at Goodwill, and good fortune all around. Lots of real quality stuff here, and I mean lots, so let’s get right to it! (more…)

“Good-Evil; The Soundtrack” is a weekly feature that showcases an editor’s song pick complete with a small write-up and a YouTube video or streaming version of the song. This week’s selection by Mike is Hank Jacobs – “Tam-A-Rind”. (more…)

As I continue to try to catch up on stuff I wanted to review over the holidays, I come to the biggest movie of the winter, Avatar. There isn’t a lot I can say about it now that hasn’t already been said, but at the same time, this is a great movie that I wanted to talk about for a few. (more…)

In 2001, Square released a major motion picture, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The results were nothing short of disastrous for the company. The movie cost north of 130 million to make and barely made 30 million in the United States. It essentially killed Square’s movie division, Square Pictures, who only went on to create one other short, The Final Flight of the Osiris for the Animatrix. Aside from financially, the movie was a bit of a misfit in terms of “what” it actually was. It was labeled Final Fantasy, but aside from Dr. Sid (a name-play on the recurring character Cid) and some vague imagery reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII, there’s nearly nothing here for any fans of the series. No chocobos, no magic users, no spiky haired effeminate protagonists. On the other hand, for people unfamiliar with the games, all they know is that this is named after a video game they likely know little about and it may not be for them. While the movie may have been named completely wrong and marketed poorly, it’s a good movie that deserves a little second look back at it. (more…)

Looking at the cover of The Heroin Diaries provides a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde retrospective into Nikki Sixx’s past. The background is covered with a strange, rust colored amoeba that engulfs a younger looking Nikki who’s face is ridden with cuts and scars. This amoeba reminds me of blood under a microscope. And while I have never been a heroin addict, the dirty look of the “blood” resembles what my mind would perceive to be the blood of an addict. Emerging from the blood on the left side of the book cover, is an older Nikki that looks ashamed of his past. Yet, as he remains ashamed, he knows he cannot escape being an addict. After I read this book, I reexamined the cover. I discovered that this is the perfect way to illustrate The Heroin Diaries: dirty, crazed, and melancholy. Those three little words kept me turning the pages with anticipation of what would happen next to Mr. Sixx. After turning the final page, this became one of the strangest books I’ve ever read but also one of the most memorable. (more…)