Tag: review

Blogs, Jason, Video Games1 Comment

Review: Katawa Shoujo; or how I stopped worrying and learned to love disabled girls

Jason

**I’m gonna start this blog off by giving you all fair warning that the game I’m about to “review” most certainly crosses into NSFW territory. Although the content of this blog does not, Google searching this game and clicking some of the following links could very well be a trap.**

Katawa Shoujo, or Disability Girls, is a game/visual novel centered around a young man with a heart condition who finds himself at a school for the disabled that just so happens to be filled with cute, single girls. If that sounds like the setup for a bad porno or some kind of webcomic you’d find on 4chan, then you aren’t all that wrong.

Produced by 4 Leaf Studios, Katawa Shoujo does indeed find its origins on 4chan (/a/ in particular) where a thread popped up featuring the artwork of one RAITA. The piece featured all the building blocks for a dating game involving a private school for the disabled, and started quite a wave of interest in the subject. Of course, this kind of thing isn’t all that surprising to see on the Internet. Although surprisingly, from what I understand, this push for disabled and crippled girl content was actually urged on after a thread on /b/ featured the touching tale of a nurse at a nursing home doing his best to take care of a 7-year-old girl that had recently come under his care after having lost her family (and most of her limbs, plus an eye) in a terrible car accident. Kotaku posted a slightly more detailed history of all this on their site a little while back, for those interested in their article it’s here.

Regardless of its origins, though, the most important thing to remember about Katawa Shoujo is that it’s a game that would never have seen the light of day had it not been for the Internet. Now I don’t mean that in a “the web helped them put it together” kinda way that almost any project could claim these days. I mean it in the sort of “this game was developed and put together by people from many different locations all around the world without ever getting together in the fashion an typical game studio would” kinda way. This game is a shining example of the kind of quality projects that can only just now be made in this day and age. Continue reading “Review: Katawa Shoujo; or how I stopped worrying and learned to love disabled girls”

Entertainment, Rack Focus3 Comments

Rack Focus: Review: The Artist

Gary Sundt

As I live in Los Angeles, I am an avid listener to the hilarious Kevin & Bean Show in the mornings on KROQ 106.7 FM. This past Tuesday, Kevin was complaining about The Artist, this year’s apparent frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards. Not only does our man Kevin dislike the film, but he has gone as far as to call it “utter BS.”

He has, of course, made up his mind having never seen the film, under the guise that it is for hipsters and intellectuals. They’re all wrong, but we’re going to circle back to that.

In the meantime, let me explain a little bit about The Artist. Here we have a silent film about the silent film era, specifically focusing on the transition into the talkies. Many silent film stars lost their livelihood when sound came along, and more than a few ended their lives when they were told their careers as movie stars were over. Those who could afford to reinvent themselves did just that, and such is the path of our protagonist, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a Frenchman who has spent his career singing and dancing and emoting without the aid of words. When sound hits the street, his success hits the skids, and he’s left to navigate the ways of filmmaking with only his faithful dog and his faithful driver (James Cromwell). Continue reading “Rack Focus: Review: The Artist”

Entertainment, Rack Focus1 Comment

Rack Focus: Review: The Grey

Gary Sundt

At the risk of spoiling the entire film, I must warn anyone who was stirred to see The Grey from its promising trailer. It’s not that the latest picture from writer/director Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team) isn’t his best yet — in point of fact, it is — but it’s that the film that was sold to you is not really what you’ll be getting. It’s not dissimilar to Drive, an art film stuck with a “fast and furious” trailer. These aren’t bad movies, but the false pretense on which you see the film may leave you dissatisfied.

So here’s my warning: If you, like me, watched the trailer and determined that a snow-covered and wartorn Liam Neeson fighting wolves with a fistful of broken bottles was a film worth your hard-earned dollars, be prepared to be disappointed. It’s not that you’ll dislike The Grey, but this is a film that will give you everything but what you thought you were promised. The outrage from the audience was palpable and reasonable when the ending credits began, as though a ruse had been pulled and we had been gipped a dollar. But there is still a lot to like in The Grey, so long as you can accept the movie on it’s own terms. Continue reading “Rack Focus: Review: The Grey”

Blogs, Chris, Video Games2 Comments

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Chris

During some of the buzz leading up to last week’s release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, a few gaming outlets dared to wonder the impossible: Could Skyward Sword be better than Ocarina of Time?

At first, I’m sure a few people found that idea to be outlandish. OoT is held up as the gold standard in gaming, after all; it received a litany of awards and perfect 10s when it came out more than a decade ago, and introduced the Z-targeting system found in hundreds of games today. And now this upstart game on a dying console was supposed to supplant what some would call the best game ever?

Well, believe the hype, folks. Skyward Sword is the best Zelda game ever made. Continue reading “Review: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword”

Blogs, Chris, Video Games1 Comment

Review: Saints Row The Third

Chris

One of the problems with having this Monday blog spot is that it’s nigh impossible to do a quick turnaround on a review, what with everything releasing on Tuesdays (except movies, but the hell with those). The flip side is that it gives me a chance to dig deep into a new title and give it more than just a cursory look.

Saints Row: The Third is no exception.

In the last six days, I’ve put in somewhere around 25-30 hours into SR3, which allowed me to get through the game and also finish nearly all of the activities and other side missions. As such, I can tell you this much: If you enjoy games that don’t take themselves too seriously and are fun to play, you’ll enjoy Saints Row: The Third. Continue reading “Review: Saints Row The Third”

Blogs, Chris, Video GamesLeave a comment

Review: NBA 2K12

Chris

2K Sports had every reason to mail it in.

They won, after all. Not only was NBA 2K11 one of the most critically acclaimed sports titles in video game history, but it also managed to wipe EA Sports’ series from the face of the earth in the process. EA’s NBA Elite was a glitch-ridden, buggy mess, so bad that the company canceled development of last year’s title and didn’t even bother with one for 2011.

So no one could really fault 2K for resting on their laurels and giving us the standard roster update. After all, Madden’s been doing it for years.

Instead, they took the definitive basketball experience and made it even better. Continue reading “Review: NBA 2K12”

Blogs, Chris, Video GamesLeave a comment

Review: Deux Ex Human Revolution

Chris

I know what you’re thinking. “But Chris … a few weeks ago you said you don’t like shooters!”

First of all, that’s not true. I said I don’t like most shooters. There are exceptions. Despite being unfamiliar with the series, I liked enough of what I saw from previews for Deus Ex: Human Revolution to give it a shot, especially since it was free for me to play it.

What followed was an experience in unstoppable roaming turrets, devastating punches, never asking for this, and a game that ultimately does a lot of things very well, but nothing truly great. Continue reading “Review: Deux Ex Human Revolution”

Blogs, Chris, EntertainmentLeave a comment

Review: RHCP’s “I’m With You”

Chris

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been around for a while. Hell, the band was started before I was born.

Since 1983, RHCP has had a weird mix of consistency and disarray in their lineup — Anthony Kiedis and Flea have been there from day one and Chad Smith joined the group more than 20 years ago, but the early days involved a lot of drug use and rotating people. For their new album, “I’m With You,” the Chili Peppers are introducing new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who replaces longtime member John Frusciante.

That change, coupled with the band’s continued evolution and musical development, results in a different sound for RHCP’s 10th album. But different doesn’t necessarily mean bad — in fact, there’s a lot to like about “I’m With You.” Continue reading “Review: RHCP’s “I’m With You””

Checkpoint, Video GamesLeave a comment

Checkpoint: Kingdom Hearts

Gray Areas

Checkpointlogo

With the recent release of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the DS (which Shaun reviewed not too long ago), Checkpoint takes a look back at the Square/Disney mashup that came seemingly from nowhere. The idea of Cloud and Donald interacting didn’t make much sense at the time, but now, four titles later (with a fifth on the way), KH is entrenched as a major franchise in video games. The One-Uppers look back at the original and its sequel and decide which is the better game. Continue reading “Checkpoint: Kingdom Hearts”