“The End and the Beginning of a New Age of Apocalypse” – Age of Apocalypse #14 Review

Introduction

                This is the first time I have read an Age of Apocalypse issue. So bare with me and say anything I don’t quite understand.  I always knew about the AOA characters and I always like the designs. So, I feel some interest in them. I just never got the chance. I even felt really disappointed when Wolverine and The X-Men cartoon got cancelled, because it was another missed opportunity to get to know them.  The only chance I had was in Uncanny X-Force. I actually liked the characters in there and it felt very interesting in how they interacted.  So, it’s great to have the opportunity here.

Story

                The teams are split in 2 or 3 teams to stop the two villains from destroying and fighting each other and everything that is around them while Dazzler’s team finally found the apocalypse seed to change or fix the holes of the universes. But when they obtain the seed Jean Grey and Nightcrawler tries to steal the seed for their own obtain. Then Dark Beast tries to steal back the seed from them. Meanwhile the Prophet gets killed from the New Apocalypse.

The Good

                I honestly didn’t like issue to tell you the truth. The only good thing I found in this issue is the characters designs and personalities or the dynamics they have between them. They had interesting dialogue and wish they could have interacted a bit more. It just feels really natural. Other than that everything was okay.

The Bad

                The pacing in this issue wasn’t really good. It felt really sloppy and just couldn’t mesh the action together. It would just jump from one character to another that you would get lost in what really going on. There just wasn’t any focus on the characters. I honestly think should have just focus on Dazzler’s team alone. I felt this team alone had more conflict and interesting interactions. The action felt misplaced and unorganized. It was like was watching a bad editing from a film. The teams were barely even fighting at all. It looked like they were pretty much watching the two enemies fight.  Hercules death in this issue was presented really badly as well. You don’t really get to see him die. He just gets shot and Kurt Waggoner is left to teleport with him letting him die. It just seemed strange how everyone didn’t have any emotion, forgot or didn’t care he died. It even felt strange for his boyfriend James Howlett from X-Terme X-Men didn’t even care. I kind of wish he stayed alive for a post appearance in X-Termination, because it could brought an interesting dynamic of seeing this relationship grow. The art was also really bad. It was just sloppy and badly drawn. The only time I felt the drawing was good was with Dazzler’s team. So the art felt out of place in there.

The Verdict

                I think this issue deserves a 6.5/2 ½. It really has the potential with good characters and conflict. It just wasn’t executed well here with the action and dialogue thrown back and forth at each other. Maybe this is why this series is getting cancelled which sucks because these characters are very interesting. Maybe some will be kept for X-Termination perhaps? I really hope that series turns out to be good with these amazing characters.

“R.I.P. Cliff Barker, you were a real hero!” – Animal Man #19 Review

Introduction

                I have read Jeff Lemire’s work in the previous issues of Animal Man during the Rotworld arc with Steel, Black Orchid, etc. I will tell you so far I was not impressed with those issues. It really brought Animal Man into a downhill. It just didn’t seem natural. The dialogue and action was just really bad. I was really shocked because I love his work in Justice League Dark. So was surprised he couldn’t present most of JLD characters well in those issues. But when I read this issue it was a complete turnaround.   

Story

                The funeral of Cliff Baker has just begun. Everyone goes through the emotion of his loss before they go. When they immediately arrive there is conflict because Ellen blames Buddy’s fault for his death. She no longer wants to be with him and want her daughter away from him. After the funeral, publicity follow Buddy Barker’s trail. Asking him questions and he eventually throws a fit and decides to leave to talk with the avatars. He tries to convince them to remove his and Maxine’s powers. But they refused and throw him out. So, he must face being a superhero.

The Good

                I really did like this issue a lot. The writing did improve from over the last few issues. It really feels nature in the characters to express their emotions. I’m glad most the beginning was silent, because the emotions felt really real. It was just good to see how angry Ellen and Buddy Barker to what has happened. I even liked how Maxine didn’t understand death. She really felt she was going to see him again the next day. It’s what kids really feel like when death comes around. It even reminds me of my cousin when her brother died. She just thought her brother was sleeping and she will eventually see him again the next day. So it was really realistic. Steve Pugh’s art in this issue was amazingly beautiful too. This issue was just perfect!

The Bad

                I didn’t find anything bad in this issue expect maybe for Ellen. I really didn’t like how she reacted towards the situation. I normally don’t like her character because to me she isn’t a good wife to Buddy. She has disliked him ever since he was a superhero. It just seems like she never like him for who he is as a person. She never understands how he risk, tried or even cares deeply for his family. Just seeing her angry makes me hate her even more. But see her like this made me realized she’s very flawed and that’s how most human beings are. So I decided not to take points off for this. I’m not sure but I also have read that Ellen was bit more lighthearted in the pre-New 52. So, I don’t know why the change. I guess it just brings in more conflict.

Verdict

                I’m going to give this issue a 10/5 because it was just perfect. The emotions were done nicely. The art and the story felt so real. I just couldn’t seem to find any mistakes about this issue. The channel 52 news was sort of mediocre because it didn’t mention anything about Cliff’s death only Robin’s death. So what can you expect? 

“Jimmy Olsen is that really you?” - Action Comics #19 Review

Introduction

Action Comics # 19 is the first issue with Andy Diggle and Tony S. Daniel. I’ve been really waiting for this issue to come around because I really didn’t like Grant Morrison’s run that much.  Because reading his puzzle formula feels like a chore and it’s frustrating to put pieces together.   Also this is my first time reading Andy Diggle’s book. So, I definitely like to see what his writing is like.

Story

                In this issue Clark Kent is having a sort intimidate conversation with Lois Lane in the Middle East.  Then as Superman, he’s off to fight someone who appears to be or look like “Jimmy Olsen” in a robotic suit. Lex Luthor is talking to his psychiatrist about his mental issues.  Then he’s off to talking to some woman about his plans to infect Superman with a kryptonite virus as he fights “Jimmy Olsen”. The virus is revealed after he defeats “Jimmy Olsen”.

The Good

                I really didn’t like this issue that much because not much went on.  The only great moment is Lois Lane and Clark Kent is talking to each other. They had a very normal conversation that had an intimidate stare. It’s sad they get distracted. But I really like it because it’s the first time we actually see Lois and Clark talk to each other alone. It really makes you relive the dream of them being together again. I do like the Superman and Wonder Woman relationship but I hope it doesn’t last forever. The pacing in this issue is also great because you don’t have to figure out a puzzle. It’s very straight forward. So, you will be glad about Grant Morrison formula is no longer around. The art from Tony S. Daniel is amazingly beautiful. It’s very detailed and way better than the previous artist.

The Bad

                The problem with the issue is that really happens except Superman gets infected. The action was okay. It just wasn’t over the top. I really didn’t like the hype about him fighting “Jimmy Olsen” because it wasn’t revealed as the real Jimmy Olsen and Superman didn’t really care or get really emotional when getting shot by the laser. I didn’t like the Channel 52 News. I think they should get rid of it because it isn’t really funny especially for Ambush Bug.  (I just realized this backup is in every series and I feel I shouldn’t base my review on it. So I just want to point out I don’t like it.)

Verdict

                The issue should get a 7.5/3 ½ because it’s average. It’s an okay book but I did like the writing of Andy Diggle. It’s better than Grant Morrison and I’m hoping to see more even if it’s for a few issues.

     

“Time to Roll Out” – Transformers: Fall of Cyberton Review

                I have been a big fan of Transformers ever since I was a child. I remember having the toys and loving the way you had to transform them.  They were honestly one of the best unique toys to play with.  I have grown up watching many of the series like G1, G2, Beast Wars, Transformers Animated and lastly Transformers Prime. I didn’t get to watch any of the Transformer’s Unicorn series or Transformers: Robots in Disguise because I didn’t have cable at the time. But maybe someday I will. I’m really a big fan of Beast Wars rather than G1 or G2 series because I have re-watched the G1, G2 series and they weren’t good at all. It didn’t age well with me. Beat Wars in the other hand, even re-watching it still had a redefine writing of the universe than any other.  If you’re wondering I don’t like the Transformers movies either. But besides not being a big G1/2 fan, I think these Cyberton games are great and they portray it very well. I honestly can’t wait until they land on Earth! I also love how this game has been recently portraying characters that have appeared in recent series, like Cliffjumper. I remember him from Transformers Prime. But he was only in 2 episodes, one was about his death and the other was a flashback. So, I’m glad they used the opportunity to flesh his character more in here. I have also played the first game and fell in love with gameplay and story. So I was very excited to jump on board of this game and expect a few comparisons from this review.

          The game starts with the Autobots in the Ark spacecraft escaping Cyberton. But they are attacked by the Decepticons which prevents them from escaping. So at the very beginning you play as Bumblebee to go look for Optimus. Once Optimus is found a cut scene is shown with Optimus fighting Megatron and Bumblebee jumps right in the middle leaving him severely injured. Then the game sets you on flashback to six days before this scene.  Now you get to play through a series of characters as both the Deceptions and Autobots find way to prepare their ships and evacuate Cyberton. But first they must find Grimlock and the rest of the Dinobots to activate the space bridge. You also play as the Decepticons with Megatron reawakening to take over the regime of Starscream. So, as Megatron is reclaiming his throne, you play as the other Decepticons as well. Then in the final battle you will get to switch sides between the two as they fight each other from attempting to flee.

        I think the story of this game was great! It was very compelling to see the many different personalities of the characters.  They had great dialogue with good humor and action. You will really enjoy the discussions between the characters’ relationships.  The fighting scenes were really good to see too. It felt like I was watching a movie.  The only problem I had was with Bumblebee because he didn’t have his voice actor due to him being mute in this one. Yes, it really pissed me off they went with the literature of that god awful Transformers movie.  That’s one of the reasons I hate those films because it takes out the great exciting risk and cool factor personality he has. So, I guess you can blame Michael Bay for influencing this story a bit. It really did feel he was lacking in personality here too. You lose his cool and cockiness attitude but still have his risk factor due to him jumping in the middle of Optimus and Megatron. Also, I will rant about it later about not him having an ability. But besides that the story is still good. I really feel it’s better than the first one. The biggest disappointment for the story mode was no co-op. I really didn’t understand why it was taken out in this one. All of characters except for a few exceptions like Bumblebee, Megatron and Optimus had a tag along character. Those characters could have been easily made to be a second player. It was really fun to play co-op in the first one, so there was no need to get rid of it. Plus, it could have opened the possibility for more characters.

       The controls are pretty much the same as Transformers: War for Cyberton. It still has RT to shoot, LT to aim, LB to sprint/dash, left analog to move/change form, camera/melee (RA), reload (X), jump (A) and Weapon change (Y). The only two features are the special ability and the hand switch to shoot. I honestly think these two features are great because it gives a different experience each time you play with a different character.  The switching hands give a better view for the gamer if you’re left and right handed.  The upgrading weapons feature is okay. But it doesn’t really add much because you can beat the game without the upgrades. So, there’s no force or unique effect on it.

      I think the characters in this game are great to play with.  My favorite two characters were Jazz and Grimlock. Jazz has a hooking ability that really made it fun swing wall to wall like Spiderman. But man Grimlock was amazing because he was so big and overpowered to the point you want to smash everything.  It was great using his sword to slash everything and when you turn into the T-Rex and get burn everyone down with flames from his mouth. Grimlock was just really exciting to play with. The most challenging character to play with was Cliffjumper because it was a cloak/stealth base mission. I’m not really good at those but he was still really to play with as well. Bruticus was very strong to play with but he was very stiff to control than Grimlock and he couldn’t really transform. I wish there was an extensive play on Shockwave because he was awesome to play with. It just seems really cool to send Rumble, Ravager and Laserbeak to help you out. It was so disappointing that he never has his own mission and you only get to play with him for like 10 minutes. The weakest characters in the game to me were Optimus, Megatron and Vortex because their abilities did add much effect in terms of gameplay. Optimus has a homing ability and Vortex had a shockwave to attack enemies that pretty much it. Bumblebee in other hand was the worst character to play with because he no ability. All you were able to do was shoot and drive and since he had no voice actor or personality. It didn’t make me have much fun to play with at all. I honestly hope Bumblebee will be more fun to play with next time because he’s my favorite character in Transformers of all time.

       The multiplayer is really fun and sort of smooth. You can really make a challenge because there isn’t that much players online that will tear you down. The downside for multiplayer is that you are forced to create your own character. You can’t play with any characters that are in the game already.  It really isn’t good for someone who just wants to jump in and play. I also don’t understand the difference between Conquest and Capture the Flag because they are mostly the same but with a score limit. They should have added a different type of gameplay. Escalation is sort of fun but it kind of gets boring after a while because you’re just killing a bunch of A.I.’s with online players. There isn’t a set goal in mind that you have to do.  So, it really doesn’t replace the co-op factor that was in the previous game. The downside of Escalation is pretty much the opposite of my last complaint in multiplayer is not being able to play with customizable characters. I honestly think they should have a combination of both to play with and it would have definitely replaced conquest mode.

      The customization in creating the characters is the best I ever seen in a video game. It is so fluent to the point where you can make any character in the Transformers universe.  You can customize everything from head to toe from the characters voice to their vehicles too. It’s also great that you can use any special ability to any character.

      The weapons in this game are pretty good. But they are not great in terms of upgrading because it’s not useful. My favorite weapons are the scatter weapon and the path blaster because they take a lot of damage and are very easy to shoot and aim with. The most disappointing weapon is the corruptor because it doesn’t have that much effect on the enemies. The grenades are really good too. The only one I found really useful is the black hole grenade. It really helps taking out multiple enemies onscreen.

       Overall, this game deserves an 8.5.  I think this was a really good game. I did enjoy the story and every single character in the game. The story was very compelling and emotional. I really can’t wait until they arrive on Earth because it will have a very different field of gameplay. I felt the gamplay was very fun and challenging with no frustration whatsoever. It was just fun the whole entire time. So, I will definitely play the next one. So definitely buy the game and I hope you will enjoy it gratefully.