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Review: Biomega Vol. 1

I enjoy manga/anime more than I like to admit, that’s for sure, and Biomega currently tops my Japan-themed list. Okay, I’m also a sucker for science fiction … and horror … and pretty pictures, although there are some gritty ones in this  volume.

Tsutomu Nihei concocts a mind-bending new sci-fi horror that envisions humanity’s desperate future. In the hands of new wave idealists, a bleak outer space virus slashes through Earth’s landscape and corrupts healthy human beings, mutating them into zombie-like “drones” that meander hungrily and follow an unspoken code. Biomega propels readers into a dark age full of government conspiracy and media-driven health crises, and the further we explore, the more terrifyingly real and all too possible the world becomes.

Read the whole review at OneMetal.

Tags: Biomega, Manga, OneMetal, Tsutomu Nihei, Viz Media, Week of 3/8/10
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Review: Witchblade #135

Another issue of Witchblade hit stands recently, but is it worth the cover price? Find out at OneMetal.

New York City police detective Sara Pezzini trades quips and counters blows with the green-haired Cyberdata fightin’ bot named Aphrodite IV. Top Cow’s latest Witchblade issue crashes the corporation’s party wide open, unveiling a familial welcoming crew. Unfortunately, the creators forgot to tidy up before the readers arrived.

Tags: OneMetal, Ron Marz, Stjepan Sejic, Top Cow, Week of 3/8/10, Witchblade
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The Crazies

Want to plunk down the cash for a good movie this weekend? The Crazies won’t steer you wrong. Just, uh … don’t drink the water. Check out the review at OneMetal.com.

Breck Eisner’s name occupies only a handful of film credits and claims even fewer directorial spots. The Crazies, a remake of the George Romero 1973 original, accelerates the rookie filmmaker into a potentially household name.

Welcome to Ogden March, where the Iowan fields reap plenty and infected water turns the kindly townsfolk into violent psychopaths who like to hum a creepy tune. Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) and his pregnant wife, Judy (Radha Mitchell), escape government quarantine and regroup with Deputy Russell Clank (Joe Anderson) and the teenage Becca Darling (Danielle Panabaker). They fend off “crazies” and elude gas mask-donning soldiers while piecing together the rampant disease’s origins and nailing down an escape route. But not everyone ducks the infection … or the accompanying paranoia.

Tags: Breck Eisner, Danielle Panabaker, George Romero, Joe Anderson, OneMetal, Overture Films, Radha Mitchell, The Crazies, Timothy Olyphant, Week of 3/1/10
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Lords of Shadow Dominates New Territory

Eager about the upcoming Castlevania game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360? I am, and you can pronounce your love by checking out these new screens and a quickie debate about Lords of Shadow’s direction over at OneMetal.

Are you prepared to whip and magically cast Dracula across vast stretches of, well, 3D expanse? The new screenshots and artwork batch uploaded today suggests a bigger, denser world for gamers to explore. But can the developers and the assisting Kojima Productions rework the aging series into a hot-blooded successor?

Tags: Castlevania, Kojima Productions, Konami, Lords of Shadow, OneMetal, PlayStation 3, Week of 3/1/10, Xbox 360
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Review: Ghost Projekt #1

March 10’s Ghost Projekt #1 (Joe Harris, Steve Rolston, Dean Trippe) from Oni Press is a satisfying treat of ghastly proportions. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out my review new on OneMetal’s front page:

Need to brush up on your Russian? A little rusty on your ghost legends? Next Wednesday, Oni Press generates a propitious wave of paranormal and nationalistic storytelling that targets our modern sensibilities and evokes a few, well, ghosts of the past.

Irrelevant to ghosts and Russians, I want to invite you (my readers) to spill your thoughts on this blog. Is there something you like, related to content or otherwise? Are you sick of looking at something? Maybe you just want to express your love for this little blog, or pitch suggestions on how you think it could be better. Either way, I’m all ears! Let me know either via the comments or email (wita.onemetal@gmail.com). I greatly appreciate any feedback!

Tags: Dean Trippe, Ghost Projekt, Joe Harris, OneMetal, Oni Press, Steve Rolston, Week of 3/1/10
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Review: Robot13 #3

Need another good comic recommendation? Check out Robot13, Thomas Hall and Daniel Bradford’s quietly flourishing creation. If you like mythological stories, or just skeleton robot guardian thingies that look ridiculously awesome, then you’ll probably enjoy the indie book.

Thomas Hall and Daniel Bradford’s singular Robot13 caps Book One with an earth-shaking finish that’s bound to pique your attention. Floating on the same wavelength as Hellboy, Robot13 trades the paranormal for the mythological and shapes it refreshingly well.

The comic fixates on a mechanical amnesiac investigating his own mysterious origins. For those unfamiliar with the fascinating yet surprisingly uncomplicated indie hit, its hero—a unique cross between robot, futuristic spaceman, and ancient skeleton warrior—reawakened and rose from underwater depths, saving innocent fishermen from monstrous, tentacled peril. Although the sea-faring crew expressed their infinite gratitude and even offered him a place on their boat, the lonely Robot13 yearned for something else: to return to his creator, the “Doctor” (and no, he isn’t British and doesn’t wield a sonic screwdriver).

Read the rest here.

Tags: Blacklist Studios, Daniel Bradford, OneMetal, Robot13, Thomas Hall, Week of 2/22/10
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Review: The Complete Alice in Wonderland #2

Want more Alice? Then try Dynamite’s The Complete Alice in Wonderland #2 on for size and bide the time until the upcoming Disney/Tim Burton movie. I bet your nonsensical wordplay has gotten rusty over the years, anyway.

Lewis Carroll fanatics Leah Moore and John Reppion expand their all-ages adaptation in The Complete Alice in Wonderland #2. The manga-styled Alice sits with a quirky Mad Hatter and the March Hare, attempts croquet according to the hasty Queen’s rules, visits the Mock Turtle and watches his lobster dance, and finally attends a rather unconventional trial.

Anybody up for batting around some hedgehogs with flamingo croquets?

Tags: Complete Alice in Wonderland, Dynamite, Èrica Awano, John Reppion, Leah Moore, Lewis Carroll, OneMetal, PC Siqueira, Week of 2/15/10
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The Wolfman

The Wolfman released just when I was in the right mood for a werewolf flick. My money didn’t go to complete waste; in fact, I would actually stamp the movie as enjoyable. I do not, however, like my films stuffed with moronic romance.

Universal Pictures’ The Wolfman, starring the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving, reboots the 1941 horror flick. Joe Johnston directs a remake dripping with wolfishly good action. Too bad the movie stutters over beastly romance that perfectly complements your sugary Valentine’s Day memories.

I craned my neck to absorb the breadth of the movie screen—an inconvenience that opening day’s limited seating and lonely front row availability guaranteed—and as I watched the rushing colors and headache-inducing action that made my eyes cross, I couldn’t help but smile just as much as I cringed. Despite whether you’ve witnessed the original film, 2010’s The Wolfman splays like a guts-and-brains mess. Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), whose brother Ben recently tangled with a fabled werewolf creature and wound up dead and gross, returns to his home estate where his aloof father, Sir John (Anthony Hopkins), resides. Ben’s widow and beast whisperer, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), returns from London and mournfully gathers her late husband’s effects, but when Lawrence announces his oath to avenge his brother’s demise by seeking whatever or whoever went Picasso with his innards, she sticks around, apparently.

Read the rest at OneMetal.

Tags: Anthony Hopkins, Benicio Del Toro, Danny Elfman, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, John Johnston, OneMetal, Relativity Media, The Wolfman, Universal Pictures, Week of 2/15/10
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PSP Review: Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Hooray! It’s been half a year since my demo and Konami interview at San Diego Comic-Con, but I finally sat down to play Shattered Memories. So … did I enjoy it? Well, that’s a tricky number. The game is quite a mixed bag of good and bad, but ultimately one lone feature redeemed the entire game for me. Find out what over at OneMetal.

Silent Hill has dramatically evolved since the original game, presently a decade behind us. Now Shattered Memories lifts the ashes and exchanges the rust-colored decor for a colder touch. Put down the chainsaw and stop running—the latest installment dares you to revisit the classic town and remember everything you, and Harry Mason, tried to forget.

Shattered Memories logs a relatively short length, and the gameplay and story elements are profoundly redesigned. In fact, fans will recognize the changes before they even start pressing buttons. The game invents more personality for characters, polishes familiar locations with fresh attributes, and incorporates the depth absent in the first run-around. Borrowing the first-person technique utilized in The Room, the psychologist sessions allow the game to profile you by translating various exercises, like coloring a picture or answering intimate questions, into Harry’s adventure. The characters and locations might remain, but this isn’t the game you remember. Shattered Memories molds to your unique personality and develops a new and engaging spin on an old story.

Tags: Climax Group, Konami, OneMetal, PlayStation 2, PSP, Shattered Memories, Silent Hill, Week of 2/8/10, Wii
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PC Review: Plants Vs. Zombies

I’ve never been much of a PC gamer, even though my first video game experiences involved Wolfenstein 3D and a desultory Sherlock Holmes game. But thanks to the generous PopCap folk, I hunkered down with Plants Vs. Zombies, which had already caught my eye, and played to my heart’s content. And luckily PVZ serves an all-you-can-grow veggie buffet. Check out the review at OneMetal.com

Grab a rake and plant yourself in front of PopCap’s most recent tower defense game that sprawls bloom and doom … on your lawn. Plants Vs. Zombies challenges your green thumb and hones your zombie extermination skills. Players harvest sunflower power and command an earth-friendly army, saving your house one recycled undead at a time. These plants pack quite a head chop, and thankfully the game’s foundation holds just as well—rain, shine, or zombie..

Tags: iPhone OS, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, OneMetal, Plants Vs. Zombies, PopCap, Week of 2/8/10, Xbox Live Arcade
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