News and Random Picks

Nothing too exciting has been going on as of late. Working 60+ hours a week doesn't leave much time for anything except trying to rest up (which I need to do as much as possible because April is going to be a crazy month). A few cool things, though...

Book Signing!
My friend and fellow writer A.T. Nicholas and myself will be having a book signing coming up at the end of April. There will also be a bunch of artists there all weekend. If you live in the Maryland/DC/Virginia area, stop by and see us! Details are back on the Home Page at Feralia.net. Other signings should be announced soon.

Anime in the Steel City!
We'll be traveling with our company Alicia's Anime up to Pittsburgh for Tekkoshocon (one of our favorite anime cons) from April 3-5, 2009. Tekko is always a fun time with great people, and I highly recommend checking it out!

Shows!
For the first time in a loooong time (seriously, years), I've actually been watching more american television than anime. Let's see, there has been Lost, Survivor, ANTM (Alicia's show that I support her on and currently root for Allison), my new Adult Swim veg out show - King of the Hill. But a couple of standouts are:

Battlestar Galactica - The Final Episodes and Finale

So, it's over (this is spoiler-free, by the way), and it's been a great run. While the series had some parts that I thought were rather slow, overall I think it's one of the best shows on TV in recent history. I enjoyed the finale. Certain things were hinted at, others were left up for debate, but for me the ending was satisfactory, and better than I had anticipated. And yes, I found myself getting choked up over certain characters and relationships. I'm going to miss it, but I thought it wrapped up nicely.
Speaking of Battlestar, this is my awesome picture of the day:

Adama in pink!!! I could never picture this, but it is awesome. Srsly.

Naruto Shippuden

My wife and I recently finished up the first series of Naruto, and we loved it. Admittedly, we skipped over the majority of the 80 filler episodes (with the intention of catching up on them later) so that we could start Naruto Shippuden, which picks back up where the manga left off.
So far I've really been impressed. The art, character design, and animation are all beautiful. Also, the series is much more mature and a little darker. The exciting story adds to it, making for a really great, quality series that I look forward to catching up on.

Also:
Finished RE5, and it has incredible replay value. Long time fans of the series will love it, including the story, which ties a lot of things together, especially when you take the time to read the files. The RE3 references and little tie ins are great! I can't say any more for fear of spoilers, but if you've played it, or are a fan of the series, let me know what you think!

- Clint

RE5 so far

So finally, after four years since the last (main) game, Resident Evil 5 has been released. I picked up my Collector's Edition Friday morning.

I haven't finished it yet, but I did get to spend quite a bit of time with it over the weekend. So far, it's been really awesome. I played through about two thirds of the game with my nephew Danny. The split screen co-op was great. I also played through about half way on my own, with the AI controlling Sheva. I've talked to people who have been having a bit of trouble getting AI-controlled Sheva to, well, not die. But I haven't really had problems with it myself, and thankfully, the single player experience has also been great for me so far. That was my main concern going into the game, that perhaps Capcom had put so much into the Co-op that the single player game would suffer. Minutes into the game, my fears were put to rest.
Some more specifics:
Let's get the negative over with first...
The Negatives:
Honestly, I have no big complaints about the game so far. If I had to put a list together to be fair however, I'd only say the following:
- It would be nice to have the feature back to 'Use' a health item immediately upon picking it up. Then again, the added challenge is alright with me.
- RE4 hardly had any puzzles. RE5 has even less (so far, anyway).
- Many fans of the original games will probably be disappointed to see the series continue to evolve further from Survival Horror into Action Horror. It hasn't really scared me yet, unfortunately.
The Positives:
- The gameplay & controls are just as good as RE4, with options for everyone (RE4 and Gears of War style included).
- Graphics & Sound: Beautiful.
- The story so far has been really great, and on top of that, there's a ton of in depth bonus reading material that recaps the series so far, and adds background.
- The new statistic page is awesome (especially for dorks like me who love to know that they've killed 450+ Majinis, 6 Sharks and 1 Bat among all the other creatures).
- Co-op & Single player both work well.
- New multiplayer modes are coming soon.

Overall, RE5 seems to have improved upon the formula that RE4 introduced in most every way, if not distancing itself a bit further from the original style. Being a huge fan of the originals, I am sad to see so many aspects of the classic games gone. However, I do agree with the creators when they said that the series needed to evolve to survive. I think the series has definitely done that, and I think RE5 will prove to be much deeper as it continues, with all the unlockable stuff for fans of the series, and the new modes that should be arriving soon. So, enjoy it!

- Clint