TV Review: One-Punch Man

Hello Enthusiasts,

Today I will be reviewing the anime One-Punch Man, which hit Netflix pretty recently. Now I never got huge into anime outside of some of the more popular shows from my childhood (Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z, Yu-gi-oh, etc), so this was really my first non-dubbed anime. I mention this because, if any of you are big into anime, I may seem somewhat naive on the topic and may mention things that are pretty regular across the genre, so please bear with me on that. As always, you may find some Mild Spoilers Below. 

The story follows Saitama, a regular guy who is a hero for fun. He also happens to have enormous power, with lightning fast reflexes, incredible durability, and the strength to obliterate anything with a single punch. This came from three years of an exercise routine that included "100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10k run, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!". Because of his incredible power, he gets an unwanted cyborg student, Genos, who worships Saitama's power and wants to learn how can improve his own, already impressive power.  He lives in a world that frequently sees destruction from monsters and disasters, and therefore has an official Hero Association that allows folks to sign up, take some tests, and possibly become a hero that gets paid with the donations of the people. Saitama works with these other heroes (though he really doesn't need to) to stop threats to the world, such as giant monsters from the sea. All the while, Saitama is really just looking for a foe that he can't kill with just one punch. I would love to go into more detail, but despite my spoiler warning, I really don't want to give the whole thing away. 

There are a whole lot of positives to this show for me. Most of the fights and action scenes are pretty grand, and you would think that would be difficult with a hero that can win with a single punch. The show does well of showing other heroes fight as well, showing their struggles with these monsters before Saitama comes onto the scene. The effects of his punches are also some of the best parts of the show, with ridiculous destruction and consequences from each hit. I particularly liked the visual from his final big fight in the series, which shows the clouds on each separating in a cone shape from his last blow. On top of the over-the-top action, the series is also pretty funny. Saitama is usually drawn with a pretty blank expression on his face, and his priorities can sometimes seem completely out of order to the others. He tends to think more about saving money and covering bills than he does of the monsters that he is fighting. However, even with all of this humor, there is a depression to Saitama, as he cannot find a challenge in life for his strength and power, being disappointed with each monster. Saitama is certainly not egotistical though, despite the power he holds. He is generally pretty humble, and at one point allows the public to believe that he is a fraud rather than allow them to think that all of the other heroes in the Hero Association are useless. Things like this in the show demonstrate that, while it does have fun with itself, it can be deeper than expected.

My only problem with this anime overall is the unexplained subplot going on in the Hero Association. It seems that many of the administration part of the Association have some big plans for our heroes, but they never really go into detail about what they’re interested in about them. It also doesn’t feel like it goes anywhere, even in the last episode, instead leaving an open end for the next season. While I can appreciate having a subplot like that arcing across more than one season, I think they could have shown me a bit more to keep me interested. Outside of the strange shadow people of the Hero Association though, I really don’t have any complaints for this series so far.

So yeah, this was a great season of a really fun anime, I can see how it built up the following that it has. While it does have that subplot that doesn’t feel complete, I feel like this show is still fantastic overall and is definitely worth a watch. If you have some time on your hands and you aren’t sure what you should be watching next on Netflix, This show gets a strong recommendation from me.

I give the first (and currently only) season of One-Punch Man a 9 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast 

Comic Book Review: Batman - Knightfall

Hello Enthusiasts,

There are some comic book story lines and moments that stand out in comic book history above the rest. The death of Superman, the death of Gwen Stacy, the death of Barry Allen, the birth of Venom (at least it wasn't another death), as well as some other stories or panels I'm sure you can think of. Today I will be reviewing a classic piece of DC history, Batman: Knightfall. As always, there are going to be some Spoilers Below for those who aren't aware of what happens in this story. 

So the story begins not with Batman, but with the pregnant mother of one of his most dangerous foes, Bane. She dies when Bane is young, and Bane is sentenced to serve the sentence that his father would have had to have served if he had lived. Bane serves this sentence in one of the worst prisons on Earth, . It's because of this upbringing, along with some amazing determination, that he became not only a physical powerhouse, but also an incredibly intelligent and tactical thinker. During his upbringing he learned of a city called Gotham, which held anything a man could want, and is ruled by an entity known as the Batman. Bane decides that his ultimate goal is not only to kill Batman, but to break him on every level. He escapes prison with the help of a super-drug called Venom and makes his way to Gotham City. Bane proceeds to release every super-criminal from Arkham Asylum, which works to wear down a Batman that is already suffering from some heath issues (an illness that normally wouldn't be too bad, similar to the flu). As Batman is fighting these villains, Bane figures out his identity as Bruce Wayne. After Batman spends far too much effort over the course of several weeks Bane travels to Wayne Manor and fights Batman. Batman doesn't do too well in the fight, which ends with Bane breaking Batman's spine.

Batman survives the encounter, but is out of commission for the rest of the comic. He has Azrael take over the mantle of Batman, with Robin (Tim Drake) to guide him. Azrael doesn't follow Batman's code to a T, coming very close to killing several thugs. He then goes against Batman's wishes in taking on Bane (with the assistance of an armored version of the Bat-suit), and manages to beat Bane head-on. All doesn't end well here, as Azrael is now out taking the law into his own hands in a way that Batman never would, with a powerful set of armor to assist him.

So, as you can probably tell from my very long synopsis of the comic, it was a very enjoyable one. It is very engaging and incredibly memorable, I didn't list half of the details from this volume either (it is quite a long one), so you do not have the whole story here. The art is some of the best that Batman has seen in my opinion, and the whole thing was wildly intense. Batman's determination to save Gotham from all of the former Arkham inmates leaps off the page at you, and you feel his struggle throughout the story. It's hard o pull the positives out of this story since there is so much to compliment on, it is a really must-read for any fan of Batman or comic books. The only downside for me is that I'll need to buy the volumes that follow this one to get the full story of Batman's recovery and his fight against the Azrael impostor.

So yeah, this is definitely a comic to pick up. If you haven't read it yet, get out there and read it. Even if you know what happens like I did, it is still incredibly engaging and entertaining. You won't regret picking this volume up, as it is now one of my favorites in my collection.

I give Batman: Knightfall a 10 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Board Enthusiast

TV Review: Iron Fist

Hello Enthusiasts,

Today I will be reviewing the next installment in Netflix's Marvel line-up, Iron Fist. As a head's up, as usual, there will be some potential Spoilers Below.

This show, as you can likely tell by the title, follows the Marvel hero Iron Fist (aka Daniel Rand, played by Finn Jones). Danny was the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed his parents. He was rescued by two warrior monks, who brought him back to be raised in a monastery in the Himalayan mountains. Here, Danny was trained in various forms of martial arts, and was eventually chosen to wield the powerful Iron Fist. His task was to remain at the monastery and use the Iron Fist to protect it from The Hand, but Danny decided to go back to New York instead, where he finds a more sinister plot at play...one that involves a whole lot of heroine. While he works to follow the leads that this new heroine presents, he is also trying to get back into his life and his parent's company. With very few friends and a lot of enemies, both of Danny's objectives prove to be difficult to accomplish.

This show was panned by critics, who have basically labeled the show as uninteresting. However, fan reaction is quite different. The show has a solid rating on Netflix from the fans, and has been getting some approval from the regular viewers. Iron Fist is one of those experiences that has a 17% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but an 81% from fans on the very same site. It certainly starts off slow, but that's not unheard of with these Marvel shows (see Jessica Jones). It also doesn't have a great villain, much like the issue that you would see with Luke Cage. I have also heard it said that Finn Jones' character seems out of place and off-beat. I can't stand that last argument, as Danny has been fighting in a monastery since he was a child, so it would be more strange if he entered New York as cool as Tony Stark. I also feel that critics saw that this was going to be a show focused on fighting and thought they were in for another Daredevil. I don't feel that's fair to Iron Fist, considering the show needed to spend more time explaining who Iron Fist is than Daredevil needed to (Daredevil did already have his own movie that a lot of people saw, even if it wasn't great). This show knew that it would need to bring some people in who knew nothing about the character, get them up to speed, show them some solid fights, and prepare the character for the upcoming Defenders show.

With all of that being said, what are the positives to this show? Well, the fights may not be as gritty as you'll see in Daredevil, but they certainly aren't bad either. I enjoyed watching the various fighting scenes, both with Danny Rand as well as those including his love interest in the show, Colleen Wing. They are well choreographed, and they do something that Luke Cage wasn't able to do as well, show more of our hero's vulnerabilities. The show also works well in confusing the viewer about who to trust, though not to the point where it gets annoying or anything. I have seen better twists, but the ones in this show hold up well. The supporting actors do a great job in this show, with a few coming back from previous Marvel-Netflix shows to reprise their roles. Character's like Harold Meachum and  Davos are appropriately portrayed for their roles here.

Overall, I liked this show. It isn't my favorite of the Marvel-Netflix shows, but it certainly holds its own and establishes Iron Fist as a solid character. The unfortunate truth is that this show is competing with all of the other Defender's seasons, and so there is a lot of expectation going in. Even with that though, I still suggest giving this show a watch, you may be very surprised if you were believing the critics and their terrible reviews.

I give Netflix's Iron Fist a 6 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Movie Review: Necessary Evil - Super-Villains of DC Comics

The image above belongs to its respective owner, not me

Hello Enthusiasts,

I do deviate from video games and books from time to time, hence some previous posts like 5 completed shows to watch and my review of Mike Birbiglia's "Sleepwalk With Me". So today I would like to touch on another movie, this one being a documentary that lines up with some of my more posted-about interests. Today I will be reviewing Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics. 

So, to start, this film ended up being a little different than I thought it would be when I went into it. I started watching this thinking it would be more along the lines of generally unknown facts about these villains and inspirations behind them, and to be fair, there is some of that in here. However, the main focus of this documentary is actually the psychology behind having villains, what they mean to the heroes, and some insight to why certain heroes have certain types of villains. Some of this ends up being very simple, like, "What purpose does the hero have if there isn't a villain to fight", which is a pretty basic concept. However, at some points you will get some great information or insights from some believable sources,such as those involved with the creation of these comics, movies, and TV shows. This film has speakers like Jim Lee, Geoff Johns, Scott Snyder, and others, meaning that just about all of the guests speaking are incredibly talented and creative individuals. 

So what are the positives to this film overall? Well, like I mentioned, the people speaking in the documentary is a big draw. It adds to the credibility of what is being said a bit, knowing that it's the folks writing and illustrating these comics that are providing the information. Add to that the fact that the film is being narrated by the late-great Christopher Lee, and you have yourself an amazing cast to work with a project like this. Also, as I had mentioned earlier, there are certain times in the film that dive more into the inspirations of some of the villains and facts behind them. I love bits like these, showing some additional insight into the characters you were sure you already knew inside and out. Even though the film takes on several topics within the realm of "Necessary Evil, it is also pretty concise, coming in around an hour and a half, which isn't bad at all.

The only downside I can really think of are those more basic concepts I mentioned earlier. We get a decent amount of them in this feature, and I would start to lose a bit of interest when the speakers would dwell on why villains are important and required for the story. I understand that what is being said is true and is interesting, but it just feels like it's being approached on a very base level, and for a bit too long. While this may seem a little picky, the amount of times they revert back to the more basic concepts of light needing darkness and the inevitability of the villain is noticeable. I honestly think that if some of this was cut out, even though the movie would have ended up being a good 20 minutes shorter, it would have ranked a bit higher.

This documentary has several good components to it, enough to make viewing it an enjoyable experience, but it isn't perfect. They did what they were trying to do well, really driving home a lot of ideas and information, all of which was being told by great sources. Despite my issues with some of the more basic concepts, this is a solid film to watch if you have any interest in the villains if the DC universe.

I give Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics a 8 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast 

Game Review: Deus Ex - Mankind Divided

The image above belongs to its respective owner, not me

Hello Enthusiasts,

Sequels can be a strange thing in all forms of media. I'm sure you can easily think of a few games or movies where the sequel didn't live up to the first game, and I'm sure there are other series you can think of where the opposite can be said about the later installments. Today I will be reviewing the newest installation in the Deus Ex series, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

This title takes place two years after the events of the previous title, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which has changed the world considerably. Because the previous game ended with all (but one) of the augmented people of the world becoming super-violent, they are now seen as second-class citizens. They have to go through hard checkpoints and are frequently subject to "accidents" involving the police. It's a tense, stressful environment that will have you a little on edge as you walk around. You still play as Adam Jensen, though you are now working as an agent for Interpol (also, secretly, a hacker organization call Juggernaut). Adam also starts to experience some technical difficulties, and when he is reset he discovers several hidden augmentations to unlock. As the story progresses you discover what appears to be a conspiracy to frame a pro-aug organization for terrorist attacks. So if becomes a race against the clock to find the real culprits.

So this game does improve on a lot of aspects of the previous game, especially in the area of versatility. A problem I found with the last game was that you were forced to play in the style that you chose, but it was difficult to change to another as you progressed. If you were trying for stealth, you better hope you don't get seen, because you didn't have enough points to also upgrade your offensive capabilities. This game has a wider spread and seems to offer more points, allowing a player to upgrade for multiple options. The graphics are, of course, upgraded, and the open city offers a lot to look at. It does feel like a lot of the city is open to explore (as long as you have upgraded your hacking skills), and most of the areas have something to offer. The augmentations themselves are excellent as well, with each upgrade noticeably changing the gameplay and how you will approach situations.

Despite the improvements, there are a couple of negatives. The loading can take some time, and the scenes will noticeably repeat themselves over and over. It isn't nearly as bad as XCOM 2, but it is still a good wait for loading. The conversations can be tedious as well, especially when you know it's going to eventually lead to a good action scene. There also a social augmentation that you can use points on that allow you to read the other person and speak appropriately to their personality type, but it's a strange system that isn't fully explained. I ended up looking online for assistance, which did help a lot, and it certainly isn't a bad system itself, they just kind of throw you into it though.

Overall, this game is a lot of fun and incredibly engaging. It can be difficult, but not to the point where you won't want to play. It feels a lot more polished and balanced than the previous title, and it will be hard to put down. Despite the problem of some serious load times, it is still worth the purchase.

I give Deus Ex: Mankind Divided a 9 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Game Review: XCOM 2

The image above belongs to its respective owner, not me

Hello Enthusiasts,

Today I will be reviewing a game that was released on consoles last year, XCOM 2. This game is a sequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown (or the improved version of the game, XCOM: Enemy Within). As always, please keep in mind that there may be some Spoilers Below. 

This game takes place several years after the events of the last game. As it turns out, even though the XCOM team was able to defeat the original alien invasion, the Earth was still lost, since they were just fighting the first wave of many. Now, XCOM is a resistance force that isn't publicly supported as they once were. The humans have embraced the aliens as their masters, and the aliens act as though they are here to make our lives better (and apparently the population has forgotten everything the aliens did during their initial invasion). Now it's up to the XCOM team to resist the aliens, along with settlements around the world, before it's too late.

This is a great game, a whole lot of fun, but my God is it difficult. Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing, I would be furious if this game was easy, but sweet Christmas is this game going to beat you to a pulp. It is, without a doubt, the most difficult strategy game I have ever played. It takes everything that was difficult from the previous game and kicks it into high gear. You will face giant swarms of enemies, sometimes against groups that are twice as large as yours (just in one section of the level). The AI is also a lot smarter in this game, going after your strongest members instead of the closest or most vulnerable. I used to always bring a rookie to bait the aliens with (sometimes they would survive), but now the aliens won't give them the time of day if they can see my other, stronger characters. Soldiers stay wounded longer, funds and resources are more difficult to come by, and you are really racing against a countdown to defeat the aliens. It is unforgiving. With that being said though, you have been given a few advantages on your side as well. You will start almost every level concealed, which helps you to set up an ambush. Your support character now has a drone that can heal or assist teammates who the character wouldn't be able to reach by running, and the shot-gunner now has a very effective sword they wield as well. One of my favorite additions is for the sniper, who can fire upon any aliens on the map that other characters can see (as long as it's a clear shot), giving them an incredible range. Still though, these boosts don't ever make it feel like you're in charge of the situation, it is always an up hill battle. It is a stressful game to say the least, but despite all of that I still found myself saying "just one more mission" every time I thought I should wrap it up. If you enjoy strategy games, this is one to put you to the test. For the truly insane, the game also offers an "Iron Man" mode, where you will be unable to load previous save files, saving is just for when you have to turn the game.

Outside of the changes in difficulty, there are a few other updates. The graphics are a lot better than the last game, there is a lot more variety when customizing your troops, and there are more options on how to pass time while the next mission approaches. You can use that time to collect resources, heal troops, unlock new areas, and the list goes on. While it is nice to have these options, it only makes the game more difficult, since this is the type of game where every action has a consequence. Collecting resources to buy new weapons and armor is great, but now this mission popped up and you have only one experienced soldier to carry it out since the rest of them are still wounded. Meanwhile, if you spend your time speeding up your soldier's recovery, they are likely going to end up in the same condition after the battle since you don't have any new equipment to assist them. Plus, you need to keep unlocking areas if you don't want to lose the entire game. There is also a wider variety of enemies in this game, though some of the aliens are just upgraded versions of the same enemies from the previous game. None of them are easy targets though, with even the most basic grunt being able to make a situation more challenging.

I think the only negative things for me lie more in the performance of the game rather than its design. The loading and reloading screens will take a good amount of time, with my highest wait time being almost 5 minutes. I found that I was keeping a comic book on standby to read while I waited for the load screens to pass, something that probably wasn't intended. The maps can also take a moment for the details to kick in once you move to see more of it. This doesn't end up changing the gameplay at all, it's just a cosmetic issue that can take you out of an otherwise totally immersive game for a moment. It will also take a moment sometimes for your characters to load up when you are going to customize them, but it's not more than 10 or 12 seconds at most. Outside of some delays in loading though, this game didn't have any faults as far as I could see.

Overall, this game is excellent, showing the world what a good sequel should be. It improves on everything that people had complained about in the previous game, plus some. The only thing keeping it from a perfect score is somewhat unreasonable loading times, but that shouldn't deter you from making the purchase. It can seem unfairly difficult at times, but only to the extent that you are now a small faction fighting a large ruler, so of course they can constantly bring in reinforcements. If you are looking for a game that you can breeze through in one run, stay away from this title. But if you are looking for a real challenge that will have you reloading the same mission over and over to try to not have everyone die, this is the title for you. It was certainly a great one for me. To be honest though, some of those trophies/achievements are ridiculous, take a look at them some time to laugh at the thought of even trying to get them all.

I give XCOM 2 a 9.5 out of 10

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

Retro Game Review: X-Men Legends 2 - Rise of Apocalypse

The image above belongs to its respective owner, not me

Hello Enthusiasts,

Today I will be reviewing the sequel to X-Men Legends, titled X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse. This title was released in 2005 on the same systems as the previous game. If you didn't get a chance to check out my review of the first game, you can find it here. Of course, there may be some Spoilers Below. 

This game takes place some time after the first one and opens with the X-Men and the Brotherhood rescuing Xavier from a heavily guarded facility. They also went there to rescue Polaris, but she wasn't found there. How were these two teams thrown together? Well, the answer is in the title, Apocalypse has begun his plan to take over the world, and his first target was the mutant have country of Genosha. As it turns out, Apocalypse is capturing several mutants that have "Harmonic DNA", which are needed for some machine that will give him even more power. The teams begin here and move though a few different locations to stop Apocalypse and save the mutants that have been captured by him. Other than some details, that is pretty much it for the story, it's a pretty easy synopsis.

In terms of game play, it is very similar to the previous game. You control a team of four mutants, some of which have the ability to fly, put out fires, pick up larger objects, etc. Each mutant can use one of a few different powers that drain their mutant energy. Destroying objects in the world grants items such as health packs, energy packs, armor, and currency, all of which are useful in their own way.More so than the last game, this one rewards you for sticking with the same characters throughout. In the last game, characters you weren't using would essentially be brought up to speed with a number of upgrade points equal to the average of what they should have for that part of the game. This game doesn't do that as much, meaning that you will end up using pretty much the same team the entire time.

What works for this game? Well, it does have better graphics than the last one did, both in-game and during the cutscenes.  The enemies are more detailed as well, especially in the more monster-like ones. The voice acting is as well done as the previous title, which is to say that it fits well. There are also more areas to upgrade and the active powers of each mutant can be changed, leading to more control of each individual character. I thought this was a positive change, as I was able to balance my team out a bit more, making some mutants carry more of a support role while others would go in as power houses. Most of the positives carry over from the first game as well, such as the difficulty, since this still isn't as easy a game as one might think when they first see it. Health is lost fast, and energy is depleted even faster. Enemies just keep getting stronger, and it never feels like you're so powerful that you breeze through the missions (unless you are replaying older missions). The game is more fun when playing with others, but that's not to say it's a bad game when playing solo. Still, I suggest getting a friend to play through the story with you.Finally, even though it makes it easier and I enjoy a bit of difficulty, I like the addition of Blink in the game, who can teleport you from the middle of a level back to the home base and the portal will stay open for you to use on a return. This is great in that it means you can stop to return to base and save at any given time.

This game did improve in some areas, but not all of them. An issue I have with this title is that, even though there are two teams, the game has the same amount of playable characters. I would have thought that there would have been more , but the game instead removes the ability to play as Emma Frost, Beast, Psylock, Jubilee, and Magma instead of keeping them and adding the others like Magento and Juggernaut. While the maps were more detailed, there were fewer locations than the last game as well, and the lack of diversity is noticed. The game instead has several long missions in the same areas like the Savage Lands, rather than each mission being in different locations. Speaking of a lack of diversity, because of how the upgrade system changed, you won't be unlocking new characters as you play, instead you get all of your characters up front. While the number of characters ends up being the same, this makes it feel like less, since I'm not getting anything new as I play through.

Overall, this was a good follow-up to the first game in the series. It doesn't feel like it does as much as the first game, but it does well with what it has. I would say that this can be a good game to play if you have a friend and a decent game to play if you're on your own. If you enjoyed the first game, pick this one up. If you didn't like the first one, you probably won't like this one either. And if you're new to the series, you can start with this one instead of the first one and you would be fine.

I give X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse a 7 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast