Alphas Starts Tomorrow

I’m really excited to see the new series Alphas premiering on SyFy tomorrow night at 10:00 (EST). It looks like it’s going to be a “more action, less talking” version of Heroes following a team rather than individuals. I’ll be watching for sure on Monday night and you can look for a review on my normal Tuesday post.

My Movie Transformer

I’ve decided to unofficially make it “Transformers Week” seeing as I posted the movie review and my fan art creation yesterday. Well, while I was looking for Soundburn yesterday I also came across another Transformer I had drawn quite a while ago. This one was for a character creation contest one of the fan sites was having for Revenge of the Fallen (I think you could win tickets and a bunch of movie toys) to invent an original Autobot or Decepticon for the movie.

This is Terror-Trax, a Decepticon tracker with an array of sensors and visions that allow her to scan for her target’s trail. Perched on her arm is Sky-Spy, her “pet” falcon, who searches from above and relays the images directly into her head. She’s a head hunter and collects trophies from her victims (bolts or gears that she keeps as a “charm bracelet”). Her vehicle mode is a black ATV (with Sky-Spy transforming from the seat portion).

I went with a female character because there are so few of them in the Transformer’s universe and only one Decepticon I can think of – Black Arachnia. I thought it might be nice to have her so obsessed with hunting down the Autobots because she wants Megatron to notice her for “romantic” reasons. I even purposely put the Decepticon logo on her crotch-plate as if she’s got Megatron’s name tattooed in her naughty place. (Wait, do Transformers have naughty places?)

Well, that’s my movie Transformer. Sadly she didn’t win or place in the top 5, but I thought she was a great character anyway. Let me know what you think and feel free to share you own fan creations as well!

My Transformer

I know I just posted the review for Transformers: Dark of the Moon a few hour ago, but I’ve decided to do another Transformers-related post. If you haven’t noticed the new link in the sidebar then check out my friend Team Decepticon and the other guys over at 5AwesomeTransformerGuys. Their most recent discussion is about what kind of Transformer you would be. While I don’t personally want to be a Transformer myself, I have thought up an original character and storyline for my partner…

Meet Soundburn and Reverb. Soundburn was once a Decepticon communications officer trained by and working alongside Soundwave. Tired of being under Megatron’s heel, he quit the Decepticons (hence the scratched out logo on his belt) and fled Cyberton. After drifting through space in “sleep mode,” he arrived on Earth shortly after the Autobots and Decpticons awoke and began their war anew.

Disgusted that he could not escape the war, even on Earth, he went into hiding – refusing to choose a side. He is captured by Old Snake (from my favorite episode Being Human) to be disassembled for his Cybertron technology. He is freed by a young scientist and the two disappear together in the underground working against Old Snake, the Decpeticons, and at times even the Autobots. Using him as a template, the scientist crafts sonic-based Cybertronian weapons (the Sonic Revolver and Shattersword pictured) and takes the name Reverb.

Soundburn’s vehicle-mode is a midnight blue Dodge Viper SRT with a sick sound system which has been upgraded by Reverb to produce a sonic shield, sonic shatter-blasts, transmission jamming, echolocation, and sound-bending stealth mode. Reverb has been trained under him to shoot with marksman-like aim from a distance, but in tight spaces the Shattersword (made from a Marvel-ous vibrating metal) can cut through anything.

So, what do you think? I’d love some constructive feedback and I’d also like to know what you – my fabulous followers – would be if you were/had a Transformer.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review

Yes, I know that it has been out for a week now, but due to my hectic holiday work schedule today was my first free time to see it. This was one of the three big movies I wanted to make sure I saw in theaters this summer (the other two being Green Lantern and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2) so I made sure to hustle out to the first showing on my day off. My brother and a lot of my friends are  BIG Transformer fans and I (by proxy) am as well, I suppose – though I prefer the original 80’s series and toys over anything else.

[SPOILERS START HERE]

After the horrendous second film, I had high expectations for Dark of the Moon to renew my faith in the movie franchise. I’ve been in a media blackout for about a month now and haven’t been reading or watching reviews so that everything would be a surprise. And boy was I surprised! Sentinel Prime a traitor working with Megatron!?! Ironhide bites it!?! One-armed Optimus!?! No Megan Fox!?!

OK, so that last one I knew about for quite a while. And thank goodness she is finally gone. I am much happier with Carly Spencer as Spike’s new girlfriend – she’s 10 times sexier (extra points for a British accent) and can actually act, plus I like the nod to old series. I’m thrilled they kept his parents as well – his mother is a riot and steals the scene every time she’s on screen – though I am glad they are only bit parts this time around.

Sadly they kept some of the more annoying characters – Agent Simmons is back (again) and thankfully upstaged by his over-the-top personal aide, Dutch (played by Alan Tudyk of Firefly fame) and National Intelligence Agent Mearing (Frances McDormand) – both a nice addition to the Universe. They also kept Wheelie, the annoying remote-controlled truck from the second film, and gave him an equally annoying partner named Brains, who turns into a laptop. There are only 10 Autobots left on Earth and these are two of them? Really?

On the flip side, Shockwave was as amazingly bad-ass here as in the comics and cartoons, though a bit underplayed. And I was glad they increased Sideswipes part as well – I love the scene where he’s “skating” backwards shooting at the Decepticons chasing Sentinel Prime. Sadly, minutes later it’s revealed Sentinel Prime is working with Megatron and kills Ironhide (and nearly Bumblebee) before stealing the pillars and escaping.

Things go crazy after that: a gateway to the moon is opened to bring a slumbering army of Decepticons to Earth, the Autobots are banished from the planet and thought dead, Carly’s boss is revealed to be working for Megatron, and pillars are being launched all over the globe to create a portal that will bring Cybertron to Earth! Of course the Autobots faked their death, save the day with the help of NEST, and Optimus looses and arm battling Sentinel Prime and Megatron.

And then it ends. Just like that. For this being the supposedly final film I was hoping for some resolution: like the Autobots all return to Cyberton but leave the bridge open to maintain relations with Earth. Or something. Anything. It just seemed to end with no farewell or “thanks for watching and making Micheal Bay even richer despite the last film.” So I wonder if it truly is the end…

[SPOILERS END HERE]

It was a great time, I almost wish I had seen it in 3D (but my eyes are thanking me) for the action scenes, the 2 1/2 hours flew by – there was just so much going on that I didn’t notice how long it was. If this truly is the final film then it definitely went out with an action packed bang.

MY SCORE: (B-) It was a great, action-packed ride with enough humor to keep it balanced. I just wish they would have sent Wheelie packing like they did Megan Fox.

Custom Heroscape Batman

I’ve been looking back at some of my older posts and decided that, since I’ve already posted Catwoman, I should post Batman as well. He’s one of my favorites, but was a very difficult character to design. With a belt full of gadgets and more skills than a swiss army knife has tools, its no small wonder why!

So I settled on his two most valuable and well know tools of the trade: the Batarang and the Grapple Gun. The Grapple Gun ability is based on Sgt. Drake’s Grapple Arm and gives Batman a great movement booster, especially when using “urban terrain” like the building ruins to gain some height advantage. The Batarang Special Attack gives Batman some much needed range and allows him to hit multiple targets in one move – something I’ve used with great success.

I also added Hide In Darkness, a move first used with Darrak Ambershard, I believe. It adds to Batman’s “creep-through-the-shadows” personality and gives him a defense bonus when standing on a shadow tile. The downside to this ability is that you have to have shadow tiles on the board to use it, and not all of the maps I play on utilize them.

Of all of the characters I’ve had, none are the consummate survivor that Batman is – another trait that follows from comic book to gameboard.

Flashback

If you’ve read my “About Me” then you’ll recall that I mention a pink Marvel coloring book with floating heads on the cover (one of my earliest geek memories). Well, I found it buried my closest and decided to post some scans of it.

And a shot of the inside. Clearly I was unfamiliar with the Frightful Four’s color scheme (I was only 8 ) – although I do like Paste-Pot Pete in the pink and purple.

Heroica: Waldurk Review

Well, despite my hectic schedule this week, I still managed to find time to run to Target and pick-up the last of the Lego: Heroica sets – Waldurk Forest. (Finally, my OCD can take a break.)

This was one of the sets that I was most looking forward to buying ( along with Fortaan Castle), but sadly it does not live up to my expectations. On the positive side, I love the enchanted forest theme and details in the “ruins,” like the broken statue, are great. And this set has some of the best microfigs: werewolves, the Dark Druid (who I originally thought was a ghost), and the Ranger. Even the mission item, the Chalice of Life – which restores 1 wound marker when you roll a Shield – is a nice addition.

Where the gameplay suffers is in the magic door gimmick. Along the pathways there are “magic pools” that allow the player to move a magical door to another location. Inventive, yes, but it only really works if you are playing against the other players. When you are working cooperatively they become little more than annoyance as your friend will have to backtrack because the door you moved now blocks their path. In the end, I used the terrain sans the doors and liked it much more.

I am also saddened by the fact that they have included yet another Barbarian in this set (making it available in each set). Sure they included him as the Melee option, but it shows poor planning on the design team’s part to make only 2 of the 6 figures Melee and have one of them (the Thief) be rare. I now have more Barbarians than I do werewolves or golems!

MY SCORE: (B-) All in all, I have mixed feeling about this set. On the plus side I’m loving the new figures and terrain, but I’m hating the gameplay.

Custom Heroscape Sinestro

I had planned for it to be a Green Lantern weekend in honor of the movie release but due to my hectic schedule I only got to release the Hal Jordan card and the movie review. But I thought I would “end” things the way I had originally envisioned; by showing off my custom Sinestro card.

I love Sinestro, even before he got more badass in recent years with his own yellow Corp. In fact, I decided to base him the old school Sinestro when his ring would recharge itself every time he defeated a Green Lantern – Ring Recharge does just that. He is a mirror of Hal Jordan’s stats and abilities with both Energy 5 and Stealth Flying; and in play testing kicked Hal’s butt in more than one practice run.

Heroica: Nathuz & Draida Review

As promised, I am continuing the review of the Lego: Heroica games as I buy them. After seeing Green Lantern (see yesterday’s post), I swung by Target to grab a few much needed items. As I mentioned in the review of Fortaan, I’ve been randomly checking the local stores for quite a while and it looks like they are finally hitting the shelves in my area. They had 3 of the 4 sets on hand so picked up Nathuz and Draida.

Draida Bay is the least expensive of the four – retailing at $14.99 – and is also the smallest. Unlike the others, this one is for only 2 players and plays at about 7 minutes. You get a boat, a waterfall, more goblins, and the Crystal of Deflection – not impressed. There’s no new character added, simply the Barbarian and Wizard, and no weapons…at all. Not one. No treasure or chests and one measly Life potion. They couldn’t even be bothered to give you the same Life Bar as in the other sets – it’s “cheap:” just two blocks with the red health pieces. Disappointing, especially if this is the first set you have access to, and there is no incentive to buy this set over the others, or at all.

So, I opened Nathuz Caverns with lowered expectations – and they were shattered! Forget about the fact that you get the Thief, or fight bats and golems. Check out the box cover for a minute and look at the sweet bat-mouth “cave.” I don’t know how I missed seeing that. You also get torches as a collectable item which let you move an extra space to what was rolled but is dropped if you take a hit. There are also obstacles in the form of rock piles that need a certain die roll to be overcome. Top all that off with the Scepter of Summoning, the quest item – which allows you to return a defeated monster to the game board to slow down your friends – and you have one great expansion set.

MY SCORES: Nathuz (A-) A great expansion to add some game play to Fortaan or perfect starter as a stand-alone set.

Draida (D) I say skip this one unless you want some extra (mediocre) tiles or are a compulsive completest like I am.

Green Lantern Review

Wow, what a way to start off my vacation – by seeing Green Lantern. If you recall, not long ago I did a review for X-Men: First Class. If you didn’t read it, then I will say it again: I will be discussing the entire film so that means that I will be giving away bits of the plot. If you didn’t see it, stop reading and skip to the end.

[SPOILERS START HERE]

Well, what can I say – if I had to choose my favorite comic company, Marvel or DC, I think DC would always come out on top. Not the same can be said for the live actions films. I’m going into this after seeing the amazing Green Lantern: First Flight, an animated film based on the GL origin story. And sadly, a much better take on it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Ryan Reynolds, and despite my initial concerns of him playing Hal Jordan, he did his typically amazing job. He added just enough humor to the character without making him a joke, which played well off the more stoic Carol Ferris, played by Blake Lively. The “superheroes always get the girl” scene had the entire audience laughing out loud (go see it and you will know what I mean).

The fellow Lantern Corps members, although mostly CGI, were well done –  but Mark Strong as Sinestro stole the show. He’s a master at playing the manipulator, but he’s had experience (check out Lord Blackburn in Sherlock Holmes or Septimus in Stardust) so it wasn’t too much of a stretch. The time on Oa was too limited and I was sad to see that only Tomar-Re and Kilowog were given face time – though I did see a few familiar faces fleetingly in the background shots.

Parallax as the villain was an odd choice to start the series,  but the explanation given by the Guardians about his origin (a wayward Guardian trying to tame Fear but ultimately falling to it) was an interesting twist on the comic version and helps you see where they plan to go in future movies.  Hector Hammond on the other hand was simply a plot device to advance the story and didn’t really contribute anything. They try to make you feel sorry for him: he’s a lonely, alien-obsessed university professor manipulated by his Senator father into being a government scientist. But he comes across as a creepy stalker obsessed with obtaining Carol’s affections, killing his father, and looking like Hal Jordan – of course, who wouldn’t want to look like Ryan Reynolds?

I was also confused by some of the characters and plot elements they introduced early on which have no bearing on the rest of the story. His father’s death, a tragic plane crash, becomes the source of his fear – yet the PTSD flashback does little more than eat up screen time that could be used somewhere else. The inclusion of his family – an angry brother who thinks he is self-destructive and his super-fan nephew – make an appearance and then disappear contributing nothing but a 5 minute lag to the story. I was hoping to see him rescue one or both of them at the end to justify their characters, but was sadly disappointed.

[SPOILERS END HERE]

The effects were great, even the CGI costume I hated at first glace grew on me and made sense in the long run. Reynolds, Lively, and Strong were terrific and were believable as their comic counterpoints come to life. They leave it open, of course, for more movies to follow – something I think will definitely happen. I just hope the sequel gives us what the first one lacked: more Sinestro!

MY SCORE: (B) See it for the visual effects and Ryan Reynolds comic timing, but rent/buy First Flight for a better take on the origin story.