At the Buzzer Video, Coming Soon
Yep, that YouTube page we’ve been sitting on might actually be put to use in the near future. Continue reading At the Buzzer Video, Coming Soon
Planet Orange
We’ve seen this one before: down to the last few games of a season, and an Arizona team pretty much needs to win every single one to get into the playoffs. This time, it’s our beloved Phoenix Suns. In our info page, two out of three of us mention how much we love the Suns, and we even did an entire segment of how much we hated Vince Carter for being a cancer to the Suns. But that’s really the extent of how much we’ve spoken of our favorite team on this website.
Until now. Continue reading “Planet Orange”
Going the Distance 024: Out With a Bang
This is easily my favorite of any comics we’ve had submitted. The end gets me every time. The brothers Fiala teamed up for this one — make sure you view it full size to get the most out of it. NOTE: This is another GIF, so you might have to click the picture to see it in action depending on your browser. In Going the Distance, our main character, “You,” has to manage to make his way to delicious cake. Sounds simple, right? But there are deadly spikes to deal with, and a host of other problems that appear each … Continue reading Going the Distance 024: Out With a Bang
Music to My Ears: Lost Odyssey
Lost Odyssey was one of those games that kinda flew under the radar. Even though it was released at a time when the 360 and PS3 were still relatively new and lacking in the RPG department, I’m not sure it got the attention it deserved.
LO was a solid, if unspectacular, game. It featured an engaging turn-based battle system with timed attacks to help keep the player engaged. The skill learning techniques were fun, but it also limited your party — when your immortal members could learn so many skills and your mortal folks were stuck with just two or three from equipment, it wasn’t a tough choice picking who to bring along. The story was decent, but where the game really excelled was in its side storytelling: a series of vignettes called “A Thousand Years of Dreams” that chronicled Kaim’s heartbreaking immortal existence.
Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi was the driving force behind Lost Odyssey, and in putting together the soundtrack for the game, he brought along a familiar face: Nobuo Uematsu. Uematsu, of course, was the mastermind behind every Final Fantasy OST through X, 
and he’s contributed a handful of other tracks to the series since then. More importantly, Uematsu is one of the best composers in video game history, and arguably the most recognizable.
Uematsu’s music in LO represented something of a change of pace. Limited by the technology of 8- and 16-bit video game systems, his earlier productions were much more based on melodies and ambiance, milking every last note he could out of bleeps and bloops. Fast forward 20 years, and Uematsu found himself with a full orchestra and advanced synthesizers to work with. The result is a strange hybrid of symphonic and progressive rock tracks with some piano and techno thrown in for good measure.
All of that added up to a 56-track, two-disc compilation featuring what might be Uematsu’s best work, even if it didn’t get the attention or accolades that many soundtracks from Final Fantasy did (and don’t worry, this feature will get to those eventually).
As usual with MtME, let’s take a look at five of my favorite tracks with commentary on each. Continue reading “Music to My Ears: Lost Odyssey”
Rack Focus Review: Cabin in the Woods
Cabin in the Woods is as smart as it thinks it is. The only reason it isn’t smarter is because its tongue is so self-satisfyingly planted in its cheek that you can practically see the smirks of producer/co-writer Joss Whedon and director/co-writer Drew Goddard on every frame. Horror films are perhaps the easiest to lampoon, but I don’t think the genre has ever quite been skewered this good. Continue reading “Rack Focus Review: Cabin in the Woods”
Rack Focus Review: Detention
Detention jams as many ideas into its 90-minute run time as possible — including references to The Breakfast Club, the Disney Renaissance, the Saw franchise, David Cronenburg, Scream, Stephen King, the Backstreet Boys, Mean Girls, Nickelodeon, and lots of other pop trivia. Additionally, there is a time-traveling bear and a mutant fly-boy. The flick is also a jumbled mess, but mostly pretty fun in that live-action-cartoon-soaked-in-blood kind of way. Continue reading “Rack Focus Review: Detention”
Gary’s Weekend Takeover
Gary’s got a lot of movies he wants to review, so he’s taking over Shaun and Jason’s spots this week on top of his own to bring you coverage of all the big stuff that’s hit theaters in the past week or so. Don’t be alarmed — you’ll get used to seeing his face on our home page in a hurry. Continue reading Gary’s Weekend Takeover
At the Buzzer (04/12/12)
Episode 39: Who Buys Soap in Boxes Anymore? — The guys return to normal after the April Fools episode, get on their pulpits for three issue-based Headlines, and run through a litany of reader responses in Buzz In. Also, Chris … Continue reading At the Buzzer (04/12/12)
Freedom of Speech
Congress shall make no law respecting a establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Ah, the First Amendment, one of the founding ideals of why we love this country so much. There are countries in this world still today where if you were to speak ill of the president/dictator/leader du jour, you’d be thrown in prison and locked away. In this country we enjoy such freedoms as allowing people to “occupy” areas in protest as long as they are peacefully assembled.
Unfortunately, some people don’t get what this really means. Continue reading “Freedom of Speech”
Going the Distance 023: Do-Do-Do-Do You Have It?
This is another comic that couldn’t make the cut for the paper, for obvious reasons. Without color, I think this looks like he’s leaking spaghetti from his stomach. Not quite the desired effect. In Going the Distance, our main character, “You,” has to manage to make his way to delicious cake. Sounds simple, right? But there are deadly spikes to deal with, and a host of other problems that appear each time. Let’s just say You fails more often than You succeeds. After all, it wouldn’t be much of a quest if You could just get cake whenever You wanted, … Continue reading Going the Distance 023: Do-Do-Do-Do You Have It?
