Hercules

Hercules doesn't have the same following or fondness as some of the other Disney films in the 1990s.  Hercules does lack some of the more magical moments that made Disney films memorable but it's definitely not bad and there were some good moments.  In terms of story, it is predictable and there's a lack of surprises.  What happens throughout the film isn't terribly exciting.  The movie is a musical but the songs lack a catchy beat and not enough of them are sung by significant characters.  In my personal opinion, the only good song in the movie is "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)".  I think it would have been better if they didn't spent such a long time on setting up the story in the beginning because that was the least interesting part.  Also note that they had to change some aspects in adapting the Hercules myths.  Some of god's designs are distinctive and suitable.  Hades is especially memorable and his voice actor did a great job at bringing the character to life.  A solid movie but slightly lacking in imagination and cleverness.

Book Review: The Low Road

Review:  #445
Title:  The Low Road
Series:  Elf Realm - 1st book
Author:  Daniel Kirk
Read Before:  no
My Comments:  It is not a bad book but the world that it creates does not completely envelope you like a good fantasy should.  That said, it was still interesting and does enough to keep you going and eager to find out more.  One of the major flaws is that the characters aren’t interesting enough and that there isn’t enough focus on any particular character to pull the reader through.  You are initially introduced to Matt, a human character and he is presented in such a way that you would think he is the main character.  Then it would jump to a faerie character, focusing on her for so long you forget about there is the human side.  Add to that various additional characters and it feels like that it jumps from character to character, never fleshing them out enough to build the reader’s attachment.  The other thing is that the story doesn’t have too many clever events, nothing will surprise you.  You keep waiting for that one epic thing to happen but it doesn’t come.  That said, it will evoke a sense of injustice and cause you to root for the main characters.  Overall, it’s a solid decent fantasy.

Rating:  6.5/10

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Jetfire (Leader)

Review:  #192
Name:  Jetfire
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Generations
Year of Release:  2014
Size Class:  Leader (Wave 1)
Variations:  retooled into Thundercracker

JET MODE:

Jetfire transforms into a red and white jet that's reminiscent of the original toy but sleeker and better proportioned.

The rear of the jet is a bit disappointing in that you can see his legs and underneath the thrusters are quite a bit of undercarriage.

On the bright side, the cockpit opens to reveal two seats and other sculpted details like a dashboard.

There is a large Autobot symbol on the nose.  The nose itself is made from soft plastic.

Like the original toy, the wings can fold back (variable geometry wings) although I find that the front wings are too wide such that when you fold it back, aesthetically it merges with the tailfins and it looks like one big piece.

Jetfire is a Leader classed figure and from the top, he looks decent but that's only thanks to the wing span.  In terms of weight, Jetfire is as light as a feather and you can feel the cheapness of the plastic.

Underneath, you can see the robot mode tucks up.  Basically, this is a jet with a robot tacked on below, which is unacceptable for a Leader classed figure (especially one with out any electronics) and there's also a false cockpit... sigh.

The rear landing gear cannot retract while the front one does.  I see no reason other than saving costs as to why the rear landing gear cannot be made to retract.  All three wheels roll.

Jetfire has his removable add-ons including a booster pack and five guns.

All weapons are chromed red which is a plus or negative depending on your preferences.  Each piece features nice sculpted detailing.

These guns attach to underneath the jet (or the robot legs) and they have a gap for the rear landing gear to poke through.

While these guns plug underneath the wings.

And finally, this one plugs underneath the nose, it's also a spring loaded missile launcher although the trigger is in such a spot where it's too easy to fire the missile when handling it.

And... all attached, the jet mode gets a big upgrade in terms of firepower.

It does make the figure seem much more busy and the shininess of the chrome doesn't help.

Undercarriage kibble seem more of a problem now.

The gun pokes much too far in front of the nose for it to look good or natural.

The extra boosters looks amazing and gives the impression that Jetfire can go very fast with these add-on packs.

The booster pack also features molded air intakes.  I think shiny metallic paint would have been a better choice than chrome.

This is a fantastic jet mode.  The proportions are good and there is a lot of play factor here.  Jetfire displays well and the plastic used is a brilliant white with vibrant red.

TRANSFORMATION:

I found Jetfire's transformation to be uninspired and lackluster.  It works well enough and creates a nice looking bot but there just isn't anything that feels ingenious or unique.  The one thing I hate is the force it takes to flip out the torso, for some reason, the crotch is wedged into the torso well to the point where you're feeling like you're going to snap the plastic piece attached to it.  It's a very simple transformation, you won't wince or dread getting him to either modes.

ROBOT MODE:

Let's start with the cartoon accuracy (or "Skyfire") mode first.  He is show-accurate and this is a fantastic looking robot.

There is a fair amount of back kibble:  the top of the plane along with the cockpit.

The kibble sticks some way back which is one of the negatives.  The wings and tailfins are compressed against each other and is actually quite nice like that.

The head sculpt is amazing.  It looks heroic and captures the essence of the character well.  There is a blue lightpipe.

He shrinks a bit in robot mode, to the top of his head, he is approximately Ultra sized (he's one of those new shrunken down Leader classed toys).

The WORST aspect of the figure is the blatant cost cutting measures.  Sure, go for hollow parts but don't let them SHOW.  This is the outside of his forearms, this is just shameful.

The thighs are equally bad and the back of this legs are hollow too.  This makes Jetfire feel so light such that the Voyager classed figure from 2006 feels heavier by hand (even if it may not in terms of actual grams).

The chest is a false cockpit, in order to achieve cartoon accuracy I guess.  There are some good looking mechanic details underneath.

Jetfire is mainly white overall with some splashes of red and black.  I don't mind the sparse paint applications as the white plastic lets Jetfire's heroic nature shine through.

The head can look up and down and turn from side to side, so there's a good range of motion there.

If you like, you can start attaching a few of his weapons right now to arm him up.

Articulation itself is decent, Jetfire has the works apart from the more uncommon joints such as waist and wrist swivels.

Next, the Jetfire face plate.  When initial pictures came up I thought his head had a gimmick where like MP Rodimus, you can somehow swap out the toy accurate face.  The actual implementation is just a face plate, :(.

In jet mode, you can leave the face plate on.  In robot mode, in order to minimize the risk of losing the piece when you're not using it, it can attach to the top of the gun.

It doesn't look that great but hey, it's practical.

Next, let's attach all the extra pieces to turn Jetfire into his toy accurate form!

Most of the pieces just attach to where they were in plane mode except for the forearm guns.

In this mode, it eliminates the hollow feel of the robot mode (even though he is still quite light) and makes Jetfire look much more of a badass.

The face plate clips on the normal head and it's such a good fit that you don't notice that it's something that could detach.  The blue lightpiping still works but since it has to go through more layers of plastic, it's not as strong.

If you find that the backpack sticks way too far up his head (due to the connection piece), you can flip it around for a more proportioned look.  Although this means the boosters aren't aiming at the ground to give the illusion that he can fly anymore.

The other gimmick here is that the guns can all combine to form one giant one.

It's too wide to look good though.  The guns look better separately.

Thanks to the lightweightness of the extra pieces, Jetfire isn't likely to keel over backwards any time soon.

It's easy to get good poses from this figure.

A fantastic robot mode that looks great as a display figure and is a fun figure to boot.  Just that his plastic quality might be questionable.

OVERALL:

Jetfire is a solid toy.  Is he worth the full price?  I don't think so, the lack of electronics, smaller size, hollow pieces and significant reduction in weight of the size class really works against him.  The two modes look good, Jetfire is more of a display piece than a play figure though as the plastic feels quite "bendy" and easy to break.  Worthwhile if you can get him at a good price.

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For other Generations toy reviews, have a browse through this page.

Ratchet & Clank: Nexus (PS3)

The first Ratchet & Clank game in the classic platforming and shooting action since A Crack in Time (way way back in 2009).  We have had three years of more experimental Ratchet & Clank games in the form of All 4 One (co-op) and Full Frontal Assault (tower defense).  Nexus acts as an epilogue to the Future Trilogy (that started with Tools of Destruction), continuing the story from there.  However, even if you haven't played those games before, don't let it stop you as the story is really easy to get into and you don't need to know exactly what happened in the previous two games.  Nexus' story is fully self-contained and can be enjoyed on its own.  Graphics has come a long way on the PS3 and Nexus doesn't look as pretty when compared to contemporary games.  It does not have the wow factor that Tools of Destruction had.  Don't get me wrong, Nexus still looks great but the starting level looks low-res and fuzzy.  Once you get into the second level, the environment detailing goes back to being impressive.  Overall, objects aren't as sharp and the coloring can seem weird at times.  It was mentioned when the game was first announced that Nexus takes on a more haunted, otherworldly feel and you can see that in the planets you get to traverse.

You will literally travel through huge abandoned cities with spirits flying above you.  The music adds to the atmosphere with its hollow eerie sounds.  There are a few new additions to Ratchet's moves, a few of them being gravity based.  There are platforming sections in which you can now launch from one magnetized pad to another.  Another new move is creating gravity streams between two predetermined points, this adds in a puzzle element (albeit a simple and easy one).  The jetpack makes a return but instead of effectively a replacement for the heli backpack, you can fly freely in certain sections which is really fun and is a great addition.  The highlight of the game comes in Planet Kragg, the second last planet, it was fantastic in terms of the freedom and exploration that you could do.  While it can be easily be completely scoured within the hour, finding all those little pieces you've missed, defeating giant monsters (akin to the horn hunting to sell to the bounty hunter in Tools of Destruction) and generally flying wherever you like made the time fly by.  If you've played previous R&C games then you'll be at home here as the core gameplay has not changed.  You still equip crazy weapons, shooting in third person view.  You will get Ratchet constantly jumping around, dodging fire and returning the favor with pistols, bombs and other projectiles.

With that said, I did find the battle areas to be smaller and harder to strafe and jump around than before.  These areas felt more cramped which means the enemy density is higher.  There are also a few minor tweaks to the button combinations which will take a short while to get used to (notably, throwing Ratchet's wrench is not R2 + Square anymore).  Clank's minigame this time around is a 2D platformer in which you decide which way gravity will apply to.  Using the right stick, you can make gravity pull on Clank from the left, right, top or bottom.  It's simple yet fun and the levels are short and sweet, never becoming frustrating or unwanted.  Most of the weapons are ones that we have seen before in previous games, from the awesome Mr Zurkon to the Winteriser which turns enemies into snowmen.  One of the new additions is the Nightmare Box which acts as a decoy, scare enemies and also attacks them.  To be honest, this weapon is overpowered and can break the game because apart from the final boss, you can use this weapon to make every single battle a breeze.  The upgrade system from Tools of Destruction makes a comeback, in addition to bolts, you can find and collect raritanium which you use on an unlock tree for each weapon (adding extra ammo, boosting attack power or adding extra weapon abilities).

The upgrade system combined with the leveling up system of not only Ratchet's health but each individual weapon makes an addicting combination in which you continually strive to defeat more enemies and unlock the next surprise.  As Nexus is a short game, weapon levels are capped at a lower number but can still go to a maximum of 6.  I have constantly been mentioning that Nexus is a short game but just how short?  You can finish the game in roughly 5-6 hours the first time around, this is including some exploration time.  Unlike A Crack in Time which was burst to the brim with additional side planets to go to, Nexus only features five planets, one of which is a challenge arena.  Never fear though as these planets are still huge and is a joy to explore.  Each planet packs in collectible items such as Gold Bolts and RYNO VII holoplans, there isn't a ridiculous amount of collectibles which is good news, it's just enough to make them fun to get.  Nexus has an easy Platinum trophy but also a reduced trophy set, with only 23 trophies in total.  Nexus has quick pacing.  Once you finish up the "tutorial" section, it never lets up both in terms of gameplay and storytelling.  You're rapidly introduced to new abilities and the story takes off.  It was a good decision to not pad the game out to make it 8-12 hours long as the quick pacing makes it a blast to play and keeps you going forward.

The story tells of a pair of twins who want to create an interdimensional hole for some monsters to travel through.  Needless to say, that is not a good idea at all.  While the twins seem like pure evil when they are introduced, you will learn of their reasons and warm up to them.  There is a bit of criticism in terms of the ending but both in terms of story and in the final boss battle, it is predictable although definitely not something bad or horrible.  It was still a lot of fun to play through.  Even on Legend difficulty (the hardest one that you can start on), Nexus is an easy game.  You'll most likely die either because you accidentally fell off the platform or you didn't see an enemy and they blasted you.  The checkpoints are not as generous as they were in the past, you will often have to defeat the waves of enemies again if you die.  I believe some reviewers were  too harsh for Ratchet & Clank:  Nexus, sure, it was shorter than your average R&C game, the graphics doesn't seem to be as polished and the gameplay remained tried and true.  However, it was a fantastic piece of software to play through and the developers had added enough changes to still keep the gameplay refreshing and a joy to play.  I had a lot of fun with Nexus.  This is one of the best action platformers that you can currently get with plenty of charm of fun.  Plus, if you haven't bought Quest for Booty, all copies (currently) include that game for free.

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District 9

An engrossing alien movie that takes the form of a fictional documentary.  Right from the beginning, it captivates your interest by launching straight into how the aliens were found, why there is a giant spaceship over the city and the background of the aliens.  It addresses what I always find to be the flaw of alien movies, which is not getting too much into detail of the aliens themselves.  District 9 does a fantastic job of fleshing out their backstory and gives the viewers enough understanding to appreciate them.  The film stars a character named Wickus who unwittingly gets infected and starts to transform into a human.  What starts out as the aliens being the antagonist quickly turns around and throws a bad light onto the humans.  To the point that at the end of the movie, where humans are being killed, you're in two minds.  On the one hand, the humans deserved it (you empathize with the aliens) but on the other, it's mindless killing.  Wickus as a character didn't deserve what he got, he got thrown into it through no fault of his own.  The special effects are fantastic, even more so when you consider that it "only" had a $30m budget.  A great movie that sucks you in from start to finish, there was not a boring scene at all, which is impressive.