Total Eclipso of Story!

So I finally got a copy of Eclipso, Hero and Villain in ONE MAN! It's an old DC comic from the 1960's about a man who when exposed to an eclipse (or any time light gets blocked by anything) he becomes Eclipso, the embodiment of evil! This character has become the butt of many of Tim and my jokes. Upon researching him I learned that later on in his comic book career he gained the power to transform other super powered people into eclipsed versions of themselves...which means villains. In his early life though, he becomes a villain and fights Bruce Gordon, his human alter ego. But come on, Bruce Gordon? Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon...seriously DC, new names!

Alright, so just from the premise, this is a ridiculous comic book. I mean really...how often do you have an eclipse so that he can even become Eclipso? And burst of light transforms him back...so trap yourself in a box and have someone shine a flashlight on you at the point you turn. Problem solved...but this world has more eclipses and random things that are "like an eclipse" that Bruce turns into Eclipso ever issue. And here's the kicker, you feel like you're missing information. Eclipso appears because of an unplanned eclipse, but luckily the last time he was here he hid his costume near by...cause he knew where Bruce would be week before? How? Can he see the future?

Now let's sum up the story of just one issue for you, and maybe you'll see why this is a joke of a comic! First few pages Bruce and his girlfriend are taking a vacation, and somehow she now knows that he is also Eclipso and they say they'll explain that next issue. A little odd, but moving on. They learn that his girlfriends father created a plant growth serum and it is spreading around an island so they are kidnapped to fix it. Bruce goes to crop dust the plants and fix the problem but gets attached by a giant robot then is attacked by his captor and learns that he is the Nazi villain who unleashed the plant growth. Then an eclipse happens and Bruce becomes Eclipso (but don't worry, his costume was hidden in Bruce's suitcase) and is saved by the Nazi, and is shown the master plan. That plan involved growing birds into giant monsters he can control. Eclipso doesn't like this so he steals he black diamand (which everyone seems to have) and attacks him, but a flash of light turns him back into Bruce so he's captured. The Nazi apparently knew Eclipso and Bruce were one and the same. The Nazi tries to run away and leave the captured Bruce, but because his makeup was running he gets mistaken for Eclipso, gets shot dead and Bruce gets freed.....ALL OF THIS IN 13 PAGES!

And this villain has come back to battle the justice league in a new short series...Old school comics are fun aren't they?

Prototype in Disaster

So I've tried to be accepting of all video games over the years. Even the most flawed games can have there up sides. Take Brutal Legend for example. This game starts out amazing but gradually gets a bit worse as poorly planned real time strategy aspects get added. It has many random glitches and some of the controls don't feel fine tuned. In the end, it's still a great game. The humor is amazing and after all is said and done you're left craving more. Somehow this amazing video game doesn't get a sequel regardless of a large fan base and great reviews.
On the opposite end of the review spectrum is games like Dynasty Warriors. After years of rehashing the same game with only better graphics, more characters and minor changes the reviews have fallen apart. Most of the games barely break the 50% rating and many fail at that. At the same time those games have a huge fan following and can be greatly enjoyed for mindless fun. As a result they get sequels upon sequels because of the money they bring in.
I thought I'd finally figured out how the gaming world worked, but then games like Prototype start to appear. Fairly recently they announced Prototype 2, but under what basis? The game had average to poor reviews and made average money for the creators. So where is the value in creating a sequel and not spending the money on something new?
Let me just say, I enjoyed the beginning of Prototype. Running around the city and destroying everything was a blast. There's barely any slow intro, your just thrown into a chaotic world and expected to battle. Each new power excited me, but around the half way point that quickly falls apart. The games challenge level sky rockets, but the controls and gameplay don't follow. You start spending 90% of your time running away to heal or get undetected just to run back, punch and enemy once and do it all over again. Even though your powers are constantly growing, you end up using objects and military weapons to do most of your fighting. What's the point in being a big super biological weapon if you're not going to use your powers?
The only redeeming factor is when everything is over and you've beaten the game you can return to simply running around and doing what you want, but even that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth cause I now understand all the flaws. Who can run straight up a wall but the second you try to go sideways you get unstable and go crazy directions?
I'm disappointed in the game creators and I'm more disappointed in DC for putting their name in this. I mean it's story is barely there and what is there is generic and predictable. You'd think a comic book company with years of experience would have stopped them at the drawing board and said "ok, we're out."
Now it's getting a sequel while great games like Brutal Legend, Zone of the Enders, and The World Ends With You are left twiddling their thumbs hoping their directors will come back to them some day. It's just frustrating!

Dear Nintendo

Please stop your current fear campaign for the 3DS and start working on your launch plans! I know your systems have been around a long time and get a lot of ridicule so your taking the "protective measures" by under shooting battery life and warning against medical issues. But you undershot your last portable but around 6 hours and doctors have shown that you statements about 3D are wrong. Yes, you've protected yourself from future legal issues, but you've also given people ammo to attack your system.
Instead of scaring everyone into avoiding your system, you should be showing them why it's great. Have demo's at local stores of the Glasses Free 3D in action. Announce a price and release date and for Christ sake please get more titles for your launch line up. I know you don't want the release gap that you got with the DS after release, but if you don't have more than 8 games at launch, who's going to buy it? Including a few augmented reality cards is not the same as including Wii sports.
In closing, I love your products. No other game company releases system that I feel will last the next 100 years like you do. I still have my NES and it works. I've spent the last month telling everyone I want money for my birthday cause the 3DS comes out in March and I want it launch day, but with every new announcement you make me fear it more and want to wait till second release. Let's work on this!
Thank you!

My Website

Hey everybody out there in the blogging world! I finally finished the first draft of my website and I'm now trying to really get it out there and let the world see what I can do. Just a quick summery, I'm a 3D character animator and this site is to show my different talents in the field of 3D animation.

http://www.chrisddtesta.com/

THE BATTLE WITHIN! (and on my legs)

With the arrival of cold weather comes my eternal mental battle with myself, PANTS OR SHORTS! Constantly I find myself wondering, which do I truly prefer! LET US EXAMINE!

PANTS:
Pros: They look awesome. Trust me, I have sources. More than once I have received compliments about looking good in pants, but not once has anyone said that about Chris in shorts. They also protect from scrapes, something I'm very prone too.
Cons: I lose lots of flexibility and I hate jeans, which is pretty much the primary version of pants these days.

SHORTS:
Pros: Flexible, comfortable and just generally a lot more freedom. Think about it, sitting around in a grassy field under the shade of a tree, are you wearing pants? No! SHORTS!
Cons: Have you ever tried going on a date or to an office in shorts? Embarrassing!

So which one really wins? I don't know, I was just trying to kill time and not work. Either way, it doesn't matter. The seasons have control, not me.

Not so Blogging.

Reader: you haven't written a new entry in so long!
Me: your right none existent person!

Uh...yeah so I didn't lose my job, I still make crapy money. I bought Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for half off and loved it so much I played it every free minute I got and beat it 46 hours later...which looking back was foolish cause I'm bored again. So I just got How I Met Your Mother Season 5 on DVD and am watching it...my life isn't very exciting right now and now I can't afford to buy any more fun things after Iron Man 2 next week (and even that I shouldn't get)...yay!

But hey, if anyone knows about an animation jobs out there right now please let me know! Preferably 3D character animation, but beggars can't be choosers.