Pads & Panels

Always show up with donuts. Always. Operations Manager Laura O’Brien (left) was certainly happy to see us.

Matt’s Double Fine Adventure

By Matt Peters

This past weekend, the folks at Double Fine Productions were kind enough to give me a tour of their San Francisco studio. Hard at work on several new projects (including the Kickstarted Double Fine Adventure), the entire team still took the time to make me feel welcome. There were a couple things that I was sworn to secrecy about, but I will say this: Be excited! The following gallery depicts the tour my wife and I received at the studio. (more…)

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Title: John Carter

Format: Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Directed by: Andrew Stanton

Written by: Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews, Michael Chabon

Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Willem Dafoe

Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment

Film Rating:

Blu-ray 3D Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

The Film

John Carter may be best known in retrospect as a bad business decision. One that saw a lot of money spent and not nearly as much made. And that comes, I think, primarily from its source material.

John Carter is the kind of fiction that has attained a certain cult status – an incredibly loyal contingent of followers staunchly stand by the Edgar Rice Burroughs sci-fi adventure – but may be entirely unfamiliar to general audiences. And ultimately what happened is a group of those loyal followers pushed to get this made, and the mass audiences just weren’t there.

But that doesn’t necessarily speak to the quality of the film. Financial success doesn’t always speak to quality, of course, but in this case there does seem to be a connection. What John Carter struggles with most is finding, or creating, an identity for itself. By the end of 132 minutes, we’ve all seen a lot of fantastic things but are left caring about very little of it. (more…)

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Title: Transient

Publisher: Massive Black

Writer/Artist: Justin “CORO” Kaufman

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

To me, the greatest thing about comics is their ability to allow the reader to suspend his or her disbelief in a way that other forms of storytelling, mainly film, ever could. I think that’s the greatest asset that it has, because in a certain way, it’s still tied to the imaginative, ‘anything’s possible’ belief system that books are so very good at conveying. The mind’s eye can fill in the blanks, per se, and all we need is a little nudge from the book’s artwork.

In that sense, a book like Transient probably wouldn’t be able to work in any other form of popular visual media. Its concept most certainly wouldn’t work in a video game, what with the heroic lead character not being enough of an antihero or a hero; hell, he’s not even close enough to being what many would view as a regular guy. And with that, it probably wouldn’t work too well as a film either, for much the same but entirely different reasons. Why, you ask? Because the hero’s name is Bob, and he is a homeless man living on the streets of San Francisco. Bob has a secret. He can see multidimensional beings — some good, some evil — and because of that, he must stay living on the streets, as a ‘guardian of humanity.’ (more…)

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Title: God of War: Ghost of Sparta

Platform: PSP

ESRB: M

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Ready at Dawn, SCE Santa Monica Studio

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

God of War is a series that was never meant for the PlayStation Portable. The series’ characters, stories and environments were all epic in scope from the very start, meant for a big screen, preferably in high-definition, on which Kratos can scale the sides of monstrous beasts, tearing them to shreds to the tune of gallons of blood. That said, despite the handicap of a smaller screen, less disc space and inferior specs, Ready at Dawn has just proven twice in a row that they can use what the PlayStation Portable has got to make a pretty darn good adaptation of God of War on the go. (more…)

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Title: 3D Dot Game Heroes

Platform: PS3

ESRB: E

Publisher: Atlus

Developer: From Software

Rating:

Review By: Eric Stuckart

It seems telling that my favorite current game on the PS3 is one that is heavily inspired by a nearly 20-year-old Super Nintendo game. It either says something about modern video games or me, but I’d like to think it’s the latter. However, I’ve made no secret my admiration for nostalgia-laden games, so it should surprise no one that I’ve fallen in love with 3D Dot Game Heroes.

Coming across like a bizarro world mash-up of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and any of the countless Lego games, 3D Dot Game Heroes is steeped in old-school elements and references to games from the past. Featuring a nameless hero tasked with the mission of retrieving six mystical orbs from six different temples in order to fight an evil priest trying to glean power from an evil orb. (more…)

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Title: “Drake’s Fortune Multiplayer Pack” DLC for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Platform: PS3

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Naughty Dog

Review by: Bill Jones

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is an absolutely fantastic game. It’s so good we gave it the #1 spot on our list of Best Games of 2009. So it’s hard not to want more. And given, it impressed more on the side of its fantastic story integration in the single-player campaign, but its multiplayer mode happens to be a lot of fun as well, so as fans we’ll definitely settle for more on the multiplayer side of the game. “Drake’s Fortune Multiplayer Pack” as its name implies brings gamers back to the first title with two new maps inspired by the first game – The Flooded Ruins and The Facility. The former features the focal point of the Customs House, and it’s smart to keep a vertical eye on enemies. The latter is almost symmetrical, working around a U-Boat in The Bunker. It’s fantastic for elimination games. The $5.99 total package also includes six skins based on characters or variations from the first titles, as well as 12 new Trophies. (more…)

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Title: Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Platform: PS3

ESRB Rating: E10+

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Insomniac Games

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Insomniac Games may have found a piece of success in the crowed shooter market after introducing the Resistance series on the PlayStation 3, but that hasn’t stopped the developer from returning to its classic, cartoony action-adventure series that originated on the PlayStation 2, Ratchet & Clank. The latest installment for the PlayStation 3, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, marks the ninth installment in the series across three platforms. It also marks Insomniac Games finest achievement to date, an amalgamation of everything the company has worked to create since the series was first introduced in 2002 – a masterpiece of its kind. (more…)

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Title: Tales of Monkey Island – Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood

Platform: PC (Also Wii)

ESRB Rating: E10+

Publisher: Telltale Games

Developer: Telltale Games

Rating:

Review by: Kevin Haverty

After escaping from the belly of a manatee then being a wingman for the same manatee, Guybrush is back at Flotsam Island for the fourth chapter of Telltale Games’ Tales of Monkey Island. He is welcomed with a summons to pirate court for his various crimes during the series. Each crime bears the death penalty, so Guybrush must channel his inner Phoenix Wright to save his neck.

Telltale brings back the slick talking Smilin’ Stan S. Stanman to face Guybrush in the courtroom as well as sell souvenirs outside the courtroom. It is great to see Stan back with his flailing limbs and trademark suit, where the texture stays stationary. (more…)

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Title: Tales of Monkey Island – Chapter 3: Lair of Leviathan

Platform: PC (Also Wii)

ESRB Rating: E10+

Publisher: Telltale Games

Developer: Telltale Games

Rating:

Review by: Kevin Haverty

In the third chapter of Tales of Monkey Island, our hero finds himself in inside a giant manatee during his search for La Sponge Grande. Guybrush needs to infiltrate the democratic pirates stranded in the belly of the beast and reconstruct the inner ear of the manatee so he can escape. Telltale Games proves its dedication to the Monkey Island franchise by bringing back another classic character and using him perfectly, with respect to the series. (more…)

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Title: Tales of Monkey Island – Chapter 2: The Siege of Spinner Cay

Platform: PC (Also Wii)

ESRB Rating: E10+

Publisher: Telltale Games

Developer: Telltale Games

Rating:

Review by: Kevin Haverty

Chapter 2 of Tales of Monkey Island kicks off by introducing the new adversary Morgan LeFlay, Mighty Pirate HunterTM. LeFlay makes a name for herself by cutting off Guybrush’s infected hand in order to cash in on the bounty. Guybrush, sans hand, then heads to the Spinner Cay, part of the Jerkbait Islands, to find his fiancée and get his mast repaired. While there the game keeps a good balance of a self-contained storyline for the chapter while keeping the overall arc of the series moving along.

As is usually the case with Telltale Games’ releases, the basic mechanics haven’t changed from chapter to chapter. Gamers control Guybrush as he talks to everyone who will listen, pilfer anything that isn’t nailed down and solve any puzzles along the way. (more…)

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