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Preview: Knights in the Nightmare

Yesterday I attended a demo for the upcoming PSP edition of Knights in the Nightmare. For those who have played the game on the DS, Atlus is tweaking a few key details that might have given you a headache before. Even I’m excited for this tactical RPG/bullet hell mania title, which hits stores October 19.

Check out my full preview at OneMetal.

Knights in the Nightmare, the tactical RPG that advertises “Bullet-hell heaven in the palm of your hand,” crashes onto the PSP this October. Atlus is adapting the Nintendo DS original that broke fingers and throbbed heads with its complicated and super real-time insanity into a much more user-friendly format. After sitting in on the latest demonstration, we at OneMetal have your inside scoop on both the story and fast-paced gameplay action.

During the demo, the good folks at Atlus stressed two main aspects of the Sting Entertainment-developed game: story and battles. A good chunk of our time was spent examining the actual battles and the renovated tutorial features, so let’s first breeze over the story highlights that will interest both new and old players.

Tags: Atlus, Knights in the Nightmare, previews, PSP, Yukio Takats
Posted in Exclusives, OneMetal, Video Games, Writing | No Comments »

Review: Fogtown

Personally, I don’t get noir. I mean, I get noir, but I don’t understand why anyone in the twenty-first century still enjoys film or book noir, in which misogyny and frivolous women reside. Maybe it’s a girl thing, but hey, misogyny is kind of dumb if you ask me, not all women are fickle, and anybody who calls me a dame will promptly get punched in the face.

Anyway, Fogtown is a good example of what doesn’t work about noir, which is a tricky genre as it is.

Check out my full review over at OneMetal.

Vertigo Crime invites readers into the seedy underbelly of a 50s San Francisco with Fogtown, a noir-styled graphic novel told from the perspective of a private eye named Frank Grissel. The often drunk detective has more than a skeleton or two hidden in his closet.

Tags: Andersen Gabrych, Brad Rader, DC, Fogtown, Vertigo
Posted in Comics/Manga, OneMetal, Reviews, Writing | No Comments »

Popcorn-Sized Movie Reviews: Inception and Scott Pilgrim

Here are two popcorn-sized movie reviews (in 250 words or less) you can read on the go.

87% on Rotten Tomatoes

Everybody dreams, in one meaning of the word or another, and most people are familiar with the beliefs surrounding them: for example, when you fall in your dreams, you die, or in the case of Inception, you wake up.

Innovative director Christopher Nolan, a visionary of our time, takes a basic idea like dreaming and fashions it into a whirlwind of cinematography and storytelling. With expertly shot camera work and a well-rounded cast plucked from various movie genres, Nolan delivers a film that, while low on typical Hollywood excitement, pulls you into its building momentum of a dream within a dream within a dream in which a crew of mind hackers attempt the perhaps unachievable: the inception of an idea.

On screen, Inception lays down the groundwork of everything that’s universal about dreams, and from there spirals into an intelligent film that ticks like clockwork in its excellence and self-control. Romance, drama, suspense, action, and a dab of comedy engulf Nolan’s best production yet, a classic mind-bending film that refuses to stands still and always impresses with its masterful design and thoughtful progression.

Also, Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t smother the movie, so tween fangirls, steer clear.

81% on Rotten Tomatoes

Pop culture might infuse Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which stars the one-note Michael Cera and adapts the popular Oni Press series by Brian Lee O’Malley, but the film promises a richer time that breaks through any audience limitations.

Despite its hit-or-miss humor (especially during the beginning third), Scott Pilgrim brings a surprising charm that wins over moviegoers with its heartfelt story and colorful visuals. Easing into its groove once the ambitious Sex Bob-Omb band member Scott lays his eyes on dream girl Ramona Flowers, the movie sets a fun and knowingly silly beat. The real surprise is the movie’s nicely choreographed and energetic fight scenes, which never feel sloppy camera-wise and allow viewers to easily follow each kick and punch and K.O. to its dramatic finish.

The acting could use some polish, feeling painfully amateur at times, but each character quickly gains a comfortable, though often short-lived, place in the movie. The highlights-knocking power blast of indie music songs and hipster flair trumps any awkward first impressions. Scott Pilgrim might have short-fused at the box office, but it wraps up as an endearing story and a good flick that creatively blends comics and video games with broken hearts and love at first sight.

Want more popcorn-sized movie reviews, low on fat but with all that buttery goodness? Let me know!

Tags: Christopher Nolan, Edgar Wright, Inception, Michael Cera, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Posted in Movies/TV, Reviews | 2 Comments »

Pull-O-Rama: August ’10

Ancient Roman vampires, apocalyptic horsemen-gangsters from Mexico (or possibly hell), and soul-hungry demons—monsters are coming out the wazoo this week at Impulse Creations.

Below are a few teasers, but you can read the full reviews here.

“David Hine dumps in all the right ingredients for a classic Darkness tale, lets it simmer, and before readers can catch their breath, they’re peering over a heaving pot of perfectly seasoned hellfire-side cuisine.” - The Darkness: Four Horsemen #1

“Fans of vampire fiction like True Blood might relish another half-naked glimpse into the undead world, but for those of us without a fang fetish, Ides of Blood does introduce a somewhat different means of examining the same old corpses.” - Ides of Blood #1

“Demons are creepy. Demons illustrated by Alina Urusov are even creepier. Unfortunately, the goosebumps-inducing demon in Witchblade: Due Process only adds a margin of the oomph the one-shot sorely needs.” - Witchblade: Due Process

Tags: DC, Due Process, Four Horsemen, Ides of Blood, The Darkness, Top Cow, Wildstorm, Witchblade
Posted in Comics/Manga, Impulse Creations, Reviews, Writing | No Comments »

Marvel Hypes Iron Man – Extremis

Today Marvel announced the upcoming Iron Man – Extremis DVD. While the press release made no mention of the motion comic, I’m guessing since Marvel Knights Animation’s name is attached, this is basically a mainstream release.

Iron Man blasts onto home entertainment shelves later this year … probably knocking out a wall or two with the sheer, unbelievable Repulsor force. Oh, yes. You’ll need these coming months to prepare.

Check out a trailer for the motion comic below. You can read about the DVD details here, at OneMetal.

Tags: Adi Granov, Extremis, Iron Man, Marvel, Marvel Knights Animation, Shout! Factory, Warren Ellis
Posted in Comics/Manga, OneMetal, Writing | 1 Comment »