Disclaimer: I typically review games. I have reviewed one or two movies, but I don't do it often, so bear with me. And since this is actually a series of short films, I won't be assigning it one large score. I will score each short separately. And Finally, while most of you watched the DVD version of the film...I watched the Blu-Ray. I have no idea how big of a quality jump exists between the two, and as such, I won't be mentioning it. Enjoy! Oh yeah...and spoilers are imminent...so use caution if your avoiding them...

Batman Gotham Knight (Anime)

Something of a mixed bag...but mixed to mostly good results...

Best Feature: High production values, generally awesome art. Kevin Conroy. ITS BATMAN DUDE!

Worst Feature: One short falls victim upon a rather generic idea. None of them really seem to connect to the movies aide from a few mentions. (Like I was led to believe), one short in particular is pretty meh...

Now understand one thing, I LOVE ME SOME BATMAN! I love comic book Batman, I really love The Animated Series Batman...I even like Adam West. So when I heard about this Anime/Bat collaboration, I flipped my cowl. Some months later, it's finally in my hands...but is it any good? Well there isn't a finite answer to that. You have to rate each respective short, so here we go!



Have I Got A Story For You

Now, the very first thing anybody is going to notice about this opening short, is the heavily stylized visual **** This one is is easily the most heavily stylized of the whole lot of em, but this kind of graffiti based animation isn't really anything new. But it gets points for trying.

"Have I Got A Story For You" tells the stories of several kids and their various experiences seeing the still mysterious "Batman," only it's from their own exaggerated point of view. This story tries to go for the childlike innocence vibe, and does it reasonably well, but again...it's hardly anything new. (It actually kinda feels like something I might think of)

That's not to say that it's not entertaining, as I rather like the first story presented by the first child. Where Batman isn't even a being at all...just a living shadow, shape shifting into the floor like T-1000.

Another features him as an actual man/bat creature...flying around, savagely ripping his opponent to shreds. While this one was chock full of good action...the very concept bothers me. As some of you may know, Man-Bat is one of Batman's villains...and is a creature of that very description. Kind of a minor quibble, but it did bother me nonetheless. That and the sorta hokey ending (Which I won't spoil) to this one kinda burned me a bit. A good effort, but not great.



Crossfire

I love how solid the art is in this one. It's not trying so hard for ****points like the last one, it's simply being solidly drawn. The art is dark and seriously toned like a Batman should be.

Anyway, it opens up by introducing two cops (both good...but one frustrated) as they discuss what their thoughts on Batman. When Lt. Gordon sends them on an errand to deliver a prisoner to Arkham Asylum in "The Narrows" however...things take big turn south, as they get caught in the middle of a gang war.

Pinned down with backup nowhere in sight, who comes to their rescue but The Dark Knight. And this is where things really pick up, the action isn't particularly stylish, it's actually very direct and to the point which works well. But more then that, the imagery used with Batman walking through the growing inferno was nothing short of awesome.

The story in Crossfire takes some pretty predictable turns all the way to the end, but it wasn't any less enjoyable as eye candy alone.



Field Test

Wowzers! And I don't mean that in a good way. Field Test is easily the low point of this set. The art isn't anything special, seems like basic TV Anime fare. That's not to say it's bad, it's well drawn for what it is, just not particularly engaging or unique.

What really bothers me though, is the plot itself. It begins when Luscious Fox invents a small electromagnetic device powerful enough to deflect gunfire. Obviously thinking it useful, Batman takes it along with him on his next night out, where he out to bust up a gang hit taking place at sea. But before he does that, they are going to stop off for some unnecessary extra conversations with people who don't have much to do with the overall theme of the story.

This is where I fell off the boat, throwing out stuff I don't necessarily need to see, is an easy way to make me bored. But when it finally gets back on track and Batman gets into a fight with some gangsters during the previously mentioned gang hit, his bullet deflection device works too well. That's all I'll say.

I can see exactly what Field Test was shooting for, (pardon the pun) but it's simply shooting for the cost in collateral damage to others to being a super hero angle, which has been done in other much better ways. (Spider Man losing Gwen Stacy I think is the most iconic example of this ever) It's not horrible, but it isn't really good either....



In Darkness Dwells

This one caught me off guard. How? I had no idea where it was going all the way until the end. It was a very nice way to keep me interested, as it's again passably drawn, it's nothing really special.

The mayhem starts when a church cardinal is abducted during a riot at a cathedral. Batman sets off to look for him while staying in contact with Gordon over an earpiece. Things get violent when Batman catches up to the kidnapper and he is revealed to be Killer Croc, a Batman regular who I thought was a rather neat inclusion.

After dealing with Croc, we are introduced to some psychotic inmates of the narrows and The Scarecrow, who are left over from the riot of the first film living underground. I thought The Scarecrow was portrayed rather well...visually and in personality. Some good action round this one out, but it isn't anything crazy awesome. Just another good one.



Working Through Pain

Here is where I might get into some trouble with a few of you. Be forewarned, this one has the absolute least amount of action out of any of them. Working Through Pain is almost entirely engrossed in its own theme. But it's an angle I almost never see perceived alongside Batman, and it executes it rather well to boot. So I have a feeling most people will be bored by this one, but while I usually multitask while watching movies, this one stopped me and focused me solely on it, and I loved it.

The overarching theme this one throws at you pretty blatantly, is Batman simply finding the will to keep up his crusade through his physical and emotional scars...as they pile up higher, and he buries them deeper and deeper and keeps pressing on.

Through a series of flashback sequences, your sent to an (what I assume) was a village in India where Bruce Wayne trains with an exiled guru, who teaches him to deal with his pain. (Who is a very interesting character in herself) She takes a stick to the face...and doesn't flinch as blood pours out of her forehead. His tenure with her also ends in a very interesting way, when she comes to her own realization.

This short also had a few moments that made me cringe a bit and say things like "Oh Snap!" Not the least of which being Bruce removing a bullet from his own body with his fingers...or even more cringe inducing, Bruce assisting on a surgery...on a fully conscious patient. (Who is screaming his lungs off, watching himself cut wide open)

The art again, isn't anything really scream worthy, but it works. (Though I think Bruce looks to Asian) More about story then action, I really enjoyed Working Through Pain. It had me hooked to my TV for the 15 or so it lasted.

Deadshot



As much as I enjoyed that last one, I'd would have to say that Deadshot is my most favorite of all of the shorts. And for the most simple reason. It is almost like a lost episode of Batman: The Animated Series. A simple plot with a pretty cool villain at its helm, great visuals and lots of good action to boot, equals a fantastic show.

Deadshot, to put it quite simply is an assassin, who's trademark is his insane accuracy. (He's DC's equivalent of Marvel Comic's Bullseye) Deadshot is hired to eliminate Gordon by some gangsters who see him as a threat. Upon hearing this Gordon is on 24 hour watch, not only by cops, but Batman as well.

A pretty awesome narrow save for Batman culminates in a very rockin train fight with Deadshot, where Batman narrowly avoids death at his hands. The whole thing is awesome from beginning to end, with Deadshot being a very cool villain to see up against Batman. (I almost feel like he'd fit right in were he plopped into Trigun) It really does feel like a lost Animated Series episode with high end production values. (Not just because of the Kevin Conroy voice over either) That rings as a major plus for someone like me, who is a huge fan of The Animated Series. I loved this one.

All together:

Overall, it's not a completely tight package, but it's mostly good, as I enjoyed myself for the large majority of it. For a Batman fan, I'd say yeah definitely get this. If your a casual fan...maybe not, just watch the last two if someone you know owns it. But I would say buy the DVD, even if you have a Blu Ray player. It's cheaper, and while the Blu Ray has a few extra features, they aren't the extra $10-$15 worth of features your gonna pay for. Overall a pretty good pickup that I'm sure I'll watch again...unlike other movies that rot on my shelf. (*Cough* The very pretty, but plot handicapped Final Fantasy VII Advent Children...*cough*)

Metal Gear Online: Beta Version (Playstation 3)

*Note: This is a review of a beta product. A product that hasn't been completed. This score may change in the future.

Welcome to Outer Heaven soldier! We're gonna teach you the world's most valuble battle tactic, "THE SPAWN CAMP!"

Best Feature:Beautiful visuals, airtight control and some cool maps. Sneaking mode.

Worst Feature:Lends itself really, really well to cheap tactics, especially "Spawn Camping." Konami's beta servers lag like crazy. It has an autoaim.

Now, I remember the original "Metal Gear Online" on "Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence" for PS2. I played it a few times, and then put it down, never to return. "Why was that?" some of its fans that I've met ask me. And its really quite simple, it had some very annoying quirks that even with as big of a "Metal Gear" fan I was, I couldn't work past. Has the series' next foray into the online community fixed them? Well the short answer would be...no.

In my eyes, the original MGO was pretty much destroyed by the auto aim feature. This feature, as you could imagine, immediately affixes your aim on the nearest target. This dissolved the games into a shallow mess of characters running around with the most powerful machine gun they could find, auto aiming the crap out of each other. This was worthy of a resounding "meh." Your other option was the first person aim, while allowing you to aim for precise disabling shots...or instant killshots, you couldn't move while aiming, making you an easy target.

While this feature is back in the new version of MGO, it is offset by only aiming for body shots, which make you have to plug away like crazy for an auto aimed kill. While this helps, it doesn't stop the users from grabbing their M4 and auto aiming like crazy.

At least they have given you an alternitive in the new game. In addition to stationary "sitting duck" first person aiming, you get a handy "Resident Evil 4" ****shoulder cam in which you can aim more precisely and while you can't run, you can strafe, dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge. This is a nice addition that I found to be a godsend. (As I find auto aiming dishonorable and NEVER use it)

Another bothersome feature that MGO comes with, is the Stun Knife. This is an electric knife that upon contact...instantly knocks you out, so all your enemy must do is execute you. It was not uncommon to see people running around with their knives out simply skimming the area near you...and knocking you out. Very annoying.

BUT, if you can believe it, that isn't the largest burden you must wrestle with in MGO. Have you ever heard of the term "spawn camp"? For those who haven't, Wikipedia defines it as:

"Spawn camping is the practice of camping near a spawn location with the intention of killing any player who spawns there. This occurs mainly in first-person shooter games, but can also occur in other games where spawning can occur, such as paintball or airsoft. It is a common tactic and controversial issue in online gaming communities, where many consider it to be a form of cheating, or, at best, an unfair tactic and bad form."

If you enjoy participating in this dubious practice, you'll love MGO. Even in standard deathmatch games, the spawn points are usually set to certain areas. This means "spawn camping" is easy as hell to do. (In one team game, one of my opponents literally was waiting at our spawn point, immidately headshotting us as we popped up...for 4 straight mintues. LAME) You can do this to you hearts content in MGO, and make the game immediately horrible for anyone but yourself.

Now, if you've read up to this point, you may be asking yourself. "Is there anything at all to like about this game?" Sure there is, you just have to find it. There is the occasion where you get into a team game with a bunch of really fun, fair players and it can be especially tactical and fun.

I was in one "Base" game, (Your team must go around the map and capture bases) where another player and I were in the middle of capturing a base, when the other team stormed us. We were surrounded by 5 opposing players. And we got back to back, him with an AK, and me with my SVD sniper rifle. (The only gun I ever use) And in our back to back formation, we won the day...eliminating all 5...by ourselves. We captured the base, and moved on through an alley...staying back to back. Moments like that can be insanely cool.

Perhaps the best and most unique part of MGO, is the Sneaking mission games. This puts one player in the shoes of Solid Snake, and the rest of the players are set up as guards. Their mission? Kill Snake obviously. His? Knock out, Hold Up or Kill the enemy guards and retrieve their dog tags.

You must be saying to yourself, "a potential 14 vs 1 game how is that fair?" Simple, that octocamo that Snake has in the MGS4 trailers, the one that mimics his surroundings in look? He gets it, making him pretty much invisible. Only the truly keen eyed will find him upon a first glance. A unique game type like this creates some memorable events during play. The most fun I had, was when I slowly stalked an alley as a guard, my gun aimed, looking for any sign of Snake. I walk to the other end of the alley, when behind me on my left I see the sand colored wall ripple...before I could turn around, he had me in a choke hold. I WALKED RIGHT BY HIM! Things like that, are completely awesome, even when they happen to you.

At its highest high's, MGO shows potential to be something truly great. Unfortunately some primitive problems, (That have been solved by other games already) stifle it in some very key areas. Lucky for us all, this is only a beta run. They do have time to fix it. If they don't repair it all, at least fix the spawn camping problem for me eh? It can still be fun how it is, just not fun enough to encourage me to purchase the full game that will come out after the starter pack we're getting with "Guns Of The Patriots."

Iron Man (Movie)

Funny HaHa, but in the best way possible...

Best Feature:Well acted as far as super hero flicks go. Most of the myriad of jokes inserted...are actually funny.

Worst Feature: The End Wraps up sorta fast...

*Note: Possible Spoilers Ahead, read at your own risk

Now I'm not usually one to go to the theater regularly. I don't like it, to many people around being obnoxious while I'm trying to watch the movie. It usually takes a movie I seriously want to see to drag me out. (Or someone else paying for it...) But we were able to get into Iron Man free thanks to a friend of one of my friends...whom I've never met.

As big of a comic book nerd as I am, I've never really been a huge "Iron Man" fan. I don't dislike him at all, I just never payed attention. I love "The Avengers" team as a whole, but never payed attention to ol' Tony Stark by himself. So as such, I was the only person who didn't crap his pants when the "Iron Man" trailer first made its way around the net. Also, after seeing the jokey tone of the trailers, I went in with pretty low but not quite Fantastic Fourish expectations.

I gotta say, I am happy that this move went well beyond them. While its certainly not the best comic movie I've ever seen, (3-way tie: Spider Man 2, Batman Begins and Batman) it's certainly good.

Firstly, "Iron Man" features some better acting then a large portion of hero movies out there. (FF I am SO looking at you...) Robert Downey Jr plays a fantastic Tony Stark, doing good at his lows, (Tony's ethical conflicts with the weapons he creates) and doing great at his highs. (Stark's outragous billionare, cocky personality, where Downey Jr really shines) Gwyneth Paltrow (Who I never like in anything) is very good as Virginia "Pepper" Potts, Stark's do-everything assistant and emotional support. A fine support cast rounds out the rest of the movie.

But now to what people want from a movie like this. Action! "Iron Man" does indeed deliver action, though not as much as one might think. What is there however, is explosive and fun. And its all flows together real well thanks to some simple but effective angles of the action. Too often nowadays action movies have the camera move too fast during the heavy scenes, and it just appears as if the camera man had a seizure while filming. It's nice to see that "Iron Man" takes a conservative approach and lets you sit back and enjoy the digital eye candy. (I heartily enjoyed it every time an armor clad Stark punched a normal human into oblivion)

Now, eariler I mentioned the jokey tone of the trailers for this film. Well, they were all very spot on, cause this movie is littered with sarcastic quips and the occasionally silly moment. But the trailers really don't do these justice as the the vast majority of these jokes are actually funny and are very well threaded sarcastic one liners by Stark into the dialouge. None of them are gut bustingly hilarious mind you, but they range from chuckleworthy (Stan Lee's way more obvious then usual appearance) to full laugh inducing (Stark's initial test run of the repulsor rockets in his boots...leads to an upside down faceplant on the ceiling...only to be sprayed by a fire extinguisher by one of his robot assitants) The fact the most of the jokes work very well rather then taking you away from what could have been a good film is refreshing. (Ahem...FF...)

The only real beef I have with this film is while the ending is satisfactory, it wraps up faster then I would have liked. Especially since the way to the ending is a well put together blast of explosive fun that is smart enough to prepare you for it. The ending was fine and doesn't take anything away from it, but I would have like a bigger blast of a battle.

Now, I probably won't start reading Iron Man comic books anytime soon, I probably won't even buy this movie on DVD right away when it comes out. But I will eventually when I happen to see it in my travels, its good enough to deserve that.

Still indifferent to Iron Man, (But coming around)

AlucardsFate...